Beer # 76 Jaipur IPA

Jaipur IPA


Thornbridge Brewery
Bakewell, England, U.K.
Independent
India Pale Ale, Unfiltered 5.9% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.
$4.55 (Canadian) At LCBO.


Twitter: @thornbridge


Thornbridge is a young, but already, quite renowned brewery, that has received many awards in their short 7 year history. Started in 2005 on the grounds of Thornbridge Hall in Bakewell, Derbyshire. The brewery has been led by an erudite collaboration of no less than 8 people over the years (as some member have moved on to other projects). The brewers have a diverse history, from microbiologists to chefs, food technologists, brewers distillers, and a New Zealand Homebrewing Champion. From what seems a very chaotic mix of managers, comes a harmonious product. Thornbridge has been awarded over 130 brewing awards and distinctions, and as we will see tonight... they know what they doing. Since they have opened the sales have increased almost exponentially, requiring a move off of the old Hall brewing grounds to a larger purpose built facility, called the Riverside Brewery.


Enough history... onto the beer.


It pours a slightly cloudy, off clear gold. Head is fluffy and white made up of medium sized bubbles. Aroma is floral with hints of honey, lychee, and grapefruit. First sip gives us a burst of aromatic herbal hops, then slides through a sweet malt, and finishes with a tangy grapefruit. Finish is fairly short with a touch of hay and pricks of citrus. Aeration turns the grapefruit up to 11, and brings out a very mineral, flinty, stony flavour. Also present is some yeasty, bready character ( more than likely due to the sediment, as it is unfiltered.)



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional   


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6Exceptional
Re-Order:  6/6 Exceptional
Experience:   6/6 Exceptional


Final Thoughts:

Very interesting, lovely little brew. Quite tasty and not what I would expect from a British Brewery, as it has more of an American craft IPA feel to it. Not a hop bomb, per se, but the hops are very present, and not shy. The balance of the hops is calculated and appreciated, leaving us with a flavourful and well rounded beer. I must note, that when I first brought the bottle home I did not read the label and stored it immediately on it's side in my wine cooler. When I initially took it out to taste, I noticed the sediment. Then I read the warning that the bottle had to be stored upright. Lesson learned, I actually left it for a few days in my refrigerator to completely settle, and I still see a fairly large mass of unfiltered yeast at the bottom of the bottle.(DO NOT FEAR THE SEDIMENT!!) I am not worried at all as sediment can be the sign of a very good beer. Leaving a beer unfiltered can often present us with some flavours that are lost during the filtering and pasteurization process, try it, you may like it.


Cheers


CJT


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Beer # 75 A. Le Coq Premium

A. Le Coq Premium


A. Le Coq & Co
Tartu, Estonia
Owned and Operated by Olvi Brewing (Finland)
Premium Light Lager 4.7% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.
$2.40 (Canadian) At LCBO. 


A. Le Coq  traces it's roots back to a Prussian man Named Albert Le Coq who established a beverage trading company in 1807. In the 1820's he moved his operations headquarters to London England. There he began to take advantage of the demand for "Russian Imperial Stout" and began to bottle the beer purchased from London breweries under his own name and ship it back to Russia. In 1904 high import duties in Russia forced A. Le Coq to move the bottling plant to St. Petersburg Russia. And then began the search for an appropriate brewery for A. Le Coq to brew the stout in Russia. In 1913, Tivoli LTD. was purchased with it's two breweries The B.J. Hesse Brewery and the R.J. Schramm Brewery. The name was changed to A.Le Coq Ltd. It briefly became know as the "Tartu Õlletehas" (Tartu Brewery) during the soviet era in Russia; but finally, in 1997 Finnish Company Olvi purchased the brewery, privatised it, and renamed it A. Le Coq.


Without further ado:


Light to clear gold in colour with a frothy white head made up of tiny bubbles. Rich, clean, malty aroma. Very crisp euro-style, lager, malty and fresh. Hints of sweet clover, honey and a touch of flinty mineral. Slight medicinal hops. Well rounded finish with a touch of grain that lingers in the nose. Very thin in body, and does show a little of the "washed out" "rainwatery" character typical of the  euro lager. However, it is without any signs of chemical, tinny, aldehydes, that mar cheaper euro lagers.





Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional   


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience:   5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:


I was pleasantly surprised, I have tasted many "euro lagers" and pilsners that are generally quite horrible. Mostly canned, and cheap, with dubious production values. However, A.Le Coq is a refreshing well crafted brew, and quite easy to see why it is the most popular beer in Estonia. A good patio sipper or something with a light meal.


Cheers


CJT


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Beer # 74 Lake of Bays Rousse

Lake of Bays Rousse

Lake of Bays Brewing Company
Baysville, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Red Ale 5.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 341 ml.
$2.08 (Canadian) At LCBO. (in a 6 pack $12.50)

Twitter: @LB_Brewing

Second one tonight from the good folk up in Baysville, Ontario. This is their red ale and another one of their "year round" staple beers.

Here we go... again:

Pours a dark copper to red, with an off white head made up of small bubbles. Caramel sweetness on the nose with a slight hint of hops. First sip is very tangy, smoky roasted malt, burnt sugar, with an overlying fruity sweetness, that is almost missed at first. Smooth and well balanced, almost creamy mouthfeel. Aeration gives a clean refreshing taste , and accentuates the heat from the alcohol. Finish is long and all about roasted malt and deep earthy tones.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional   

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience:   5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

Of the two tonight, I preferred this over the Pale Ale. A stronger and more robust beer, it has a great character and a lot of flavour. Definitely more suited to fall, or early spring, (cooler nights anyway)  and certainly another good match for food. I envision a nice beef stew or pot roast acting as the perfect foil for this beer.

Cheers

CJT

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Beer # 73 Lake of Bays Pale Ale

Lake of Bays Pale Ale


Lake of Bays Brewing Company
Baysville, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Pale Ale 5.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 341 ml.
$2.08 (Canadian) At LCBO. (in a 6 pack $12.50)


Twitter: @LB_Brewing



Up the highway again to Baysville, just Northeast of Bracebridge where we find Lake of Bays Brewing Company. One of Ontario's newer breweries, fast becoming another of my favourites. Tonight I am doing two of their beers from their "year round" catalog. The first is their pale ale and actually the first beer I tasted from them, but it has taken me a while to get around to posting about it.


Here we go:


Pours medium gold in the glass with a thin off white head made up of very small bubbles. Aroma is a slight medicinal, floral and herbal blend, with a hint of damp grain. First sip is heavy on the medicinal, herbal hops, building through a good strong grain background with a touch of caramel sweetness. The middle has a small spike of mild spice, followed by a long bready finish which ends with a slight burst of intensity from the medicinal hops.






Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional                                   


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience:   5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:


A solid offering from Baysville. A workhorse beer, best suited to backyard BBQ's and patio sipping. Certainly would benefit from pairing with food.


Cheers
CJT


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Beer # 72 Crabbie's Ginger Beer

Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer

John Crabbie and Company
Glasgow, Scotland
Independent
Ginger Beer 4.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.
$3.65 (Canadian) At LCBO.

Working off of the fringe definitions of "beer" again tonight. We travel to Scotland to taste a childhood favourite if mine: Ginger Beer. Well not the same ginger beer I had as a child... This one has alcohol in it! Ginger Ale and Ginger Beer share a similar ancestry, ginger was brought back to Britain from Asia and was touted as a medicine (it is excellent for settling your stomach and we had all had ginger ale when we were sick as kids). Eventually it made it's way into the fermenter's hand and became ginger beer. Therein also lies the difference between ginger ale and ginger beer. Ginger ale is a syrup made of sugar and flavoured with ginger that is added to carbonated water, soda-style. In ginger beer, a mash of sugars, fermentables, water and ginger is fermented with yeast and something called "Ginger Beer Plant" or GBP. This GBP is a symbiotic colony of yeasts and bacteria that aid the yeast in fermentation. The result is a smooth flavourful low alcohol beverage. Most Ginger beer's alcohol contents are so low they don't even count as alcohol, countries that sell ginger beer market them as soft drinks with alcohol contents of 0.5% or less often 0.0%.


