Tag Archives: barrel aged

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, USA, Wild Ale

Almanac Peach de Brettaville

Thursday, 17 November 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Farmhouse ale aged in wine barrels with peaches.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled in November 2015, and poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy golden straw orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, mildly funky, light oak with some peach, pineapple and lemon. Think along the lines of sour peach ring gummy candy.
Taste: Sour and tangy with only light funkiness. Fruity peach with a sharp citrus lemon and orange peel flavour and acidity. There is also a touch of vinegar, white wine and earthy oak.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: This is good. A very nice sour from Almanac that is tasty and easy to drink.

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

De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis Port Charlotte (peated) BA

Wednesday, 31 August 2016 kitch Leave a comment

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.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller Nelson Sauvignon Chardonnay BA

Wednesday, 22 June 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 9%
Style: Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut
Other Notes: Fermented with champagne yeast, brettanomyces and enzymes. Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Belgian wild ale aged in Chardonnay barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A corked and caged 750ml bottle with no best by or bottled on date (it might have been on the cap but rubbed off) and poured into a Lindemans flute glass.
Appearance: It poured a very nice clear deep copper colour with a one finger off white head that had decent retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Grape, white wine, oak and brett.
Taste: Similar to the aroma. Grape, white wine, oak, brett, apple cider and a hint of tropical stone fruit. Lightly sweet and sour on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied, moderate carbonation and sporadic light warming alcohol.
Overall: Very nice. A top Mikkeller beer and this is right on the fence of a buy beer and a must buy beer.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Estonia, Põhjala x To Øl, Stout - Imperial

Põhjala x To Øl Cellar Series Taanilinn Cognac BA

Monday, 18 April 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Põhjala x To Øl
Country: Estonia
ABV: 14%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Cognac barrel aged spiced Imperial Stout. 70 IBUs. Malts – Pilsner, Oats, Cara 150, Melanoid, Chocolate, Cara Amber, Special B, Chocolate Rye and Demerara Sugar. Hops – Magnum and Goldings. Other – cinnamon, aniseed and orange zest.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Põhjala and To Øl created this beer together to honour the old Danish heritage of Tallinn. Deep complex oatmeal stout aged for months on cognac barrels. Spiced with all the best from the liquors of Estonia.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.72
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 330ml waxed bottle with a best before date of 4th November 2018, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a pitch black colour with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly but left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Caramel, toffee, chocolate, vanilla, cognac, wood with a hint of dark fruit, plum and cherries.
Taste: Sweet. Its so sweet, but so good. Brown sugar, cherry, vanilla, oak and cognac with hints of bittersweet chocolate and espresso coffee.
Mouthfeel: Very smooth, mid to full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: I usually do not enjoy sweet beers, but there are a few exceptions and this is definitely one of them. It starts very sweet, but the combination of oakiness and cognac helps to balance out this sweetness and keep it in check. It’s also surprisingly not full bodied. It’s almost there, but lacks just that little bit that you usually expect from a 14% ABV Imperial Stout. But, despite all that, in my opinion, this is right up there with the best Imperial Stouts, and is easily a must buy beer for me.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, The Lost Abbey, USA

Lost Abbey Box Set Track #10 (Bat Out Of Hell)

Monday, 14 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Country: USA
ABV: 13.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Aged in American Oak Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from website) From the Ultimate Box Set: “A fresh track, Track 10 began as a fresh Serpent’s Stout base aged in bourbon barrels with oodles of coffee and cacao nibs added shortly before packaging. Late in November of 2011, our head brewer asked about creating a Coffee and Cacoa Nib version of Serpent’s Stout for the San Diego Strong Ale Festival. The beer was a hit with our fans. When we wrote up the syllabus for the Ultimate Box Set, we knew a version of this beer would be included. We waited until the very end of the release schedule to put this beer in a bottle so that the coffee and cacoa nibs really come through.”

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A corked and caged 12.7 fl oz bottle poured into a snifter glass. I believe this is a 2015 bottling as “2015” is printed on the neck.
Appearance: It poured an opaque pitch black with a thin less than half finger dark brown head that leaves nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Strong bourbon and chocolate with some sweetness coming from hints of molasses, toffee and vanilla.
Taste: Very nice espresso coffee, crunchy coffee bean, dark bittersweet chocolate and bourbon notes.
Mouthfeel: Thick, full bodied with low carbonation and light alcohol warming.
Overall: This was really good. It was surprising that there wasn’t much coffee on the nose, but it definitely came out in the taste. A great sipper on a cool night.

words of another dreamy traveller