A Number of Nogne's

As promised, here are a bunch of reviews of beers from Norwegian brewery, Nogne O. Of the five beers I tasted, I found that the three which were made in famous styles (DIPA, Porter and Tripel,) to be well made and very true to type.  The remaining two beers were Nogne-designed styles and were very original and complex, great for people looking for something different.

The Two Captains DIPA was conceived by a Norwegian home brewing champ, and brewed by Nogne O, Underlig Jul (which translated to peculiar yule) is a Christmas-cross between a beer and a glogg (a traditional mulled wine), and the #100 is labelled as a barley wine in the USA, but a DIPA everywhere else, and makes an exceptional example no matter how you categorize it.

Tiger Tripel:
500 mL bottle. Pours a semi-transparent peach color, with a little haze and a thick white head. Yeast oriented aromas of bread, biscuit and hay are available, orange zest and coriander, a faint touch of char and graphite from the smoked malts. Fairly dry for the style, with good carbonation. Smooth on the palate with a sticky sour finish. Interesting.

Porter:
500 mL bottle. Pours opaque black with a thick brown head, lots of lacing to be had. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, strong coffee and anise. A touch of sweet with a bit of a bitter hop finish. Super smooth and creamy, full on the palate. A textbook porter.

Two Captains Double IPA:
500 mL bottle. Pours a slightly hazy copper color, a nice loose white head. Nice American styled nose of hop, orange and pine. Sweet and sticky, medium carbonation and a heap of hops. A refreshing bitter bite. A nice rendition of a big dirty American IPA.

#100:
500 mL bottle. Pours a murky walnut color with a thin tan head. Toasted nuts, cocoa powder, orange, fruitcake and pine. Medium sweet with a big hoppy kick, a long bitter finish with plenty of layers and texture. Full mouthfeel. Lots of complexity here, despite the labelling mishap; it makes a great DIPA or barley wine.

Underlig Jul:
500 mL bottle. Pours almost black, with a fluffy brown head. Aroma holds layers of spices, black cake, clove, ginger, molasses and deeply roasted malt. Deeply spicy coffee flavour, roasted meat, gingerbread. Stout like dryness, with enough sugar to balance all those spices and a gentle hop finish. Medium in weight with medium carbonation. Tasty and different!

As I am off to Spain, a land where they consume far more wine than beer, this will probably be the last you will see of beer ratings for a while. Hope you have been enjoying.  If you need more, you can find all my reviews here:
http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/

A Boatload of Beau's

As mentioned in my last beer rating post, the LCBO is full of great products from Beau's brewery.  The brewery is certified organic and produces tasty peer just outside of Ottawa.  Reviews in this post include: Bog Water, a traditional gruit beer brewed with myrtle in replacement of a large portion of the hop content; Farm Table Belgian Pale Ale, a light farm style Belgian with a low alcohol content and a lot of flavor, my favorite under 5% ABV beer to date; Patio Saison, a very average example of a very interesting style; Screaming Beaver, an oak aged Imperial IPA that's just enormous; and Matt's Sleepytime Belgian Imperial Stout, a real malt driven beer with Belgian ale yeasts.

Beau's Farm Table Belgian Pale Ale:
600 mL bottle. Pours a hazy cider color with a nicely lacing white head. Nice aroma profile, sour yeast with buttery biscuit notes, orange, spices and a little wood. Taste is mild, a touch of sweetness, a little hop and a great yeasty finish. Dry and medium carbonation. Painfully drinkable, love the fact that this beer has so much flavor and so little alcohol. Aches for rustic pate and pickles.

Beau's Patio Saison:
600 mL. Pours a hazy buckwheat honey color, a thin white head. Aroma is honey laced, spiced and lightly hopped, a little thyme and citrus. Mildly sweet with a sour finish, medium bodied and highly carbonated. Tasty, but nothing stands out

Beau's Screaming Beaver:
600 mL bottle. Pours a dark amber colour with a lacy, lasting head of beige foam. Aroma is complex, candied orange, oak, caramel malt, cream and pine. Big and sweet, rounded out by a great big hop bite, 99 IBU’s of it to be exact, a long layered finish. Smooth as silk and medium carbonation. Do yourself a favour, don’t waste this by serving it right out of the fridge. A massive beer, really liked it.

Beau's Matt's Sleepytime Belgian Imperial Stout:
600 mL. Pours a dark brown, with a thick medium tan head. Aroma of yeast, molasses, roasted malt, bitter cocoa and espresso. Sweet, but not overly with a coating mouthfeel and a bitter/sour finish. A real malt bomb, a little yeast complexity.

