Friday 29 June 2012

Bintang Pilsener

Any trip to Bali seems punctuated with these bottles.

Regardless of age, gender, or social class you'll be putting these away at some point. And to be honest there are far worse beers. It's a wet Asian lager that puts across a sweet and initially slightly sickly sort of malt and very little hops / bitterness to speak of.

Bintang shares a theme here with several other lagers from around the region, most notably Tsingtao in my recent memory. That beer has a bit more character though while this is pretty one dimensional.

Still, it's hard to complain. It's not metallic, stuffed with pride of ringwood or overly carbonated and as a result does the job it's designed to do. Not bad. 3.0

Bali Hai Premium Lager

Surely in the heat, even a bad lager would --

Argh oh god Jesus no. Oddly even the ingredients are listed as water, malt yeast, and hops in that order - wouldn't surprise me if there were less hops than yeast if that's what it means.

Buy something else seriously, beer or not, hell even this thing was a better beer:



Coffee cola's where it's at. Anything to forget the terror. 0.5

Storm Iron Stout

I'm just going to come right out and say it - best beer in Bali, hands down.

Storm have delibered a very respectable effort with this one mark my words. It's a 5.2% light stout, on the watery side of the spectrum but again justifiably so. Where this delivers is in producing a nice round experience in both the aroma and flavours, which speak of a pleasant valley stocked with roast coffee, bitter hops, and balanced toasty chocolate.

Sometimes lighter beers from this field can go overboard in trying to hide the emptiness and come out feeling artificial, but this comes across as balanced and not overly sweet.

It even looks better in person than in the photo .. perhaps it's camera shy? Regardless, make sure you pick this one up if encountered on your Balinese travels. It will both soothe your lager-ravaged palate, and support a brewer clearly doing some good things. 7.0

Storm Golden Ale

Number two from Storm, who with a bronze ale and a lager of some description from memory seem heavily stacked in the mid-range light drinking beer genre.


Bit more substance in the head as compared to their pale ale but still a bit weak in colouring. Visible aeration.


It's a something-nothing sort of beer this one.. there's a slightly golden (ie caramel / sweet malt) nose but not a lot else going on. Taste-wise it's much the same story, the elements of a golden ale have been assembled here to an extent but it's as if you're squinting at it from a distance, it's all rather indistinct and as a result, unsatisfying.

This is not a failure of a beer but I'd like to see them step up the malt presence to give it some heart and differentiate it from the pale ale and the rest of the stable further also.  4.0

Storm Pale Ale

The first encounter with Bali's self professed craft brewer Storm.
 
It comes at an Italian restaurant and the waitress, flush with success with all the pasta names, insists this one's pronounced "pah-ley ah-ley".. who am I to argue with the locals?

This is a pale ale true enough and pours a light amber colour with a fizzy unsatisfying cap. It sports an aroma in line with a light American Pale Ale with a couple of citrus lemony sour notes.

It's pretty light to drink but you get the feeling that a) it's on purpose and b) that's probably a good thing in a place where you're almost constantly sweating. The label informs that it's made with pilsner malt and that explains a lot about the characteristics displayed. Starian golding hops also come through to lend an earthy grassy character, balanced with a tinge of wider sweeter malt.

I'm actually pretty pleasantly surprised with this beer. It's not a delicious beer per se but a highly drinkable, deliberate stab at a relevant local pale. Deserving of respect.  5.5

Panther Ginseng Stout

Now here's a name that fires up the imagination.

What self-respecting man (or indeed lady) among us doesn't want to fire up on stout and ginseng at once, those undisputed twin towers of pantherdom?

This has the characters for 人参 on the label which means 'carrot' in Japanese. We'll take their word for it being 'ginseng'. Flavour wise you probably wouldn't pick it, although there is a slightly mineral sort of edge in there amongst the light coffee roast flavours that could be a mark of its influence.

There's not a lot more to say about this. Far from ripping us a proverbial new one, it goes down without so much as a mew. 2.5

Guiness Foreign Extra Stout (Indo edition)

The well known classic.

 How embarassing then when it's probably the least drinkable stout encountered in the whole trip?

This edition is brewed under licence at the Bintang premises by the looks and I suppose the water condition and any number of other factors may influence the result. But on the flip side it's tempting to think that brewers brewing under licence in these circumstances probably deserve to be judged on the fruits of these labours.

