Stone Double Bastard Ale

Stone Double Bastard Ale (65 cl bottle) 10,5%
This beer was released at Systembolaget on the 1st of February. I have tried it several times before but never gotten around to rating it. Also had the pleasure of trying the oak aged version a couple of times, a great beer that I gave 4,2/5.

Style: American Strong Ale
Cost: 89,90 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 5/5
Hazy dark amber liquid with a medium sized dirty beige foam that left a nice lacing on the side of the glass.

Smell: 7/10
Fairly mild smell of hops, malt and caramell.

Taste: 8/10
Caramell, malt, hops, grass and pine needle.

Mouthfeel: 4/5
Dry and medium smooth mouthfeel with a thick body.

Comment:

It almost felt like a barley wine with allot of malt and a bit wineous. The alcohol was well hidden and it was really easy to drink. Having a pint of this wouldn't be a problem but the effect of the alcohol afterwards might be. All in all a very nice beer. The oaked version is slightly better in my opinion but it definitely holds it's ground.

Total: 4,1/5

Sierra Nevada Harvest

Sierra Nevada Harvest - 13th edition Wet Hop Ale (33 cl bottle) 5%
This beer was part of a temporary "middle-of-the-month" release at Systembolaget in February. What makes this beer special is that they use freshly picked (wet) hops. There is a description on how they make it work at Ratebeer:

"Our Harvest Ale was the first American beer ever brewed with 100% fresh picked, "wet hops." In just one day, we harvest hops in Yakima, WA, ship them that night to our brewery in Chico, CA, and then rush them into the brew kettle as they are unloaded at dawn the next day."

Style: India Pale Ale

Cost: 69,10 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 5/5

Almost clear copper liquid with a medium sized dirty white foam that lasted a long time and left chunks of foam on the side of the glass. The foam also had some crater action going on. Looked really nice.

Smell: 8/10

Lots of fresh hops, grass, citrus and pine needle.

Taste: 8/10

Lots of fresh hops, grass, hop recin, pine needle and citrus. High bitterness that stuck around for a long time.

Mouthfeel: 4/5

Dry with a medium smooth mouthfeel. Medium thick body.

Comment:

This is a very nice IPA with lots of hops and a very high bitterness. A hop kick to the tongue that would satisfy any hop head.

I really don't have much to complain about this beer. It could use some more malt to balance the very high bitterness but it's not something that bothers me.

I think this beer would be best on it's own rather then mix it with food. Some hard salty cheeses might work well though.

All in all a great beer, if you like hops and see this beer on the shelf then it's definitely worth to buy.

Total: 4/5

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Brookly Black Chocolate Stout (33 cl bottle) 10%
This beer was released at Systembolaget on the 1st of March. Despite the name it actually doesn't have any chocolate in it, the flavour comes from different kinds of malt. I've tried it several times before since it's regularly released at Systembolaget. Last time I gave it a 3,9/5.

Style: Imperial Stout
Cost: 19,90 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 4/5
It poured a pitch black liquid with a medium sized brown foam.

Smell: 8/10
It didn't have an overly intense smell. The strongest aroma was chocolate but also coffee and nuts where present.

Taste: 8/10
Chocolate, some coffee, roasted notes, nuts and dark bread.

Mouthfeel: 5/5
Lean and smooth mouthfeel with a thick body and a low carbonation.

Comment:

A well balanced imp. stout where none of the flavours really takes over. Chocolate is the most noticeable flavour but it's not to intense and doesn't overpower the rest of the flavours.

I tried it with a chocolate cake with cream and it was a perfect match. The cake intensified the flavour of the beer and the beer somehow made the cake taste better.

This beer is an absolute steal at 19,90 SEK and I'm happy I bought an extra bottle. Hopefully there are still some bottles left when I visit Systembolaget next time.

Total: 4,2/5

BrewDog Stone Bashah

BrewDog Stone Bashah (33 cl) 8,6%
Bashah is short for: Black As Shit Hoppy As Hell. It was brewed at BrewDog together with Stone Brewing Co. They describe the beer as a Black Belgian Style Double India Pale Ale which of course gets my imagination started.

