Beer review: Coisbo Queens Desire (4.8% Denmark: Coisbo Beer)

The Coisbo Queens Desire is a wheat beer, more specifically a Hefeweizen. It's brewed by Coisbo Beer, a Danish micro-brewery founded in 2008. The brewery has received a lot of recognition since, for example winning 1 silver medal and a total of 8 bronze medals at Commonwealth Craft Beer Cup 2014 that was held in Kentucky, USA on May 15-17 2014. The Queen's Desire won the Bronze Medal in the category of Weissbiers, let's see what all the fuzz is about!

Taste: The Coisbo Queens Desire is a light/medium-bodied wheat beer with a surprisingly malty body. In my opinion the beer is closer to a Belgian Witbier than a German Hefeweizen. It offers aromas of sweet malt, citrus, some exotic fruits, slight yeast and finishes with a dryish fruity and wheat aroma with medium hoppiness.

Overall, The Coisbo Queens Desire was a surprise, and no really a positive one I'm afraid. It's described as a Hefeweizen but it's lacking most of the qualities of one, and I would define it more as a Witbier. Even as a Witbier, it offers a surprisingly strong malty body which covers the aromas traditionally present in a wheat beer so the overall impression is quite dull. However, it's definitely an OK beer, I just expected a bit more.

60 Above average

Beer review: Fuller's Organic Honey Dew (5.0% England: Fuller's Brewery)

The Fuller's Organic Honey Dew is an ale, more specifically a honeyed blond ale. It's brewed by Fuller's Brewery, a medium-sized British independent brewery located in Chiswick, London. The company was founded in 1845 and currently produces about 26 million liters annually.

Taste: The Fuller's Organic Honey Dew is a medium-bodied beer with a sweet honey-dominant flavor. The beer is very sweet (a bit too sweet to my taste) and the honey flavor overrides the faint aromas of sweet malt. The beer finishes with a faint hoppiness and dryness.

Overall, the Fuller's Organic Honey Dew is a really honey-dominant beer so if you're into that, this is definitely the right choice of beer for you. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of honey, although I don't hate it either. The beer became overly sweet really quick and since it doesn't offer much else, it was a slight disappointment. However, if you're looking for a sweet nectar-like beer, this might be your choice.

60 Above average

Beer review: Little Valley Withens Pale Ale (3.9% England: Little Valley Brewery)

The Little Valley Withens Pale Ale is a pale ale, more specifically a Golden Ale/Blond Ale. It's brewed by the Little Valley Brewery, a small British brewery located in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. The brewery was founded in 2005 and uses 100% organic ingredients.

Taste: The Withens Pale Ale is a medium-bodied beer with a bitter, hop dominant taste. It has a faint malty aroma but mainly focuses on a spicy, citric, grassy and orange hoppy bitterness. The aftertaste of the beer is quite bitter and exceptionally lemony.

Overall, the Withens Pale Ale is an interesting beer. It offers a surprisingly rich hoppy flavor considering that it only has 3.9% alcohol. The taste is also distinctively citric, but in my opinion is slightly too bitter. Overall, it is an OK beer with some character but doesn't really manage to impress.

60 Above average

Beer review: Grillimaisteri Gourmet (4.5% Finland: Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas)

The Grillimaisteri Gourmet is a lager, more specifically a dark lager. It's part of the Grillimaisteri brand, a barbecue brand of the supermarket chain Lidl aimed for the Finnish markets. Supposedly the beer is produced by Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas, a medium-sized company mostly focused on soda manufacturing. It's quite cheap and produced in bulk quantities, so I've got no great expectations towards it. In any case, let's find out what this "barbecue master" is all about.

Taste: The Grillimaisteri Gourmet is a light/medium-bodied beer with a bready malt body. It's a bit watery but delivers a decent roasted malt taste and finishes with a faint hoppy aftertaste.

Overall, the Grillimaisteri Gourmet is an OK, easy-to-drink bulk dark lager. It doesn't offer anything exciting, but it's fine considering the cheap price. There are definitely worse beers available in Finnish supermarkets, although there are also plenty of better ones as well.

60 Above average

Beer review: Game Brewery RyePA (5.3% Finland: Panimo Hiisi)

The Game Brewery RyePA is a pale ale, more specifically a rye American Pale Ale. It's a collaboration by Panimo Hiisi, a Finnish microbrewery located in Jyväskylä and Game Brewery, an upcoming Finnish game company. Panimo Hiisi was founded in 2013 and has just released its first beers to wider distribution so I'm eager to try them out. Extra credit for the cool retro-gaming styled labels.

Taste: The Game Brewery RyePA is a medium-bodied beer with a smooth, moderately hoppied taste. The beer is slightly sweet and round, and unfortunately delivers a slightly watery feel. It delivers a smooth taste of rye malt and moderate bitter hoppiness but the taste fades quite fast.

Overall, The Game Brewery RyePA is a mild disappoinment in my books. Maybe it could've done with some extra kick since now it delivers a slightly thin set of aromas. It serves well as a refreshment and certainly does an OK job but it would've been great to be blown away by it.

60 Above average