Tag Archives: barrel aged

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Boon x Mikkeller ApS, Lambic - Gueuze

Boon x Mikkeller Oude Geuze Calvados

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Brewery: Brouwerij Boon x Mikkeller ApS
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.4%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: 100% Boon Lambic. Collaboration between Boon and Mikkeller

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Mikkeller Oude Geuze Boon Lambic is a new unique collaboration between Boon and Mikkeller. Blending lambic from one to three years old, this blend is made in the traditional method of spontaneous fermentation in the Senne Valley, Belgium. This special blend has a distinct twist being matured in oak foeders previously used for Calvados. Ideal before a meal or paired with cheese.

My rating: 4-
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.98
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a best before date of 22nd November 2036. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention, eventually settling to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky, damp rotting wood, dusty, green apple, lemon.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, green apple, oak, lemon, tea, with some mild calvados and funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: A good easy drinking Boon x Mikkeller geuze collaboration. I was hoping for the Calvados barrel to be more apparent than it was though as it did seem a bit muted.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Belgium, S.A. Bières de Chimay

Chimay Grande Réserve Vieillie en Barriques: Châtaignier neuf, Chêne, Cognac 15/03/2016

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Brewery: S.A. Bières de Chimay
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Other Notes: 38% French oak, 22% American oak (second utilization), 22% new cognac barrels & 18% new chestnut

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The “Grande Réserve” barrel aged is an exceptional beer that benefits from triple fermentation and extended maturing in barrels. Unfiltered, unpasteurised, this beer has an incomparable rounded, wooden flavour.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, bottled on 15th March 2016, with a best before date of end of 2021. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: A dark amber brown colour, with a thin half finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, and a gently replenishing centre, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Light to moderately sweet dark fruit, plum, prunes, raisin, oak, with light toffee notes.
Taste: Sweet dark malt, dark fruit, plum, prunes, caramel, toffee, oak, cognac, light booze, and a touch bitter on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: It’s a nice complex sipper, but my preference is still the base beer, which is just so good. Despite this, the barrel aged variants are still very interesting, and I would love to keep trying more.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Deschutes Brewery, Stout - Imperial, USA

Deschutes Peanut Butter Obsidian Stout

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Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 9.7%
Style: Stout – Imperial

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Whiskey barrel-aged ale brewed with peanut butter.

My rating: 3+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.83
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 355ml bottle, with a packaged on date of 31st March 2022. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, sweet malt, chocolate, molasses, peanut, and whiskey notes.
Taste: Lightly sweet, moderately bitter, roasty, dark chocolate, whiskey, peanuts, hints of vanilla, and a touch boozy.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: It’s a good boozy sipper, and there was some nuttiness, but it wasn’t really peanut butter, which I was really hoping for.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Hudson Valley Brewery, USA

Hudson Valley Valley Beer Winter 2020

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Brewery: Hudson Valley Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5%
Style: Farmhouse – Saison

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Blended and bottled in the Winter of 2020. Valley Beer is our Hudson Valley Sour Farmhouse Ale brewed with 100% New York ingredients. It is fermented in our foudres with wild yeast and souring bacteria and aged for up to a year in oak barrels. This beer is bottle conditioned with local wildflower honey, so please open cold, pour carefully, and expect some sediment.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.06
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml baby blue waxed bottle, bottled in the winter of 2020, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice very slightly hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funk, damp wood, hay, yellow stone fruit, with light notes of honey and orange peel.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, funky, damp wood, apple cider vinegar, green apple, yellow stone fruit, honey, and a touch of citrus peel.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I’ll accept that they call it a Farmhouse Ale, but it does trend more towards a Wild Ale in my opinion. The funky notes in both the aroma and taste keep it interesting along with the fruitiness and honey.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, FiftyFifty Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout BKR (Bookers Barrel)

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Brewery: FiftyFifty Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12.2%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: 2019 vintage, yellow wax – Bookers Barrel

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Now in it’s 12th vintage, 2019 Eclipse is our rich Imperial Stout aged to perfection in whiskey and spirit barrels. All Eclipse start with the same base beer bringing hints of dark chocolate, espresso, and a smooth complexity, with each barrel treatment delivering its own unique character after a minimum of 180 days of aging. BKR is aged in select bourbon barrels. DSP-KY-230.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.12
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml dark yellow waxed bottle, 2019 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour, with a thin tanned head that dissipated quickly, while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Bakers chocolate, molasses, bourbon, and a touch of almonds.
Taste: Light roast, chocolate, coffee, bourbon, molasses, raisin, with light notes of toasted nuts.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A fuller body would help this Imperial Stout, but there are some enjoyable flavours with this sipper.