Style: American Strong Ale
Cost: 38,40 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 4/5
It poured a pitch black liquid with a medium sized light brown foam that left a nice lacing.

Smell: 7/10
Actually not as strong as I expected. But it smelled of chocolate, yeast, hops and wood.

Taste: 8/10
The taste was allot stronger with chocolate, coffee, hops and some roasted notes. It had a high hop bitterness but not allot of hop aroma. The hops might have been hidden by the strong coffee-chocolate-roasted aromas.

Mouthfeel: 4/5
Thick body with a low carbonation. Fairly smooth and nice mouth feel.

Comment:

A very odd and complex brew, but I actually expected something even more complex. Thought there would be more fruitiness and yeast and other aromas that I connect to Belgian style ales. This tasted more like an imperial stout with hop bitterness.

Trying to put my expectations on the side I have to say this was an enjoyable beer. I tried it with some chocolate and it was a very good match. Well I used a high quality (70%) chocolate bar with cherries and chilli, which felt like the perfect match for this beer.

Total: 3,8/5

Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale

Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale (33 cl) 4,2%
This beer was part of the release at Systembolaget at the beginning of February. I've tried it before at Monks Café and didn't much enjoy it, ended up giving it a 1,4/5 and would have poured it down the drain if I was at home. But I wanted to give it a second chance now that it was released at Systembolaget.

Style: Wheat Ale
Cost: 19,90 SEK
Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 3/5
It poured a hazy yellow liquid with a small white foam.

Smell: 4/10
A very weak smell with a hint of banana and candy.

Taste: 3/10
Very weak smell, some bread and sweetness.

Mouthfeel: 2/5
Medium smooth with a medium carbonation and a light body.

Comment:

This is a watery and boring wheat beer with very little flavour and aroma. The big question is, where is the wheat? This tastes mostly like a pale lager.

I figured this would be a good match with most kinds of food. So I tried it with some rolls of minute steak filled with pesto, mozarella and gorgonzolla served in a creamy sauce with rice on the side. It wasn't a good match at all, the beer got a very odd bitter taste and the food also taste worse. Maybe it was the cheeses that created the weird combo but I think this beer is best on it's own.

I'm raising my score a bit since the beer is drinkable and doesn't have any bad tastes. But there are better options out there if you crave some wheat beer. If you are more in the mood for lager (as this beer taste like) then there are better lagers available as well.

Total: 1,8/5

Port Brewing Older Viscosity

Port brewing Older Viscosity (37,5 cl bottle) 12%
I reviewed the younger brother of this beer yesterday. The difference between the two is that Older Viscosity has been aged on Heaven Hills Bourbon Barrels for 6 months.

Style: American Strong Ale

Cost: ? SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 3/5

Pitch black liquid. It was completely flat with just a few bubbles floating on the surface and it left no lacing.

Smell: 8/10

Red wine, port wine, dried fruit, whisky, booze and yeast.

Taste: 8/10

Wine, nuts, wood, chocolate, whisky and coconut.

Mouthfeel: 3/5

Smooth with no carbonation. Had a noticeable alcoholic feeling that dried my mouth up.

Comment:

As I poured this I was quite surprised as it didn't look like Old Viscosity. It was completely flat and when I smelled it the first thing that came to mind was port wine. I had a glass of red wine available compared the two and there where several similarities. After tasting it I realised it had allot of red wine flavours. But also whisky and a mix of other alcoholic beverages.

Not sure what would fit with this beer but I imagine the same thing that works with strong red wines, or port wines, with lots of flavour.

This was an unexpected and interesting experience. I expected the same beer only with some wood and whisky flavour. But this version was a completely different beer. I quite enjoyed it though.

Total: 3,8/5

Port brewing Old Viscosity

Port Brewing Old Viscosity (75 cl bottle) 10%
This beer was part of a news release last year but I have now forgotten exactly when I bought it. I also have their Older Viscosity which I will review tomorrow.

