Monday, December 18, 2023
North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Liefmans Goudenband
Goudenband is a good example of a (Flanders) Oud Bruin.
Beer Advocate: Liefmans Goudenband is one of the most distinctive dark beers in the world. Originally called IJzerenband (Iron Band) – a reference to the iron bands around the beer barrels – the bottle gained its champagne cork when it was renamed Liefmans Goudenband (Gold Band). Made in open vats with beer of mixed fermentation, it is left to mature for four to 12 months in the cellar. Mature beer is then fortified with younger beer, so the fermentation process starts up again.
Liefmans Goudenband is a beer for storing, and just keeps improving over the years like a fine wine. Even after ten years, this dark red beer tastes as fresh as ever. You’ll immediately pick up on the wonderful aromas of caramel, apple, rhubarb, cherries and malt. On the taste buds you will find hints of apple and cherries, combined with woody notes, while the aftertaste hints at nuts and dried raisins. The mildly acidic taste make this beer a perfect match for blue cheese.Wednesday, December 13, 2023
BFM Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien
Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien is a fantastic beer, one of my favorites. Beer Advocate classifies it as a Flanders Red Ale.
Beer Advocate
Brewer's notes: The Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien is a strong sour ale of mixed fermentation, aged during a year in old wine oak barrels. The oak aging and the action of wild yeasts confer this beer’s astonishing wide range of aromas. Its outstanding komplexity, balance, roundness and long finish, are the fruit of the meticulous blend of selected barrels.
On the palate the blend reminds one of fruity red wines with a pronounced balsamic sourness.
The best way to enjoy a Bon-Chien is to serve it in an elegant wine glass at 16°C or 60.6°F paired with a duck breast or some panned foie gras for example.
Tasting notes
2312: I enjoyed a glass on draft at Can Can while dining with L and E. It continues to impress. It paired well with beef tartar and escargots. I have sampled the beer on draft and from the bottle several times since my last review but saw no reason to add new comments. "Sour with oak and smoke and tons of complexity" is accurate. I noticed more wine last night.
Rating = (still) 7 glasses
1308: Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien is a fantastic beer. Sour with oak and smoke and tons of complexity. Rating = 7 glasses.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
J. W. Lee's Harvest Ale
Tasting notes
Sunday, December 10, 2023
Alchemist Focal Banger
Brewer's notes: Brewed with Mosaic and Citra hops. A firm mineral backbone supports the dank flavors and aromas we cram into this beer, and separates it from the pack.
BeerAdvocate: Focal Banger® is an American India Pale Ale. We have a real love for IPAs here at The Alchemist and we strive to offer you the best hop experience that we possibly can. The beer is brewed using Citra and Mosaic hops and our favorite British malts. Truly an abundance of malty goodness.
Freshness and control have always been my main concern when it comes to our beer. We are committed to providing you with an unfiltered and unpasteurized hop experience. Why do I recommend that you drink it from can? Quite simply, to ensure a delightful hop experience. The act of pouring it in a glass smells nice, but it releases the essential hop aromas that we have worked so hard to retain.If you MUST pour it into a glass, you may find that some of the hop resins have settled to the bottom -- leave them in the can when pouring. This beer is perishable and at its best when it is young, fresh, and hazy. Keep it cold, but not ice cold. Drink this beer today, you could be dead tomorrow ... -- John Kimmich
Fiddlehead Second Fiddle
Second Fiddle is a nice New England Double IPA.
Brewer's Notes:
Extensively dry-hopped, Second Fiddle is second in name only. Big, juicy and aromatic.
Tasting notes
1211: A can from ML. Drank it so long ago that I cannot give it a full or accurate review. I remember thinking is was too "New England" and not bitter enough. The reviews on BeerAdvocate make me want to try it again.
Saturday, December 9, 2023
Brasserie d'Achouffe La Chouffe

BeerAdvocate: The gnomes of Fairyland are particularly fond of this golden beer. LA CHOUFFE, with its slight hoppy taste, combining notes of fresh coriander and fruity tones, is the drink which gives them their zest for life. At least, that's what these imps say when they are thirsty. Their secret used to be jealously guarded from one generation to the next until the day they shared the recipe with humans to seal their friendship. Of all the legends from the wonderful region of the Belgian Ardennes, the tale of LA CHOUFFE is the one which most merits re-telling.
Tasting notes
Rating: 5.5 glasses. 5.5 is a downgrade from 6 because I am trying to be a "tough" grader. The rating may increase with a second or third bottle. Perhaps Duvel is overrated?
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Lawson's Vermont Strong
Vermont Strong is a wonderful American Pale Ale
Make a donation to the Vermont Community Foundation
2312: A can courtesy of ML. I really liked it. A clean hop bit with a pleasant malt backbone.
