Tag Archives: red wine barrel aged

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, Flanders Red Ale, USA

Almanac Grand Cru Red Ed. 2

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Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Belgian Flanders Red Ale
Other Notes: 2016 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Sour Red Ale, aged in red wine barrels, brewed with grapes, raspberries and vanilla beans.

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

Intro: A 1 pint 9.4 fl. oz. bottle, bottled in Autumn 2016. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy but bright orange red colour with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sour, tart, sweet, candy like, raspberry, cherry, grape jelly, vanilla, oak, and a touch vinous.
Taste: Sour, sour candy, raspberry, grape jelly, lemon juice, vinous, vanilla, oak and some light acidity.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to full bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A very nice and balanced Sour Red Ale with enjoyable candy like fruity flavours, and alcohol non-existent and well hidden despite being 10.5% abv.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Carbon Brews, Hong Kong, Stout - Imperial

Carbon Brews Ambrotos

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Brewery: Carbon Brews
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 130 of 250. 86 IBUs. Malts – Oats, Wheat, Marris Otter, Carafa 2, Carafa S3, Caramunich, Chocolate and Amber. Hops – Chinook and EKG. Yeast – Chico. Experience – Oak, candy sugar, fig

Brewer Description: (from bottle) rum & red wine b.a. imperial stout.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.85
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 650ml bottle, bottle 130 of 250, bottled on 12th July 2019 and with a best before date on 12th July 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured black in colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malt, chocolate, oak, red wine vinous, dark fruit and licorice.
Taste: Much like the aroma, light roast, moderate sweetness, chocolate, red wine, vinous, dark fruit, licorice and booze.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A little sweet and boozy which isn’t really my thing, but luckily it isn’t overly so. Body is also lighter than expected, but there is interesting roast, chocolate, red wine and dark fruit flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Alvinne, Wild Ale

Alvinne Laurelin 2017 Fellowship Ale N°5

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Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2018 Fellowship. Cuvée Sofie Schaarbeekse Kriek (2017). Fruit Flemish Sour Ale. Sweet 1/5, Sour 4/5 & Bitter 0/5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Laurelin was one of Two Trees of Valinor. It was said to be some sort of cherry tree, her last fruit was made into the sun. In July we added 25kg of Schaarbeekse Kriek to a Domaine Harmand Geoffroy red wine (Bourgogne/Gevrey-Chambertin) barrel. This Cuvée Sofie aged for 16 months in this third time used French oak barrel.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.05
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle, with a best before date of January 2024. Poured into an Alvinne teku glass.
Appearance: A cloudy dark reddish purple colour with a thin white head, that left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sour, cherry, cherry pie, acetone, nail polish, with hints of vinegar.
Taste: Sweet, sour, tart, tangy, cherry, jammy, cherry pie, cherry juice, oak, acetone, with notes of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: I tried this side by side with the 2016 version, and I preferred this version a lot more. The cherry was much more prominent here and not overwhelmed by any barrel character like too much vanilla in the 2016 version. It’s still sweeter than I expected given the sweet and sour ratings on the label, and the carbonation was softer than I prefer, but this was still enjoyable as the acidity helped with the soft carbonation.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Alvinne, Wild Ale

Alvinne Laurelin 2016 Fellowship Ale N°4

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Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2018 Fellowship. Cuvée Sofie Schaarbeekse Kriek (2016). Fruit Flemish Sour Ale. Sweet 1/5, Sour 4/5 & Bitter 0/5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Laurelin was one of Two Trees of Valinor. It was said to be some sort of cherry tree, her last fruit was made into the sun. In July we added 25kg of Schaarbeekse Kriek to a Domaine Noelat Michel red wine (Bourgogne/Vosne-Romannée) barrel. This Cuvée Sofie aged for 28 months in this first time used Hungarian oak barrel.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 330ml bottle, with a best before date of January 2024. Poured into an Alvinne teku glass.
Appearance: A cloudy dull reddish brown colour with a thin white head that left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, oak, vanilla, cherry, marzipan, more wood, barnyard, and lightly tart.
Taste: Tart, sweet, sour, cherry, cherry wine, oak, vanilla, marzipan, with a splash of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Given the sour and sweet ratings on the bottle label, this was a lot sweeter than I expected. That in itself is not really a problem. However despite the nice cherry notes, I felt that the oak barrel imparted quite a lot of vanilla into the flavour, and probably more than I prefer. I tried this side by side with Laurelin 2017 Fellowship Ale N°5, and I easily preferred the 2017 version more.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Oud Beersel, Lambic - Gueuze

Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Vieille Vandervelden 135 Years

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Brewery: Brouwerij Oud Beersel
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Bottled 20 years before best before date

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Vandervelden 135 Oude Geuze is a blend of 1 year old lambic aged on foeders that were previously used for mainly red Brunello di Montalcino wine and of 3 year old Lambic aged on an old Oud Beersel foeder.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle with a best before date of 14th February 2037. Poured into a Cantillon gueuze glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a thin white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Funky, barnyard, musty, green apple, straw, oak, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Taste: Lightly sour, funky, earthy, straw, hay, oak, green apple, lemon, with hints of sweetness, pineapple, grape, and vinous notes.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very enjoyable. One of my favourites from Oud Beersel with good aromas and flavours, matched with a good balance between sour and sweet.