What beer are you drinking now? #3377

I would only assume the proximity of the NL to Germany make it easy for you guys to find it. Just like us.

I just haven’t been to a beer store in a few months, and it had really nice benefits on my bank savings.

Almost every supermarket beers sold as single are about 2€ whatever the country, brewery or style. Since I’m only drinking one a day, with sometimes a couple of days off drinking for a while now, yeah I assure you that I’m slightly more « wealthy ».

 

Greene King / Morland Brewery -- Old Speckled Hen
English pale ale
5.0% ABV; pouring temperature: 54 °F; bottling data: unknown



4.06/5 rDev +17.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Revisited January 18th, 2022

Brightly clear, dark amber body; dense and lively carbonation; thick, frothy head, rocky and creamy; thick, sticky sheets of foam coat the inside of the glass. Smell of sweet caramel and freshly cut pear. The taste follows along the lines of the aroma; lightly sweet caramel and gently toasted grain; very mild sense of brown sugar; mild bitterness; small trace of esters. Medium body; somewhat glassy texture yet finishes with a mild roughness on the palate; velvety residual sugar note; subliminally sweet with a touch of dryness around the finish.

Compared to the nitro-can version I sampled in 2018, this bottled version is far superior. There's a fine balance, depth, and complexity with this beer. Malt-forward yet not overly sweet or bitter. Very tasty.

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Original May 09th, 2018 scores and review:

3.75 3.5 3.5 3.75 3.75 (overall 3.59)

Poured from a chilled nitro can - it still gushed...

Crystal-clear, deep amber body; dense, creamy head. Intense malt aroma; lots of toffee, caramel and charred sugar. Heavy sweetness; toffee; buttery; low-key yet nicely balanced hop bitterness. Heavy body; smooth and velvety.

All in all, a nice malt-forward beer although a bit too sweet overall. And that nitro thing...god, I hate them...but the beer, well, it is a nice experience...

 

I remember it, golf year round it is then.

Seriously it’s also common enough for some northern or Western Europeans to move somewhere south where it’s warm, like Spain or Portugal once they retire.

There’s the tax regime to take into consideration these days because only a few years ago both countries were much cheaper too which was unfair for the locals to just earn far less, and have the same cost of living than other wealthier Europeans.

 

Station 26 Brewing Co. -- Eternal Descent
Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout
11.5% ABV; pouring temperature: 48 °F; canning data: unknown



4/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Tar black, opaque body topped with a thick, spongy, semi-creamy, light khaki colored head; respectable foam rings. Outstanding smell of dried figs and raisins; moderately roasted grain; dark chocolate. Great similarity between the taste and the smell; light milk chocolate flavor with a lightly spicy, moderately boozy set of aspects; bourbon; anise. Heavy body although a bit thin for the style; boozy heat mingling with a moderate residual sugar feel.

The bourbon barrel treatment really makes its presence felt with this beer. I may have to get a second can and let it age a bit, as the boozy qualities tend to overtake the rest of the beer. Still, at 11.5% ABV, some whiskey qualities are to be expected. It would be nice to have some canning data available. Otherwise, not bad for a high-octane stout.