Up next there has been a release of beers from famous Norwegian brewery Nogne O, I got my hands on all five and look forward to sharing them with you!

As ever, more can be found here:
http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/

A Change of Pace (Off Topic)

Life as a professional chef can be interesting to say the least.  You often work in a high stress, unrewarding environment; you are under constant pressure to do better and do faster.  I am lucky enough to have a job where the people I work for and work with are understanding.  Most of us often wish we could just return to the simple roots of cooking, make beautiful and tasty food, just for the sake of making it.  Lots of us would love to spend hours a day just learning more about food and the culture from which it was born.  Strangely, I have been granted the opportunity to do just that.

Come January I will be spending a full month in Toledo, Spain, just outside of Madrid, working and learning at a fantastic restaurant under the guidance of Chef Adolfo Munoz.  I hope to discover more about the roots of Spanish cuisine, broaden my horizons of modern culinary art and find a bit of temporary salvation.  Feel free to follow my journey on the blog or alternatively on Facebook, which will link you here; I hope to be able to post pictures and information about what I am up to every couple of days, as well as review a few restaurants, wines and beers.

As happy as I am to get going, I look forward to coming back home as much.  Once I return in February, I have a little more excitement on the docket.  Friend, fellow chef and devout beer-a-holic Tyler Scott and I are going to take on the monumental task of making homebrew.  Good homebrew, from scratch, no extracts and no cheating. Take a look at the blog for pictures and updates as to how we are making out, and drop me a line if you want to come by and a have a taste or maybe even lend a hand!

More Beer Notes!

A pair of Shipyard beers from Portland, Maine, a "chocolate-free" Black Chocolate Stout from Brooklyn (a stark contrast from my lately reviewed Flying Monkey's Chocolate Imperial Stout) and a one of my favorite styles from one of my favorite breweries, the Rogue Yellow Snow IPA.

Shipyard Imperial Porter:
625 mL bottle. Practically jumps from the bottle with carbonation, pours opaque black with a massive beige head, decent lacing. Aromas of bitter chocolate, espresso, roasted cereal grain a touch of earth and a bit of alcohol bite. Medium sweet at first, dryer midpalate, both bittering and sour. Full bodied with lots of carbonation, mouth coating and a boozy steak sauce tinged finish. A beast, albeit a tasty one.

Shipyard Barley Wine:
625 mL bottle. Pours a dark brassy amber with a decent off white head. Minimal lacing. Aromas of cocoa, pine, aged malt and roasted cereal. Sweet, but not overly, with a great bitter punch and a lingering dryness. Tastefully complex.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout:
355 mL bottle. Pours opaque black, you can't see through this one. A quickly dissipating beige head. Pleasant deep aroma, cocoa, coffee, roasted malt, and nut. Mildly sweet, with a massive full midpalate, and a lightly bitter finish. Lightly carbonated. Surprised to see this contained no chocolate, would have bought it sooner if it's name did'nt suggest the opposite. Tasty stuff from Brooklyn.

Rogue Yellow Snow IPA:
330 mL bottle. Pours a murky pale yellow orange, lots of clouding and a thick white head. Lovely aroma, pine, wax, honey, citronella, pomelo. Fairly dry for its style, but a big bitter punch. Waxy texture with a lingering drying mouthfeel. Full bodied and medium carbonation. Fairly certain Rogue doesn't produce bad anything. A stand out example of an IPA, very well balanced.

The LCBO currently has a great Beau's Gift pack, featuring four of their specialty brews, they are also carrying their winter seasonal, the Bog Water.  Check back in a few days for my notes.

As always, more can be found here:
http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/

Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot Noir 2011

I have had the last three or four vintages of this wine, and I have to say that it is hands down my favorite pinot noir for under $25 ever; it often outperforms wines at twice it's price. Buy it and drink it with earthy mushrooms, savory duck or just by itself.

Pours a deep purple tinged red. Aromas of violet, overripe raspberry and vanilla laden oak with subtle spice. The wine is silky smooth on the palate, betraying only a touch of it's 13.9% ABV; mouthcoating and surprisingly rich. A touch of sweetness, but none of the Dr. Pepper or cola notes that can dominate these wines. Unquestionably Californian; there's no mistaking this for a Burgundy. Could cellar for a year or two, good luck hanging on to it that long.