Regardless, this plonks into a glass with little ceremony and a flat meniscus of off-white head. It's got a strange fruity sort of quality going on in both the nose and the taste delivery and that plus a burnt dark sugar treacle gambit is about the extent of what this has to say.

None of it is too appealing to be honest. There aren't too many outright bad notes, but it's tempting to compare to a less than impressive homebrew and I would like a lot more character in taste to make up for the lack of round body.  3.0

Anker Stout

Bali edition continues with this, a canned stout seemingly brewed by a contractor of San Miguel.

Pours OK as you can see, a little watery out of the can but nice solid colour. Head is accomplished enough but, as is so often the case, disappointingly ephemeral.

The aroma here is reasonable - bit of chocolate and not a lot else. Taste follows the pattern established thus far delivering a pretty thin experience, but no real off note as such. Slight chocolate character is the main currency but there's a little bit of vanilla present in what is quite a dry and dusty finish.
 
Much like with the first Balinese contender, I've had far worse beers in the class than this. It's watery but there's enough there if you search and hey, its better than the lagers by a stretch. One could even argue it's a stout built to slake the thirst in these humid conditions, and kicking back by the pool you'd be a fool to argue. 4.5

Bali Hai El Diablo Strong Brew

BALI EDITION! ACTIVATE!

First up, the timely arrival of the dark lord himself, in 500ml can format no less. Can't say I was expecting too much here but it pours a reasonably solid body and decent (though shortlived) head to boot.

The aroma of this beer is not its strong point, bringing across sour bitter lager notes and not a great deal else. Tastewise though there's evident malt with a slight accompanying fruitiness almost like a less than average golden ale, and this pushes it just above the standard lager. It's very plain in the scheme of things but sails down pretty happily.

My main issue with it is the label - nothing about this beer deserves the label 'strong brew'. It's 5% flat for crying out loud.

All in all, not that great but at least a bit more character than your average lager. Not sure about the sessionability, but if you're stuck in Bali and totally off the Bintang it's certainly worth a punch. 4.0

Monday 25 June 2012

Mikkeller 1000 IBU

So. A beer with theoretically 1000 IBU.


To put that in context, Palate Wrecker tops out at 149. Safe to say it's a hop forward sort of brew then.

What this beer does is hops, pine, pineapple, malt, a nice heavy body, hops, and pine. What it doesn't do is really convince you of its supposed manic extremes - no-one is going to claim it's not a bitter beer, but it's just not that much far and away above a lot of other hop driven double or imperial IPAs.

Compared to its cousin the admittedly unbalanced 1000 IBU Ultramate this comes across as almost tame due to the fine balance it projects. Part of it is the human capacity to detect and process bitterness and astringency I'm sure - it's often said humans can only really detect up to about 100 IBU on average - but it's also a direct product of the malting and balance Mikkeller derives in this brew. This is a good thing for the beer as a whole - you'd certainly drink more of this 9.6% monster in a sitting than the 4.9% ultramate - but it does somewhat lessen the insanity and with that, some of the fun.

With that said this is a pleasant beer you'll certainly enjoy if you're a hop-head and an enthusiast for these sorts of drops.  8.0

HeBrew Messiah Bold

These guys are pretty tied to the whole Jewish beers shtick, with much punning and merriness throughout the labeling.

Lucky for us they also make pretty good beer, as evidenced by their first effort.

This is labeled as bold but it is in many ways a very pleasant and easygoing beer. It pours quite dark with a thin tan layer of foam and produces a gentle nose of dark roast and predominately sweet caramel.

Taste-wise it's not as sweet as you've come to fear and in fact quite a light mouthfeel. Roast light coffee is the primary driver before it ends with a similarly light nutty finish. I feel like it vaguely, just vaguely, references its big brother somewhere in there.

It's pretty good and very drinkable this - just lacking some of the depth or breadth of flavour that you might expect from a 'bold' brown ale. I expect it's pretty sessionable too but if you're after a lounging contemplative flavoursome brown, look elsewhere. 6.5

The Mash Collective Amasia Rumweizen

The first beer from that coven of crafty brewers, the Mash Collective.

Otherwise known as another beer from Stone & Wood essentially - just these ones tend to be more, well, inventive.

True to form this first beer is a rumweizen, made with molasses and rum thrown in. It's pretty attractive looking but doesn't generate a great deal of head on the pour and appears a little oily, possibly due to the additives.

