Orval - Brasserie d'Orval S.A.

APPEARANCE: (5) Beer foams up extremely much making it impossible to pour even a small bottle into a large testing glass without stopping to let it settle some. Foam is medium dense to dense. Color is orange. It is a beautiful beer to look at in the glass.

AROMA: (5) The aroma raising from the glass is stunning. Even without twirling the glass, the scents starts filling the room. Spicy aromas with some citrus flavors closer to orange than lemon. Dominating is the herbal spiciness of many described as sage. No other beer smells like this.

TASTE: (5) The flavor is dry but with a little bit of fruitiness. The taste is close to lambic or farmhouse ale. It is a very refreshing beer still complex with all it's flavors. It is the ONLY Trappist beer that has a taste that is close to lambic.

EXTRA: (5) This beer is beautiful in everything. From the unusual bowling pin bottle to how it pours in a glass and gives you the strongest and most distinctive aroma and taste than any other beer in the world. I strongly believe that this is the best beer in the world.



The Orval Brewery's website


Beer style: Trappist ale
Serving temperature: 10-12C
Alcohol: 6.9%

Food Pairings: I think that anything served with this beer would just enhance the flavor of the food.

APPEARANCE: 5 x 5 = 25
AROMA: 5 x 10 = 50
TASTE: 5 x 10 = 50
EXTRA: 5 x 1 = 5

Total: 130/130

Trippel - New Belgium

APPEARANCE:(4) Beautiful golden color. The foam is thick and dense.

AROMA:(3) Fruity and esters. Banana marshmallows

FLAVOR:(3) Rather sweet palate at first that mellows out in the end and leaves a little bit of dryer finish. Low bitterness.

EXTRA:(3) New Belgium always produce good products. Their website is excellent and their bottles are pretty and have informative information even if they left out the serving temperature on these beers from the 'explore'-series.




New Belgiums website

I used to prefer NB Trippel before the Dubbel but I have changed my mind with time. This is still a very good beer but I prefer the somewhat dryer finish that the dubbel have,

Beer style: Belgian Trippel spiced with coriander
Hops - Saaz, Liberty, Target
Malts - Pale, Munich, Victory

IBU - 25
Serving temperature: 10-12C
Alcohol: 7.8%

Food Pairings: This beer is a little bit different to pair with food. I can imagine that something like salty meat would work but I would not bet on it.

APPEARANCE: 4 x 5 = 20
AROMA: 3 x 10 = 30
TASTE: 3 x 10 = 30
EXTRA: 3 x 1 = 3

Total: 83/130

Abbey - New Belgium

APPEARANCE:(3) Almost read colored towards the more darker side. Foam is settling fast which is common for this beer style. The beer foams up to a thicker foam when rotated in the glass.

AROMA:(4) A twirl of the glass reveals a large spectrum of aromas. Figs, pears, banana, fudge.

TASTE:(4) A little bit of estery taste hits first. Then the flavors relating to the aroma but they are not as clear as expected. There is a hint of sweetness and a low but long lingering after bitterness.

EXTRA:(3) I have been raving about New Belgiums habit of posting alcohol levels on their bottles together with suggested serving temperature. Of some reason they omitted the serving temperature on the new labels that covers the 'explorer'-series. Their new labels for the 'explorer'-series is not at all as nice as the first version or the ones that covers their other beers.



New Belgiums website

Abbey is part of New Belgiums 'explorer'-series. I have read that the found thought that this beer was going to be the best selling flagship of the brewery in the beginning but it turned out to be the more main stream styled beer 'Fat tire'.

This is a very nice American version of this beer style from Belgium.


Beer style: Belgian Double (dubbel)
Hops - Williamette, Target, Liberty
Malts - Pale, Chocolate, Carapils, C-80, Munich
Serving temperature: 10-12C
Alcohol: 7.0%

Food Pairings: I think this beer would work fine together with a cheese tray where even some fruit could mix well with the beer. As session beer I think it works great even if one has to take into consideration that it is stronger than regular beers but still far from as strong as vine.

