Buxton, Tsar Bomba III

This bottle was a finely judged birthday gift from my brother (currently living in Australia) - he'd had it before (at up the brewery itself) and had good things to say about it. It's a rather expensive bottle as I understand it, largely due, I suppose, to the complex aging process (see here). Unfortunately, my last stout with Brettanomyces didn't work out too well - and so I admit I was nervous about this one.

I was due to leave it down for a year or two (potentially to share with my bro on his return from Oz) but I was stuck for a night cap one night and then noticed that it said "drink fresh" on the bottle. Now, my knowledge of beers brewed with wild yeast strains is limited at best, but I understood that some of those sours can age in their bottles longer than stouts? This was bottled August 2013, so it was the best part of 2 years in the bottle already - hardly "fresh".

Plasters and germolene nose, bit of that pink dentist's mouthwash (nothing at all like a normal impy nose). Some of that in the up front taste, some woodchips. The brett (I think) was there mid-palate: sweaty. Then stout characteristics towards the end: touch of mint, liquorice, chocolate, soggy bark. Bitter choc finish. This drink made me realise that I am still a long way from fully appreciating soured beers but overall, I enjoyed drinking it. I wonder how this would compare to Burning Sky's Monolith (as I understand it: a dark sour rather than a soured dark.)

Thanks Kon for this!

Siren, Calypso

Noteless for this as I changed phones and lost a chunk of my notes. From what I remember: quite a tropical nose, taste was a big citrus sour (grapefruit), high carbonation and dry-ish in the after. Refreshing and morish. (Green cap meant it was dry-hopped with amarillo I think.)

Evil Twin,Yin

It seems that almost every imperial stout gets a 99 on Ratebeer these days. The more of them I try, the harder it gets to distinctly qualify on paper the differences between all these top rated beers. I would say though, that those differences, however subtle, are certainly there and worth mentioning, but, it seems to me, only really in comparison to other stouts in the same style.

I had this one after the other Evil Twin, the 'Christmas Eve In A New York Hotel Room' (*needs pithy comment re: name inserted here*). (Both purchased from Whole Foods Piccadilly - I was quite surprised to see them on the shelf actually and in the very reasonable sub £4 bracket.) Mellower I think than that one (less thick than a Kernel), a vaguely hoppyish nose (unlike, say, Wildebeest), some coffee. Mushroom. Initial sweetness, but only fleeting. Minerally, coca cola, coffee. Hop (I think) and burnt, coffee bitterness in the after. Booze. Not much to lose your shit about, but not much to argue with either.