Rating = 5 glasses. May change with more tastes.
Bitburger Premium Pils
Premium Pils is the one of the most popular beers in Germany. Bitburger's company slogan is, "Bitte ein Bit."
Brewer's notes: Perfect hoppy pilsner enjoyment, unique in taste: Bitburger Premium Pils – the most tapped premium pilsner at German counters.
BeerAdvocate: The perfected delight of pilsener with an accent of hops, combined with ease and elegance, and a crystal-clear, sunny straw-colour and long-lasting, fine head: brewed for almost two hundred years from the finest raw ingredients according to the German purity law, it's not for nothing that our Bitburger Premium Pils is the most popular draft beer in Germany. Its freshly-drawn flavour makes our Premium beer so well-loved.
Tasting Notes
2312: A nice easy drinking pilsner that pairs easily with food. Some grassy hops with enough bitterness to notice. A fresher beer would be better; the can is dated 2306, It may find a regular place in my refrigerator. I need a side-by-side comparison with Weihenstephaner and St. George. I miss Prima Pils. My reaction is much better than a review 13 years earlier.
Rating = 4 glasses.
1006:: A minikeg. Eh? Unoffensive. Following a Paulener Weiss may have hurt the rating. May rate 2 glasses.
Rating: 1 glassMonday, December 4, 2023
Alesmith Speedway Stout
Speedway Stout is a big coffee imperial stout.
Brewer's notes: A HUGE Imperial Stout that weighs in at an impressive 12% ABV! As if that's not enough, we added pounds of coffee for a little extra kick.
Tasting notesRating = 6 glasses. Placed in top 10ish list initially and downgraded after a few days. I didn't dream about drinking this beer again.
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Bells Expedition Stout
Allagash Tripel

Brewer's notes: This award-winning celebration of a classic Belgian beer style is filled with notes of passion fruit and honey. Its simple recipe yields a full range of elegant flavor and finishes refreshingly dry. Its golden, crisp, and refined profile pulls from a tradition that began centuries ago in Belgian Abbeys.
BeerAdvocate: This strong golden ale is marked by passion fruit and herbal notes in the aroma, with suggestions of banana and honey in the complex palate. The Tripel has a remarkably long and smooth finish.
Tasting notes
Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue)
Rating: 5 glasses
Previous ratings: 2, 5, then 6 glasses
Friday, November 10, 2023
3 Floyds Alpha Klaus
Alpha Klaus is an Christmas porter.
Brewer's notes: Alpha King’s festive cousin. A big American Christmas Porter brewed with English chocolate malt, Mexican sugar, and tons of strange American hops. The pronounced hop bitterness gives way to flavors of molasses and chocolate from the roasted malt bill.
Tasting notes
2311: Alpha Klaus tastes like it has chocolate and maybe cinnamon; but the brewer's notes do not mention any extracts. The beer is pleasant and a nice variation of a Christmas Ale. It is easy to drink and the flavor is interesting.
Rating = 4 glasses
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Bell's Third Coast Old Ale
Flavor Profile: Complex, Warm Malt Character, Huge Body, Rich Caramel Malt Aromas
Beer Info: A mixture of burnt caramel and other earthy malt flavors, with enough hop presence to prevent a sense of sweetness. Sharply bitter when first packaged, this hop aspect will fold into the malt character over time and find balance.
Shelf Life: Unlimited
Ingredients: Water, Malt, Hops, House Ale Yeast
Nutritional Information (per 12 oz. serving): Calories: 318, Carbs: 26.7
1210: Bells bottled this 6-pack on 4 Dec 2008, making it about 4 years old. The taste was all brown sugar and malt. I want to buy and age more. Yummy. It continues to earn its 6-glass rating.
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
Duvel 6.66
6.66 is a fine Belgian blond ale if you like the style. I am not a big fan.
Brewer's Notes: The Duvel Moortgat family brewery is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, with a new variant of Duvel, a new mild, full-bodied blond Duvel with the alcohol percentage of 6.66%.
This Duvel is mild, expressive and deliciously drinkable. No fewer than 6 different hop varieties are used for Duvel 6.66%: just like the classic Duvel, it’s based on the noble and exclusive hop varieties Saaz and Styrian Golding. The flavour is then balanced by adding four expertly selected hop varieties to the mix, which also involves the dry-hopping method.
Tasting Notes
November 2023: As noted, 6.66 is a fine Belgian blond ale.
Rating = 2.5 glasses.
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Live Oak HefeWeizen
The reviewers @ BeerAdvocate love HefeWeizen. I do not.
Brewer's notes: Modeled after the classic wheat beers of Bavaria, Hefeweizen is cloudy and straw-colored with a meringue-like head that lingers to the bottom of the glass. Brewed with an ample volume of wheat malt and few hops, this beer features a unique yeast strain that produces harmonious notes of clove, banana, and vanilla throughout this effervescent brew. A traditional interpretation of a classic style, this idiosyncratic Bavarian beer is perfectly at home here in Texas.
