Beer #276 Pacific Jade Wide Body IIPA Barnstormer Brewing

#276 Pacific Jade Wide Body IIPA

Barnstormer  Brewing

Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Brewpub/Brewery
IIPA 9.3 % ABV 
14 oz Pint
$6.25 (Canadian) At the Sawdust City Brewery Saloon (Guest Tap)

Twitter: @BarnstormerBeer

A quick trip out to the pub revealed to me this little gem. A nice IIPA with a good kick of alcohol. Barnstormer really is the little Brewpub that could, some excellent beers come out of this Barrie Brewery... I wish we could get more up this way.

Onto the tasting.

Pours a dark amber with an off-white head made up of tiny bubbles. Nose is hot alcohol malt and caramel hints of tropical fruit and pine.  First sip confirms this is a 9.3 % beer. The alcohol is very present at the start. As is a sweet and smooth malt flavours. Very rich with lots of caramel. Some residual  sugar vanilla and a touch of licorice. Aeration brings out the heat of the alcohol and it bites the tongue a bit. However it is still very smooth for such a high alcohol content. Light hints of wood and cinnamon finish the beer off.

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: 5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

Quite a bit going on in a little glass. Lots of complex flavours, but still quite smooth despite the high alcohol content.

Cheers

CJT

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Beer # 160 Double Dead Elephant Railway City

Double Dead Elephant Imperial IPA

Railway City Brewery

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Imperial IPA 7.5 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml.
$10.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @railwaycity

This takes me back to my first post. I started my blog way back in 2010 in November with Railway City's Dead Elephant ale. Here it is, four years later and I am getting around to posting about it's stronger brother the Double Dead Elephant... Sadly I have had bad experiences with Railway City... I have not found any beer of theirs I really liked, and for a time I have avoided them. That has changed now.  I tried this beer a couple of weeks ago and I was happily surprised to find a well rounded good tasting beer. The beer still references the long ago incident where Jumbo the elephant of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, was killed on a railway track outside of St. Thomas, Ontario where the brewery is now located. I detail the full story in my older blog post about Dead Elephant here. 

Without further monkeying around, if you will direct your attention to the centre ring, I give you tonight's tasting...

Dark gold in colour with hints of brown. Fluffy off white head made up of mostly small bubbles. Aroma is spicy light malt and caramel, and a hint of fruit. First sip is malt and raisin. The middle is chock full of green and bitter herbs, leaving a tart and tangy feeling on the tongue. Citrus zest and some orange pith. Grassy, some hay, touch of spice and some caramel, and vanilla. Aeration brings out the alcohol and malty sugars.

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:  5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

A good solid beer from Railway city and certainly the best I have had from them. Lots of flavour and good complexity while still being balanced and not being overly hot from the extra alcohol. Get it while it is still on the shelves.

Cheers


CJT



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Beer # 115 Great Lakes Brewery My Bitter Wife

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


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Beer # 61 2XIPA, Southern Tier

2XIPA

Southern Tier Brewing Company 
Lakewood New York, USA (Independent)

Double India Pale Ale 8.2% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 355 ml.

$2.95 (Canadian) At LCBO.


Twitter @stbcbeer


@Twitter Hashtag of the Day: #IPAday

Well Happy IPA Day! As you may or may now know today was declared International IPA Day by a grassroots movement of Beer Bloggers and Craft Beer Producers and has become quite the sensation on Twitter. So @pintjockey is not one to be left out so I shall post an IPA today.


Heading south of the border again to what is quickly becoming one of my favourite producers: Southern Tier from Lakewood New York, today we sample 2XIPA as their website puts it: a "not quite imperial IPA" but a strong (8.2% ABV double IPA. Brewed with 4 hops and 3 types of Malt it has a very distinct flavour, and a beer I quite enjoyed tasting.


Onto the IPA


Golden in colour with a hint of green. Cream coloured head made up of tiny bubbles that disperse quickly. The nose is grapefruit and herbs. Dark malted flavours unusual for a lighter looking beer, more grapefruit some citrus sweetness, caramel and alcohol. Some wine or brandy/cognac notes near the end. The beer does not mask it's full 8.2% ABV the alcohol warms the beer and lingers on the tongue and in the throat. Bitterness seems mild however I would say it is balanced out by the other strong elements of the beer. Very drinkable and refreshing, but only one or two please... feeling the alcohol right away!

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 turnout again from this great American Brewery. Time and again the USA is setting the standard for advancing the craft beer industry. What began in the kitchens of medieval homes has grown into the avante garde laboratories of modern craft breweries. With late night beer fueled ramblings turning into delicious experiments. Hop, malt, and flavour combinations never dreamt of before... it is a great time, to be a beer drinker.


Cheers

CJT