Three More Beer Ratings...

Sampled a pair of scotch ales; Skull Splitter via Orkey, the island of Highland Park fame and Church Key Holy Smoke of Campbellford, Ontario.  The former was a strong scotch ale, very true to style, and the latter was a peat smoked scotch ale.  Also the Winter Treacle, a brown porter from oak aged beer specialists Innis & Gunn.

Orkney Skull Splitter:

330 mL bottle. Pours a red tinged dark copper color with a thin tan head that doesn’t last too long. Nice lacing. Cereal on the nose, bread, straw and caramel malt. Mildly sweet, with a pleasant bitterness, well balanced, medium carbonation and good mouth feel. A good scotch ale.

Church Key Holy Smoke:

650 mL bottle. Pours a very dark brown, almost black with a good two finger white head, decent retention. Aromas of campfire, graphite and charred meat. Almost saline seeming, smoky and surprisingly dry. Actually quite light on the palate with good carbonation and a peaty finish. Interesting stuff, not overwhelming

I&G Winter Treacle Porter:

330 mL bottle. Pours a dark amber, looks light for a porter. A finger of beige head dissipates quick with minimal lacing. Aromas of malted wheat, molasses. Oak and vanilla on the palate with a touch of hops, dry cherries and a bit of cola. Medium carbonation and body. Slighty sweet finish.

As always, look for me on ratebeer.com!

http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/

LaVinia and C'est What

Took a trip downtown to visit the restaurant of one of my mentors, Fernando Garcia, newly of LaVinia.  A quaint dining room reminiscent of his homeland Spain with vibrantly colored red and blue walls, and hand crafted Spanish upholstery.  His menu paraded Spanish staples, all excellently prepared, succulent octopus Gallegan-style, Madrileno tripe stew (my personal favorite) and authentic Paellas.  He lead us through many of the appetizers in a family fashion, the three of us sharing the majority of the tapas selection he offered.  We then moved on to a delicate cauliflower potage, a family style serving of roasted veal and salmon, an intermezzo of peach sorbet served in a shot of Grand Marnier and finally chocolate flan.  Food was minimalist and tasteful as the Spaniards are oh-so-known for, and the wine list offered gems from around the country.  If you are interested in an authentic dining experience, you must make your way down to Etobicoke for a meal here.

Following that we checked into Toronto beer bar favorite, C'est What. Ventured out in support of Light for the Flight, a musical event supporting thyroid cancer patients.  Went to the performance room in the back, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the bar was uncompromising;  the same beer selection is available in the function room as is in the main room.  The bartender was also very knowledgeable; recommended beers for me all the way through.  Tucked into to tasty Canadian only brews, including Beau's, Great Lakes Brewery, Sawdust City and C'est Whats very own.  As we had just finished a dangerously large meal at LaVinia, but were feeling the affects of a couple bottles of wine and a few pints, we grabbed some sweet potato chips to nibble on.  Nothing special, but it does wonders for your sobriety.  If you like Canadian micro brews, you need to make it here at least once! We plan to revisit, as it is conveniently located within walking distance of Union Station.

LaVinia
laviniarestaurant.com
2350 Lakeshore Blvd W
Toronto

C'est What
cestwhat.com
67 Front St E
Toronto

Beer Ratings, again...

Some more beer ratings for you all!  A a pair of Belgian strong ales one a little more basic, the other a serious collectors item, a classic old school doppelbock from Ayinger, (be sure to pick up a few of these!) and a Quebecois Weizenbock.

Paulwel Kwak:

330 mL bottle. Pours dark amber with a off white foam, a little lacing. Nutty malt aromas with a little banana bread, pudding and yeast notes. Sweetly malty with little acidity, good carbonation. A tasty strong ale!

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock:

330 mL bottle. Pours a nearly opaque brownish black color, good beige head, if short lived. Nice aroma profile, a little malt, yeast, prune, smoked meat and sweet vanilla. Sweet to start, with a touch of hop bite and a souring finish. Medium bodied with medium carbonation and a long lasting mouth feel. Drinks suspiciously easy.

Het Anker Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer Blauw:

750 mL bottle. 2012 vintage. Pours a deep brown with a thick beige head. Doesn’t last long but laces nicely. Very complex, layers of sweet caramel, plum, raisin, and oak. A very winey finish, long lasting flavor, with a good warming alcohol. Full bodied and quite sweet, but balanced out by the alcohol, minimal carbonation, silky smooth and lasting on the palate. A real piece of work, will buy a couple for cellaring!

