Beer # 398 Canada 150 Best Bitter Ale

Beer # 398 Canada 150 Best Bitter Ale

Brewery: Black Creek Historic Brewery


Type: Contract Brewery    Est.:  2015

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: English Bitter Ale Ale

ABV: 5.0%      IBU: ?

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $2.95 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

BlackCreekPioneerVillage

    @blackcreeknews

I'm a little late posting this one. It was supposed to go up in my Canada Day Beer month, but the notes were complete and I didn't want to waste the tasting. Brewed to celebrate the country's 150th anniversary of Confederation.

Let's taste it.

Pours a slightly cloudy and opaque chestnut brown with a light tan head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is roasted malt liquorice and molasses, with hints of baking biscuits. The first sip is a light caramel and liquorice toffee hard candy taste. Light in body with a malt forward approach. A little residual sugar leaves the lips sticky. Hints of wood smoke oak barrels, maple syrup and vanilla sparkle around the outsides of the tongue. The attack opens up into touches of prunes and an earthy finish. Aeration gives us a spike of malt and dried fruits, dates and raisins, and ends on notes of vanilla and turbinado sugar.

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 nice best bitter, a touch more malty than I am used to but certainly not bad at all. Nice complexities in the smoky, dusty, fruity body. Light and easy drinking and the dates and raisins build out a nice warm and cosy character.

CJT

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Beer # 363 Anniversary Ale: Moosehead Breweries

Beer #363 Anniversary Ale

Moosehead Breweries

Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Independent National brewery
Established: 1867 (As the Army Navy Brewery in Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Pale Ale
5.7 % ABV IBU: 38
473 ml Aluminium Can
$2.75 (Canadian) At LCBO

Twitter: @MooseheadLager


When one thinks of Moosehead, especially here in Ontario, one usually thinks of the lager, served in green bottles, often skunky, adored by many and reviled by almost as many. I'm in the latter category. I do not like Moosehead Lager. I use to work a Bar that had a 75-foot long bar along one wall with three complete bar stations. Once a Moosehead was cracked, I could smell it almost anywhere on that bar. However, this is not that beer... So I must try it. It is also important to note, that along with the #Canada150 celebrations this month Moosehead is also celebrating 150 years of operations. Started in 1867 just as the Articles of Confederation were being shopped around, by a woman: Susannah Oland. Now, this seems remarkable given the time and place, but we must remember that traditionally brewing beer was a job for a woman. In fact, the name "Brewster" is the only occupational name (eg. Smith, Baker, Cook) That was originally feminine. 

Canada has a long history of brewing. Basically, as soon as the Europeans set foot in the new world... somebody looked around for something to malt and brew. The first commercial brewer in Canada was reputed to be Louis Prud'Homme who set up a small brewery in Montreal in about 1650 (prior to this beer was brewed at home). There have been many breweries since then but only a few remain in operation. Molson (1786), Carling (1818), Alexander Keith's (1820), Labbat (1847), and twenty years later The Army Navy Brewery, which grew to be Moosehead. However, of those names... Carling was bought by Molson which in turn merged with Coors of The United States. Labbat bought Keith's brewery and then was in turn purchased by Belgian company InterBrew which merged with Brazillian Company Ambev which merged with Anhueser-Busch which merged with SAB MIller to make the enormous zombie beer conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (UGH!). That leaves Moosehead. Moosehead is still owned by Susanah's grandchildren. For six generations the Oland family have owned and operated Moosehead breweries making it the only wholly independent National Brewery left in Canada. 

To celebrate, they brewed a beer... Let's try it.

Pours a cloudy medium to dark gold with a massive off white head made up of small to medium bubbles. Aroma is very malt forward with some strong hints of caramel, and molasses. A little grassy and hoppy right near the end. The first sip gives us classic Brittish Pale Ale stylings with a sweet fruity maltiness. Medium bodied malt gives way to a nice warm caramel, vanilla with a hint of molasses on the finish. Aeration is biscuity and bready with hints of wine.

 Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


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

Final Thoughts:

This was a good pale ale. Not a standout, but drinkable. I would have expected something a bit more spectacular for a sesquicentennial anniversary. But it is still far better than their lager in my opinion.


Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas: Day 1... Hygge, Sour Belgian Ale with Plums

Beer # 300 Hygge, Fever Dream Series

Brewery: Sawdust City Brewing Company

Type: Independent Microbrewery     Est.: 2012

Location: Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Sour Belgian Ale

ABV: 7.0%      IBU: 16

Format: Cork Stoppered Brown Glass Bottle  Size: 750 ml

Cost: $12.95 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery Bottle Shop

Twitter: @SawdustCityBeer

Tonight we start off our annual beer vigil with, usually the first place I start, the new beer from Sawdust. Tonight is the second brew in Sawdust's Fever Dream Series, a Sour Belgian Ale flavoured with black plums. The name, "Hygge," pronounce "HU-gah," is Norwegian for "Comfiness," essentially. Although there is no direct translation, because Hygge is more of a sensation or a state of being rather than a word. It's the feeling when you are snugged in for the night in front of a fire with your comfy sweater on sipping a tasty beverage... Like our beer tonight.

Great segue... Onto our Beer.




Pours a translucent gold colour with an off-white head made up of very small bubbles. Nose is sweet and sour with a hint of fruity black plums. The first sip is quite tart with strong flavours of plum. Wheat notes are predominate throughout the beer. mouthfeel is very soft and effervescent. It drinks like a light sparkling wine. As it warms the plum and prune intensifies and gives notes of port. Aeration gives us notes of white wine, tinges of woodiness, citrus, green apples, and prunes.

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: 5/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer: 5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

A great start to our December beer extravaganza. Fine layered flavours and just enough alcohol to get us merry. Try one while you can. It was just released today... So there are tons of bottles to be had.

Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas: Day 3 Lion's Winter Ale

Beer # 166 Lion's Winter Ale

Granville Island Brewing Company

Vancouver and Kelowna British Columbia, Canada
Operated by Six Pints Speciality Brewing Company
Craft Division of MolsonCoors
Wet Hop Pale Ale 5.3 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml.
$7.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @Itsgoodtobehere 

Our third instalment of the 2-4 Beers of Christmas is an offering from Granville Island which was a small craft brewery started in downtown Vancouver and later moved it's main production to Kelowna. It was then bought out by Molson (prior to the merger with Coors) and is now directed by it's subsidiary company Six Pints Speciality Brewing company which also manages Creemore Springs Brewery in Ontario.

Onto the Tasting...



Pours a clear chestnut brown with an off tan head made of tiny bubbles. The aroma is all about the cocoa and vanilla. The aroma is very intense and makes me worry that it is artificial. The malt is slightly sour and the flavour is very intense. The body is very thin and weak and the taste profile falls flat after the initial attack. The cocoa hangs on almost cloying, and dries the tongue. Aeration gives us more intense cocoa and vanilla and not much else.




Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 



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


Final Thoughts:


Not a fan of this beer it is too thin and the flavours are too intense making me think they are artificial (the can claims they are natural). 

Cheers And Beery Christmas


CJT


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Beer # 143 Lemon Balm Ale Black Creek Historic Brewery

Lemon Balm Ale

Black Creek Historic Brewery

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Flavoured Ale 9.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.
$3.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @BlackCreekBeer

Another trip down to Toronto to the great Black Creek Historic Brewery. Designed to replicate the brewing process in Ontario in the 1860's, all the beer here are made by hand. There is no electricity or computers involved. the wort is cooked in copper kettles and the beer is filtered through linen cloths, and stored in wooden barrels. It is as much a museum exhibit as it is a working brewery. The workers are dressed in period costume and give guided tours of the brewery showing how different it is from modern day brewing. I've taken a tour of an ultra modern brewery (Anheuser-Busch in New Hampshire). The brewery is nearly empty. The brewing process is fully computer automated and all one has to do is select a programme and push a button, and the brewing process will run start to finish almost unattended. Black Creek is a very personal brewery, very hands on. If you love beer you should go down and check it out.

