Tag Archives: ba

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison - Fruit, Hill Farmstead Brewery, USA

Hill Farmstead Plum: 2021 Harvest

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Brewery: Hill Farmstead Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit
Other Notes: Farmstead ale aged in oak barrels with plums. Source: Elmore Roots Nursery, Elmore, VT

Brewer Description: (from website) Each harvest season, we choose various barrels of our Farmstead® ales that exhibit sympathetic characteristics for pairing with local fruit varieties, in this case, organic plums from the 2021 harvest season at Elmore Roots Nursery in nearby Elmore, Vt. Once again, the care and intentionality with which David and his team work with the land translates fully into the fruit’s seasonal expression each year, especially with these varieties of plums. Regardless of the base beer’s composition or blend, the ideal outcome remains the same: a thoughtful representation of the fruit in season and one of our favorite offerings within this collection.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 375ml bottle, plums 2021 harvest, bottle conditioned since March 23, 2022, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange pinkish colour, with a one finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, plum, plum skin, grapefruit rind, citrus zesty, oak.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, plum, grapefruit rind and zest, oak, slight tropical notes, funk, with a light salty touch on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: A very enjoyable and really easy to drink fruited Saison, with balanced plum flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, DUST Blending, Lambic - non-Lambic Blends

DUST 1 Grappe

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Brewery: DUST Blending
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Lambic – non-Lambic Blends
Other Notes: #024 – Saison / Lambiek blend

Brewer Description: (from bottle) #024 Barrel aged Saison/Lambiek + 6 days of Chardonnay skin contact and 5 months of rest on amphora.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.07
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped clear bottle. Bottled in April 2022. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, preserved salted mandarin, newborn poop, lemon zest, very ripe apricot, balsa wood, with some light white wine vinous notes.
Taste: Lightly tart, lemon zest, white wine vinous, wood, with notes of salted mandarin and light funk.
Mouthfeel: Spritzy, light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Super funky on the aroma, maybe a bit too much, but luckily, the funk is much more balanced in the flavour, and doesn’t overpower the nice citrus zestiness, while being spritzy and refreshing.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes), Bière de Garde, Switzerland

BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien Special Blend Bordo Casks 2018

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Brewery: BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Country: Switzerland
ABV: 11%
Style: Bière de Garde
Other Notes: Special blend Bordo casks 2018

Brewer Description: (from bottle in French) Bière atypique aux notes épicées et balsamiques avec une belle acidité, la est élevée en barriques de vins rouges plus d’un an, puis assemblée.

(translated to English) An atypical beer with spicy and balsamic notes and a nice acidity, is aged in red wine barrels for more than a year, then blended.

My rating: 3+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.96
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2018 vintage, special blend Bordo casks. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear dark reddish copper colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, dark fruit, plum, prunes, dark berries, vinous, wood, oaky vanilla notes, with a splash of balsamic.
Taste: Sour, tart, dark fruit, plum, prunes, dark berries, red wine grapes, vinous, wood, and an oaky vanilla note.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with no carbonation.
Overall: It’s got good aroma and flavours, but the lack of carbonation made it not nearly as good as the original. The lack of carbonation just seemed like it was missing something.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Lervig Aktiebryggeri, Norway, Stout - Imperial

Lervig Rackhouse Triple Chocolate Coconut

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Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri
Country: Norway
ABV: 14.3%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Rackhouse. Barrel aged Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Another big stout out of Rackhouse, this beer is a Bounty bar dipped in bourbon and drizzled in chocolate and coconut all over again. Many many many coconuts and cocoa beans were harmed in its making.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.17
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A blue glittered waxed 375ml bottle, with a best before date of 4th November 2027. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a very thin beige head that disappeared almost immediately while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Light roasted malts, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, and light boozy notes.
Taste: Sweet, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, molasses, brown sugar, and a touch of bourbon.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Definitely a sipper because of it’s richness and sweetness. The aroma and flavours were enjoyable but only in small amounts as it was on the verge of being overly sweet.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Lervig Aktiebryggeri, Norway, Stout - Imperial

Lervig Rackhouse Off The Rack Australian Dark Rum 2021

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Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri
Country: Norway
ABV: 13.2%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Rackhouse. Australian dark rum 2021 barrel aged Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Off the Rack: Australian Dark Rum 2021 is a blend of one imperial stout base with deep chocolate, vanilla and caramel notes, and another imperial stout base to balance out the blend with toasted booziness and a light peppery bitterness. Each base had 12 months on dark rum barrels, and the wood imparted charred oak, coconut and treacle with the faintest hint of ester-driven banana bread.

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

Intro: A purple waxed 375ml bottle, with a best before date of 8th March 2027. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin beige head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Dessert, light roast, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, coconut, boozy, rum, with notes of raisins.
Taste: Sweet, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, rum, with notes of coconut and raisin.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable sipper with great aroma and nice flavours, but another Lervig Rackhouse that is on the verge of being too sweet for my palate.