Beer Ratings: Favorites

Russian River Brewing Company Santa Rosa, California

Beer Zombies Vegas. Pint glass. Clear, slightly dull, oily gold with some dirty head. Grainy, steel, a little veggie & rose scent. Fruity dry, astringent herbal-ash premium lager. Frothy, off-dry, a touch ugly. Expected more from the brand.

Wylam Brewery Newcastle upon Tyne , Tyne & Wear

3rd May 2024
Can. Strewth, another dipa with a long waffley description that absolutely fails to do one of the fundamental things we might want to know about a very hop forward beer. Hmm what could that be? Oooh! I know! What bleedin' hops went in to this hallowed brew? Right then, let's look at the can - that would be Citra, Centennial, Chinook and Simcoe. Just a light haze on this gold beer, small pale cream colour head. Smooth palate, reasonable fine carbonation. Resinous piney hops, a mild savoury skunk from the classic quartet of hops. Citrus peel with an associated but lighter bitterness. Smooth finish. Clearly West Coast in style but for me, avoiding the worst tropes of that narrow and tired style but not even close to escaping all of its constructions. Tidy.

Perennial Artisan Ales St. Louis, Missouri

Clear, tinged gold with a dense, one finger head. A nice, fresh, hoppy aroma with some candied tones. Satisfying flavor and mouthfeel. Faintly astringent at the end. Rounded, sweetish and yeasty. On tap, Barleygarden, Alpharetta.

Hoppin' Frog Brewery Akron, Ohio

473ml can. 11.5% version which I guess doesn’t exist. This isn’t real. Aroma of roast malts, chocolatey, oaky, liquorice, molasses. Taste is the same, very rich, chocolately, roast malts, whiskey, oak, liquorice, molasses. Full bodied, boozy, but smooth. Top shelf.

Parish Brewing Company (USA) Broussard, Louisiana

Pours an opaque, pitch-black coloration with a small, creamy head. Smells of roasted, slightly caramelly malt and vibrant coffee aroma, with hints of chocolate and vanilla also coming through. Taste is an excellent balance of roasted, slightly caramelly malt, intense coffee, with notes of red berries and spice, chocolate and lighter vanilla and tobacco. Finishes with a light/medium bitterness and some roasted coffee, chocolate and vanilla lingering in teh aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation. This makes for quite an intense Coffee Stout, with those coffee aromas and flavors really coming through quite strongly here, with an intoxicating coffee aroma in the nose and vibrant coffee notes on the tongue. The vanilla is more laid-back here, very well-balanced, while the roasted malts add a certain bitterness as well. Overall, this makes for a fantastic brew, especially for the realtively low ABV. Intense and well-balanced, rich, yet easy-drinking with very a very strong coffee presence that still leaves the other flavors room to breathe.

Russian River Brewing Company Santa Rosa, California

Bottle from Khoury's in Hendo outside of Vegas. Bottled on 091721. a few hours in the fridge. Mojito glass at home. Flaaaaaaat. Maybe a bit of sizzle here & there. Hazy honey gold pour. Taste is yummy though. Wine-y sour, white punch, hopped astringent cider tropical, peach sorbet, nice level acidity with some protein body. Still pretty good.

Anchorage Brewing Company Anchorage, Alaska

Opaque black beer with no/a slight brown head. Heavy aroma; taste starts heavy sweet and ends slightly/medium bitter and dry. Wood, vanilla, coconut, molasses, chocolate, mocha, roasted malts, coffee and espresso. 10 /5/10/5

Verdant Brewing Co Kernick, Cornwall

440ml can from We Brought Beer, Tooting. Cloudy yellow. Nose of big candy floss, bubblegum, and massive Verdant yeast. Initial body is big and soft, but then it just drops out. I get that sweet soft candies flavour, but then it falls away to a light Fruit Salad sweet flavour and then followed by a harshly bitter, borderline soapy lingering flavour. This was canned a month ago, so clearly a rebrew, and maybe something is up with it, but considering the rave reviews, I was expecting something quite special. Highly disappointed.

Vinohradský Pivovar Prague, Prague

Muted Horn draught: pours light amber with white head. Aroma is toasty, light caramel and grain. Taste is lightly bitter, residual sweetness. Nice.

Schilling Beer Co. and Resilience Ale Project Littleton, New Hampshire

Pours a clear yellow with a full head that laces. Nose is bread, grass, spice. Taste is spicy hops, malt. Body is light medium. Finish is slight lemon and dry. 16 oz can No dates

Goose Island Beer Company (AB-InBev) Chicago, Illinois

#2020 Wypite: 03.05.2024 r. Wygląd: Barwa czarna, nieprzejrzysta. Piana ciemnobrązowa, niska, drobnopęcherzykowa, po krótkiej chwili opada do zera, nie pozostawia lacingu. Po zamieszaniu szkłem zauważalna jedynie lekko oleista faktura. Aromat: Na wysokim poziomie słodowość ciemnego pieczywa, kukułek, melasy, kremu kakaowego, gorzkiej i deserowej czekolady oraz kawy. Słodowość przeplata się z równie wyrazistym, szlachetnym, odbeczkowym alkoholem (ale nie stricte bourbonowym). Tuż za nimi średniowysoka dębina i beczka z lekkimi nutami wanilii oraz marmolada wiśniowa, trochę powideł śliwkowych i daktyli na podobnym poziomie. Smak: Na pierwszym planie na wysokim poziomie słodowość ciemnego pieczywa, kukułek, melasy, kakao, kakaowych nibsów, gorzkiej i deserowej czekolady oraz kawy wraz z szlachetnym, odbeczkowym alkoholem. Drugi akord stanowi wyraźna, średniowysoka beczka o charakterze stricte dębinowym, mokrego drewna, beczki z akcentem wanilii. W tle nuty suszonej wiśni, powideł śliwkowych i daktyli. W ustach słodkie, treściwość średniowysoka – gładka, pełna; wysycenie niskie oraz wysokie (ale bez żadnych palących oznak) rozgrzewanie alkoholowe. Goryczka niska, głównie alkoholowa z lekką gorzką czekoladą, krótka. Finisz słodki, gorzkiej i deserowej czekolady, wyrazistego szlachetnego alkoholu oraz marmolady wiśniowej. Ogólnie: Poczynając od samego wyglądu, kiedyś sprawiał wrażenie gęstego, a przy dzisiejszych ipkach co najwyżej lekko oleistego. W aromacie słodowość przeplata się z szlachetnym alkoholem (ale nie ściśle bourbonowym) oraz beczką w postaci dębiny, mokrego drewna, beczki. Smak podobny do aromatu. Alkohol jest wyrazisty, ale przy tym nienachalny - wspierany przez dębinę, beczkę.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Chico, California

Can from Systembolaget. Hoppy smell with pine and grapefruit. Similar taste. Strong bitterness. Some sticky sweetness. Nice!

Schilling Beer Co. and Resilience Ale Project Littleton, New Hampshire

Popurs a medium-light yellow with a full white head that leaves some lacing. Nose is slight lemon, hint of hops and malt, aromatic for a lager. Taste continues the slight lemon with malt. Body is light. 16 oz can No dates

Great Notion Brewing Portland, Oregon

Opaque golden beer with a slight off-white head. Heavy aroma; taste starts medium/heavy sweet and ends slightly bitter and dry. Honey, orange, tropical fruit, mango, melon, mangosteen, hops and citrus. 9/5/9/4

Brussels Beer Project Brussels, Brussels Capital Region

On tap @BBP Bailli. 03/04/2024. Color amarillo corona de espuma blanca aromas y sabores herbal, cítrico levadura cuerpo ligero.