Some Greats

A very nice little group of beers here from the fall/winter release, as well as reviews on the Samuel Smith's gift pack.  The pack includes a pine glass and three trophy examples of great British beer.  Also check out the Rochefort 8, a top notch Belgian Trappist ale at a rock bottom price, a duo of massive stouts and a balls-to-the-wall IPA from Great Lakes that makes most beers seem as flavourless as a Molson's product.

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale
550 mL bottle. Pours crystal clear, medium brown with a tight tan head. Aromas of almond, apple sauce, toffee, cocoa, and earthy hop. A hint of sweetness back by good hop bitterness. Moderate body with low to moderate carbonation. Palate coating. Get’s better as it warms, solid.

Samuel Smith's India Ale
550 mL bottle. Pours golden with a thin white cap. Mild biscuit like malt, saltine, herbaceous, earthy hop, citrus and wax. Not particularly bitter for the style. Light to medium body and moderate carbonation. Clean palate. Not bad, but I was hoping for more here.

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout
550 mL bottle. Pours opaque black with a thin off white cap. Cocoa, cooked oats, meaty roast aromas, cooked apples and a hint of malty bitterness. Mildly sweet with a slightly bitter finish and a touch of roast. Full bodied with moderate carbonation. A tasty stout.

Rochefort 8
330 mL bottle. Pours hazy mahogany with a murky off white cap, leaves no lacing surprisingly. Rich aromas of bready malt, a hint of cocoa, dried fig, raisin. Slightly sweet balanced by moderate to high carbonation and a hint of alcohol. Luxurious texture, but not heavy at all. Do let this warm up before enjoying.

Amsterdam Tempest Imperial Stout
500 mL bottle. Pours opaque black with a nice tan head and lots of lacing. Rich chocolatey aroma with layers of vanilla, coffee, deep caramel, roast and herbal hop. Big lingering mouth feel with moderate carbonation and a full body. Lightly sweet offset by a good hop bite. Undetectable alcohol. Very well made.

St. Ambroise Stout Imperiale Russe
341 mL bottle. Pours black with a creamy khaki head that leaves lots of lace. Dark chocolate, espresso, vanilla, smoky oak and roasted malt. Rich and full bodied with a lingering mouth feel and lasting bitterness. Lightly sweet with a big bitter back bone. Sticky on the palate with moderate carbonation, only a slight hint of alcohol. A well balanced giant of a beer.

Great Lakes Brewing Lake Effect IPA
650 mL bomber. Pours a hazy light orange with a lot of yeasty bits. Aroma is pure American hop; mango, guava, grapefruit, pine, orange, only a hint of maltiness. Almost sweet from all the fruit notes, backed by a big bitter punch. Crisp, but not harsh. Clean on the palate with lingering bitterness. Very refreshing, goes down all too easy.

Nickelbrook Headstock IPA
473 mL can. Pours a hazy straw with a rocky white head. Aromas of mango, pineapple, grapefruit, resin and a hint of biscuit. Moderate and lasting bitterness. Light bodied with average carbonation. Clean and lightly bitter finish. Not bad, not great.

Waterloo Union Mills Porter
473 mL can. Pours dark reddish brown with a tan cap. Cocoa, coffee and a hint of tobacco like hop. Slightly sweet, a touch of roasty bitterness, and a hint of hop bite. Moderate body and carbonation. Alcohol well hidden. Not a bad beer, expected a bit more bang.

Wellington Quick Brown Fox ESB
Draft. Pours almond colored with a thin beige cap. Nuts, caramel, toast and apple on the nose. Starts out a little sweet and finishes with a rounded bitterness. Palate coating with moderate body and carbonation.

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

Wintery Reviews

Ten good old fashioned beer reviews, loaded with winter favorites!  Milds, Milk Stouts, Sweet Stouts, Russian Imperial Stouts, Porters, Baltic Porters!  If it's darker than your morning coffee it's in this post!  Get your hands on the Deschutes Black Butte Porter for a brewery that makes its bread and butter on dark beer (that's right their flagship beer is a Porter, not a Pale Ale like most breweries), or try a Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus for a surprising change!

Sawdust City A Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus
650 mL bomber. Pours opaque black with a thin beige cap and leaves lots of lacing. Gloriously roasty with a big nose of dark chocolate, espresso coffee, burnt sugar and herbal hop. Dry, despite the sweet sounding aromas, with a huge lingering, boozy, bitter finish of both roasted malt and hop. Low carbonation and moderate body. A meal for after dinner.

Deschutes Black Butte Porter
650 mL craft bomber. Pours dark dark brown with a lacy beige head. Chocolate, breakfast blend coffee, dark fruit and herbaceous hop notes. Moderately sweet well offset by hop and roast bitterness. Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Sits long on the palate. A distinctly American tasting Porter; very good.

