Just A quick note to wish all of my readers a Happy New Year. I haven't forgotten about our 2-4 Beers of Christmas, Sadly I got taken out by a Holiday cold and haven't been able to taste much. Look for the 2-4 Beers to resume in a day or two. Plus I got some great new beers for Christmas that I can't wait to share with you.
I am looking forward to bringing you my thoughts on more great beers this year and I resolve to continue to improve and expand the blog. Thank you all for being a part of this great beer experiment and hanging here with me for the last four years.
Situated in the winegrowing region of Marlborough New Zealand; Renaissance Brewery`s building has had its own renaissance, or three. It has been a Malting house, an ice cream factory, and two different wineries. Its last incarnation is the one we are talking about though, In 2005 It became Renaissance Craft Brewery. They focus on small batches and good quality ingredients.
Let`s try some. Onto the tasting...
Pours a cloudy orange-tan colour with an very thin off tan head made up of tiny bubbles. Aroma is molasses and grains, with very subtle hints of citrus and black currant. First sip is hot alcohol. Once you get past that the beer opens up into a toasty, nutty, bready, fruity, sweet, and slightly syrupy drink. The black currant is very evident, almost tastes like jam on toast. There is some caramel Aeration brings out a sweet caramel berry, jamminess. Very much like a wine. 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 Christmas Spirit 5/6 PASS Final Thoughts: Very good all-around barley wine. Excellent flavour development. Perfect for sipping with the Christmas pudding! Cheers And Beery Christmas CJT Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
Beer # 180 Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout New Holland Brewery Holland, Michigan, USA Independent Barrel Aged Stout 11.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml. $13.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @NewHollandBrew
Another brewery that I have heard of but had not yet tried one of their beers. I was very happy to get this bottle and give it a try for the holidays. Founded in 1996 by Jason Spaulding and Brett Vander Kamp New Holland Brewery was founded on the love of homebrewing and a well thought out business plan. They expanded in 2005 to begin distilling spirits and began to sell them in 2008. They now also run a brew pub, a restaurant,and a 1 million litre (plus) brewhouse that distributes to many states in the Northeastern United States (and, obviously, Canada). Time to milk the dragon...
Pours a deep dark chocolate brown with hints of orangey red. Head is light tan made up of tiny bubbles with good staying power. Nose is Bourbon, vanilla, and caramel. Very woody, hints of sugar and licorice as well. First sip is exceptionally oaky, with lots of vanillin, and bourbon qualities. It smooths out into roasted malt, chocolate, and lightly bruleed turbinado sugar. There is good heat from the 11% alcohol, but it is not overpowering. Aeration gives us a huge hit of alcohol followed by toffee and caramel and a touch of black pepper.
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: 6/6 Exceptional Christmas Spirit 6/6 Exceptional Final Thoughts:
A very good brew. I enjoyed this one very much. I like a bourbon barrel aged beer as it brings out so much flavour in the beer. If you can still find this one, snap it up while you can. Cheers And Beery Christmas CJT Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
Beer # 179 The Mayan Chocolate Chipotle Stout Ilkley Brewing Company Ilkley, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom Independent Flavoured Stout 6.5 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml. $3.60 (Canadian) At the LCBO Twitter: @Ilkleybrewery