APPEARANCE: 3 x 5 = 15
AROMA: 4 x 10 = 40
TASTE: 4 x 10 = 40
EXTRA: 3 x 1 = 3

Total: 98/130

Negra Modelo - Cerveceria Modelo

This is one of the few decent beers that I usually can find in a Mexican-Texmex restaurant. It has been around for a long time and usually gets pretty good reviews in beer testings.

APPEARANCE:(3) Light mahogany colored. The foam settles rather thin.

AROMA: (2) A little bit of yeasty aroma with brown sugar hints in the background.

TASTE:(4) Rather full bodied. Clear malty flavors with hints of chocolate. Low bitterness and not much if any hops in the flavor. Still this is a very nice drinkable beer with the weight on the malt. There is some small sweetness that is not disturbing at all.

EXTRA: (2) Not that many extra points to give except that it is probably the best Mexican beer on the market, at least that I have tried.

This style of beer can be a little bit hard to define. Wiener or Munchener style but bordering towards bock bier.



Cerveceria Modelo

Beer style: Wiener style/Munchener style beer
Serving temperature: 10-12C
Alcohol: 5.3%

Food Pairings: Very versatile beer since the hop bitterness is low and malt dominates. It is very drinkable and works great as a session beer.

APPEARANCE: 3 x 5 = 15
AROMA: 2 x 10 = 20
TASTE: 4 x 10 = 40
EXTRA: 2 x 1 = 2

Total: 77/130

Pepe Nero - Goose Island Brewing Co

APPEARANCE: (3) Thick looking brew is pouring into the glass. The color is dark, dark brown, not black. This beer is called a farmhouse ale but I cannot remember that I have tested a farmhouse ale being this dark before. The foam settles first nice on the surface but dies rather fast leaving only traces of foam islands on top of the brew.

AROMA:(4) The aroma is at first a fruity and reminds of white vine. A twirl in the glass increases the fruitiness and it now smells like champagne. The aroma is intriguing and very different from what I expected.

TASTE: (4) The flavor is like champagne mixed with port vine. Where there champagne flavor dominates. It has hints of apples and an earthiness with mushroom flavor. It's intriguing palate leaves a bitter coating in the mouth. I am trying to find the peppercorn flavor but realize that it must be what came across to me as mushrooms.


EXTRA: (5) This beer bottle with it's appearance and dark label makes me think of a Port Vine. Goose Island states that this beer can develop for up to 5 years in the bottle. It looks very elegant. An extra plus for the adventurous idea of spicing with peppercorns. It might be the first beer I have ever tried flavored with pepper corns and most certain the darkest colored Farmhouse Ale that I have had.



Goose Island Brewings website

Beer style: Farmouse ale (flavored with Peppercorn)
Serving temperature: 10-12C
Alcohol: 6.0%
Malt: Pilsner, Rye, Crystal Rye, Black Malt
Hops: Pilgrim, Saaz

Food Pairings: According to Goose Islands website: "ideal for pairing with grilled meats and roasted vegetables."

APPEARANCE: 3 x 5 = 15
AROMA: 4 x 10 = 40
TASTE: 4 x 10 = 40
EXTRA: 5 x 1 = 5

Total: 100/130

Pipeline Porter (with Hawaiian Kona Coffee)

APPEARANCE: (4) This beer looks beautiful when it pours down the testing glass. It is not black but very, very dark brown. The foam is dense and sits nicely on top of the beer with a moderate thickness. When the glass is twirled for the aroma, the thickness of the foam increases.

AROMA: (3) Clear coffee notes that is not overwhelming. A little bit of a smoky flavor in the background.

TASTE: (3) The beer gives a very nice mouthful thickness. There is almost a little bit of salty twist to the palate. The coffee dominates but there is also subtle notes of sherry. The carbonation is mild which let the maltiness and flavors dominate. It is a fairly easy drinking beer and maybe a good introduction for newbies to porter style beers.