The aroma leaves no secrets as to a certain wheat-based heritage, quite bitey and inviting. Taste wise it does manage to generate the banana and rum notes they were going for. I didn't encounter much molasses before it rounds off with a spirit-like warming conclusion which hits cleanly and disippates without lingering.

It's an interesting experiment this and seems to have come together pretty well with no real out of place notes. Would I drink it all the time though? Probably not. 6.0

Stone & Wood Jasper Ale

Nice label on this one - it's gently embossed, and actually matches the hue of the beer pretty closely also.

The aroma too suggests good things to come initially but there's also a bit of a metallic twinge that really derails the smoothness up to this point. It's a bit like finding half a worm in your apple. Or your fish.

Happily the beer itself performs well to taste: amber, malty, slightly spicy, and with a lovely nutty / bready finish that is the real star of the show. It's not a refreshing sort of a beer - more a wintery flat companion brew - but could maybe do with a bit more body to this end also as it's relatively light in pushing just 4.7 abv.

Not a bad effort, would happily drink again but loses points for the nose. 6.5

Sunday 24 June 2012

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar Ale

I came into this one with no real preconceptions but one whiff of the bottle and you're in no doubt as to what you're getting yourself in for.

Nuts. Hazelnuts. HAZELNUTS. Slightly disappointed with the lack of head but it could be the squealer.

Taste is pretty incredible - like some sort of hazelnut smoothy made from what is only beer if you are paying attention. Through the mouthfeel I kept expecting an edge of sort of metallic ground hops to come through and crash the smooth experience, but it's kept beautifully restrained with nuts and slight vanilla. This comes across as massively drinkable and would be a treat with any number of dessert foods too.

Sure enough it does have hazelnut extract added, it would seem impossible to achieve this traditionally even with the battallion of malts and crystal malts they've put in this one.

I'm torn as to how much of a gimmick this is and how much staying power it would have if you had easy access to it over time. Still, I'm not against it in the slightest. Purists be damned, this is unarguably bloody tasty beer and one of the best 'converting people to craft beer' weapons encountered to date. 8.5

Moylans Chelsea Moylan's Porter

Tipping the scales at a flat five percent, it's clear from the pour that this is very much on the lighter side of the dark world, a flimsy villain at best.

Indeed it pours quite watery, and the fizzy light aerated head is shortlived and bubbly. It just manages a dark amber colour in the light. Vanilla and choc come through on the nose.. a little artificial compared to some in this bracket.

Taste ... yes it's one of those sorts of porters alright, nice lingering coffee grounds notes though.

Looking into this it seems it was brewed for his daughter which explains the philosophy behind this one quite nicely. I guess when making a porter named after your daughter .. hang on this is really rhyming pretty well.

Ahem:

There once was a man with a porter
He thought he would name aft' his daughter
He threw in vanilla
Thought flavour'd kill her
And lost some of his key supporter

6.5

Green Flash Barleywine

The 2011 edition for reference.

First things first, this pours excellently, what a ripper body and head profile, just looks sensational. Mouth = watering. Full marks.

Aroma is primarily stonefruit, sweet fruit smells, some alcohol but only if you strain for it.

Wow. Flavour. This beer is really very flavoursome. FLAVOUR is what this beer screams while cold. Notes of toffee apple colour a wide progression of round flavours, it's well hopped to boot, feel like this is a tightrope balance they've somehow walked, mad skills. It's smooth without being heavy or torpid like these can sometimes get - indeed, if anything it is quite light bodied for the style.

The snag with this beer is an unexpected one - oddly, it actually gets a little worse as it warms, possibly due to its comparatively lightweight body. There's a bit too much red apple and watery red grape going on if you leave it, and the nose similarly worsens to reveal a few more stripped back nail polish alcoholic notes.

Quite a different barleywine and well worth a try.. impressive lightness but whether this is desirable is maybe a matter of personal choice. 7.5

[Nøgne Ø / 8 Wired / Renaissance] Ø for Awesome Imperial Amber Ale

Well, it's certainly wrapped up the longest title on the record for a start.

First impressions are great too - the dull bone head and brown, amber tinged ale body heighten expectation of something special here. Nose is slightly hot but otherwise more or less what it says on the tin: dark imperial amber malts and muted fruit backing.

