Unibroue Maudite

One of my favorite styles of beer is the Belgian style. There are so many different Belgian styles and there are great. Many different breweries from all over the world brew different Belgian beer styles. Belgian beer is widely popular throughout the world. Here is one example from Chambly Québec Canada, Unibroue Maudite, 8.0% ABV. Maudite is Belgian strong dark ale and is refermented in the bottle. Maudite pours a dark ruby color with a big two fingered, light beige colored head that very slowly dissipates and leaves some thin lacing behind. I found very small amounts of light coming through the goblet with tiny amounts of carbonation bubbles racing towards the foamy head. The aroma on Maudite is of dark fruits, such as plums and raisins. There is a bit of a clove like scent going along with the dark fruits and I found a faint hint of coriander. The taste is not as strong as some other Belgian strong dark ale. There is a light citrusy note at first that fades into a light dark fruit (the dark fruit get more intense as the bee warms), Then you get a little strong boozy taste that fades into semi clove like taste. Maudite has a slight sweetness to it that is most pleasant. Maudite has a medium mouth feel and finishes nice and smooth with hints of sweetness. The after taste on Maudite is nice with a plumy semi sweetness that sticks around just enough to really enjoy. Maudite is great beer so this gets an A. I’ve not really had a beer from Unibroue that was just plane, okay or bad.  They brew such wonderful beer and Maudite is a great one of theirs. I highly recommend trying Maudite. So go out and try Unibroue Maudite and see what you think of it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Mother Earth Brewing Old Neighborhood Oatmeal Porter

Over the years brewers have been putting different things into beer to make a new taste sensation and/or flavor profile. But one ingredient has been used for quite some time now. Oatmeal is one item that is widely used in porters and stouts for a nice touch of sweetness and texture. He is a local North Carolina example of an oatmeal porter, Mother Earth’s Old Neighborhood, 5.5% ABV. This is almost a sessionable oatmeal porter ABV 5.5% ABV. Old Neighborhood pours a deep black color with dark ruby red edges, with a nice big three finger beige head what sticks around quite nicely and forms good looking lacing. I saw no light coming through and I found there to be very little carbonation bubbles. The aroma is like a nice sweet bowl of oatmeal on a cold day with hints of roasted malts. The taste is at first slightly roasted then comes a hint of the sweetness from the oatmeal. I did find a tiny bitterness from the roasted right before the sweetness. The mouthfeel is smooth with a slight creaminess and has a semi-sweet finish with a hint of a roasted character. The after taste is slightly sweeter still with a nice roasted quality. Overall Old Neighborhood Oatmeal Porter is a solid B+ beer. It is easier to drink than others in this style and has a great balance of flavors, and isn’t overdone on one particular thing. I would like to have this one again. So go out and try Mother Earth’s Old Neighborhood Oatmeal Porter and see what you think of it. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche Doppelbock

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy holiday. When we think of Germany and its beer we tend to thin about Munich and the styles of beer that come out of that region. But Germany has many other great beer brewing regions such as Berlin, and Bamberg. Here is one Bamberg example, Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche Doppelbock, 8.0% ABV. With Schlenkerla the malt is kilned with oak wood, and is paired with the multifaceted bitterness of Hallertau aroma hops. Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche Doppelbock pours an amber color with a one finger white head that fades rather quickly but leaves behind decent lacing. I found some nice amounts of light, but not a lot, and there is great carbonation bubbles racing from bottom to the top. The aroma on this Dopplebock is like a freshly charred two by four with a faint malt scent. The taste isn’t as intense as the aroma, but you get a slight bitterness up front followed by toffee smokiness. The mouth feel is slightly mild to medium and z Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche Dopelbock finishes slightly smoky. The after taste has hits of bitterness surrounding a light smoke flavor and a faint toffee and caramel taste. Overall this is not the best Schlenkerla beer, so this gets a D+. I found this to be to bitter for what it was and not enough sweetness or smokiness to help balance it out. I could not found where the Dopplebock flavors where when drinking this beer. I wouldn’t say this is such a terrible beer, but it’s kind of bad in my opinion. So go out and try Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche Dopelbock and see what you think. Have a happy New Year! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Left Hand Fade to Black Vol. Five

