Author: dpatrickryan

The Bruery Saison Rue Saison / Farmhouse Ale at 8.5% ABV

Pours a clear deep gold with two fingers of foamy white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim and spotty lacing. Nose is subtle: light brett notes, pale malt, spicy rye, earthy, citrusy hops. Taste is complex, citrus and spice with a just a little brett and rye sourness. Carbonation remains high and fizzy, giving it a light mouthfeel.

Civilised and balanced – but perhaps a touch too civilised. The nose, in particular, is a touch too restrained. The flavour builds and deepens, with a mild alcohol warming, but the nose remains mild, with few indications of what’s to come. The flavour is balanced, sure, but it’s a bit out of sync with the nose – I’d like a little more emphasis there.

8/10 #ryansbooze #1001beers

8 Wired Brewing Co. Super Conductor American Double/Imperial IPA at 8.8% ABV

Pours a hazy orange with minimal head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, minimal spotty lacing. Nose is tropical fruit, low piney and floral hops, caramel malt. Taste leads with sweet caramel malt, giving way to a lingering hoppy bitterness. Medium to heavy body, slick, with low sustained carbonation.

This seems to be my third stale IPA of the evening. No buttered popcorn, but the hops in the nose were quite muted. The taste is pleasantly bitter, though. Not convinced it was all that fresh, but not bad.

7/10 #ryansbooze

Brasserie Artisanale De Rulles SPRL La Rullés Cuvée Meilleurs Voeux (Bière De Gaume) Belgian Strong Dark Ale at 7.3% ABV

Pours a slightly hazy medium brown with a fluffy two finger tan head, great retention, and moderate sticky lacing. Nose is dark fruit, chocolate, brown sugar, cola. Taste starts out sweet and slightly tart, finishes moderately bitter and slightly tart, with a little spiciness. Medium body and slightly slick, with moderate to low carbonation, with a bitter slightly warming finish.

Yes, OK, it’s a wintereenmas beer, fine. I have to start paying more attention to expiry dates in my bottle shops – this one had a best before of February 2014 but I bought it in June. There’s no significant hop profile in this, but perhaps that can be attributed to being past its recommended maximum age of eighteen months. That being said, it doesn’t seem off in any way. An inoffensive Belgian dark, malt dominated and easy drinking.

7.5/10 #ryansbooze

Tuatara Brewing Co. Tuatara Double Trouble American Double/Imperial IPA at 9% ABV

Pours a clear medium gold with a loose white two finger head diminishing gradually to a thin cap and heavy sticky lacing. Nose is powerfully hoppy – dank, sticky, and resiny, with some floral tones, yet with a noticeable caramel malt base. Taste is grapefruit and pine, but balanced with light sweet malt. Medium body, slippery and sticky, with sustained moderate carbonation and a long, lingering bitter finish.

Woof. Nearly eye-watering hops when I cracked the bottle. A definite hop bomb palate wrecker. If this is after age degradation, I hesitate to think what this beast was when fresh. Though, for all that, I don’t find its 167 (!) IBU’s as “brutal” as the label claims, but it’s definitely in your face.

8/10 #ryansbooze

Epic Brewing Company Epic Hop Zombie American Imperial/Double IPA at 8.5% ABV

Pours a clear orange gold with a loose, soapy two finger white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim around the edge, and no lacing. Nose is strongly hoppy, resiny pine and grapefruit, herbal and floral, but with noticeable malt in the background. Taste is emphatically hoppy, with pine resin dominating a little citrus and caramel malt. Medium to light body and slippery, with low carbonation and a long, lingering bitter finish with mild warming.

A bit of a palate wrecker, but still possessing a noticeable malt backbone. Definitely a little rough around the edges, but that’s part of its charm.

8/10 #ryansbooze

Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Local 2 Belgian Strong Dark Ale at 9.0% ABV

Pours a somewhat murky medium brown with a fat fluffy tan head, great retention, and heavy, sticky lacing. Nose is mild, dark sweet malt, faintly spicy, and very little hops. Taste is honey-like sweetness, dark fruit (raisins and cherries), chocolate, and slight spiciness on a sweet dark malt base. Medium bodied, with a smooth and mellow texture and moderate sustained carbonation with a mildly bitter finish and mild warming.

Dark and sweet, very reminiscent of a Belgian Dubbel like Chimay Red, but with more pronounced warming. Almost as good as a Chimay Red, in fact, with perhaps just slightly less complexity and depth of flavour. Certainly the nose could stand to be more pronounced, though the flavour does go a long way to making up for that.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze

Maine Beer Company Lunch American IPA at 7% ABV

Pours a slightly hazy medium gold with a fluffy white two finger head, good retention and thick lacing. Nose is strongly hoppy resiny pine, slight tropical fruit and sweet malt. Taste is pleasantly bitter pine resin, pineapple and citrus, against a background of sweet malt. Medium- to light-bodied, with pleasant effervescent carbonation and a crisp, bitter finish.

Ok, so I’m highly suggestible, but what else was I supposed to do with a beer called “Lunch”, other than have it with lunch? And it worked – it was a very pleasant IPA with lunch. This is a particularly good IPA: the hop profile is quite enthusiastic, to the point that it’s almost on par with a DIPA. Not a hop bomb or a palate wrecker by any means, but definitely hoppy and interesting, with just enough malt to balance the hop bitterness. This is IPA the way it should be: hop forward, with malt providing support in the background. Their description if it as being an “east coast version of a west coast-style IPA” is bang on. Think big west coast IPA, but without the dankness.

9/10 #ryansbooze

Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Local 1 Belgian Strong Pale Ale at 9.0% ABV

Pours a slightly hazy gold with an enthusiastic head, great persistence and spotty lacing. Nose is fruity yeast and sweet malt, with just a hint of funk. Taste starts out sweet, with light tropical fruit, pear or apple, and a hint of funk, finishing dry with slight pepper and grassy hops. Medium bodied, with active sustained prickly carbonation, lingering light hoppy bitterness, and just the slightest warming.

Very nice. Very dangerous. This does not feel like a 9% ABV. A stonking good Belgian with lots of body and a smooth, pleasant flavour. Not sure it’s worth the $13 a bottle it ran me, which is the only reason I’ve marked it down a little on the overall.

9/10 #ryansbooze #1001beers

Brouwerij Lindemans Faro Faro Lambic at 4.2% ABV

Pours a clear deep copper brown with two fingers of fluffy slightly off-white head compacting gradually to a persistent cap and heavy lacing. Nose is candi sugar, cherry, light funk and leather. Taste is sweet and fruity, with a little more sour cobwebby funk than is present in the nose, and some vinous oak. Mouth feel is medium-bodied with sustained moderate carbonation and an off-dry finish.

This is nice. Much sweeter and milder than a gueuze, very similar to a cherry lambic but with more brown sugar and less cherry. The sweetness makes smaller servings appropriate – this would be a very decent dessert beer.

8/10 #ryansbooze