Beer # 289 Hitachino Nest Saison du Japon
Kiuchi Brewery
Kounoso Naka-Shi Ibaraki, Japan
Independent
Flavoured Saison
6.0 % ABV 16 IBU
Brown Glass Bottle 330 ml.
$4.30 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @kiuchibrewery (Japanese)
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| Iching Papeda |
Any time we can find a Japanese craft beer up in this area of Ontario I get rather excited. And This is one of the better ones to cross the pond. Hitachino Nest is the craft beer line that supplements Kiuchi Brewery's Sake business. Kuichi has been producing fine sakes sine 1823. In 1996 Japan passed a law that permitted microbreweies and Kuichi took that oppurtunity to expand into beer production.
Tonight's beer is a Saison, a light bodied ale, flavoured with the Asian fruit Yuzu. Yuzu comes from china and it is said to be a cross between a proto-citrus fruit called the Iching Papeda and a sour mandarin orange. Yuzu is a slightly tart fruit similar in taste to a grapefruit with major hints of lemon and orange. It is mainly used as a flavouring in Japan, rarely eaten as a fruit. You can find it in the citrus based soy sauce Ponzu, and it is often zested and used for garnishes.
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| Yuzu |
Saison du Japon is a wheat and barley based beer that has been flavoured with yuzu and then given further complexity by adding Koji. Koji is a fermented rice base that is used to start the fermentation process in sake.
Onto the beer...Kanpi!
Pours a rich golden colour with a light off tan head made up of small bubbles. Nose is mineral, citrus, slightly soapy, mildy sweet with some caramel. First sip is tangy and tart, effervescent, somewhere between lemon and pomello. with hints of orange and grapefruit. Hints of wheat with some banana and clove. Aeration brights out some warmth slight hints of rice and sake.
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:
Lovely, well put together beer, good complexity and a nice crisp clean taste. Certainly could enjoy a few of these. Get out and try one while it is still here.
Cheers
CJT
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Cujo Curtis Joseph Golden Ale
NHL Alumni Signature Series
Join here: Signature Series Club
Lake of Bays Brewing Company
Baysville, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Imperial Golden Ale 8.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml
$11.95 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @LB_brewing @NHLAlumni
The second beer in the Lake of Bays Signature Series pays tribute to one of the most hardworking men ever to don a hockey mask. Curtis Joseph, nicknamed "Cujo" after the ferocious dog from the Stephen King book of the same name, Is the winningest goalie in NHL history to never hoist a Stanley Cup. As fierce in the net as his namesake, Cujo played with The Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Detroit Red Wings, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and the Calgary Flames; always sporting a version of the Snarling Dog Mask, and his Jersey # 31. However, he is most remembered for his Tour of Duty between the pipes in Toronto, Not far from his hometown of Sharon, Ontario. Born in 1967 the year the Leafs Last won the cup, he was a fan favourite player, who never gave up despite the Leafs long time losing streak. When he chose to retire, he chose to do it in Toronto, wearing the Blue and White. His trophy case is not empty though. He won a silver medal in the IIHF in 1996, a gold at the Spengler Cup in 2007 and he netminded Team Canada to a Gold Medal in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. So fittingly for our golden goalie, we have a golden ale.
Onto the tasting:
Hony in colour with an off-white head made up of small bubbles and some decent lacing. The aroma is very mild, some light grain, wood, cheese and a slight sour mash fenentation. First sip is crisp, clean, and sweet followed by a nice green, herbal hops with a touch of bitterness. The alcohol kicks in right away and the aftertaste is not unlike a mild brandywine. Carmel develops on the finish, giving way to a hint of lemony citrus. Aeration enhances the sugars and caramels and brightens the citrus.
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 good sturdy beer worthy of representing a hockey legend. Get one while you still can.
Cheers
CJT
Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
China Wall Johnny Bower Vienna Dark Lager
NHL Alumni Signature Series
Join here: Signature Series Club
Lake of Bays Brewing Company
Baysville, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Vienna Dark Lager 7.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml
$11.95 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @LB_brewing @NHLAlumni
This is the first beer in the Lake of Bays, NHL Alumni Association Signature Series colaboration. This one comemorates the great Johnny Bower, the last Toronto Maple leaf goalie to loft the Stanley Cup in 1967 at the age of 43. Bower was a stand up goalie who was noted for never backing down; taking more than 200 stitches, mostly to the face, and losing more than his fair share of teeth. His unwaivering stance in net earned him the nickname The China Wall. An image of his battle scarred proto-hockey mask (merely a thin sheaf of fibreglass held together with leather straps) graces the front of the bottle.
