Tag: review

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Review – Rhizing Bines from Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head

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Count me as a fan of Sierra Nevada hop bombs and also count me as one who isn’t super fond of  Dogfish Head IPA’s.  But I love that these two big regional breweries can collaborate from time to time.  Life and Limb part one and it’s cousin Limb and Life were both really solid beers.  So how does Rhizing Bines fare…..

Well it pours a light orange color.  I get a big alcohol hit in the aroma and some dankness.  I will have to compare it with the recent Celebrator beer magazine 25th Anniversary Imperial Pale since they both use the experimental 644 hop.  The Celebrator beer was super boozy but the blueberry and citrus notes popped more.  This beer was much more on the Dogfish Head side of the spectrum than the Sierra side.  Uber malty with a slickness that coats the tongue.  The hops are there and their fruit notes are underneath but I would prefer them in the forefront.

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Review – Curmi from 32 Via dei Birrai

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I was very lucky to receive an introduction to 32 Via dei Birrai with a full package of beers from the new Italian brewery.  I first sampled the Oppale and now I move on to another light offering the Curmi.

Pours a light orange with more yellow tints at the bottom of the glass.  Aroma is very Belgian like.  It is called a pale ale but this seems more a light tripel.  It has the spiciness and the vanilla notes that I tend to taste first and foremost in that style.  There is a little bit of citrus at the far back of this one as well.  A nice bit of pop to it as well.

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Because they kindly sent me the majority of their line-up, you will be seeing more reviews in the coming days and weeks.

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Review – Speakeasy Betrayal

I first had this Speakeasy beer in 2011 before the Limited Series was re-branded and more beers were added to the portfolio with the likes of Butchertown Black. The beer is described as “Deceiving, double-crossing, and treacherous, Betrayal strikes a chord in the deepest shade of red. At first glance, she’s sweet and seductive, yet at the last sharp enough to curl your tongue. The allure of her dazzling caramel sweetness and scintillating aromatic hops is enchanting.”
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This beer does not betray it’s name. It pours a vivid red with a nice (nitro looking) head to it. The aroma comes at you with an Imperial IPA bite which does follow through in the taste. Big malt and big bitterness vie for supremacy which each sip. And it do warm the palate. This is a strong beer to compete with the biggest of Imperials or doubles or whatever they are being called these days.
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Back in 2011, I reviewed this beer with the following words, “Certainly big and boozy. I get more hops out of this than I expected. Also getting a touch of sweetness at the back. A slow sipper that you can dig and find many flavors in.”

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Review – Heretic Gramarye

It is time for a quick review (minus the video).

Today we tackle a Great American Beer Festival gold medal winner, Heretic Brewing’s Gramarye
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First, here is the label copy, “Gramarye is the practice of learning magic. For thousands of years, people have used a grimoire (book of magic) to cast spells and summon spirits. Of course, magic fell out of favor over the centuries, the same as brewing with rye. Interest in magic seems to be on the upswing these days, and so is the interest in brewing with rye. A coincidence? This is our take on session pale ale made with a dose of rye malt to give it that luscious feel and snappy finish. We think it is magical.”
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It pours a pretty dark orange color with plenty of bubbly action going from the bottom of the glass up. The aroma is primarily rye to me. Usually with rye beers that is a flavor that is part of the whole package and not up front and center. Here it is right on the nose. Has quite a bit of carbonation in the flavor that is followed to the tongue by the rye which is almost bready at this point and then the bitterness which really lingers at the back. I am also getting some vanilla notes as well. All of this at 4.4% abv. No wonder it won gold.

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Video Review – Base Camp In-Tents IPL

The first review of 2013 in intense. It comes from Base Camp Brewing in Portland, Oregon and is an India Pale LAGER!

Here is the description from the website, “Our flagship India Pale Lager showcases a copper color that gives way to a crisp, clean lager beer perfectly balanced in its massive complexity. Dry-hopped and aged on an in-house toasted blend of white and red oaks. The IPL finishes clean and smooth, with hop aromas of wild flowers and pine, and a unique maltiness highlighted by the subtle oak character.”

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Review – Scaldis

For the final beer from the Vanberg & DeWulf portfolio of Belgian beers comes from the Dubuisson brewery.

Some more notes on the beer from the V&D site, “In 1933, when British ales were all the fashion in Belgium, Alfred Dubuisson (Hugues’ grandfather) created a Belgian beer in the English barleywine style. He called his beer Bush, the translation of the family name. The recipe has remained unchanged for 79 years, longer than any other Belgian beer.

It is hard to believe that Scaldis is 12% ABV. Beers this strong are generally quite heavy and sweet. Scaldis by contrast is quite dry with a pleasant nutty finish. Remarkably, Scaldis achieves its strength entirely through fermentation—without evaporating or freezing water to concentrate alcohol. Three different malts go into Scaldis, making it a beer with as much nuance as potency. Woodsy, toasty, sherry nose, with caramel, toffee, candied pineapple and prune notes.”

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Review – Posca Rustica

For the month of June, I will be reviewing beers not from a specific brewery or state or style but from the Vanberg & DeWulf line of beers. And I start with this gruit, Posca Rustica.

Here’s more from the V&D website about this beer…..“Since 1983, Dupont has produced a beer especially for a Gallo-Roman site near the brewery where Stone Age life is interpreted, the Archeosite d’Aubechies.

Known as Cervesia in Belgium this beer is a throwback inspired by research into the drinks of the Gallo-Roman era. It is surely one of the brewery’s most exotic beers. It is a “Cervoise” beer spiced with a gruit (an old-fashioned herb mixture used to bitter and flavor beer, that was popular before hops came to predominate). Posca Rustica beer is highly, if delicately, spiced. Sweet woodruff (known as Galium odoratum or wild baby’s breath) and bog myrtle are but two of about a dozen spices used. Posca Rustica has a unique, odiferous and spicy character. Bottle conditioned. Beguiling and unusual. Discover what beer tasted like when Belgium was ruled by the Roman Empire.”

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Review – Surf Brewery Surf Patrol Black IPA

The last California beer to be reviewed this month comes from just up the coast and evokes the surfer lifestyle. It is Surf Patrol Black IPA from Ventura’s Surf Brewery.

Here are the details from their website:
“Our American Style Dark Ale features vibrant citrusy and floral American hops balanced against a complex malt profile of toasty dark malts with a hint of roasted barley. Just like an early morning surf session, once you start you keep going back.
16°P 67 IBU 37 SRM Alc.Vol. 6.5%”