Beerfection

Tag: Historical Beer

  • Arctic Ale 2025 | Brasserie Artisanale Albion

    Arctic Ale 2025 | Brasserie Artisanale Albion

    Score: 80/100 – Good

    Appearance 5/6

    The beer pours a clear dark brown with a low, thin, tan head. Poor foam retention. A good looking brew.

    Aroma 19/24

    Strong aroma with good balance. The aroma is musty, deep, and unique. There’s a distinct wild yeast character which is deeply earthy. Fruity esters and alcohol notes blend smoothly, complementing the yeast-driven profile. A moderate presence of dark and specialty malts adds depth without overwhelming. Noticeable oxidation contributes positively to the complexity. No apparent hop character.

    Flavour 34/40

    Follows the aroma with strong intensity, good balance, and assertive perceived bitterness. The musty flavour is driven by a blend of fruity esters, wild yeast, and alcohol. Dark and specialty malts follow, supported by pleasant oxidation which adds depth and complexity. No apparent hop character. The flavour is very good and notably unique, with a vinous quality that stands out. As with the aroma, the elements occasionally feel a bit disjointed.

    Mouthfeel 8/10

    Medium body with lively carbonation. The mouthfeel is prickly and slightly chewy with noticeable alcohol warming and a sweet finish. No astringency or harshness of any kind. Quite pleasant considering the strength.

    Overall 14/20

    Albion’s Arctic Ale is a good beer. The appearance is enticing, though slightly better head formation and retention would elevate it further. The aroma is complex and intriguing, but the components struggle to harmonize, creating a tension that detracts from the experience. The flavour follows suit – distinct and characterful, yet lacking cohesion. There is much to appreciate, but it falls short in finesse. The mouthfeel is pleasant and unobtrusive, though it lacks the weight expected at this strength. The alcohol is well hidden, but this is clearly a sipper.

    Overall, the sipping experience is enjoyable and Albion’s Arctic Ale is certainly worth trying, though it leaves a sense of something unresolved. The profile is layered and engaging, but the elements do not always align seamlessly.

    OMG, read another breview!
  • Tamise | Nano Cinco – Brasserie Artisanale

    Tamise | Nano Cinco – Brasserie Artisanale

    Score: 91/100 – Outstanding

    From a 330ml bottle served at cellar temperature at 10 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. No date information on the packaging outside of #Lot 129.

    I picked up this beer from a local specialty store about 4 weeks ago. It’s not often you see this style on the shelves and Nano Cinco has finally entered my breview queue so this was destined to happen.

    I suppose Tamise kind of slipped through cracks these the past few weeks as I’m not entirely sure what to expect of it and the mood had to be right. Today, I’m sort of forcing myself to prioritize this beer over the more exciting beers in the fridge. My expectations are around average.

    Appearance 6/6

    The beer pours a clear dark brown (red highlights) with 4cm of dense, creamy, tan head which dissipates into a thick cap within 4+ minutes. Poor lacing with great head retention. An excellent looking beer.

    Aroma 22/24

    Medium-strong intensity with sweet balance. The aroma is round, comforting, and malt-forward.

    Big caramel + butterscotch character flirts with notes of milk chocolate and low earthy nuttiness. Mild dried fruit, toast, and a suggestion of cream (dairy). Tiny bit of earthy hops underneath all that maltiness.

    The dry nose is malt-forward with notes of toasted bread, mild caramel, nuts, and low earthy hops. Nicely done!

    Flavour 36/40

    Follows the aroma with medium-strong intensity, good balance, and pronounced perceived bitterness.

    The malty-sweet palate opens up with notes of caramel, butterscotch, and dried fruit – making way for a balanced center where the caramel and butterscotch character are rounded out by moderate earthy-herbal (tea-like) hops and a trace of alcohol. Tiny bit of earthy nuttiness.

    The medium-length finish is of moderate strength and balanced with notes of dried fruit, caramel, earthy-herbal hops, mild spice (anise), and mild nuttiness.

    Mouthfeel 10/10

    Medium-full body with low carbonation. The mouthfeel is velvety-smooth with a little bit of fizziness, very light alcohol warming, and a medium-sweet finish. No astringency or harshness of any kind on the palate.

    Overall 17/20

    Nano Cinco Brasserie Artisanale’s Tamise is an outstanding beer.

    A handsome brew with charming looks; impressive clarity, colour, and foam attributes. The aroma is surprisingly characterful for the normal alcohol strength and it has an inviting round quality to it. The flavour follows with great depth and balance. Less sweetness than what is perceived in the aroma but that’s probably a good thing. The mouthfeel is very smooth and perfectly fits the rest of the beer.

    Overall Tamise is a big surprise to me; it’s much better than I expected. The beer is flavourful and balanced while maintaining good drinkability. The small serving size is a bit sad as I’d happily drink an imperial pint of this. Having said that, it’s my understanding that these beers (London brown ale) are always bottled.

    Nano Cinco keeps delivering. And by opening a door to malty beers, I’m now excited to line up more of their product to write about. If you can find a bottle of this, give it a shot, Tamise is a great beer. Highly recommended.

    OMG, read another breview!
  • Messenger of Dawn | Reverence Barrel Works

    Messenger of Dawn | Reverence Barrel Works

    Score: 60/100 – Not Recommended

    From a 500ml bottle served at cellar temperature at 11 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. No date information on the packaging.

    I picked up the bottle straight from the brewery just over two weeks ago. My expectations are high given the previous beers I’ve had from Reverence.

    Appearance 2/6

    A gusher. The beer pours a veiled straw with 1.5cm of thin, white head which fully dissipates within less than a minute. The yeast cake from the bottom was roused by the high level of carbonation which contributes to a lot of floating particles in the glass. No lacing with poor head retention. I can’t say this looks appealing.

    Aroma 14/24

    Medium-light intensity with decent balance. The aroma is nuanced and peculiar.

    Quite rustic in character, there are notes of lemon, low charred wood, and pronounced kerosene-like character. Moderate doughy-crackery pale malt creates a round base.

    The dry nose is very malty with a grainy-crackery character paired with low charred wood and petrol.

    Flavour 25/40

    Medium-light intensity with sharp balance and low perceived bitterness.

    The sour palate opens up with notes of lactic acid, smoke, and lemon zipping towards a rustic center featuring notes of doughy, crackery malt, plain yoghurt, petroleum, and lemon.

    The short finish is faint and sharp-ish with notes of plain yoghurt, lemon zest, charred wood, petroleum, and doughy-crackery pale malt.

    Mouthfeel 7/10

    Light body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is crisp, puckering, and sharp with no apparent alcohol warming and a bone-dry finish. Moderate astringency and the high carbonation make for one drying palate sensation. Too much for my tongue.

    Overall 12/20

    Reverence Barrel Works’ Messenger of Dawn comes across flawed and it taste average.

    The appearance is not very pleasing with lot’s of yeast particles floating around the glass. Meanwhile, the aroma has a strange character which is also expressed on the palate. In the last handful of years, after having drunk thousands of beers, I have no recollection of ever detecting an aged Riesling character in the glass. I find it interesting but it does have a solventy quality to it and I highly doubt it’s supposed to be there. With notable astringency, the mouthfeel leans towards drying leaving my palate exhausted.

    Unfortunately Messenger of Dawn doesn’t come together as an enjoyable drinking experience. In fact, I won’t be finishing the bottle. Without question, the beer ticks a lot of Lichtenhainer descriptors but it doesn’t deliver a pleasant trip down the flavour road. Not recommended.

    OMG, read another breview!