So a question arises. Is this a beer? Well the answer is a little yes, and a lot of no. Most countries have defined beer as something that contains a malted grain. Some have even specified it further (Such as the USA) to say that beer "must" contain a certain percentage of barley malt. This has led to all sorts of problems regarding wheat beers and gluten free beers. (See my post on Lakefront Brewery's New Grist Gluten Free Beer ) However, ginger beer retains it's name from years ago, when the definition of beer was far more loosely interpreted. So for tradition's sake it earns itself a spot here at Pint Jockey Online.

Note about tonight's tasting. While Crabbie's is made with grape must instead of barley malt, the label does state that it contains wheat, so it is not gluten free!


Onto tonight's offering:


Light gold in colour, with a small frothy head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is ginger, floral, cinnamon, clove, slightly medicinal with a tinge of alcohol based perfume. First taste is strong with sugars and grape, followed immediatey by a rich ginger taste. Not as "hot" or "spicy" as other ginger beers I have tasted, but mellow and flavourful. Hints of cough medicine and stone fruits pop up at different times during the taste. Flavour reminds me of wine gums and Christmas candy. Aeration gives the sensation of "Picpoul" or the pricking of the lips one often finds in the French wine of the same name. It also enhances the ginger and warms the mouth.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional                                   



Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  6/6 Exceptional  
Experience:   6/6  Exceptional


Final Thoughts:


A very good drink, one that I will purchase again. I am entertaining thoughts of making a nice shandy with this in the summer. So it may have a permanent home here at Pint Jockey Headquarters.


Cheers
CJT

Beer # 71 Imperial Crème Brûlée Stout

Imperial Crème Brûlée Stout

Southern Tier Brewing Company
Lakewood, New York, USA
Independent
Imperial  Flavoured Milk Stout 9.6% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml.
$9.25 (Canadian) At LCBO.

Back again with one of my favourite New York breweries, Southern Tier, to do a beer style I have not yet posted about. Milk Stout. Milk Stout differs from "Dry Stout" (I.E. Guinness) in the the fact that lactose has been added during the brewing process. Lactose is a type of sugar derived from milk.Without getting too scientific, Lactose is a disaccharide (meaning, simply "two sugars"). It is formed by bonding the two simple sugars of glucose and galactose. Another disaccharide is maltose which is formed from complex plant starches such as grains like barley, rye, and wheat; you guessed it, barley malt equals maltose equals beer. Isn't science fun? During the brewing process, yeast requires sugar to form three helpful byproducts. Heat, carbon dioxide, and everyone's favourite... ethyl alcohol (beer, wine, vodka etc...) Now maltose is made up of two glucose molecules, and is the perfect food for yeast. However, lactose cannot be digested by yeast and remains untouched in the final product. So the question you ask is: why put it in, in the first place? The answer is simply: medicine. During the last half of the 19th century doctors believed that stout beers contained many of the nutrients and vitamins necessary for life. (Suddenly that old ad "Guinness is Good for You." starts to make sense...) So when food was expensive and beer was cheap, to help the average worker keep working doctors would prescribe a pint of stout a day to people who seemed weak, and thin. (where do I get one of these? Will Healthcare cover the cost of beer?) So back to the lactose, where does it come in? Yeast consumes the sugars in the beer, thereby reducing the calorie count. So to increase the calorie count you would have to put in a sugar that doesn't get consumed. Hence the lactose. Milk stouts were invented as a fortifying drink full of vitamins and calories to help you get through your day. Even to this day, many people believe a pint of stout a day for a nursing mother is good for her, and the baby! Another similar beer with a similar back-story is Oyster stout (yes with real oysters in it!) when I find an authentic oyster laden stout... you guys will be the first to know!


Now a note about tonight's beer. It is listed on the bottle as an "Imperial Milk Stout." Now what does the imperial mean? Imperial was a designation for a very specific stout brewed for the Russian court of  Catherine the Great. It was first brewed by Thrales of London (England) in the 1700's. It's defining characteristic was its high alcohol content ( about 9% ). Today the lines of distinction have been blurred and often any beer of a high alcohol content tends to be called "Imperial." One may find Imperial Porter, Imperial Baltic Porter, Imperial IPA etc. So Imperial's true meaning has been lost, if you see something denoted as "Imperial" today, just drink one... the alcohol is probably pretty high. As well, tonight's beer has been flavoured with real vanilla bean. Yes, yes... it is dessert in a glass.