Okanagan Spring Mild Winter Ale
341 mL bottle. Pours dark brown with a thin white cap. Roasted nuts, toffee and a hint of cocoa on the nose. Slightly sweet with some mild fruity tartness and only a hint of hop. Light bodied with low carbonation and a clean finish. Nothing outstanding, but tasty.

Beau's/Anders Kissmeyer Nordic Pale Ale
600 mL bottle. Pours pale gold with a thick lacy white head. Herbal aromas, a mix of familiar hop notes with some depth from the other additions (really wish I knew what these things tasted like individually), some slightly sweet fruit notes here (I’m assuming that’s the cranberry and maple in action) and a hint of grain. Dry, but somehow leaves the impression of sweetness, with a well bittered finish. Moderate carbonation and light on the palate. Very nice.

Les Trois Mousquetaires Grand Cuvee Porter Baltique
750 mL bottle. Pours a deep red tinged black with a thick cappuccino colored head. Aromas of deeply roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, black cherry, and a hint of smoke. Clean and subtly sweet with a nice bitter herbal hop finish. Palate coating and above average carbonation, moderate body and a long layered finish. Very tasty, strongly preferred this to their Doppelbock that was also available in Ontario recently.

La Trou du Diable La Buteuse
375 mL bottle. Pours medium amber with a nice white cap. Aromas of Belgian yeast spice, banana, grain, mango, and bubblegum. A slight sweetness, well balanced by above average carbonation, a touch of hop and a hint of alcohol. Medium body with a nice long finish. Dangerously drinkable.

Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout
650 mL bomber. Pours almost opaque and black, thick foamy head of beige. Dark roast coffee, bittersweet chocolate, red fruits and a touch of mint. Mildly sweet, with a nicely bitter roasty/hoppy finale. Creamy full texture with moderate carbonation. Very good, a fine sweet stout, which we don’t see enough of in Canada.

Innis & Gunn Oloroso Cask
330 mL bottle. Pours a little darker than golden with a white head that makes an exit quick. On the nose there’s fig cake, honeycomb, allspice, oak and herb. Moderately sweet, but not cloying like a lot of I&G beers. Offset by a nice hop flavor, high alcohol and moderate to high carbonation. Moderate body. Very nice.

King Pilsner
473 mL can. Pours golden with a tight white head that leaves a little lace. Bready and biscuity, hints of grass and floral notes. Subtly sweet with a refreshingly bitter finish. Full bodied with moderate carbonation. A great lager.

Charlevoix Le Vache Folle Milk Stout
500 mL bottle. Pours black with a thick and lacy hot cocoa coloured head. Aromas of bittersweet chocolate, roasted malt and roasted fruits. Nice lactose sweetness, offset by a boozy bite and highly kilned malty goodness. Full and coating on the palate with moderate carbonation and a slightly souring aftertaste. Leaves the glass a special kind of filthy; a sipper.

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

State of the Brew'niun

Thought I would take a quick moment to update on the status of the brews!

'Oak to Joy'  Oak Aged Old Ale
An English style Old Ale that was partially aged in an oak cask.  Not going to let loose on the tasting notes here: you will have to try for yourself; these are Christmas gifts!  I packaged four bottles spiked with Brettanomyces Claussenii as well for a special treat. Labels courtesy of GrogTag.

'FunkleWeizenBock' Dunkelweizenbock with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis and Claussenii
A strong, dark German wheat beer with two kinds of Brettanomyces bacteria.  This is now six weeks old and the brett is really taking over.  Banana and clove notes provided by the initial wheat beer yeast were quickly replaced by tropical fruit brett flavors that are now developing into a funky mushroomy earth tone.  This is going to be interesting stuff when I can finally bottle in another 6 weeks.

'Unnamed' Biere de Garde

A traditional French lagered farmhouse ale.  After fermenting for ten days, this came down to lager temperature.  It has been cold aging for a little over two weeks and has a lovely clean, malty profile.  Nice notes of caramel, toffee, stale bread and a hint of apple sauce.  Will be packaging in corked and caged champagne bottles in two weeks.

FunkleWeizenBock (right) and Biere de Garde (left) samples.  Strikingly similar colors here.  Very, very different flavors.

'Rural Refresher' All Brettanomyces Claussenii Farmhouse Ale

The all brett fermentation here produced some nice light fruit and citrus notes to complement an otherwise very simple tasting beer.  Initially wanted this to be around 4% but the Brett C turned out to be a monstrous attenuator and took the beer from 1.040 to 1.000 in a little over a week (5.2%).  This should be a great thirst quencher when it's all said and done.  Bottling in two to three more weeks.

After these beers are finished I planned a couple of smaller brews to test out the kegging system I will be switching to next week.  A Session Stout (3.6%) and a Simple Rye Saison (with a double inoculation of reused Biere de Garde yeast and saison yeast I plan to harvest from a bottle of 'Dupont Vielle Provision' I've been holding on to) will be next.

GrogTag Labels

grogtag.com