Skip to main content

Beer Digest III: New Belgium Lips of Faith Heavenly Feijoa, 21st Amendment Hop Crisis, North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

Hey everyone, hope you had a great weekend!  I tried some great beers the last few days.  Without further adieu, here are the one's that were really memorable.

New Belgium / Dieu du Ciel! Heavenly Feijoa Lips of Faith
New Belgium / Dieu du Ciel! Heavenly Feijoa
Heavenly Feijoa
Belgian tripel with feijoa and hibiscus
9% ABV

I was excited to try out the Heavenly Feijoa.  This was my first time trying one of New Belgium's Lips of Faith beers (since they don't distribute to NJ yet), and also my first time trying a beer from Dieu du Ciel!, a brewery out of Montreal.  I also didn't know what a feijoa was.  Consulting Google and Wikipedia, I learned feijoa is also known as pineapple guava and guavasteen.  The beer itself was very fruity (in aroma and flavor), but not overly sweet.  The fruit flavors blended quite well with the malt and hops.  I didn't taste much of the classic Belgian yeast character in this beer.  Overall, quite unique and quite good.

21st Amendment Hop Crisis
Hop Crisis
Imperial IPA
9.7% ABV

I had heard good things about 21st Amendment Brewing's Hop Crisis, so when I saw cans of it in the mix-a-6 area of my local Wegmans, I didn't hesitate in picking it up.  The rundown on Hop Crisis is that it's an Imperial IPA aged on oak spirals, and it comes in at 9.7% ABV.  Hop Crisis was honestly one of the most unique Imperial IPAs that I've had in quite some time.  It's an Imperial IPA that has huge tropical fruit aromatics.  I'm talking huge notes of pineapple and mango that you don't have to sniff around to find.  There is lots more of the pineapple and mango in the flavor too.  Absolutely delicious.  If you see this one around, don't hesitate in picking it up!

North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Old Rasputin
Russian Imperial Stout
9% ABV

Old Rasputin is a truly fantastic Russian imperial stout.  Pitch black, tan head.  Roasty with lots of coffee and chocolate notes.  Drinks very smooth.  If I had been a tsar in Russia, I would have been very happy to have this sent to me from the brewers in England.

What do you think of these beers?  Feel free to let me know in the comments!

Find Mould’s Beer Blog on these Social Networks!














Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dogfish Head Positive Contact

Frankenstorm is on it's way.  Bread: Check.  Candles: Check.  Ice: Check.  Beer: Check!  The big storm is supposed to strike land here in NJ late Sunday night into early Monday morning, and last until late Tuesday.  Kerry and I live in the western part of NJ, so we should be safe from most of it, except for local river flooding.  Tonight I'll be reviewing Positive Contact from Dogfish Head.  This is their collaboration with Dan the Automator (who I honestly had never heard of before this collaboration). I poured Positive Contact into my Yards Brewing tulip glass.  It poured a pale orange, golden color with a two and a half finger width head.  Apples, bananas and peppers hit my nose right away.  The smell is incredible and strong.  The Positive Contact is full of flavor, and reminds me of a smooth drinking Belgian tripel.  It tastes immediately of fruity esters, mainly banana.  The finish is peppery.  I'm ...
Post a Comment
Read more

BJCP: Strong Scotch Ale (9E)

This is the first article in a new series of posts, where I will periodically choose a section from the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines , write about the style, and then drink and publish my tasting notes from some of the commercial examples given by the BJCP.  Now, I'm not sure if I will ever actually take the exam to become a beer judge, but I think this will be a fun exercise to learn more about beer! Fair warning, I will not be doing the sections of the BJCP style guidelines in any sort of order.  Whichever kinds of beer I am craving is what I will be writing about! Strong Scotch Ales (also known as Wee Heavy) comprise sub-category 9E in the BJCP style guidelines.  They range between 6.5% and 10.0% ABV, and have a light copper to dark brown appearance.  Obviously, strong scotch ales are all about showcasing the malt.  While studying this style, I found it quite interesting that the brewers ferment out the wort at cooler temp...
15 comments
Read more

Beer Digest: Mission St., Hitachino, Weyerbacher

I've had some really great and interesting beers over the last week.  In this new post series, I'm going to highlight my favorite beers from the last week or so.  Hope you enjoy reading!  Suggestions and comments are always welcome! Mission St 2013 Anniversary Ale (Trader Joe's) Steinhaus Brewing Co. (brewed at Firestone Walker in Cali) 8.5% ABV I wasn't really sure what to expect from this beer, but it took me by surprise.  They say it is is blend of three different brews, and when it all comes together the final product is an imperial brown ale.  There was lots of malt, a little roast, and a full, creamy body.  I was surprised how fast I made it through the whole bottle.  There wasn't the slightest hint of the 8.5% ABV.  If more brown ales tasted like this, I would probably drink them more often. Mission St. 2013 Anniversary Ale from Trader Joe's Hitachino Nest XH Kiuchi Brewery 7% ABV Kiuchi Brewery's Hitachino Nes...
2 comments
Read more