Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 17th

Bell's - Kalamazoo Stout

I left this beer in the fridge for a bit too long - so I've had to sit here and look at it for a good 30-40 minutes and wait for it to warm up a bit.

Huge roasted aroma released when pouring, a bit smokey - almost burnt wood smell.  A decent whiff of liquorice too.  Worth noting that it doesn't smell very much when it's idle.
Ridiculously smooth to drink, almost oily.  Tastes smoky and charred - lots of sweet roasted malty flavour.
Unfortunately I've had a lot of food, and don't have the energy to describe this drink further.  It's great though.

On the scale of

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

This beer gets

Damn tasty.

Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 16th

Electric Bear Brewing Co - Elemental

I buy rye IPA's now and then.  Despite them often not being to my liking.
A nice golden, clear beer.  Quite light in the aroma dept.  Not sure if my bottle is a bit off, since it smells and tastes nothing like the bottle lets on.  Or what many other reviewers seem to say about it.

Smells a bit malty, but predominantly yeasty - no real smell of hops.  Tastes bitter - some grassy notes, but mostly bitter.  It kind of reminds me of when I go to a pub, order a beer, take a sip - and then I think to myself "hmmmm...this is a bit off".

As such I don't think it's fair to grade the beer.  Here's a picture though.

Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 15th

I hope you like lemons!

The Wild Beer Co - Sleeping Lemons (L'hamd Marakad)

A German sour wheat beer, gose.

Very pale looking wheat beer.  Smells a lot like lemons (surprising), a mild sort of wheat note on the back.  I'd almost compare the smell to a cheap white wine.
Feels a lot like drinking a farmhouse cider - it's dry and crisp.  Tastes a lot like lemons (surprising), before the wheat flavours start showing.
Really easy to drink with it's low ABV.  Sunny afternoon kind of drink.

On the scale of

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

This beer gets

It's beer.

Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 14th

Cromarty Brewing Co - White Out

Another new brewer for me, Scottish this time though.

Fantastic smelling beer, nice light aroma of mango with a hint of yeast backed up with a load of hops.

Poured well, not too lively but a decent head which retained as I drank, nice lacing on the glass. 

Tastes great.  The balance of sweet vs. bitter fruit is tremendous.  Decent amount of carbonation (not too energetic though).  

Really big finish - gives a lot more than you'd expect from 3.8%.  Reminds me a little bit of Nanny State.  Best beer in the calendar so far.  I will definitely keep my eye out for other Cromarty beers.

On the scale of

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

This beer gets

Damn tasty.

Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 13th

Thornbridge - I love you will u marry me

Today's beer has a strange name, named after a graffiti marriage proposal in Park Hill, Sheffield.  a light blonde ale, matured with strawberries.

Pours a cloudy orange, terrific sweet aroma - nice balance of malt and strawberry.  Really crisp and light.  Flavours are mostly sweet, almost tempted to compare it to Innis & Gunn.  Didn't get cloying at any point.  There's a little tart bitterness on the finish which really works.

Definitely a beer I could enjoy again. Very refreshing, highly recommended.

On the scale of

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

This beer gets

Damn tasty.

Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 12th

Mad Dog Brewing Co - Ellipsoid Saison

A lemon zest saison with black pepper.
Poured really nicely, thin head which lingered.  Good smell of hops & yeast.  Medium frothy carbonation which doesn't lace the glass.
Thankfully, a bit more straightforward (and enjoyable) than yesterday's Mad Dog beer.  A decent yeasty flavour, with a nice spicy richness that follows.  I'm not really getting much lemon, but that's not really making the beer taste worse.

On the scale of

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

This beer gets

It's beer.

Beer Advent Calendar 2016 - December 11th

Woo! Black IPA! Woo!

One point before today's beer.  I looked at the 'traffic' for this site.

Firstly - there are just under 100 page views showing in the audience stats (which doesn't seem to specify a time period. 42 of them from Russia, 37 from the US, 10 from Portugal, 6 from France, and 2 from the UK.  Fascinating...spam-bot-blog-monitoring-strangeness, I'm sure.

Mad Dog Brewing Co - It's all propaganda

Another new Welsh brewer for the calendar. Jeez - maybe I should start brewing beer.
A black IPA flavoured with lemon and grapefruit.  It smells a little bit of coconut, in a strange desiccated coconut kind of way.
Nice carbonation, fine and mild.
I'm not getting much of the flavours described on the bottle when I drink it, there's a big coffee hit at first, and a nice subtle grapefruit note - the roasted flavours are pretty dominant.

5% is a relatively low abv for a black IPA, and it's missing any really hops.  Not sure how I feel about it. It's nice enough, I guess.

On the scale of

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

This beer gets

It's beer.