Tag Archives: beer

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone Go To IPA

Wednesday, 23 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: A vibrant hop-bursted session IPA.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Since Day One, we’ve been abundantly forthright and fully transparent about our lust for hops. It’s led us to craft man an IPA, most of them imperial – some intense for their time and all timeless in their intensity. For Stone Go To IPA, we are embracing our hop obsession in a new way, funnelling an abundance of lupulin-borne bitterness into a “session” IPA delivering all the fruity, piney character of a much bigger IPA. To accomplish this, we employed “hop bursting” a technique wherein an irrational amount of hops is added during the final phase of the brewing process to coax out extreme flavors and aromas while also imparting a burst of desirably pleasant bitterness. The result is an alpha-acid-rich beer that you can enjoy more of without missing out on the assertive hop character you, like us, crave. So, sit back and go two with your new everyday go-to IPA and bask along with us in the glory of the almighty hop.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled date of 20th July 2015 and an enjoy by date of 18th October 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left a lot of spotty lacing.
Aroma: Very nice blend of tropical fruit, citrus and pine aromas. Strong mango, peach and apricot along with some light grapefruit and orange zest and hints of pine. Only a very light breadiness in the background.
Taste: Like the aroma, taste is tropical and citrus fruits. Mango and apricot to begin with followed by some orange and finishing with grapefruit bitterness which is lasting.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: A very nice IPA from Stone. The aromas are stunning and it is very easy to drink.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Pale Ale, Omnipollo, Sweden

Omnipollo Leon

Saturday, 19 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Omnipollo
Country: Sweden
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale
Other Notes: Brewed by Omnipollo at De Proef Brouwerij (Belgium)

Brewer Description: (from website) Tired of talking my friends into pit stops at beer bars before heading “out” – in fear of having to drink bland lager all night – I set out to craft an ale that would act as companion throughout the evening. Leon is assertively hopped and fermented dry using champagne yeast. The yeast and the hops in combination with a simple malt bill provides the beer with a quality of being rich in taste yet refreshing.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.4
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 25th June 2016 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a golden copper colour with very light haziness. Aggressive pour left a huge three finger yellowish head that had very good retention leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Mainly citrus lemon accompanied by apple, pine and some pepperness.
Taste: Apple juice and lemon zest with hints of grapefruit, orange and pepper.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to light bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: This was a decent Belgian pale ale and although not the best from Omnipollo, I can’t wait to try more of their stuff.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone Delicious IPA

Friday, 18 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Hops: Lemondrop and El Dorado.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) From the beginning, Stone has been obsessed with the mission of providing people access to bold, high-quality craft beer. After all, great beer is for everyone and anyone with the good taste to recognize it, not just a niche group like us uber beer geeks. So, when we developed this pleasantly bitter, deliciously citrusy hop-driven IPA, we took it as an opportunity to go a step further and do something we’d spent over a year researching and perfecting: create a beer that makes it possible for nearly everyone to experience our aggressive, no-holds-barred approach to craft brewing. It’s a flavourful, cutting-edge, modern-day IPA for everyone. Lemondrop and El Dorado hops provide plenty of fruity citrus character and a burst of hop zing that sings on the palate. We’re proud to present it to those who, so far, have only heard the legends.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.73
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled date of 18th July 2015 and an enjoy by date of 16th October 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear deep golden copper colour with a slightly less than two finger white head with good retention that leaves lots of lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical beginning with passion fruit, pineapple and apricot followed by hints of grapefruit, lemon zest and pine.
Taste: Considering the strong tropical aromas, I do not get any of the tropical fruits in the flavours. Instead, there’s lots of citrus lemon, lemon zest, hoppy pine and a lasting peppery aftertaste. There was also hints of bready and caramel malts.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I loved the aroma of this beer. It’s strong tropicalness was just stunning. However, none of that tropical was in the taste and that kind of brought it back down to earth for me as the bitter citrus lemony and peppery taste was just ok.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Denmark, To Øl

To Øl Garden of Eden

Thursday, 17 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.4%
Style: American IPA

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A salute to the beauty beyond man. An IPA at 6,4% brewed with a wide amount of tropical fruit. As fruity as it is fresh and hoppy.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 24th September 2016 and poured into a D’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white frothy head that eventually collapses in on itself after a minute or two leaving thick frothy lacing.
Aroma: A little dank at the beginning but gives rise to some tropical fruits, mainly guava, mango and passion fruit. There are also hints of lemon and pine.
Taste: Very tropical fruit like, especially get mango, passion fruit, guava and peach. There is a slight bitterness in the middle with citrus grapefruit coming through, but its definitely more fruity than bitter.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: A self described IPA, I can understand why its listed as a fruit beer on both beer advocate and ratebeer. It is very fruity which makes it very easy to drink. However, I do prefer my IPAs to have more bitterness at least in the finish, but I think overall it does retain enough IPA characteristics for me to still consider it an IPA.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Belgium, Brouwerij Het Anker

Het Anker Gouden Carolus Cuvée Van De Keizer Blauw (Blue)

Sunday, 13 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Het Anker
Country: Belgium
ABV: 11%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Other Notes: Exclusively Belgian hops.

Brewer Description: (from website) Every year on the 24th of February, we celebrate the birth of Charles Quint. Therefore we brew a special beer in limited edition called Cuvée van de Keizer (‘Grand Cru of the Emperor’).

This exceptional beer is a special version of the Gouden Carolus Classic, with an enriched taste pallet and mysterious aromas added. The caramelised malts and its 11% Alc. Vol. give the Cuvée van de Keizer the warm roundness of wine together with the refreshing taste of beer.

It is imperially crowned with a cork so it can be preserved for a long period of time at a constant cellar temperature of 12° C (54°F). An imperial beer to cherish and enjoy in moderation.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.56
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle. 2014 vintage with a best before date of 29th April 2024. Poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: The beer poured a dark brown colour with a slightly less than one finger tan head which quickly settles to a nice thin creamy layer leaving spotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong aromas of caramel and toffee, also lots of dark fruits, plum, raisin, prunes, dates, fig with hints of butter.
Taste: On the sweet side with dark fruits dominating especially plum, raisin, fig and prunes. Caramel and toffee are in the background and hints of banana and bubblegum sweetness at the finish.
Mouthfeel: Smooth and creamy, light warmness, medium bodied, light carbonation.
Overall: A very good beer that is a must buy for me. Even at 11%, you don’t taste the alcohol. Great for a late night sipper. I’m going to age a few bottles and see what happens!

words of another dreamy traveller