Les Trois Mousquetaires Grande Cuvee Weizenbock:

750 mL bottle. Pours a cloudy mahogany color with a thin tan head, dissipated quickly. Bready yeasty aroma, a little toasted nut and stewed fruit. Sweet for the style, medium full bodied with low carbonation, coating on the palate with a sour finish. Fig, raisin, pineapple and banana here, a little grain flavor and malty. More goodies from LTM.

A lot of great beers available this holiday season, get out of your usual groove and try one of them. Check out a few more of my recommendations here:
http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/

A Few More Beer Ratings...

Some more beer ratings, a really chocolatey Chocolate Imperial Stout from Barrie, Ontario, a Quebecois Oktoberfest and a Double IPA.

Flying Monkeys BNL Chocolate Imperial Stout:

750 mL bottle. Pours an opaque black colour, no light coming through this baby. A dark brown suggestion of a head, but no real volume to speak of. Aroma is seriously chocolatey, extra rich and syrupy smelling, malt notes just barely detectable on the nose, definitely cocoa-y but very one dimensional. Flavor is better, a great big sweet chocolate slap in the face, but a nice one; not that synthetic chocolate made with vegetable oil, real good quality dark chocolate fudge. Shortly after it tips a little bitter and roasted malt notes come out, powdered cocoa, vanilla and coffee, followed by a warming boozy sensation. Palate is full bodied and smooth, rich and coating with a long finish. Not typically a flavoured beer fan, but this is pretty tasty.

Trois Mousquetaires Oktoberfest:

750 mL bottle. Pours a dark, cloudy orange colour with a lasting white head. Subtle aroma, picking up a distinct squash/vegetable scent, honey and black tea. Taste is mildly sweet with a lagery clean finish, barely hopped. Clean with medium body and palate. Enjoyed.

Muskoka Twice as Mad Tom IPA:

On tap at Baker Street Station in Guelph. Pours a rusty copper colour with a huge stable white head and lots of lacing. Syrupy with muted pine and maple notes, orange peel, vanilla and oak. Palate coating with a bit of a bittering hop punch, and a full bodied palate coating finish. Not overly bitter or citrusy as a lot of American IPA’s, but a bruiser of a beer none the less, good, but prefer the original as a more balanced alternative.

Hope you enjoyed, find more of my ratings here:
http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/

A Few Beer Ratings

Heres a few for you all, some great new beers from the winter release, a vintage barley wine from Quebec, a  fantastic Belgian Style Quadrupel from the Netherlands and another Quebecois Belgian strong ale.  All great winter warmers.

St Ambroise Vintage Ale 2012:

341 mL bottle. Pours a dark copper colour, slightly syrupy looking with a full white head. The nose is malty sweet with roasted cereal notes, winey stewed fruits and a spicy alcohol bite. Sweet and palate coating with a full mouth feel, a little boozy. Mildly hopped with a touch of bitterness. Hoping for a little more acid or hop to cut the size of this beer. Enjoyed, but not my style, needs a meal to hold up to it, some cheddar or pâté perhaps?

La Trappe Quadrupel:

750 mL bottle. Pours a deep hazy mahogany color, a patchy almost gray head. Sweet dark fruits and yeast on the nose, plum pudding. Surprisingly smooth on the palate, full bodied and slightly syrupy. Nice hoppy finish, slightly soured. Really enjoyable stuff, a happy medium between weight and complexity

Unibroue La Terrible:

750 mL bottle. Pours a dark cola like almost black color, with a foamy tan head, lots of lacing and slow dissipation. Heady perfumed aroma of fig, molasses, vanilla and oak. Taste is amazingly balanced for such a big beer, sweet, with a bitter midpalate and sour finish, you can taste layers of dark fruits, bready yeast, mushroomy earth and a distinct meat flavor. Smooth and full bodied coating mouthfeel but not cloying. A great big beer, and another landmark from unibroue.

See more of my beer ratings at:
http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/

Napa Cellars Merlot 2010

This bottle was given to me as a housewarming gift from my mother and step father.  Having tried a few different vintages of Napa Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as their Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel, I was eager to see if this Merlot offered the same great QPR that we have come to expect from Napa Valley.  Thankfully we all have yet another great wine to enjoy at the under $25 price point! This Merlot pours a dark garnet red colour, and opens to a lovely aroma of fig, over ripe blackberry, and a hint of oaky vanilla.  Smooth and silky on the palate, you can pick out layers of dark fruit on the tongue, a touch of warming spice, anise or clove perhaps.  Mellow, full bodied and lasting on the palate with uncompromising flavour and texture.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this, full of taste and supple tannin at only two years, this wine is a perfect example of why most of us should pick up a Merlot every now and again as opposed to the ever popular Cab Sauv.

