Stella Artois: Review

No abv on the bottle

1pt. 9.3oz bottle

$6.00 a bottle

The Stella Artois Brewery

Belgium

Stellaartios.com

“…it was named after its brilliant amber colour, ‘Stella,’ Latin for star, refers to the brightly shining Holiday Star.”

Appearance: Light golden yellow with a white foamy head.

Aroma: light red grapefruit/orange nose, mild grains, and sweet malts

Flavors: biscuit, touch of pink peppercorn, fairly simple, nothing special, but I like it.

Mouthfeel: fizzy carbonation, light body and crisp texture.

My Strength Rating: 3  - a very pleasing golden lager.  Very light in body.

St Bernardus Abt 12: Review

Belgian Abbey Ale

10% abv

1pt 9.4oz bottle

$13.00 a bottle

Appearance: brown body with a 2 finger off-white head that leaves some lacing on the glass.

Aroma: The bouquet is mild to me.  But, I don’t have the great sniffer that my wife has.  Sweet and dried dark fruits are all I get.

Flavors: sweet malts, raisins, fig, prunes, fruit and nut bread, and a touch of floral hops (violet).  I am not detecting any alcohol or boozy taste.  A touch of hop bitterness is in the background.  

Mouthfeel: medium-full body, fine carbonation, and a lingering dried dark fruity finish.

My Strength Rating: 7 – it just feels filling

To the Point: my overall impression is above average.  The flavors are nice but, are lacking interest to me.  I think, the flavor is to one dimensional on the dark dried fruit profile. Nothing flavor wise stands out as heavy in body weight but, it feels weighty overall.  Maybe drink this before a meal and you will eat less. 

Preparing the Palate: Apples

While enjoying a fine Belgian Ale you may notice that there is an apple in that there brew. There are plenty of beers that may have a Granny Smith apple taste or the beer may have an aroma of a fresh cut apple.  No, they did not brew any apples in the batch it is just the way the flavors come together to taste 'like' certain fruits.

It is time to visit your local store and pick up a variety of apples.  Pick up a Fugi, Honey Crisp, Golden and/or Red Delicious, Jazz, and sample each one for its unique flavor and texture.  This is a fun activity to add to your next beer tasting party or even a fun day with the kids.  Have each person write down their flavor description and texture experience to each apple. 

Sampling these fruits on a regular base can help you to prepare your palate when trying to review your favorite Belgian Beer.

Little Kornkny Ale 2006: Review

Norrebro Bryghus

Barley-Wine Style Ale

“…brewed with US hops and European malts…”

“…notes of plums, dried fruits, spice, and caramel.”

Copenhagen, Denmark

12% abv

1pt 4.3oz bottle

$25.00 a bottle

On sale $21.00

Appearance: dark brown body with a thin tan head this turned to nothing in a split second.

Aroma: rich sweet caramel, touch of delicate spice,

Flavors: sweet caramel mixed with molasses and brown sugar upfront, dry fig, dried brown spice, touch of pink peppercorn, touch of semi-sweet chocolate, vanilla extract.  This is a sipper.  When the ale warms up the alcohol spice is a little more noticeable.

Mouthfeel: smooth, a touch boozy or cognac like, note much in carbonation, a syrupy sweetness dominates the palate and lingers on the tongue. 

My Strength Rating: 7.5 – the syrupy feel adds some good weight, the cognac likeness adds depth and the complex flavor profile adds a lot of character. 

This Barley-Wine Style Ale should be very good to pair with a cigar.

Allagash Tripel Reserve: Review

Batch #152

Belgian Style Ale

9% abv

750ml bottle

$9.00

Allagash Brewing

Portland, Maine, USA

Allagash.com

Appearance: what a beautiful beer once it is poured into the chalice.  A perfect two finger, shaving cream white, head on top of a spectacular neon golden body.  Nice white sticky lacing on the side of the glass.   

Aroma: light herbal biscuit, yeast, and crisp fruity notes.

Flavors: Red banana, light pineapple juice, Jazz apple, honeysuckle, and earthy yeast to bring it all together.  

Mouthfeel: medium body on delivery with a tingling tropical fruit sensation.  On the finish there is a warm alcohol and dry texture that gives this ale a medium-full feel on the back of the palate.

My Strength Rating: 5.5

See CigarPostings2 for Cigar Pairing with this ale

Preparing the Palate: Raisins, Figs, and Prunes

When describing the flavors of some beers, especially darker beers, you will see the notes: dried dark fruits or raisins, fig, prune, and maybe dates.  Each of these can have its own taste. 

The best thing to do is go out and buy a variety of these raisins.  Pick up some golden raisins, fancy raisins, regular raisins, figs, currants, prunes and do your own flavor sampling.  Do not get the ones that are sugar coated or sweetened in some way.  They need to be all natural.  Try to understand the differences between each one.

Sampling these fruits on a regular base can help you to prepare your palate when trying to review your favorite malted beverage.

Norrebros Julebryg: Review

Norrebro Bryghus

Ale brewed with spices

Copenhagen, Denmark

7% abv

1pt 4.3oz bottle

$15.00 a bottle

On sale $10.00

“…unique Danish style Christmas ale.”

Appearance: ruddy brown with a fine tan head that leaves some lacing on the glass.

Aroma: sweet bread and rich spice nose

Flavors: nutmeg, clove, dry brown spice box, pecan nut, toasted grain.

