Tag Archives: brandy barrel aged

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.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Deschutes Brewery, Stout - Imperial, USA

Deschutes The Abyss Brandy Barrel Aged

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Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 13.3%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: 2016 remarkably limited release. Barrel aged in brandy barrels for 12 months

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Stout brewed with black strap molasses, licorice, cherry bark and whole vanilla beans, 100% aged in brandy barrels for 12 months.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. black waxed bomber, bottled on 9th December 2016. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a very thin brown head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Moderate roast, chocolate, coffee, light char, and some sweet notes of molasses, licorice, and brandy.
Taste: Sweet and bitter, roasty, chocolate, coffee, light char smoke, molasses, licorice, vanilla, oak, and a touch of brandy.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A very nice and enjoyable sipper. There was a good balance between sweet and bitter, and the brandy barrel was complementary and not overpowering.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, The Ale Apothecary, USA, Wild Ale

The Ale Apothecary El Cuatro

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Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 10.58%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 1206 bottles

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Wild fermentation ale brewed with honey, aged in wine & brandy barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, brewed in November 2017, bottled on 1st November 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy deep amber orange colour, with a thin khaki head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Grape, oak, vanilla, brandy, lightly vinous, light funky, with a touch of citrus zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, oak, dried apricot, stone fruit, hay, honey, with light brandy and orange citrus notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable complex aroma and flavours. A good sipper.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS, Stout - Imperial

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel – Brandy BA

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 10.9%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed by Mikkeller at Lervig Aktiebryggeri, Norway

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Oatmeal Stout brewed with coffee & aged in brandy barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.01
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with pretty much no head or lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, coffee, licorice, oak, with light brandy notes.
Taste: Chocolate, caramel, coffee, light roast, cocoa, wood, licorice, boozy, with dark fruit and brandy notes.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A nice sipper with the brandy coming through quite nicely. It’s been aged in my cellar for quite a while, and I think the last time I tried it was in 2017, although I don’t think I had any notes from that time. Despite this, in this case, I prefer the original base before the barrel aging.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Hong Kong, Wild Ale, Young Master Brewery

Young Master Days Of Being Wild – Mixed Forest Berries

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Brewery: Young Master Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 7.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Single foeder sour ale series

Brewer Description: (from website) Inspired by the tradition of lambic style brewing in Belgium, this is the first mixed fermentation program of its kind in Asia. With a mixed-culture fermentation featuring a medley of wild yeast and bacteria strains, these beers have haunting complexity, natural farmhouse funk and refreshing fruitiness. We plan to release variations every couple of months. With our single-foeder sour ale as the base, we blended in a medley of mixed forest berries and fermented it a second time in brandy barrels. Intense berry flavors combined with funk and acidity from the base beer makes it incredibly complex, yet extremely refreshing.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2017 vintage, bottle 160 of 250. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice clear ruby red colour with a big two finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly to a small ring around the glass that keeps replenishing with lots of small bubbles, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Mixed berries, raspberry, strawberry and blackberry with mild tartness and light funk.
Taste: Mixed berries, mainly raspberry and blackberry, there’s also some oak, lightly sour and light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good berry aroma and flavours although the berry flavours end a little abrupt. Still though, it is well worth a try.