'New Job'

My 'new job' as Chef/Beer Manager at Bru in Oakville has opened me up to tasting a lot of beer lately, chatting with sales reps and buying what I like.  Too bad I don't have time to make notes on it all.  Here's a list of what I've been drinking lately.

Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Saison
750 mL bottle. Pours straw yellow with a thick white head. Big yeasty aroma with apple, banana and spicy phenols; clove and allspice. Mild cotton candy sweetness, super smooth and very refreshing. A touch of earthy funk here as well as it warms up a little. Fine champagne like texture. A damn tasty saison, but I’m a sucker for the style.

Les Trois Mousquetaires Hopfenweisse
750 mL bottle. Pours a hazy hay color with a foamy white head and lots of lacing. Great aromas, fresh herbaceous oregano and mint, nice tropical fruit notes from the cascades and yeast; mango, banana. A hint of bubblegum sweetness, but still dry, a thick wheaty mouth feel with an nonabrasive yet palate coating hop bitterness. Light on the palate with full carbonation. A tasty beer, perfect for summer.

Mikkeller 'The American Dream'
330 mL bottle. Sold as ’The Canadian Dream’ in Canada. Pours amber with a huge off white head and patchy lacing. Deceptively rich, ale-like nose, packed with hop bite. All kinds of hop notes on the nose; earthy herbs, bitter citrus and a hint of fruit. A touch of sweetness and nutty caramel notes. Clean and refreshing with medium body and carbonation and a lingering hop tinged aftertaste. Extra points for the complexity of flavor obtained in this lager: superbly a-typical.

Renaissance Marlborough Pale Ale
500 mL bottle. Pours orange tinged brown with a foamy off white froth. Nose is woody hop and citrus, a touch of grape and papaya. Fairly sweet, caramel malt with a hint of breadyness, a full body and a big bitter finish. Medium carbonation, a slight boozy heat and a slick palate coating hop flavour. A fairly standard DIPA, was expecting a little less of an 'American' taste due to the use of NZ hops. Well made nonetheless.

Howe Sound King Heffy
1000 mL bottle. (Gosh thats big). Pours golden with a thin white head. Aromas of banana, cloves, orange peel and yeasty spice. Fairly sweet and medium to full body with moderate carbonation. good hop bitterness and booze on the finish. Interesting.

Estrella Damm Inedit
750 mL bottle. Pours hazy straw with a thick white head and lots of soapy lacing. Nose is lemon and fresh cut grass, coriander and a touch of yeasty spice. Mildly sweet but dry on the finish, a full carbonation and medium body that leads to a smooth fruity/floral finish. A real quencher, reminds me of a light farmhouse ale. Well made but not mind blowing.

Great Lakes Brewing Miami Weiss
650 mL bottle. Pours a cloudy straw color with a spongy white head and lacing galore. Great piney, citrusy hop nose. Layers of aroma hop, hints of citronella, wax and soap. Fruity and bone dry with medium carbonation and a well rounded and smooth wheat accented mouth feel. Clean and American in style. The ultimate summer beer, dangerously sessionable.

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