Onto a new brewery for me. A little Yorkshire brewery I had not previously heard of but I was excited to try this beer when I found it. Ilkley Brewery is situated in the Yorkshire town of the same name and began it's life in 1873 as the Ilkley Brewery and Aerated Beverage company. They also imported wines and spirits, however, they were eventually bought by Hammonds Bradford Brewing Company, and then that was purchased by Bass Brewery. The original location was then closed in 1920. Nearly 100 years later in 2009 the brewery was reborn. The waters of the area have been revered since Roman times and the new brewery uses this pure water and all natural ingredients to brew the freshest beer. I'm sold... Onto the tasting. Pours a deep opaque brown with an off tan head made of small bubbles. Aroma is chocolate extract, and a little overpowering. First sip is chocolate and bell pepper, followed by an astringent kick. Then the taste starts to heat up and get smoky. Finish is smoky heat.Aeration brings the dark malt forward and bumps the heat up a bit. Throat dries and stings a little from the peppers, and lips get prickly heat on them. The chocolate is buried in the middle and you have to look for it. Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional Cost: 5/6 PASS Colour: 5/6 PASS Beer Style: 4/6 PASS Re-Order: 3/6 SO-SO Experience: 4/6 PASS Christmas Spirit 4/6 PASS Final Thoughts: Sadly, another beer that sounded much better than it turned out to be. It is an "okay" beer, but nothing to get excited about. I loved the chipotle in it but it did not play well with the chocolate and completely masked the malt. Cheers And Beery Christmas CJT Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
Beer 178 Chocolate Orange Porter Trafalgar Ales and Meads Oakville, Ontario, Canada Independent Flavoured Porter 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml. $4.45 (Canadian) At the LCBO Twitter: N/A Down again to Trafalgar who I see is busy revamping their brewery and expanding their operations. They are adding a distillery to the brewery and meadery (I'm excited!) They are doing some Moonshines (chuckle, looking forward to trying!) So their website is being redesigned, and hopefully they will be engaging social media more (They never did do twitter). I will keep you updated on the brewery links page. Onto the beer! Pours a translucent dark brown with an off-white head made of small bubbles. Aroma is triple sec and marmalade, with just a hint of cocoa. First sip is orange peel with some marmalade sweetness. It then moves into some dry malt with some bitter cocoa notes.The body is quite thin, almost watery and not what I would imagine from a porter. Finish is dark roasted malt some chocolate and bitter coffee. Aeration gives us a hit of triple sec.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional Cost: 5/6 PASS Colour: 5/6 PASS Beer Style: 3/6 SO-SO Re-Order: 2/6 SO-SO Experience: 3/6 SO-SO Christmas Spirit 1/6 FAIL Final Thoughts: I was excited by this beer, I sort of pictured a nice deep rich porter with a "Terry's Chocolate Orange" feel to it. What I got was something more akin to marmalade on toast with some coffee and cocoa powder sprinkled on top. I would drop this into the avoid category. Cheers And Beery Christmas CJT Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
Beer # 177 Cadillac Graveyard Flying Monkeys Barrie, Ontario, Canada Independent Oatmeal Stout 6.4 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml. $8.95 (Canadian) At the Brewery Only Twitter: @Flying Monkeys
I was lucky enough to be in Barrie the day this was released (Saturday the 13th of December) and happier that it fit the theme of the 2-4 Beers of Christmas. We have been down to Flying Monkeys before... notably for the City and Colour Collaboration for the Treble Clef Series. This beer is called a "brewery edition" so I assume it will only be available at the brewery, and judging by the crowd there yesterday, it won't be there for long. Weighing in at 6.4% I wouldn't quite call this an Imperial stout, but it is a higher alcohol beer, and in a 750 ml Bottle so I would suggest you finding a friend to share this with. Release the Flying Monkeys! Chocolate brown in colour with a light tan head made up of small bubbles. Aroma starts with dark chocolate and changes to strong coffee. First sip gives us bittersweet chocolate oats, bruleed sugar, and switches to dark roast coffee or espresso for the finish. Body is quite light and refreshing. The herbal notes at the end remind me of italian seasoning. basil, oregano, hint of rosemary (makes me crave pizza for some reason!). There is a lingering nuttiness about the finish, fresh toasted hazelnut or pine nuts, and a slight bitterness. Aeration shows us this beers "light and airy" side, despite the beer being big and full of flavour is is still very light in texture. It softens and gives us some caramel and some nuts. Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional Cost: 5/6 PASS Colour: 5/6 PASS Beer Style: 5/6 PASS Re-Order: 4/6 PASS Experience: 5/6 PASS Christmas Spirit 4/6 PASS Final Thoughts: The label suggests that this beer is inspired by the Bruce Springsteen song "Cadillac Ranch" and like its inspiration this beer is very smooth, long, and black. It is a nice easy sipper, one that doesn't require a lot of thought. I definitely would recommend it with pizza, lasagna or even by itself. Cheers And Beery Christmas CJT Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
