Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams - Cranberry Lambic

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a fluted glass

After posting reviews for a number of true Belgian Lambic ales I saw fit to post my review of the Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic. This Boston take on the style features a cloudy browning body with a distinct red tint and minor glow. This very-hazy beer musters a medium, but still smallish head of a lightly pink foam. The head is short-lived and leaves very little lace behind. The nose features cracked grain maltiness with a moderate sweetness and a light astringency. Tart cranberries are present, but light, and the beer leans stronger toward sugars.

The beer is quite crisp, but doesn't match the Champagne-like mouthfeel of a true Lambic. In fact, this beer seems to have nothing to do with the style at all. Without a process of spontaneous fermentation or at least using a blend that includes some wild yeast strains it is hard to imagine any beer successfully mimicking the style. Cranberry flavor is light, moderately tart, and features some sugariness. The beer is sweet, but not cloying. The underlying malts matched with the beer's sweetness give the impression of a light toast with maple syrup. The finish is mild overall with a lasting toothsome sugar.

Final Verdict: C+

Brasserie Cantillon - Rosé de Gambrinus

Purchased From: Bierkraft 
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, corked and capped, poured into a plastic cup

Through a multiyear process of fermentation and blending Cantillon produces fruit beers that boast massive fruit favors, but keep a definitive dry edge. As a result, this Framboise stands out from the pack of other raspberry or fruit beers. The body is a hazy brownish pink with a mild copper glow. The head is a thick light pink foam, creamy and dense. The head retention is excellent in the plastic cup and leaves tons of lace.

The nose is strong and bitingly tart. The sweet and fruity nose seems to burst with raspberries and offers up a sublime cellary funk. The beer is cheek-pinching and puckers up the face immediately on the first sip. The beer is sweet with huge fruit, but not overly toothsome. The sour Lambic base provides combination of earthiness and light malt, but the grain seems completely overpowered. The textured carbonation is bristling and bright with a Champagne-like consistency.

The beer is delicious and sweet. It is a fruit beer on the world class level. The finish is just as tart as the foretaste and the sweet fruitiness lingers with a hint of sugar.

Final Verdict: A

Call Back Review: Brouwerij Lindemans - Faro

The second call back in my Lambic series is to the Faro Lambic from Lindemans. Faro is perhaps the least common of the general categories of Lambics in the United States. Traditionally Faro was a cheaper beer, traditional Lambic, cut down with another beer, or water, with added sugar for sweetness. Today most Faros are not cut with non-Lambic beer, but still feature the addition of unfermented sugars. Typically lighter in alcohol, these beers match some features of Lambics, but depart slightly.

In my review, I gave Lindemans Faro a "B," which I am still comfortable with, although, if anything I would consider bringing it down half a point to "B-" because, while enjoyable, it is not a beer that I would readily reach for. I mentioned that the beer features a "classic Lambic funk, but it is attenuated by the addition of Candi Sugar, which adds a prominent sweetness." The beer is perhaps an entry point for new Lambic drinkers, as it introduces the palate to the very diverse world of wild yeast, but it is not a world-class example, so I am a bit hesitant to recommend it fully. Perhaps the fruit Lambics provide another entry place to sour beers, albeit very different given the extreme fruitiness, which masks, at least partially, the underlying Lambic flavors. Click through below to read the full review from February 2012.

Review: Brouwerij Lindemans - Faro

Brouwerij Lindemans - Cuvée René

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 750ml bottle, corked, capped, and foiled, poured into a fluted glass


While Lindemans is most famous in the United States for their fruit Lambics, they also produce Faro, a lower-alcohol Lambic, and their grand cru, Cuvée René Gueuze.

Cuvée René pours a tall yellowy amber body with free-floating yeast. A careful pour leaves just a fine suspension of particles from this unfiltered beer. The head is a medium-sized yellowed white. The lightly textured foam dissipates slowly, leaved layers of chunky lace behind. The nose is incredibly tart with a dry spiciness and lightly floral hints. Dusty aromatics evoke the age and cellaring of the beer. Sugary sweetness underlies the darker tones and is matched by light sour apple notes.

Cheek-pinching tartness up front is paired with customary Champagne-like bubbles cascading in layers of strong carbonation. The beer is slightly spicy, but features a smooth malt backbone. Heaps of fruity sweetness evoke mild apricot flavors, a dash of grape juice and the bite of a tart apple cider. Metallic notes on the finish tie together the beer's diverse palate for a sparkling and clean feel.