Port Brewing is actually the same brewery as Lost Abbey. I have tried several beers from these breweries before and they have all been of high quality. I have a personal favorite in Hop 15.

Style: American Strong Ale according to RB, but I would call it an Imperial Stout.

Cost: ? SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 4/5

Pitch black liquid with a small light brown foam that left a curtain of lacing on the side of the glass.

Smell: 7/10

Chocolate, sweet, nuts.

Taste: 8/10

Chocolate, coffee, nuts, roasted and dark bread.

Mouthfeel: 4/5

Smooth, thick body, dry and mouth coating.

Comment:

It wasn't very complex, however felt well balanced, the flavours all complement each other in a good way. There also weren't any off-flavours. The alcohol was well hidden, it only revealed itself in the alcoholic warmth that followed after taking a sip.

I liked this beer but I would have preferred it with a bit more flavour and complexity. The chocolate is definitely there but I would have liked some more coffee and dark malty flavours.

Total: 3,8/5

Andersson Valley Hop Ottin IPA

Andersson Valley Hop Ottin IPA (Bottle) 7%
This beer was part of the spring news release in the beginning of February 2010.

I tried this beer in february last year at Oliver Twist in Stockholm. It was from tap and I gave it a 3,9/5. This is one of the comments I gave it:
"It also had a taste with allot of grassy hops, citrus and grapefruit, yet the bitterness wasn’t as insane as I expected. Great thirst quencher, very enjoyable beer."

Style: India Pale Ale

Cost: 24,30 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 3/5

Clear copper liquid with a medium sized white foam that left chunks of lacing.

Smell: 6/10

Weak smell. Hops, grass and pine needle.

Taste: 7/10

Hops, grass, hint of grapefruit, pine needle, hop resin.

Mouthfeel: 4/5

Mostly smooth but with a slightly harsh finish. Overall nice mouthfeel with a medium bitterness and body.

Comment:

I remember this beer being allot better, I think the hops had gotten a bit tired. I don't know for sure but I read on another blog that it was a year old. Which might be why it has lost some flavour. I don't remember Hop Ottin as being overwhelming but it was stronger then this.

Even though I'm a bit disappointed I have to admit it's still a pretty decent beer. Definitely something I would drink again. Just as with the other beers of this release I think it would be perfect for a sunny day. Just as with most of the beers from this release, feels like Im repeating myself.

Total: 3,3/5

Sierra Nevada Celebration

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (33 cl Bottle) 6,8%
This beer was part of the spring news release in the beginning of February 2010. I've rated this before and gave it a 3,4/5.

Style: India Pale Ale

Cost: 26,90 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 4/5

Hazy copper liquid, medium dirty white foam, lots of lacing.

Smell: 7/10

Hops, grass, caramel, grapefruit, hay, some sweetness.

Taste: 8/10

Grass, hops, malty, caramel, pine needles, hint of spices. Lasting bitterness.

Mouthfeel: 3/5

Medium smoothness, low carbonation, medium bitterness.

Comment:

A rich beer with piny hoppy flavour with a hint of some spices. Not something I would relate to Christmas beer but I wouldn't mind drinking it during Christmas.

An enjoyable beer, but not extraordinary. Also quite easy to drink. Despite the theme of the beer I think it would be a great match on a hot summer day. Just as with most beers of this release.

Last time I had this I gave it a 3,4/5 and thought it was an above average ale. But I think I enjoyed this one better. Maybe this batch is fresher, either way it felt better and I'm raising my score to:

Total: 3,7/5

Lost Abbey Angel's Share

Lost Abbey The Angel's Share (Bottle) 12,5%
Style: Barley Wine

Date of brew: 2008

This beer was also part of a middle of the month release at Systembolaget at the end of 2009. Whisky distillers refer the evaporation of the spirits from their barrels as “The Angel’s Share.” So they named the beer after that saying. The beer has aged 6 months on oak barrels.

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 3/5

Dark brown liquid with just a small ring of foam at the edge of the glass, that didn't leave any lacing.

