Ballast Point - Sculpin (Can)

Ballast Point - Sculpin India Pale Ale - 7% ABV -  From San Diego, CA.  I have always enjoyed this IPA when it has been on tap because they have always put it on while it was a fresh keg.  Bottles have always been a gamble upon the freshness of this beer and they have been pricy for a bomber and six pack.  I am excited for this in cans because the freshness will be more on point and also this is such a great IPA I like the idea of having another beer available to drink from a can.

Appearance - larger foamy head when poured out of the can than from the bottles but the head resides pretty quickly and leaves a nice 1/4 centimeter head around after subsiding.  Lots of active bubbles in the glass which shows this has some nice carbonation.

Smell - Pineapple, pinetree and honey. The sweetness comes out first versus the smell of a straight hop bomb.  All I can think of how delicious this will taste because i notice this is almost what it smells like on tap versus the glass bottle because in the bottle it seems more hop dank forward and this has more of the honey sweetness smells coming out of it.

Taste - Honey pineapple sweetness followed up by a extremely mild hop bite at the end.  I can't deny this IPA has always been on the top 10 of my favorite single IPAs because of how clean it tastes and how the sweet hops are tasty but they do leave the bitterness about 10 seconds after the first sip.  It is balanced and the hoppy flavors like most California beers is not the focus but the pine and sweetness are well balanced. 

Mouthfeel - Carbonation starts well but fades fast but for the sweetness in this IPA it isn't as sticky as many of the others that are from Southern California.  Sculpin has a nice watery mouthfeel that makes this easily drinkable from the can or from the pint glass.  The ease of drinking this for a 7% ABV single ipa is quite amazing because most are so bitter it takes awhile to drink. 

Overall -  This beer is way to dangerous to be in a can because the ease of drinkability and that it tastes like sweet honey.  I am going to be always keeping this in my fridge and this has ensured my confidence in buying a great product.  Compared to most six packs Sculpin has always cost around $15.99 and is far by the most expensive bottled six pack for a single IPA i have seen but now with these cans they are the same price but the freshness has now justified buying it on a constant.  I might be harsh on the bottles but drinking this beer for many years and being a huge fan of all the beers this brewery comes out with I am glad they took the step to get some consistency for there flagship beer.

I got the point!

Cantillon Kriek

Cantillon Cantillon Cantillon - Kriek.  Few months since i posted last but might was well come in with a bang!   So here we go this is one of my most favorite beers and has always delivered because of the reputation and the taste.  I am one to hail this beer as one of the greats that is accessible for most but i will fight my way to get bottles of these.  I would like to talk about this brewery as they have put down such amazing beers and they are rightfully in the correct hands of a brewer that just wants to spread his great quality beer around the world.

Appearance - Dark red which has the same color as a cherry just ripe off the tree.  Poured in it will have a small pink head that will reside and leave a nice foamy ring.  When seeing this color for the first time i realized most kriek and kriekstyle beers have never come to a eye popping color like this.  Many might argue that i am hyper critical about this but i feel tha amazing krieks should hold the color of  some sort of dark red or even pinkish color and that many people blend cherries into the beers to just say that they are a kriek but are more like a sour brown ale. The color is spectacular and is a 5/5 rating for awesomness.

Smell -Oak, sour cherries, small hints of vinegar.  The oak and the cherries overtake the smell of this and water the mouth because you can almost taste the sourness from the sniff.  AMAZING nuff said this smells like what it is going to taste like.

Taste - LLJKEKLJLFEJJFELJELEJLFKJELKJFEKLJ = uhm yeah i think this tastes like sour cherries aged in an oak barrel which still retains all the flavor of a tart cherry.  Once this beer hits your mouth it is an explosion of sour cherries without the face puckering sourness that one would think.  Balance is the key and i say this is one of the more drier krieks and has great balance of the sweetness versus the sourness.  SOUR CHERRIES and if we where Little John we would say YEAHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHhHhh.

