Drunken Sailor - Crew Republic

Drunken Sailor
Crew Republic

0,33l
6,4%
58 IBU

Herkules, Citra, Cascade, Simcoe Hops
Pilsner, Munich and Caramel malts


Another out of the present my boss gave me. I like the label it's old school with some hipstery attachments. I was actually surprised to see that this is brewed in Germany as it all pointed to an American Brewer... live and learn. The label shows th name of the brewing initiative namely Crew Republic of which I admittedly hadn't heard about. And seems to be part of the grand craft beer movement. The upper label shows a classical sailors tattoo icon - an anchor. Very fitting for an IPA and that is why I chose this baby... because I want an IPA and they are hard to come by in Germany.

I like how they say which hops and malt they use. The Taste-o-meter thing they have added is probably a thing of taste... I usually tend to evade those because they influence my own sampling but I can see why it might be nice for someone who is new to beer sampling. It comes in a classical brown small bottle.

Ratebeer seems to have a high opinion of it... and now I DO wanna try it.

I will be away to Åland for a long weekend by the way so don't expect too much the next week... but maybe I'll bring back some goodies from there.

I went back to my classical tasting glass for this as it seems to deserve something classy.
It pours easy with almost no foam (like most IPA). I managed to conjure up SOME foam and it turned out to be very, very fine bubbles with occasional bigger ones.
It's of a cloudy amber with a multitude of particulates.

Instantly the room filled with a very pleasant raspberry aroma so let's get to the bottom of te aroma.

I can instantly recognize the IPA smell but it is more fruity than anything I had ever had smelled in an IPA before. The fruity tones are present and mix very, very nicely with the hop and hop blossom smell. The aroma is very full and overwhelming. I really like this aroma though I am for once at a loss to describe it.

It starts very sweet, raspberryish on the tip of the tongue then, the more I emerge my tongue into it, the hoppish bitterness takes over, Opening in a full variety of sheer bitterness, mixed with dark chocolate notes. For a short moment the alcohol is noticeable but that fades quickly.

The carbonation is pretty perfect, tickling the tongue a bit but not taking over too much of the mouthfeel. The only mayhaps small thing I can find to criticize on that brew is the alcohol taste that lingers for a bit - but as you readers know, that is something I personally dislike and doesn't make it bad in itself.

I REALLY like this one. Vast aromas of berry and melon mixed with complimenting bitter aspects.

If you find this somewhere, go get it!

Prost!

DMW

Longboard Island Lager

Longboard Island Lager
Kona Brewing
355ml
4,6%

My beloved Boss gave me a mixed case of beers from around the world and I am eager to start trying them. I shall start the series with a Hawaiian baby. Apparently Kona Brewing has been busy there with quite a selection of which I got the Lager.

The small bottle depicts the Hawaiian islands and the words Liquid Aloha. A fun novelty that almost makes me want to keep the bottle..if I weren't such a pack rat.

The Label is pretty cool and shows three surfers on the ocean in a Hawaiian bay. Colorscheme is red, blue and sand and I do like it. All in all it is a really nicely combination of label, bottle and cap, which also shows the brewery's logo - a gecko of some sort.

As it's a lager I went for an old hand blown glass stein instead of my usual tasting glass.

It pours nice and easy with not a lot of foam really. The foam it has, dissipates besides a small layer of fine bubbles.

It is of a nice golden color and appears unfiltered as it is not fully clear - alas not as cloudy as I am used to when it comes to unfiltered brews.

Now let's check the aroma. The olfactory sensation is mediocre. It's watery with sweet tones and very faint tart umami smell. Floral and fruity scents are also detectable.

So I haven't eaten anything today so let's hope I can still type after sampling it -  then again it only has 4,6%. According to the added label the ingredients would even make it OK under the German purity law.

The additional label is required as, as far as I know, beers in Europe need to show what ingredients are used in them .... they don't in the US.

Now the taste was a real surprise. A true nice sensation. Hay, freshness, very soft bitterness in the aftertaste. I truly like the soft floral tones mixed with just about the right amount of hoppish bitterness. This all mixed with almost banana sweetness.

