Collective Arts Brewing Mango Tangerine Sour – Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 6% ABV (C$6.01 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 12-May-2020, acquired 23-Jul-2020, reviewed 27-Jul-2020)
Appearance: opaque orange with one finger of fizzy orange head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: juicy tangerine, mango, wheat. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, moderate-low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, juicy moderately tart finish. (4/5)
I won’t say I had no expectations here – it is Collective Arts, after all – but I’m pretty bored with Kettle Sours these days, so my enthusiasm was… “tempered”. However, this is not bad at all. It’s basically a beermosa with added mango nectar. (16/20)
Unibroue Éphémère Sea Buckthorne Berry – Fruit / Vegetable Beer at 5.5% ABV | 13 IBU (C$6.88 at NLC Stavanger, 750 ml, packaged on 14-Feb-2020, acquired 23-Jul-2020, reviewed 26-Jul-2020)
Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with a massive rocky white head, excellent retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tart berry, wheat, doughy yeast, faint funk. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter, moderate-low tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry crisp lightly tart finish. (4/5)
This thing uncorked with enthusiasm, causing me to scramble for the glass in anticipation of the gusher, but that didn’t actually happen despite the massive head. I wouldn’t know a Sea Buckthorn – or its berry – if one or both bit me on the butt (though I do vaguely recall having encountered a Sea Buckthorn foam in a dessert in some hoity-toity restaurant) so I have no idea how authentic the aroma and flavour are. However, there’s a distinctly cranberry-ish tartness that works well with the underlying wheat, so let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say they are. More to the point, both the sweetness and tartness are pleasantly restrained and reminiscent of actual fruit, making this easy to drink and quite refreshing. One’s certainly enough, but for what it is, it’s quite nice. It’s actually a lot nicer than the cranberry version, and in fact, I’ll say it’s actually the best out of the six or seven of this series I’ve had. (15/20)
Wayne Gretzky Craft Brewing No. 99 Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5% ABV (C$3.40 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 23-Jul-2020, reviewed 24-Jul-2020)
Appearance: slightly hazy deep gold with two fingers of rocky pale ivory head, good retention and well-defined soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: caramel, citrus, floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry crisp finish. (4/5)
I had zero expectations here, but it’s actually a pleasant little Pale, crisp and refreshing with a decently bitter finish. I was never much of a Gretzky fan (though I acknowledge his record) but I’m certainly not foolish enough to assume that excellence in one area necessarily translates to excellence in another. That certainly the case here: it’s not bad, but it’s a long way from great, and in my opinion actually falls slightly short of world-class. Good, not great, and not something you need to make a special effort to find. (15/20)
Cascade Brewing Apricot (2015) – American Wild Ale at 7.2% ABV (C$58.05 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 18-Aug-2016, reviewed 23-Jul-2020)
Appearance: clear pale amber with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: stone fruit, oak, lemon zest, light hay funk. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, moderate-low bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry moderate tart finish. (4/5)
Probably one of the best Cascades I’ve had. In particular, I found the tartness to be somewhat less aggressive than some of the others. It’s a pleasant combination of stone fruit, barrel notes, citrus, and light funk, and the modest tartness makes it easily drinkable. I won’t get into a discussion of whether it’s even close to worth the price tag, but ignoring that it’s pretty good stuff. (17/20)
YellowBelly Brewery Mummer’s Brew (2013)_ – Belgian Specialty Ale at 6.9% ABV | 30 IBU (C$10.00 at YellowBelly Brewery, 1 l, packaged on 1-Dec-2013, best before 1-Dec-2018, acquired 15-Dec-2013, reviewed 22-Jul-2020)
Appearance: clear medium gold with two fingers of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate webby lacing. (4/5) Aroma: doughy yeast, green apple, candi sugar, hints of orange peel and spices. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate-lively carbonation, sweetish mildly tart finish. (4/5)
Continuing to clear out the cellar. There certainly can’t be many of these left in existence – heck, this might be the last one! I had a vague plan that I might let this get to ten years before doing a vertical, but circumstances resulted in me pulling the pin at about two thirds of that way. That’s probably just as well, since I’m not sure this would necessarily have improved any (further) with longer cellaring: I suspect it’s as smooth as it can possibly get, and the time in the bottle seems to have allowed the purported spice and orange peel to fade, if not quite into non-existence, firmly into the background. It’s dominated by a bready doughy yeast very reminiscent of many Council beers, but is of course nowhere near as tart as those. In the past I’ve compared that aroma to “old-fashioned” home-brews from my childhood, which of course generally took that character from hot and desperately short fermentation using baker’s yeast. I certainly don’t mean to imply that’s the mechanism here, just that that’s the sensory impression I take from it. (Perhaps appropriately, given the “Mummer” moniker – I’ve certainly seen more than one such bottle bomb home-brew served to mummers in a stubby.) The taste, on the other hand, is more like a sweet-style Belgian Tripel, with candi sugar and a slightly slick body. All told, a bit too sweet for my preference, but decent. (15/20)