Final Verdict: A

Call Back Review: Hanssens Artisanaal - Oude Gueuze

As part of this developing series on Lambic ales, and later a few additional sours, I thought it would be relevant to call back to a few previous reviews. First on the retrospective list is the Oude Gueuze from Hanssens Artisanaal.

Hanssens is a veritable 'mom and pop' operation running in Dworp, Belgium blending excellent Lambic ales using vintage equipment on a part-time basis. Their Gueuze, and their other Lambics as well, have a reputation for extreme tartness, and my experience has been no exception. Looking back on my review, where I called the beer "extremely fruity and considerably tart," I think I could possibly switch those adverbs around. While attending Zwanze Day 2012 (a celebration of Lambics featuring Cantillon beers, but others as well) I had the pleasure of drinking Hanssens Gueuze from a cask. The experience was not for the feint of heart, or the unitiatied Lambic drinker. In short, I had never had such an overwhelmingly tart beer.

I continue to recommend Hanssens Gueuze as an excellent beer at a great, affordable price. Well deserving of my highest "A" rating. While not found everywhere, specialty beer stores often stock it. I would also recommend Hanssesns Experimental Lambics, which feature fruit blends both common and uncommon. These, however, can be much pricier than their Oude Gueuze. Click through below to read the full review from September 2011.

Review: Hanssens Artisanaal - Oude Gueuze

Brouwerij Boon - Oude Gueuze Boon

Purchased From: Wallingford Wine & Spirits
Serving Type: 375ml bottle, corked and caged, poured into a fluted glass


The Boon Brewery, based in Lambeek, Belgium produces a number of Lambic beers through spontaneous fermantation. Among their beers is Oude Gueuze Boon, a traditional Gueuze produced using wild yeast and the blending of variously aged Lambics. The beer pours a cloudy straw body with rapidly rising carbonation. The pour produces a large, frothy, off-white head with excellent retention. As the foam fades it leaves swathes of white lace on the glass. Sour funkiness great the nose. The aroma is very tart with sweet grapes and a moderately spicy edge that hints at malted wheat.

This highly carbonated beer dances on the tongue with effervescent Champagne bubbles. The beer is earthy up front with farmhouse flavors of turf and straw. A big cellary funk puckers the palate as it reaches the back of the tongue. The sweet juice of grapes and golden pears round out the mid-palate. A light metallic edge comes in as the initial wave of funk subsides. The finish is very dry with a sour apple juice flavor that lasts on the aftertaste.


Final Verdict: A-

Brasserie Cantillon - Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio (2012)

Purchased From: Brasserie Cantillon, Brussels, Belgium
Serving Type: 750ml bottle, corked and capped, poured into a Champagne flute

Happy New Year 2013! In celebration I'm posting my review of the true Champagne of Beers, Gueuze, and specifically, the world-class Gueuze from Cantillon.

The signature beer from Cantillon, their Gueuze, pours a medium-straw body with a honey golden glow. A small stream of bubbles rise gently in the glass for the entire life of the beer. The natural carbonation from bottle refermentation creates a smallish off-white head of foam. After a short period of head retention, a thin layer of foam remains. No substantial lacing forms while drinking this Lambic beer.

This Gueuze's nose is supremely funky. The leading sour edge features heaps of grapes and tight tartness. Light barnyard aromatics bring in hints of earthiness and turf. A sweetness couples with dusty cellar aromas that show off both the aged Lambic and the young Lambic involved in this artisinal blend. A light metallic sheen hits on the end and a mineral water hardness rounds out the nose.

Cheek-pinching sourness enteres up front, but it does not overwhelm the palate. As the beer hits the back of the tongue it delivers a funky sour punch. Light grapes and moderate fruitiness are featured prominently on the mid-palate. Dry sweetness with a light sugary edge are pervasive, but the beer's seche character dominates. The tart, highly carbonated beer is reminiscent of a Champagne and delivers a refreshing balance that at once seems to quench thirst, but leaves the mouth dry, inviting another sip. This beer exudes both subtlty and refinement and bold outstanding flavor. A true craft worthy of highest praise.

Final Verdict: A

Brouwerij The Musketeers - Troubadour Obscura Mild Stout

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a mug

Obscura, dubbed a mild stout, pours a lightly hazy, but seemingly opaque mahogany body with a lightly milky appearance. Streaks and flakes of yeast dance throughout the glass and speckle the large, creamy, tan head. The retention is excellent and layered swathes of lace adorn the glass. A mild cellary funk greets the nose, but subsides to sweet aromatics. Mild candy, plums, and a surprising fruitiness define the nose. Almost no real smoke or coffee aromas are to be found.

