Tag Archives: usa

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA

Thursday, 10 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.2%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 60 IBUs. Brewed with farm distilled hop oil.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Hop Hunter IPA is the first beer to feature oil from wet hops steam distilled directly in the field, minutes after harvest. We use this pure, powerful hop essence in concert with whole-cone hops in our brew kettle and in our Hop Torpedo to create the ultimate IPA experience.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.32
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a packaged date of 10th August 2015 and poured into a short stemmed wine glass.
Appearance: It poured a nice slightly hazy golden colour with lots of nice upward streaming bubbles and a one finger white head that dissipates fairly quickly leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Fruity tropical aromas of peach, pineapple and mango. In the background, there is a bready, grainy maltiness.
Taste: Starts bitter, piney, with some citrus lemon and grapefruit and a nice lemon tea finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation
Overall: A very nice IPA that I could drink over and over again. Hopefully it will officially make an appearance in Hong Kong soon.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Black Market Brewing Co., German Berliner Weisse, USA

Black Market Tradecraft Series Cherry Sour

Tuesday, 8 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Black Market Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 3.8%
Style: German Berliner Weisse
Other Notes: 6.2 IBUs. Malt – Wheat and Pilsner. Hops – Czech Saaz.

Brewer Description: (from website) Based off of our wildly popular “1945” Berliner Weisse, this cherry flavored sour was created for both the crossover drinker and those who find few sessionable style sours can options. Our goal in creating this 6-pack can line was to give the craft beer drinker an alternative to the typical craft beer styles found in cans.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.88
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.8

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with no visible best before date on the can. It was poured into short stemmed wine glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy reddish pink colour with a one finger surprisingly white head that dissipated fairly quickly with almost no lacing.
Aroma: Tart cherries and cherry juice. There is also that buttery aroma that I got in the Blackberry Sour, but it is much less, which is a good thing.
Taste: Much like the aroma, it is of tart sour cherry and cherry juice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was definitely better than the Blackberry Sour in my opinion. Although my dislike of the buttery like aroma was still kind of there, it was not nearly as overpowering. The sour cherry taste was also more my thing although it is still overly juicy (juice like).

1 - Poor (never again), Beer Reviews, Black Market Brewing Co., German Berliner Weisse, USA

Black Market Tradecraft Series Blackberry Sour

Monday, 7 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Black Market Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 3.8%
Style: German Berliner Weisse
Other Notes: 6.2 IBUs. Malt – Wheat and Pilsner. Hops – Czech Saaz.

Brewer Description: (from website) Based off of our wildly popular “1945” Berliner Weisse, this blackberry flavored sour was created for both the crossover drinker and those who find few sessionable style sours can options. Our goal in creating this 6-pack can line was to give the craft beer drinker an alternative to the typical craft beer styles found in cans.

My rating: 1
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.32
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.3

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with no visible best before date on the can. It was poured into short stemmed wine glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy purplish-red colour with a two finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly with almost no lacing.
Aroma: Dark berries and cherries with an unfortunate strong whiff of heated butter before finishing with a light breadiness.
Taste: Tart sour blackberries and cherries which is rather juice like with a bready finish which does not last at all. Flavour is too one dimensional for my liking.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: The buttery smell was really not my thing and you get it with every sip. On top of that, the taste really just suddenly stops as soon as you swallow and is a bit too juice like.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Lager - Märzen / Oktoberfest, Sierra Nevada x Brauhaus Riegele, USA

Sierra Nevada x Brauhaus Riegele Oktoberfest

Wednesday, 2 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

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

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We partnered with one of Germany’s oldest breweries – Brauhaus Riegele – to create a true festival beer unlike any other brewed in the USA. Using traditional techniques and ingredients, we’re bringing the style back to its authentic roots with a deep golden color, delicate hop note and rich malt complexity.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.15
My ratebeer.com rating: 3

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle packaged on 17th August 2015 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden orange colour with a one and a half finger slightly off white coloured head that had pretty good retention.
Aroma: Toasty bread with honey and apple with a hint of caramel. Generally its the sweet aroma.
Taste: Leans on the sweet side and definitely malty and bready with some grain plus hints of caramel and toffee.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: This was decent and easy to drink but nothing exceptional, though it is worth a try. It’s a one time brew, but even if I could buy it again, I’m not sure I would.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone Winter Harvest

Sunday, 15 November 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 11.3%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Other Notes: Unfiltered and aged 27 months in white wine barrels w/stone farms merlot grapes. 36 IBUs. Malt – Pilsner. Hops – Hallertau.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This golden beauty was created solely for barrel experimentation – you won’t find an unaged “2012 Stone Belgian-Style Golden Ale” in bottles anywhere (you can stop looking now).

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml corked and caged bottle from the Quingenti Millilitre 2014 Series, Batch No. 07 brewed on 28th April, 2012 and bottled on December 2014.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy, dark golden honey/straw colour with a light half finger white head which dissipated fairly quickly.
Aroma: Grapes, oak, chardonnay, vanilla, light caramel and banana.
Taste: Oak, chardonnay, champagne, grape, white wine.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and easy to drink considering its at 11.3% ABV. Basically its like drinking a highly carbonated chardonnay.

words of another dreamy traveller