Initial reaction on tasting is that it comes across like a cross between a barleywine and a solid fruity brown ale. A bit of caramel develops in the mid body as it warms before it delivers a quite strong bitter fruit finish. There's a constant and competent backing bassline of malting and alc throughout.

This beer is intensely flavoursome and interesting, but somehow just a little spiky in places which limits it from either drinking with great glee, or in great amounts. I get the feeling this was close to utter brilliance - not a great surprise given the quality of the brewers involved. 7.5

Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout

I'm starting to feel pretty confident picking up big stouts and porters from anywhere in Scandinavia.

Happily this is another fine example from the big man at Nøgne Ø. It starts off with a nice pour, residing solid and deep black in the glass very much to style. The head is mocha with that slight reddish tinge I love to see from beers of this providence.


Roasty tones are immediately apparent from the nose, which comes through very rounded and hitting all the right imperial notes. There's a bit of booze present, ever so slightly disproportionate to the 9.0% abv.

Mouthfeel is again exactly to style - yet another dark euro effort that just feels so comfortable and accomplished, deliberate in its flavours and above all mouthfeel. There's an inherent silkiness of body here that you can just tell others are trying for on occasion but very rarely succeeding. Very good indeed.

It's not a subtle drop, instead confidently delivering what it has to say from the books of roast coffee, licorice, and indeed booze. A little hot perhaps but delicious once again, top drop. A yardstick brew both for the brewery, and the style. 8.0

Monday 11 June 2012

Feral & 2 Brothers Collaborator 2012

I must admit I bought this one almost entirely based on the Feral reputation but happily the gambit payed off.

It's a brown ale but not typical to the style, delivering if anything a brown version of the stalwart hop hog. This is a pretty interesting experience with its lush green herbal notes first up, then more typical caramel brown ale performance in the back half with nice nuttiness. It's in some ways a clash of styles as the grassiness doesn't really meld with that dark finish, but there's not a great deal of jarring in the experience - it's more an pleasingly docile, intellectual manticore than a misguided attempt at a frankenstein.

My feeling is if you were really after a brown ale, this might not scratch your itch. Taken on its own merits though it seems a massively drinkable beer and another interesting take on a style. 8.0

Lagunitas Hop Stoopid

Back to Lagunitas for a second effort at a hopped up pale.

First impression here is for a beer that proudly boasts a measured 102 IBU this is really rather tame. The nose is certainly hoppy, but it's more sweet orange and mandarin than violent bitter notes, and the taste follows this guide in delivering a gentler and sweeter experience than expected.

As such I found myself considering this more a standard IPA than a real hop bomb as such, and the sweetness became a little bit sickly after half a glass a bit like Mikkeller's Amarillo IPA. I couldn't see myself drinking more than one of these but for the opposite reason to that initially expected - it's a bit of a letdown in the bite department which is really quite surprising.

Looking at the reviews elsewhere it seems I'm in a bit of a minority here, but to me, people buying one of these sorts of beers ('hop' in the title, promising explosions) would probably prefer a less heavily malted, more unbalanced beer to this halfway effort. 7.0

Bootleg Oatmeal Stout

As previously noted, I haven't been too impressed with Bootleg brewing of late - could a beer in one of my favourite styles turn things around?

In short - not quite. This beer pours thin and headless, not a good start although the hue is nicely opaque. The aroma similarly is a step or two short of truly enjoyable beer, showing a bit of spikiness and slighly clumsy notes in there somewhere. There's aniseed and licorice in the nose, which may be nice in a more rounded beer but here it comes off as slightly unbalanced and almost unintentional.

Taste-wise the mouthfeel is too watery to really score points, and the taste carries a little too much licorice for my liking. There's none of that delicious silky character or rounded taste that oatmeal typically adds, and I can't say it's a particularly good example of the style.

I wanted this to be good, but I find myself really not liking it a great deal - it strikes me as a beginner sort of effort and just not quite up there in terms of quality. It would be great to see Bootleg build on this and produce a top quality beer in this style in future. 4.5

Cascade First Harvest 2012

It seems harvest beers are becoming a bit more widely used, even if at times they have nothing to do with the harvest.

This at least is a faithful brew using fresh picked hops of the season and as a result it's a distance better than the other recently reviewed macro seasonal. There's not a lot of floral / fruity character but it's a bit more bitter than typical, and pretty rounded and drinkable throughout.

