Month: October 2016

Blindman Brewing / Troubled Monk Brewery Peculier Fellows Old Ale – Burbank Series No. 1 Old Ale at 5.7% ABV | 28 IBU (C$3.87 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 473 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 11-Oct-2016, reviewed 11-Oct-2016)

Appearance: clear amber-brown with one fat finger of fluffy beige head diminishing gradually to a persistent cap, patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: toasted bread, dark fruits, light nutty and coffee. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium-light body tending to watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering mild bitter finish. (3/5)

No, it’s not an ale for peculiar old fellows, stop that. I figured, what the hell, there’s snow on the ground here in Cowtown, so why not carry on with darker ales? That being said, this certainly isn’t very dark, nor is it heavy at all, especially in the finish where it drops off rapidly to thin and watery. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s not as good as I had hoped for from a collaboration of two solid local brewers. In fact, I’ve had Brown Ales from both brewers, and, to my dismay, this isn’t as good as either. (And yes, I know an Old isn’t a Brown, but there are certain similarities.) My particular dismay stems from the fact that they both chose to hop up their Browns, but this collab Old isn’t hoppy at all: it’s dominated by malt, with some almost vinous dark fruit, but very little hop character beyond a thin, almost astringent bitter finish. Easy-drinking and fairly inoffensive, but nothing exciting. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Black Bridge Brewery Saison Deux Fois la Taille Imperial Saison at 8.6% ABV (C$14.99 at Liquor Depot McKenzie Town, 750 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 19-Sep-2016, reviewed 10-Oct-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with a massive and growing three finger rocky off-white head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus pith and zest, apples and pears, yeast, cloves, dry hay, alcohol, white pepper. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild funky tart. (7/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, off-dry lightly funky and lingering mild bitter finish. (4/5)

The way the cap let go, I was expecting a gusher, and scrabbled madly for a glass. It didn’t actually foam out of the bottle, but in the glass it continued to develop its massive fluffy head for quite some time, actually overflowing the lip. And again, I find myself on the horns of a dilemma: rate this as the style it purports to be, or on its own merits? Because, frankly, as a BSPA, this is great – but as a Saison, not quite so much. There’s the familiar argument about ABV, of course, but they to some extent deal with that by making it clear it’s actually a double (“Deux Fois la Taille” = “twice the size”) – though I’m still not convinced “Imperial Saison” is a legitimate style that ought to see the light of day, despite this not being my first example of that style. No, the flavours are more what I’m thinking about here: I expect Saisons to be light, fruity, and dry, but this has sweeter and more robust flavours. I expect much of that is attributable to its “double” character, but still it makes for a slightly oddball beer. Ultimately pretty heavy for the (nominal) style, but still a bit of fun. (15/20)

7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Wychwood (Marstons) Dunkel Fester Dunkel at 4.4% ABV (C$3.68 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, best before 31-Jul-2017, acquired 6-Oct-2016, reviewed 9-Oct-2016)

Appearance: clear ruby brown with one fat finger of fluffy beige head diminishing rapidly to a thin cap, decent lacing. (3/5) Aroma: muted, molasses, toasted bread, light nutty and coffee. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Medium-light body tending to watery, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering mild bitter finish. (3/5)

Yes, I know I’ve nobody but myself to blame if I insist on buying Wychwood products. Call it a foolish sentimentality, OK? If this has a saving grace, it’s its long bitter finish, which is surprisingly robust. Other than that, it’s a pretty bland Dark Mild. Could be worse, though – I mean, at least there’s no pumpkin… (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Waterloo Brewing Co. Double-Double Dopplebock Doppelbock at 7% ABV (C$3.28 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, bottle date 5-Mar-2016, acquired 6-Oct-2016, reviewed 9-Oct-2016)

Appearance: clear ruby brown with one fat finger of fluffy beige head, good retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: coffee, roasty malt, milk chocolate, vanilla. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Medium-light slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, sweet moderate duration mildly warming finish. (3/5)

Just like its namesake, this is too sweet for my preference. (For the non-Canadians in the audience, a “double-double” is the trademark {crappy} coffee with two cream and two sugar typically bought at Tim Horton’s.) Coffee leads out here, but is quickly backstopped by a sweet milkiness reminiscent of milk chocolate. If my interpretation of the date code (“C05612”) is correct, this is a bit old, but that shouldn’t be a problem for this style, especially given the somewhat high ABV. Speaking of the ABV, it’s very well-behaved, and only shows up as a mild warming in the finish. Not bad, overall, but would probably be better in a vanilla ice cream float. I certainly couldn’t drink more than one, regardless. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company Lug-Tread Lagered Ale Kölsch at 5.2% ABV | 21 IBU (C$4.70 at NLC Stavanger, 600 ml, bottle date 31-Aug-2016, acquired 6-Oct-2016, reviewed 8-Oct-2016)

Appearance: clear straw with one fat finger of fizzy white head diminishing to a persistent cap, moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: pale crackery malt, bready yeast, light citrus and floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (7/10) Light body, lively carbonation, crisp clean finish. (3/5)

Clean, crisp and easy-drinking. It’s not going to challenge you, by any means, but it’s one you can easily session. The style is classic Kölsch, top-fermented with an ale yeast, but cold conditioned (“lagered”), making it a true hybrid style. The brewer says this one is done with (among others) pilsner and acidulated malts, in addition to wheat and carafoam. I’m not certain I’ve had one done with acidulated malt before, and I’m tempted to attribute at least some of the crispness in the finish to that, though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it actually tart. Pleasant enough, if a little pedestrian, and certainly one that wouldn’t be unwelcome under an umbrella on a hot day. (13/20)

