Tag Archives: beer

Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: Brown Ale – Imperial
Other Notes: 40 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial brown ale brewed with Sumatra coffee.

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

Intro: A 355ml bottle with a best by date of 31st January 2017 and poured into a Moonzen teku glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark brown colour with a nice two finger tanned head that had decent retention and left great lacing.
Aroma: Coffee, roasted malts, chocolate, caramel and lightly bready.
Taste: Similar to the aroma with roasty coffee, chocolate and caramel with a hint of vanilla and nuttiness on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s a nice Brown Ale that doesn’t feel like a 9% abv beer and drinks easily. It’s one of the better Brown Ales around but not quite as good as Prairie Okie though (in my opinion), but that one is barrel-aged.

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Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Mein Aventinus

Brewery: Weisses Bräuhaus G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH
Country: Germany
ABV: 8.2%
Style: German Weizenbock
Other Notes: 16 IBUs. Hops – Hallertauer Tradition and Magnum. Malt – 50% wheat malt and 50% barley malt from the region of Kelheim

Brewer Description: (from website) For great moments by the open fire: “Mein Aventinus” – full-bodied, dark ruby coloured, intense and full of fire, warming, balanced and smooth. Bavaria’s oldest wheat doppelbock – since 1907! Its powerful body in combination with its malt-aromatic sweetness provides genuine pleasure – an ingenious combination, perfectly drinkable. Cheers – to this day! It goes well with hearty fare, roasts and sweet desserts.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.29
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 500ml bottle with a best before date of 19th May 2017 and poured into a Riedel weizen glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly cloudy dark amber brown colour with a big four finger white head that dissipated slowly to a nice thin creamy cap and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Biscuit malt, wheat, banana and clove.
Taste: Banana bread, brown sugar, clove with a touch of plum, caramel and apple skin.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and easy to drink which is great since I can now (finally) get this regularly.

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Schneider Weisse Tap 5 Meine Hopfenweisse

Brewery: Weisses Bräuhaus G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH
Country: Germany
ABV: 8.2%
Style: German Weizenbock
Other Notes: 40 IBUs. Hops – Hallertauer Tradition and Saphir. Malt – 50% wheat malt and 50% barley malt from the region of Kelheim

Brewer Description: (from website) Go on a discovery: “Meine Hopfenweisse” – an incomparable taste experience that exceeds all expectations…. Flowery hoppy, full-bodied with malty aromes – this is how far wheat beer can go. A special Schneider treat! It is the ideal companion to spicy dishes and refined chocolate. Fireworks for your senses. Shiny golden wheat doppelbock.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 500ml bottle with a best before date of 1st February 2017 and poured into a Riedel weizen glass.
Appearance: It poured a rather dull and cloudy orange copper colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin creamy layer and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Strong floral and herbal notes with orange pith and orange peel with a touch of bready malts.
Taste: Quite similar to the aroma, there is strong orange pith and orange juice flavours followed by grapefruit, floral, herbal and grass with a hint of spice, mango and bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I can see why others might enjoy Tap 5, but for me, I’m on the fence with this one; maybe even leaning slightly towards buying it again as it is very easy to drink and does not feel anywhere near the 8.2% abv. My main conflict was the strong floral aromas and flavours which were not my favourite.

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Crooked Stave Origins

Brewery: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Burgundy sour ale aged in oak barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our hommage to the history of barrel-aging and those who have influenced us along the way.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle from batch #5, bottled in May 2015, and poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear but dark burgundy reddish brown colour with a one finger beige head that had decent retention and left spotty lacing.
Aroma: Fruity grape, red wine, blackberries and cherries. Lightly tart with hints of oak.
Taste: Sour and tart, fruity grape, cherry and red wine with a touch of lemon, oak and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice, balanced and easy to drink.

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Hanssens Experimental Raspberry

Brewery: Hanssens Artisanaal
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale fermented with raspberries and matured in oak barrels.

My rating: 1
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.7

Intro: A 12.7 fl.oz. bottle bottled in April 2016 (notched in label) and poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear cherry red colour with an orange pinkish hue, with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Raspberry, strawberry, berry gummy candies, grape jelly and some light funkiness.
Taste: Sour, extremely sour, overly and harsh acidity, vinegar, funkiness and light fruity raspberry that is largely hidden in the background.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, no carbonation and a short but sharp harsh acidic burn.
Overall: It smells great but beer with no carbonation is not my thing. In addition, it was harsh and overly acidic such that it was almost undrinkable.

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