Smell: 8/10

Plums, dried fruit, milk, sour, nuts, wood.

Taste: 8/10

Sweet, sour, dried fruit, wine, plums, berries with an alcoholic finish.

Mouthfeel: 5/5

Smooth and very nice mouthfeel. Medium body with a pucking feel to it.

Comment:

A very interesting and complex beer. There where allot of different flavours both sour and sweet with a combo of different aromas. If this is a barley wine (never thought of it while tasting) I would say it's more of an english style barley wine rather then the more hopped up varieties we usually get from the US. I think it would work great with cheese, preferable something tasty like a strong blue cheese and some sweet marmelade or similar. However it worked just great on it's own.

Total: 4/5

Lost Abbey Judgement Day

Lost Abbey Judgement Day (Bottle) 10,5%
This beer was part of a middle of the month news release at Systembolaget at the end of 2009. According to Systembolagets webpage there are bottles left in Göteborg and Malmö. It was sold in 75 cl bottles and cost 134 sek per bottle.

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 4/5

A very dark amber liquid with a dirty white-beige foam that left a medium amount of lacing.

Smell: 7/10

Booze, hint of chemicals, plumms, yeast, fruits, raisins and dried fruit.

Taste: 7/10

Dried fruit, raisin, booze, hint of chemicals, yeast, plums and an alcoholic finish.

Mouthfeel: 3/5

High carbonation but it didn't make the mouthfeel overly harsh. Smoother at first and harsher at the end.

Comment:

A sweet and interesting beer but the chemical notes draws down the points. However the chemicals dissapears after a while, probably when my tastebuds got used to them. A complex and very alcoholic beer. I think this beer would be best on it's own but otherwise it might be a good companion with various cheeses.

Total: 3,5/5

Port Brewing High Tide

Port Brewing High Tide (Bottle) 6,5%
This beer was part of a news release at Systembolaget a couple of months ago. It cost 89 SEK and according to www.systembolaget.se there are still bottles available but it is probably just a miss count on their behalf as usual.

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body
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Appearance: 3/5
A pale yellow liquid with just a little bit of haze with a small white foam. The last couple of cl was allot more hazy due to some sediment on the bottom.

Smell: 8/10
Strong smell of grapefruit, hops, grass, fruity, passion fruit.

Taste: 9/10
Strong taste with lots of hops, also grapefruit, fruits, grass and passion fruit. High bitterness and long aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: 4/5
Smooth mouthfeel that wasn't very harsh. Medium body.

Comment:
I enjoyed this beer, a nice american style IPA fresh with lots of hops both grassy, fruity and a very noticeable grapefruit flavor. With a very high bitterness if that is what you fancy. I think this would work great on a hot summer day. If I where to combine this with food I would choose a tasty and salty hard cheese.

Total: 4,1/5

Alvinne Struise Pipeworks Pipedream

Since Karin hadn't showed up yet I figured I could try some more beer. I asked the bartender for an american hopped up beer and he suggested this beer:

Alvinne Struise Pipeworks Pipedream (Bottle) 7,8%
The description in the beer list said IPA and he assured me it would be a hopped up type of IPA. That is the same description Ratebeer has. But I was surprised when I tried it, since it was more of a Belgian style ale. Well anyway the beer has been brewed as a joint project between Alvinne, Struise and Pipeworks brewery.

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body
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Appearance: 4/5
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a soapy white foam that left a lacing that quickly disappeared.

Smell: 4/10
Weak smell with just a faint hint of yeast.

Taste: 7/10
Yeast, malt, hint of hops. The relatively high carbonation took over and hid allot of flavours.

Mouthfeel: 1/5
Very stingy mouthfeel with lots of carbonation. Hard to drink until the carbonation disappeared.

Comment:
Slightly hard to rate this as I was expecting something completely different. However it didn't take me long to reset my expectations. The biggest problem with this beer was the extremely high amounts of carbonation that hid all the other flavours. After a while it disappeared and became drinkable. Felt unbalanced, maybe it needs some time to mature. Not sure what kind of food would work with this, probably best on it's own.

