Newcastle Cabbie

When one thinks of Newcastle they usually think of brown ale, but this isn’t brown ale this Newcastle is a black ale, called Newcastle Cabbie, 4.2% ABV.  Newcastle Cabbie is brewed with dark malts and noble aroma hops. You’d think being black ale Newcastle Cabbie would pour that way, but Cabbie pours a deep dark brownish red almost black color with tan beige head that dissipates kind of slowly and leaves behind little traces of lacing. I found not much light through the glass nor did I see much of any carbonation bubbles due to the darkness of this ale. The aroma is of very light roasted coffee with hints of chocolate. There is some sort of a light darker fruit scent there as well. The taste on Newcastle Cabbie is light with hints of roasted malts and coffee around a faint chocolate flavor. However I didn’t find much of a light fruit taste. But as this beer warms up a bit the roasted malts and coffee like flavor becomes a bit stronger and more present. The mouth feel is light medium with a nice smooth finish that leads into a mild dark roasted coffee and semi sweet aftertaste. I went into this Newcastle Cabbie thinking it was more stout or porter like and it was way milder than that. Newcastle Cabbie gets a C+, almost getting a B- but not quite. Newcastle Cabbie is still just a C+ beer. I think if I have this again I will let it really warm up before having it. It did get better as I got the end of it and the beer was slight warmer. But I you do expect most Newcastle beer to be much milder than some others out there. Not a bad beer but just not what I was expecting it to be. I would like to have this again just to see how it is when it a bit warmer. So go out and try Newcastle Cabbie and see what you think of it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Special Edition St. Bernardus Abt 12 (three years old)

One of my favorite countries to have beer from is Belgium. They have some of the world’s best breweries and beers. So one of my family friends came for Thanksgiving with a big bottle of Special Edition St. Bernardus Abt 12 11% ABV, (Belgian Quad) but he had it in his closet for two years. What makes this St. Bernardus Abt 12 special is that it’s brewed for the sixtieth anniversary of the creation of this special variety of St. Bernardus Abt 12. This special edition contains hops from Poperinge: Challenger and Golding, and has been brewed with black, amber, Munich and pale ale malts. St. Bernardus Abt 12 pours a deep rich mahogany brown that is dark red around the edges with big light beige three finger head that does stick around for a little bit before it fades. I didn’t see any carbonation bubbles on this nor did is see any light streaming through the glass due to the dark color of the beer. The aroma on this three year St. Bernardus Abt 12 is a slight pipe tobacco with hint of vanilla covered leather, there is a slight scent of faded dark fruits like raisins and plums, but those ad almost not there due to the fact that this bottle is three years old. Now the taste on St. Bernardus Abt 12 is not what you would taste if you where to try this with a bottle you just bought, so the taste on this three year old bottle is way more vanilla and sweeter, but it’s not in your face sweet vanilla, it’s more of a smooth and silky tasting vanilla. There is less of the alcohol flavor presence due to aging this. I also found very small and faint roasted note, but it was so faint that at first I wasn’t sure what it really was. The mouth feel is medium but smooth; St. Bernardus Abt 12 finishes sweet and leads into a nice smooth vanilla and slight yet faint coconut aftertaste. St. Bernardus Abt 12 is one of the best Belgian Quads, if not the best in the world. But normally this beer isn’t as sweet and smooth when fresh, but after a little bit of age it become a masterpiece of Belgian perfection and mellows out a bit. So St. Bernardus Abt 12 (three years old) gets one big A+ here. Aging this is something you should try! I recommend that you pick up two St. Bernardus Abt 12’s one to have now and one to let sit and age for a while and you can see how they compare to one another. So again I hope you had a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Brewery Ommegang Hennepin Farmhouse Ale

Welcome back to The Best Beer Blog, it has been a while but here is another beer review.  Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving! in the last few years the Farmhouse Saison has been growing in popularity. This style hails from Belgium and is brewed in the farmhouse to be enjoyed during the summer months. But now Saisons can be enjoyed year round. This particular Farmhouse Saison is Hennepin, 7.7% ABV, from Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown N.Y. Hennepin is named fro the explorer Father Hennepin, the first European to visit Niagara Falls. Hennepin pours a bright but hazy yellow/golden color with a huge three-finger white fluffy head that stays for quite some time. There is a good amount of carbonation bubbles to this Saison with very limited amount of light streaming through the glass. The aroma on Hennepin is a rich peppery bouquet with a hint of lemon and orange peel. The taste of Hennepin is big with a rustic flavor of spicy ginger light hints of orange peel with a peppery yet slightly spicy note. You can really taste the alcohol around all the other funky flavors on this beer. The mouth feel is medium to slightly light with a nice spicy zesty finish. The aftertaste on Hennepin is lemony with hints of a grainy peppery orange. Overall this is a spectacular tasting beer. Hennepin gets A+. Ommegang has brewed on darn good Saison here. I couldn’t find a thing wrong with this beer. Hennepin has a lot of flavors going on here but none of its flavors clash with each other. I really think that you should go out and try Hennepin Saison and see what you think. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!