Maredsous 8 
Belgium
ABV: 8%
Rating: 3
Pretty acidic and not that bitter. Maybe that is because I have aged this bottle in an earth cellar for about two years from purchase, maybe not.Notes of fruit. Pleasant but a standard Belgian ale.
Alesmith IPA
USA
ABV: 7.25%
Rating: 4
Nice bitterness and a well-balanced IPA. Nothing more to say really.
Herslev Aspargesøl
Denmark
ABV: 5.5%
Rating: 3
Smells Asparagus. Tastes Asparagus. Wheat character. Very strange but not bad.
Struise Black Jack
Belgium
ABV: 7%
Rating: 3
Acidic with notes of orange. A little coffee in the after-taste. Perfectly fine.
Duvel Tripel Hop
Belgium
ABV: 9.5%
Rating: 3
Sweet, fruity and yeasty. A little acidic with subtle stable notes. Apple. A little like a good standard Duvel. Surprisingly little hop bitterness.
North Coast Brother Thelonious
USA
ABV: 9%
Rating: 2
Almond and artificial sugar. Like a synthetic Belgian Strong Ale.
Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper
USA
ABV: 10%
Rating: 4
Coffee. Very nice bitterness. A little acidic and hints of juniper. Notes of smoke. Pretty strong alcohol-taste but still very good.
Slottskällan Angel’s Share Hornig
Sweden
ABV: 6.9%
Rating: 2
Tastes iron and wheat. Rough to drink. Lager-bitterness shines trough and the only positive thing is some notes of blueberry jam.
Tokens Röklakritsporter
Sweden
ABV: 6%
Rating: 2
Smells like Jägermeister and that is not a good thing. Tastes like salt and reed. More like a gueze than a porter. Lime notes. Acidic as hell. Not good at all but the weirdness saves this brew from a rating of 1.
Stone Ruination IPA
USA
ABV: 7.7%
Rating: 3
Very bitter. A little too bitter for me and after all I might not be a real hop-head since I would have liked it a lot sweeter. Av very fresh taste with notes of newly baked bread.
I'm surprised that you didn't like Brother Thelonious more. It has some fans out on the west coast. North Coast makes some good beer like Old Stock and Old Rasputin. Stone does Arrogant Bastard, which isn't bad either.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to get things fermenting today, wish me luck!
I think I have tasted Arrogant Bastard in the past but I don't remember what I thought, maybe Old Rasputin too. The possibility to get good American beer gets better and better here but they are still mostly expensive and only present at very few stores so I have far too few of them.
ReplyDeleteI wish you the best of luck brewing! Keep me updated, maybe you can even do a guest appearance on this blog?
heh, sure. My wife and I took some pictures of the brewing process. The initial gravity was just right at 4.5 gallons but I foolishly added another half gallon. Instead of being at 1.040, it's at 1.035-6. Based on my complete lack of knowledge of brewing, I'd say it will have a lower alcohol content and a higher hop bitterness(or at least more pronounced). I'm doing a bitter, too. My email is brandonsantacruz@yahoo.com. If you contact me, I can send some pictures and a write-up. Sounds like fun.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big believer in local beer, but then I'm spoiled by living on the West coast. Good or even great beer is available at a reasonable price(like $1-$1.50/each for 12 oz bottles), no need to break the bank.