Third homebrew, received as a gift. I saved this last. For a good reason. It's a Barley Wine, obviously an American BW as it's dry hopped with Cashmere and Centennial. The post-it sticker details it 15 % and aged for 9 months. Whaaaat?? The beer looks sticky and oily, the color is murky, deep dark brown. Carbonation is oppressed. A lacy haze forms on the top for a momentary lapse. Soon the surface is flat still. The beer looks professional in the snifter! The scent is multifaceted and complex: abundant raisin and prune, a tad date, bags of caramel malt and dark chocolate. An intriguing nuance of oak barrel emanates seductively in the air. I'm trying hard to recognize the aroma behind it... could it be sherry? Or port? The taste profile continues on the promising path. Powerful sweet malt mingles with licorice and is accompanied by raisin and prune. Date has slipped to the darkness. Alcohol can be spotted but it's by no means aggressive, neither chemical. The barrel aging points now much more directly to Bourbon, though, without a twist of vanilla. An unexpected, yet reserved piney twist hits the taste receptors occasionally. Amazingly full and nicely complex indeed! The body is full. The finish tweaks a bit towards bitter nuances. Still, the same mellow sweet malt and prune constitute the end. Raisin is fermented and soaked in Bourbon barrel. The finish is substantially long-lasting. The mouthfeel is full, viscous, appealingly velvety, truly warming and undoubtedly barrel aged. Astonishingly enough, this lip-glueing and oily homebrew offers layers and a good degree of complexity. Wow, this is a bingo!

This is the second homebrew for tasting. The brewers are the same who had created the quaffable Saison that I reviewed three days ago. The bottle releases somewhat limpid, orange beer in the glass. Rather arrogant carbonation builds a cloud-white, frothy head that shoots up to four fingers. The foamy tower collapses quickly downwards but retention is still long. A few big splatters adorn the glass. I'm a bit skeptical about its semiclear appearance as I'm used to NEIPAs as fully cloudy beers. An unnice musty aroma of wet cardboard and bitter malt conquer the olfactory universe first. I can't find any fruity nuances in the fragrance. It takes time to start enjoying the fruity components, but once they emerge — discreetly though —, they propose modest canned apricot and a silent sigh of lime. The scent is, nevertheless, really restrained. I wouldn't necessarily recognize this as a NEIPA, let alone a sweet-leaning Milkshake IPA. The taste tries to correct what the olfactory supply fails to deliver. I'm receiving raw mango, orange peel, lemon zest, a whisper of lime and a sweetish twist of lactose. Sabro releases also a gentle touch of mint but the anticipated coconut remains hidden to me. The problem, however, is that the various pieces don't make a whole puzzle, they are just there, transiently signaling their presence. The zesty side is weak, and especially the milkshakey sphere is totally absent. The body is light. The finish waves hastily for goodbye. It serves grapefruit pulp and lemon pith, escorted by lime, a tiny injection of pine needles and a minty wink. Messy cocktail as a matter of fact. The mouthfeel is light, a bit juicy, smooth and remotely crisp. Notwithstanding, a Milkshake IPA should also be milkshakey and preferrably tropical. This unfortunately isn't. It seems that the three beautiful hop varieties fail to yield their full potential. Not bad but more refinement is needed in my opinion.

A gift from a friend whose friends are behind this homebrew. Thanks! 🙏🏻 This is supposed to be an improved version of the Imperial Saison that I tasted at Christmas 2019. Let's twist the cap open! Carbonation behaves nicely; no frothy eruption but well-mannered fizz. The beer pours rather hazy, honey-amber. The head is off-white, small-bubbled and climbs up to half a finger. Retention is substantially long. The head dissipates gradually to a dense lace ring and adorns the top basically till the glass is empty. Looks attractive. The scent is interesting: a floral nuance hits the nose first and leaves a somewhat heavy impression in the air. Orange peel and wheat crackers follow next. I can also pick dried apricot and fermented banana. It hints at isoamyl acetate. Although it's considered an off-flavor, it mingles neatly in wheat-based beers. Further behind, I find a soapy sigh that fortunately remains really distant and harmless. The taste profile is even more interesting than the fragrance. The gustatory supply is heavy, fruity and massively estery. I'm getting orange peel, mandarin, dried apricot and fermented banana again. Wheat malt is soft and biscuity, and it's accompanied by a floral, almost meadowy sensation. Coriander seeds are identifiable but remain at a moderate level. Now, there are two striking differences — or should I say 'improvements'? — between this beer and the one of Christmas 2019: number one is that this is much softer and mellower than the one I've had before. The second improvement is the absence of alcohol. When the 2019 edition portrayed tangy chemical alcohol, this brew hides it beautifully. Overall, very enjoyable and velvety. The body is medium. It's surely more robust than earlier. The finish continues unchanged from upfront. Medium-sweet malt, biscuit, fruity esters and a whisper of coriander seeds can easily be detected. The finish grinds pretty soon to a halt. The mouthfeel is fragrant, rather estery and a bit spiced. It's somewhat heavy, though in a good way, and actually a tad wintry. It's simultaneously soft, smooth and relatively mellow. Definitely a better version! If I was given this in blind tasting, I would have categorized this as Belgian Strong Golden Ale or Tripel rather than a Saison. Nevertheless, beerstyles aside, this is good stuff! Congratulations! 👍🏻

