Tag Archives: ba

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Rodenbach N.V., Flanders Red Ale

Rodenbach Caractère Rouge

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Brewery: Brouwerij Rodenbach N.V.
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Flanders Red Ale
Other Notes: Aged on oak casks

Brewer Description: (from tag) The exclusive Rodenbach Caractère Rouge, with an alcohol content of 7%, is the result of a 6-month maceration with fresh fruit (sour cherries, raspberries and cranberries) of a beer which matured in oak casks for 2 years. After its maceration, the beer is re-fermented in the bottle. Rodenbach Caractère Rouge is vinous with a ver complex, fruity nose of raspberry and cherry combined with notes of wood and caramel. The undertone consists of an aroma of violets, leather and a hint of tobacco. Flavourwise this fruit beer has a rather sour taste, but of an exceptionally pure nature. Its light, residual sugars balance out the triangle of sour, sweet and dry flavours. This dryness mainly stems from the cranberries, which lend the beer an exceptionally long and pure aftertaste.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle with a best before date of 19th May 2017. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: A dark ruby red colour with a half finger off white head that dissipated quickly and left some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Berry fruit forward, lightly sweet with raspberry, cherry and cranberry. Finish is lightly tart with earthy oakiness.
Taste: Great balance of tart, lightly sour and lightly sweet, with raspberry, cherry and cranberry followed by some nice light oak woodiness.
Mouthfeel: Dry-ish, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This is just really good. Nicely balanced, smooth and very fruity. I could drink this all day. Even though this particular bottle was nearing its best before date, it felt as if it would still be good to drink over the next few years.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), 8 Wired Brewing Co., Beer Reviews, Belgian Quadrupel, New Zealand

8 Wired Grand Cru 2011

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Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 11%
Style: Belgian Quadrupel
Other Notes: 2011 vintage. Pinot Noir barrel aged Strong Ale. Brewed with sultanas and funk

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This beer has been made with a little more love, care and attention than most other beers. After brewing this Belgian-inspired ale with a large dose of sultanas, we aged it in Pinot Noir barrels for more than a year. The barrel aging has added some funky sourness to an already very fruity beer, thanks to native micro flora left behind in the wood. If I should describe this beer with one word, it would be “vinous”. In fact, this may be the most wine-like beer I’ve ever tasted. So, maybe calling it “Grand Cru” – a classic wine descriptor – isn’t as preposterous as some wine snobs might claim it to be?

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.81
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 375ml bottle, 2011 vintage, and poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: A cloudy dark rusty red brown colour with a just over one finger tanned head that dissipates slowly to a thin replenishing layer while leaving nice curtain lacing.
Aroma: Red wine, grape and raisin with hints of vinegar and tart cherry.
Taste: Tart and sour cherry, vinegar, lots of dark fruit, grape, plum and raisins, vinous red wine with hints of chocolate and a light black coffee bitterness on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was pretty good and definitely complex. However, lately I’ve tried quite a few wine barrel aged beers, and I’m thinking that perhaps it’s not my thing in that I don’t feel wine barrels add anything better to the base beer. It’s solid, but perhaps not “Grand Cru”.

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, USA

Almanac Saison de Brettaville

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Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.2%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Farm to barrel. Brettanomyces ale aged in white wine barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We love brettanomyces! This wild yeast, better known as “brett,” brings out a wide range of flavors and aromas in beer, from exotic fruits to earthy funk. We added a dozen different brett strains to our dry-hopped Saison Dolores, then aged it in white wine barrels for many months. The result is an intricate farmhouse ale with the kind of nuance and depth that only brett can create.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled in September 2015. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku.
Appearance: A nice hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Flowers and orange zest with hints of grapefruit, oak, pine and brett funk.
Taste: White wine with hints of oak, mango, candied pineapple, lemon and funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and easy to drink. Only a little sour, but well balanced and still good after almost 19 months.

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, USA, Wild Ale

Almanac Citra Sour

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Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel. AKA Almanac Hoppy Sour: Citra

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour Blonde Ale aged in wine barrels & dry hopped with Citra.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled in July 2015. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku.
Appearance: A nice hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Tropical fruit, mango and pineapple followed by citrusy mandarin, orange rind and grapefruit with hints of funkiness.
Taste: Similar to the aroma as its funky, tart, sour, tropical, mango, passionfruit and apricot, followed by citrusy mandarin and orange rind with light oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and refreshing tropical and citrus aromas and flavours with matching funk. The barrel notes were a bit weak, but I’m perfectly fine with that in this case.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy, Scotland, Tempest Brewing Co.

Tempest Old Parochial

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Brewery: Tempest Brewing Co.
Country: Scotland
ABV: 10%
Style: Scotch Ale
Other Notes: Barrel aged Imperial Scotch ale. Hops – Waimea

Brewer Description: (from website) Nostalgia and Celebration in a bottle. Raise a glass to the art of barrel aging with this rich, complex imperial scotch ale aged in Craigellachie barrels. Smoke, stone fruit, and caramel blend together on the palate with warming hum of whisky.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.64
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 28th December 2018. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: A cloudy brown colour with quite a bit of small to tiny sediment, a thin tanned head that dissipated quickly and some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, malty, caramel, dark dried fruit, wood with some light smoke and alcohol.
Taste: Roasted malts, caramel, wood, vanilla and smoke. There is some whisky character, and light sweet dark dried fruit, mostly prunes and raisins.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: I find that not many beers taste better than its aroma, but this beer falls in that category. The sweetness coming from the aroma kind of put me off a bit. But this was not the case when I tasted it as the barrel character was clearly the main attraction (smoke, vanilla, wood) and it was a good thing (for me), that the sweetness of the dried fruit was only in the background.