Ratebeer isn't convinced of it, I, however, truly am. This might be one of the better things I have tried in the last year or so. Funny how taste differs.

Prost!

DMW

Schokobier

Schokobier
Freigeist Bierkultur - Vormann Brauerei, Hagen-Dahl
0,33l
5%

Right, as you might have gathered, I am on a little alcohol hiatus. It wasn't really planned.. after New Years Eve I was busy and then it somehow developed into a tipaton tammikuu (An alcohol free January). I have gotten a tremendous amount of great est objects for my birthday though, so I have to start somewhere. Today's baby I owe Dr. H. again who is doing his best to find rare gems for me to test and indeed, this might be one of those. It apparently is brewed for the 20th anniversary of the chocolate museum in cologne. Now I ask you WHY HAS NO ONE EVER TOLD ME ABOUT A CHOCOLATE MUSEUM?! *wipes drool off the keyboard*

Right ... where was I. I truly am not sure what to expect from this gem. I have had chocolate stouts - or so called chocolate stouts -  but this seems to actually have cacao as the ingredient. As the bottle is dark brown I can't guess whether it's gonna be a brown brew or a golden one.

The standard bottle holds a cap by the Vormann Brewery which seems to also be over 125 years old. My guess is that Freigeist Bierkultur brewed it at Vormann Brewery for the museum.

The label itself is nicely done, maybe a bit retro and depicts a chocolate version of colognes cathedral.

I can't find out whether the cacao was used in the brewing process or whether it was added later on. To go along German Purity law I'd guess it is the latter but no idea.

I picked my standard tasting glass for it.

It pours nice and easy, not as oily as some stouts. It comes with a nice dark hazelnut finish and not much foam. I actually had to use some tricks to produce foam at all. It dissipated rather quickly, leaving a fine layer of minuscule bubbles and an island of bigger ones in the middle of the brew.

Aroma-wise this isn't the best thing I have ever smelled. I can indeed smell the cacao but it reminds me more of accidentally sniffing in a pack of powdered cacao than the nice smell of a bar of chocolate.  Once one manages to ignore the very strong main aroma, there are faint plum tones and even marzipan hues... alas all covered by the rather unpleasant main small.

Time to give it a try and see whether my sense of taste still works after months of relaxation.

All I can say that this is... interesting. the dark aroma that was detectable is covering most of the present facets. It is rather tart by itself with a bitter sidetone that takes over in the aftertaste, surely stemming from the cacao.
Ratebeer is a bit mixed about it just like me. Apparently the Freigeist people are known for weird things and yes this wins as weird.

Thank you for the bottle Dr. H.!

Prost!

DMW

Grimbergen Dubbel

Grimbergen Dubbel
750ml
6,5%

Yes dear reader, I have indeed not written much and even todays entry will probably stay a short one.
I am working a lot and haven't been following my hobby that much. Much to my dismay.
This is part of the delivery I have gotten from Belgium from my beloved Brother.
So yes, a nice 0,75l bottle with a classy cork and the rather famous Grimbergen logo.

The brew is dark red, seems almost black.


Lotsa caramel colored foam that stays in the glass long.

Aroma is sweet - tart. Not as sweet as I had expected it from a Dubbel. Faint rhubarb and berry tones.

Tastewise it's full of surprises it starts sweet but expands with fine bitter notes and a very full mouth feel. Distant Sherry tones and faint chocolate notes are definitely present.

I do like this a lot!

Prost!

Spalter Edel-Export Dunkel

Spalter Edel-Export Dunkel
0,5l
5,5%

You might remember my start of a series about the brews of one of Germanies last communally owned city brewery in Spalt. I have another baby from this charming small brewery, a dark Export.
For those of you not familiar with that beer: Here is a small article about it.

Anyways I do like dark roasted beers and I like the beer from Spalt so I hope that this might be nice. I apologize for the darkish pictures but it is already 11 PM.

It has a standard Spalt label, mainly red and blue, showing what I guess is the city of Spalt and in front of it the apparently well known hops that they grow there.

Simple beer so simple glass. Nothing fancy like a tasting glass for something down t earth like this brew.