EXTRA: The label of this beer looks like taken from a travel magazine from the 50:ies. This is according to the brewery a limited release of a seasonal beer (Fall). I miss the good information about serving temperature and alcohol content which is not displayed either on the bottle or on their website. The colorful and unusual label and that this beer is flavored with coffee render this beer at least 3 points.



Kona Brewing Company

Beer style: Porter (flavored with Coffee)
Serving temperature: 10-12C
Alcohol: 5.3% (Ratebeer.com), 5.4% (according to Beer Advocate)
Food Pairings: According to Kona Brewings own website: "Pipeline Porter is perfectly paired with hearty soups and stews, roast beef sandwiches, pot roast and mashed potatoes. It's also a perfect beer on its own, drink it to take the chill off a windy, cold day!"

APPEARANCE: 4 x 5 = 20
AROMA: 3 x 10 = 30
TASTE: 3 x 10 = 30
EXTRA: 3 x 1 = 3

Total: 83/130

Black Hawk Stout

The Beer pours black and almost visually thick into the testing glass. The foam dies down fast with only a small amount sitting on the top of the brew in little islands. APPERANCE: 2

The AROMA (2) reveals nice scents of coffee, vanilla and maybe some cocoa.

The taste is surprisingly thin with dominating coffee notes. For being a stout the taste is weak and a little disappointing. No creamy full mouth flavor, no lingering bitterness. It is not bad but not really exciting either to drink this beer. TASTE (3)

Not many extra points to give here. I would like all breweries to display alcohol level and recommended serving temperatures. At this time the this post was written the website link did not work either. The alcohol level was copied from BeerAdvocate.com so I cannot guarantee that it is accurate. This brewery seem to use birds as their themes for their beer. It is a little bit original so I will give them a 2 instead of 1 EXTRA points.



Beer style: Stout
Serving temperature: 10-12C
Alcohol: 5.2%
Food Pairings: Rather versatile beer with food since the flavor is so moderate. Works fine as session beer.

APPEARANCE: 2 x 5 = 10
AROMA: 2 x 10 = 20
TASTE: 3 x 10 = 30
EXTRA: 2 x 1 = 2

Total: 72/130

Gordon Biersch Czech Style Pilsner

I had the pleasure to once visit one of Gordon Biersch brewpub/restaurants in San Diego, CA. It was a pleasant visit with an really nice atmosphere. The beers I tried that time tasted kind of moderate for being craft beers. It reminded me a little bit about Samuel Adams, not industrial but not truly the best flavors for hop heads either.

APPEARANCE: (3) This Czech Style Pilsner pours nicely into my testing glass. The foam is moderate even if the beer is served at a somewhat warmer temperature than pilsner style beers usually are served at.

I could smell a typical malty flavor when I poured this beer into the glass. A repeated twirl of the testing glass does not reveal that much more aroma but nothing smells bad. AROMA: (2)

The TASTE (4) is malty and clean. Malt dominates the palate and there is just a little bit of bitterness hops lingering in the after taste. This is a good session beer and can also be successfully paired together with numerous dishes. It is true to it's ancestry and is a great example of how good a lager can taste. No acidic or sulfuric taste like industrial brewed lagers.

Gordon Biersch does not print serving temperatures or alcohol content on their labels which I think all breweries should do. New Belgium is an excellent example of doing this on all their beers. The label is somewhat a 'traditional style one obviously depicting Prague. However their website gives all that information so I can at least give them a 3 EXTRA points for this beer.




Gordon Biersch Website

Beer style: Lager/Pilsener
Serving temperature: cxcx
Alcohol: 5.2%
Hops: Hallertau & Tettnang, 30 IBU
Food Pairings: Hot Dogs, Burgers, very versatile beer with food.