Mouthfeel -  Best feeling in the mouth of that it is dry, crisp and balanced,  Cantillon makes amazing fruit forward sour beers and all i have to say is this is what i want in a sour. Nuff said.

Overall -  Hype is well deserved for this beer but i still feel it is one that is underrated in the sense that is is the gateway beer that most lambic, kriek, sour & wild ale fans forget about how simplistic this beer is and how it has the flavors that we all want.  I would never turn down this beer and is spectacular because of how well balanced and tasty it is.  If a fast food restaurant had this on tap i would camp out by the spigot and sleep there for days.

Notes - will try and update more often.  Leave comments of beers you want me to talk about or try!

L'Amoureuse - Brasserie Trois Dames

L'Amoureuse  - Brasserie Trois Dames.  Uhhhh yeah so this is one of those that I tried because it was supposedly sour and I have no real idea of what i was getting.  Sounds almost like a St Lam from Cantillon but lesser known.  This bottle after pouring was heavy and its heavy duty so if i ever need a club/bat to ward off drunk people i know to go for this bottle because it has double the glass as any regular 12 oz bottle.

Appearance - Small lacing of foam but also really bright grapefruit, brown & ruby color to it.

Smell - Hawaiian punch, boozy grape soda & some sort of gummy flavor object that is a mixture of both said before.  I am not sure what to expect because it has the smell of most belgiums with the sweet fruit flavors but has that crazy sweetness in the smell that is telling me that the 8% abv is going to really show.

Taste - Boozy with a light flavor burst of grape soda.  The alcohol flavor overtakes a lot of the fruity characteristics of this beer but the hints of grapes are subtle and is almost musty in flavor.  The smell of gummy flavored candy disappears and we are left with a dry grape booze flavor with very mild sourness to it.

Mouthfeel - Easy to drink I must say for being an 8% abv fruit/little bit sour/belgium boozy kick to it. 

Overall - This thing needs time in the cellar but i know if i need a weapon to bludgeon a robber I know this bottle would be perfect and would not break under the force of impact.  Time will also free this beer into subduing the boozy characteristics and I can see this going well on the fact that the fruit flavors will come out and become more floral.  I would buy this again to cellar but drinking fresh i would be interested in taking a sip to see how different age will have an effect on this beer. 

Waldo - Lagunitas

Waldo from Lagunitas on tap.  Many of you know Lagunitas and this is their special 4:20 beer that they create named Waldo.  It is a triple IPA weighing in at 10.7% ABV and is only poured on tap.  I have enjoyed this beer and would say i have enjoyed it more than some years of the PTY.  Many of you might say I am crazy but until you drink this thing it is on its own level.


Appearance -  as seen above.  Awesome dark color little foam lacing.

Smell - Maple syrup sweetness, hella pine and small notes of citrus.  In my mind this thing smells almost like Surly's Abrasive ale.  On this beer is sweet any syrupy and you know its going to be a beast to drink.

Taste - F(*#)##))#(*# DELICIOUS!!!  Sweet danky pine flavor with a nice alcohol burn comes in the back while having a nice smooth hop flavor come up in the aftertaste.  If they made pine scent cough syrup this would be very close in flavor and I must say for being a triple IPA this thing is super balanced with the hops and the sweetness.  Liquid love is all i say this thing is and if more triple IPA beers could be made like this I would be a bigger fan of this style

Mouthfeel - Its thick as hell and syrupy tasting but versus things like PTY, Dogfish Head 120 & even Boneyards Notorious this thing is smooth as they get for this style.

Overall - People line up for PTY but for me I get excited over the Waldo because its lower ABV and how dank and pine this beer tastes with a refined smoothness.  I would not suggest drinking this beer at any fast rate because it will kick you in the behind.  I will say that this is the most enjoyable 3x IPA because it is drinkable and you don't have to have your bar servers serve you in little tiny 8oz pours and be able to enjoy this in its full entirety as a pint.   Next 4:20 hope to see you excited for this because i know i always do!