Tasting notes
14 October 2023: The aroma of the beer offers great promise - nice clove and banana smells. But the taste fails to deliver on the promise. The beer is a rather bland hefe with an odd lemon flavor and a titch of zest and the head dissipates quickly. Some of the reviews in BeerAdvocate express similar reactions. I was disappointed after discovering what I thought was a whale.
Rating = 1 glass. I'll finish the six-pack I purchased.
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest Festbier (2023)
Brewer's Notes: This collab with Kehrwieder is 20 years in the making, back when our brewmasters were classmates in Berlin. Today, Kehrwieder is turning German-style craft beer on its head - just like we did stateside - and out mutual passion is fused in this Festbier that's bright like polished copper, rich with biscuity malts, and balanced with a punchy blend of German and American hops.
Tasting Notes
Oct 2023: I am liking the beer more and more. I titch malty for a festbier but still quite quaffable.
Rating = 5 glasses
August 2023: I was surprised to see Oktoberfest beers on the shelved of Total Wine at the end of July. I figured I should buy some immediately to get stuff that is fresh. I picked up a six-pack of Weihenstepaner Festbier and the 2023 release from Sierra Nevada. This year's version from SN is bold and hoppy for a Festbier IMO. I think it is more a Märzen. I was not impressed by my first can but enjoyed the second (different night). The second can was flavorful and easy to drink.
Rating: 4 glasses. The rating may climb as I drink more of the six-pack and other Oktoberfests.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Duvel Tripel Hop Citra
Tripel Hop Citra is a Belgian IPA.
Brewer's Notes: Duvel Tripel Hop Citra is an intensely hoppy Belgian IPA with refreshing taste notes of agrum, thanks to the addition of a third hop Citra from Yakima Valley in Washington, USA.
Beer Advocate: "Discover Citra, voted by our fans as the best hop variety for our special Duvel Tripel Hop. Citra enriches the already unique taste of Duvel with fresh notes of grapefruit and tropical fruit."
Tasting Notes: Duvel with hops! Belgian IPA is still not a favorite style for me but this beer is pretty tasty.
Rating = 2.5 glasses. Though about 3 glasses but then remembered I would rather buy Duvel.
New Belgium Trippel, Voodoo Ranger IPA, and Mountain Time
New Belgium sponsored the Mountains to Coast Bike Tour I took last week. Free beer when the camping sites allowed!! Here are notes on three beers I sampled.
Trippel
Brewer's notes: Our Trippel has always been a big, beautiful Belgian-style ale, but in 2015, we tweaked the recipe to include a new yeast variety and even more complex malt profile. This golden beer opens with a bold blast of spicy Noble hops, courtesy of Saaz and Hallertau Mittlefruh, and gives way to the fruity aromas offered by our traditional Belgian yeast. Brewed with Pilsner and Munich malts, Trippel is classically smooth and complex, and sings with a high-note of sweet citrus before a pleasantly dry finish delivers a warm, strong boozy bite. Give Trippel a sip to get you smiling.
Tasting notes: I liked it the best of all the beers I sampled. Nice clove flavor without being overbearing.
Rating = 3.5 glasses. MIght merit 4.
Voodoo Ranger IPA
Brewer's notes: Bursting with tropical aromas and juicy fruit flavors from Mosaic and Amarillo hops, this golden IPA is perfectly bitter with a refreshing, sublime finish.
Tasting notes: Eh. Ok but lacked the hop bite I seek.
Rating = 1.5 glasses
Mountain Time
Brewer's notes: Crisp and clean as snowmelt in spring, Mountain Time Premium Lager is brewed with only the finest ingredients by the employee-owners at New Belgium Brewing. This refreshing lager will take you to another time & place. Live life on Mountain Time.
Tasting notes: The surprise of the tastings. It is a decent lager and went well with fried fish and shrimp. Not good enough to savor - I did not finish a second can when the time to leave arrived.
Rating = 2 glasses
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
3 Floyds Munsterfest
Brewer's Notes: A Märzen-style fest bier brewed with the finest German malted barley, aromatic Bavarian noble hops and traditional lager yeast. This rich, malty lager is one of the few that remain true to the tradition of fest beers originally brewed to honor the marriage of Prince Ludwig in 1810. We hope you enjoy this fall offering. Es ist nicht normal!
Tasting Notes
September 2023: I did not finish the second bottle. I think that the problem is that the beer is too sweet and too malty. The taste is what I imagine a sweet Scotch ale would have. Maybe I will use the last four bottles to make beer biscuits.
