The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2019 Day: 15 London Fog By Beau's

 Beer # 515 London Fog

Collaboration with David's Tea

Brewery: Beau's Brewing Company


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  2006

Location: Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Ale

ABV: 5.3%      IBU: 22

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $3.65 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

beausallnatural

    @beausallnatural

From and espresso latte Last night to a tea latte tonight. Beau's is the employee-owned co-operative brewery from near Ottawa in Ontario. They have paired with online tea retailer David's Tea. Brewed with lactose and vanilla and David's Tea Organic Cream of Earl Grey tea. this beer actually nails the taste of London Fog Latte.

Let's try it out...

Honey amber in colour with a fluffy, off-white head made of small bubbles. The aroma is malt, black tea, and scalded milk. The first sip is exactly what the beer advertises. a London Fog Latte. Scalded milk tea and vanilla dominate the attack. I am not getting much bergamot if any but the effect is stellar anyway. Very simple beer not much else going on but it is exactly what it says it is. Aeration spikes up the black tea and vanilla and allows a long drawn out cooked milk 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 Cheer 5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

As I said before, this beer is spot on when it comes to the drink it is trying to emulate. It's a very good beer and easy drinking. I enjoy Earl Grey Tea but I wouldn't think of having it added to beer. I'm glad Beau's did though. Check this one out while you can.

Cheers

CJT

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FUNKFEST 2018: Pint Jockey (Sorta) Live Blog # 2

FUNKFEST 2018

Sawdust City Brewery

Gravenhurst, Ontario

Beers 411 to 420

Crooked Stave: Vielle

Beer: Vielle Artisanal Saison

Brewery:  Crooked Stave Artisan Beer
Location: Denver, Colorado

Style: Barrel Aged Farmhouse Saison (1 year)
ABV: 4.2 %
Colour: Light gold
Aroma: Not much, dead
Thoughts: Some sour no life, age is not evident.

Funk Factor: 0/6

Beer: Up-Chite Kveik Flight Delay IPA Variant

Barnstormer: Up-Chite Kveik

Brewery:  Barnstormer Brewing and Distilling
Location: Barrie, Ontario

Style: Sour Farmhouse/IPA
ABV: 6.5 %
Colour: Light Chestnut, orange-red Good creamy off-white head
Aroma: Rye nose
Thoughts: Malty, liquorice, molasses, warm toasty, biscuit. Light sour, very smooth. One of the most delicious of the day.
Funk Factor: 7/6

Barnstormer: OakHai

Beer:  Barrel-Roll Saison "OakHai"

Brewery:  Barnstormer Brewing and Distillery

Location: Barrie, Ontario

Style: Flavoured and Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale

ABV: 5.4 %

Colour: Light cranberry red with almost no head

Aroma: Floral and oaky

Thoughts: Light barrel taste with florals and cranberry. Beer is Oak aged and flavoured with Hibiscus.

Funk Factor: 5/6

Beer: Spin Dive Salt and Pepper Gose

Lake of Bays Spin Dive

Brewery:  Lake of Bays Brewery

Location: Baysville, Ontario

Style: Flavoured Gose

ABV: 3.8 %
IBU: 11

Colour: Mid-toned gold

Aroma: Citrus and mineral

Thoughts: Huge citrus, lime salt and pepper from the start very smooth with hints of pineapple. Very, very good.
Funk Factor: 7/6

Beer: Transylvania Boogie

Henderson: Transylvania Boogie

Brewery: Henderson Brewing Company 

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Style: Barrel Aged Sour Ale

ABV: 6.4 %

Colour: Murky dark chestnut

Aroma: Worcestershire Sauce!

Thoughts: Tamarind, molasses, oaky and malty. This would be so perfect for making ribs! This was the most interesting beer of the show.
Funk Factor: 7/6

Beer: Darling 100% Brett Sour Ale

Stone City: Darling

Brewery:  Stone City Ales

Location: Kingston, Ontario

Style: Sour Ale

ABV: 4.5 %

Colour: Light gold/ straw slightly cloudy

Aroma: Citrus

Thoughts: Light citrus attack with a good funk, woody, and creamy finish.
Funk Factor: 5/6

