Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 3rd

Another stout...not ideal!  Why is it whenever I'm trying to catch up on beer advent there's always stout. Strong stout.

Mikkeller - Kaffestout

Damn it, stout!!! 6%!

After drinking Stay Puft - this is quite...different.  Really strong (I may be tainted by the previous beer, and it might be moderate) bitter coffee flavours, dry - some hops.  It could really use some marshmallow!  Strong head and lacing.

On the scale of

• Damn tasty.
• Pretty damn tasty.
• It's beer.
• Not really tasty.
• Ew.

This beer gets

It's beer.

I feel like I should qualify why this one isn't getting a pretty damn tasty rating.  It's just too harsh.  It's technically excellent - but not my glass of beer!

Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 2nd

Woooooooooooooooooooo!

Tiny Rebel - Stay Puft

I've had this drink on draft several times at Urban Tap House (now simply Tiny Rebel) and was really looking forward to getting my hands on a bottle.

An extremely good stout, all the tasty flavours (chocolate, malt, coffee) - the aftertaste is the most notable thing, actually tasting of marshmallow.  Makes it extremely easy to drink, and far too quickly at that.  Also exacerbated by the mild carbonation and a light texture.  I cannot overstate how much I enjoy the sweet aftertaste.

So, based on the possible scores

• Damn tasty.
• Pretty damn tasty.
• It's beer.
• Not really tasty.
• Ew.

This one gets a...

Damn tasty.

Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 1st

So, here we are - 4 beers in 1 sitting.  I'll apologise for any nonsense I might write, or any typo, or incorrect grammar.

Tomos a lilford - Annwyl

A nice golden ale to get this year going.  And a new brewer today - Tomos a lilford.  A small brewer by all accounts, local to Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

A lot more citrus than I expected, settled onto my mouth nicely (yes yes, that's what she said).
Interesting peppery aftertaste which I'd enjoy more were it stronger.
Very easy to drink, good balance of flavours and a nice fine carbonation.

So on the scale I outlined in this year's intro

• Damn tasty.
• Pretty damn tasty.
• It's beer.
• Not really tasty.
• Ew.

I would rate this beer...

It's beer.

Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - On your marks.

Greetings.

I've stocked up on the beers for this years calendar.  Plenty of new one's in the mix, though I've tried not to go for too many strong beers or American IPA.

I'm not sure how I'll score this year, or what I'll write.  I've been doing this for so many years and the standard of drinks has improved measurably, it's difficult to find something that I wouldn't give a reasonable grade to.

I think I'll go for something broad, but not too harsh.  Like if I was Eurogamer and I was reviewing beer.

I'll go with

• Damn tasty.
• Pretty damn tasty.
• It's beer.
• Not really tasty.
• Ew.

If I give something an "It's beer", that doesn't mean it's bad, or even average. It means I enjoyed it.  The 2 grades above are for beers that deserve a better grade, or are remarkably tasty.

I'm away on holiday from November 26th until December 4th, so I'll have the terrible responsibility of consuming four beers, and writing four blogs - whilst having not slept for...umm...

Get up 8am (EST)
Take off 8pm (EST)
Land at 6am (GMT)
Home at 1pm (GMT)

...however many hours that is.  Too many hours!

I'm sure it'll be fun, anyway.

Beer Advent Calendar 2015 - December 24th

And here we are.  All over.  I think next year I need to find a better method for delivering my thoughts on the beers, since my heart wasn't really in writing, this time.  There was just too much excellent beer this year.  Woe is me.

Brewdog -  Candy Kaiser
I think Candy Kaiser is a victim of Brewdog's occasional fervour* when it comes to describing their beers.
Pours nicely, just the right amount of head and a good malty aroma.  It's really smooth and tremendously drinkable, however I get the impression that the malts might be too much were any considerable volume consumed.  Like walking around Cardiff and constantly taking large breathes through the nose when Brains are brewing.
A little sweet.

6/10


*"When this alt hits your palate, the steely bitterness combines with the rich dry malt and the subtle alcohol warmth in a full throttle attack on your taste buds." 

Beer Advent Calendar 2015 - December 23rd

Bad Seed - Espresso Stout
Final stout of the calendar!

This is quite a nice stout, but this bottle at least - was lacking some typical characteristics.  The head was non-existent, even after a very aggressive pour I couldn't get one going.
The smell of coffee is really nice, not hampered by the fact it was in a beer.  Fresh.
Tastes OK, lives on the dark side of stout.  A little carbonation.

It's alright.

5/10

Beer Advent Calendar 2015 - December 22nd

Ahhhhh a disappointing beer.  It was about time! :-)

Brewdog - Hello my name is holy moose
This is a bit of a mash-up beer, a combination of all the "Hello my name is [...]" beers.  Not as enjoyable as any of it's brethren.

It looks nice, might be one of the reason it tastes a little disappointing!
Strange mixture of bitterness, citrus, fruits, sourness, and butter...?  Nice carbonation and mouth feel though.

Really not very enjoyable.

4/10

I am aware I have been a day behind all week.  I'm a lazy bastard.