Tripel Karmeliet

The new winter release is out at the LCBO and is chock full of great beers, and great big beers.  Check out this flavorful Belgian Tripel, made with the addition of wheat, super smooth and creamy.

330 mL bottle. Pours a golden orange color, very hazy with a thick white fluffy head. Lovely aroma of apricot, yeast and sweet spices. Taste is slightly sweet, with a lightly hopped finish, very smooth. Medium bodied with lots of carbonation, a long and clean finish. Really enjoyed this one, a great beer at a great price.

See more of my beer ratings at:
http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/

Sideral 2007

Sideral by Altair Vineyard and Winery in Chile, from the D.O. Rapel Valley, known mostly for Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere, this is a blend of the aforementioned grapes, as well as Syrah and Cabernet Franc.  It is a second wine to Altair's self titled first wine, which I know I have had before, and remember as being distinctly smoky and tarry tasting.  Pouring a garnet red, with long legs, the aroma hold a bouquet of oak, cherry, vanilla and a touch of smokiness.  It's smooth and full on the palate, the tannin well mellowed with a bit of youthful acidity still left, it carries the 14.8% ABV very well.  Concealing flavors of ripe red berries, liquorice and a definite roasted meat character, the finish is long and rich. Great value to be found here as it's now on sale at the LCBO for $22, ready to go with rich meats like brisket or smoked sausages.

Compass Box "Great King St" Artist's Blend

Having tried a few premium blended malts from the Compass Box I was enticed to try this new blend that targets a more economical price point.  A solid blended malt for under $50, a price tag any Scotch drinker can appreciate.  Pours a light straw color with a fine body. A nice nose of sweet spices, nutmeg, clove, roasted apples and banana, with a finite alcohol bite. On the palate it's smooth, silky and warming, there's a touch of sweetness and a lightly smoky finish with definite notes of grain. Performs quite well on it's own, but it's a shoe in as an elegant mixer for soda.

Baker Street Station

Checked into a new bar in the Guelph area!  Always looking for good places to go grab a bite to eat, we took a look at the Baker Street Station, a new gastropub in downtown Guelph.  Great spot to sit and grab a drink, the bar was relatively full considering it was only just past dinner hour, about 8 o'clock or so.  The draught beer selection was excellent, featuring top Canadian producers such a Steamwhistle, Beau's, Mill St, Unibroue and McAuslan's, as well as outside producers like Rogue's and Old Speckled Hen; a few bottles, particularly large format available as well.  Menu selection appeared to be very good, but a few items happened to be unavailable tonight. I wasn't particularly let down by the lack of cremini mushroom soup, but the missing pastrami and pickled ox tongue sandwich was a disappointment.  I settled on the CHOP BLOCK, a rotating selection of charcuterie, as an appetizer.  The block was unfortunately misdescribed on their feature board.  I was looking forward to both the pork rillettes and the ham hock and foie gras torchon, and was forced to settle with just a chicken liver mousse as the substitution.  In lieu of the sandwich I opted for the Baker Street MacBurger, a decent rendition of a gastro burger, featuring two smaller patties layered between a bun cut into three instead of two.  My girlfriend shared the CB as an app, and the chef was kind enough to deliver some gluten free vegetable chips to accommodate her being a Celiac, she had the mussels as well.  All the food was well done, but I would have enjoyed it more if what I wanted had been available or presented as advertised.  Even the best of restaurants have bad nights, and I am willing to return to Baker Street for some grub in the future, however the place seems absolutely fitting for just popping in for one of their excellent beers!

Baker Street Station
bakerstreetstation.com
76 Baker Street
Guelph

Thanksgiving Wines

Got stuck into a few nice wines over Thanksgiving dinner, a bottle of Catena Alta Chardonnay 2009, which I picked up for the occasion, as well as a 2004 Sartori Amarone Corte'Bra which I received as a birthday gift. The Chardonnay went well with turkey dinner, and the Amarone made for a perfect after dinner drink with some cheeses and local honeycomb.

