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4 - Good (buy), Avery Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Pumpkin Ale, USA

Avery Pump[KY]n

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Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 15%
Style: Pumpkin Ale
Other Notes: Porter brewed with Pumpkin & Spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove) Aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) What’s in a name? Sometimes the simplest can be the most descriptive, and in this case, derisive and divisive! After much internal debate (ad nauseum! Bourb[KY]n, anyone?), we decided a single letter change was the best way to embody the Bourbon barrel-aging that adds layers of complexity to an already exquisitely spiced pumpkin porter.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12 fl oz foiled bottle, Batch No.2, bottled on 7th November 2015. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark brown amber colour with pretty much no khaki coloured head, but some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Pumpkin pie, vanilla, cinnamon and a hit of boozy bourbon.
Taste: Sweet and spicy. Pumpkin pie, caramel, brown sugar, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and all-spice with notes of oak and bourbon booziness.
Mouthfeel: Lightly syrupy, full bodied, alcohol warming with light to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wow this was nice. A Pumpkin Ale that’s perhaps approaching a Winter Warmer. Great pumpkin pie spice flavours and good use of the barrel. Its quite boozy at 15% and you do get it in the aroma and taste yet at the same time, I like it, which is rare for me. Perhaps it just works for this particular style. If more Pumpkin Ales were like this, I would definitely go for the style. Good job by Avery on this one.

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3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Clan Brewing Company, Scotland, Stout - Imperial

Clan Brewing Imperial Stout

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Brewery: Clan Brewing Company
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Matured in Lowland whisky casks for up to six months

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A rich, dark and intensely flavourful Imperial Stout, packed with burnt coffee and lemon scents, skilfully balanced by sweet sherry and raisin flavours derived from a short period in Lowland malt whisky casks. A smoky, slightly acrid mouthfeel, and a long burnt finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.37
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of end of February 2019 and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a dark dark brown colour with a less than one finger tanned head which dissipates fast but left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, dark malt, hints of raisin, cream, light whisky and maybe a touch of caramel and lemon on the finish.
Taste: Chocolate, molasses, toffee, hints of dark berries, very light whisky, maybe some slight char but not much barrel.
Mouthfeel: Very light for an Imperial Stout, maybe too light in my opinion. Barely medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation and dry.
Overall: If this was a Stout, I think I would have rated it higher, but as an Imperial Stout, it’s just not quite there. Everything just seemed to be too light whereas I was looking for more punches as an Imperial Stout. This was especially true with the barrel aging, which did not seem to impart as much as it could have in both aroma and taste. It is by no means a bad beer, but I had both BCBS and KBS in the last week which is perhaps setting a rather high standard.

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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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