Alright enough science for today.... Onto the tasting:

It pours black/brown with a thin wispy head lightly tan in colour with tiny bubbles. Intoxicating aromas of vanilla, burnt sugar, and chocolate. First sip gives us a creamy sweet milk-like attack which gives way quickly to the snap of caramelised sugar, and almond extract. As the sugar subsides the taste moves over to a coffee, toffee, chocolate, caramel latte taste, and finishes with a hint of malted barley. Well balanced and carefully crafted it drinks almost exactly as the eponymous dessert, layered strata of flavours building one on the other. Aeration is fascinating to say the least. The introduction of air whips the beer in the mouth increasing the silky creaminess. It feels as though the beer has turned to whipped cream. The flavour also slightly changes to a more pronounced stout, coffee and espresso, with a hint of coffee liqueur. Residual sugar in the brew leaves a "sticky" feeling around the lips, not unpleasant in the least, like one has indulged in a very caramel laden sticky dessert.



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional                        

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6 Exceptional
Re-Order:  6/6 Exceptional  
Experience:   6/6  Exceptional


Final Thoughts:


Quite a remarkable beer, truly a dessert in a glass. Very satiating like a three course meal. 
Looking forward to my next Southern Tier.


Cheers
CJT

Beer # 70 Iron Spike Blonde

Iron Spike Blonde Ale


Railway City Brewery
St. Thomas Ontario, Canada
Independent
Blonde Ale 4.3% ABV Tall Boy Can 473 ml.
$2.40 (Canadian) At LCBO.

Back to the brewery I started with in November of 2010. The first Beer I tasted for the blog was Dead Elephant Ale By Railway City Brewing, out of St. Thomas Ontario. Continuing with their railway theme (Dead Elephant refers to Jumbo the Elephant of the famous Barnum and Bailey Circus that was struck and killed by a train in St. Thomas in 1885) Iron spike refers to the large nail used to hold the rails of the train tracks to the wooden sleepers buried in the rail bed. Million of these nails were struck into the sleepers by hand to link Canada from shore to shore in the 1800's. Even today repairs on the rails are almost continuous across the nation with each of the spikes still being driven in by hand. The imagery is excellent as St. was such an important part of Canada's rail history,(at one time 26 railways passed through St. Thomas) and any rail worker would immediately identify with this ubiquitous symbol of the rail-line.

Onto the tasting:


Light gold in colour  with an off-white head made up of medium sized bubbles that disperse quickly. Roasty malt and herbal nose. First sip is clean and light with mild hints of honey. Malt intensity builds through the middle culminating in a slightly musty wet grain flavour. Finish is black tea and damp hay. Very unbalanced, the beer is almost wishy-washy to start and holds back until the aftertaste which it releases with a vengeance.



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional                         


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order:  2/6 SO-SO  
Experience:   3/6  SO-SO


Final Thoughts:


I really hate to knock an Ontario brewery, especially one trying as hard as Railway City. However, of the two beers I have tried from them, I am impressed with neither. Far from me to say stay away from this brewery... By all means seek them out and try their beers. I remind you my opinion is my own and I cannot dictate what you should like or will find pleasing. I look forward to trying more of Railway City's brews, perhaps they have a stellar offering on the horizon for me.


Cheers


CJT

Beer # 69 The Legendary Spring Oddity

The Legendary Spring Oddity


Muskoka Brewery
Bracebridge Ontario, Canada
Independent
Flavoured Ale 8.0% ABV Swing Top Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml.
$9.95 (Canadian) At LCBO.

Twitter @MuskokaBrewery


Fast becoming one of my favourite breweries, Muskoka has just introduced the latest in it's cycle of seasonal beers It joins Summer Weiss, Harvest Ale and the previously tasted Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout.

