Leffe Tripel

ABV 8,5%
Bottle of 300 ml. At home, poyred into my Chimay chalice.
This beer has a honey liked colour, very hazy. One finger of off-white head that quickly was reduced into just a thin layer on the beer's surface. leaving heavy lacing behind. 4
An amazing strong aroma of dark fruits, plums mostly, and some banana and apricot notes.
The taste is sweet with the fruity notes much more noticeable. It leaves a nice bitterness behind. Unfortunately it also had a slight metallic taste, but maybe it's just my bottle, since I had it a couple of times before and I don't remember it having it.
Rich and full body, average carbonation. The alcohol certainly distinguishable, if not at first, certainly when the beer starts to warm up a bit. Dry on the palate.
A really great beer.




4/5
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sloeber

ABV 7,5%

The label is one of the weirdest I've come across. A beer bottle named Sloeber showing me the name on my beer bottle which is also Sloeber. Maybe it was a good concept but the final result looks quite amateur-ish if you ask me. So what do we have here? A belgian strong pale ale, that pours a white thin head of one finger, in my Chimay chalice. Colour is, well, pale golden or better, copper-like. I can witness a thin fountain of bubbles rising from the center of my glass to the top.
Aroma is light and pleasant, fruity, sure, but I can't put my nose into it exactly. One time I think I smell bananas, the next I smell plums. Whatever it is, is very faint though.
Taste is fruity, with some plums and other dark fruits, but there is unfortunately a slight metallic aftertaste. The high ABV very well conceiled.
Full and thick body, with just the right amount of carbonation.
Overall, a very good sample of the kind.


3.55/5 
ook: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Maredsous 6 Blond

ABV 6%

Bottle of 330 ml.

Poured into a tulip type of glass. One finger of head, white in colour and thick, that didn't stay for long. Colour is pale golden,slighty haze in my second pour after I shook the bottle a bit. with average activity in the glass.
Sweet aroma. A smell of old bread that thankfully is quite faint and it's cobered by aromas of dark fruits.
Dark fruits like plums and dates also traceable on the taste. You could say it has a sweet taste.
Medium thickness on the body and average carbonation.
Overall, hmm. There are better samples of the type out there, and I know because I have tried some.


3.05/5
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Hollandia Super Strong

Without flash                                                                With flash

Okay, I got two photos of this one,because on the left one the can shows so nice and refreshing but on the right one the beer in the glass looks better and you can actually see the real colour.
On with the review!
ABV 7,9%
Another one made by Bavaria. I wonder if there is a complete list somewhere out there with all the beers they have made over the years, both for their own brand as well as contracted.

Can of 500 ml as you can see on the photos.Deep golden yellow colour with a white, thick head, measuring two fingers in height. Lots of bubbles feeding the head, while it goes slowly but steady down, leaving some light lacing on the glass.
Not much on the aroma front, just lots of malts and just a faint smell of alcohol.
Taste is not at all bad,just as sweet as your average lager, with a bitter aftertaste that goes leaves fast your mouth and a soft pinch on the tongue from the alcohol.
Body is quite to my surprise full and is lightly carbonated.
Well, I certainly didn't expect this one to turn that good I must say. I would definitely recommend it to someone wanting a stronger pils, is so much better than other wider available beers out there.


3.4/5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Weihenstephaner Hefe-Weissbier

 ABV 5,4%

A bottle of 330 ml. Poured into a weizen glass with a capacity of 300 ml. This one pours great, gave me a huge white head, 4 fingers in height with great retention. When it finally came down, a thin strip of foam remained on the beer's surface. Pale golden colour, slighty hazy.
Sweet aroma of bananas and clove, less strong once the foam goes down of course, but still there during the whole drinking time, and quite pleasant.
Taste is also just a bit sweet and fruity. Banana flavour is the most easily recognizable. Other than that, some spices and yeast traces.
Rich body and as mach carbonation as needed. Leaves your palate dry.
A great beer, maybe I will seek it again after I finish my three other bottles.