Lunch - Maine Beer Company

Lunch - Maine Beer Company from Portland, Maine.  Currently I know nothing at all about this beer other than it came in as an extra from a trade.  I enjoy the simplistic label they have going and currently ranks in at #96 on Beer Advocate.  I have been on a quest recently to find and taste a lot of great IPA style beers and this one seems to be up my alley of around a 7% abv.

Appearance - This pours with a quite foamy head and notice on the bottom i see a little bit of sediment.

Smell - The sweet smell of hops, piney, honey and grapefruit are predominant and almost remind me of a Bells - Two Hearted but a little less floral.  The hops smell gorgeous in here and remind me of also Russian Rivers - Blind Pig.

Taste - Balanced flavor of hops and the sweetness which gives this an amazing clean taste to it.  The hops come up as soon as you drink it but they do not leave a bitter hoppy taste behind but a nice light coating of sweetness finishes this up.  From the initial smell to what the taste is i don't get as much sweet citrus flavors which are predominately apparent in a lot of IPAs which is nice and refreshing.  Their is almost like a green tea/black tea thing going on with a tiny hint of honey flavor without the sweetness which I haven't seen before in many IPAs but it make this one stand out. 

Mouthfeel - Perfection!!! This sucker drinks smooth as hell and even with the initial pour of it having a large foamy head.  Compared to many other IPAs which leave a huge sticky or bitter tingle in your mouth this one actually has a nice dry finish and is a great refreshing beer.  If many other IPA makers could reproduce the carbonation like this beer it would vastly make a lot of my ratings a lot better for them.

Overall -  The taste is a little subdued from the upfront crazy assault from the nose with the hops of the citrus but the ease of drinkability and refreshment value of this rates awesomely high on my list because I can see myself drinking a lot of these outside on a hot summer day.  For a single IPA this packs a great taste and would rank high on my top ten single IPA beers i have tasted.  I do not know how far this is distributed but it is worth taking a dip into this one.

Dayman Ipa - Stone Colab

Stone Stone Stone hmmmmmm what is this that you released?  This seems to be a IPA brewed with coffee at 8.7 ABV.  I am going into the hype and trying this only because of the enjoy by series has tasted so well and the some tastes of some aged old guardian and RIS have been tasting really well.  I know stone has produced some great beers but once you drink one they all seem to taste the same.  I hope the jump out of the box with this newer style of beer isn't as hop forward/clone of arrogant bastard comes with the flavor as advertised on the bottle.

Appearance - Above

Smell - What it advertises I smell coffee and ipa which in no way sounds like a good day.  I would never while waking up go "OH YAY MY COFFEE SMELLS LIKE IPA."  I would say Folgers brand coffee is predominant with a nice danky hop/stone brewing smell comes out of this.

Taste -  Well guess what they killed this!!!  This beer tastes great with a coffee forward and hops in the aftertaste.  The taste is coffee and it tastes like a simple coffee ale without the stout inside itself.  I would never see myself enjoying this flavor but this works well.  It is a smooth drinking beer that tastes like cheap coffee and a tiny tingle of masked hops.

Mouthfeel - Upon tasting this and realizing that this is an IPA that tastes like coffee it drinks like a a kolsch because it has this watery effect that is so desirable in a high abv that is masked by awesomeness of the coffee.

Overall -  Uhhhhhhh yeah so uhm yeahhh I go WTF Stone why can't you do more collaborations like this.  I would really love if Stone could produce this with the product they do already and not have to be so hop forward like all of the bastard series.  This is a great example of something a lot of us will taste once and go WHY WHY WHY can't they replicate this again.  I will say this is one of the most innovative IPA style beers I have tasted in this new year. 

O rly - its sessionable as hell and you know what i will say that if it was on tap it would be a crowd pleaser within the most die hard ipa fan!

