St. Mel's IPA

New brewery:

• Name: St. Mel's IPA, 5.2%, Ireland
• Appearance: Light to medium brown, clear. Some off-white head, good lacing.
• Aroma: Hops, slight caramel, light fruits.
• Taste: Clean hops, lingering bitterness. Some fruits in there.
• Bought: Dunnes Stores (Dublin), 500 ml, €3.50
• Score: 3.1 (Aroma 6/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 6/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 13/20)
• Info: 20/1-2018, BB: 31/7-2018

Blacks Black IPA

New brewery:

• Name: Blacks Black IPA, 5%, Ireland
• Appearance: Dark brown, clear. Nice light tan head.
• Aroma: Light hops, some medium malt. Roasted.
• Taste: Nice hops bitterness, some medium malt, roasted, borderline sweet?
• Bought: Dunnes Stores (Dublin), 500 ml, €3.00
• Score: 3.3 (Aroma 7/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 7/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 13/20)
• Info: 20/1-2018, BB: 20/3-2019

Modern Times Blazing World

Amber Ale Top-9, new brewery:

• Name: Modern Times Blazing World, 6.8%, United States
• Appearance: Canned 25/11-2017. Clear amber. Some off-white head.
• Aroma: Fruits, sweetness. Bread, malt. Perfume.
• Taste: Medium malt, bread, some caramel sweetness. Some fruits. Nice.
• Bought: Mikkeller Webshop, 473 ml can, DKK 40.00
• Score: 3.7 (Aroma 8/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 8/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 15/20)
• Info: 18/1-2018, BB: ??/??-????

Grafters Porter

• Name: Grafters Porter, 4.5%, Ireland
• Appearance: Batch 005. Dark brown, clear. Some tan head.
• Aroma: Roasted, dark malt, chocolate.
• Taste: Dark malt, chocolate. Some coffee and medium/dark malt. Nice.
• Bought: Dunnes Stores (Dublin), 500 ml, €2.00
• Score: 3.6 (Aroma 7/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 8/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 15/20)
• Info: 18/1-2018, BB: 28/2-2018

Mikkeller Polly 2

Lambic Style - Unblended #6, Denmark #50:

• Name: Mikkeller Polly 2, 6.2%, Denmark
• Appearance: Bottle 485/1400. Brass colour, hazy. Slight off-white head.
• Aroma: Sherry, ripe fruits, slight tart fruits, but not that much.
• Taste: Tart fruits, but not too bad. Finished it, even. Dry. Slight wood and ripe fruits.
• Bought: Mikkeller Webshop, 750 ml, DKK 130.00
• Score: 3.0 (Aroma 6/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 6/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 12/20)
• Info: 18/1-2018, BB: 3/3-2026

Porterhouse Winter Stout

• Name: Porterhouse Winter Stout, 6.5%, Ireland
• Appearance: Dark brown, clear. Nice amount of creamy tan head.
• Aroma: Dark malt, roasted. Slight metal?
• Taste: Dark malt, metal, roasted. Coffee? Spices, slight alcohol. Pretty smooth.
• Bought: The Porterhouse (Temple Bar, Dublin), 1/2-pint tap, €3.25
• Score: 3.4 (Aroma 7/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 7/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 14/20)
• Info: 18/1-2018

Gruut Blond

• Name: Gruut Blond, 5%, Belgium
• Appearance: Hazy golden, small white head.
• Aroma: Grains, barley, yeast.
• Taste: Barley, yeast, sweet. A bit sickly.
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £2.39
• Score: 2.9 (Aroma 6/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 6/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 11/20)
• Info: 17/1-2018, 110/300M, BB: 30/11-2018

Mikkeller SpontanDryHop Citra

Lambic Style - Unblended #5:

• Name: Mikkeller SpontanDryHop Citra, 5.5%, Denmark
• Appearance: Slightly hazy golden, hint of orange. Tiny white head.
• Aroma: Tart fruits, citrus.
• Taste: Tart and sour fruits, tart finish. Not horrible, though.
• Bought: Mikkeller Webshop, 330 ml, DKK 50.00
• Score: 2.5 (Aroma 6/10, Appearance 2/5, Taste 5/10, Palate 2/5, Overall 10/20)
• Info: 17/1-2018, BB: 7/3-2022

Guinness Milk Stout

• Name: Guinness Milk Stout, 5%, Ireland
• Appearance: Dark brown, clear. Some light tan head.
• Aroma: Malt, milk sugar. Lightly roasted, chocolate.
• Taste: Lightly roasted, sweetness, chocolate, some malt.
• Bought: Dunnes Stores (Dublin), 500 ml, €3.25
• Score: 3.3 (Aroma 6/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 7/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 14/20)
• Info: 17/1-2018, BB: 13/7-2018

Eight Degrees Sunburnt Irish Red

Irish Ale #15:

• Name: Eight Degrees Sunburnt Irish Red, 5.0%, Ireland
• Appearance: Light reddish brown, decent head.
• Aroma: Light malt, caramel sweetness.
• Taste: Malt. slight hops. Some berries, caramel sweetness.
• Bought: Dublin restaurant, 330 ml, €5.75
• Score: 3.2 (Aroma 6/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 7/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 13/20)
• Info: 17/1-2018, 111/300M, BB: 19/12-2018

Eight Degrees Knockmealdown Irish Stout

New brewery:

• Name: Eight Degrees Knockmealdown Irish Stout, 5.0%, Ireland
• Appearance: Very dark brown, small dark tan head.
• Aroma: Roasted, dark malt, chocolate.
• Taste: Dark malt, bacon, good roasted. Some chocolate. Quite smooth.
• Bought: Dublin restaurant, 330 ml, €5.75
• Score: 3.3 (Aroma 6/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 7/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 14/20)
• Info: 17/1-2018, BB: 14/11-2018

Beer Goals 2018

Here are my beer goals for 2018:

• Get from 167 to 179 Ratebeer countries*   [Current status: 176]
• Get from 6 to 8 Canadian Provinces   [Current status: 7]
• Get last England County (Hertfordshire) again   [Goal achieved 2018-05-18]
• Rate a top-50 beer from six of the last 11 styles   [Current status: 12!]
• Reduce styles I have tried less than 5 beers from 2 to 0   [Goal achieved 2018-02-01]
• Reduce styles I have tried less than 10 beers from 4 to 0   [Current status: 3]
• Reduce styles I have tried less than 15 beers from 28 to 14**   [Goal achieved 2018-12-21]
• Get from 1084 to 1200 breweries   [Goal achieved 2018-10-17]
• Get from 345 to 400 Swiss ratings   [Goal achieved 2018-09-01]
• Get from 109 to 140 Swiss breweries   [Goal achieved 2018-09-01]

Some other minor country related goals:

• Increase countries with 50+ ratings from 10 to 12   [Goal achieved 2018-10-20]
• Increase countries with 10+ ratings from 28 to 32   [Current status: 29]
• Increase countries with 5+ ratings from 39 to 45   [Current status: 43]
• Increase countries with 2+ ratings from 90 to 95   [Current status: 92]

* This would at time of writing get me into the Top-8.
** New England IPA introduced 2018-08 and only tried nine.