Imperial Stout

Brewery: Founders Brewing Co.

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Merry Christmas! I decided to review one that I have had for a while now, this is founders Imperial Stout brewed only on special occasions around the beginning of each year. This has a best before of the end of November 2014 (take no notice as imperial stouts tend to only get better by age - also this age is written in the european format indicating it was put on by people other that Founders who don't usually to BB dates), meaning that it was bottled in 2013 - I think. This beer has ranked well with a WBC Bronze Medal in the "American-Style Imperial Stout" category in 2010. This was served at room temperature and lest to breath for a bit.

Appearance: An incredible dark black with a very thin and short lived head that had the colour of red clay. 

Aroma: Coffee, red berries, caramelisation and lots of boozy notes. I kind of want to say the caramelised flavour is a bit like that you get on the meat, but that sounds gross and this smell is definitely not that. 

Flavour: Nice sweet flavour with some surprisingly fresh notes but also with those roasted notes that you would expect in a beer like this. There are definitely some notes like liquorish on this

Body: Incredibly smooth and velvety 

Aftertaste: There is a bitterness that starts to come, partly from the hops and partly from the malt, that increase throughout the taste but is still pleasant. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, a strong but well balanced beer. Well made and what you expect, but nothing that is a surprising flavour.

Price Range: £3.89 for a 355ml bottle, an appropriate price for this, expensive but worth it.

Food Pairings: Something slaty to offset the sweet, but with strong flavours, maybe like a beef roast.

Christmas Ale

Brewery: Brouwerij St. Bernardus

Supplier: Beers of Europe

So this is to start of the Christmas season. This is the breweries dark, strong Belgian ale that is brewed for the christmas period; made using the breweries own strain of yeast that has been used since the end of WWII. I served this at room temperature. Merry Christmas!

Appearance: Very dark with only just a dark ruby tint when held to the light. The head is comparatively light as a creamy hazelnut colour.

Aroma: Some fruity but lambic-esc notes with a background of banana, raisins and roasted notes.

Flavour: Sweet and complex with the raisins flavour coming out most. There are some other notes like treacle and gingerbread coming through as well. 

Body: A little too carbonated for my tastes, but it is still nice and thick.

Aftertaste: Tastes like a flanders red ale on the back; with that tart/dry, typically Belgian, flavour.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a nice complex and spicy ale, not completely to my tastes and a little too carbonated, but still worth trying.

Price Range: £3.19 for 330ml bottle, probably a little too much but a good price

Food Pairings: Complex enough that it could be left by itself, but if were choosing I would say something like a Reuben sandwich (composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread), with strong flavours coming from all the  veg, cheese, bread and meat flavours. Or a simple pastrami on rye.

Kellerbier

Brewery: Brauerei Göller

Supplier: Beers of Europe

This is the Kellerbier (or cellar beer) of this 500 year old brewery. The beer is an unfiltered lager that has been cellared. It won a gold medal from the German Agricultural Society - Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG) - in 2007. This particular bottle apparently went off in mid September, I have no experience with Kellerbiers so I am unsure if this will affect it in a positive or negative way. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A slightly pale and slightly amber golden colour with a very thin off-white head. 

Aroma: Some spicy notes mixed with lots of honey and a hint of dried orange.

Flavour: Definitely a german beer with the typical notes associated, with some dried orange. There is a descant malt body but with more savoury hints.

Body: Quite light and refreshing but with a substantial back.

Aftertaste: The main flavour continues but with some green and almost ear waxy hop notes.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 5, a good standard drinker with some decent notes, but nothing special.

Price Range: £2.09 for a 500ml bottle, a good price for what it is, especially with the bottle (if you like those type of bottles)

Food Pairings: Some nice warm and buttery bread, lots of garlic would also be nice.

Beercelona

Brewery: Barcelona Beer Company

Supplier: Beer52

Another Spanish beer from the Beer52 box. This one is from Barcelona obviously and is their flagship pale ale. I served this chilled.

Appearance: A golden straw colour with lots of bubbles plus a thick and lasting white head. 

Aroma: Typical citrus fruit hop notes, but coupled with a little bit of a soapy note.

Flavour: First comes a nice, slightly sweet, malt base. This is followed almost immediately with a faint hop resin note (coupled with some of the citrus fruit notes) that balances well with the malt.

Body: A little too much body for this beer as it takes away from the freshness.

Aftertaste: This is where the soapy hop notes come in, not too bad but not pleasant; it doesn't make you want to keep drinking it. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 4, an OK beer with some flaws

Price Range: Part of the box of 8 I got for £12 (usually £24), so it works out at £1.50 for a 330ml bottle; this is a fairly good price, cheap enough that it is worth it.

Food Pairings: It would probably go well with something like a chicken Caesar salad, something crisp but with a strong sauce.

Icelandic Doppelbock

Brewery: Einstök Olgerđ

Supplier: Beers of Europe

This is their only seasonal beer to date and it's brewed specially for the winter time. This dark lager has also been awarded Gold at the 2013 Los Angeles International Commercial Beer Competition in the "German-Stule Doppelbock or Eisbock" category. I served this slightly chilled.

Appearance: A slightly hazy brown which becomes a bright ruby colour when held to light. There is a medium off-white head that dissipates quickly but leaves a thin lacing on top.

Aroma: Lots of fruity marmalade notes coupled with hints of roasted toffee notes, some sourness right in the back.

Flavour: A huge sweetness right at the front that has hints of toffee. This sweetness dies down, but only a little, and the toffee notes come through a bit more.

Body: Maybe a little thicker than ideal but still very nice with a good carbonation. 

Aftertaste: Whilst the sweetness still remains there is much more of the toffee notes and some burnt toast and other dark malt flavours.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a very nice beer but maybe a little too sweet, so you should only drink this when you want a sweet one.

Price Range: £2.99 for a 330ml bottle, probably about right for what it is.

Food Pairings: I think this would go with a nice moist dark chocolate and cherry cake.