Almanac Barrel Noir

Almanac Barrel Noir -  I like this brewery and love to support them because they are a newer small brewer in town trying to push for great things.  They have a great vision of what they like to brew and their beer does not disappoint and never brew the same thing twice.  This seems like the first time they are trying more barrel aged items and expanding to different styles.

Appearance - As shown above when poured!

Smell -  Chocolate, cocoa, bourbon & small hints of honey.

Taste - If you have ever tasted a Goose Island Bourbon County Stout it tastes like a more welcoming cleaner tasting and less abv version of this.  The cocoa and the bourbon shine through but the alcohol burn from this does not linger around much but is present.  The 10% abv is well masked and makes this almost a session style of stouts.

Mouthfeel - Light stout and drinks easily.  At 10% ABV it is masked and is drinkable.  The beer itself is quite watery versus a lot of stouts which are more thick.  A lot of lingering bubbles and is quite awkward.

Overall - This is a fun stout to try and i would say easily to drink.  10% is masked well but does not quite hit a stout in the creaminess as i would crave of a barrel aged stout or the bold flavors.  I wish they might have aged this more because the notes of bourbon aren't coming out.  The beer though for a California stout is a nice version but I would have loved this if it came out during the cold winter times and not the warming of the spring time.  I would want to try this beer again once aged and if all the carbonation has gone. 

Boulevard Brewing Double Wide IPA

Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri

I will say i do not know much about this company but since it is sitting right in front of me i will do a quick review on this.  Cellar is really full and would love to get more reviews down.

Appearance -  The initial pop of the cork was pretty silent and I was scared that this was not going to have much carbonation.  When poured into the glass it comes out with this dark amber color which then the carbonation is apparent and as seen above has quite a large head which took about 2 minutes to settle down.  Small spots of foam clouds reside on the outside of the glass when it finally settles.

Smell - Caramel, toffee & molasses are some characteristics i am getting out of this which before tasting i can tell this is going to be on the sweet side.
Second pour - I let this warm up and it is getting more dankier with the hop smell and also i get some orange and citrus notes from this beer.

Taste - Sweet flavors come up like like caramel and then gets more floral when it starts to open up.  When i opened it initially it was on the bottom of my fridge and i think some of the flavors were subdued due to the cold temperature. While time passes i let this warm up it is becoming more apparent that this would taste great on cask and i am appreciating this more and more at warmer room temps.  More tropical fruit and tiny notes of pineapple/papaya are coming out but still has that ever so bitter hop kick at the end of each sip.

Mouthfeel - Even with the foamy pours this drinks relatively smooth.  Personally i like my DIPAs a little sticky/candy coating in the mouth but this drinks like a nice single IPA.

Overall - Noticing that this DIPA is bottled corked and caged it might have been sitting for a bit and it has been sitting in my fridge for at least two months.  I would want to try this fresh in bottle or even on handpump and i would assume it might taste like a totally different brew.  This beer is also reasonably priced for a DIPA which appeals for me to try it again. 

Bell's Hopslam Ale

Bells Hopslam - Has been getting a lot of hype online and it rates at the moment #13 on beer advocates top 250 beers.  This is a seasonal release Double IPA which comes out to a 10% abv.  Bell's Brewery is located in Michigan and has been rated one of the best craft breweries in that state.  Some of the staples which Bell's is known for is their Two Hearted Ale, Oberon & Expedition Stout.  I am excited to try this and see what my Michigan friends keep talking about and find out for myself if it is a beer worthy of this praise!

Appearance - Pours a light brown/hazy yellow color and when poured it has minimal foam head only as high as seen in the picture.  After the foam dissipates it leaves some foam around the glass.  On the bottom of the glass i see continuous bubbles forming telling me this is going to be a nicely carbonated ale.

Smell - Cantaloupe, honey, citrus peel & grapefruit are some of the characters that i pick out from the initial pour.  Closer up smell i can smell the sweetness coming off of the honey and it has a small undertone of flowers coming out as if you were in a car for a long time and just opened the door next to a garden store.