Probably still not a real 'gateway' to craft beer as such, but much better than average and I'd be happy enough putting these away if they were free of charge. Leaves me with some confidence this was a genuine effort rather than a cynical cash in. 4.5

Haandbryggeriet Costa Rica Coffee Porter

Straight into a rather more refined (ie sane) effort from the Norwegian rogues at Haandbryggeriet.

Coffee porters can turn out a little bit watery in my experience but this is a good solid effort that delivers on flavour. The coffee is of course evident from the aroma with a pleasant roasty character coming through. In fact the aroma puts me in mind a bit of a discarded coffee filter, and the first taste gives a bit of that husky character too.

The mouthfeel is excellent - velvety and smooth, which brings a nice drinkability to the beer. The taste itself is not overly complex, just slightly sweet coffee and roast porter notes, but that's probably all you want from this particular beer, and it's all well executed. There's something about the Scandinavian nations (Scandinations? Scandinations.) that really seems to lend itself to great dark beer production and this is another fine example.

It's a slight shame about the flat head delivery and appearance but this is a top beer that's well worth considering if you're in the market for an espresso. 8.0

Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

A nice quiet introduction to this Norwegian brewer with a double imperial wheat stout.


Wait, what?

For a beer so removed from the norm, this doesn't really show it with a lovely mocha coloured vortex-like head atop a solid black body. The aroma likewise is largely in line with typical imperial stout characteristics though there is an element of clean, non-fruity booze and a slight edge of what could possibly be the wheat in there also.

First reaction on sipping is a bit of soy that keeps on through the mouthful. There's sufficient malt backing and imperial malt fruit there too, but it all seems a bit more 'front of mouth' than the norm for the more rounded (.. or maybe just non-wheat) examples of this style.

After the initial shock it's more or less a regulation imperial stout, just perhaps a bit cleaner, a bit lighter, and a bit .. well, less good. In saying that though I fully approve of this effort to do something different and it's far from a failure, delivering a solid body and some nice roasty flavours in there along the way. Interesting - a good effort. 7.5

Sierra Nevada Stout

Another one from the Sierra Nevada beya.

Pours moderately, quite a black hue but a bit light on the head, doesn't quite have the body of some more accomplished stouts. The aroma I felt was on the verge of something nice but at the same time had just that bit of nastiness lurking around the edges.

Taste-wise you get reasonably bitey stout flavours up first, front of the mouth is bitter with evident earthy green hops before a nice wave of milk chocolate washes in and sweeps you away to quite a pleasant conclusion.

This is not my favourite stout, it doesn't quite satisfy me with the mouthfeel or flavour profile, and the appearance isn't wonderful either. It is however a solid enough drop worth picking up if there's nothing else on offer. 6.0

Birra del Borgo InBraNata

This.. was a belgian ale?

Really after drinking it I had no idea. Of the style, that is - the fact it's bad was pretty evident from the start. Why, you ask? Well, it's a lot of little things. The slightly odd, swampy yellow colour. The odour of fear and loathing that emanates from its unholy surface. The spiky aerated finish that nevertheless almost comes as a relief as it distracts you from the oddly rhubarb like taste and insipid malt.

This is the sort of beer that makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong. It tastes like a bad brew, but I'm sure the bottle itself wasn't spoiled.

On the other hand, it's refreshing to have a beer that is quite clearly terrible for a change.. gives me more confidence in my ability to put together drinkable homebrew for a start. Now no more please. Horrid. 2.0

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

Finally .. a beer on the tracker from what appears to be the world's oldest still operational brewery.

Yes yes wrong glass again but regardless this pours well for a hefe with a big solid head, and right off the bat gives a balanced aroma that doesn't lean too far in any direction. There's an assuredness in execution that's evident just from the pour, and it comes through on the taste also.

It's a light but satisfying mouthfeel with no real blank spots, and without really surprising or doing anything above and beyond, it just hits all the notes that you want from this style. Not much else to say - a classic, and very passable indeed. 7.5

Coopers Celebration Ale

150 years of Coopers brewing in Australia - a momentous occasion indeed.

And to mark it we have this from Thomas Cooper's Selection no less. Not sure how he selected it from beyond the grave but be that as it may, this was evidently brewed with Centennial hops (good start), Nelson Sauvin (getting a bit excited now) and .. Pride of Ringwood (sigh).

