Beer Advent Calendar 2013 Day 24- Bristol Beer Factory Double Milk Stout

Good evening all. The big day is only hours away, so I've decided to break out quite a special stout for the penultimate beer of this year's advent calendar. It's Double Milk Stout, an Imperial Milk Stout from Bristol Beer Factory. This was meant to be in last year's 12 Stouts of Christmas collection but it wasn't quite ready at the time and so has finally been unveiled this year after a fair time spent in Speyside whisky barrels. Review after the pic....

Double Milk Stout (7.0% ABV) pours a jet-black colour with a short-lived off-white head. The aroma is very light, with lactose, roasted malt and some very subtle hints of coffee and chocolate. Drinking the beer is also a very balanced and nuanced experience, with lactose, coffee, milk chocolate, a touch of Speyside sweetness, smoked malt peatiness and some tartness in the finish. Mouthfeel is on the thick side with some light carbonation, which is perfect for what's on show. Incredibly smooth and drinkable, get a bottle of this whilst you still can!

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 Day 23- Northern Monk Brew Co Strannik Imperial Stout

Good evening all. Tonight's beer is another imperial stout, which is very fitting considering the awful weather we've been experiencing down in Devon; it's Strannik Imperial Stout from Northern Monk Brew Co (Bradford, UK). Review after the pic....

Strannik Imperial Stout (9.0% ABV) pours a jet-black colour with a thick off-white head that settles to a thin film over the surface of the beer. Lovely rich aroma with chocolate, coffee, caramel, soy sauce and some light hops in the background. Oily mouthfeel and quite a bitter drinking experience, with chocolate, coffee, smoked malt, soy and some tartness in the finish. Definitely a sipper as this can start cloying very quickly, but the alcohol is well-hidden. Decent beer, not as spectacular as I was hoping for but still worth a try.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 Day 22- Bristol Beer Factory Belgian Conspiracy

Good evening all. Tonight's beer is Belgian Conspiracy, a Belgian Golden Ale from Arb... sorry, Bristol Beer Factory! From the looks of things it's going to deliver some American hop power and a healthy dose of Belgian yeast, so I'm definitely looking forward to it! Review after the pic....

Belgian Conspiracy (7.5% ABV) pours a golden colour with a decent white head that maintains itself over the duration of the beer. Aroma is a mix of sulfurous malt and very light Belgian yeast character, with some grassy hops in the background (the odd citrus note is also present). Drinking the beer is when the Belgian yeast makes itself known, with plenty of spice, esters and a nice bitter kick from the hops. Once the bitterness has subsided some grapefruit flavours are noticeable in the finish. The aroma of this beer initially put me off (typical golden ale smell of sulfur and biscuits) but the taste more than makes up for it which is certainly a good thing! Not their best but still worth a try.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 Day 21- De Struise Brouwers Black Damnation IV - Coffee Club

Good evening all. The big day is almost upon us, so I feel it's time to break out a few of the big guns. Tonight's beer is Black Damnation IV- Coffee Club, an Imperial Stout from De Struise Brouwers (Oostvleteren, Belgium). This is a rum barrel aged version of Black Albert, and if it's anything like Mocha Bomb or Black Mes then I'm in for a real treat! Review after the pic....

Black Damnation IV- Coffee Club (13.0% ABV) pours a jet-black colour with a thick brown head that settles to a patchy covering over the surface of the beer. Surprisingly light yet rich aroma, with caramel, licorice, oak, chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, molasses and a hint of rum in the background. The Belgian yeast imparts a fair bit of effervescence during drinking, and mingles nicely with the chocolate, raspberry, coffee, rum and caramel on show. The alcohol is worryingly unnoticeable during drinking but does warm up the chest slightly in the finish. Very light body (probably a result of the yeast and the candy sugar), making this a ridiculously drinkable imperial stout. Highly recommended!

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 Day 20- Rocket Science Ales Jupiter

Good evening all. Tonight's beer is from a brewery that I've never encountered before, picked up during my recent visit to Favourite Beers in Cheltenham. It's Jupiter, an Imperial IPA from Rocket Science Ales (Yate, UK). Review after the pic....

Jupiter (8.5% ABV) pours a hazy amber colour with a bubbly "cask-style" white head. Great aroma with resin, grapefruit and some honey sweetness supporting everything in the background. Drinking the beer delivers a similar tropical fruit whack, with resin, pine, grapefruit, mango and caramel. The hops pack a pleasing bitterness that can cloy if you're not too careful, which is harder than it sounds when considering the flavours on show. Solid DIPA, I'll be looking out for more beers from this brewery in the future.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 Day 19- Celt Experience/Master of Hoppets Danish Monster

Good evening all. Tonight's beer is a collaboration between The Celt Experience (Caerphilly, Wales) and  YouTube beer reviewer Master of Hoppets; it's a lemon-infused IPA made as part of their Shape-Shifter series and you can find the review after the pic....

Danish Monster (6.2% ABV) pours a light amber colour with a short-lived white head that settles to a thin film over the surface of the beer. Straight out of the bottle the aroma smacked me in the face with fruity hops, honey and a hint of sulfur in the background. The hops alternate between grassy and tropical fruits, and sometimes a bit of resin comes through. Malty sweetness and grapefruit hit first during drinking, segueing nicely into the lemon/citrus notes before the hoppy bitterness takes over and lingers in the finish. This can be slightly cloying, but overall it's a very drinkable beer with a very satisfying hop blast.

Beer Advent Calendar 2013 Day 18 and Day 15 Reprised- Arbor Ale Sauvin Non-Blanc and Wild Beer Co Whiskebeest

Good evening all. Steve over at Beers I've Known very rightly called me out on my lack of reviews for the days I listed in yesterday's post so to rectify this I've decided to review two beers today, which should officially get me back on track with this year's shambolic advent calendar. Tonight's beers are Sauvin Non-Blanc, a Bière de Garde/Saison from Arbor Ales (Bristol, UK), and Whiskebeest, a barrel aged Imperial Stout from Wild Beer Co. (Somerset, UK). Review after the pic....

Sauvin Non-Blanc (6.0% ABV) pours a hazy amber colour with a white foam that settles to a thin film over the surface of the beer. Plenty of Belgian yeast character in the aroma, along with funk, vinous notes from the Nelson Sauvin hops, pear drops and some candy sugar sweetness. On the palette the malty presence is more dominant, with esters, apple, funk, sherbert, malt sweetness and a light hoppy finish. Mouthfeel is quite thick, which compliments everything very well. Top beer, get it whilst you can!

Whiskebeest (12.0% ABV) pours a jet black colour with a very short lived off-white head. Loads of smoked malt in the aroma from the barrel ageing, accompanied by coffee, dark chocolate, licorice, yeast extract and some caramelised sweetness. This richness continues during drinking, with whisky, soy sauce, yeast extract, acetone and some tartness in the finish. Good beer, but the mouthfeel is a bit too thin and doesn't quite cut through the qualities imparted by the barrel ageing enough.