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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Two Beers by Half hours on Earth

Beer # 451 Affection

Brewery: Half Hours on Earth Brewery


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  2016

Location: Seaforth, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Aged Flavoured Farmhouse Ale

ABV: 7.0 %      IBU: ?

Format: Green Glass Bottle  Size: 375 ml

Cost: $12.00 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery

halfhoursonearth

    @hhoebrewery

Two beers I brought back from Seaforth. The first one is an oak aged spelt farmhouse ale spiced with rosemary and sage. The second is a farmhouse saison blended with Revel Cider's Perry and aged in cider barrels. Onto our beer.

Cloudy light gold with a generous and slightly greyish off-white head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is tart and sour Brettanomyces with spicy notes of grain and toast. First sip is slightly sweet with strong grain notes. citrus and sage predominate with backgrounds of heady rosemary. Woody aromatic spices with hints of oak and vanilla.





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


Final Thoughts: richly complex beer with a lot going on. My first beer made from spelt. Hopefully not my last. This beer certainly nails home the reason why Half Hours is such a talked about brewery.



Beer # 452 Blueprint


Brewery: Half Hours on Earth Brewery


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  2016

Location: Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Farmhouse Saison aged in Cider barrels blended with Revel Perry

ABV: 4.5 %      IBU: ?

Format: Green Glass Bottle  Size: 375 ml

Cost: $11.00 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery

Pours a cloudy gold with a fuzzy white head that doesn't last long. Nose is full of brett sour and citrus hints of apple and pear. An interesting and smooth blend of cider and beer.Tart acidic apples and pears good hint of sweetness mellowed by the barrel ageing and the funk of brett. Hints of smoke and oak near the finish. Aeration brings out a cheek-puckering malic acid. It is very light in mouthfeel and such an easy drinking beer.







Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


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


Final Thoughts: This is the sixth beer I've tasted from Half Hours, and the sixth beer I have been blown away by. Every beer is so light and airy, strong yet delicate. Full of flavour yet not exhausting. How they manage to balance everything is beyond me. I just hope they keep doing it! This beer, in particular, doesn't sound like it should work. Pear cider mixed with beer? Yes I know there are some pub concoctions using cider and Guinness etc. but This is a sour farmhouse it should work... But it does! I could drink this all day, and at 4.5 % ABV why not?


Cheers

CJT

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Beer # 365 Wild North Series Pina Grande Lake of Bays

Beer # 365 Wild North Series Pina Grande

Brewery: Lake of Bays Brewing Company

Type: Independent Microbrewery     Est.: 2008

Location: Baysville, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Wheat Ale

ABV: 4.2%      IBU: 29

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $3.15 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

Twitter: @LB_Brewing

I'm a little late in posting this one. The notes have been languishing in my to-do pile for quite some time. I've had a very busy summer with work and renovations and gardening, I've been coming home and falling into bed more than poking at the blog like I should be. Never fear Fall is here as is the flood of new seasonal beers and unfortunately Pumpkin Spice everything. Don't look for any Pumpkin beers on the blog this year, I've suffered through enough. They are rarely worth the effort, either overly sweet or over spiced. I may still taste a few, and if by the rare chance I find a good one... I'll share. But I would rather talk about the deep, dark, unctuous, and lethally alcoholic beers that arrive with the cooler weather.

But now... A beer that is far from deep dark and unctuous, A bright flavoured wheat from The people up in Baysville. Pina Grande is a wheat ale that has added pineapple juice in the brew to tick up the acid, add some nice fruit sugars and a hint of tropical brightness. Which is really nice to talk about when I've been dealing with frost warnings in my garden since August.

Onto our beer.

Pours a bright clear gold with a generous white head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is pilsner malt with some wheat, light citrus, and a hint of roasted pineapple. The first sip is very malt forward with a district pilsner feel. Light fruity sweetness keeps this ale from being too malty and a hint of bitter hops crisps it up and keeps it light on the tongue. Pinpricks of citric acid and a hint of tinniness/mineral right at the end is reminiscent of pineapple juice from a can. Aeration sweetens up the brew bringing the pineapple forward with hints of papaya and banana. 

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:

This is a delightfully easy drinking beer. Nice and bright with good flavours. The pineapple mixes well with the tropical flavoured hops, and the wheat malt keeps it nice and clean on the tongue.

Cheers

CJT

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Beer # 270 Forgotten Lake Blueberry Ale Lake of the Woods Brewing Company

Beer # 270 Forgotten Lake Blueberry Ale

Lake of the Woods Brewing Company

Kenora, Ontario, Canada
Independent Microbrewery
Flavoured Ale 7.5 % ABV 
IBU: 15
Aluminum Can 473 ml.
$2.85 (Canadian) At The Beer Store

Twitter: @LowBrewCo

Second one tonight from the Lake of the Woods Brewery. A strong ale that has been flavoured with wild blueberries.

