Goldings IPA is Dead- BrewDog (2/4)

 If you have not read the first and second BrewDog beer reviews, do so NOW!
The "baby" version of the BrewDog Hardcore IPA is the Goldings IPA.

East Kent Goldings are very traditional English Pale Ale hops. This has a lighter bitterness than the Dana and the Waimea.

The color is also very similar, but more golden and less orange than the others.

Smell is more mild than the others. Similar Pine/citrus fruity aromas. Hints of caramel and bready malts.

The taste is more bready than the others. More pine than the other two. Has a bite, but less than Dana and Waimea. Caramel taste makes this unique compared to the rest of the IPA is dead collection . Very smooth carbonation.

I know some people who would claim this to be their favorite out of the IPA is dead collection. Personally, this doesn't stand out for me as much as the past two. I still very much enjoyed it, just hard to gauge it with the others. They are all similar, with small tweaks in taste and smell. I prefer the hops in the first two better, but I see the appeal of this one .

Waimea IPA is Dead- BrewDog (2/4)

If you have not read the first BrewDog beer review, do so now!

"BrewDog: Beer for Clever Humans. Ditch the mainstream and say hello to BrewDog".

Interesting note:
These guys showed up to one of the awards charging in with a keg and a BrewDog flag... what champs!

The hops of this beer are from New Zealand.

Color is hazy orange amber, very similar to the Dana but very slightly more hazy.

The Taste of this beer has more biting hops than Dana. Like Dana, Waimea has bread malts, and loads of bitter hops. More bitter than Dana, less malty. More acidic but less of an orange taste. More of a mandarin orange tang as oppose to the normal orange tang of the Dana beer.

This beer seems to have an emphasis on pine, lemon, and malts. Also has a grassy tone to it as well.
Aftertaste is short, leaving you wanting more! Sharp hops are interesting on the tongue, and a nice depth of flavor to the beer.

Very nice beer, with citrus, grassy and pine notes. I'd highly recommend this beer. Watch out for the next two, and for the conclusion!

IPA IS DEAD 4 PACK

Dana IPA is Dead- BrewDog (1/4)

BrewDog is a Scottish brewery located in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.

They are known for having the strongest beer ever produced dubbed the "Tactical Nuclear Penguin" at 32 ABV, "Sink the Bismarck!" at 42 ABV and "The End of History" at 55 ABV. Only 12 End of Histories were produced, each one packaged in small taxidermied  animals. They have a huge range of beers, literally dozens of brands. They have won many awards, and have won two World Beer Cups.

Interesting note is that the Dana beer is actually a Bavarian style IPA, although BrewDog brewery is Scottish.

BrewDogs uses 35x more hops per barrel than the average industrial brewer, according to brewdog.om 

On top of adding hops regularly, they use a method called dryhopping. This is a process of adding hops after fermentation. No additives, all natural preservatives.

Uses a Brown bottle; stops it from skunking. As the BrewDog brewers say "anybody who puts their beer into a clear bottle clearly doesn't give a damn about their beer". I'm looking at you corona!

Now let's get to the beer.
Orange/Amber color. Head turns soapy after a couple minutes, not a bad thing.

Smell is bread malts, pine, and lots of good ol' bitter hops.

Taste has a citrus "tang", and low to medium carbonation. The breaded malts are overpowered and conquered by the bitter hops. Long aftertaste, but in a very good way. Very malty, had a lot of everything.

This beer has a high IBU (International Bitterness Unit) of 75.
Really nice bite. Great taste.

Funny enough, this beer is not widely received by the BrewDogs community. This makes me eager to try to others. Good thing I bought a 4 pack!

Quite possibly the best beer I've reviewed or drank (Obviously Tiger doesn't count).

This is why I love beer.

http://www.brewdog.com/

Kasteel Tripel beer

My third Belgian beer
Vanhonsebrouck brewery
All the kasteel beers they brew look very good and interesting
A Tripel is a strong pale ale
11 percent APV
Low carbonation

Color is a gold orange, the head is gone almost entirely after 4 minutes.

Smell is of caramel malts, fruity yeasts, and... burnt sugar? Weak smell, alcohol not present in smell.

Taste is a combination of sweet and toasted. I also taste brown sugar, pilsner malt definitely but sweeter, and some floral hops.
Is is much more bitter than sweet however.
It's bite is very short lived, and follows by a sweet aftertaste.

Very much surprised by this beer, and wasn't expecting it to be very special after trying the Duvel.



This is my favorite Belgian beer so far by a mile!
I would have normally guessed this to be a beer at 6.5 ABV; the 11% was surprisingly not there.
If I had to make a comparison, it reminded me a bit of a mix of the Iron Maiden beer and the Duvel in terms of taste.

