Beer # 122 Arch Brewing Dinner Jacket O'Red IPA

Dinner Jacket O'Red IPA

Arch Brewing Company

Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Independent
IPA 6.3% ABV Aluminium Can 473 ml
$2.85 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @ArchBrewingCo

Tonight we are trying a new beer that I just came across from a new brewery I hadn't heard of yet. Arch Brewing Company is a contract brewery that utilises the facilities at  the Wellington Brewery in Guelph Ontario. Run by husband and wife team Sue and Bill King, who brew with the jet setting brewmaster to the stars Paul Dickey; who has worked with craft brewing Icons such as Dennison's, Black Oak, Mill Street, Kensington's, and Claude and Nathan's Double Trouble Brewing (where he formulated a Pint Jockey Fav: Hops and Robbers). Most Recently he created the debut beer for Sue and Bill: Dinner Jacket O'Red IPA. The O in O'Red stands for oatmeal. and I must admit this is the first time I have seen it in an IPA.

Enough backstory... onto the tasting:

Dark amber to light chestnut in colour with a small off-white head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is light malt, some sugar, and a touch of bread. First sip is roasty and malty, very light, slightly thin but still refreshing. Drinks similarly to an English Bitter ale. Caramel and brown sugar through the middle, finishing is a hoppy, green, bitter finish. Despite being 6.3 % ABV the feeling of the beer is very light. Aeration gives us sweet caramel, taffy and light malt.

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 good brew and a wonderful first offering from Arch. Hopefully we will see more from them in the future.
Cheers

CJT


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Beer # 114 Double Trouble Brewing Co. Fire in the Rye

Fire in the Rye

Double Trouble Brewing Co.

Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Unfiltered Rye Pale Ale 6.1% ABV Aluminum Can 473 ml
$2.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @hopsandrobbers

This will be my third Claude and Nathan brew I have tried, sadly I believe it the first that has made it onto my blog, a fact that I will have to correct soon because Double Trouble makes good beer. Their flagship beer Hops and Robbers has been my goto summer beer here at Pint Jockey Headquarters for the past 2 years and is frequently the guest star at our BBQs (it makes an awesome beer butt chicken!!) Tonight's brew is a roasted RPA or Rye Pale Ale, Which is a relatively new style on the craft market that I am seriously getting behind. It is a great way for brewers to update an old standard and infuse more flavour into what would otherwise be just "another IPA." Claude and Nathan use a fire roasted rye malt and hop it exclusively with Centennial hops to produce a straightforward but very flavourful beer.

Enough already... onto the tasting.

Dark amber to a light chestnut in colour with and off white, grey tinged head made up of medium sized bubbles. Aroma is very nutty especially almond, sweet and woodsy. First taste gives us roasted grain, and toasted bread, smoke, wood, transforming into a light floral middle with green hints of hay, alfalfa, and geraniums. The rye is very evident, very bready and sweet. The style is excellent giving me all I could ask for, from a pale ale. Alcohol is evident but not overwhelming. Aeration gives us a very clean crisp and light clover honey taste. The 60 IBU hums a little on the finish with a mild bitterness, just enough to clean up the taste buds ready for another sip.

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

Final Thoughts:

Very high marks to this beer. A wonderful well put together brew. Excellent flavour; another great summer sipper. Rush out and get one of these. I will definitely be trying this next time we BBQ chicken.

Cheers

CJT


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