Sweet winter fruits meet the palate up front and sail in on a smooth, almost creamy mouthfeel, but a crisp carbonation breaks it up. Chocolaty toasted malts come through in the middle. The cocoa seems semi-sweet, not bitter, and there's almost no smokiness at all. The finish is almost winey with a mild Port character, a touch of earthiness, and the faintest hint of smoke in the aftertaste.

I'm not exactly sure what a 'mild stout' is, and I'm not sure how this beer really fits into the description of a stout, but it is a great beer and well worth trying!

Final Verdict: A-

Hof ten Dormaal - Amber

Purchased From:
Serving Type: 12.7 oz. bottle, corked and caged, poured into a plastic cup

This amber saison from Hof ten Dormaal has a clouded unfiltered amber hue with a brilliant inner glow. Rapidly rising carbonation fuels the huge yellowed-tan head which features distinctive and chunky peaks and valleys of foam. The beer's head features superb retention and leaves massive swathes of lace behind. The nose is malty with a minor lagery aroma and a sweet honey-like character. The nose is vaguely like a German bock, or perhaps more closely, a mäibock.

The body features prominently complex earthy tones and a broken down graininess that brings the character of this amber saison more in line with the flavor profile of a Belgium dubbel. Caramel and a dank woodiness hold up the lower end of flavors, which are matched by the sweetness of dark fruits like figs and dates. Spiciness comes in late with a minor dustiness. The beer doesn't seem much like a saison, but it is delicious.

Final Verdict: B+

Hof ten Dormaal - Blond

Serving Type: 12.7 oz. bottle, corked and caged, poured into a plastic cup

This blonde saison ale from Belgium-based Hof ten Dormaal pours a hazy unfiltered yellowy amber body with a straw-colored inner glow. The large head is a thick yellowed foam with sticky consistency that slowly fades leaving stiff standing peaks and deep craters. The had leaves thick chunky lacing. The nose is spicy and almost lightly meaty with moderate earthy barnyard twang. Minor cellar notes and a slight dustiness lead to a vague lagery aroma of clean malts.

The beer seems incredibly spicy on the front end and almost hints of a smoked or cured meat, with a lean toward prosciutto. Massive malt notes enter in on the mid-palate and line up a profile that is at once sweet and powdery dry. A dash of ginger accents a moderate grassiness on the bank end. The carbonation is pointed from the mid-palate through until the end. The finish is dry, lightly earthy and organic, with a persistent freshness.

Final Verdict: B+

Smuttynose Brewing Company - Smuttynose Winter Ale

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

This Winter seasonal from New Hampshire-based Smuttynose pours a rich mahogany body with a tawny, warming glow. The moderately-sized tan head is made of a frothy foam and features medium retention and solid lacing. Chocolately aroma matches earthy hops and a very mild smoke. Moderate spiciness rounds out the nose and builds further on the Wintery theme.

The beer is spicy up front with velvety carbonation. Roasted malts are impressive and despite the carbonation the beer seems silky smooth. Earthy and nicely smoky, the beer is no smoke bomb, but satisfyingly complex. The finish is dry and layered with dark flavors and a lingering smoke and light sweetness.

Final Verdict: B+

Magic Hat Brewing Company - Circus Boy - The Hefeweizen

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

This wheat ale from Magic Hat pours a hazy, unfiltered yellowy-orange body. A thin white head of slick foam adorns the top of the beer. The nose is extremely feint and almost lagery. Wheat malts are not overly apparent and only a hint of minor banana phenols can be detected.

The beer is very lagery up front with a crisp, biting carbonation. Wheat malts come through fairly spicy on the mid-palate and drop definite banana flavors. The beer is very sweet with almost no hops perceptible. Spice seems to add the only contrast to the highly sweet malt base. The finish is feint with a light grassiness, mild spice, and a lingering sweetness.

Final Verdict: C+

Braueri Beck & Co. (AB InBev) - Beck's

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

This well-known German pale lager pours a medium pale straw body, crystal clear with a fast-rising carbonation. The light and fluffy white head builds quickly to a medium size and features modest retention, but leaves thick swathes of lace as it fades. The nose is stinky with the signature Euro lager aroma. Skunky hops give a vague Pilsner-like profile. Light maltiness rounds out the base.

The beer is very crisp and gives a light and airy body. Malts are very sweet and almost honey-like. A minor sour graininess comes through on the mid-palate and are matched by a light dusting of dandelion-like bitter hops, which bring forth the Pilsner profile of Noble hops. The flavor fades fast, but leaves a minor skunk on the finish and a moderate crisp bite.

