Brasserie Castelain La Charnue Triple – Tripel at 8% ABV (€1.84 at Carrefour City, 330 ml, packaged on 6-Oct-2023, best before 1-Oct-2024, acquired 15-Feb-2024, reviewed 16-Feb-2024)
Appearance: clear deep gold with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: candi sugar, floral grainy malt, Belgian esters, oranges, earth. (7/10) Taste: high sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweet mildly warming finish. (3/5)
It kind of hits the targets for the style, but it’s really too sweet. And for that matter, it feels a bit clumsy throughout. I guess it’s fairly drinkable for the ABV, but it’s otherwise lacking in most categories. (13/20)
Brasserie Goudale La Goudale – Bière de Garde at 7.2% ABV (€2.31 at Carrefour City, 330 ml, best before 31-Jul-2025, acquired 15-Feb-2024, reviewed 16-Feb-2024)
Appearance: clear deep gold with one finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin persistent cap, moderate spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grainy malt, Belgian esters, oranges, earth. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, medium duration lightly funky mildly warming finish. (4/5)
A surprisingly good farmhouse-style ale with light Belgian esters and earthy notes leading to a slightly funky finish. Nice complexity without being overwhelming, and the higher ABV is handled well. (16/20)
Brouwerij Van Steenberge St. Stefanus Blonde – Belgian Blond Ale at 7% ABV (€3.47 at Carrefour City, 330 ml, best before 10-May-2025, acquired 15-Feb-2024, reviewed 15-Feb-2024)
Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with one finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin persistent cap, moderate spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: clove, Belgian esters, cereal grains, hint of banana. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, medium duration mildly warming finish. (4/5)
I don’t get gushers very often these days, but this was one, and I marked down the appearance slightly as a result. Other than that, it’s a fairly typical Belgian Blond, albeit one that does a decent job of hiding its somewhat higher than normal ABV. Decent. (14/20)
H-West B.V. Koenigsbier (Carrefour) – Blond Ale at 4% ABV (€0.87 at Carrefour City, 500 ml, best before 1-Jul-2025, acquired 15-Feb-2024, reviewed 15-Feb-2024)
Appearance: clear straw with one finger of fluffy white head diminishing gradually to nothing, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grass, sweet grains, slight diacetyl. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body, high carbonation, off-dry short finish. (3/5)
€0.87 and worth every penny. It’s not actually bad, but it’s almost aggressively boring. Which is to say, I didn’t finish it. (12/20)
Brouwerij Haacht Brasserie Levrette Blanche à La Cerise – Wheat Ale at 3.5% ABV (€2.40 at Carrefour City, 330 ml, best before 6-Jul-2024, acquired 15-Feb-2024, reviewed 15-Feb-2024)
Appearance: clear pink with a large fluffy pale pink head, good retention and spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: sweet slightly artificial cherry. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: light body, high carbonation, short tart finish. (3/5)
It is what it is: a flavoured wheat ale, completely and utterly dominated by the adjunct. A little fake and cough syrup-like, and definitely nothing interesting, but it would probably be fine over ice on a sunny patio. (12/20)
Saint Arnold Brewing Company Banger IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.4% ABV | 29 IBU (C$5.59 at Jetway Mr. Express, 568 ml, packaged on 20-Nov-2023, acquired 4-Feb-2024, reviewed 4-Feb-2024)
Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of fluffy pale ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, tropical fruit, melon, cereal grains. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body falling off slightly thin, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry short finish. (3/5)
Hopped with Strata and Simcoe, malts are 2-row, torrefied wheat, white wheat, carafoam. The aroma is mild without a whole lot of hop presence, and although the body seems to start off nominally medium, it falls off slightly thin. Yes, it’s on the older side, but even so: not in fact a banger. There’s nothing offensive here, but I couldn’t be bothered to finish the pint. (12/20)
Karbach Brewing Co. Hopadillo Hazy IPA – American IPA at 6% ABV | 20 IBU (US$3.99 at Jetway Mr. Express, 568 ml, best before 3-Apr-2024, acquired 4-Feb-2024, reviewed 4-Feb-2024)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fluffy pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, cereal grains. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-low carbonation, off-dry short finish. (4/5)
Hopped with Citra and Mosaic; malts are two row pale, flaked wheat, flaked oats, and malted wheat. The aroma and flavour start off quite pleasant and style-appropriate for a Hazy, but both fade a bit faster than I’d like, tempering my initial enthusiasm. I thought I was going to like this better than the original Hopadillo, but at the end of the day I’m scoring it about the same. (15/20)
Lagunitas Brewing Company Maximus Colossal IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA at 9% ABV | 60 IBU (568 ml, packaged on 31-Oct-2023, acquired 3-Feb-2024, reviewed 4-Feb-2024)
Appearance: hazy pale amber with one fat finger of fluffy pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: earthy pine, floral, citrus, bready caramel. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration warming finish. (4/5)
Brewer notes say this is hopped with Simcoe, Cascade, and Centennial. This example is a bit old, so maybe the hops have faded a bit, but still, it’s not really all that hop forward. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that (another – see yesterday) gas station beer isn’t all that sophisticated, but there you go. I saw this called a “malt liquor IPA”, which I think is a fair, if somewhat shade-casting, assessment. (14/20)
Stone Brewing Company ///Fear.Movie.Lions – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV | 60 IBU (568 ml, packaged on 24-Aug-2023, best before 22-Dec-2023, acquired 3-Feb-2024, reviewed 29-Jan-2024)
Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of fine pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical & muddled fruit, bready malts. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, sweetish medium duration mildly warming finish. (4/5)
In case it’s not obvious, the name is a WhatThreeWords location for a 3m grid square in their the middle of their Richmond Virginia brewery. (I guess it sounds better than “privately.cable.onion” a couple squares over, or “discouraged.stones.visit” in their tap room?) If you ask me, there’s something very apropos about Stone using W3W for naming: they both seemed poised to be game-changers a few years ago, before everyone kinda went “Wait, how is this even a thing?” And yeah, to be fair, they both work – sorta. But they’re both also kind of up their own asses. And yes, I was an unabashed fanboy with Arrogant Bastard and Enjoy By and some other offerings, but then they kinda jumped the shark with the Stochastity project, and Berlin, and any number of other swings and misses, and I was more than a little over them. Which leaves me here, older, wiser, crankier, balder, fatter… ahem. Anyway, it’s not that bad: I sort of get the stated intent of merging WCIPA with NEIPA, but I also sort of feel like this is a day late and a dollar short effort to hop on a bandwagon. It does a good job of making a fairly high ABV quite palatable, but other than that, it’s merely OK. (14/20)
The Establishment Brewing Company Wandering Star – American Porter at 5.8% ABV (C$4.50 at Safeway Liquor D’Arcy Crossing, 473 ml, packaged on 15-Nov-2023, acquired 23-Jan-2024, reviewed 29-Jan-2024)
Appearance: clear cola brown with one finger of loose beige head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: dark chocolate, coffee, toasted bread, caramel, floral, earth. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly sticky lingering bitter finish. (3/5)
The hell? It’s just a name change? Lame. What happened, they get hate mail from Fat Sherpas? Anyway, my opinion on this hasn’t changed: it’s fine. Which, for this brewery, is damnation with faint praise. (14/20)
This will apparently not be a unique Untappd check-in.