Catena Alta Chardonnay 2009:
Poured a straw yellow colour, with a nose of over ripe apple, verbena, beeswax and a buttery candy corn like note.  The palate was well balanced between fruitiness and abstract flavours, featuring the flavors of apple, candied lemon peel, honey and finished with a nice oakiness, some vanilla and butter.  A very supple, medium to full bodied wine that would certainly evolve over the next couple of years.  I feel if you plan on drinking it now there are definately better values to be had at a price point much lower than this.

Sartori Amarone Corte'Bra 2004:
A pleasant fading red color, just starting to brick ever so slightly, this will be a very pretty colour in a few years.  A deep woodsy aroma, rich with spices, wild blueberry and oak.  Dry with a rich coating mouthfeel, hearty and intense with dried cherry flavours, liquorice, leather and vanilla. A long lasting finish, well into the 45 second mark.  Offers up an excellent QPR, grab one if you get the chance, and don't feel like you need to drink it now, the vivacious fruit flavour and the fact you can still taste the alcohol says you can let this one go a little longer.

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, enjoying time with family, friends and maybe a glass or two for yourself.

Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto

Ordered this stick online from the wonderful selection at www.cigarchief.com.  The site listed them as aged a few years, and ready to smoke.  A small cigar that promised no compromise; how can one resist?  This little Cubano definitely delivered, sporting a tan to medium wrapper, rugged looking with a little toothiness and some veins, the construction seemed a little off, but didn't effect the burn or flavour.  The cold draw tasted of leathery tobacco and the staple Cuban salinity.  Once lit, it let up huge plumes of white smoke, much like I experienced with this sticks bigger brother, the Hoyo Epicure #2.  The first half gave layers of flavour, with cocoa nib, salt and cedar.  It formed a tight grey ash that held on well past the inch mark, in fact all 4 inches of this stick went down with only 2 ashings.  The second half saw the abstract flavours die off and be replaced with coffee bitterness and what was definitely hazelnut.  Burned cool for a full 50 minutes. A wonderfully complex small smoke, well worth it.

CAO Italia Novella

Squeezing in cigars whenever I can as we are getting into the end of smoking season in Canada.  I don't find myself wanting to sit outside for 45 minutes or longer when the temperature dips below 15 degrees.  The good news is, it's a great time to stock up the humidor and let your sticks rest over the winter, for optimum smoking come the warm spring and summer months.  I cut into a CAO Italia a few weeks ago.  This one was in their Novella size, a corona corta.  It featured a medium coloured wrapper, and when straight cut, the cold draw gave up a nice chocolate and coffee flavour.  Was really surprised to light this one up and taste very woodsy smoke, filled with thyme like herbs, and black pepper spice.  The 45 minute burn didn't transition much, but kept a consistent profile.  Earthy and old world, lots of leathery tobacco notes.  Fairly well constructed, the burn only needed minor touch ups. Good flavour, but lacked the complexity and transitions you might see in a larger vitola. CAO offers great QPR, I very much enjoyed a toro sized version of the CAO Brazilia earlier this summer, but didn't review it.

Shipyard XXXX IPA

Getting some time to post up some reviews over the Thanksgiving long weekend, been tasting a bit here and there and never had time to put anything up.  Picked this up as part of the LCBO's Shipyard feature, I'm a big fan of IPA's and despite this being a little bit out of style, I quite enjoyed it.  The feature also included a Barley Wine and an Imperial Porter I might be sampling later.

625 mL bottle. Pours a slightly hazy amaretto color, with a thick lasting head of tan bubbles, nice lacing here. Not as aromatic as many IPAs, definitely pulling a strong malty smell here, with a hint of piney hops. Taste is big, maltier than most American IPA’s these days, but still well hopped. Sweet and smooth, holding all that 9.3% ABV quite well, initial caramel/butterscotch notes give way quickly to a dry and bittering red grapefruit flavor, and then back for another hit of malt with some deeper roasted cereal notes. The finish is bitter, but not as dry as many. A complex beer, worth trying just to feel the flavors dance on your palate. Oily and full bodied mouth feel. A great beer.

Take a look at this and more of my beer reviews at:
www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/reviews

Great Lakes Brewery Belgian Saison and De Koningshoeven La Trappe Isid'Or

Picked these up at the Cornwall LCBO just after the fall release.  A pair of Belgian styled beers, one from Ontario in the farmhouse style, and the other from the Netherlands in the Trappist ale style, both quality purchases, I would recommend the Saison for drinking alongside cheeses, fruit dishes or mildly spiced anything. The Trappist ale would pair well with smoked meats and lighter stewed fair, extra points if you happen to be stewing with dried fruit.