Taste - Liquid hop cantaloupe bomb!  The hops linger around in your mouth way after you drink it and you are left with this sweet honey and some awesome dank hop flavor in your mouth.  This is an exceptional tasty beer where the hops and the sweetness are balancing each other out and do not overwhelm the palette for a hop forward ale.  Compared to many high abv hop bomb double ipas this hides the hops and the abv well and almost too well just like their two hearted ale.

Mouthfeel - Low carbonation but enough to feel a little bubbles in your mouth.  This stuff is way to easy to drink for a 10% abv beer.  I believe i drank this pint in about 6 gulps because of how smooth and well carbonated it was.

Overall - I am blessed that i am able to try this beer and if this was in my distribution zone i would pay off a bartender to let me drink this nectar from the tap!  I started to feel the 10% abv after a good 30 minutes and it does kick in.  This is one of those beers which i would classify as a creeper because how easy it drinks and how high the abv is because i can see someone buying a 6 pack of this and dropping it off at a party and the person who is not a craft beer drinking would have the worst blackout and hangover the next day.  If I could buy more bottles of this I would say without a doubt and would compare this to many of the top rated ipas and would say it just hit my top 10.  Bell's has not disappointed me yet and this has proved they deserve the hype and still wish that they would distribute out to the West Coast.

Oud Beersel - Framboise

Oud Beersel - Framboise

Ok i know that we have seen this symbol and wonder hrmmm sours Oud Beersel with that black castle label and archaic beer bottle label.  Most people will want to take a pass on this for the new and improved wild ales from America or want to hunt down the rare of the rare lambics of Belgium.  I stare at this bottle and know that this brewery has been pumping out beer before my grandparents where born.  The brewery seems to have been built around the early 1900's and has been passed down to many family members.  The beer quality of this company has always been a main staple of the original styles of lambic and krieks to me and am excited to try the framboise offering from them.

Appearance - When poured into a glass this happened.

Super carbonation!!!  I will say this poured out wildly and some made it onto the floor because of the huge rush of foam that came out of the bottle.  This bottle was sitting in my fridge for 4 days before i opened it and upright so i would like to warn people that this fresh might become a gusher. 

Back to the actual color of this framboise it is magnificent from the dark purple base to its almost white/pink foam that comes around the glass when it finally settles down.  Every pour i made this has foamed up and had to cover the top of my glass to make sure this beer didn't foam off over the top.

Smell - Raspberries, Oak barrell funk (dirt, ground & fresh soil), Red gummy flavored candies.  Smell is subtle and keeps in the glass but when close up it is a maze of complex smells.

Taste - YAHhhh Ok it comes out with a subtle taste of raspberries and follows up with the watery farmhouse funk like a saison which was brewed in an oak barrell.  The sweetness which you expect from the raspberries is taken away from a slight bitter aftertaste of raspberries which haven't had time to mature but the unsweetened flavor has kept.  The dryness of this reminds me of champagne but better because of the framboise styles i have seen in the USA today it seems like they are pumped with sugar.  This dry style framboise is a hit in the park of what i want to drink on a nice warm day watching a baseball game in the park while eating cheese. 

Mouthfeel - Like a champagne on how this is overly carbonated and tastes dry when you drink it down.  Compared to most sours and lambics i feel this has a great amount of carbonation and is where it needs to be at compared to some aged lambics which come flat.

Overall - Great framboise in a sense that it is not overly sweet and actually not sweet at all other than the part it has a hint of raspberries which to me correlates to me a mouthfull of happiness.  I would love to get more bottles of this and since I was able to find this one i would definitely want to try and cellar a few of these to see if the residual sweetness from the raspberries will come out more dry or actually make this more of a sour beer.  Many other notable framboise i have tried are Cantillon which is on the super sour spectrum of things to the Lindemans which tastes like raspberry Koolaid you would want to get a date drunk with who has no clue about craft beer.  This has fallen more on the side of the sour side and in a blind tasting I would say this would impress any sour beer nerd fan.

