Thursday, 28 June 2007

Hue Beer

  • Name: Hue Beer, 5%, Viet Nam
  • Appearance: Light golden. Basically no head.
  • Aroma: Not much. Little bit of malt and fruit.
  • Taste: Some malt. Not much of anything.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 350 ml, £1.15
  • Overall score: 2/6
  • Info: 28/6-2007

Wednesday, 27 June 2007

Affligem Triple

  • Name: Affligem Triple, 8.5%, Belgium
  • Appearance: Cloudy orangy brown. Good amount of white head.
  • Aroma: Pretty sweet. Fruity. Alcohol. Flowers?
  • Taste: Lemon and quite bitter. Alcohol, warming. Some fruit. Unpleasant aftertaste.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.95
  • Overall score: 3/6
  • Info: 27/6-2007

Tuesday, 26 June 2007

Huyghe Florisgaarden Witbier (Floris Wit-Blanche)

Quite a lot stronger than the 3.5% listed in the 500-book.
  • Name: Huyghe Florisgaarden Witbier (Floris Wit-Blanche), 4.8%, Belgium
  • Appearance: Very cloudy dark yellow. Sediments. Not much head.
  • Aroma: Lemon and wheat.
  • Taste: Wheat. Quite fruity for a Witbier. Some lemon, though sweet.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.35
  • Overall score: 3/6
  • Info: 26/6-2007, 175/500

Friday, 22 June 2007

Casablanca Beer

  • Name: Casablanca Beer, 5%, Morocco
  • Appearance: Light golden. Just a little bit of head. Bubbles.
  • Aroma: Some malt and grains. Citric?
  • Taste: Quite malty and hoppy. Not much more.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.09
  • Overall score: 3/6
  • Info: 22/6-2007

Thursday, 21 June 2007

Aperitif.no imported summer beers

Norwegian Aperitif.no last week blind-tested 34 imported "summer beers" that they believe might challenge the domestic summer beers.

Their top 10 (of 24) "imported summer beers" (with my rating):
  1. Krusovice Imperial (89%) [Me: 3/6]
  2. Lammsbräu Edel Pils (89%)
  3. Midtfyns Ale (88%)
  4. Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay (87%) [Me: 1/6]
  5. Birra Moretti (86%) [Me: 3/6]
  6. Cobra Premium Beer (86%) [Me: 3/6]
  7. Kingfisher Premium (86%) [Me: 3/6]
  8. Lindeboom Pilsener (85%) [Me: 3/6]
  9. San Miguel Especial (85%)
  10. Carib (85%) [Me: 2/6]
Their top 7 (of 10) "imported wheat or abbey beers" (with my rating):
  1. Silenrieux Sara (88%) [Me: 2/6 and 1/6]
  2. Chimay Blanche/White (88%) [Me: 3/6]
  3. Westmalle Tripel (87%) [Me: 2/6]
  4. Slaapmutske Tripel (87%)
  5. Hoegaarden White Beer (86%) [Me: 2/6]
  6. Silenrieux Joseph (86%) [Me: 2.5/6]
  7. Leireken Witte Spelt (86%)

Wednesday, 20 June 2007

Speight's Gold Medal Ale

  • Name: Speight's Gold Medal Ale, 4.0%, New Zealand
  • Appearance: Amber brown. Quite a lot of head.
  • Aroma: Hint of caramel. Metallic? Some malt.
  • Taste: Quite malty and hoppy. Some bitterness. Dry.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.25
  • Overall score: 3/6
  • Info: 20/6-2007

Friday, 15 June 2007

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Quite a lot stronger than the 8.7% listed in the 300-book and the 8.25% listed in the 500-book.
  • Name: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, 10.6%, United States
  • Appearance: Very dark brown, basically black. Nice, dark brown head.
  • Aroma: Dark chocolate, coffee and malt. Vinous.
  • Taste: Roasted malt, chocolate and coffee. Bit of dark fruit.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 355 ml, £1.79
  • Overall score: 5/6
  • Info: 15/6-2007, 168/300, 174/500

Thursday, 14 June 2007

Huyghe Rubbel Sexy Lager

In April GR sent me a link to a The Register article about the Sexy Lager being removed from sale in the UK because "the name of the drink and the swimsuit were associated with sexual success". The Portman Group's decision can be found here, and includes the following important titbit (pardon the pun):

"The Panel considered that the young woman may have been under the age of 25 but that it was difficult to judge".

The label is probably better than the beer itself:
  • Name: Huyghe Rubbel Sexy Lager, 5%, Belgium
  • Appearance: Light golden. Good amount of white head.
  • Aroma: Bit of malt, quite sweet.
  • Taste: Malt and hops, slightly metallic. Unpleasant aftertaste.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.29
  • Overall score: 2/6
  • Info: 14/6-2007

Efes Pilsener

  • Name: Efes Pilsener, 5%, Turkey
  • Appearance: Yellow, very clear. Almost no head initially, slightly more when warmer.
  • Aroma: Bit of hops and malt. Fruit?
  • Taste: Some malt and hops. Grainy. Not much. Crisp.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.05
  • Overall score: 2/6
  • Info: 14/6-2007

Monday, 11 June 2007

Sloeber

  • Name: Sloeber, 7.5%, Belgium
  • Appearance: Quite cloudy, light orange. Lots of white head.
  • Aroma: Yeast, lemony. Hops.
  • Taste: Hoppy, alcoholic. Some citric elements. Dry.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.89
  • Overall score: 3/6
  • Info: 11/6-2007, 173/500