Beer: Hey Beautiful

Shortfinger: Hey Beautiful

Brewery:  Shortfinger Brewing Company

Location: Kitchener, Ontario

Style: Sour Ale

ABV: 5.5 %

Colour: Hazy gold with a generous white head

Aroma: Brett nose with a good hit of citrus

Thoughts: Wheat, citrus, clove, very simple, smooth and tasty.
Funk Factor: 5/6

Beer: Vespers Saison

Brewery:  Dominion City Brewing Company

Dominion City: Vespers

Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Style: Sour Ale

ABV: 5.0 %

Colour: Cloudy Light Gold

Aroma: Light citrus nose

Thoughts: Caramel and banana, slight clove, light on sour, and creamy.
Funk Factor: 4/6

Beer: Gravity Well

Halcyon Barrel: Gravity Well

Brewery:  Beau's Brewing/ Halcyon Barrel House
Location: Van Kleek Hill, Ontario

Style: Sour Flander's Oud Bruin
ABV: 9.0 %
Colour: Medium Chesnut
Aroma: Molasses and sour aromas
Thoughts: Good hit of sour off the hop, oaky wood, smoke and Worcestershire.
Funk Factor: 5/6

Beer: 7 Years Bad Luck

Brewery:  Beau's Brewing/ Halcyon Barrel House
Location: Van Kleek Hill, Ontario

Style: Brett Fermented Double IPA
ABV: 7.4 %
Colour: Golden orange-red
Aroma: Citrus pineapple
Thoughts: Lots of citrus with juicy pineapple funk and toast with a hint of biscuit.
Funk Factor: 6/6

End of part two

Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas Day 6: Dark Helmüt

Beer # 396 Dark Helmüt

Brewery: Beau's All Natural Brewery


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  2006

Location: Van Kleek Hill, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Imperious (*ahem* Imperial) Schwarzbier

ABV: 7.3%      IBU: 33

Format: Brown Glass Bottle  Size: 600 ml

Cost: $5.49 ($21.95 for a 4 bottle mix Pack) CAD   Purchased At: LCBO

beausallnatural

    @beausallnatural

All rise in the presence of... Dark Helmüt.

It's not exactly news, but we love movies here at Pint Jockey Headquarters. And if you put a gun to our heads and asked us what the one absolute greatest Sci-fi space adventure Parody starring Rick Moranis was... well we could only come up with one answer... SPACEBALLS.

Now that I think about it I guess that's the only answer... But I digress. What does this has to do with Stealing air from Druidia? Wait... No... We came here to use the Schwarz... Schwarzbier that is. Swarzbier is a dark lager rich in malt and coffee nuances. Just like Spaceballs is rich in silliness and pop culture references. Dark Helmüt is a beer from Beau's Wild Oats series which pops up every now and then and it is actually a beer I have had on my bucket list for some time. Mainly because... well... SPACEBALLS.

So without further ado...

PREPARE TO TASTE BEER

Ok... lets just go...

Pours an Imperious dark chestnut brown with a short helmut (I mean head) made up of small bubbles. Rich smoky malt, coffee, and chocolate dominate the nose. Roasty toasty malt hits you right off the bat followed by some good bitter coffee, and espresso. Light in body, warming and slightly sweet. Alcohol is present but takes a back seat to the flavour. Nutty, molasses, black licorice, brown sugar, and light green hints of hops spark at the end. Aeration gives us more brown sugar with carmelised figs, raisins and some prunes. Hints of dry grass, hazelnuts. hints of whiskey and vodka on the 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 Cheer 5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

Wow, full of flavour and good mix of roasty and bitter flavours. Certainly lives up to the legacy of one of my all time favourite movies. A delicious beer if you can get your hands on one.

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas Day 12: 80 Shilling, Beau's All Natural

Beer # 310 80 Shilling 

Farm Table Series

Brewery: Beau's All Natural Brewing Company

Type: Independent Microbrewery     Est.: 2006

Location: Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Scottish Ale (80 Shilling, Export Strength)

ABV: 4.7%      IBU: 29

Format: Crown Capped Brown Glass Bottle  Size: 600 ml

Cost: $4.55 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

Twitter: @BeausAllNatural



Back again to Beau's All Natural, One of Ontario's hardest working breweries. It's been a big year for them. They hit their 10th birthday, and they decided to give the company to their employees. Wait, what? Yes. Beau's became the first fully, employee owned, brewing co-operative in at least Ontario history. Couple that news with Muskoka Brewery becoming Ontario's first certified living wage employer, and the rapid increase in female brewers and brewery employees, and I would have to say you would be hard pressed to find a more progressive and socially aware industry in Canada. See, beer is good for the planet. That is even aside from the fact that brewers are more environmentally aware, the craft beer industry is reducing the overall carbon footprint of the brewing industry by sourcing local and delivering local. And when you buy local craft beer you are giving your hard earned money to your neighbours and helping to put their kids through college. What could be more win, win than that? Please take this time now to stop reading and go out and buy a lot of locally sourced craft beer before you continue reading... for the sake of the planet.