Time to taste the third and last Christmas gift homebrew: it's a 5.4 % Galaxy single hop American Wheat Ale. The beer colors semifoggy, dirty gold. The rich, regular-duration carbonation frees a snow-white, soft fluffy head that exceeds one finger. The foamy cap descends sluggishly to a neat lacing wafting on the top. The retreating froth leaves a few downpouring splatters on the glass. A subdued cocktail of orange zest, lemon pulp, a pinch of peach and a floral note emanates to the nostrils. An accompanying suggestion of overripe banana follows behind. Quite unexpectedly, I also find a note of strawberry among the olfactory supply. Interesting. Orange juice, peach, nectarine and lemon pith linger appealingly on the wheaty bed. I can also pick a faint unidentified herbal nuance behind the curtain. The light-bodied beer finishes with lemon peel, bitter orange peel, a tiny dollop of orange juice and wheat malt. The peachy twist retreats to the background. The finish lasts for medium to long duration. The mouthfeel is light, quite juicy, refreshing and nicely summery.

The second homebrewed Christmas present pours opaque, jet black. The fairly tame, hasty carbonation lays a truly subdued, beautiful tan, silky lace ring. The ring dissolves quickly to wellnigh zero. No splashes are left on the glass. The fragrance portrays dark chocolate, a bit of mudcake and a distant nuance of some berry that resembles raspberry and/or lingonberry. Quite appealing at this point. The taste receptors enjoy a medley of dark chocolate and raw cacao nibs that is embedded in light-sour black cherry, a whisper of lingonberry and raspberry. I can also detect rather hefty residuals of whisky barrel. The body is light-medium to medium. However, I expected it to be more robust since the ABV = 9.7 %. The beer ends with whisky-infused chocolate malt with a faint roasted twist, followed by subtle black cherry and lingonberry. An oakey hint gears the aftertaste more coarse. Should I also say that there's a faint coffeeish note among the components? The tastebuds are locked up in a wet barrel for a long time. The mouthfeel is moderately barrel aged, oily, remotely tart and dry. It's also woody, a bit coarse and rather flat, yet also easily approachable.

Santa Claus was nice this year and gave a bunch of homebrews.  🎅🏻🙏🏻🍺  The first beer is an Imperial Saison with 9 % ABV. Semihazy, honey-amber beer with timid, short-lived carbonation creates a pure white, velvety head that barely reaches half a finger's height. The foamy cap dissolves soon to a hair-thin lacing on top and eventually totally still. The scent is intriguingly fruity: I pick lemon zest, orange peel, a bit of musty yeast and fairly recognizeable coriander, supported by a wheaty backbone. The tongue receives relatively strong, bitter orange peel, lemon pith and a decent injection of coriander. Wheat malt is a bit stuffy and brings in a tangy impression that is intensified by the alcoholic touch. The body is light. The beer finishes with bitter wheat malt, citrus pith and a slightly oppressive alcoholic amendment. Coriander seems to fade away in the end. The finish comes to an end after a short to medium duration. The mouthfeel is light, a bit tangy, slightly musty and flat. Alcohol is distinct and leaves a chemical and warming impression behind. Somewhat challenging. Starts appealing but doesn't fully deliver its potential. Could be more refreshing, as well. The rather high ABV of 9 % brings nothing extra to the body, nor palate compared to a lower ABV.