Tag Archives: barrel aged

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Browar Stu Mostów, Poland, Stout - Russian Imperial

Stu Mostów WRCLW Imperial Stout Peanut Butter Bourbon BA Nitro

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Brewery: Browar Stu Mostów
Country: Poland
ABV: 11.7%
Style: Stout – Russian Imperial
Other Notes: 60 IBUs, 6th Anniversary

Brewer Description: (from website) Imperial Stout B.A. is our birthday tradition – this year we used the addition of peanut butter and Four Roses Bourbon barrels, which gave the aromas of vanilla, coconut, spices and of course – American whiskey! Nitrogen saturation smoothed out its texture and perfectly blended with malty aromas, creating incredibly tasty, dessert effect!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml gold waxed bottle, 6th Anniversary, 2020 vintage, with a best before date of 4th December 2023. Poured into what I guess is a water glass (being all that I could find at the hotel late at night).
Appearance: Black in colour with a very thin tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Peanut, peanut butter, chocolate, light roast, bourbon, brown sugar, vanilla.
Taste: Roasty, chocolate, moderate sweetness, caramel, dark fruit, prunes, plum, brown sugar, bourbon, peanut.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Definitely a sipper with interesting aroma and flavours. Peanut notes were quite pronounced, but I would have preferred if it was more peanut butter instead, as per the name.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Czech Pilsner, Czech Republic, Métaphore

Métaphore Sapere Aude

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Brewery: Métaphore
Country: Czech Republic
ABV: 4.9%
Style: Pilsner – Czech

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This is my quest for a dream beer that straddles the fine line between two worlds – traditional, old world lagers and rustically charming beers of the past. Inspired by the mystery of an earlier era I never experienced and by the environment around us. My poetic vision for a truly refined expression of a lager beer with a sense of place. It was brewed only with local organic ingredients, a generous amount of local Saaz hops and 30% local einkorn. Lagered to perfection for 5 months in a virgin Acacia wood barrel. This gracious lager beer with a sense of place is ready for you to enjoy here and now with friends old and new.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.29
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle with a best before date of 1st November 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a two finger white head that had excellent retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, honey, grainy, wood, herbal, with light citrus zest.
Taste: Light sweetness, honey, lemon zest, herbal tea, and maybe even a touch floral.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I thoroughly enjoyed this with its light clean flavours making it just so easy to drink. Super refreshing on a hot day.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Czech Republic, Métaphore, Wild Ale

Métaphore Here and Now: Cherry

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Brewery: Métaphore
Country: Czech Republic
ABV: 7.3%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Batch L19

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A coolshipped and spontaneously fermented beer aged in oak barrel for 16 months and then aged for 12 months on fresh, local sour cherries. Unblended from a single barrel. This beer represents the singular magic of one night, captured and shaped by, in this bottle. It is meant to reflect the place, people and occasion of its birth. An attempt to capture a true imprint of one day – inimitable and unrepeatable

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, batch L19, with a best before date of 1st September 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice deep ruby red colour with a one finger pinkish head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Cherry skin, leather, vanilla, with notes of marzipan, almond, and cinnamon.
Taste: Sweet and sour, cherry pie, cherry skin, leather, light funk, oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: While my description of the aroma sounds like my thing, it was strangely just average and a little on the weak side. However, the flavours more than made up for this as there was a good balance between sweet and sour with very nice cherry pie notes. Just easy and enjoyable to drink.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Czech Republic, Lager - Märzen / Oktoberfest, Métaphore x Pivovar Lajka

Métaphore x Lajka Mars 2021

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Brewery: Métaphore x Pivovar Lajka
Country: Czech Republic
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Lager – Märzen / Oktoberfest

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Märzen beer with local organic spelt. Brewed in March and aged in a cellar till October in freshly emptied biodynamic Pinot Noir barrels from Burgundy. Brewed with organic local malt, hops and raw spelt. Homage to those early times, when beers were made in a season for the season and the notion of time had a different meaning. A collaboration with dear friend Jan K. of Pivovar Lajka with whom we share the mutual love for the classic and rustic beers. Here we present you with Mars. The resulting beer is the reflection of the love of both brewers for classic beers and their affinity for delicately rustic beers. Not quite Märzen, not quite Bière de Garde. This malty little rustic beer with a sense of time and place is ready for you to enjoy here and now.

My rating: 3+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.85
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with a best before date of 1st November 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear dark copper amber colour with a two finger white head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malty, caramel, apple, red wine grapes, and wood.
Taste: Sweet malt, bready, caramel, plums, with light vinous notes.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Easy drinking with the Pinot Noir barrels making an interesting impact on the aroma and flavours.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation XXVI – Froggie

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Stout – Russian Imperial
Other Notes: 72 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders matured in Bordeaux wine barrels. Margaux, Pauillac & St.-Estèphe.

My rating: 3+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.88
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled on 25th July 2018, and a best before date of 24th July 2023. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a nice frothy one finger brown head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, light char, chocolate, cocoa, raisin, fig, dates, and a touch red wine vinous.
Taste: Roasted malts, bakers chocolate, espresso, light char, licorice, and red wine notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: The wine barrels add an interesting dimension to the aroma and flavour, but it’s not among my favourites of the Black Damnation’s. It’s a decent sipper, but I didn’t think it was better than much of the whiskey barrel aged variants.