Tonight"s offering

Straw in colour with an off white head made up of tight bubbles. Citrus, spice, on the nose. First sip is very herbaceous, with coriander, gin notes, and floral hints from the heather. A nice backbone of hops rises up through the middle. Similar in flavour profile to a wheat or Weiss beer, however the bottle does not list which malted grains are used. 


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional





Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  6/6 Exceptional  
Experience:   6/6  Exceptional


Final Thoughts:

Oddity is exactly the right word to describe this beer. It is a veritable collision of flavours that all seem to work together, and another good score for Muskoka Brewery.

Cheers

CJT

#weekendofCody

Happy Birthday

Although it was this past Sunday I couldn't let it pass without wishing Cody, The Cranky  Beer Blogger, a Happy Birthday. A good Twitter friend and fellow beer writer, he is lover of all things craft beer and poutine. Bon Fete mon amis...

Hit Cody up on Twitter @cdnbeer

or

Take time to read his beer soaked wisdom at: The Cranky Beer Blogger

Beer # 68 Yanjing Beer

Yanjing Beer


Bejing Yanjing Brewing Company
Bejing, China
Owned by the Yanjing Beer Group
Pilsner 5.0% ABV Tall Can 500 ml.
$1.95 (Canadian) At LCBO.

Only in operation for 32 years (at the time of press) The Yanjing brewing company has garnered much success; The official state brewery of China, the brewer of China's #1 selling beer and a major beverage sponser for the 2008 Bejing Olympics. Today the Yanjing Beer Group operates 21 affiliated breweries across China, with a total annual production of 3.5 Kilolitres of beer with a reveune of 9.1 Billion RMB Yuan (about $1.5 Billion CAD)

 Onto tonight's tasting:

 Light straw in colour with a fluffy white head comprised of medium sized bubbles, that do not last long. Head dies away to a thin skim of yeasty, sake smelling froth on the surface. There is a lot of sweetness in the nose, the rice used in the brewing is very evident. Bread and flowers also make a brief appearance on the nose. First taste is slightly sweet malty and crisp. The mouthfeel is very thin and airy. The malt taste lingers and builds leaving almost a pumpernicle aftertaste, both sweet and tart.




Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional




Cost:  5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience:   4/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

Malty and sweet for a pilsner, yet still light. Seemingly better suited as a food beer. I can easily imagine this beer going well with a spicy Hunan or Siuchuan meal.

Cheers

CJT

Beer # 67 St. Ambroise Russian Imperial Stout

St Ambroise Russian Imperial Stout, Bourbon Barrel Aged


La Brasserie McAuslan Inc.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
(Partnered with Les Brasseurs RJ, Partly Owned by Moosehead Breweries Limited)
Russian Imperial Stout 9.2% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 341 ml.
$6.00 (Canadian) At LCBO.

Twitter @bierstambroise


In operation since 1989 McAuslan brews some of Quebec's top rated beers. The awards and distinctions are literally too numerous to mention, for a comprehensive list check their website. The name St. Ambroise comes from the name of the street the brewery was on when it first opened: Rue St. Ambroise in the St. Henri district of Montreal. The first beer they brewed in 1989, St. Ambroise Pale Ale, is still the top rated beer in Quebec today.  They have grown steadily over the years increasing in barrel capacity and staff (from 5 in 1989, to 40 today) and their beer is found in a number of different provinces and is becoming more available in the States.

Onto the tasting:


it pours oily black with a milk chocolate coloured head made up of fine bubbles. No cascade, and head lasts a short time. Deep dark rich licorice and molasses on the nose. First sip is an explosion of flavours. Heavy chocolate malt starts off the cascade which gives into a heady bourbon oak, a smack of vanilla and then a nice lingering wood smoke. The 9.2% alcohol is not lost, warming the cheeks and belly right away. Very heavy but still satisfying. Spent grain lingers on the tongue as does charred hardwood, and smoke (feels like exhaling a cigar)




Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
                                                                                                              


Cost:  4/6  PASS
Colour:  5/6  PASS        
Beer Style:  5/6 PASS 
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS   
Experience:   5/6  PASS


Final Thoughts:                         


A pricey little brew, but rather rare and worth it. quite a nice complex character, certainly could only drink one of these a night, but would definitely go back for seconds another day.


Cheers


CJT