Beer # 176 French Press Vanilla Stout Double Trouble Brewing Company Guelph, Ontario, Canada Independent Flavoured Stout 4.8 % ABV Aluminum Can 473 ml. $2.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO Twitter: @DT_Brewing I was very happy to find this beer the other day. I was thoroughly impressed with their Fire in the Rye and I was eager to blog more of their beers. As well, Hops and Robbers is a perennial favourite around Pint Jockey Headquarters come BBQ season (as it should be around your BBQ). I believe the picture of the charming gent on the can is Claude (of Claude and Nathan not sure if he is the "double" or the "trouble" though). But, he does know a good beer when he makes one. I have a feeling that there are some more good things coming down the pipe from these guys in Guelph and I look forward to trying them out too. Onto the tasting... Pours an intense dark brown/black with a light tan head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is vanilla bean latte. First sip shows us it is very light bodied stout, refreshing with strong notes of vanilla. Malt comes in gently afterwards followed swiftly by rich dark roast coffee. Whereas other stouts get most of their coffee flavour from the addition of coffee beans to the mix; this beer gets it from the special malting of the barley. While the coffee aroma and flavour is very present, it acts as a supporting player to the malt sugars and the vanilla, handing over just enough bitterness to prevent the beer from being too sweet. The beer tastes and feels like an upscale coffee shop in winter to me. So much so it makes me imagine candy canes and the aromas of peppermint without them actually being in the beer. Aeration gives off a brandy, or rum note
with a little creme brulee and caramel to finish. 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 Christmas Spirit 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL Final Thoughts: This has been one of my favourite beers so far for the 2-4 Beers of Christmas. It delivers on the advertised flavour, it is well balanced, light in body but great in flavour. Do try this one out while it is still on shelves. Cheers And Beery Christmas CJT Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
Beer # 175 Bog Water Eastern Ontario Gruit Beau's All Natural Brewery Van Kleek Hill, Ontario, Canada Independent Gruit 6.6 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 600 ml. $4.35 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Getting a couple of days behind here (sorry!) but I am catching up today. Had to get all of my Christmas shopping done. Now, I have time for the beer. Back on track here we have another offering from Beau's All Natural Brewery. Another gruit, this time flavoured with locally sourced organic sweet gale (also know as Bog Myrtle or Myrica Gale). Bog myrtle is a lovely accompaniment to the malt in beer giving an herbal citrus kick. I am Gruit...
Groo-it not Groot
For those of you just tuning in gruit (actually pronounced groo-it, not groot. Even though that would be cooler) is an archaic beer style that sprung up in areas where hops were not available. These days Gruits are a craft classification that encompasses beers that do not rely on hops for bittering or flavouring. Enough witty banter... onto the Groot... I mean Gruit... Pours a slightly hazy amber honey colour, with a generous off-tan head made up small bubbles. The nose is very herbal, floral, and sweet. First sip is heady with botanicals. The gale is bright green and slightly lemony. A little tart some green tea notes. Effervescent, with mild medicinal hops at the end. Aeration brings out the sweet gale, lemon and herbs . Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional Cost: 5/6 PASS Colour: 5/6 PASS Beer Style: 5/6 PASS Re-Order: 4/6 PASS Experience: 5/6 PASS Christmas Spirit 5/6 PASS Final Thoughts: Certainly one of the more tame beers from Beau's, but still a good quality brew. Nice herbal flavour development and good overall character. Maybe a good beer to start the night out with working up to stronger beers later on in the night (someone always has to be first!)