Though the picture might make it appear reddish, it is more of a light hazelnut color. Nut as red brown or dark brown like the dark beers I am used to, also filtered and very clear. I can easily look through, which speaks for itself when it comes to the color. A nice big bubbled caramel colored head, dissipating mediocre fast.

The aroma is almost meaty. I have had his before on some brews, it reminds me of fresh raw meat... no idea why. There are faint roast aromas and the carbonation tickles my nose, which speaks for a certain tartness. Somehow the images I get are a classical German pub with a lot of smoke in the air.

Ratebeer doesn't seem to be too convinced and rates it lower than its lighter sister the Export Hell.

The carbonation is strong in the beginning and stings a bit. The first facets of the brew that strike me is a side taste of non alcoholic malt beer that is common in Germany... a bit like Finnish koti olut.
The second aspect is the rich roast aroma which sadly dissipates fast and leaves an unsatisfied feeling. The alcohol is definitely there and as you know I really don't like it when I can taste it. It's missing more umami. While it serves a nice bitter dark it is not very fulfilling in other categories. The aftertaste is there on the back of te palate but all in all this is rather mediocre.

Prost!

DMW

Ichtegem's Grand Cru

Ichtegem's Grand Cru
330ml
6,5%

The more expensive brother of yesterdays Oud Bruin, this Flemish Red Ale has been matured in oak barrels and has one label more than the red capped brother from yesterday. The label is more or less the same and as already mentioned, the cap this time is white not red. I was thinking of saving this baby but it has been in the fridge for over 24 hours and I truly can't be arsed to wait for another one to get cold so this one it is.. also it fits as I had the brother yesterday.

The color is lighter than yesterday though the pictures don't show that very well. The foam again is light caramel and dissipates very fast though I did my very best to conjure up a nice head.

Ratebeer also has a very high rating for this, more than double than the smaller brother from yesterday.

The aroma at least is a lot better than yesterday. I can detect spices, the wood tones from the oak barrel and a fine tartness. It reminds me of Glögi or Glühwein with cloves and cinnamon. Complex aroma indeed. that makes me wanna drink this now!

This is awesome. It takes yesterdays aroma but tops it. It starts sweet only to warp into tartness and end with wine like aftertaste and decent bitterness.

I have said this before but this definitely is one of the best brews I have had the last few years. The aftertaste is complex with delicate bitterness and very fine yeast tones, coupled with the fruity tartness of gooseberries topped with warm spices.

Absolutely worth trying!

I dedicate this post to Turo! Great work running the Amsterdam Marathon!

Prost!

DMW

Ichtegem's Oude Bruin

Ichtegem's Oude Bruin
250ml
5,5%

So my little brother who happens to be 12 years older than me went to atrip to Belgium and brought back some babies for me. I cut back my beer drinking so my posts might be less in their intervals.
The task I gave my brother was to bring some Oude Bruin which is a sort of beer I learned to like a long while ago in Dutchieland.


So Ichtegem's isn't rated too high on Ratebeer but then again I haven't tasted one in ages so I prolly wouldn't recognize a good one if it hit me in the face.
As the weather is getting bad it is also time to take the pictures inside .. Winter is coming!

The small bottle is really simple in design. A small plain bottle with one simple label and a red cap. Nothing special so far but I don't drink the label but the beer so...

So seriously as a first impression this smells vile... like strong liquor or sherry, sweet, heavy and very sour... I might even guess that this yeast has gone bad but we shall see. I do like sour/tart beer so it might be a challenge. There is a cork smell mixed with a sour something...

Thew brew is very dark black with mediocre caramel colored foam that was hard to conjure up and dissipated even faster.

The taste is reaaaally nice (though my mum just said that it tastes like vinegar..) I find a complex mixture of sweet and sour with a fine bitter end note. It is very nice and fruity with many sub tones. Fresh sweet cherries mixed with very faint wood tones that leave a nutty feeling on the tongue. The bitter side notes fill  the whole mouth and palate in the after taste.

This was a true surprise, especially as the aroma is truly not very appealing.

Prost!

DMW