Onto the tasting:
Dark chestnut in colour with hints of red. Fairly long lasting tan coloured head made up of medium sized bubbles, with good lacing. Dark malt, molasses, and pumpernickel bread on the nose. first sip gives us a dark, robust, malty-molasses, taste that is very grain driven with lingering hints of black licorice. Aeration gives us lively fruit, malt, turbinado sugar and a hint of creaminess.
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 very solid offering for a Vienna lager, and a good namesake for the best goalie the Toronto Maple Leafs ever saw. It is a full flavoured well rounded beer, and you should get one while they are still in stores.
Cheers
CJT
Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
My Bitter Wife
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Independent
India Pale Ale 7.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml
$5.95 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @GreatLakesBeer
Down to Great Lakes again, Toronto's first Craft Brewery and winner of the 2013 Brewery of the year award. This brewery never fails to impress, and sadly their hard work is not always evident to the average Joe. Great Lakes specializes in experimentation. They play with their beer and do incredible things with it. Often you will only catch some of their beers by chance, at a festival, or a tap takeover. Or they may brew off a limited run of a regular beer with a strange ingredient, like raspberry or rhubarb, or Jagermeister (So not kidding I have tasting notes).
Tonight's beer celebrates a very infamous person in the history of alcohol. As you can see by the picture on the front of the bottle there is an old crone of a woman clutching an axe. This beer is dedicated (facetiously, obviously) to the memory of Carrie Nation. Mrs. Nation was a staunch prohibitionist and was noted for taking an axe to barrels of beer and liquor and threatening government trying to coerce them into signing prohibition into law in the US. Eventually the prohibitionists won and the US signed the 18th amendment to the constitution and the country went "dry" for a number of years. Fortunately for Canada who was still producing alcohol at the time, it allowed us to "ahem" "export" our wares via legitimate businessmen such as Alphonse Gabriel Capone.
Enough with the history... onto the tasting...
Honey coloured, with the slightest hint of green to it. Thick fluffy white head mostly made up of very small bubbles. Aroma is pine tree and fruit with a back ground of roses and Turkish delight. First sip is bursting with ruby red grapefruit. Mouthfeel is creamy and silky with a touch of effervescence. The 7.0% alcohol is barely noticeable in this well balanced beer. Transition from attack to finish is very short and after taste is all green herbal hops. Aeration gives us an orange citrus candy taste.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Cost: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Colour: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order: 5/6 PASS
Experience: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Final Thoughts:
It was an absolute delight to drink this beer. Great Lakes is certainly setting the standard for what craft beer should taste like. The thing that surprised me the most was, that despite this being a "Hop Bomb," at 88 IBU, the beer was incredibly smooth, well rounded and very drinkable. The only downside is the fact that the 7.0 % alcohol sneaks up on you and knocks you out.... So this is a share with your friend or only have one per night beer. Please... don't ever drink and drive... Craft beer tastes best at home...
Cheers
CJT
Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
Paddock Wood 606 India Pale Ale
Paddock Wood Brewing CompanySaskatoon Saskatchewan, CanadaIndependentIndia Pale Ale 5.4% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 355 ml.$2.25 ($13.50 6 pack) (Canadian) At The Beer Store.
Twitter: @paddock_wood
Paddock Wood Brewing company has one of those interesting bull-dogged determined to make this work stories. Brewer and Owner Steven Cavan was a lecturer in History and his wife a professor at the University of Saskatchewan. However there was no good craft beer to be had in Saskachewan in 1992, so Steven decided to brew his own. Problem number two arose when Steven could not find the ingredients he needed to make his english-style beers so he tried to import them. Upon discovering that the minimum shipment were far too large for just his own brewing habit, he decided to sell the excess through a mail order business. When a nearby grain company began taking away his business, he changed format again to make "homebrew kits." Demand spike for the homebrew kits and he expanded his facilities, until he came under the radar of the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Association. They determined he needed a liquor licence for what he was doing. So he decided to convert to a full brewery, but there were no licences for a small craft brewery, only brewpubs. So after some lobbying the SLGA changed it's rules allowing Paddock Wood to become Saskatchewan's first craft brewery in 2004.
Onto the tasting:
pours dark amber with a red tinge, head is frothy and off-white bubbles are Small and tight. Bright citrus and herbal hops on the nose along with a slight earthiness. The taste is all grain, deep, rich, malt, caramel. Herbal, hay and straw. giving over to a bright citrus burst of tropical fruit. Aeration brings out ripe tropical fruit and re-asserts the grain.Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Cost: 5/6 PASSColour: 5/6 PASSBeer Style: 6/6ExceptionalRe-Order: 6/6 ExceptionalExperience: 6/6 Exceptional
Final Thoughts:
An excellent brew, high marks indeed! To me the taste profile is very reminiscent of Smashbomb by Flying Monkeys here in Ontario. This is definately a beer i will keep coming back to as long as the Beer Store stocks it.CheersCJT
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