Highly recommend, and I will be reviewing more from this brewery!

http://www.vanhonsebrouck.be/

Duvel Belgian Beer

   
Duvuel Beer (yes I know the v looks like a u)

Kind of transparent straw colored pale ale
Pilsner Malt
Large head
8.5% APV
Very carbonated

Very strong traditional beer smell - Grassy hops

A typical Belgian beer from what I've heard

Bitter aftertaste
Surprisingly easy to drink
Thick malt taste

You will really want to finish it before it starts getting warm. One of the worst beers to finish if you take your time. Luckily it's only 330ml.


I enjoyed this beer but felt it was a little too simple of a beer.
Not that it's a bad thing, just difficult to make a beer review.

I'd recommend it, especially if you've never had a Belgian beer.

Blanche de Namur Belgian beer

My first Belgian beer review.
This is a Witbier (Wheat beer)
Lighter and cloudier than most I have had

Blond, cloudy, milky, big head

Very light smell, hard to tell
Floral smell, almost like a tea (honey, vanilla)

Smooth taste,
High carbonation, but nice
Slight lemon taste, kind of creamy also. Hint of orange peel

A good choice, but not great. Kind of feels a little soapy if I had to criticize

Better than most, but too milky/cloudy for my tastes. I can see how it won so many awards though

I would recommend this beer, but it really doesn't taste like most beers

hiatus from blogging

I no longer have access to my phone. Will post all the new beers later

Iron Maiden Trooper beer

 The Iron Maiden Trooper beer is a British beer by Robinsons Brewery. This beer was first sold in May 2013 so a very new brand.

• Amberish color, lighter than the Hobgoblin
• It has Eddie the Head on the cover
• Traditional British beer
• 4.7% APV

This beer had a larger head than the other beers I've reviewed so far. 

One of the best smelling beer out of the golden and bitter ales. It smells how it tastes. The grassy hops are very apparent in the smell.

The taste was also more bitter than the Hobgoblin. 

Citric (lemon) flavor. 

Grassy hops

Sweet maltiness

More of a bitter than a golden ale

Bitter, but very short aftertaste.

Personally have had too many bitter citric beers since coming to Madrid, so I didn't absolutely love it. I would buy it at a bar. I would say it has similarities to the Brewerks beer and the Natubier Microbrewery in Plaza Santa Ana. Out of the three, this is my favorite.

Not an absolutely amazing beer, but a great session beer.

Smell: 4.5/5
Taste: 3.5/5
Aftertaste: 4/5

Interesting facts:

Trooper song about the Battle of the Light Brigade aka Battle of Balaclava (1854). Crimean war. If you want to know more, buy the beer and read the label on the back.

The beer is banned in many pubs and Sweden because of the label. What crap! See sources below

I do recommend this beer, I just had higher expectations. The bottle is pretty cool so I'm keeping it.

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsons_Brewery#Current_product_range

http://www.ironmaidenbeer.com/

http://b1027.com/iron-maiden-beer-banned-in-sweden/

Sixex beer

The Sixex beer is a British beer by Joseph Holt brewery

• Dark ale
• Low-moderate carbonation 

Small head, but had a long retention

Smells roasted with a hint of wood

Burnt, roasted flavor
A bit nutty
Flavor seemed to be muted possibly chilled it too much
Flavor did not linger

Mild coffee aftertaste

I found this beer extremely easy to drink. I believe almost anyone would enjoy this beer.

Enjoyable, but one I will likely forget. A beer one would drink during the winter. I don't think I will be keeping the bottle.

Interesting Facts:
Oldest Beer made by Joseph Holt
Occasionally brewed and not year round; however, not seasonal.

Ratings:
Smell: 3.5/5
Taste: 3.5/5    
Aftertaste: 4.5/5

I would recommend this beer to my friends who enjoy a dark ale or those who are interested in making the switch. Highly recommend to those new to beer.

Sources:
http://www.joseph-holt.com/beers

Hobgoblin beer

The Hobgoblin beer is a British beer by Wychwood Brewery

• Amber-red color
• Low carbonation 

Roasted malts very apparent in smell and taste

After pouring I did not get much of a head
Smell of caramel but taste of toffee

It has a chocolate toffee malt flavor, but I found it difficult to taste the chocolate until it was less chilled.
Very smooth to drink. Definitely a beer to enjoy.

Aftertaste was very short, and only a tiny bit bitter at the finish. Earthy hop aftertaste was very pleasant.

Without a doubt much better than anything you will find at a party.

Interested facts:
Hobgoblin is the 5^th best selling beer in the UK. 
When President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron traded beers from their countries, Cameron gave the Hobgoblin while Obama gave the Goose Island 312 beer. 

Ratings:
Smell: 4.5/5
Taste:4/5
Aftertaste: 4/5

I would highly recommend this beer. They also have other brands I will definitely keep them in mind. I enjoyed this beer enough that I am keeping the empty bottle.





































Sources:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/07/obama-cameron-and-the-other-beer-summit/1#.UcCuPPk3uG4
http://www.wychwood.co.uk