The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 22: 11.05 2018 Edition by Sawdust City

Beer # 481 11.05 2018 Edition, Belgian Quad with Cherries Collaboration

Brewery: Sawdust City Brewing Company

Type: Independent Microbrewery Est.:  2014

Location: Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Brewery: Nickel Brook Brewing Company

Type: Independent Microbrewery   Est.: 1992
Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Belgian Quadrupel

ABV: 11.05%      IBU: 28

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $6.95 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery

sawdustcitybeer       nickelbrookbrewing

    @Sawdustcitybeer    @NickelBrookBeer

Well, it seems to be a Christmas Tradition that I talk about Sawdust City and Nickel Brook's yearly collaboration brew celebrating the shared birthdays of their two brewmasters. Sam Corbeil of Sawdust and Ryan Morrow of Nickel Brook were both born on November 5th so every year they select a new style of beer and brew it to 11.05 % ABV. The resulting beer is always an interesting experiment in producing great tasting high alcohol beers. This year they selected a Quad which is typically a higher alcohol beer, to begin with, and added cherries and oak spirals

Let's try this one out.


Pours a deep chestnut with an off-tan head made up of small bubbles. Nose is very oaky with hints of chocolate and cherry. Deep malt notes with earthy hints and a touch of mushroom. First sip is deeply roasted malt with a fair amount of sugar. Tart cherry comes in through the middle with hints of grenadine and cherry candy. Aeration gives off some raw wood and caramelised sugars.

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:

This year's edition was a good beer, but I had an issue with it and it took me a while to figure out what it was. It ended up being the "Oak Spirals." They left an interesting raw wood taste that, while it wasn't unpleasant it was very distracting to the overall flavour.

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 18: Cherry Porter by MacLean's Ales

 Beer # 477 Cherry Porter

Brewery: Maclean's Ales


Type: Independent Microbrewery   
Est.:  2009

Location: Hanover, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Porter

ABV: 4.8%      IBU: 38

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $3.05 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

 N/A

    N/A

A number of years ago I lived in the town of Hanover and that is where I first came across this brewery. At the time they were contract brewing out of Guelph, I'm not sure which brewery though. They brewed one beer at the time which was called MacLean's (obviously). It was similar to Alexander Keith's. It is still brewed today as MacLean's Pale Ale. Since I moved away they moved into Hanover finally opening a bricks-and-mortar brewery, just a few minutes away from where I lived. I will admit to drinking a fair amount of MacLean's when I was in Hanover... It was cheap, tasted marginally better than the macro-brews, and well, it was different at the time. Tonight we are trying their sour cherry flavoured porter. If all goes well I may have to head back to where I used to live and check them out.

Onto our beer.

Pours a dark chestnut brown... a little on the light side for a porter with an off-tan head made of small bubbles. Nose is fruity and malty with hints of molasses. First sip is very dry, bitter, and quite thin. Although there is a slight fruitiness there is not much cherry going on except for a hint of tartness right at the end of the finish. Coffee builds on the finish. There is very little depth to the beer, not much happening. The malt flavours are underdeveloped and the fruit is missing in action. Not a drain award contender but not that good either. Aeration spike up bitterness and tartness.

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 Cheer 4/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

As I said, MacLean's Pale Ale was ok, and its flavoured porter brother is no different. Certainly, nothing to write home about. Kind of disappointing I hoped they would have had time to improve. I will still drop in and visit if I am ever out that way again. Hopefully, they will have some better beers to surprise me with.

Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 11: Bourbon Barrel Quad 2015

Beer # 470 Bourbon Barrel Quad 2015 Smokestack Series

Brewery: Boulevard Brewing Company


Type: Large Scale Brewery Fully Owned By Duvel Moortgat USA    
Est.:  1989

Location: Kansas City Missouri, USA

Beer Style: Bourbon Barrel Aged Quadruppel flavoured with cherries

ABV: 11.8%      IBU: 19

Format: Brown Glass Bottle with a cork enclosure  
Size: 750 ml

Cost: $14.30 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

bobcaygeonbeer

    @bobcaygeonbeer

So this bottle has lurked in the back of the #FridgeofFame for about 2 years now. I just haven't had time to get to this. The best before date on the bottle is actually over a year ago (September 9th 2017). Quite frankly I wasn't even sure if this was still good. I was betting on it because it was high alcohol and Quads do tend to hold up over time, but I seriously had no intention of holding this bottle this long. So it was with a bit of trepidation I opened this bottle... and I was pleasantly surprised. The carbonation had died down a bit, probably from the real cork enclosure. and it seemed a bit cloudy but still smelled great. There was also a touch of sediment in the bottom of the glass. I have seen this listed online as "The Sixth Glass," but that name was not listed on the bottle. Personally, after six glasses of this, I would forget my name too...



Onto our Beer...