4.33/5 
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer comes from the oldest brewery in the world as they claim to be, with a history that begins in 1040. I am sure it's pretty interesting to read, so go and look up their website. Or just click here . Or since I have already read it, I'll just tell you that a monk saint founded a monastery with some of his companions in 725, and they were granted the permission to make and sell beer, in 1040, although there are writings that kind of prove the mponastery was already brewing beer for a couple of centuries before that. After that, it's mainly invaders plundering the monastery, the monks deserting it because of earthquakes, plagues, invasions etc, then going back to rebuilt it and finally the German Purity Law was signed on the doorstep of the monastery in 1516. Then in 1803 all the possesions of the monastery were transfered into the hands of the Bavaria State. The End.
The brewery's beers have won lots of prizes, with the last of them being in 2011. For more details, again, visit their website. Cheers!

Beer Porn III

I got those on 16 of July. They set me back 22,30 euros. Well, when the cheapest was 1,25 and the most expensive 1,99 it makes sense.

Jupiler

Bottle of 250 ml.

Pours a golden yellow color with a thin head that slowly dissolves, 

leaving light to almost none lacing on the glass. 

Medium amount of bubbles rising and lots of them on the glass's wall.

Mostly malts on the aroma.

Taste is very flat, sweet at first, with the tiniest amount of bitterness on the aftertaste.

Nothing to celebrate about, I didn't like it the first time I tried it (on tap) and I am

not very enthusiastic this time either.

Thin on the body and light carbonation.

2.78/5
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Finkbräu Panaché

ABV 0.8%

Bottle of 250 ml, I got 10 of those for 3 euros at the local LIDL. Alcohol is less than 1%, I saw somewhere that it actuall is 0.8%. A beer mix, containing only 38% beer and the rest is lemonade. Poured into a shaker glass, just a thin line of white head that disappeared straight away. Lots of bubbles on the glass's walls, as someone see on a glass with softdrink. Colour is light copper and reminds me of apple juices. If it ever had a beer aroma, is now covered from all the lemonade. So, just lemons on the aroma and as artificial as on other beers of the type. Very sweet taste, the lemonade flavour not as obvious as I expected from the smell, but it's certainly there. Makes sense afterall, 62% of this is lemonade. Very thin on the body, and very carbonated. Overall, hmm, if I hadn't poured it myself but it was given to me instead, I would bet my right hand that it was Lemon Ice Tea. Still, it's a rather hot day today and this makes for a great beverage.

3.05/5
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

The things I go and buy! This goes down as easy as water, almost no difference from an iced tea! I put some bottles in the freezer, it's quite hot today and this beer mix with its low alcohol content is pretty helpful. Funny thing, I was asked to show my identification at the supermarket, and the minimum age for alcohol consumption is 16 years old over here.

Brand Weizen

ABV 5,1%
300 ml bottle, poured into its original Brand Weizen glass. I expected a huge head with good retention but instead I got one two fingers in size that didn't last long. Colour is hazy orange, quite transparent for the kind.
Aroma is fruity as expected, with banana, clove and bubblegum the most obvious smells.
Taste follows the aroma, only less sweet than someone would expect from the smell. Some slight bitterness on the aftertaste too.
Carbonation is average and it's quite thin on the body.
A bit dissapointed by this one on the appearance and on the body, but other than that is a pleasant beer to drink.





2.93/5 
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I got just today a 6pack of those, since they were offering a free weizen glass with it, and who am I to snob such an offer. For 5.10 euros I can say that it didn't hurt that much.Since weizens are considered summer beers, I thought I should re-review it. In comparison to my old review, this was a disaster (on my old review I gave it an overall score of 4/5), maybe because back then I didn't have a weizen glass or experience of the kind.

Beer Porn II

On a recent trip to Amsterdam, I was surprised to find out that the Albert Heijn supermarkets there, sell some more different beers than the one on my neighbourhood. I took back home as many as I could.

Bavaria Pilsener

    ABV 5%

Bottle of 300 ml, ABV is 5%.
Pours a golden yellow colour, with a two finger head that won't last long.Some bubbles in the glass.
Smell of malts, nothing special.
Lightly bitter taste.
Medium thin on the palate and slighty carbonated.
Just another average pilsener, good thing that is so cheap you can buy 36 bottles for 9,99.