GLB Belgian Saison:

750 ml bottle. Pours a pale straw yellow, hazy with a thin head. Nice rustic aromas of lemon, coriander, straw and yeast. Taste follow your usual Saison profile, fruity and citrusy esters, coriander and bay leaf like spice, and a yeasty punch. Refreshing and complex at the same time. Smooth with medium carbonation and good mouth feel, a pleasant, lingering finish. Really enjoyed this one.

La Trappe Isid'or:

750 mL. Pours a dark, hazy walnut brown color, plenty of thick white head, lots of lacing. Aroma is pretty muted, a bit of roasted malts and bready yeast, rye or pumpernickel loaf. Flavor is mildly sweet, with a great hit of roasted malts followed with a souring finish. Prunes, smoke, malt and licorice all accessible. Medium bodied with a fair bit of carbonation, this one sits sour and oily on the palate. Enjoyable, but I like their tripel better.

See this and many more of my beer ratings at:
http://www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/ratings/

Casa Magna Colorado Toro

Picked up this great Nicaraguan stick from local shop Celebrity Tobacco & Gifts in Oakville.  It came on high recommendation from the shop owner and Cigar Aficionado.  Measured a little fatter than your average toro, more like a double robusto really.  A firm, milk chocolate coloured wrapper, almost liver like with minimal seams and veins, I straight cut this puro and lit up without a cold draw. This cigar was packed with flavour, but offered very little in the way of transition: the profile didn't stray very much.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if your smoke tastes as good as this one did.  Offering up wafts of cedar and toasty cinnamon notes right off the bat, and developing into a smooth coffee and cocoa dominated smoke after the initial bite died off.  It was medium bodied and provided a pretty good wallop of nicotine, plumes of whitish smoke and a saline mouthfeel.  Really satisfied with this one, exceptional construction that burned well through the whole stick, and a tasty flavour profile.

Muskoka Harvest Ale

Lots of great new fall beers out at the LCBO in the last couple of weeks.  Aside from the fantastic Mad Tom IPA, Muskoka Brewery produces some top notch seasonal offerings in 750 mL formats.  Great for sharing with friends who are also interested in beer tasting, or selfishly tackling them on one's own, lots of premium brews are only available in these larger formats.

750 mL bottle. Pours a very attractive copper brown, a fine white head with minimal lacing. Aromas of malt, pine and toffee sweetness. The flavour profile lines right up with the aromas, a wallop of toasty malt sweetness, caramel and butterscotch, followed by a good bite of bittering hops, citrus and lanolin notes with a smooth finish. Medium full on the palate with decent carbonation and a lingering finish. Drank this one a little warm by accident, and rather happy I did, really rounds it out nicely. A textbook APA, and another great offering from Muskoka breweries.

Find this and more of my beer ratings at:

www.ratebeer.com/user/169527/ratings

Beau's Nightmarzen

A Nice Oktoberfest/Marzen from a local brewery, fresh into the LCBO as of this month.

600 mL bottle. Pours a clear orange tinted copper, firm head of beige bubbles, very pretty. Aroma is fairly vegetal, notes of bell pepper, flowers, and yeasty bread. Medium carbonation and body, smooth on the palate, distinct lager refreshment. Flavors of caramel and toast come through, a little roasted oats and herbs. A touch of sweetness with a light hoppy finish. A nice medium bodied lager.

Find this and more of my beer ratings at:
www.ratebeer.com/users/169526/ratings

Ridge York Creek Zinfandel 2007

Purchased at local LCBO, $37.  Decanted for an hour give or take, probably not necessary.  78% Zinfandel and the remaining in Petite Syrah.  Pours a deep garnet colour, verging on purplish.  Dense and syrupy, big legs and a moderate alcohol content for the region and variety; just over %14.  The nose suggests wild blackberry, fig, prune, star anise and a touch of molasses. Fairly sweet and firm on the palate, juicy fruit flavours come first, waves of deeply ripened berries and plum, moving on to some sweet vanilla and spices, anise and a touch of pepper, the finish turning slightly vegetal and off dry.  A textbook Zinfandel for this price point, perfect for a textbook pairing such as barbecue, pork stewed with dried fruit or glazed Asian-inspired dishes. Offers as good a QPR as many Ridge products, but I much prefer their more Carbernet forward blends.

