Tag Archives: barrel aged

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

Métaphore Pay In Blood

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Brewery: Métaphore
Country: Czech Republic
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A mixed fermentation beer with tart cherries, aged in oak barrels for 18 months.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, with a best before date of 1st November 2026. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice red colour with an orange tinge, and a one finger pinkish head, that had good retention and eventually settled to a ring around the glass while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherries, wood, and lightly vinous.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, cherries, wood, and a touch funky.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Nice aroma and flavours, although carbonation might have been a touch too high, making it not as easy drinking as it could have been. Still enjoyable though.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Cantillon, Lambic - Gueuze

Cantillon 50°N-4°E Brandy

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: 2018 vintage, Brandy barrel

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Lambic brewed on 24 February 2015, aged in Brandy barrels and bottled on 4 December 2018.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.26
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2018 vintage, bottled on 4th December 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed Zenne glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour, with a nice one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart unripe yellow stone fruit, citrus zest, funky, musty, wood, brandy, butterscotch, with a minerally note.
Taste: Lightly sour and tart, lemon juice, green apple, grape skin, a touch vinous, a bit of berries, funky, woody, brandy, with caramel like notes.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: This needed time to open up, and after an hour it definitely improved. Not my favourite among the 50°N-4°E variants, but still enjoyable.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Brasserie Ammonite, France, Wild Ale

Ammonite Symphonie Solera IV

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Brewery: Brasserie Ammonite
Country: France
ABV: 5%
Style: Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle in French) Cette cuvée est issue de l’assemblage perpétuel de tous les millésimes depuis la naissance de la brasserie. Élaborée selon la pratique de la Solera, elle est l’empreinte du temps. Bière de fermentation spontanée, élevée en ex-fûts de vins bourguignons.

(translated to English) This vintage comes from the perpetual blending of all the vintages since the birth of the brewery. Developed according to the Solera practice, it is the imprint of time. Spontaneous fermentation beer, aged in ex-Burgundy wine barrels.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.14
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled on 8th October 2021, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: It was a lightly cloudy pale straw blonde colour with a thin white head that dissipated quickly to nothing, while leaving no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, green vines, dill pickles, pickled cucumber, microgreens, unripe guava, with a splash of lemon.
Taste: Sour, tart, lemonade, microgreens, pickled cucumber, lemon juice, with light vinous notes.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: A strange one for me, overly green, and the aroma and flavours just didn’t come together well for me. I love pickles and pickled vegetables, but that did not work in beer.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Insight Cellars, Wild Ale

Insight Cellars Sunstead: White Peach

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Brewery: Insight Cellars
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.3%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Danish Wild Ale with fresh white Saturn peaches. 2023 vintage. 2657 btls

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our Sunstead series captures the essence of perfectly ripe stone fruits, allowing us to savor the warm flavors of summer all year long. The base beer is a blend of one, two and three-year-old Danish Wild Ales aged in white wine barrels. We racked this onto freshly destoned and crushed white Saturn peaches at a rate of over 600 grams of peaches per liter, and left it to macerate with the fruit for over a month before bottling. This complex, soft and juicy beer tastes almost like biting into a fragrant peach, transporting you back to the high days of summer no matter when you drink it.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml caged and corked bottle, 2023 vintage, bottled on 31st August 2023. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, fresh juicy peach flesh, peach skin, with light wood and a touch of funk.
Taste: Lightly sour, super juicy, ripe peach, peach juice, a splash of lime, and light notes of funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very juicy ripe peaches in both the aroma and flavours. Really enjoyable and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Belgium, De Dolle Brouwers

De Dolle Stille Nacht Reserva 2019 Barrique 10

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Brewery: De Dolle Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 12%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Other Notes: 2019 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Stille Nacht aged in oak barrels for 3 years. Refermented in the bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, brewed in 2019, bottled in 2023, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a big two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a thin cap, while leaving fluffy lacing.
Aroma: Oak, barrel, vanilla, fruit cake, lemon zest, lime, candied orange, white wine grapes, damp wood, with a touch of funk.
Taste: Very lightly sour and tart, oak, vanilla, lemon zest, lime, candied orange, damp wood, and light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper with strong barrel character and good complexities in both aroma and flavour.