Onto the... historic... tasting.

Very Light chestnut in colour with a hint of orange.  The off-white head is fairly thin and short lived. The aroma is caramel and malt some green herbs and a hint of citrus, not very strong. First sip is tangy and sweet lots of caramel. Very light and clean. Finish is bitter green herbs and some lemon. Effervescent on the tongue, the beer is very lively. The lemon balm is a good bittering herb that does not detract much from the beer. Aeration gives us bitter herbs.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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


Final Thoughts:

A very good beer. However, a little thin and on the watery side. I am unable to decide whether or not it was deliberate to bring out the flavours of the lemon balm. However, I would have liked to have seen some more oomph in the beer. Very impressed with the interaction of the lemon balm, it is a nice touch.

Cheers

CJT


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Beer # 111 St. Peter's G-Free

G-Free


St. Peter's Brewery

Bungay, Suffolk, England
Independent
Strong Ale 4.2% ABV Green Glass Bottle 500 ml
$4.00 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @StPetersBrewery

These days is seems as everyone is rushing to put out their own gluten free "beer." I put beer in quotation marks because, the definition of beer does not include sorghum in the accepted ingredients list, it is still a bit of an outlander. This will of course be changed in due course. I outlined in another Gluten free beer post some of the difficulties one American brewer had trying to produce a gluten free drink. Due to strict US law saying there must be a minimum percentage of barley in every beer produced in the US for it to be called beer. Read about how Lakefront Brewery's overcame these issues HERE. Until legislation changes most gluten free "beers" are still being labeled as "Alcoholic Beverages," and tonight's beer is no exception. Plus, once we are allowed to call this product a beer, there will need to be some guidelines on gluten free styles. and it may come down to ingredients (I.E. sorghum, grape must, fruit juices, teff, etc.) and other adjuncts. It will be a process. Then, there will be an inevitable diversification until we get stouts and lagers and Belgian trippels. Until then we have this smattering of gluten free beers.

St. Peter's is an English brewery with a difference. Founded in 1996 It is best known for its bottle shape... reminiscent of a 19th century bottle. The brewery has made s commitment to preserving the "old ways" of brewing beer. Working with flavours that have fallen out of favour, or regular use by brewers, and a few styles that haven't necessarily been seen lately. Tonight's beer was first 

introduced in August of 2007 and has won several medals and commendations around the world....

Enough background. .. let's get on with the (gluten free) tasting. 

 

Light gold in colour with a frothy white head of little substance comprised mainly of medium to large bubbles. Head disapears almost completely before first sip. Carbonation is high, bubbles cling to the side of the glass not unlike a carbonated soft drink. Aroma is sweet, apple, citrus, and hops. Light scent of flowers and herbs. First sip gives us jumbo citrus flavour, lots of orange, and zest. There is a light taste of green apple from the sorgham. Slight medicinal orange taste from the amarillo hops, and the aftertaste is bitter orange peel. Aeration brings out the green apple.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional

Cost: 6/5 PASS

Colour: 6/5 PASS

Beer Style: N/A 

Re-Order:  6/5 PASS

Experience:  6/5 PASS

Final Thoughts

Of all the Gluten free "Beer" (alcoholic beverages), this is by far the one that tastes most like beer. There is hops and good fruity flavour. However I do find it slightly out of balance, and the pithy bitter orange peel at the end can sometimes sour the taste. Good for gin, but not always a good match for beer. Still very high marks from a great brewery, please do try.