It pours a bit darker than the norm and shows a hint of chocolate along with metallic notes on the nose. The taste.. well the esters they're on about are there but mostly in the form of green apple tastes reminiscent of the standard pale ale. The finish really didn't do it for me.. dead macro lager bad malt. To use the words of my copilot for this test Mr Grip: "it certainly reminds me why I used to scull my beer".

I don't mean to just pile on any mass produced beer here - if anything, I'd like to see an increase in flavoursome quality from these limited batches help to drive more people toward craft / small batch beer. I'm just not convinced this will do the job and a little disappointed they weren't a bit more ambitious with this one. 3.0

Harviestoun Mr Sno'balls

Mr Sno'balls, a wintery bitter from the thus far impressive crew at Harviestoun.

This one pours pretty sedate and flat as you can see with low aeration, but it is a nice light cola hue. The flavour profile is dominated by the pale and crystal malts with a bit of caramel character and just slight bittering hops. The roasty barley character is quite pleasant and lifts this above some others that are all just caramel and nothing else.

While they're not perhaps the most exciting beers, I don't mind beers in this vein from time to time. They can be a pretty comforting drop to nurse over some time as they take well to being flat and warm. The only real issue I have with this one is the label - 'Crisp' yeah, 'Caramel' yeah, 'Citrus' ..what? Surely there were other words that started with 'C' you could have used? 7.0

Mikkeller American Dream

OK, another Mikkeller "lager" to try - and this time it comes with the dubious accolade of being the top rated lager on ratebeer to boot.


I have to admit on first tasting as per the photo above, this beer really failed to impress. Could be either a bad choice of glass, a less than top quality bottle, or just some sort of bad mood I guess (the beer obviously, not me). I got a less than impressive nose, mid malt and pepper, ever so slight passionfruit, and a bit of lingering, slightly earthy bitterness.

Tried a second time, this beer was a bit of a revelation, putting me in mind of a hybrid cross of wet hopped Little Creatures Pale Ale and Feral Hop Hog with a crisper finish. Both of which are great, but .. neither of which are lagers. So we arrive at the very same impasse. I don't think this is a lager, it's either a pale ale or an IPA in terms of style. It's tempting to think that by this logic, anything with a bit of hops or flavour to it will be automatically disqualified as a lager, thereby preventing anything with character from appearing.. but beers like Knappstein provide an exception to that rule.

So.. this is a nice beer and delivers a lot of flavour for its low %. And you should drink it, assuming you get a good bottle, and assuming you're not really after a lager per se. 7.5

Heretic Evil Cousin

Heretic.. pretty good game on the whole, I liked the ethereal arrows.. in fact all the weapons were pretty cool.

http://img.squakenet.com/snapshot/356/1421-Heretic.jpg
Oh, and also it's a small scale brewery started up by a keen US homebrewer that's apparently attracting some attention of late.

On that note we have 'Evil Cousin', the Double IPA of the range weighing in at a respectable 8%. The label's full of 'big hop' talk and to be fair, the beer does deliver a sticky experience with a piney stinging bite that gets you straight up.

After the initial explosion you get a pretty distinct break of malt, then a lingering citrussy bitterness that takes you through to the finish. It's quite light and pleasant for its heft and after the initial punch, quite easily drinkable. I came into this expecting a bit of a berserk hop bomb experience beer, but in the end this is pleasingly just a very good beer. Recommended. 8.0

Zywiec Porter

Another Polish Porter for the collection from our good friends at jevvyets.

This beer is a lovely colour, dark cola just short of totally black if you look at it in the light. The major quality it brings is longevity, in that it just seems to go on and on and on with the flavour. It's not overly complicated though either, starting with milk choc notes and blending gently toward imperial dark fruit flavours as it develops. The alcohol is definitely present, but not actually offensive as such.

Bit of a short review but it's all more or less in line with the baltic porter style.. pretty good but short of world changing. 7.0

Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA


Another Californian drop vying for the mantle of king of the IPAs.

"Bigger is better" it says, but this is a reasonably restrained 7.0 abv, which makes for a pretty sessionable experience. It's a golden colour in the glass, very light, visible and approachable. Taste-wise it's one of those archetypal IPAs, a little bit on the sweet / sugary side possibly but well balanced overall. I found there was a slight missing spot about three quarters of the way through the flavour profile that could have been punched up to really finish this beer nicely.

