Blog

Lindmans Kriek Cherry Lambic Beer

Posted on by Evan

I found this little eight-ounce Lindemans Kriek in a mixed four-pack at my local Whole Foods. This beer is a 3.5% Kriek Cherry Lambic that goes through a secondary fermentation process in the bottle. This cheery beer is filtered and pasteurized before being bottled and made from a Lambic base. That is the difference between this beer and Oude Kriek Cuvée René. This beer is a maceration of 25% of fresh sour cherry juice, then it is filtered and pasteurised. This Kriek pours a cherry red with a one-finger thin pink head. The aroma is tart, sweet, and sour, with a hint of cherry. The flavor is tart, light, and sour, with a big cherry flavor and some sweetness. This Kriek has a medium mouthfeel. The finish is tart cherry and light sweetness. The aftertaste lingers with cherry tartness and sweet flavors. This is a delicious beer without an overly high ABV. Ledemins Kriek is an A. But I don’t think you can drink more than a 750ML bottle. The flavor gets too much, but it’s still delicious, and you should be drinking this beer! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk Emerald IPA

Posted on by Evan

I have been looking for Dragon’s Milk Emerald IPA. This New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk IPA is an 11% ABV barrel-fermented IPA dry-hopped with Lotus hops and aged in Oak barrels. Dragon’s Milk is a division of New Holland Brewing that does all the barrel aging of their beer and makes bourbon as well (www.newhollandbrew.com)(dragonsmilk.com). This beer can be purchased at Total Wine (http://www.totalwine.com) or on the Dragon’s Milk website. This IPA pours deep orange with a one-finger white head. The aroma is hoppy, citrus, and vanilla. The flavor is a combination of orange and vanilla, and it is strong and bitter. This beer has a full mouthfeel. Then it comes to a vanilla boozy finish with small amounts of citrus flavor. This IPA has a boozy vanilla oak aftertaste that lingers just long enough. This IPA sounds interesting when I heard about it on social media, and it is. It does taste almost like an 11% ABV beer, but the hops help it not taste like 11%. It has good barrel flavors without being overly oaky. I think Dragon’s Milk Emerald is an A, and I recommend it! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Wiseman Brewing Angelo’s Pils Italian Style Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

I’ve had Angelo’s Pils twice now. I first had it on tap at Pasta and Provisions Park Road, here in Charlotte, NC, and I just picked up a four-pack at the Providence Road location. This Italian Style Pilsner is 5.2% ABV by Wiseman Brewing in Winston-Salem, NC. This Pilsner is a traditional Pilsner base, dry-hopped with Saphir and Spalter Select hops. The beer’s name is from the Angelo Family (from Como, Italy), who built the building long ago. They ran a Wholesale company out of that building for decades. Now it is the Wiseman Brewing Facility. This Pilsner pours light golden yellow with a two-finger white head. The head fades down to one finger and stays for a while. The aroma is light, sweet, fruity, and has light malt notes. The beer’s flavor is bittersweet and has a light apple flavor. The beer is also crisp with herbal flavors. This Pilsner finishes malty. That malt flavor then grows and lingers on the tongue. The aftertaste is malty. The finish and aftertaste really make this a delicious Italian-style Pilsner. I give Angelo’s Italian-style Pils a B+. I recommend you try this Pilsner. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

TRVE Brewing Co. Chapel of Ghouls Hazy IPA

Posted on by Evan

The label on Chapel of Ghouls reminds me of Dracula’s castle from the video game Castlevania. This hazy IPA from TRVE Brewing Co. in Asheville, NC, and near Denver, Colorado, is 6.5%. I wasn’t able to find any information on this can or any further information on their website. This brewer is no longer in operation. But my local Total Wine (totalwine.com) still has this beer and a few others for sale on their shelves. They have moved their production facility to New Image Brewing in Colorado. This beer pours a hazy light yellow with a one-finger white head. The aroma is bitter, grassy, and citrusy. The flavor is bitter, grassy, and grapefruit. This beer has a mild bitterness and a medium feel in the mouth. Then this IPA comes to a bitter grapefruit finish. The aftertaste is bitter, but that bitterness fades with a light grapefruit flavor. This IPA is a good beer, an A, and I have a slight hesitation in recommending it since this brewery has closed. But if you do see it, grab it. It’s good and refreshing. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sint Bernardus Brouwerij & Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan Kombine Unfiltered Helles

Posted on by Evan

Kombine is a collaboration between St. Bernardus in Watou, Belgium, and Weihenstephan in Freising, Germany. This beer is a 6% ABV unfiltered Helles. This beer isn’t bottle-fermented like St. Bernardus beers. This Helles follows the German Reinheitsgebot and uses Weihenstephan yeast, a blend of hops from both St. Bernardus and Weihenstephan. This Helles is the first bottom-fermented beer that St. Bernardus has brewed. This Helles pours a yellow that has a very light orange hue. This beer has a two-finger white head that fades at a steady pace. The aroma is semi-sweet notes, banana, and very light hops. The flavor is similar to its aroma. This beer flavor reminds me of Delirium, but a lighter Delirium. The mouthfeel is medium. Then this helles has a smooth finish of light, sweet notes. The aftertaste is very little banana with a light hop note. This beer is a very delicious Helles. I give Kombine an A+. I found it to be smooth, flavorful, and refreshing. I hope that you find it that way as well, because I highly recommend Kombine. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