Brouwerij Liefmans Goudenband (2012) – Flanders Brown Ale / Oud Bruin at 8% ABV | 9 IBU (C$11.00 at Beer Club Offering #5, 750 ml, best before 9-Oct-2023, acquired 9-Oct-2013, reviewed 21-Jul-2020)
Appearance: clear cola brown with one finger of loose beige head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, spotty spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: complex, cherries, balsamic vinegar, sweet malt, raisins. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, low bitter, light tart. (9/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-lively carbonation, sweetish mildly tart finish. (5/5)
We’re closing the circle now, with only a few tasting nights left in the cellar before I move house. I don’t think I’ll transport many, if any, so it seems only fitting that I go back to one of the very first “weird beers” I ever tried. At the time, I didn’t even give it a rating, both because I knew that it was completely outside my experience, but also that there was something special about it even if I didn’t fully understand it. I like to think I do now understand it well enough to truly appreciate it – and appreciate it I do. The aroma is a complex blend of fruits, vinegar, and woody notes on a mild sweet malt base. The taste is milder than I remember, and certainly milder than many other examples of the style, with the acidic tartness suggested by the aroma only gently present on the tongue. Super smooth, wonderfully nuanced, and well-balanced, with no hint of the fairly beefy ABV, it certainly hasn’t been harmed by its years in the cellar. I don’t know that it’s necessarily the best Oud Bruin there is, but dammit, it’s up there. (18/20)
Split Rock Brewing Co. Red Sky Red Rye – American Amber / Red Ale at 4.8% ABV (C$3.92 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 18-Feb-2020, acquired 9-Jul-2020, reviewed 20-Jul-2020)
Appearance: clear medium amber with a short, short-lived loose beige head, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: toffee, stewed fruits, light grainy rye, earth, hint of grass. (6/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, sweetish moderate bitter finish. (3/5)
A pretty plain-Jane Amber / Red. To be honest, I was hoping for more spicy rye, to relieve the tedium of toffee and generalized fruit, but it was not to be. OK, but booooring. (12/20)
Collective Arts Brewing Surround Sound (Azacca, Amarillo, & Comet) – American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.2% ABV (C$5.14 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 23-Apr-2020, acquired 9-Jul-2020, reviewed 15-Jul-2020)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of rocky white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, floral, tropical fruit, dank pine, coconut, caramel. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, mildly warming moderate bitter finish. (4/5)
Fast becoming one of my favourite ongoing Collective Arts projects, this revision is hopped with Azacca, Amarillo, and Comet. I’m a little perplexed, since much like the last revision (Enigma, Moutere, Simcoe, and Centennial) I’m getting coconut that would be more consistent with e.g. Sabro and should in any case be out of character for the hop profile. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It’s juicy, surprisingly easy to drink, and like its predecessors is pleasant and easy-going, until you go cross-eyed and fall over. I’m not much one for go-to’s, but I rather suspect this’ll be my go-to for the next couple of nights of camping and white water rafting. (16/20)
Muskoka Brewery Summerweisse Tropical Wheat – Wheat Ale at 5.3% ABV (C$3.65 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, best before 5-Sep-2020, acquired 9-Jul-2020, reviewed 15-Jul-2020)
Appearance: slightly hazy straw with one fat finger of rocky white head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mango & tropical fruit, banana, wheat. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, moderate tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, medium duration mildly tart finish. (4/5)
Meh. It’s not terrible, and certainly the adjunct mango and passionfruit are not as sweet as I feared they might be but really: you can achieve a similar (and in my opinion preferable) result with hopping and without adjuncts. In this case, I’m left sort of wondering what the point is. (14/20)
Quidi Vidi Brewing Company American Wheat – American Pale Wheat Ale at 4.9% ABV (C$3.75 at NLC Stavanger, 473 ml, packaged on 23-Apr-2020, acquired 9-Jul-2020, reviewed 15-Jul-2020)
Appearance: slightly hazy straw with one fat finger of rocky white head, good retention and spotty soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, wheat, banana, hint of citrus. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry moderate bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)
Not a typical American Wheat Ale, and not necessarily in an entirely good way. I mean, I’m usually the first one to complain about excessive banana and sweetness in the style, but this one if anything goes too far in the opposite direction, with a very mild aroma overall. Similarly, the flavour is attenuated and surprisingly bitter to the point of being slightly astringent, particularly in the finish. There’s nothing really wrong here, but I don’t entirely agree with the implementation. (12/20)
