Archive for category Beer Tasting
Quickie Beer Review – Glutaner
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Rants on July 11, 2010
I need to get this one down quickly while its still fresh in my head. I have never had a Gluten-free beer before and after drinking this German-made disaster I will probably never drink one again.
Where to start… Well when I poured it the first thing I thought of was burning plastic in a fire pit. The flavours are far worse, tasting synthetic and bitter. If you have ever eaten the brocolli-like flower from a raw rapini plant, you may understand what this flavour is like. The mouth-feel seals the deal, being grainy, thick and very unpleasant.
Apparently I need to read the labels before buying a beer, because this ‘beer’ actually contains nothing beer about it. Its base is made from some kind of flower called Sorghum, which is apparently used in the production of alcoholic beverages.
How this beer passed the German Beer Purity Laws beats me. Odds are this is exclusively sold as an export because this would never be allowed on the shelf there.
Beer Review – What The Huck Huckleberry Wheat Ale
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Photography on July 11, 2010
Name: Fernie Brewing Company’s ‘What The Huck’ Huckle Berry Wheat Ale
Origin: Canada, BC
Style: Fruit Wheat Ale (5%)
Appearance: A foggy, orange and peach coloured ale. It poured with a nice, large head that had excellent retention.
Taste: The smells are of sour berries, most likely the huckleberry, some notes of nectarines. The initial impressions are a lot of different fruit-based flavours. Sour berries, nectarines are the most apparent. Some citrus notes as well. There is a slightly sweet, malty flavour, but it is very subtle. Aftertaste finishes sour and is short lived.
Mouth Feel: A very foamy, very filling ale. The body is light and despite its sour palette, this wheat ale is quite refreshing.
Final Thoughts (3.0 out of 5): A good ale overall. I enjoyed the use of sour fruits, rather than sweet fruits as it lent towards are more ‘beer-like’ flavour, rather then a fruity cocktail.
In the deep south of Alerta, along the Crowsnest Highway there are hundreds of Wind Power stations dotting the landscape.
Beer Review – Wells Bombardier Burning Gold
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Photography, Travel on July 9, 2010
Name: Wells Bombardier Burning Gold
Origin: England
Style: Ale (4.7%)
Appearance: A nice clear, gold coloured ale. There was not much head on the pour and it did not show much retention.
Taste: The aroma is slightly hoppy and with some hints of grasses. The taste starts sweet, with notes of caramel but quickly becomes bitter and citrusy. It finishes with a grapefruit like aftertaste that lingers.
Mouth Feel: Highly carbonated and filling with a medium body.
Final Thoughts (3.5 out of 5): A very good, very gorgeous looking ale.
Quickie Beer Reviews – Keystone Lager and Hitachino Nest XH
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting on July 2, 2010
A couple quick beer reviews that I need to expel from my brain before I forget what they were like.
Hitachino Next Extra High (XH) – Strong Ale (8%) - 3.5/5
For a beer at 8% ABV it does a good job of hiding the fact. A strong ale with sweet, malty characteristics, there is no real hint of its high ABV. Tasty and easy to drink, one bottle of this beer will Karate kick you in the face. This Hitachino Beer, like the last two I tried erupted with foam as soon as I popped the bottle cap, hinting of a long, shaky journey to Canada.
From the Land of the Rising Sun.
Keystone Lager – Cheap Lager (5%) – 3/5
This beer was shockingly good. Not shockingly good in the way of excellently crafted beer, but rather shockingly good because I excepted it to taste like awful and it did not. A light palette of standard lager flavours, this cheap branded beer is still quite enjoyable, with hardly any strong aftertaste. For only $17 for a 15 pack this may be my beer of choice on day where volume is more important than quality.
Beer Review – Chestwick Bitter
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Photography, Travel on June 30, 2010
Name: Chestwick Bitter
Origin: England
Style: Ale/English Bitter (3.5%)
Appearance: A clear, dark yellow and golden brown ale, this English ale was poured from the tap producing a nice, soft head, that was small but had a great life span.
Taste: This ale has an intensely hoppy (floral) aroma. It begins sweet, with some notes of honey and caramel but quickly becomes strongly floral and bitter. The hops in this beer are the driving factor in this beers overall flavour. The aftertaste is hoppy, bitter and long lived.
Mouth Feel: A soft, light bodied ale. Like most English beers it was served at slightly below room temperature as this tends to allow the hop flavours to shine through more.
Final Thoughts (4.5 out of 5): Of every beer I tried during my travels in Ireland and London, this was hands down the best beer I had. Best of all I was easily able to recreate a similar beer in my home brewing. I love sessionable English Bitters.
Not far from the Tower of London was the pub I got to try this fantastic English ale.
Beer Review – Whitstable Bay Organic Ale
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Hiking, Photography, Rants on June 29, 2010
Name: Whitstable Bay Organic Ale
Origin: England
Style: Ale (4.5%)
Appearance: This is a crystal clear, amber colour. Head is medium, head retention is low.
Taste: The smell is citrus, mainly grapefruits. There are some initial notes of crackers on the first taste, but the beer is heavily bitter and citrusy so they are quickly washed out. There is also something of a rice-like flavour to this beer. The beer finishes with a lingering bitter citrus flavour.
Mouth Feel: Due to the strong bitterness of this ale, its leans towards a sharper mouth feel. Not filling and a medium body.
Final Thoughts (3 out of 5): Its a fine ale, but I still stand by my “organic is bull-shit” stance. The lack of standards and controls for ‘certified organic’ products sullies the whole market. Any company can slap ‘organic’ onto a fruit and no one is the wiser.
You want an organic fruit? Walk into the fucking forest, find a berry bush and pick it yourself. You are not going to find it in a store. Just don’t get killed by the beer who is also enjoying those organic berries.
Organic fruits can be found here. Somewhere...
Beer Review – Bishops Finger
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Photography, Travel on June 28, 2010
Name: Bishops Finger
Origin: England
Style: Kentish Strong Ale (5.4%)
Appearance: Pours with a nice, medium head which is foamy and soft in appearance. The colour is a dark, red-brown that reminds me of chestnut.
Taste: There are some metallic odors and definite floral smells as well. This strong ale is rich and malty in taste. There are some fruity notes, which may be apples and some noticeable toffee-esque flavours as well. The beer finishes bitter and citrusy. The aftertaste is strong and long lived.
Mouth Feel: A nice soft, easy on the mouth strong beer. Overall I would give it a medium-heavy body.
Final Thoughts (3.5 out of 5): A very nice ale in a very attractive bottle.
Let's all go kiss a flithy rock!