760 Craft Works Knower’s Arc

Posted on by Evan

Sometimes I buy beer based on the cool-looking label, the style of beer might be interesting, or I know and/or like that particular brewer. But Knower’s Arc from 760 Craft Works (www.760craftworks.com) is all the above. I have had and reviewed a few of their other beer. This beer is a 6.7% ABV Hazy IPA from Huntersville, North Carolina. This IPA has Citra, Talus, Simcoe, and Vista Hops. This IPA pours yellow with a two-finger white head. The aroma is a big orange citrus flavor with some bitter hops. The taste is pretty much the same, but with more intensity and less bitterness. There is a nice amount of bitter hop notes, though. This beer has a medium mouthfeel. The finish is bitter orange. The beer has a more bitter orange aftertaste. This beer reminds me of Sugar Creek Brewing’s Big O IPA. But Knower’s Arc is less orange than Big O. This IPA is an A-. I’d want more bitter flavors, but it is great otherwise, and a beer that I recommend trying. You can seek this out at Total Wine (www.totalwine.com). Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Burial Beer Contrition Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

Contrition Pilsner from Burial Beer is a 4.8% ABV beer with 100% German Pilsner Malt, hopped with Grugiest, Saaz, and Hallertau Blanc hops. Burial Beer is in Asheville, North Carolina (Burialbeer.com). I am seeing a little uptick in the amount of Pilsner beer on store shelves. This beer came from Total Wine (totalwine.com). This Pilsner pours yellow with a one-finger white head. The aroma is clean and crisp. It also has some bready and malty notes. The taste is clean and crisp. There are light, sweet notes, bread, and malt notes. This beer is light in the mouth. Then this Pilsner finishes with a nice crispness that is clean with light malt notes. The aftertaste is more of the finish, but it trails off and doesn’t linger. This beer is a good, refreshing German-style pilsner that gets a B+. The overall flavor of this Pilsner does not jump at your taste buds. It tastes good. I would recommend Contrition Pilsner from Burial Beer. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Hi-Wire Brewing Cooler Nights ipa

Posted on by Evan

I bought Hi-Wire Brewing (hiwirebrewing.com) Coller Night ipa from Total Wine (totalwine.com). This beer is a Neighborhood Series 6.5% ABV West Coast-Style IPA, with Citra, Chinook, & Columbus hops. This IPA pours a bright yellow with a two-finger, fluffy white head. The nose of this beer has bitterness, hoppy notes, and light pine scents. The flavor is resinous, bitter, and hoppy, with a grassy/piney flavor. There is a slightly off note on the back ot the tongue. This beer has a medium feel in the mouth. The finish is bitter and hoppy, much like most beers of this style. The aftertaste is slightly fruity but muted and bitter. This IPA tastes much like all the other West Coast-style IPAs. I give this a Cooler Nights ipa a C+. It’s barely getting that grade. I found this IPA not different enough from every other IPA. But it was not terrible. It has decent bitter/hoppy flavors. I feel that the craft beer market has too many IPAs. I like IPAs. It’s just that they have been popular for so long, craft beer drinkers are tired of them and want something different. I will continue to enjoy IPAs. I would not rush out for this one. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Left Hand Brewing Co. Zesty Dreams Nitro Meyer Lemon Blonde Ale

Posted on by Evan

Left Hand Brewing Co. (https://lefthandbrewing.com) Zesty Dreams Nitro is a 5.5% ABV Meyer Lemon Blonde Ale that utilizes nitrogen (a widget) in the can to carbonate this beer. This nitro Blonde ale uses 2-Row Pale Malt, Wheat Malt, Crystal 40, and Rolled Oats malts. They also use Lemon Drop, Eldorado hops, as well as Meyer Lemon and natural lemon flavor. This beer pours a yellow color, with a one-finger creamy, white head. There is an aroma of fresh lemon, tart, dry, and fruity, of course.n The flavor is Lemon fruit, dry, creamy, and slightly tart. This beer has a medium feel to the mouth. Then it has a creamy lemon finish. The aftertaste is just lemony. The nitrogen adds a creaminess that enhances the lemon. This beer gets an A grade. I really would recommend drinking Zesty Dreams. The lemon flavor is excellent without being too tart/sour. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers! 

king Canary Brewing Co. Under The Toucan Sun Italian Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

I’ve been seeing more and more Italian Pilsners around. Italian Pilsners are gaining popularity, and perhaps that is because the majority of the craft beer industry has focused on IPAs. Italian Pilsners are dry-hopped pilsners that use German noble hops. These hops aren’t very bitter, but when they are dry-hopped, they release a small amount of hop bitterness. This style originated in Italy. Well, Under The Toucan Sun didn’t originate in Italy, but in Mooresville, North Carolina, from King Canary Brewing Co (www.kingcanarybrewing.com). This beer is 5.1% ABV and made with Adriatic Pilsner Malt and a blend of noble and American hops. I bought this beer from Reid’s Fine Foods at Southpark Mall (www.reids.com). This beer pours bright yellow with a two-finger white head. The aroma is a little bitter, with crisp and floral notes. The flavor has a lemon-like note, with some bitterness. It is crisp, clean, and herbal, too. This Pilsner finishes with some bitterness, and it has a floral, herbal, and light lemon aftertaste. This beer is good, but it is a little more bitter than some Italian Pilsners. This beer was still good, and it’s a B-. Yes, you should be drinking this Italian Pilsner. I recommend it! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!