So, since I’m spending shitloads of money on beer again. Or at least I was over the last couple of months, I decided to get something out of it except lots of enjoyment. So, after 2.5 years of absence, there’s a ‘Best beers of ….’ again.

This month has been rather crazy with lots of different brews, of widely varying quality.

Freeburn, Loch Ness Brewery, 7%
YES. I ordered this early in the month and have been thoroughly enjoying it. It’s ridiculously awesome with lots of malty goodness and a gentle cask influence. My beer of the month!

Dark Sister, Brussels Beer Project, 6.66%
I believe this was a Black IPA? Which also means it was tasty but not exceptional. Else I’d have remembered it.

Black Saison, Bidassoa Basque Brewery, 6.7%
Good but not great.

Spencer Trappist Ale, Spencer Brewery, 6.5%
One of the newer Trappist breweries. A lot of attention was given to this when it came out, but the beer itself is heavily styled after its Belgian counterparts. Therefore, there’s absolutely no reason to buy this if Belgian beers are cheaper. Utterly mediocre and far too expensive for it.

SmokieNess, Loch Ness Brewery, 5%
A reddish ale brewed by the guys at Loch Ness with one of their favorite bands, Smokie (?). I don’t know the band, but I really enjoyed the beer. Not exceptional, but thoroughly enjoyable. Recommended.

InverNess, Loch Ness Brewery, 4.5%
A gentle IPA at a lower ABV. Typically English, but the hops usage was more American styled. Recommended.

ReAle, Birra del Borgo, 6.4%
Good but not great.

Braggot Brett 2014, De Molen, 8.5%
An intentionally infected beer, much like (AFAIK) Orval’s Trappist. Not sure what the angle was here, but I really, really didn’t like it.

Stouts, Porters, that kind of stuff:

• KeTo Reporter, Birra del Borgo, 5.2%
  Brewed with tobacco. Very interesting and easy drinking. Good for a change of pace.
• Grandpa’s Darkside, Bad Hair Breweing, 11.5%
  Not really good. Forgettable
• Old Rasputin, North Coast Brewing Co., 9%
  A staple in the category, I think. Recommended
• Barrel Project #2/2015, Brouwerij Kees, 10.6%
  This doesn’t stand out from the others in the category of whisky barrel aged stouts.

IPA:

I love IPAs. I was, however, looking for some new ones. Just to not drink Punk IPA all the time. These ones are great, and highly recommended:

• Blue Dot Double IPA, Rooie Dop, 9%
• Fuck Art, this is Architecture, To Øl, 5%
• Delta IPA, Brussels Beer Project, 6.5%
• Albino Squid Assassin, BrewDog, 7.4%

And I had the Duvel Triple Hop 2016, which somehow is very popular but I just can’t seem to care about it. It is better than last year’s though. The Double Wide IPA by Boulevard Brewing Co. (8.5%) is nice but forgettable too. And forgettable American beer in Europe is just too expensive.

Sour ales:

Most sour ales I had this month were from Alvinne. They seem to focus on the style, but they don’t make Gueuze. That results in, from my opinion, quite inferior beers in which the sweetness of the malt and wood have not been well integrated.

• Omega, Alvinne, 6%
• Chain Reaction, Alvinne, 5.3%
• Sigma, Alvinne, 10%

Oude Quetsche Tilquin (2014-2015), 6.4%
A random Gueuze I picked up last week and there’s nothing wrong with it. It also won’t sway you away from buying 3 Fonteinen or Cantillon, and that’s just as expensive.

Good, but just not for me:

Some beers are actually quite good, but somehow the style doesn’t sit well with me

• Bambergator, Brauerei Fassla, 8.5%
• Noa Pecan Mud Cake Stout, Omnipollo, 11%
• Lager, Loch Ness Brewery, 4%

Forgettable beers:

• IPA, Peak Organic Brewing Company, 7.1%
• Dodo, Oedipus Brewing, 5%
• Benediktiner Weissbier Dunkel, Benediktiner Weissbrau, 5.4%