My feeling is if you were in the states and could pick up a six pack for a lobster or so, it would be a no brainer. As it is .. it's pretty damn pleasant but probably not as much of a special experience to warrant choosing it too often over some of its rivals. 7.5

Lagunitas Maximus

Lions and gladiuses (gladii?) and, well, turbo versions of standard IPAs.

Oddly the nose on this one put me in mind of that other roman pretender (I'm prepared to admit it's just in my mind) - admittedly though at 8.2% this is a bit down on the big ten percenter. It's also a fair bit better -
there's a lightness of character and citrus component that's quite light and drinkable, belying what the heavy malt nose would suggest.

Mid way through you do get a reasonable hit of booze, and its inert character and lack of head makes it a little bit medicine-like in appearance, but overall it is quite drinkable and doesn't get carried away with its theme to the detriment of the beer itself. Would try again if it weren't for the multitude of better options in this bracket. 7.5

Moylans Hopsickle Imperial Ale

The second beer tried from this brewer, but the first on the blog.

I shared a table with Mr Moylan himself at a recent event and came across their Golden Ale at that time - a pretty pleasant drop in its own right and one I look forward to revisiting when the opportunity arises. Brendon himself stayed on it all night, at 5% it was nice and safe to put away.

Can't say I like the styling on the Moylans bottles - not that it changes what's in it of course, but in a context of heavy competition it's probably the reason we're only now starting to pick up these beers from the shop. Regardless, it's a good thing we've finally taken the plunge, as all indications point to this brewer being a solid competitor to their heavyweight Californian neighbours.

This beer pours an attractive opaque amber and generates a nice hoppy nose. There's an initial impression of sweet malts that comes through on the nose and as a flashing glimpse on first sip, but this is soon overtaken by bold US hopping that leaves a bitter lingering citrus legacy. It's more peel and oil than fruit or stone fruit.. dry but oily in its own way.

Very solid beer this - the alcohol is cleverly hidden at 9.2% and it delivers what it promises as a strong imperial overlord. Well done Mr Moylan.. well done indeed.

Wonder if it's hopsickle as in popsicle, or hopsickle as in the Grim Hop Reaper? Either way, very good beer. 8.0

Friday 1 June 2012

Nørrebro North Bridge Extreme

Is this a saison? Nørre bro, it's a Imperial IPA.

What is it with the horrendous jokes of late?

This beer pours brown but comes up a dark amber in the light, with a beautiful cream head. This is one of those beers that's listed at turns as a Double IPA or an Imperial IPA and in some cases it's more or less interchangeable. In this case I feel it's an IIPA right off the bat - dark fruits and malts come to the fore in the aroma and it's clear you're in for a treat.

Taste-wise this beer delivers the same imperial flavours but without too much fruit. Instead, there's a truly delicious edge of toasty coffee that comes through in its place and smooths this out beautifully. Lovely fluid mouthfeel to this beer gives it a really refined character despite its 9.5% punch. Even puts me in mind of cigars in places.

I found this really rather excellent and recommend you try it post-haste. Pay whatever is required my good man, money is no object. 9.0

Big Sky IPA

Hmm.. well it's another cheerful label if nothing else.

Pleasingly however that's not where it ends - in fact, there is very good beer lurking behind that antelope, or ibix, or whatever. The Simcoe hops and whatever else they're doing here lends it an aroma and taste profile more in line with malty DIPA brews than the typically more bitter hopped American IPA crowd, but at 6.2% it's simultaneously quite light to drink.

It's good looking, laces well, holds its bubbles inert. Nice aeration makes it incredibly easy yet tasty balanced drinking. My only real down notes were a slightly watery finish, but that in itself is a product of the approach they've taken.

I'd buy this again no worries. Recommended as a gentle yet tasty, different take on American IPA. 7.5

Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale

Nice artwork on this one, and a really clear if headless pour too.

It's orange more than anything in fact. Smells quite nice too and backs it up with a sweet orange start.. but then suddenly I'm confronted with a bit of bog macro that's put me in mind of dirty laundry water to be honest.

Outside of that it's a relatively long and interesting development for a summer ale. Mouthfeel is good, clearly ale not lager and mid to low aeration but feels sessionable. Flavours develop a mild bite from the amarillo hops, into a sweet middle, and a powdery orange finish. Reminds me vaguely of Little Creatures' Bright Ale.

It's been a while since I've had a beer this divisive .. I love aspects of it but found it really hard going at times too.. think it needs another try. Preferably from a can, at a picnic, on the grass, in the sun.. 6.0