Tag Archives: usa

4 - Good (buy), Avery Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Pumpkin Ale, USA

Avery Pump[KY]n

Monday, 14 November 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 15%
Style: Pumpkin Ale
Other Notes: Porter brewed with Pumpkin & Spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove) Aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) What’s in a name? Sometimes the simplest can be the most descriptive, and in this case, derisive and divisive! After much internal debate (ad nauseum! Bourb[KY]n, anyone?), we decided a single letter change was the best way to embody the Bourbon barrel-aging that adds layers of complexity to an already exquisitely spiced pumpkin porter.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12 fl oz foiled bottle, Batch No.2, bottled on 7th November 2015. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark brown amber colour with pretty much no khaki coloured head, but some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Pumpkin pie, vanilla, cinnamon and a hit of boozy bourbon.
Taste: Sweet and spicy. Pumpkin pie, caramel, brown sugar, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and all-spice with notes of oak and bourbon booziness.
Mouthfeel: Lightly syrupy, full bodied, alcohol warming with light to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wow this was nice. A Pumpkin Ale that’s perhaps approaching a Winter Warmer. Great pumpkin pie spice flavours and good use of the barrel. Its quite boozy at 15% and you do get it in the aroma and taste yet at the same time, I like it, which is rare for me. Perhaps it just works for this particular style. If more Pumpkin Ales were like this, I would definitely go for the style. Good job by Avery on this one.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), American Pale Wheat Ale, Beer Reviews, Goose Island Beer Co., USA

Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale

Wednesday, 9 November 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 4.2%
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
Other Notes: 18 IBUs, unfiltered

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Hazy straw color, light lemon aroma.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.7

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a best before date of 26th July 2017, poured into a Spiegelau American wheat beer glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden straw yellow colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quite quickly and left pretty much no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malt, grainy, cereal and a touch of lemon.
Taste: Bready, light sweet apple, corn, grain and lemon.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: I understand when people say that it’s a refreshing summer beer, but even so, there’s nothing interesting in its aroma or taste. Unfortunately, this one is not for me.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bière de Garde, The Lost Abbey, USA

Lost Abbey Avant Garde Ale

Saturday, 5 November 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: Bière de Garde

Brewer Description: (from bottle) From the French word “Garde” meaning something worth keeping. This Farmhouse Style Ale is a most delicious companion to a loaf of freshly baked bread from the oven. Grab a seat on the porch, some soft cheese and a tree ripened apple from your grandmother’s old orchard. Relax and watch the evening arrive as the afternoon sun is consumed by the illuminating moon over the gardens. We brewed the Avant Garde for you, our friends and families. Here’s to things worth guarding over.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.98
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 1 pint 9.4 fl oz bottle, bottled sometime in 2015 (as far as I can tell), and poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear copper colour with a big two finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left decent lacing.
Aroma: Generally quite light, sweet malt, toasty bread, orange zest, apple, pear, earthy and spice.
Taste: Biscuity, light berries and caramel with a touch of honey, peppery spice and light alcohol.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was nice, enjoyable and easy to drink.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Pale Ale, Spencer Brewery, USA

Spencer Trappist Ale

Thursday, 27 October 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Spencer Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale
Other Notes: Hops – including Willamette and Nugget. Malts – including 2-row, 6-row and Munich.

Brewer Description: (from website) Our recipe was inspired by the traditional refectory ales known as patersbier (“fathers’ beer” in Flemish) in Belgium. These sessionable beers are brewed by the monks for their dinner table and are typically only available at the monastery. Spencer is a full-bodied, golden-hued ale with fruity accents, a dry finish and light hop bitterness. The beer is unfiltered and unpasteurized, preserving live yeast that naturally carbonates the beer in the bottle and keg and contributes to the beer flavor and aroma.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.61
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle with a best before end date of AG 217 meaning 5th August 2017. Poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy amber orange colour with a two finger off white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Banana bread, overripe banana, clove with a touch of caramel and mandarin.
Taste: Quite similar to the aroma with banana, clove and bready malt along with hints of mandarin, citrus peel, spice and nuttiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: This was quite good but perhaps also a bit normal. Not quite as complex as other Trappist Belgian Pale Ales.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Lager - Märzen / Oktoberfest, Sierra Nevada x Mahrs Bräu, USA

Sierra Nevada x Mahrs Bräu Oktoberfest 2016

Tuesday, 25 October 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. x Mahrs Bräu
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: German Oktoberfest/Märzen
Other Notes: Fall seasonal, one time only

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We’ve partnered with Mahrs Bräu, one of Germany’s most highly regarded brewers, to create a golden-hued festival beer right here in the USA. Using traditional techniques, heritage German barley, and the Record hop varietal – a nearly forgotten German-grown hop – we’ve created the most authentic take on the style this side of the Atlantic.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle packaged on 14th July 2016 and poured into a Mikkeller pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden colour with a less than one finger white head that dissipated quickly with minimal sparse lacing.
Aroma: Grassy, hay, grain, sweet bready and maybe a touch of honey.
Taste: Grassy, grain, slightly sweet honey, pilsner malt, lightly floral and bready.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light to medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Slightly sweet for me, and I was expecting more carbonation, but not bad.

words of another dreamy traveller