Tag Archives: usa

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Equilibrium Brewery, IPA - New England / Hazy Triple, USA

Equilibrium Super Fractal Julia Set

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Brewery: Equilibrium Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: New England / Hazy Triple IPA

Brewer Description: (from untappd) The Julia Set is named after the French mathematician Gaston Julia. This complex set exists as a by-product of the Mandelbrot set and was devised while studying complex dynamics during the early 20th century. This set of complex numbers can cause drastic changes in the sequence of iterated functions.

Tying this into the newest beer of our series, we scaled up from Fractal using a super simple grain bill of 2-Row and our specific fractal fermentation profile before intensely hoping it with a Mosaic and El Dorado whirlpool and a dry hop of Citra, Mosaic, Strata and El Dorado.

Super Fractal Julia Set pours a vivid hazy yellow with an aroma of tropical citrus, ripe red berries, and candied lemon peel. Big flavors of navel orange, mango, stone fruit, currants, and berry come alive in a dangerously drinkable and smooth #EQjuice finish. The quest to have you seeing spirals and weird shapes continues.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 21st April 2022, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a big three finger beige head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Tropical and citrus notes, pineapple, guava, orange juice, lime zest.
Taste: Juicy, tropical and citrus fruits, mango, pineapple, guava, orange, lemon zest, with notes of melon. Nice bitterness on the finish with ever so slight booziness.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: A very easy to drink NE Triple IPA that’s very juicy and has a nice bitterness to it, and doesn’t feel like 10.5% ABV at all.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Founders Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Founders KBS – Espresso

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Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Barrel Aged Series. 2021 release. Ale brewed with chocolate and coffee aged in oak bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) KBS gets its coffee fix in the very first variant to come from our beloved bourbon barrel-aged stout. Yes, KBS may already be brewed with coffee, but it gets some extra oomph when it’s aged on espresso beans after being removed from barrels. The result is a fresh and snappy coffee twist on our classic barrel-aged beer. Who says you can’t start your day with a barrel-aged stout?

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 10th September 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Pitch black with a one finger tanned brown head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly sweet, roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, chocolate milk, vanilla, bourbon, with oaky notes.
Taste: Lightly sweet, moderately bitter, roasty, coffee, dark chocolate, oak, vanilla, bourbon, and a nice long bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Another interesting KBS variant, with lots of coffee and a nice bitter finish, but again, I still prefer the original KBS more.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Founders Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Founders KBS – Cinnamon Vanilla Cocoa

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Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Barrel Aged Series. 2021 release. Imperial Stout with coffee, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and cocoa nibs aged in oak bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Here’s one for the cocoa lovers: KBS Cinnamon Vanilla Cocoa – the sumptuous, deep coffee and chocolate flavors of KBS rise to the next level with a swirl of cinnamon and a hint of vanilla to create a sweet-but-not-too-sweet barrel-aged drinking experience. It’s a whole new spin on KBS that’s sure to sweeten your spirits.

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

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 3rd September 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Pitch black with a one finger brown head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, with notes of raisin and bourbon.
Taste: Light to moderate bitterness, dark chocolate, cocoa nibs, black coffee, some sweet notes, cinnamon, vanilla, dark fruit, raisin, bourbon.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, velvety, full to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Great aroma, and taste was nice, but the cinnamon was perhaps a bit strong. It was sweet, but there was a good bitterness that balanced it, such that it wasn’t overly sweet. A good variant, however I do prefer the original KBS more.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Sour Ale, USA

Black Project Mallow

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 7.4%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from can) Sour Ale with blueberry and vanilla.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.75
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 473ml can, canned on 21st July 2021, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy copper orange with a pinkish hue, and a two finger lightly pinkish head that dissipated quickly while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: A bit weak but what’s there is nice, tart, blueberry, lemon zest, vanilla.
Taste: Sour, tart, bubbly, blueberry, vanilla, lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with overly high carbonation.
Overall: This sounded good, but in the end I was a bit disappointed. The vanilla definitely saved this beer, and without it, I don’t think I would’ve like it at all. Other than that, it was also overly carbonated as each sip just coated my gums with bubbles.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Sour Ale, USA

Black Project Cipher

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 7.1%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from can) Sour Ale with apricot and plum.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.79
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 473ml can, canned on 20th July 2021, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: It was a lightly hazy copper orange colour with a just over one finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a replenishing cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, apricot, plum, raspberry, lemon zest, with notes of candied fruit.
Taste: Sour, tart, plum, lemon, and light apricot, with a slight candied element.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The aroma was nice, but flavour wise, while not bad, there was not much complexity and a bit of a one dimensional sour.