One of the cheapest beers in the Netherlands and the most likely to be on offer, in a supermarket's weekly brochure. Quite often is three small crates for 9,99 as I state in my review. Bavaria Brewery produces so many beers, is really difficult to keep track of all of them. Just visit this link to take a look for yourself


2.63/5
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Gulpener Pilsner

For some reason I am fond of Gulpener, maybe because I don't find it so often in my local supermarket, maybe because the first crate I bought came with some tupil bulbs..
Appearance is typical for a pilsner, golden yellow colour with a two finger head, average retention, and quite an activity in the glass.Smells as any other cheap lager out there, this is not how I remember it, or I wasn't as educated in beer as before I join BA. Drinking it out the bottle played its role too.
Taste is better but nothing above the average, slighty bitter and malty.
Average thickness and carbonation on the body, leaves some dryness on the palate.
Overall, pleasantly drinkable but Gulpener has better ones to offer, then again if you just want a pilsnerer this will cover you. And as their slogan is "To the future" (where hopefully this beer wil improve a bit).

ABV 5%
 That was my old review, posted on beeradvocate, and things haven't change, maybe because it's only two months before. Last week I got two crates of this, since they were on a Buy 2 - Pay For 1 offer, but unfortunately they were a bit skunked. Maybe that was the reason for the offer. They are once again on offer this week, but I think I'll skip it.
Standard 300 ml bottle, poured into a Heineken glass, as you can see on the next photo.

2.9/5
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Beer Porn I

  The supermarket around the corner changed its assortment on the beer section and those are the few beers I got. What they brought but I didn't get, Carlsberg in half a litre cans and Urquell Pilsner. The first because I want in a bottle and the latter because I already had a bottle (plus I had tasted it on tap), also they were damn expensive. Oh, also Weihenstephaner Hefeweiss in small bottles, expensive too, I got two bottles nevertheless bit they don't appear on the photo because I already had bought a 0,5 lt bottle.
 Anyway, more Beer Porn* photos to follow

*beer porn:http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Beer%20Porn

Beer Porn	38 up, 7 down
	In beer nerd circles, a photo of one's beer collection. Usually consisting of rare or hard to find beers. Often times, it features close ups of labels or brewery logos. Can also be close ups of a poured beer, though less common. I just posted new beer porn pics of all the Dark Lord Imperial Stout I bought at the festival. (many close ups of the sweet Dark Lord label)

                                                                                         

Brigand

ABV 9,0%
I had this one at a bar in my town, served with its appropriate glass. Usually I don't go for so expensive beers when I'm out (3-3,50 at the bar), but the rest of the options were not the best you could find, even for macro lagers. I took some quick notes back then and recently I found it in my local liquor store, so I got one bottle for 1,50. At home I poured it into my Chimay chalice.

330 ml bottle, poured into its original glass. Deep golden colour. A little hazy on the second pour. Huge head, going down slowly untill it becomes a thin layer on the surface. Leaves some light lacing around the glass.
Aroma is fruity , with obvious banana notes. Dark fruits too, plum and dates.
Taste is sweet, with the dark fruits very obviously there. The high ABV gives a warming feeling and although is very nicely concealed, you will feel it.
Thick body and quite carbonated .
Overall another specimen of great Belgian beer.

  Those are the notes I took back then. As you will see on the next photo, the head on a chalice from "huge" becomes just one finger in height.Also, scratch that "deep golden colour", I guess it's a term I should reserve for pilsners, but I wasn't alone there and I was trying to write everything down as soon as possible, so this was what crossed my mind first while someone was talking to me. Today I would say "pale -or light - honey colour". It was more clear on the first pour though as I write, but probably because with the second pour the yeast got into the glass, same happened at home.
On the aroma I would say that now the dark fruits are more obvious, instead of the bananas, and some clove too. That concludes the main differences between a pour at the bar and a pour at home, I guess.None extreme difference in order to change my grading for this one.