Breweries sometimes brew a certain beer each year that is different each time but may have some similarities. This beer is Left Hand Brewing Fade to Black Vol. Five, 7.8% ABV. This version of Fade to Black is a dark (black) rye beer. Some call this style of beer American Black Ale. Fade to Black Vol. Five pours a somewhat thick black color with ruby beige color with a quarter finger of quickly fading head that leave little wimpy lacing. I found no light coming through nor did I find carbonation bubbles. The aroma on this ale is slightly dominated by a black licorice scent with a very faint spice note. I also found some chocolate and earthy pine note but they were faint at best. The taste on Fade to Black Vol. Five is slightly bitter at first, kind of like a black licorice bitterness followed by a light chocolate and an earthy bitterness. The mouth feel is medium to slightly heavy and has a bitter fuller finish. Fade to Black Vol. Five’s after taste is faintly semi sweet with a little spicy bitterness. I found this not as well as I was hoping it would be. So I would give this a C-. I wouldn’t have this again. Overall I though it was to bitter and not enough of the rye was coming through, and should’ve had a touch more sweetness. It was so unbalanced; I just think it needs to have just few more of touches of rye and some sweetness to really make this well-balanced black ale. Go out and try this and see if you agree or disagree with me and form your own opinion. So I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Duvel Belgian Golden Ale

Belgium is one of the best and oldest beer brewing countries in the world and produces some of the world’s best beers and most popular styles. One brewery in particular is Duvel Moortagt, which as been brewing since 1871 and has made a family brewery. This Is Duvel, Belgian Golden Ale (bottle Conditioned) 8.5% ABV. It comes in 11.2 ounce short stubby bottle. Duvel pours a bright golden color with a three finger bright white foamy, rocky head that sticks around for a quit while and leaves behind some thick amazing looking lacing. I found plenty of light streaming through the glass with decent amounts of carbonation. The aroma on Duvel is bright with a pineapple scent and nice hints of grainy, grassy notes. I also found a boozy aroma but none to heavy. The taste on this is big, with a nice light pineapple and a faint grassy note. Towards the back of the mouth I found it to be slightly boozier and stronger than the start with hints of carbonation. The mouth feel is medium with a boozy texture and finishes crisp and slightly boozy. The after taste on Duvel is nice faintly sweet, strong, and boozy with hints of hoppy yet grassy textures. Overall Duvel is a great beer so I would give this an A+. This is a great example of bottle conditioned Belgian golden ale. Duvel goes well with any season, and occasion. I found this beer to be very popular with concerning beer drinkers. I recommend that you try this and share it with you friends; you’ll look like a real beer connoisseur. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Boulevard Unfiltered wheat Beer

Almost everyone that likes beer likes the Wheat beer Style. It is a widely popular style and almost all breweries worldwide beer some sort of a wheat beer. I am a big fan of wheat beers. They are one of the tastiest styles, but that is up to ones opinion. Here we have Boulevard Brewing’s Unfiltered Wheat Beer, 4.4% ABV and is bottle conditioned. That means there is live yeast in the bottle, usually toward the bottom. Why is there yeast at the bottom you ask? Well that is due to a second fermentation in the bottle when a small amount of yeast is added to this beer just before packaging. Boulevard Brewing’s Unfiltered Wheat Beer pours a light but hazy yellow color with a very bright almost glowing white fluffy head that stays nicely for a bit and does fade into some okay lacing.  There was the smallest amount of light streaming though with very little carbonation bubbles found. The aroma on this unfiltered wheat has a nice very light/faint banana scent, but is overshadowed by a lemon and somewhat of an orange or orange peel aroma. I did also notice a little spice note on the nose. The taste of Boulevard Brewing’s Unfiltered Wheat Beer is some what similar to the aroma, you do get a nice zest of orange or orange peel (it’s kind of hard to tell one from the other) that has some light spice to it. There is a sourness going on with the orange, it isn’t a tartness, its past that and just sour and verging on bitter. I found no trace of a lemon on the taste. The mouth feel is mild to medium with a slight tingle on the tongue. Boulevard Brewing’s Unfiltered Wheat Beer finishes somewhat clean with a sour bitterness, and the aftertaste isn’t very please with a bigger bitterness and traces of sour fruits. Overall I was not so pleased with Boulevard Brewing’s Unfiltered Wheat Beer. I mean it’s not terrible enough to pour out. This isn’t really what you’d expect from a wheat beer. So with that said, Boulevard Brewing’s Unfiltered Wheat Beer gets a C, I found it to be average and yet a turn off. I wouldn’t have this again. This just wasn’t what I like when it comes to a wheat beer. There are some many better wheat beer out there. Go try THOSE! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!