Surly Abrasive

Surly Brewing -  They are located in Minnesota and have zero distribution outside of that state.  Heck some people i know that live in Minnesota have never even heard about this small brewery.  Many people in the craft beer world have been hunting down bottles of the Surly Darkness which is their version of a Russian Imperial Stout and Surly Furious Ale which is their IPA.  Surly Abrasive Ale is a double IPA which comes in a 16 oz can and at a nice 9% abv.  The artwork on this can is awesome it is big, bold and in your face with what looks like a circular sander hitting a keg and exploding the hops.

Appearance -Pours nice hazy orange and keeps a good head when poured.  The head slowly calms down and leaves chunky white foam lacing throughout the outside of the glass. 

Smell - Pineapples, floral hops, pine & orange peel which smacks you right in the face when you pour it.  One of those DIPAs that you can smell almost 10 feet away because of how dank the smell of sweet hops come out of this.

Taste - OMG! Citrus & tropical fruit love nectar is what first comes to mind when this hits the mouth.  The floral hops mixed with huge pine taste as if it came straight out of the forest hits you and reminds you that this is a DIPAs and it is amazing.   The sweetness of this beer follows through from the citrus notes and finishes with a nice light hop pine flavor as it goes down.

Mouthfeel - First impressions is that this is one of those DIPAs that sticks to your teeth and inside your mouth.  The sweetness quickly covers the inside of your mouth and is like a small shot of syrup.  The carbonation is light and is still watery enough that the syrupy residue that sat in my mouth quickly fades away.

Overall - This is a beer I would dream of and can't wait until the next time I am offered to drink this beast.  This has been one of the best examples of an DIPA i have tasted in awhile because of the balance of the hops and the overall citrus flavors of this.  Many DIPAs out right now are trying to be way on the hopside or sweet side but this one stands out because both sides are tamed but still stand out.  If i was able to buy this i would have a good amount of these cans in my fridge at all times because it is one that tastes light and drinks like a low abv IPA and would go well with a lot of peoples palates. 

Food pairing - Curries, pulled pork dishes & caprese salad.  I would pair this with any food that is highly acidic because the citrus/pine flavor will cut through any acid/vinegar taste from food.

Three Floyds - Zombie Dust

Zombie Dust from Three Floyds has a ton of hype for this beer and is a huge hit with all of my friends from the East Coast mainly people from Chicago i know.  Three Floyds is located in Munster, Indiana where they are most famous for the Dark Lord Day where thousands of people stand in line to get a bottle of the Russian imperial stout named Dark Lord. The rants and whines i hear from them saying this is the best pale ale and nothing on the West Coast can even compare and how they would do unmentionable things to have a few sips of this liquid crack.  It is time for judgement and my turn to try this East Coast undead pale ale and maybe i will become infected with searching high and low to get another bottle.

Appearance - Pours smoothly into the glass with medium foam which then resides quickly.  After the initial pour this beer has a good amount of bubbles floating around the glass which shows decent amount of carbonation.  The color is similar to other pale ales i have drank from the east coast like Bells Two Hearted Ale and Cigar Citys Jai Alai with its nice dark golden hue.

Smell - Floral but with small notes of Amaretto liquor sweetness.  The initial smell of this got me excited because it has that nice floral smell but at the same time it has the rich hop smell of a good pale ale.  Before taking a sip i can already sense this has huge flavor packed inside.

Taste -  Wow I am converted to a zombie!  First sip has pine flavor, tropical fruit, floral flavors & a small hint of bitter hops at the end.  This is somewhat of a flavor profile between the two i mentioned earlier of Two Hearted Ale and Jai Alai.  This pale ale has the sweetness and the same hop character as the Two Hearted ale but it has the tropical fruit notes like the Jai Alai

Mouthfeel -  Even though this came out piney i would love to say it wasn't as sticky as many of the pale ales i have tried that are similar to this.  The carbonation was perfect in that it wasn't overly carbonated but carbonated enough that you can drink a lot of this at one time with no problem.