3.93/5
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Albert Heijn Pilsener

The house brand of the Albert Heijn supermarket chain in the Netherlands.
A bottle of 300 ml, the standard small bottle of the Netherlands, poured into a Heineken glass.
Deep golden colour on the appearance, with a rich white head. Some bubbles rising to the top to feed the head while others are stuck on my glass's walls. Head after a while loses 3/4 of its size but stills is more than enough to cover the beers's surface, whilst leaving light lacing on the glass.
Not much on the aroma front, some malts and some a smell of old bread, not unpleasant though. Preety typical aroma I would say.
On the taste is quite neutral, very difficult to distinguish something. Maybe some light bitterness, mostly notable on the aftertaste.
Light on the body and medium to light carbonation, leaves your palate dry.
Not a bad beer with this hot weather, served ice cold and for 34 cents is one of the better options out there that follows the triptych of thirst quencher-good quality-low price

Appearance 3,5
Aroma 3
Taste 2,5
Mouthfeel 3
Overall 3

2.8/5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

El Tequito Beer

ABV 5,9%

Bottle of 330 ml, at home, poured into a shaker type of glass. Bought at the local LIDL supermarket, from a shelf with El Tequito chips,El Tequito tortillas, El Tequito mexican type sauces etc. Made in France according to my bottle.
Deep golden color as one can see from the white glass bottle, one finger head that goes away as it was a softdrink's foam. A couple of bubbles rising to the top and that's it. Looks much more promising while inside the bottle to be honest.
Aroma of lime that overcomes anything else that might was there, artificial of course, but pleasant, at least it doesn't smell as toilet freshener.
The lime is also very obvious on the taste, again, overcoming everything else. The tequila flavor is there, but very very faint, you really need to focus to discover some traces of it. So, in conclusion, this tastes more as a lime-made lemonade with some alcohol than an actual beer. When will I learn to avoid beer mixes?
A bit stiff on the palate, with very light body and light carbonation if drunk from a glass. Drunk from the bottle makes of corse the carbonation a bit stronger.
Overall, and having in mind that this is supposed to be a mexican type of beer in the grounds of Corona, it wasn't that bad, provided you drink it in a beach bar, straight from the bottle, in a very hot summer day. For the price of 3 euros for four bottles that I bought it, it's a good, if not better,alternative to Desperados and Salitos.


Appearance 2,5
Aroma 3,0
Taste 3,0
Mouthfeel 2,5
Overall 3,0

2.93/5
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Points System

  For my beer reviews I'll follow the beeradvocate system, meaning Apperance, Aroma, Taste, Mouthfeel and Overall impression are graded with a maximum of 5 points and minimum of 1. I like that system much better that the ratebeer.com's one, which has three different scales (1-5, 1-10, 1-20).
  Both are great sites to find info about a beer. I like how RB has almost every beer in the world on its database (at least the ones I have looked up) with very accurate informtion about the brewer, duplicate names, whether a beer is retired or not etc. BA on the other hand has a better review points system in my opinion, and that's why I post my reviews there, and allows only english written reviews with a minimum word count.
 Don't get me wrong, but if you want to write a review on your native language start a blog, looking info about a beer and seeing a review written in russian which consists of 15 words, it's just wrong. Same applies for reviews on RB written in english bit without any clue to what the author refers too (ex. golden, malty, hoppy, sweet. Ok, golden refers to colour obviously, what about the rest?).
  I just wanted to clarify that before I start publishing (my amateur) reviews.

An introduction

  Hello to everyone who happened to stumbe upon this blog. My name is Christos. I started this blog because I love beer. Pretty simple, right?
  Also, because I am a member on beeradvocate.com and I noticed recently that some of my beer reviews had disappeared. Now, I am not a professional beer reviewer and I can't distinguish five different aromas on a lager, nor I can taste the "earth and dry leaves" taste (seriously, whoever in the world knows how those things taste?) but it was good to have all my reviews gathered in one place and I was quite disappointed seeing some of them missing.
  But enough with the complaining. I'll keep posting my amateur reviews there anyway, and this blog will serve as a back-up. Also, as a page where I'll post my beer photos, some beer labels are a piece of art as you may have noticed.
  Enjoy your visit.