Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Can from Livonia Liquor. Pours an unclear orange gold with a small bit of off-white head that dissipates. Pine, overripe citrus with notes of bread and honey on the nose. Palate is the same with bready malt, honey and pine. No date on the can, so maybe a bit old. Honey, pine and citrus on the finish.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Soul Snatcher from Wax Wings Brewing Company 8 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Undated can drunk 5/11/25.
Heavily hazy, bright orange-maize-sunrise. Clumpy, off-white head, large.
Peachy-pineapple, a bit of punchiness to it, with melon, papaya, pine and greenery. Biscuit and cracker malt is sparse, only gently balancing.
No punch in the flavor, as the melon and mango notes take front and center, with grapefruit and orange notes coming on late to add bitterness and balance. Another quite dry WW IPA, after the first few I had were so deeply malty. Not that this one isn't nicely malty, just surprised at the level of dryness. Cracker, biscuit, mango, peach and tangerine lingering. Lots of flavor, no twang, resin or alcohol noted.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Chorós (2023) from Wax Wings Brewing Company 8 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
500mL 2023 bottle drunk 2/18/24. Bright, clear, deep amber with little/no head. Nose is rich, long, intense English Barleywine notes of raisin, toffee, vanilla. Throw a bit of more acidic red fruit in there and add a dash of barrel character to help tone down the malt intensity. Sweet, mega-malty, soft, luxurious. Toffee-vanilla-raisin with a bit of creme brulée on the finish. Just a bit too sweet for me, though only just barely. Wish there was just a bit more balancing barrel character, but it's nice to see a more OG Barleywine done and done well
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
500mL bottle from Holiday Market, drunk 5/11/25.
Dark amber with garnet highlights. Clear. Slight bubbles on the edge.
Rich toffee, raisin, vanilla, caramel, red fruits and easygoing bourbon. Moderate oak/barrel though would have expected more from the Woodford. But I'd rather it be mostly malt, yeast and bourbon character, so I'm not complaining. No alcohol noted initially. Reminds me a good deal of Barreled Souls!
Soft, succulent, malty, with immediate spiciness from the Heaven Hill emerging. Cuts the rich, toffee maltiness nicely and balances the beer, leaving rich malt lingering alongside flavorful spirit. No huge oakiness, though, of course, there is some oak lingering. Heavy black pepper, very dry molasses, and even a touch of licorice linger, as well. Rich, slightly syrupy, big-bodied, but never cloying. Spicier than I remember Choros being, but maybe not as elegant, and a touch sweeter. Kind of splitting hairs here, but I wish the spiciness was more black pepper/lead/bourbon and less licorice/ginger/molasses. Still, hard to find too much fault here and it's done quite well, with zero indication of the 15%.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8.5
Undated can drunk 5/10/25.
Thoroughly hazy, deep maize-bronze-ripe-peach. Small, off-white head, rocky, sits at cover.
Nose is not messy, alcoholic, resinous; anything of that nature. Actually fairly restrained, with grapefruit, light pine, light tropical fruit and rich white bread and cracker-like malts.
Bit more acid in the mouth than expected, but it's welcome, as it balances the rich, but very well-attenuated malts. Juicy grapefruit, tangerine, light peach, light mango...pretty nice balance of well-done hops. Importantly, no alcohol or syrupy/sweet underfermented sugar. More and more peach, light pine and light papaya as it warms with, still, no sign of alcohol. Clean yeast with a big fruitiness. This is how I feel you have to do a TIPA. Maybe a touch more malt depth, but this is very well-done.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
HopCat Royal Oak draught, 5/10/25.
Heavily hazy, bronze-maize-golden. Fluffy, white head, good retention.
Juicy, Citra-forward notes of orange juice, mango and sweet, honey-like malts combine to provide a rich, but balanced nose with nothing weird or resinous.
Juicy, soft, drying out on the finish with mild biscuit and cracker. Lots of orange, papaya, grapefruit and mango with white bread and honey-like richness. Great balance here with the typical WW deep maltiness. Ample bitterness.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle from Livonia Liquor. Pours a deep brown to black without much head the speak of. Lovely bourbon focused aromas on the nose with toasted vanilla, treacle, dark and milk chocolate and coffee and cream. Bourbon and oak come out as it warms, with nice vanilla and bourbon notes on the palate. Some marshmallow and more dark chocolate, oak and bourbon on the finish. Definitely sweet, but a fun BA Pastry stout. Nice stuff!
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Cloudy pale orange body, big pillowy off-white head. Nice light, crisp nose with floral notes, lychee, nectar, and biscuit. Delicate body with lychee, grape, kiwi, berries, a touch of citrus, and light herbal notes. Light and crisp with modest sweetness.