Overall -  I am converted to this beer it is amazing and now I can also join the hunt with my friends to accumulate more of this undead ale.  The ease of drinking this was way to easy and if i had a 6 pack of this it could spell trouble.  I am used to the huge flavors of the West Coast Ipas and this beer seems like it could become a session beer but at the 6.4% abv i know it would ensure a nice hangover the next day.  If I ever saw this on tap i would get a few pints of this.  If i was able to buy bottles of this I think i might have a new addiction to this ale.  I must say this has been one of those beers that deserves the hype and is perfectly made!

Nectar Ales - Black Xantus

Trying something more tested and true after the disaster holiday beer from The Bruery on my previous post. The descriptions i have read about this beer is that it is a bourbon barrel aged stout witch brewed with coffee in it.

Appearance - Dark brown lacing with a good sized head on the initial pour.  The head is a dark brown and the rest is a very dark brown almost molasses color which makes this a one of the darker colored stouts that i have seen in awhile.

Smell - Bourbon, burnt wood smell & cherries.  For a 11% abv beer i do not smell any up front alchohol or booze smell form this so i can already tell this might be a great balanced stout.

Taste - When tasting this it almost tastes sweet like how sweetened vanilla soymilk hits your mouth.  It quickly balances out and at the back of your throat you can taste the slight bourbon burn which then turns to the coffee flavor.  The coffee flavor is sweetened and is a pleasant taste versus lots of other stouts that add coffee into it because a lot of them are overpowered and this has a nice balance from the bourbon barrel flavor.

Mouthfeel - This is a easy drinking stout i wish it had more of the mouthfeel of creaminess like you would get from a guiness or even a Fifty Fifty Eclipse stout but hell i can't complain because this the taste of this is overly enjoyable.  This also has more body than most because it is not as watery as some other stouts that i have tried to drink.

Overall - This is an amazing balanced stout but for some i could see this being more on the sweet side.  I have no problem dissecting the flavor profiles which i find sometimes gets really confused in other stouts. This is one of those stouts that you wish could be year around because of the balance in flavor and is not overdone.

If i had a chance to buy this beer i would have no problem shelling out cash to buy this again.  I feel this stout is one that would not age well because of the coffee profiles would be lost with age.  Next year i will be surely enjoying more of this beer and buying more than one bottle!

Bruery 5 Gold Rings

Pretty excited about this holiday beer by The Bruery because the last offering of 4 calling birds was an amazing tasting ale and even before that three french hens was exceptional to drink and wish i had more of those bottles to enjoy.  Since this is a themed beers for the holidays and they release these every year i hope i can hold onto my collection when they hit the 12th year and celebrate by doing a vertical when the time comes.

Poured into a tulip glass.

Appearance - Pours a light orange/salmon color. The color is almost the same hue as a bottle of peanut oil but a little bit more pink. The pour starts with a fast foaming head which dissipates quickly.

Smell - Pineapple, nail polish remover, strong apple cider or some sort of high abv fermenting fruit liquor. The smell of this before the sip i know it is going to taste like its posted 11.5% abv.

Taste - Booze Booze Booze! After the taste of rubbing alcohol subsides i do taste the subtle farmhouse style ale which i correlate with golden belgians. The aftertaste is sweet where i can taste the pineapples but it has a crazy taste like windex or some sort of industrial cleaning solution flavor to it because of the booze flavor.

Mouthfeel - Low carbonation so it is quite easy to drink but at the same time it is hard because of how hot this bottle is.

Overall - Kinda disappointed after last years holiday styles from The Bruery have been amazing and wish they could have made this fifth one a little bit more palatable. After tasting this i tried hard not to pour this down the drain but after i was done with one cup of it i had to pour the rest down the drain. Maybe with age it will tame down this beast because i have had success with other beers i thought were to hot in the beginning like damnation 23.