APPEARANCE: 3 x 5 = 15
AROMA: 2 x 10 = 20
TASTE: 4 x 10 = 40
EXTRA: 3 x 1 = 3

Total: 78/130

1554 - New Belgium

This is a beautiful beer to pour into your testing glass. Pitch black with a creamy dense foam. When I hold it up against the light it is clear but colored like a deep red, red wine. APPEARANCE (4)

The aroma smells from toasted grain and a little bit of cocoa and coffee scent. AROMA (4)

The TASTE (3) is intense with coffee and fruit. The bitterness is surprisingly absent. The drinkability is high despite it's deceiving dark color and intense smell. The low flavor content takes down the taste points somewhat.

As mentioned before, New Belgium packages their beer in a delightful way with beautiful bottles and labels that look like artistic paintings. They also get credits for their recommendations on the bottle of serving temperature and for always displaying alcohol content. EXTRA (5)



New Belgiums website

Beer style: (Enlightened) Black Ale
Serving temperature: 7C/45F (I think that this beer could be served at a somewhat higher temperature).
Alcohol: 5.6%
Food Pairings: Shrimp, salty fish dishes or as a session beer. Pretty versatile with food pairing.

APPEARANCE: 4 x 5 = 20
AROMA: 4 x 10 = 40
TASTE: 3 x 10 = 30
EXTRA: 5 x 1 = 5

Total: 95/130

Tahoe Blue - Nevada Pale Ale (Joseph James Brewing Co)

I have to admit that I don't know much about this 'brewing company'. I have tested a few of their products earlier without being either impressed or surprised. I suspect this is one of the examples of industrial brews which are marketed as 'craft brews'.

When I pour it into my testing glass a thick foam builds up. The beer is not clear but rather hazy and I guess that it could be called copper colored if it wasn't so cloudy. The foam is shallow not compact and will probably die rather fast but since it built up so strong from pouring it from the bottle it last longer than many beers. APPEARANCE (2)

There was a rather rich scent of hops coming from the pouring and when I sniff the beer it has a nice hop aroma even if it is relatively weak. AROMA (2)

The TASTE (2) is somewhat raw with a not so pleasant sharp bitterness. Tasting the beer does not add anything to the aroma. It has almost a little unpleasant smoky flavor like cigarettes in an ashtray.

I have nothing EXTRA to give for this beer. The label is ugly, the bottle is plain and the brewer is suspicious (industrial beer disguised as craft brew) (1)



Joseph James Brewings website

Beer style: Pale Ale
Serving temperature: 10C/50F (my recommendation is to serve it colder since it doesn't benefit from more display of it's flavor or aroma.
Alcohol: 6.0%
Food Pairings: Peanuts.

APPEARANCE: 2 x 5 = 10
AROMA: 2 x 10 = 20
TASTE: 2 x 10 = 20
EXTRA: 1 x 1 = 1

Total: 51/130

Blue Paddle - New Belgium

Blue paddle is a light golden lager beer from New Belgium. It pours nicely into the testing glass with a moderate foam that is somewhat shallow but doesn't die quickly like an industrial brew. It is clear without any residue. APPEARANCE (3)

The AROMA (3) is also moderate but with a fresh fruity nuance. It has the typical light lager scent which sometimes can give a smell like sulfur. I can already now admit that I am not a big fan of lagers (anymore).

The TASTE (3) is clean and does not indicate anything from the somewhat sulfuric smell. This is a good thirst quencher a hot summer day or nice session beer which allows you to drink several of them because of the low alcohol content. The bitterness is clear but does not linger long in the mouth. Mouth feel is moderate but somewhat more towards full flavored than thin.

New Belgium always packages their products in beautiful bottles which also carries wonderful labels often designed by artists. A plus is also that New Belgium always marks the labels with alcohol which is unusual in the US. Most breweries only state the alcohol level if it is exceeding 'normal' levels. Because of that I give this beer a full amount of (5) EXTRA points



New Belgiums website

Beer style: Lager/pilsener
Serving temperature: 3C/38F according to New Belgium's recommendation
Alcohol: 4.8%
Food Pairings: Asian cooking and spicy food in general.
APPEARANCE: 3 x 5 = 15
AROMA 3 x 10 = 30
TASTE: 3 x 10 = 30
EXTRA: 5 x 1 = 5

Total: 80/130