Polar Monkeys: First impressions are lasting.

The weather here in Paris has been unpredictable lately and as such, i wanted a beer that would follow suite. For me personally, this meant following through on initial impressions. Whatever a beer might end up tasting like, the first impression is the thing that first leads me to even bother. Enter Polar Monkeys. The bottle itself is small but carries 330ml and aesthetics are everything.


The front is labeled as a white collar beer with a really simple but eye catching monkey face logo. The back is just as nice: simple but informing and it's here you can find the style, IBU, ABV, and ingredients.


After opening the bottle, I was greeted with a hefty smell of hops and the beer glass I used showed the beer as being a golden brown. The taste was light but again the malt and hops were present. It was so good that I had a second a couple hours later. Not that I never drink seconds but when I do, I usually change beers. I had this particular golden ale with some of my homemade chicken curry and the spices complimented the beer and vice versa.



For my first posting in however long it's been, this beer review is Finnish-ing with top ratings from me.

Price: Mine was about 2 Euros




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BrewDog- The King of Rock is not dead.

BrewDog is the beer that just keeps on giving. I've tried a few of their beers now and they have yet to disappoint. The most recent one was this little treasure called " Elvis Juice ". The beer pours orange,  is topped by an off-white head, and laced with minimal bubbles. The aroma is very fruity and the first sip was the best, at least for me. There is just enough bitter grapefruit and hoppiness to be labeled an IPA, and carries a decent ABVso as not to overwhelm the flavor of the beer. All in all , this beer will definitely inspire a little less conversation and a whole lot more drinkin'. Keep it up BrewDog!

Price: Was on sale, so I got mine for under €2



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Bon Secours Brune- A tasty, slightly higher in abv, brown Belgian ale treat.

I recently went to a newly opened shop near my house , and of course, spent over an hour trying to decide what to get. They had everything from your dunkels to your Belgian triples.  I'm not a snob, nor am I the most knowledgeable about beer styles and what have you, so thank god the shop owner was able to provide some insight. The beer I chose stuck out to me because of the bottling :

A Tall necked brown flip-top, 33cl bottle. I have an affinity for this style as my first foreign beer was a German one that came in a similar package. So, I inquired about this particular one and was told it was pretty good. I took a few bottles , along with some dunkels and some other brown beers and went to a buddy's house.


We opened this one up, aptly named Bon-Secours(if you don't speak French, you won't get it,hehe). The bottle let a bit of a gasp as we popped the flip-top, and the aroma was quite soft but still present . Sweet molasses and roasted malt accented by a rich, caramel-brown body. The tatse was  nice hazelnut mixed with dark chocolate often found in Belgian browns(at least for me) and the bitterness was barely noticeable, as was the abv,which sits at about 8 percent.


I have to say this is one of my favorites to date, and we drank two, though I could have drunk more if given the opportunity. I've said it previously and I will say it again:

I am not a huge fan of beers that exceed that 6.5-7 percent abv, but this was definitely an exception to that and I'd highly suggest trying this beer at least a few times.

Price: about €2,95

Rating: 

Small update

Sorry for the downtime folks. I have been busy as all hell at my new job. I will get back to this at the end of January and get a few more reviews up. In the meantime, find me on google plus and let me know what you've been drinking!!!


https://plus.google.com/u/0/+dennisjohnstonIkillZombieswwithFarts

Oh my god , they Kilkenny... My favourite Cream Ale

This is one of my favorite beers, mainly because it is so readily available(year round) and very affordable. It is a lovely change from all the "Tripel" and pale ales that so many stores are ready to recommend.

Now to the beer: 

I prefer the can, simply because it chills faster for me and pours smoothly, with a small cascading effect into the 50cl glass I use. The color is a nice copper red, and you get just enough head so that you don't have to wait to drink it. The taste itself is quite "caramelized" , with no hints of hops. The smell is "malty", and the carbonation is hardly noticeable, which makes this beer somewhat unique considering it is  nitrogenated.


The beer is very low in alcohol and makes for a pleasant and light starter, especially  if you plan on doing more drinking later in the evening.  No bias here, but this beer gets the four pint rating, simply because it is drinkable all year long. 

Price: 2,50€

"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to Heaven."

Just a small update folks

I recently started a new job as a teacher at an engineering school in Paris. I have not had a lot of time to write anything , let alone drink a beer and review it. I will, however, be doing one next weekend, so stay tuned!

Iki Beer with Green Tea and Yuzu- a Belgian brewed, Japanese luxury surprise.

So, when I think of Japanese beers, I know a couple of well-known brews , such as Asahi, and Kirin Ichiban. Both of the aforementioned beers are pretty damned good, so when I saw this one, I wasn't expecting anything near what I experienced. The bottle is stylish as heck, and after opening, you are greeted by a very small  head, and light-yellowed effervescence . You can immediately notice the redolence of citrus, grass, and even a bit of "tea", and that is because this beer is infused with the aforementioned ingredients(green tea and a citrus fruit called "Yuzu"), and the taste is very light and refreshing. After I was half-way done, the flavors seemed to meld together perfectly and it wasn't too much, nor did it overwhelm the palate.

This beer is one of the better ones I have tried this year, and I highly recommend it as a precursor to any white meats, fish, sushi, etc. for the best combination. You could drink it without an accompanying meal, but I don't know that the experience would be as enjoyable.



Fun fact- this brew is actually made by a Belgian brewery called "De Proefbrouwerij", and they are known for brewing pale/dark ales. This beer appears to be an experiment for them, and it is a damned successful one in my opinion.

Price: 2,50€






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