I love Belgian beers and love Trappist ales, so I grabbed this Achel Tripel to try. Tastewise, it didn’t impress me much. I was drinking it alongside Grimbergen, and the later has more flavour with less ABV. It does provide tons of sleepiness, though. I was still feeling it’s effect after 3 hours.
Maybe I’d enjoy it more if I’d cool it properly. This one I had room temperature, because it was a last minute decision. But I probably wouldn’t bother buying it again, honestly.
I purchased a can of this beer simply for the gorgeous art.
First thing that comes to mind it is how smooth that beer is. Guinness level of smoothness, but at 7% ABV. They use both coffee beans and cacao nibs, and both are blended very well.
And believe it or not, it does put you in that lightly-sleepy state for a very long time, I was still feeling it after 3-4 hours, which is uncommon for such a low ABV.
Beautiful bottle, with a was seal. Tastes like triple IPA, but without the gas. Nice, as I like when a beer doesn’t taste like a beer anymore, but the aftertaste is bitter, and I probably wouldn’t buy it again.
Another beer I brought from Zurich, this one brewed in Latvia, not a country you associate with beer usually, but then some of the best beers I had were from Norway.
It’s a “German dobblebock”, but at 15%, it’s more of a “qudruperbock” (term that I just invented). Deep amber and opaque, it reminds of classic Gulden Draak. But I’m not sure that extra 5% alcohol adds anything in terms of taste.
I never thought I’d write it about a German beer, but this is a mindblowing beer. It doesn’t look like a beer, and doesn’t taste like a beer, though. Completely opaque, like a coffee with a bit of milk in it, and with a heavy sediment. I rarely “taste” anything in beere, unless it’s something like a literal chocolate stout, but here, I can taste chocolate, coffee, and raisins. It’s closer to Madeira at that point than to a beer.
Also the bottle is something else, with the swing-top cap and wax. Theoretically, it could mean you could trink this beer in two seatings, and at 16% it even makes some sense.
Now I’ve tried the Black, the Red and the Gold Dragon Milk beers. All three are fantastic. The only reason I wouldn’t buy the Golden Ale is there are plenty of belgian beers available at this level: Gulden Drak is what they were aiming for, I think.
Since I was already ordering some US imperial stouts from Dragon Milk, I decided to give another American Imperial Stout a try.
This one is good, but not that good, with a bitter aftertaste. Not terrible by any means, but I can find better Imperials closer to home.
I think American food and beer has a lot of bad rep. But once they set on something, they make it the best in the world.
I was very impressed by Dragon’s Milk Stout. But I must say that their Red Ale might be even better. Same richness, and more fruitiness. Looking forward to try the Golden Ale now.
I praised the Vault City Barley Wine highly, but was a bit apprehensive of this beer. I like my beers strong and sweet, but is there such a thing as too strong and too sweet?
Turns out, there isn’t. If beer is a liquid bread, this beer is a liquid brioche with some dolce de leche on top. Very smooth, very sweet, with notes of vanilla and brioche.
I was eyeing Vault City beers for some time now, because their Imperial Stouts sounded like something right down my alley. I wasn’t mistaken. I went with the safer choice of Barleywine, without the additions. It’s fantastic: smooth, sweet, full-bodied, and with very little gas. Yes, it will make you sleepy, but in a good way.
It’s a bit pointless to review Brew By Numbers, because every year they would produce a completely different Imperial Stout. But still.
This year it’s ages in Rye Whisky barrels, which gives it a smoky (expected) slightly sweet (expected), but also almost Lambic level of sour taste (completely unexpected).
It’s still good, though.
I have no idea where I’ve got this beer from. Look, sometimes I just spot something in a shop. Or sometimes I do an online order, and I just add a bottle I find interesting.
In any case, it’s a very nice beer at 7.5%. Not sure if it’s considered a Trappist, but it feels quite similar to me, with an orange sweetness to it.
Maybe not something I’d buy again on purpose, but a nice experience nevertheless.
Yes, I drink so much I’m having this Christmas beer in October.
It’s fantastic. Not as dark as I expected, but full of taste and gives you a good light feel. The interesting bit is it’s more sour than most quadruples.
I didn’t particularly enjoyed this beer, and it gave me a runny nose. That’s all I’m gonna say about it. Wish I went with classic La Chouffe instead today.
I love Imperial Stouts. So naturally, when I was in Trader Joe’s in the US and saw an the Dragon’s Milk Imperial Stout, I decided to try it out. Of course, because it’s the US, they were only sold in packs of 4.
Was it worth shipping it across half the world? Absolutely. I know there’s a misconception that Americans don’t understanding anything about food, but that’s all it is, a misconception. It’s everything you expect from Imperial Stout and more. Glad that I still have 3 more bottles left, should keep me until the end of the year, I hope. And if you’d thought that 11% is their limit: they’re also producing a 18% one.
It’s astonishing that at 12.5%, this is not even the strongest beer from Swedish Stigbergets.
It’s a fantastic Imperial Stout throught and throught, though. Surprisingly sour, which means that it tastes like 90% chocolate, and very smooth. Makes you light, not heavy. Something I definitely would buy if I ever find it again.
I think I got this from the random crate, but I’m not sure. Been meaning to taste Mad Squirrel just for the sake of the name.
It’s a nice porter. Not much gas, which is good. Has some sweetness, some smokiness, doesn’t leave you with a headache. For 3GBP or so, not bad at all.
Got it from the same Beer52 random crate I’m still struggling to finish. It’s a nice surprise, pretty sweet and tasty for a cheap 5% stout. Not sold on their site directly at the moment, so I couldn’t get it even if I wanted to, but all their other beers are ridiculously cheap:
Finally tried it (it’s March, I bought it before Christmas). And it’s exactly what I’d wish from Christmas beer. Chocolate or coffee notes, some spiciness, sweet, but not too heavy.
If I could get it next year, I would.
I was looking forward to try this beer, but it turned out into a slight disappointment. It’s not particularly bad, and didn’t leave me with a headache or anything like that, but it just didn’t taste anything special. Not too sweet, not too spicy. Just… alright, I guess.
