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Just a few from the HKG trip.

A pre Yung Kee (famous goose restaurant) dinner San Miguel in the backstreets of HKG.
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Yebisu "The Hop" Quite floral in the aroma.
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Finally the Brooklyn Brewery 'Lager' :kooi:
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Just got back from Mrs Parmas (had the Floater and it was pretty terrific). Pints tested were 3 Ravens Dark Smoke Beer, True South Wee Jimmy (x2) and Bright Winter Warmer. Found the 3 Ravens to be much less smoky than the bottle I had late last year (which at the time I described as being a training-wheel beer for future rauch drinkers) so on that front it was a bit of a disappointment but ignoring that it was a very nice beer. Really liked the Wee Jimmy but got bugger all of the peat to be honest, but I did enjoy it quite a bit regardless. Bright's Winter Warmer was quite nice but leaned a little hard on the coffee for me - no real warming alc sensation either. Not that I find this essential in a beer but in a beer with that name? Yeah, I'd expect something.

(Apologies to those who've read the thread from which I copied most of this post)
 
Hopefully something fairly new to most AHB'ers...

Matilda Bay Long Shot - Coffee Infused Dark Ale.
longshot.jpg (sorry forgot pohot when drinking)

pours DARK... quite dark, not obvious aroma - whatsoever - until let to warm a little where has sour stoutish smell and fresh espresso comes through after a sip or 2.
taste is pretty good but no bursting coffee tones, will disappoint some for subtlety ie Malt Runner cherry notes??...

All in all not bad, would reccomend serving temp bout 8-10 as mine was too cold.
 
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Not a style that I'm really familiar with, but I enjoyed this. I could see it being a nice session beer. Pretty well balanced, but a little more malty sweet than hoppy. Without digging out style guidelines, I'm not sure if this is chacteristic for the style or not. Some really great toffee and malt flavours on the palate from the crystal and munich and a really smooth bitterness right through the palate. I reckon I'll buy a few more... :icon_drool2:

Wish I could get over to try it on tap... :(

edit: The colour! Oh the colour... I love this colour in a beer, almost copper with some great highlights when held to the light. The colour alone makes you feel like you're drinking a blokes beer, not one of those girly, piss yellow, green bottle lagers...
 
Fullers Golden Pride

Bought a few old ales and barleywines from the International Beer Shop mainly for the BJCP study session but also because i wanted to compare my english BW with a few commercial examples.

This beer is listed in the BJCP guidelines as an English Barleywine. Scored it cheap as its past its best before date (June 10).

Still tastes quite fresh and its that freshness that is definitely missing in mine. I suspect they have added more late hops than i did as its quite fruity from both the hops as well as yeast esters. Very malt sweet on the nose and despite the 8.5% abv its deceptively easy to drink. Not too much dried fruit character as yet with maybe a hint of sherry coming through. I bought 4 so will put the rest away for a while. Inspires me to make another one with more late hops.

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Found this in the bargain bin at WATB for $2... It's not that bad, especially for $2 a pint. A bit thinnish in the body, and pretty sweet and underhopped, but not that bad for $2

Did I mention it was only $2? Maybe just as well it was :unsure:
 
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Found this in the bargain bin at WATB for $2... It's not that bad, especially for $2 a pint. A bit thinnish in the body, and pretty sweet and underhopped, but not that bad for $2

Did I mention it was only $2? Maybe just as well it was :unsure:
I'm taking it you must've had a bit of a field day at WATB Schooey?

I recalling having a couple of pints of that stuff off cask last time I was in the UK; wasn't too bad.

Need to hit up that bottle o again for some tasty treats...and upload the last of the photos from latest trip...
 
I'm taking it you must've had a bit of a field day at WATB Schooey?

Yeah I might had a bit of a look around while I was there...

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There are only three english words on the lable: Peppercorn Rye beer. So I did a bit of googling and found this;

Route des pices (Spice route)
Peppercorn rye beer
5%
The Routes des pices is a rye beer in which pepper has been added during the brewing process, lending it wonderful peppery flavours and aromas. The beer also reveals flavours of malt, fresh cereal, chocolate, caramel and a hint of fruit. In the aftertaste, the pepper flavour is once again revealed in full strength and it leaves a pleasing spicy tingling sensation on the tongue. A nice balance is attained between its spiciness and its multitude of other flavours.

Wow, I love this beer!... but I wouldn't drink a lot of it. I think after one glass, the pepper aftertaste becomes dominant and a little much. But the amount of complex flavours going off in this beer surely keeps you interested for the first glass. Something different, and surely a must for any pepperheads.
 
