Sunday, November 10, 2013

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.

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