Rating: 0 glasses
September 2023: I bought this on a whim because I generally like beers from Three Floyds. They missed on this one. I taste bread, toast, honey, and apple. The body is thin.
Rating = 1 glass
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Festbier v. Märzen
I have sampled several Oktoberfest beers recently and think that I have figured out the difference between Festbier and Märzen. Festbier ressembles an Imperial Helles. Märzen ressembles a hoppy Scotish Ale with a clean lager finish and a malty flavor that accentuates toast or biscuit rather than barley or peat. Festbier is lighter, more quaffable, and simpler. Weihenstephaner Festbier is a great example of Festbier and Great Lakes Oktoberfest is a great example of Märzen. What BeerAdvocate says about the two styles follows below.
BeerAdvocate
Festbier is the modern day "Oktoberfestbier" that's served at the official Oktoberfest in Germany, as governed by the Munich city committee. Traditionally, the majority of the beer served was the dark, rich Märzen lagers that we've all come to love and associate with Oktoberfest, but that hasn't been the case since the 1990s. Now, it's all about Festbier, which is a bright and golden beer that's akin to an export-style (slightly stronger and maltier) Helles lager. Paulaner Brauerei is credited with creating the style back in the mid-1970s. According to many sources, their brewmaster wanted to give the people something "more poundable." Gotta love that.
And you might see the style referred to as Wiesnbier, Wies'n, or Wiesn. The latter is what locals in Munich call Oktoberfest, based on Theresienwiese, which is the meadow/fairgrounds where it's hosted. This is not to be confused with Weissbier, WeiĂźbier, or Weizenbier (wheat beer).
Historically, Märzen (March in German) was brewed in the spring, lagered in caves (stored cold) during the summer months, and served in the fall. From 1872 to the 1990s, the style was served at, and widely associated with, Oktoberfest in Munich until the lighter Festbier became popular and adopted as the official Oktoberfestbier. That said, brewers around the world still brew "Oktoberfest" and "Fest" beers that lean toward the Märzen style.
Monday, August 28, 2023
Weihenstephaner Festbier
I like it better than the raters on BeerAdvocate. Some of them complain that the beer is more a Hells or Pilsner than an Oktoberfest beer. I call it good.
Rating = 5 glasses.
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Kerkom Reuss
Brewer's Notes: Reuss is produced for the Bink festival. Marc Limet blends the lambic with a less bitter version of Bink Blond (38 IBUs versus 52 IBUs.) Reuss was the name of the first beer brewed at Kerkom in 1878.
Tasting Notes
August 2023: First, a 750 ml bottle cost $5.99 @ Corks and Kegs. I didn't expect much. I didn't get much. The taste matches the brewer's notes - a blend of lambic and blond ales. The taste is an aimless mixture of sour, tart, lemon, sweet, and possibly brett. I am tempted to buy more at the price but think I will stick with two bottles of Stone IPA.
Rating: 2 glasses
Monday, August 7, 2023
Jester King The Weigh-In Montmorency
Brewer's Notes: Montmorency cherries from Michigan were added to mature barrel-aged sour beer and refermented to dryness.
Tasting Notes
August 2023: I bought a bottle from Corks and Kegs as a treat. I was expected something like a tart Kriek. I am disappointed. The beer has an earthy sourness and, maybe, some tart cherry playing in the background. The earthiness may be oak from the barrels used for aging. The beer is brewed with skill but for the price I want more tart, vinegar, and cherry bite.
Rating: 1.5 glasses.
Friday, July 21, 2023
Dupont Saison
Added note from BeerAdvocate
Rating = 6 glasses.
Dupont Avec les bons voeux
Since 1970, the brewery has been brewing a special beer to give as a new years present to their best clients. (the name of this beer “Avec les bons VĹ“ux de la brasserie Dupont » means « With the best wishes of the brewery Dupont » ).
Because of the increasing success, they started to commercialise this “cadeau” but kept the name. Although the demands were considerable, only a small quantity was brewed, so they had to make a reservation list, even months before new year.
This Bons Vœux is coppery blond, has very fine hop aromas and tastes bitter, fruity and mild.
Our selection of yeasts, in combination with a long during riping process, on a “dry hopping” base, are creating a typical and complex aroma and taste.
Rich gold color, fragrant (lemony with hints of pepper, banana and clove), as all the beers of Dupont are with a full, deep malt richness that lingers on your tongue for what seems the whole holiday season. Considered by some the finest offering from this unparalleled Brewery. “The best Belgian beer, if ever there could be such an award...a sumptuous, seductive 9.5% beer. Because of it’s intensity, I would recommend the novice graduate to this beer. However, if a saison that is starting to lean towards being a triple appeals to you, and if its in season, don’t hesitate.”
The beer continues to impress. It's rating has varied from 7 to 6.
6 glasses