Tag Archives: usa

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

Almanac Hoppy Sour: Mandarina

Leave a comment

Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour Blonde Ale aged in wine barrels & dry hopped with Mandarina Bavaria.

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

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled in November 2015. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden colour with a one and a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sour and tart orange and lemon with a hint of mango.
Taste: It’s what you’d expect from the aroma. Starts sour with tangy orange, lemon juice, unripe mango and peach. This is followed by hints of white wine and woody oak notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and some quite strong but nice acidity.
Overall: The citrusy fruits were expected from the Mandarina Bavaria, but I was pleasantly surprised by the unripe-ish mango sourness. Nice and refreshing from Almanac.

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

Almanac Dogpatch Sour

Leave a comment

Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel. Ale brewed with cherries and aged in wine barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This barrel-aged wild ale is named for the San Francisco neighborhood we call home. It’s our version of a Flanders-style Red with a distinctly California twist. Brewed with juicy California cherries and aged in used wine barrels with our house blend of San Francisco sourdough and wild brewer’s yeasts. Pair this complex ale with ripe figs and blue cheese or rich seafood bouillabaisse.

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

Intro: A 375ml bottle, Batch No.4, bottled in May 2015. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear copper amber colour with a one finger off white head that dissipated quickly while leaving sparse lacing.
Aroma: Cherry, hard candy, wine and barrel.
Taste: Tart, sour cherry, red wine, acidic, vinegar and oak.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and refreshing with good tartness. Would be even better with even more cherries and perhaps slightly less acidity.

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

Almanac Farmer’s Reserve Blueberry

Leave a comment

Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel. Sour ale aged in wine barrels with blueberries

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Every year, the blueberry harvest heralds the coming of summer. We selected the very best hand-picked berries grown in the hills of Butte County, California, and added them to a sour golden ale aged in wine barrels. The resulting beer is infused with the essence of these jewel-like berries, creating a fruity character reminiscent of mom’s blueberry pie and a reminder of long summer days.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.17
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled in October 2015. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear ruby red colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly and left sparse to no lacing. (Note: the final 1/6th poured extremely cloudy and colour became a murky reddish purple colour).
Aroma: Tart, cherry, blueberry, vinous white wine and wood.
Taste: It’s what you expect from the aroma, sour, tart, acidic, blueberry and cherry, with a vinous white wine and oaky finish.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Nice, enjoyable and refreshing.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co. x Marble Brewery x Odell Brewing, USA

Stone x Marble x Odell Megawheat Double IPA

Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. x Marble Brewery x Odell Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 8.4%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 2017 Stone Collaborations. 70 IBUs. Hops – Motueka, Mosaic and Mandarina Bavaria

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Kick back and crank it up – we’ve done all the brewing… the we being Stone and the special guest appearances of two heavy hitters in the indie craft beer industry: New Mexico’s Marble and Colorado’s Odell. Credited with 58 years of brewing chops, our trio built a wheat ale foundation on the classic “C” hops. Then we rocked a pure hop triad of “M” hops to achieve a supercharged succession of orange, tangerine, lemon, lime, spice and dankness. The undulating rifts of Motueka, Mosaic and Mandarina Bavaria hops slash through the wheat haze with equal footing, never playing over one another. The cacophony of flavor is what fans would expect from a name like Megawheat. So join us as we forge ahead on a path that directly leads to the main stage… and then off the front of it, into the crowd! If you feel the urge to smash the bottle afterwards, don’t. That’s what guitars are for.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 22 oz bomber, bottled on 9th January 2017 and to be enjoyed by 6th April 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear copper orange colour with a two finger white head that had great retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Orange flesh and peel with hints of honeydew melon.
Taste: Bitter with lots of citrusy orange peel and pith, pine, dankness and hints of apricot plus melon. I’m also getting a tinge of alcohol here and there.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was ok, but mainly, I’m just not fond of getting any sort of alcohol booziness in any IPA, and in this case, I kept getting a tinge of just that, here and there.

5 - Excellent (must buy), AleSmith Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

AleSmith Speedway Stout

Leave a comment

Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with Coffee

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Speedway Stout’s ominous, pitch-black appearance has become a hallmark of this modern-day classic. Chocolate and roasted malts dominate the flavor, supported by notes of dark fruit, toffee, and caramel. A healthy dose of locally-roasted coffee from Ryan Bros. Coffee, Inc. added to each batch brings out the beer’s dark chocolate flavors and enhances its drinkability. Despite its intensity, Speedway Stout’s fine carbonation and creamy mouthfeel make it very smooth and surprisingly easy to drink. This beer ages very well and will continue to mature for many years to come.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.54
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml foiled bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a just over one finger tanned head that had good retention and left great lacing.
Aroma: Roasty malts, dark chocolate, coffee, caramel with hints of vanilla and dark fruit.
Taste: Follows the aroma with roasted malts, dark chocolate, caramel, toffee, vanilla, coffee and dark fruits.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, velvety and smooth. Full bodied with light carbonation and light warming alcohol booze.
Overall: A very nice classic Imperial Stout. Very easy to drink with its nice coffee and chocolate flavours.