Tag Archives: ba

Cascade Kriek

Brewery: Cascade Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 7.1%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Northwest sour ale. Ale aged in oak barrels with cherries. 2015 project

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Kriek is a blend of sour red ales aged in oak wine barrels for up to 17 months with cherries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.14
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2015 project. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy deep amber red colour with a one finger beige head that dissipated quickly but settled to a thin layer while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherries, oak, maybe some mixed berries.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherries, oak and a hint of spices.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice cherry flavours, slightly acidic, but not overly so.

Cascade Strawberry

Brewery: Cascade Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 7.1%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Northwest Sour Ale. Ale aged in oak barrels with strawberries and vanilla beans. 2015 project

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This NW sour ale is a blend of wheat and blond ales aged in oak barrels for up to 14 months with strawberries and vanilla beans.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2015 project. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy orange pinkish colour with a big two finger white head that dissipated quickly while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, strawberry, jammy, oak, light funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, strawberry, viney herbal notes, vinegar, oak, and maybe a splash of vanilla with light funk on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with strong prickly carbonation and acidic harshness.
Overall: Strawberry aroma come through nicely, but taste was quite vinegary and acidic which made it harsh and overpowers a lot of the fruit there might have been.

8 Wired iStout Unchained Imperial Stout

Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 3 year wine barrel aged. 2016 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our highly rated imperial stout, iStout, aged for 3 years in Pinot Noir barrels with added brettanomyces. Roasty and boozy as the original but also funky, dry, wild and unchained.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2016 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a big two finger tanned head that had pretty good retention and eventually settled to a thin layer, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, cocoa, leather, brett, oak, lightly vinous and a touch herbal.
Taste: What you’d expect from the aroma, light roast, cocoa, funky, brett, tart, vinous, and oak.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice aroma and flavours although the Imperial Stout parts are probably overpowered by the brett and vinous aspects. This is really drinkable but I’m unsure I’d still call this an Imperial Stout.

8 Wired Batch 2.18 Oak Aged Imperial Stout

Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Fermented in open oak vats with dates, jaggery and vanilla beans

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The most regal of stouts. Brewed to commemorate the 18th batch of our new brewery in Warkworth, New Zealand.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.97
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 500ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a dark brown hue and a thin brown head that dissipated quickly, but left lots of fine spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty dark malts, chocolate, molasses, licorice, prunes, oak, vanilla and a light char.
Taste: What you’d expect from the aroma, roasty, chocolate, prunes, plum, molasses, licorice, oak, vanilla and some light ash.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice enjoyable sipper, with good balance of roast, dark fruit and light sweetness.

8 Wired Barrel Aged Smoked Imperial Porter

Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 11%
Style: Smoked Beer
Other Notes: 2011 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Manuka smoked Imperial Porter, refermented with farmhouse yeast & aged in American oak barrels for 18 months.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.85
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 1 pint 0.9 fl. oz. bottle, 2011 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a half finger brown head that stuck around for a bit while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, dark fruit, prunes, raisin, smoke. Maybe just call it smoked prunes.
Taste: Roasty, moderately sour, prunes, raisin, smoked dark fruit, oak, chocolate, cocoa.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Interesting flavours which perhaps could be described just as ‘sour smoked prunes’. I’m unsure if this is past its prime, but if there was just a little more roast malt, chocolate, cocoa to balance the sour part, it would’ve been even better.