Tag Archives: ba

4 - Good (buy), Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, Birra Baladin, Italy

Baladin Xyauyù Barrel

Leave a comment

Brewery: Birra Baladin
Country: Italy
ABV: 14%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: 2014 vintage, bottle #0402

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) It represents the complex expression of Teo’s mind in the creation of his couch beers. An high fermented beer after a macro oxidation process and 12 month aging in rhum barrels, which give a natural and turbid aroma. In the glass is without cream and gas.

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

Intro: A 500ml waxed and corked bottle, 2014 vintage, bottle #0402. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruit, raisin, dates, rum, molasses, caramel, toffee, and a touch boozy.
Taste: Like the aroma, sweet, dark fruit, raisin, dates, rum, brown sugar, molasses, caramel, toffee.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, a touch syrupy, no carbonation.
Overall: Definitely a sipper as it was almost too sweet for me. Just not as balanced as the Fumé.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, Birra Baladin, Italy

Baladin Xyauyù Fumé (Islay Whisky)

Leave a comment

Brewery: Birra Baladin
Country: Italy
ABV: 14%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: 2014 vintage, bottle #1762

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) It represents the complex expression of Teo’s mind in the creation of his couch beers. An high fermented beer after a macro oxidation process and 12 month aging in Scottish whisky barrels from Islay, which give a natural and turbid aroma. The color is deep dark brown with copper notes, in the glass is without cream and gas.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.68
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 500ml waxed and corked bottle, 2014 vintage, bottle #1762. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A copper bronze colour, almost syrupy with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Peat, leather, dark fruit, whisky.
Taste: Moderately sweet, dark fruit, brown sugar, toffee, caramel, light peat, and smoky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, a touch syrupy, and no carbonation.
Overall: An excellent sipper with good balanced sweetness. Admittedly, there was a worry on my part that this would be overly sweet like the Xyauyù Barrel, but no, it was really enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing, Wild Ale

Mills Vienna

Leave a comment

Brewery: Mills Brewing
Country: England
ABV: 4%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Vienna is a single barrel bottling made from one brew in May 2019. We made a turbid wort with Vienna malt, rye and raw barley. Solevian hops, both aged and fresh, were added during the boil. Fermentation and maturation took place in a well travelled 500 litre butt which was previously used for sherry, Scotch whisky and Herefordshire cider. The beer was bottled after 30 months in barrel, then conditioned slowly over winter.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in November 2021, with a best before date of November 2031. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and eventually settled to a thin cap while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, sweet apple, lemon zest, oak.
Taste: Tart, light to moderate sour, lemon, apple, funk, oak.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate spritzy carbonation.
Overall: Light, balanced, refreshing, with enjoyable aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing, Wild Ale

Mills Chuckleberry

Leave a comment

Brewery: Mills Brewing
Country: England
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This beer is a blend of two brews produced in June and September 2019. They were made from a turbid wort, using rye malt and aged hops. Fermentation and maturation took place in red Bordeaux barrels. The resulting blend was added to a large quantity of locally grown chuckleberries to referment for five months. The beer then conditioned in bottle for a further three months before release.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in November 2021, with a best before date of November 2026. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice reddish dark magenta colour with a two finger pinkish head that had decent retention while eventually settling to a ring around the glass and leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, gooseberry, redcurrant, red wine grapes, funk, wood, and a splash of blackcurrant.
Taste: What you’d expect from the aroma, tart, light to moderate sour, gooseberry, redcurrant, funk, earthy, wood, and blackcurrant notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Balanced and easy drinking, and my first time trying something with chuckleberry in it.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing, Wild Ale

Mills Running Beer

Leave a comment

Brewery: Mills Brewing
Country: England
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This beer is a blend of four brews produced in November 2018, January/March 2019 and May 2020. The worts were made using malted rye and aged hops. They fermented and matured in a mixture of oak barrels previously used by French Burgundy wine and American Bourbon whiskey producers. Running beer was the first recipe we designed for Mills Brewing. This is blend eight.

We still have no set recipe for Running Beer, but blend to a similar flavour profile each time. We produce a variety of worts and welcome the natural variation we are given by the barrels.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.82
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, blend eight, bottled in November 2021, with a best before date of November 2031. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour, with a two finger white head that had good retention and settled to a nice thin cap and good lacing.
Aroma: Funky, farmhouse, wood, apple, lemon zest, and slight whisky notes.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, funky, musty, green apple, lemon zest, lightly vinous, oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Interesting aroma and flavours, maybe not my favourite, but it does work.