Last Year I made a casual Facebook post about the "12 Days of Christmas Index" or more properly the PNC Financial Christmas Price Index. For the last 30 years PNC Financial has calculated the costs of each gift in the Classic "12 Days of Christmas" Carol and published the results. Thus hoping to interest children in economics Now with apologies to my readers outside of Canada or the US who may be unfamiliar with the song, we Canadians have had our own version of that song for quite some time. Bob and Doug Mackenzie started out as a SCTV sketch in 1980 as a filler for US networks who ran the Canadian show. In Canada there were more commercials than the US at the time and SCTV's running time was too short for American Networks. So Rick Moranis (who went on to be in Ghostbusters with Fellow Canadian Dan Ackroyd and Spaceballs with Mel Brooks) and Dave Thomas (who also had a number of TV appearances on American shows) Became Bob and Doug Mackenzie... The apex of the stereotypical American view of Canadians. Beer swilling, plaid wearing hoser-talking Canadians. They were a surprise smash hit and also became symbols of the Canadian self-deprecating humour. Their popularity peaked with their 1983 movie "Strange Brew" and an album recorded with the help of Honorary Hoser Geddy Lee of the Canadian band RUSH. On that album... This song appeared:
Bob and Doug's 12 Days of Christmas. Well twelve may be a bit much... as they get tired and thirsty most of the way through and end at 8... We are easily distracted up here in Canada especially when there is beer around. Back to my original point, I had proposed on Facebook that we create the Bob and Doug 12 Days of Christmas Index. And shortly after I posted my own version of the PNC Christmas index with all of the appropriate Calculations based on the lyrics of Bob and Doug's revised (Canadian) version of the song.
So in the Grand tradition that I started last year... I give you:
THE SECOND ANNUAL BOB AND DOUG 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS INDEX
# Gift Cost One Time Each Verse
1 Beer In a Tree $ 88.55 $ 88.55 $ 708.40
2 Turtle Neck Sweaters 19.95 39.90 279.30
3 French Toasts 10.69 32.07 192.42
4 Pounds of Back Bacon 6.75 27.00 135.00
5 Golden Toques 12.99 64.95 259.80
6 2-4's of Beer 49.95 299.70 899.10
7 Packs of Smokes 12.95 90.65 181.30
8 Comic Books 4.99 39.92 39.92
Total One Time Gifts $ 682.74
Total Once for Each Verse $ 2695.24
There. So now you know what it costs to be Bob and Doug. For my readers outside of Canada we now return you to our regularly scheduled beer pontification. We here at Pint Jockey Headquarters shall keep you apprised, each year, of increases in this "highly scientific" economic indicator.
Bolshevik Bastard and Kentucky Bastard 2014 Nickel Brook Brewing Company Burlington, Ontario, Canada Independent Bolshevik Bastard: Imperial Stout 9.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 355 ml. Kentucky Bastard: Barrel Aged Imperial Stout 10.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml. BB: $2.49 ($9.95 for a 4 pack) (Canadian) At the LCBO KB: $12.95(Canadian) At the LCBO Twitter: @NickelBrookBeer
My Local LCBO has had Kentucky Bastard a few times lately but when I went in last time it was paired up with Bolshevic Bastard and I could not resist. For those of you who don't know Nickel Brook's Bolshevic Bastard is their imperial stout. They took a couple of batches and let them age in Kentucky Bourbon barrels, the result was: Kentucky Bastard. I thought it would be interesting to pit them head to head in a match to the death... OK, well I mean just taste them side by side. In doing so I decided to run two days of the 2-4 beers of Christmas together and present you, dear reader this two-fer (for the 2-4). Enough witty banter... onto the bastards... Beer # 173 Bolshevik Bastard Imperial Stout
Pours an opaque dark brown with a tan head made up of tiny bubbles. Aroma is woodsy with toasted caramel malt, slightly bready with a hint of bruleed sugar. Wow... warming alcohol right off of the hop. deeply roasted malt and plenty of it. Slightly brandy-like... taste moves to coffee and espresso, with a slightly burnt and marginally bitter aftertaste. the hops are wedged in the middle between the bready malt and the coffee afterglow, still very green and herbal. Aeration gives us a big shot of alcohol with a hint of vanilla. Beer # 174 Kentucky Bastard 2014 Pours a opaque dark brown again but with a slight reddish tinge to both the beer and the tan head. The aroma is off the charts! Toasty, woody, chocolate, caramel, coconut, some vanilla and dare I say it a touch of marshmallow. First sip is all about the wood, and the whiskey. Lots of oak, vanilla, and whiskey esters. From there it settles down into a long caramel malty journey, followed by a more muted coffee finish... a lot smoother than it's un-aged counterpart. Despite being an alcohol percentage point higher the alcohol is less noticeable in this beer. Aeration gives us cedar, wood smoke, more coffee, and a little more caramel near the finish. Beer leaves the lips slightly sticky. Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional Bolshevic Bastard Kentucky Bastard Cost: 5/6 PASS Cost: 5/6 PASS Colour: 5/6 PASS Colour: 5/6 PASS Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL Re-Order: 5/6 PASS Re-Order: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL Experience: 5/6 PASS Experience: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL Christmas Spirit 5/6 PASS Christmas Spirit 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Final Thoughts: Bolshevic Bastard is your average Russian imperial stout, very good, but nothing I would call spectacular. Kentucky Bastard on the other hand... takes on a whole new life after the barrel aging. Something just works in that barrel. The aroma and taste profile get turned up to 11 (it's one better than 10). I could drink it all day... well... I could drink a bottle... maybe two, and then I would need a nap. Share with a friend... and drink responsibly. Cheers And Beery Christmas CJT Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
No Website... Facebook them HERE Pelham, Ontario, Canada Independent Pale Ale 5.3 % ABV 20oz Pint $6.25 (Canadian) At the Sawdust City Brewer Saloon (Guest Tap) Twitter: @BrothersBrewery A rare day off from headquarters today so I am out on location at Sawdust City Brewery trying one of their guest tap beers: Citra Pale Az Down. Brothers Brewery is just what it states, founded by two brothers... Twins in fact. Colton and Asa Proveau. Colton, the business major, worked for a time with Sawdust City Brewery, before he joined his brother Asa, the brewer, in opening their own venture and the result was Brothers Brewing in Pelham. Apparently they knew this is what they wanted to do since they were 16... talk about dedication and foresight. I was quite excited to find this beer up here at the Sawdust Brewery (their guest tap is definitely feeding my need to discover hard to find Ontario Craft). So onto the Brothers... and Citra Pale Az Down (sit your pale ass down!) Pours a lovely red tinged amber with an off white head made up of tiny bubbles. Light caramel and citrus on the nose a touch of green herbal hops and a little juniper. First sip is bright caramel malt with a tangy tangerine and lemon citrus. some bitter herbs. Hints of black tea through the middle and the finish with some light tropical notes such as lychee. Aeration brings out the caramel in the malt. 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: Very good beer and a nice introduction to this new brewery. It could work as a sipper but i would enjoy this most with some food. Please do try this if you come across it, and I look forward to more beers from the Brothers. Cheers CJT Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
Beer # 180 Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout
Onto a new brewery for me. A little Yorkshire brewery I had not previously heard of but I was excited to try this beer when I found it. Ilkley Brewery is situated in the Yorkshire town of the same name and began it's life in 1873 as the Ilkley Brewery and Aerated Beverage company. They also imported wines and spirits, however, they were eventually bought by Hammonds Bradford Brewing Company, and then that was purchased by Bass Brewery. The original location was then closed in 1920. Nearly 100 years later in 2009 the brewery was reborn. The waters of the area have been revered since Roman times and the new brewery uses this pure water and all natural ingredients to brew the freshest beer.
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Getting a couple of days behind here (sorry!) but I am catching up today. Had to get all of my Christmas shopping done. Now, I have time for the beer. Back on track here we have another offering from Beau's All Natural Brewery. Another gruit, this time flavoured with locally sourced organic sweet
BB: $2.49 ($9.95 for a 4 pack) (Canadian) At the LCBO
Pours a opaque dark brown again but with a slight reddish tinge to both the beer and the tan head. The aroma is off the charts! Toasty, woody, chocolate, caramel, coconut, some vanilla and dare I say it a touch of marshmallow. First sip is all about the wood, and the whiskey. Lots of oak, vanilla, and whiskey esters. From there it settles down into a long caramel malty journey, followed by a more muted coffee finish... a lot smoother than it's un-aged counterpart. Despite being an alcohol percentage point higher the alcohol is less noticeable in this beer. Aeration gives us cedar, wood smoke, more coffee, and a little more caramel near the finish. Beer leaves the lips slightly sticky.
