Tag Archives: usa

Jester King Omniscience & Proselytism

Brewery: Jester King Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel-aged beer refermented with strawberries

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Strawberries from Fredericksburg, Texas were added to mature, barrel-aged sour beer and refermented to dryness. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, and 100% bottle-conditioned. The name Omniscience & Proselytism does not refer to any claims of inducing omniscience.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.38
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 1 pint 0.9 fl. oz. bottle, Blend 5, bottled in May 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour (from a careful pour) with a one finger white head that dissipated quite quickly while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, strawberry, oak, with some light funk and a splash of lemon.
Taste: Sour, tart, strawberry, vanilla cream, oak, with a touch of lemon and funk.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I love strawberries, but strawberries in beer hasn’t really worked for me at all. This is the one exception so far though as the strawberries come through nicely and provide a nice balance with the sourness and light funk.

Firestone Walker UnderCurrants

Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Wild Ale fermented with black currants. Barrel ratio: 95% French Oak

Brewer Description: (from bottle) In 2018 we challenged ourselves to using an array of fruit new to our palates and practices. When offered a high quality, freshly picked Black Currant sample, we couldn’t resist. We present to you a metamorphosis for your senses. Using 12-36 month aged Agrestic Ale as a base, to which we add 1.5lbs/gal Black Currants, the beer undergoes the final maturation in our French Oak “Fruiders” for an additional four months. A convergence of supple tannin and deep purple pigments, gooseberry jam, a mouth-watering acidity and earthy leather elicit notes of a beer having vinous roots. A new variant to one of the Barrelworks pioneers is born. Santé!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle. Batch No. 001, bottled on 28th February 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A dark reddish purple colour with a two finger pinkish head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Black currant, plum, cherry, grape, with a hint of oak and funk.
Taste: Very lightly sour and tart, black currant, blackberry, Ribena, red currant, with hints of oak and funk.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice black currant aroma and flavours that comes with a very stunning appearance. Very easy to drink and enjoy.

Abnormal Maple Mornings

Brewery: Abnormal Beer Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with maple syrup, coffee & vanilla

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Flapjacks and phat stacks. If you like pancakes, then to you this is money! Maple syrup aroma engulfs the room when you pour this. Once you take a sip the coffee and vanilla take over, but then leave you with even more maple goodness. A slight roastiness from the malt lingers around and helps accentuate all the other flavors. It’s thick and sweet just like a good stack of pancakes should be. Perfect for breakfast, dessert, or general sharing. Because sharing is caring.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.96
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour with a very thin brown head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing.
Aroma: Pancakes, maple syrup, roast, coffee, chocolate and vanilla with hints of toffee.
Taste: Sweet, maple syrup, roastiness, coffee, milk chocolate, vanilla and toffee. Finish is lightly bitter which tries to balance the sweetness at the beginning.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: On the verge of being too sweet while cool, but as it warmed to a more reasonable Imperial Stout temperature, the intensity burst through and I felt that it became way too sweet with lots of strong maple flavours and toffee pushing through. The coffee, vanilla and bitterness were nice, but weren’t strong enough themselves to balance the intense sweetness and bring it back in line. Too sweet for me. I’d drink this cold, but that probably not the temperature it was intended to be drank at.

Abnormal Makaveli

Brewery: Abnormal Beer Company
Country: USA
ABV: 10.8%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with vanilla, coconut & coffee

Brewer Description: (from bottle) East Coast, West Coast… Pastry stout, lager beer… Can’t we all just get along? This was originally a bi-coastal collaboration that we decided to make as a seasonal delight; released to celebrate the life of the hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur. This beer is dark, rich, sweet, and downright delicious. A gang of coconut ran through every part of the process with a couple of reinforcements like whole Tahitian vanilla beans, and a custom coffee blend from Mostra Coffee coming in after fermentation. The result is a dessert-like beer that is great for sharing. R.I.P Tupac.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, coffee, chocolate, and vanilla with hints of coconut and licorice.
Taste: Much like the aroma, light sweetness, light roast, chocolate, coffee, licorice, vanilla and hints of coconut.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice easy drinking Imperial Stout, but body was a bit on the light side and coconut was not really coming through strong enough versus the other flavours.

Kings Nadine

Brewery: Kings Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.5%
Style: American Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from Instagram post) Lambic style wild ale aged in oak barrels for almost two years conditioned on peaches.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 375ml waxed bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden straw colour with a slightly more than one finger white head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing.
Aroma: Sour, tart, oak, vanilla, peach, apricot and a light funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, sour gummy peach ring candy, peach and hints of oak.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A very enjoyable and relaxing drink. Nice balance of fruity peach, oak and sourness.