Rocky Patel Vintage 1999 Connecticut Torpedo

I've been dabbling in cigars for a little while but this will be my first official review.  Purchased this from a new cigar shop in Burlington called Village Cigar Company.  Great little store with excellent service.  Went in the day after a RP event that they held, and they were offering a buy four get one free promotion.  This was part of the four, the freebie was a stick otherwise unavailable in Canada, the RP Sun Grown Toro.  On to the good stuff!  Wrapper was a clean tan shade, absolutely perfect with no blemishes, the stick itself firm.  A crisp white double band featuring the make and model made this stick very attractive.  Straight cut, the cold draw was very free feeling for how packed this cigar felt, it gave up a nice bit of tea, herb and lemongrass.  Toasted and lit, it threw lots of creamy white smoke and a little pepper.  After the initial heat of lighting died down, the spice faded out and gave way to clean wood and cream flavours.  It burned very even with a sturdy white ash.  The spice returned in the second third and I decided to purge the stick, the spice resided again and the mild woodiness returned with a bit of coffee.  Profile of the last third very similar, and by the end I was feeling only a slight bit of nicotine.  The spice amped up as the cigar ran out, but never unpleasantly strong.  Took this one right down, cool all the way.  A great flavourful mild smoke.

Blacktree Restaurant

Went out for dinner on Friday evening to celebrate my mother's engagement.  Decided to try out local favourite Blacktree restaurant for the first time.  Promptly seated at the time of our reservation, a huge table for the five of us, interesting decor featuring an assortment of eclectic art and a projection screen that played Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton silent films.  Enjoyed a few glasses of Prosecco with a complimentary amuse bouche of crispy rice paper, cured tuna and swordfish.  Bread was brought to the table, and a small salad of arugula and mozzarella de bufula for my girlfriend Maegan who is a celiac. Appetizers paired well with a value priced Gruner Veltliner.  Foie gras with roasted duck breast and duck proscuitto was well prepared, garnished with raspberries, broccolini and potato chips.  Sweet potato and curried green banana soup and a citrus octopus dish were enjoyed by my family.  The Barolo my soon to be father in law was after was sold out, but our server recommended a slightly more expensive Brunello as a substitution at the same price, lovely stuff.  Mains were preceded by another complementary treat, an intermezzo of what I believe was a spherification of chai tea, in a blackberry coulis.  Entrees included roast elk, beef tenderloin and a pork duo.  I opted for a seafood medley featuring perfectly seared mediterranean sea bass, jumbo prawns and a large scallop.  The seafood was highlighted with several preparations of sweet corn.  Delicious.  Dessert was offered, and the chef created an impromptu cheese plate with meringue for Maegan, a pear loaf was shared by my parents.  I stuck with a glass of Armagnac and nibbled on the nearby cheese.  The meal concluded with the temptation of more freebies, grappa or lemoncello which we declined.  The bill appeared with tasteful chilli and chocolate truffles.  Excellent bang for buck to be had here in the upper echelons of casual dining, great food, friendly service and exceptional understanding and accommodations for dietary restraints. Thanks to Chef Matteo and crew for a wonderful meal.

Blacktree Restaurant
blacktreerestaurant.com
3029 New St
Burlington

Delamain XO

Delamain Pale & Dry X.O. Grande Champagne Cognac; once again on recommendation from the good people at Vintages.  According to the salesperson this gem is aged a lot longer than necessary to receive it's X.O status and offers great QPR.  Pours a beautiful off orange honey color, fairly dense looking.  The aroma holds a bouquet of vanilla, oak, candied citrus, golden raisins and toffee, a definite wax or lamp oil note in there as well.  Rich in mouth feel, but surprisingly dry, the flavor profile is smooth and pretty, more vanilla, floral notes and a delicate acidity. A great after dinner drink, enjoy on its own.

Glenfarclas 12

Glenfarclas produces a line of single malt whiskys in Speyside; this one came as a birthday gift, and on recommendation from a Vintages product consultant.  Pours copper in color, with an average weight.  Nose is a waft of heather and honey, medium sweet with notes of beeswax and nutmeg. On the palate, it's a nice medium bodied Scotch, firm, with hints of wood, vanilla and spice, carrying the 43% ABV quite well. With water the acidity jumps a little, you can pick out some citrus oils and ginger.  The finish is a little waxy and warming.  Easy going, yet complex enough to enjoy, benchmark highland Speyside.

Up and Running

Up and running.  Blog is officially on the go; check back soon for some reviews.  You can find this blog at lpdml.blogspot.ca