If this wasn't part or a series for a vertical i would have not bought any more of these bottles but i would be interested in seeing what age will do with this because when damnation 23 came out it was hot as hell but when i sat on it and aged it and tried it a year later it definitely mellowed and was enjoyable. 

Brouwerij De Molen - Kopi Loewak

Not sure what to expect from this beer because it is the first i ever had from this brewery and haven't heard much likes or dislikes about this brewery.  Things i have seen from this brewery is that i know people collect this far and wide and has a decent amount of following that they sit and age these beers.  This brewery seems to have put out a lot of different styles of beer and seems to be always experimenting with different styles.  While looking on BA they seems to have tried attempted to make a steam style beer.  Currently they look like they do a extensive amount of making of different stouts which is pretty interesting since most of the breweries i have seen from Belgium are more into making obviously Belgian style beers and sours.

A: Popped the cap and instantly it foamed right to the top but did not foam out.  Instantly poured into a tulip and poured 1/4 beer and 3/4 foam which almost foamed out.  The foam color was milk chocolate foam with white haze it later dissipates quite quickly and leaves a nice ring of foam around the glass.  The beer is coffee black colored and no visible bubbles are seen in the beer.

S:Smells of cheap coffee like folgers with some sort of sweetner but has huge notes of alcohol. 

T:Roasty, Malty, Burnt chocolate, Cheap Coffee upfront it actually ends up having a caramel and almost burnt butterscotch flavor to it.  The upfront roasted flavor profile of this is a little too much and wish it had more upfront sweetness to balance this out.  Coffee is predominant in the flavor of this beer and if i knew more about the Kopi Loewak Coffee profile it might make a small bit of difference on how well they did on reproducing this taste within the beer.

M:  drinks smooth really good carbonation at first but after 30 minutes the carbonation falls dead .

O:  Would want to try this with a good year on it but would try it again if i saw it on tap!!


Would i want to buy this breweries beers again adn try their different styles of beer and i would say HELL TO THE YES.

Would i want to try this beer again i would have to say yes but with age on it because fresh right now it seems to be going in all sorts of directions and when aged i feel it might have more of an apparent flavor profile all the way through and be more pleasant.

Till next time... next on the list got some monsters beers to try and hopefully i take some notes :)

Tripple Voodoo Barrel Aged Incetption

Haven't tried many things from Triple Voodoo but i have heard mixed reviews and finally this came into my lap to review.  This one is a barrel aged version which is interesting and hopefully surprising.



Hype - From most people i know this company is nothing special and quite mediocre from the reviews of friends and people trying the beers on tap.

Appearance - When poured into a Goblet it comes out quite flat and with low head and does not keep.  The white quick foam head dissipates and is left with very few bubbles around the glass.  The color is almost a dark burnt caramel and super hazy. 

Smell -Smells like a hybrid of a funky saison but at the same time a belgian double/triple.  I get lots of honey, bananas and booze smell from this The alcohol smell is more apparent than anything in this beer which is interesting because this is only clocked in at 8%.

Taste - Lots of honey and almost a slight hint of blackberry/raspberry hybrid when it is going down.  Lots of upfront boozyness to get good flavor notes in.

Mouthfeel - Flat for a belgian style ale and not really preferred when drinking this style.  A little bit mroe carbonation would go a long way with this.  I feel i am able to drink this quite quickly because of the lack of carbonation and maybe since this one is barrel aged it has lost some carbonation.  I would like to try the regular version just to see if this is a difference between the two.

Overall - It is a easily drinkable beer.  If i was in a blind taste test i would probably say this tastes more like a higher abv saison than a belgian style ale.  I would like to try the non barrel aged one to get a better reference point on what the original tastes like before reviewing this again.  If i saw this bottle again on the store i probably pass but it was a great average Belgian style beer.