Cheers

CJT

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Beer # 110 Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew Ale

Sunturnbrew Ale


Nøgne Ø

Grimstad, Norway
Independent
Strong Ale 11.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml
$7.70 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @NogneO

Back again to the land of Henrick Ibsen who's poems gave us the term Nøgne Ø, "Naked Island." and the name of tonight's brewery. We have been to Nøgne Ø, before when I did their Imperial Stout HERE. Sunturn refers to the ancient Norwegian belief that on the shortest day of the year (December 21) the sun "turns" and reverses direction in the sky. Here is where I got confused. The website says the beer is brewed on the sunturn, the aforementioned December 21. However, the brew date on my bottle says June 20, 2013. best before June 20 2018. Well I guess the summer solstice counts, as well. I am honestly very impressed with this beer tonight so instead of trying to do the thinking, I will let the beer do the talking.

Onto the Naked Island:

Very dark chestnut in colour with an enormous, long lasting light tan head, very frothy but made of small bubbles, with some larger ones on top. Aroma is very smoky, with some wood and coffee. First sip is an explosion of flavour which could probably be summed up as molasses, candy, and leather. Super rich and deep dark tones, lingering tastes of high alcohol. Balance is surprisingly clean for the amount of flavours going on. There is anise, molasses, turbinado sugar, vanilla, smoke, wood, leather, coffee, chocolate, and a little bitterness from deeply roasted malt. Bitterness is countered by a sweetness that creeps up on the backside of the taste. Aeration give bursts of alcohol, sandalwood, smoke and incense.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional

Cost: 4/6 PASS

Colour: 5/6 PASS

Beer Style: 5/6 PASS

Re-Order:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL

Experience:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL 

Final Thoughts

Wow. Wow. Wow. There is nothing small about this beer. It grabs you and says hello, and doesn't let you go until it's done with you. Every time I sip it I get another facet of it's personality. It is like a fine old wine freshly decanted and slowly giving up it's secrets to you. This is hands down the best beer I have had from Nøgne Ø. I look forward to when the sun turns again next year (whenever that is...).

Cheers

CJT

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Beer # 108 Stack Brewing Valley Girl

Valley Girl Wheat Ale

Stack Brewing Company

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Wheat Ale 5.5% ABV Brown Glass Boston Round 1 L (32 oz).
$6.00 (Canadian) At The Brewery
Twitter: @Stackbrewing

Now for another trip up to one of Canada's most impressive geological features: The Greater Sudbury area which was carved out of the rock 1.8 Billion years ago by an asteroid that was 10 to 15 Km across (almost 10 miles across to my friends from the USA) It was the second largest impact that the Earth has ever suffered (it was even a larger impact than the one that killed the dinosaurs 65 Million years ago). Paleoproterozoic era Sudbury was much different than it is today, because of continental drift it was located in the southern hemisphere where it was attached to the super continent Pangea. When Pangea broke up Sudbury moved north with it's new continent named Laurasia that eventually became North America. 1.8 Billion years later Shawn Mailloux and Michael Guillemette opened Stack Brewing. Did someone say segue?

Stack Brewing started basically the same way every brewery starts. The owners were tired of drinking beers that "weren't quite right" for their tastes... so they struck out on their own. And we are all glad that they did.

Enough with the geology lesson... let's taste some beer that rocks instead:


Light gold in colour with a long lasting white head, medium in size, comprised of small white bubbles. Nose is banana, cloves and nuts, with a hint of yeast. Subtle but not overwhelming. Banana carries over onto the attack of the taste as does the spice, which intensifies with cardamom and nutmeg. Very grainy, the rich wheat gives you the impression of eating a homemade, whole grain loaf of bread. Light hints of apple also noted. Aeration gives off a warm brandy feeling and some sweetness over the underlying grain.

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

quite possibly one of the best wheats I've had in a while. True to it's German origins, this is an aromatic and flavourful beer. This would be best served on a patio near you, preferably with a light lunch... and as always best shared with a friend (especially if you bought the 1 L Boston round like I did).

Cheers

CJT

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