I'll wait...



Don't rush... I know, traffic, weather...



Ok. We're back? Good. Open that beer and let's finish.


Tonight's beer is an 80 Shilling. What is that you may ask? Well, Scots used to classify their beer by quality and the higher the quality the more a hogshead (54 Imp. Gallons) of beer cost. For instance light ales were known as 60 Shilling ( or 60 /-  for short) which meant the hogshead cost 60 shilling. So I'm a nerd... I had to figure out what that would cost in today's money. 60 /- for a 54 gallon barrel was about £1086  or $1800 Canadian Dollars. 54 Gallons is 432 Imperial pints (16 oz) which works out to $4.17 CAD per pint... which is not that unreasonable given inflation. Further beer classifications were 70/- or Heavy, 80/-  or Export (our beer tonight), and 90/- a "Wee Heavy." While the actual specific gravity and alcohol content varied in the nineteenth century, they have come to be regarded as follows. Light under 3.5% ABV. Heavy 3.5% to 4.0% ABV Export 4.0% to 5.5% ABV, and lastly Wee Heavy over 6.0% ABV. In case you were wondering the modern pint prices would be as follows: 70/- $4.87. 80/- $5.57. 90/- $6.27 (all prices CAD and for 16 Imperial ounces).

Overwhelmed by math? Have another beer, and let's go on to the tasting.


Pours a rusty caramel gold colour with a short off-white head made up of small bubbles. The nose is sweet with heady florals, some hay, caramel, and a touch of pine. First sip is deep green hops, sweet malt and caramel, freshly mown hay, and some distant smoke. Mouthfeel is very light and airy. Notes of wood and coffee sit in the background. Bitter hers and florals near the finish. Aeration gives us a smoky sweetness, light caramel  and green hops.

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
Christmas Cheer: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL

Final Thoughts:

I used to drink Caledonia 80/- all the time in Toronto when I lived there and I remember on my one trek up into Scotland an 80/- was one of my first pints. It is great to have this beer to compare those experiences to. Beau's has done a lovely job with this one, equally light, quite fresh and flavourful, smokier than the ones I have had before, but not unwelcome in the least. So if you didn't get any Beau's on your last craft beer run... you did go get beer right? Go get some, support some neighbours, maybe even save the planet. That should put you back on Santa's nice list.

Cheers

CJT

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Strong Patrick, Beau's All Natural

# 214 Strong Patrick Irish Style Red Ale
Wild Oats Series # 18

Beau's All Natural Brewing Company

Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Canada
Independent Microbrewery
Imperial Irish Red Ale
6.7 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 600 ml
$7.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Strong Patrick?

Twitter: @Beausallnatural

Strong Bad Glares at Strong Patrick

Getting to this one a little early, I wanted to save it for St. Patrick's day, but I could not wait. # 18 in their Wild Oats series Strong Patrick (no.. Not That strong Patrick --->) is a lovely copper red coloured Irish red ale. What exactly it has to do with a cartoon character wearing a Luchadores Mask... I'm not exactly certain. But I must comment that it bears a striking resemblance to another cartoon character. The infamous Strong Bad of the long running Internet Cartoon "Homestar Runner." And when I say long running I mean 15 years, that means it was on air on the Internet only about 4 years after the first of us got a hotmail account. 

Any which way, It's Beau's so we know we are in for a good beer, Let's check it out.

And in this corner....

Pours a dark copper red with an off white head made up of small bubbles.aroma is heady and malt with some light molasses and hints of spice. First sip is a rich red ale lots of caramel and toasty malt. hint of licorice and vanilla. Slightly woody, and earthy with subtle hints of chocolate. Lightly effervescent at the back of the tongue.

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:


Another great outing from Beau's I am always happy when I get a new bottle from them. Give this one a shot, you will not be disappointed. Although it is an Imperial, it is only 6.7 % so it can easily be enjoyed by one person, as long as you drink responsibly.

P.S. I have just been trying out www.julyu.com It's a new social media platform for those who enjoy fine alcoholic beverages, like you dear reader. Come and hang out with some like minded individuals. Sign up now and be sure to friend me!


CJT


Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
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