Ha ha! I had one of these a couple of beers back ... Mrs Shed would definitely drink a lot more of it, and i quite liked it too ... I guess we're pepperheads :D
 
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Another wild stab in the dark beer for me... Only decipherable text on the label is Belgian and Blonde, 8.5% Alc/vol...

Very sweet and very subtly hopped. Very decieving for 8.5% too! I reckon you could hoe into half a dozen of these no time flat on a hot day! Could be dangerous... Has those funky belgian yeast aromas, but not so much the esters that you would expect in the flavour. Flavours are very sweet, honey, apricots and some bitter mandarin. Pretty enjoyable, but probably would have been more suited to a warm summer day than a cool winter night
 
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Satan's big brother... Still has that Belgian funk in the aroma, maybe even more so. Flavour has more funk than sweetness too, not quite Farmhouse Ale territory, but very Belgiany if that makes sense..
 
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Continuing in the Belgian vein tonight... This time it's a dark Belgian style IIPA. I absofreakinglutely love this beer. Big body, big languid mouthfeel, roasty notes, lovely warming alcohol, dark chocolate notes coming through late and a looong loong lingering bitterness. I'm definitely going to buy a few more of these and stow them away in the private collection
 
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...and this is the nightcap for a pretty sensational evening of beers!

This is a really big beer, big body, big intense flavours and big bitterness. Excellent combination of dark grains and crystals I think. The oak and the residual peated malt from the whisky casks flow throw in the aroma, mixed in with roast, plum pudding and dark fruits. Very complex flavour profile, roasts, sweet malts, coffee and smokey notes from the peat, all mixed in with a whole bunch of other stuff I could prattle on about for half an hour. Another sensational beer from the Brew Dog boys...
 
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One I didn't buy... :blink:

I saw TNP at UtoBeer at London Borough Markets this morning for about 45 (~A$85). Still, its a lot of money to spend.


One beer that I did grab was Aecht Schlenkerla Lager. Soft smoky and malty aroma. Nice clean taste again with the hint of smoke coming through. It was a really enjoyable beer on what was another warm/muggy London day.
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Seeing as I ordered some of the new batch this morning, I thought I might see how the old batch is going....
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I thought I still got some hop aroma upon pouring, but I could be wrong. Deep rich dark chocolate flavor throughout followed by a lingering bitterness and slight alcohol warmth. Seems thicker to me now that all the hop has gone... Still has to be the best aussie beer I've tried. And I've still got 2 bottles left. :icon_drool2:
 
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One I didn't buy... :blink:
$173 for TNP...farrrrk!
I just spent $160 for a cube of Murrays Wild Thing and it hurt, alot.
The beer beside it (Dark Island Reserve) is bloody good value in comparison!

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Brewdog Tokyo*
Everything about this beer is up my alley; Imperial stout - check, Oak aged - check, 18.2%alc/vol - check and thensome!
Remarkably smooth considering that mammoth abv. Sure, it lets you know who's boss, but the shear depth of flavour is tremendous. And unlike that last beer I tried at this "fortified wine" strength end of the spectrum, Mikkeller Black, I think mere mortals may actually be able to consume this without falling into a quivering heap in the corner...though I've been proven wrong before.

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Murrays Heart of Darkness
Out at the brewery today for a "Dark Beer Masterclass", and the release of this fine imperial stout.
A bit different from your run of the mill Imp. Stout; plenty of roasted coffee and bitter chocolate, yeah, but some subtle undertones of green banana and clove spiciness come through, particularly with some warmth. Snagged a growler of the stuff and bottled it into a few stubbies...I think 1.89L of 9.6% beer in one sitting may cause me brain damage, particularly with something so drinkable!
 
Fruh Kolsch. This is the pick of the two kolsch that I had yesterday. light hop/malt aroma. Flavour is fairly light and easy going with enough hop presence and carbonation for either a session beer or for knocking back one or two on a hot day.
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Kuppers Kolsch. Light fruity aroma. Fairly dry with a light fruitiness. Give me another Fruh!
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Fruh Kolsch. This is the pick of the two kolsch that I had yesterday. light hop/malt aroma. Flavour is fairly light and easy going with enough hop presence and carbonation for either a session beer or for knocking back one or two on a hot day.
Kuppers Kolsch. Light fruity aroma. Fairly dry with a light fruitiness. Give me another Fruh!

Had your hands on Gaffel or Reissdorf?! :icon_drool2:
 
Had this one last night, just for something a bit different.
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Beaut colour, not much for head retention. V. sweet, and a bit of spicyness which was fueled by the warm alcohol. 9%er. Definitely a dessert-style beer, and would make a great beer for pairing up with food. Enjoyed this one, but in a distinctly different way to how i'd enjoy a DIPA.

apologies for pic quality, it wasn't my first beer of the day...
 

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