Tag Archives: ba

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Clan Brewing Company, Herbed / Spiced Beer, Scotland

Clan Brewing Spruce Ale

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Brewery: Clan Brewing Company
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8%
Style: Herbed / Spiced Beer
Other Notes: Matured in Islay whisky casks

Brewer Description: (from website) A classic combination of two traditional methods of creating uniquely Scottish liquids: smoky peat on a sweet, resinous full body. Smoky, fruity, intense, full-bodied. Aged in Islay whisky casks for an absurdly long time. The perfect drinking occasion is to share these complex craft brews with good friends.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.36
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of end of February 2019 and poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a nice clear amber copper colour with a half finger white head that disappears almost immediately while leaving only very sparse lacing.
Aroma: Strong peat with maybe a touch of whisky, caramel, leafy and grass.
Taste: Sweet fruitiness that is mostly apple, medicinal peat and smoky wood.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with low to moderate carbonation.
Overall: The peat from the Islay whisky casks is obviously there and I like it. But after that, the taste is overly sweet which I’m quite particular with.

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3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Prairie Artisan Ales, USA

Prairie Puncheon

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Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 25 IBUs. Farmhouse ale fermented in oak barrels. Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma

Brewer Description: (from website) Puncheon is a farmhouse rye ale fermented in large oak barrels with several different wild bacteria strains. Tropical citrus notes and sourness can be detected with hints of oak.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 16.9 fl oz (500ml) bottle with oddly no bottled on date visible. Poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy golden colour with a big three finger white head that dissipated quickly but settled to a thin cap and leaves nice lacing.
Aroma: Strong earthy musty farmhouse funk and damp wood, citrus lemon and orange as well as tropical apricot.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, light funk, lemon, honey, apple peel, pepper spice and a touch of alcohol creeping through.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was quite good but there was a distinct lack of oak barrel notes that I had expected. On top of that, it was a little disappointing that a bit of the alcohol creeped out into the taste.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, USA, Wild Ale

Crooked Stave Origins

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Brewery: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Burgundy sour ale aged in oak barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our hommage to the history of barrel-aging and those who have influenced us along the way.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle from batch #5, bottled in May 2015, and poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear but dark burgundy reddish brown colour with a one finger beige head that had decent retention and left spotty lacing.
Aroma: Fruity grape, red wine, blackberries and cherries. Lightly tart with hints of oak.
Taste: Sour and tart, fruity grape, cherry and red wine with a touch of lemon, oak and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice, balanced and easy to drink.

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5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Brouwerij De Molen, Netherlands, Stout - Imperial

De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis Port Charlotte (peated) BA

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Brewery: Brouwerij De Molen
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Smoked Imperial Stout-ish. Malts – Pils, Caramel, Chocolate, Roasted and Brown. Hops – Saaz and Columbus.

Brewer Description: (from website) We were looking forward to this beer… and it turned out we were right to. With 11% ABV it’s a strong beer for beer lovers that enjoy their peated flavors. The original bitter coffee and chocolate flavors of Hel & Verdoemenis (translates as Hell & Damnation) are enriched with the peat, woody, roasty tastes of the exceptional Port Charlotte barrels. The beer aged in these barrels for over 6 months.

About Port Charlotte – Two miles south of Bruichladdich (Scotland), lies the village of Port Charlotte and ruins of Lochindaal Distillery, that ran spirit for 100 years between 1829 and 1929. The heavily peated Port Charlotte single malts of Bruichladdich are a tribute to the men who once worked this great, now silent, distillery. The spirit is matured in wooden barrels of the original old stone warehouses in Port Charlotte.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.59
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: On tap at Brouwcafe de Molen, into a De Molen snifter glass.
Appearance: It was black in colour with a two finger beige head that had good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Whisky, chocolate, coffee, wood and liquorice.
Taste: Peat, whisky, coffee, chocolate and oak.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Brilliant! The base H&V was already very good. I thought that barrel aging it in peaty Port Charlotte barrels was even better as the nice peat and whisky notes make for a great sipper.

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4 - Good (buy), Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, USA, Westbrook Brewing Co.

Westbrook Anfernee Whiskey Barrel Aged

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Brewery: Westbrook Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: English Barleywine

Brewer Description: I could not find much information about this beer.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.41
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 250ml pour on tap at BeerTemple into a BeerTemple mini pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy dark brown colour with a half finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly but left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Wood, oak, Tennessee whisky, sherry and dried plum.
Taste: Very similar to the aroma with Tennessee whisky, oak, sherry and dried plum along with hints of vanilla, caramel and cocoa bean.
Mouthfeel: Full to medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was a very nice sipper that is well balanced.

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