Pours a cloudy chestnut brown with a short but fizzy tan head made up of small bubbles. First sniff gives us a beer that is still quite alive.  Brown sugar and molasses mixed with apple juice. First sip is sweet, smooth, and fruity with hints of molasses and vanilla. A definite whisky tang with hints of wood and a very small amount of smoke. Hints of cherries and cherry whiskey, and Dr Pepper... Aeration brings out some leather whiskey and dried fruit.

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:

Very impressive! A really good beer even after two years in my less than ideal storage conditions. Some of the reviews I read online were less than favourable, but I assume they were written when the beer was young. Seemingly, it seems like this beer was made for ageing and I just lucked out by forgetting it. I would advise you to try this one out, but I doubt they are any bottles left... Unless there are some other absent-minded beer bloggers out there like me.

CJT

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Pi day Cherry Pi Saison, Sawdust City

# 221 Cherry Pi Saison
Collaboration

Sawdust City Brewing Company
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Block 3 Brewing Company
St. Jacob's, Ontario

Independent Microbreweries
Flavoured Saison/ Farmhouse
3.14 % ABV 20 oz Draft (591 ml.)
$6.50 (Canadian) At the brewery

Twitter @SawdustCityBeer @Blockthree

Happy Pi Day Sports Fans!!!

Just a quick tasting tonight of the Sawdust City Brewery and Block 3 Brewery Collaboration. It's a belgian style Farmhouse saison flavoured with locally grown Niagara cherries.

Onto the Tasting...


Pours an orange tinted reddish brown with a thin white head made of small bubbles. Aroma is very wheaty with the barest hint of cherries. First sip gives us a very wheat forward  brew with some tart fruit and a touch of sourness. The cherries seem more like background noise and are very subtle. Body is very light. Aeration gives us a slight more fruit and the barest hint of banana.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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


Final Thoughts:

I did not enjoy this beer sadly. I was so excited to try it but the cherry was just not there. I was looking forward to it as well. I was hoping for a nice refreshing sessionable saison with big bursting cherries, and it just didn't happen. The colour was washed out, and the beer just felt rushed. Try it if you like farmhouse ales, but don't expect a lot of cherry.

Cheers

CJT


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Beer # 154 The Blood of CTHULHU Sawdust City Brewery

The Blood of CTHULHU
Collaboration with  Bar Hop Bar

Sawdust City Brewery

Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Flavoured Imperial Stout 9.5 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml.
$9.95 (Canadian) At the Brewery
Twitter: @SawdustCityBeer
                @barhopbar

Something deliciously evil rose from the depths of the Sawdust City Brewery on Halloween night. Which is when I actually intended to post this blog, but... trick or treating and a candy coma got in the way. So here it is now! The blood of CTHULHU is about as dark and mysterious as it's name is hard to pronounce. The Demi-god in question, the hideous Cthulhu, is a creation of the twisted genius of H.P. Lovecraft. First appearing in the Call of Cthulhu in 1928 it is described as a cross between a man, an octopus, and a dragon that lives in a sunken city called R'lyeh in the South Pacific. And if you are like me you are quick to notice that he was more than likely some inspiration for Bill Nighy's Character of Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean Movies.

Davy Jones, Cthulhu's long lost brother

Oh, back to that pronunciation... Cthulhu is pronounced according to its creator as "Kuh-lull-heloo" with a heavy emphasis on the first Kuh. In more modern times, the pronunciation has morphed to "Kuh-thoo-loo" (thankfully). The most difficult thing, is that no matter how you wish to pronounce it, after a bottle of tonight's offering at 9.5 % abv, I can barely pronounce my own name (please drink and worship Cthulhu responsibly).

Tonight's beer is an Imperial stout with a whopping 9.5% ABV that has been flavoured with fresh raspberries, cranberries, and sour cherries.

Onto the Sacrifice, I mean Tasting...


Pours an inky dark brown/black with a light skiff of a dark tan head. First sniff gives us dark roasted malts with lots of burnt/caramelised sugars. There is a underlying fruitiness in the nose of  bright red berries. In the first sip caremelised sugar is predominant. With lots of smoky earthy malts with some turbinado sugars, licorice, and dark molasses. Through the middle the beers goes creamy and softens as the fruits act on the tongue. the tangy dark malts yield to the soft red fruits. Raspberry sour cherry and cranberries all come out to play at the finish, like emerging from a long dark tunnel into the sunlight. Alcohol is evident, but warming, not hot and in your face. slightly sticky on the lips. Aeration gives us a huge burst of raspberry and alcohol.

 Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS (Get it while you can and beg them to make more!)
Experience:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL


Final Thoughts:

It is not often you get a chance to slake your thirst with the blood of a demi-god... So I would suggest you get to the brewery or one of the many pubs pouring this dark delight before it is gone.

Cheers


CJT



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