Mouthfeel: a bit watery on the edges, light feel on the palate, pie crust note linger for a short time. 

My Strength Rating: 3.5

To the Point: If I was to grade the ale I’d give it a B-.  $10 for a B- is not worth the price. 

Skargaards Porter: Review

Porter Brewed with Honey

By: Norrebro Bryghus

Copenhagen, Denmark

6% abv

1pt 4.3oz bottle

$15.00 a bottle

On sale for $10.00

Appearance: black body with a strong foamy tan head.

Aroma: soft roasted malts on the nose

Flavors: Black tea comes to mind, soft pumpernickel bread, and pecan nuts.  As the beer warms some mild coffee kicks in with a smoky alder wood note.  I don’t notice any honey notes but, maybe it is mixed in with the slight sweet and toasted malts. 

Mouthfeel: smooth, not much carbonation, I don’t get any creamy feel, more watery but, not in a bad way.  Light bitterness lingers on the palate with some roasted grains and a dark chocolate feel.    

My Strength Rating: 6 the lingering bitterness brings this up to the six rating.

To the Point: not a bad Porter.  I am not going out of my way to buy another.

Here is what it has to say on the back of the bottle: " ...velvety, dry porter brewed with Danish honey.  Roasted malts create licorice, chocolate, coffee, and nutty flavors.  English hops give a floral, smooth bitterness."

Old Odense Ale: Review

Norrebro Bryghus

Copenhagen, Denmark

7.5% abv

1pt 4.3oz bottle

$15.00 a bottle

On sale $10.00

Ale brewed with star anise, blackthorn berries, maple syrup and herbs.

Appearance: ruddy brown or dirty copper with a fine off-white head and no lacing.  When I poured the second half of the bottle into the glass (with the sediment) the head was a soft tan color and the body was a bit deeper in color (a well-used penny).

Aroma: nice herbal spice nose and a hint or sour apple.

Flavors: follows the nose; solid herbal spice flavors upfront and a hint of anise. Blackthorn berries also known as ‘sloe berries’ (sloe gin) gives it that nice sour note.  I did not notice much in the maple syrup category.  This ale is fairly sweet tasting (maybe from the syrup?) with a nice sour apple flavor.  

Mouthfeel: light fizzy carbonation, crisp feel, with lingering spiced apple notes dancing on the tongue. 

To the Point: very tasty herbal spice and light sour brew. The sour notes build as the beer warms. 

But, is it worth the $10 price tag?  I would say no to $15 and maybe to the $10. 

Now that I am on the last few sips of this ale – yes, I would pay the $10 to have this again.  $15 – a big maybe.  I would have to have extra change in my pocket to say yes.  And, I do like sour beers. 

My Strength Rating: 4 – nice mellow body.

Here is what it has to say on the back of the bottle, "...brewed with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head in June 2007.  Smoothly sour and complex with herbal characters."

Ola Dubh Special Reserve 12: Review

Aged Ale

Bottle No. 16187

Date: Nov. 2008

8% abv

11.2 oz bottle

$10.00 a bottle

Harviestoun Brewery

Scotland

Harviestoun.com

“Aged in selected oak casks formerly used to mature Highland Park’s beautiful balanced 12 Year Old  Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Appearance: dense black body with a 1/2” finger tan head that leaves some lacing on the side of the glass.

Aroma: lighter than I expected.  Roasted sweet malts, faint cocoa with a touch of smoke.   I expected an oaky note with a scotch whisky profile.

Flavors: dark chocolate (75-80% like), bitter-sweet cocoa, definitely coffee like, touch of molasses with a hint of fig and prune. 

Overall, a pleasing ale to drink.

Mouthfeel: smooth overall.  Some burnt grains linger on the tongue along with some bitter-sweetness from the cocoa.

My Strength Rating: 6 and I was expecting an 8 or a 9 out of this ale.  I was disappointed and pleased at the same time with this ale.  Disappointed because I was expecting more out of this ale and pleased because of the very good chocolate like profile and it was a pleasing ale to drink.

Okay, I can’t do the value rating on a $10 – 11oz bottle of beer.  Value is out the window here.  But, is it worth it?  Sure.  And, I will buy a bottle here or there just because it is a very good ale to drink.  ‘Here or there’ means once or twice a year.  Make it $4 a bottle and I would keep six or 12 bottles in the fridge.

Wellington Arkell Best Bitter: Review

4% abv

341 ml bottle

Wellington County Brewery, Inc.

Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Wellingtonbrewery.ca

My Strength Rating: 4

On the six pack it says, “A refreshing Ale described as ‘the most flavourful light beer in Ontario.’”

Appearance: copper colored body with an egg-shell colored head.

Aroma: very faint grains and yeast

Flavors: grainy, grassy, dried floral, sourdough, stone mineral,

I have to say on my first few sips I was not impressed.  Then, I had to start thinking about what are the notes and the more I sampled it the more I started to like it.  It does not have the run of the mill flavors – oops, sorry that is flavours in Canadian. 

Mouthfeel: almost moderate carbonation, light off-dry feel, light watery edge, and very easy to drink.  This would be great to pair with a quality burger or my favorite a cigar.  This ale should have some good range to pair up any strength cigar and has some interesting flavors that should work with most cigars. 

If you want something different it is an okay pick-up.  It is nothing to go out of your way to find.