Final Verdict: C

Innis & Gunn - Winter Beer 2011

Purchased From: Received as a gift, thanks!
Serving Type: 330ml bottle, poured into a branded glass

The Winter Beer 2011 pours a chestnut body with a lightly tawny complexion. Amber and yellow glow through at the base of the glass and a large tan head of frothy foam fills the opening. The nose is spicy with prominent vanilla, mild cinnamon and fragrant oakiness. Sweet toasted malts and heaps of caramel fill out the grain profile.

Satiny carbonation hits immediately on the front end and slides smoothly into layers of caramel sweetness. Dark earthy tons aid the emphasis of Winter spices. A hint of vanilla adds some additional sweets and a light milkiness plays well off the caramel grains. Oak flavor develops quickly and is intense from the mid-palate through the finish. A slick, oily wood leads the beer out and leaves the palate with a light seche aftertaste.

Final Verdict: B

Innis & Gunn - Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer

Purchased From: Received as a gift, thanks!
Serving Type: 330ml bottle, poured into a branded glass

One of the last times I left off on posting I was right in the middle of reviewing a sample pack of beers from Innis & Gunn. Now that I'm trying to get some posting going again, it is time to pick up with the Rum Cask aged offering. The beer pours a lightly rubied mahogany with a striking clarity and glow. The head is a medium-large off-white foam with a lightly tanned tinge. The foam is light and airy and musters a moderate retention and lacing.

Rum is obvious on the nose with tons of vanilla and oak influence also present. Very minor licorice sneaks in at the edges and adds a light punch to a healthy malt aroma with light sugar and a modest alcoholic infusion. The sweet maltiness of a Scottish ale is apparent, but like the standard cask aged Innis & Gunn, barrel flavor dominates the palate. Sweet woody oak and dry vanilla flavors are clearly imparted from the barrel and dark rum influence brings layers of spiciness and a light fruit flavor.

The mouthfeel is slick with a tinge of carbonation on the finish. Huge rum notes carry through to the aftertaste and a hint of heat fills the back of the palate and the chest. Overall a tasty and enjoyable beer, which brings dominant barrel flavor to a solid malty beer.

Final Verdict: B

Stone Brewing Company - Bottleworks 13th Anniversary Ale

Purchased From: Bierkraft

Serving Type: 750mL bottle, poured into a stemmed water glass

Bottleworks, a well-known Seattle-based beer seller, turned to Stone Brewing Company this year to create a beer to commemorate their 13th year in business. The beer was release today, June 20, 2012. Apparently Bottleworks has been creating anniversary ales with a number of collaborators over the years, but, this year they decided to work with craft-brewing titan Stone. Everything about this ale is 13-centric, but, despite their intentions, the ABV only came out to about 11% (the word is that too much specialty malt held back the fermentable sugar).

This epic collaboration features 13 grains: Pale 2-Row, White Wheat, Aromatic, Weyerman Chocolate Rye, Light Munich, Brown Crisp, Crisp Light Crystal, Crisp Amber, Caramunich, Baird's Chocolate Malt, Lightly Peated, Simpsons Dark Crystal, and Oats as well as 13 hops: Bravo, Target, Columbus, Cascade, Delta, Warrior, Magnum, Apollo, Calypso, Perle, Galena, Chinook, and Mt. Hood. 

This beer, billed as an American Strong Ale, plays out much like an Imperial Porter or and Imperial Stout. The body is deep, almost completely opaque in a wide glass, with a mahogany brown body with auburn and ruby inner glow. Only the base of the glass reveals the beer's true hue when held to light. Gently rising streams of minuscule carbonation bubbles fuel a large, fluffy, and creamy head of dense light brown foam. The head retention is fantastic and it leaves a thick ring of lace around the top of the glass and dissipates with elegant patterns as the beer disappears. 

The nose is big and sweet with an impressive malt showing. Caramelized specialty grains bring a variety of profiles, most noticeably a molasses sweetness with deep coffee notes. A hoppy edge tightens this beer and its impressive grain bill. Hops pinch at the nose slightly with a mildly resinous pine and sweet sappy cones of fresh hop essence.

The beer is crisp up front and quickly yields to a huge roasty character. Blackened, coffee-like grains produce a smokey essence that is perhaps the most prominent characteristic of this strongly dark ale, which sports most of the trappings of an export stout. The most darkly roasted malts easily overpower the lighter nuances of the White Wheat grain and Pale Two-Row malts. However, the scattering of rye malt here lends a spicy edge the coffee-like tones and the oats in this beer lend their distinctive smooth slickness, despite the opening and finishing crispness.