6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Central City Brewers + Distillers Red Racer Pilsner Pilsener at 5% ABV | 25 IBU (C$2.25 at NLC Stavanger, 355 ml, bottle date 3-Jun-2016, acquired 6-Oct-2016, reviewed 7-Oct-2016)

Appearance: clear pale straw, one finger of slightly fizzy white head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: pale biscuity malt, grassy hay, citrus, light floral. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Light body, lively to moderate carbonation, crisp clean finish. (3/5)

I must admit to being slightly disappointed by this. I mean, these guys do a really decent IPA, DIPA, and SIPA, so I was sorta kinda hoping for a highly-hopped interpretation of a Pilsener. Instead, it’s… a Pilsener. It’s a nice, well-implemented, dead-nuts-on interpretation of the style, but it’s… a Pilsener. No more, no less. Hopped slightly higher than normal for the style, perhaps, but with Hallertau, so it’s still quite mild in character. A decent example of the style, if you go in for that sort of thing, I suppose. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Howe Sound Brewing Megadestroyer Imperial Licorice Stout Imperial Stout at 10% ABV | 75 IBU (C$11.35 at NLC Stavanger, 1 l, no bottle date or best before, acquired 6-Oct-2016, reviewed 6-Oct-2016)

Appearance: clear deep brown, two fingers of fluffy beige head, excellent retention and minimal lacing. (4/5) Aroma: liquorice, roasty malt, coffee and chocolate, burnt sugar. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, high bitter. (7/10) Full slightly oily body, moderate-soft carbonation, drying and warming lingering bitter finish. (3/5)

Surprisingly well behaved for a massive behemoth, like an 800 pound gorilla who could rip your arms off and beat you to death with them, but instead wears a top hat and monocle, and argues philosophy with you. He still gets his way, mind you, because you’re terrified of him. Well, this beer has its way with you, eventually. How could it not? In one bottle, you’ve got the same alcohol content as a six pack of “normal” beer. But then, why be normal, right? And I love black liquorice, so this is definitely my cup of tea. The liquorice does come through loud and clear, and yes, dominates, but again in that understated fashion that allows the roasted malt coffee and chocolate tones to be present without being completely swamped by the liquorice. High sweetness is impressively balanced by the high bitterness so that it never becomes cloying. I like it – and I’m interested to see what will become of the second one, nestled safely in my cellar, in a couple of years. (14/20)

7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Creemore Springs Kellerbier Kellerbier at 5% ABV | 30 IBU (C$3.57 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 6-Oct-2016, reviewed 6-Oct-2016)

Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber, one fat finger of ivory head, good retention and moderate lacing. (3/5) Aroma: grainy malt, bready yeast, honey, grassy, light citrus. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration bitter finish. (3/5)

Well, the up side to this one was its surprising bitterness, which though not high by comparison to many modern IPAs, might well be the highest I’ve seen for any Molson product. The down side was… well… everything else. Grainy malt and bready yeast dominant the aromas, with weedy, grassy hops lurking in the background. Tastes slightly better than it smells, though, and it’s not terrible overall. Can’t see bothering with another any time soon, though – or ever again. (11/20)

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

New Belgium Brewing Company Lips Of Faith Series Tart Lychee Sour / Wild Ale at 7.5% ABV | 12 IBU (C$18.80 at Liquor Crossing Red Deer, 650 ml, best before 14-May-2017, acquired 24-Aug-2016, reviewed 5-Oct-2016)

Appearance: hazy to cloudy medium gold, two fingers of off-white head, excellent retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tart citrus, slightly funky sweet and gritty lychee, crackery pale malt, woody, very light cinnamon. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, light bitter, light spice. (8/10) Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering tart and lightly spicy finish. (4/5)

I was a little hesitant with this one – the LoF series has been a little hit-and-miss for me lately, with really only La Folie being consistently excellent. Others have been a bit “meh” (e.g. the Blackberry Barley Wine) or worse (the Hof Ten Dormaal Golden Ale leaps to mind). The flavours for this one are actually somewhat reminiscent of La Folie, but with less depth. On the other hand I am definitely getting the lychee, so I guess it accomplishes what it sets out to do. On yet another hand (yes, I have three hands) it’s a little pricey for what it is. Ultimately worth it, I think it, but there are better examples of the style (albeit not with lychee) for cheaper – their own La Terroir, for example. (16/20)

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Grand River Brewing Russian Gun Russian Imperial Stout at 8.5% ABV (C$6.01 at NLC Stavanger, 500 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 29-Apr-2016, reviewed 4-Oct-2016)

Appearance: nearly opaque black with only the faintest hints of clear brown around the margins, two fingers of rocky beige head, excellent retention and good lacing. (4/5) Aroma: roasty malts, coffee and chocolate, liquorice, vinous dark fruits, molasses and toffee. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Medium-full slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter and mild warming finish. (3/5)

A bit thin and light for the style. Having no intrusive ABV is all well and good, but this style can and should exhibit much more warming presence than is present. I’m usually all about the hops, but to be frank the little hop character here isn’t helping much. Really more like a Quad than an RIS, but without any of the deep barrel-aged complexity I look for in that case. OK, but not better than that. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com