Onto the tasting...

Pours a cloudy orange brown with a fluffy head that is tinged purple. Aroma is sweet and fruity with a background of light caramel. First sip is sweet and tart purple fruit with a nice malt backdrop. The fruit becomes more evident as the beer warms. Aeration gives us a kick of alcohol with some brandy and blueberry notes.


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


Final Thoughts:

An Interesting beer. The blueberries gave a nice tart sweetness to the background of the beer without overpowering it. However I can't say it was my favourite beer this year. Still worth a try.

Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas: Day 6 Bah! Humbug

Beer # 169 Bah! Humbug 

Wychwood Brewery

Witney, Oxfordshire, England
Owned by Marston's PLC
Spiced Ale 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.
$2.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @Hobgoblin_Beer

Tonight's offering is a cinnamon spiced ale from Wychwood Brewery in England. Certainly I think of baking spices at this time of year... in fact it is time for me to start my holiday baking. There is puddings and truffles, and chocolates, and cookies to do... Wait a minute. Am I off track already. Sorry. We have visited Wychwood a couple of times. Most Recently their Scarecrow Golden Pale Ale. Which I think you can still get in the LCBO in a gift pack packaged with this beer.

Onto the Humbugging...

Pours a medium coloured amber with an off tan head made up of small bubbles. The nose is apples and cinnamon, like baked apples The first sip gives up a slightly hot, tingly, cinnamon burst. Slightly tart with some green apple. Aeration gives us a shot of cinnamon up inside the back of the nose. Malts a light and subtle and play a nice supporting role to the cinnamon. The cinnamon is from an extract so it is strong, and unyielding. Finish is light herbal hops deeply buried under cinnamon, and of course the long lingering cinnamon itself... with a slight mouth-pricking heat.



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 



Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order:  2/6 SO-SO
Experience:  3/6 SO-SO
Christmas Spirit 4/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

Cinnamon is not my favourite flavour.. saying than this is not bad. I would think that a blend of spices would have been nicer some cinnamon and allspice and maybe some nutmeg and while I understand the need for consistency in large batches of beer, I would have preferred to see real spices instead of extracts.

Cheers And Beery Christmas


CJT


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Beer # 136 Ginja Ninja Granville Island Brewing Company

Ginja Ninja

Granville Island Brewing Company

Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Owned by Six Pints Speciality Brewing Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of MolsonCoors Brewing
Flavoured West Coast Ale 5.5 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 341 ml
$2.25 (Canadian) At LCBO  (#13.50 for a 6 Pack)
Twitter: @Itsgoodtobehere

I visited Granville Island Brewery a long time ago, well before it was purchased by MolsonCoors. I had always loved the brewery and they made some fine beers. So I was excited when Ginja Ninja was coming here to Ontario and that it had some good hype. Sadly, I am very disappointed, I fear that the overbearing hand of the mega-corp has dampened down the enterprising, innovative spirit of my one time go-to west coast brewery. This is a very poor example of a macro-craft.

Onto the tasting.

Translucent chestnut to light copper in colour with a small off-white head made up of tiny bubbles. Nose is ginger beer or ginger pop, slightly sweet, and some candied ginger. The first taste is two disparate sensations; one is a watered down ginger beer the other is a watered down west coast ale. Sadly the two compete and do not mix. They do taste like a poorly made shandy. The beer is lacking in body and the ginger, while present, gets shoved aside roughly by the haphazard ale it is supposed to be accenting. After taste is mostly flat and lifeless with just a reminder that there was some ginger in it. Aeration gives off a chemical, alcohol feel, and a hint of pickled ginger (this kind you get in grocery store sushi.)

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS 

Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 1/6 FAIL
Re-Order:  1/6 FAIL
Experience:  2/6 FAIL

Final Thoughts: 

Shockingly bad. When you have to wonder halfway through your "craft beer" if you misread the label and bought the wrong beer. It's bad. I am disappointed in Granville Island almost to the point of being furious with them. This beer felt rushed, unfinished, unrefined, and certainly not worthy of the name Granville Island, or at least the brewery I remember. Try it if you must. Don't expect too much.

Cheers 
CJT



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Beer # 94 Grozet

Grozet

Heather Ale Company Williams Bros. Brewing Co.