Smooth smokiness on the finish beckons another sip along with the dry hoppy finish. Light mineral water characteristics play in at the end and lead effortlessly to the long-lasting dank hoppiness of the aftertaste. 

This beer is excellent, highly drinkable, and very, very good, but the 13 by 13 grain and hop bill seems stuntish when taken in context of the impressive and overbearing stout profile of this beer. To miss the spicy nuances of the beer, the resinous, floral, and earthy hop profiles would be remiss, but, the overpowering roasted coffee profile is the true identity of the beer.

If it's still around, find it, but if you miss it, don't feel slighted if you can pick up the absolutely-world-class Imperial Russian Stout by Stone.

Final Verdict: A

Innis & Gunn - Oak Aged Beer

Purchased From: Received as a gift, thanks!
Serving Type: 330ml bottle, poured into a branded glass


Innis & Gunn is a Scottish brewer that produces a line of barrel aged beers that show off not only their Scottish heritage, but pack huge characteristics of their aging vessels. This, the Original, is aged in oak barrels and pours a crystal-clear orangy amber body with a nearly-white head. The foam is light and airy, mustering moderate retention and light wispy lacing. The nose is potent with vanilla notes. Oak influence is huge and inluences the malt base adding hints of candy and a minor ice cream appeal.

Vanilla and oak dominate the palate. Malts are strong and singular, but are overtaken by the tremendous barrel age character. The impact of the aging vessel absolutely defines the beer, pushing out almost every other flavor. The beer is aged only 77 days in oak, so it is surprising that the impact is so dramatic.


Final Verdict: B-

Oskar Blue Brewery - Mama's Little Yella Pils

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. can, poured into a fluted glass


This Pilsner-style brew from Colorado-based Oskar Blues pours a glowing-golden medium straw body, clear with a chilled-haze. The head is a large, soft, airy foam in off-white. The nose is feint overall with a slight sour graininess and mild apple juice notes. The aroma is semi-sweet with a dusting of hops.

A mild carbonation produces a muted crispness on the tongue. Apple juice comes through with a hint of under-ripened pear. The beer is very lagery with an emphasis on light malt body. A very light hopping provides a hint of drynesson top of a vague honey sweetness. No Noble hop influence in this lager steers it away from its Pilsner designation. A finish is semi-tight with carbonation, a sweet malt profile and understated hops.


Final Verdict: B-

The Great New London Brewing Co. - Safe Harbor American Blonde Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a Mark Twain pint glass


This American Blonde Ale by The Great New London Brewing Company is contract brewed by Cottrell in Pawcatuck, Connecticut. Anyone familiar with Cottrell will have an idea of what to expect. The beer pours a very hazy orange-amber with a light yellow glow. The head is large and slightly yellowed with a fluffy foam consistency. The beer's head retention is excellent and leaves delicate lacing on the glass. A strong hoppy nose places this beer's emphasis clearly on citrus with potent orange oil aromas. A sweet, but light, malt base holds up the beer underneath the hoppy aromatics.

Grainy light malts greet on the foretaste with a coarse, cracked grain texture. Velvet, rolling carbonation creates a refreshing mouthfeel to usher in dry hops. Despite a light bitterness in the hop character, huge orange notes pervade. A spray of orange oil plays up the bitterness while a dash of orange juice keeps the citrus componenet sweet. Mild blossom honey contributes further to the beer's nectarous quality. A dry crispness defines the finish.


Final Verdict: A-

Löwenbräu AG - Original

Serving Type: 330 mL bottle, poured into a plastic cup

Löwenbräu Original is a classic Bavarian lager, from one of the historic breweries of Munich, Germany. The beer pours a light, almost greenish, straw body with a crystal clear glimmer. The foam is smallish, but shines in bright white. The head retention is moderate and the lacing is quite light. The nose is quite lagery with a pungent skunkiness. Moderate dandelion notes add bitterness and mild grassy elements of traditional Noble hops. The underlying malts are sweet with an ever-slight drop of honey.

Crisp carbonation gives the beer a classic Helles feel. Noble hops and the Pilsnery impression of this lager style are unmistakable. The beer is light and drinkable and make for a very refreshing brew at 5.2% ABV. The malts are sweet with minor pear notes. The finish is crisp and drying. Overall the beer is a classic with the traditional tropes of a Munich Helles lager, right down to the predictable Reinheitsgebot marketing. A drinkable brew, perfect for slugging by the litre at an Oktoberfest event.

Final Verdict: B