Total: 2,7/5

Beers tried over Christmas, part 2

I tried some more beers during Christmas.


The Lost Abbey Interno Ale (Bottle) 8,5%
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a big white foam that left chunks of foam on the side of the glass.

It had a smell of yeast, fruits, pepper and apples.

A bit stingy and rough mouth feel. Medium-thick body with a low bitterness. The flavour was strong and I noticed yeast, fruits, coriander and apples. It was quite dry and didn't have that much sweetness.

A nice beer and even my grandfather enjoyed this one. Well he enjoyed it so much he was finished before I got a chance to try it ;)
Total: 3,9/5

Mikkeller Fra Til (Bottle) 8%
It poured a pitch black liquid with a big brown foam that left lots of lacing.

It had a smell of chocolate, hops, coffee and something burned.

The mouth feel was a bit stingy and dry with a thick body. Lots of Christmas spices in this one, the commercial description is fairly spot on when it comes to the spices, the star anise, coriander, cinnamon and cloves are all noticeable. Specially the cloves. It also has a taste of roasted nuts, coffee, hint of hops and some burned caramel. It has a long after taste that really digs in and stays there.

Very nice beer!
Total: 4,1/5

Beers tried over Christmas, part 1

I tried some more beers during Christmas.

The Lost Abbey Interno Ale (Bottle) 8,5%
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a big white foam that left chunks of foam on the side of the glass.

It had a smell of yeast, fruits, pepper and apples.

A bit stingy and rough mouthfeel. Medium-thick body with a low bitterness. The flavour was strong and I noticed yeast, fruits, coriander and apples. It was quite dry and didn't have that much sweetness.

A nice beer and even my grandfather enjoyed this one. Well he enjoyed it so much he was finished before I got a chance to try it ;)
Total: 3,9/5

Mikkeller Fra Til (Bottle) 8%

I survived another Christmas! - part 2

Here are some more beers that we tried during our wait for Christmas:

Stone 13th Anniverary Ale (Bottle) 9,5%
It poured a very dark amber liquid with a small light brown foam that left some lacing.

It had a smell of wood, caramell, malt, hops, something sweet and an alcoholic finnish.

It had a medium smooth mouthfeel with a bit of sting to it. It had a medium body and a high bitterness. It had a sweet taste and a flavour of hops, wood, nuts and an alcoholic finnish. Quite strong and full taste, also a bit dry. Really nice, I sure enjoyed this beer.
Total: 4,1/5

Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale (Bottle) 8,9%
It poured a very dark amber liquid with a small light brown foam that left some lacing.

It had a smell of nut, wood, chocolate and crackers.

It had a medium smooth mouthfeel with some stingyness. It was a bit sour but not so bad, heard there have been some complaints about the sourness but it didn't bother me much. It had a thick body and was a bit dry. Taste of wood, nuts and warm alcohol. Lots of different flavours that I couldn't quite distinguish made it feel complex and interesting.
Total: 3,9/5

After these beers my father pulled out two kegs of home made beer. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow...

I survived another Christmas! - part 1

I'm back in Stockholm again after a very hectic and eventfull Christmas weekend. It's been a rough couple of days with lots of beer tasting and partying. It started on wednesday, with me having to run to the train in less then 10 minutes, with a huge backpack filled with beer on my back. I got there late, sweating like a drunken siberian prostitute in a finnish sauna. But lucky for me the train was 15 minutes late so I could sit my sweaty ass down in a chair and wait for a while before the train left.

As I got home I was greated by my parents wearing saunta caps and singing Christmas carols. Yepp, it was as disturbing as it sounds. Shortly some friends arrived and we had our traditional Christmas wake. Where we tried some nice beers and ate the first Christmas ham... one of many. Here are some of the beers we had:

Great Divide Fresh Hop (bottle) 6,1%
It poured a clear golden liquid with a small white foam that had some craters in it. It left a small amount of lacing on the side of the glass.