Sunday, 10 June 2007

St. Bernardus Abt 12

I've seen some beer pages/forums raving about this one, but I found it lacking and disappointing. I would recommend that you buy a proper Trappist beer instead.
  • Name: St. Bernardus Abt 12, 10%, Belgium
  • Appearance: Cloudy, dark brown. Lots of thick, darkish head.
  • Aroma: Dark fruit and malt. Alcohol, metallic. Biscuits.
  • Taste: Quite alcoholic. Malty, some bitterness. Tongue-tingling.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £2.29
  • Overall score: 3/6
  • Info: 10/6-2007, 21/100, 17/300M
As I have tried this a few times since and liked it a lot, a 2016 re-rate :
  • Name: St. Bernardus Abt 12, 10%, Belgium
  • Appearance: Dark brown, hint of red. Lots of light tan head. Lots of sediments, a bit too much to be honest.
  • Aroma: Malt, sweetness, some dark fruit. Raisins.
  • Taste: Malt, dark fruit, sweet, toasted. Hides alcohol well. Prunes. Hides alcohol very well.
  • Bought: Saveur-Biere.com, 330 ml, €2.80
  • Overall score: 5/6
  • Info: 27/2-2016, BB: 14/12-2018

Friday, 8 June 2007

Spaten Oktoberfestbier

  • Name: Spaten Oktoberfestbier, 5.9%, Germany
  • Appearance: Nice and golden. Not that much head.
  • Aroma: Fruit and some malt. Hoppy.
  • Taste: Quite fruity and malty. Nice aftertaste.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 500 ml, £1.99
  • Overall score: 4/6
  • Info: 8/6-2007, 172/500

Thursday, 7 June 2007

Weihenstepaner Kristall Weissbier

  • Name: Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier, 5.4%, Germany
  • Appearance: Pale golden. Lots of white head, quite longlived.
  • Aroma: Quite fruity, artificial. Some wheat. Alcohol when warmer.
  • Taste: Fruit, wheat and alcohol. Just alright. Dry.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 500 ml, £1.95
  • Overall score: 2/6
  • Info: 7/6-2007, 171/500

Wednesday, 6 June 2007

Theakston Paradise Ale

  • Name: Theakston Paradise Ale, 4.2%, England
  • Appearance: Dark golden, nice amount of head.
  • Aroma: Malt, metallic. Quite fruity.
  • Taste: Quite malty, some fruit. Malty/strong/bitter aftertaste.
  • Bought: Waitrose, 500 ml, £1.75
  • Overall score: 3/6
  • Info: 6/6-2007

Monday, 4 June 2007

Icehouse

After crossing ten lanes of rainy Route 7 in Sterling (VA) on foot, it turns out that the Safeway shop generally only sells beers in packs of six... The below was the only one that sounded interesting that they sold as single bottles:
  • Name: Icehouse, 5.5%, United States
  • Appearance: Dark yellow, orange? Good amount of head.
  • Aroma: Slight malt and hops.
  • Taste: Malt and hops. Nothing special. Maybe some fruit, metallic. Bad aftertaste
  • Bought: Safeway (US), 651 ml, $1.39
  • Overall score: 2/6
  • Info: 3/6-2007

Sunday, 3 June 2007

Sweetwater Tavern Sampler

I went for lunch around noon in Sweetwater Tavern in Sterling (VA), US. The burger was good enough, but the "highlight" was the round of samplers (what they call "mini pilsners") of the five beers on tap. The five brews on tap on this occasion were:
  1. Naked River Light
  2. Great American Restaurants Pale Ale
  3. Paleface Summer Wheat
  4. Silverado Ale
  5. Straight Shooter Stout

The Pale Ale and Stout were both pretty good, the former reminding me of Sam Adams Lager. The remaining three weren't that good or interesting. At $8 in total it was pretty good value, though.

Saturday, 2 June 2007

Kelham Island Pale Rider

  • Name: Kelham Island Pale Rider, 5.2%, England
  • Appearance: Dark golden. Quite a lot of longlasting head.
  • Aroma: Very fruity, floral, some hops and malt.
  • Taste: Pretty hoppy, also fruit and malt. Bitter aftertaste.
  • Bought: Beers of Europe, 500 ml, £1.99
  • Overall score: 3/6
  • Info: 1/6-2007, 167/300

Friday, 1 June 2007

Art of Taste Top Beers

Norwegian Art of Taste yesterday published the results of their 80-beer blind test, focusing on what are good "summer beers". Not sure what happened to the last two beers as they only list 78 beers...

Their top 10 beers listed below (with my rating):
  1. Hoegaarden White Beer (89%) [Me: 2/6]
  2. Silenrieux Joseph (88%) [Me: 2.5/6]
  3. Silenrieux Sara (88%) [Me: 2/6 and 1/6]
  4. Atna Engelsk Lys (87%)
  5. Atna Økologisk Export (86%)
  6. Leffe Brune (86%) [Me: 4/6]
  7. Pilsner Urquell (86%) [Me: 4/6]
  8. CB Pilsener (84%)
  9. Atna Hveteøl (83%)
  10. Ringnes Jubileumspilsner (83%)
I guess I have to add these to my list of beers to buy so I can disagree...