Kellibank, Alloa, Scotland, UK
Independent
Fruit Flavoured Wheat Beer 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 330 ml.
$2.71 (Canadian) At LCBO $10.85 for a four pack

Twitter: @williamsbrewery

Tonight's beer from the Historic Ales of Scotland pack is the Grozet. Claimed to be from a 16th Century Scots monk's recipe. The beer could technically be called a "Gruit Ale" (and possibly so could Beer # 93: "Froach" ) Gruit ales used various herbs and berries to bitter, or preserve beer before the use of hops was widely accepted. One of these herbs is Bog Myrtle, which makes it's appearance in this beer as it does in the previous. Other herbs included Henbane a toxin that often caused mild hallucinations... (hmmm Pint Jockey Brew Project idea?). However our ale tonight also contains hops, so it would be somewhere in between a gruit and a modern flavoured beer.

For more information on the Williams Bros. Brewing Co. please check out their website or look back at Beer # 93: Froach.

Onto tonight's historic brew:

Clear gold in colour with the slightest hint of green. Thin wispy white head made up of uneven sized bubbles. Cloudy and translucent. The nose is fruity and citrus, with gooseberies evident right away and the more subtle wheat notes beneath. As you get deeper into the nose the fruit is replaced with raw grain and hint of spice. First sip gives up some more gooseberry, more subtle than the nose. Very dry and wheaty some citrus, clean, crisp, slightly effervescent. Finish is short and clean with a lingering of grapes and gooseberries.


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

Final Thoughts:


Being Welsh... I love gooseberries, and I miss them as they don't see their way to Canada often. Sadly, the ones I have had here are not the sweet-tart, bursting with flavour gooseberries of my youth. So this beer brings back some memories. Supposedly Shakespeare drank a version of this beer, so perhaps if I consumed more I would become more eloquent, and poetic. But perhaps, if his version of this beer had Henbane in it... that would explain a lot too.

Cheers

CJT


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Beer # 93 Froach Heather Ale

Fraoch Heather Ale

Heather Ale Company Williams Bros. Brewing Co.

Kellibank, Alloa, Scotland, UK
Independent
Heather Ale 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 330 ml.
$2.71 (Canadian) At LCBO $10.85 for a four pack

Twitter: @williamsbrewery


I have wanted to try these beers for a while. They often pop up as a gift pack in the LCBO in winter as we near Christmas. I believe I may have tasted one of them a few years back at a trade show but I didn't take any notes and I don't quite remember, but it may very well have been this beer.

Erica (Spring Heather) Not Used in Brewing,
 but just as pretty.

Common Heather or Summer Heather
(Calluna vulgaris) Used in Brewing.

Bog Myrtle (Myrica gale)

Williams Bros. Brewery started life in a brew your own shop called "Glenbrew" in Glasgow. In 1988, a lady came into the family owned shop and requested assistance in producing a batch of "leanne froach" or heather beer from and old recipe that had been handed down to her. The owners helped her in exchange for a copy of the recipe and then began to experiment with it, and using it as the foundation for the beer we are tasting tonight (I hope the poor lady got some royalties or at least a few cases of beer!). When they had perfected their version, (using different malts and adding bog myrtle as well as heather) they brewed a 5 barrel test batch at brewery in Taynuilt, Argyle. The batch sold out almost immediately, and with heather being seasonal, they had to wait until the following year to brew again. This time they froze the heather to ensure continued brewing. The beer became very popular and the new found Heather Ale Ltd. began to eye expansion. over the years they added Alba a pine beer, Grozet a gooseberry beer, Kelpie, a seaweed beer, and Ebulum an elderberry beer. When the demand for they beer surpassed the capacity of the brewery in Taynuilt, they built a brewerin and occupied it for 6 years starting in 1998. In 2004 further expansion was required and they purchased the Forth Brewery in Kellibank, Alloa, and renamed their company William Bros. Brewing Co.

I will also post three more beers from this pack so stay tuned!

Onto tonight's brew:


Honey coloured with an off-white thin head made up of small bubbles. The nose is very earthy boggish, damp underbrush. First sip is a cavalcade of flavours. Heady florals, ginger, sweet, mildly citrus, spruce needles, and grains of paradise. This beer has a lot going on. The finish is very short, and I find I have to take multiple sips to tell what I am tasting. A very clean beer, only a slight drying of the mouth and the faintest hint of ginger is left after a sip. The malt is there, underneath, takes a few sips to feel it on the tongue. Aeration gives us pure flowers, like walking down a mountain side after the rain dragging your hands through the heather.


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

Final Thoughts:

Commercially brewing historic beers, is an excellent way to preserve our brewing past. This beer style dates to 2000 BCE that's 3000 years of brewing tradition. Quite a lot of responsibility for one little bottle, but one it carries quite easily. It is a very good beer. I can't imagine it becoming a "regular beer" as it is very unusual. However, it would be great fun to pair it with food, such as a medieval dinner, or just plain BBQ. and I would certainly like to try to cook something with it... Scottish lamb perhaps? 


Cheers

CJT


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