It had a hoppy smell of both grassy and fruity hops, mainly passion fruit.

It had a medium smooth mouthfeel with a bit of sting and a high bitterness that lasted a long time. It also had a taste of hops, buts, grass, fruits, grapefruit and passion fruit. Tasted fresh just as the title said. I liked this one.
Total: 3,8/5
Southern Tier Oak Aged Un*Earthly (bottle) 11%
This beer was a gift from Chrille which he brought with him from Holland. I have tried the first version and gave it a 3,6/5.

It poured a hazy dark golden liquid with a small white foam that left very little lacing.

It had a smell of wood, nuts, hops, malt, dill chips and some warm alcohol.

It had a smooth mouthfeel with a thick body and a medium bitterness. The strongest flavour was wood, but also grassy hops and some honey-syrupy sweetness. Nice! I liked this one better then the original.
Total: 3,9/5

We tried a couple more beers before they brought out the ham. But more about that tomorrow...

Christmas Beer 2009, part 8

Oppigårds Winterale (bottle) 5,3%
It poured a slightly hazy dark amber liquid with a medium sized beige foam, that left lots of lacing.

It had a fresh smell of grass, hops and caramell.

Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and medium bitterness. Nice to drink, not very intense flavour and a bit sweet. Tasted of grassy hops, caramell and a hint of some spices.

This beer worked well with chocolate but not sure how it would work with the salty christmas food. I heard the hoppy flavour didn't work so well. But I haven't tried myself.
Total: 3.6/5
Anchor Our Special Ale 2009 (bottle) 5,5%
It poured a clear very dark amber liquid with a big light brown foam that left lots of lacing.

Smell of malt, dark bread, hops and spices.

Medium smooth mouthfeel with just a bit of sting, also medium body. Taste of malt, dark bread, hops and something burned. Pretty decent beer.

I had this with some greek food and it didn't work at all. A bit unsure how it would work with the salty christmas food. Might be a better match afterwards.
Total: 3,6/5

Avery Hog Heaven

Avery Brewing is a fairly new brewery for me, but they have been brewing since 1993 in Boulder, Colorado. I tried their Maharaja DIPA (4,1/5) at SMÖF and I tried a couple of their brews at ÖBWF. So far I haven't been dissapointed and they generally get very nice scores at Ratebeer. Most of their beers end up above the 90th percentile. The beer I'm going to review today is a barley wine that was released at Systembolaget in November.

Avery Hog Heaven (Bottle) 9,2%
It poured a slightly hazy dark golden liquid with a medium sized dirty white foam that left allot of lacing. Quite a nice look actually.

It had a smell of sweet malt, caramell and wood. There where more smells but I couldn't quite put my finger on what they where.

The mouthfeel was smooth with a thich body. It had a sweet taste of caramell and malt with an alcoholic finish. The flavour was a bit intence just the way I like it. A very nice beer again from Avery, definitely something I want to drink again.
Total: 4/5

Christmas Beer 2009, part 5

Nögne Ö - Underlig Jul (Bottle) 6,5%
It poured a dark liquid with a medium sized beige foam that left a nice lacing.

As I poured the beer the smell of spices filled the room, very christmasy. I noticed pors and/or woodworm (malört), cinnamon and cloves. But there where more smells that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body, dry and medium bitterness. Very herby and spicey taste with cinammon, woodworm and/or pors, vanilla and liqourice. However it wasn't as herby as MNM that was way to herby. This one had a better balance and it was allot more enjoyable.
Total: 3,6/5
Great Divide Hibernation Ale (Bottle) 8,7%
It poured a very dark golden liquid with a small beige foam that left a nice lacing.

It had a very malty smell, similar to how it smells when you open a bag of freshly ground malts just before a brewing.

It had a smooth mouthfeel with a thick body. It had a very malty taste, just like voert before you boil it. Very sweet rich malty flavour. It had some alcoholic warmth but no real alcohol taste.

It isn't very christmasy but I really enjoyed it. I've never actually tried a beer that was this malty before.
Total: 4/5