Beer #363 Anniversary Ale
Moosehead Breweries
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Independent National brewery
Established: 1867 (As the Army Navy Brewery in Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Pale Ale
5.7 % ABV IBU: 38
473 ml Aluminium Can
$2.75 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @MooseheadLager
When one thinks of Moosehead, especially here in Ontario, one usually thinks of the lager, served in green bottles, often skunky, adored by many and reviled by almost as many. I'm in the latter category. I do not like Moosehead Lager. I use to work a Bar that had a 75-foot long bar along one wall with three complete bar stations. Once a Moosehead was cracked, I could smell it almost anywhere on that bar. However, this is not that beer... So I must try it. It is also important to note, that along with the #Canada150 celebrations this month Moosehead is also celebrating 150 years of operations. Started in 1867 just as the Articles of Confederation were being shopped around, by a woman: Susannah Oland. Now, this seems remarkable given the time and place, but we must remember that traditionally brewing beer was a job for a woman. In fact, the name "Brewster" is the only occupational name (eg. Smith, Baker, Cook) That was originally feminine.
Canada has a long history of brewing. Basically, as soon as the Europeans set foot in the new world... somebody looked around for something to malt and brew. The first commercial brewer in Canada was reputed to be Louis Prud'Homme who set up a small brewery in Montreal in about 1650 (prior to this beer was brewed at home). There have been many breweries since then but only a few remain in operation. Molson (1786), Carling (1818), Alexander Keith's (1820), Labbat (1847), and twenty years later The Army Navy Brewery, which grew to be Moosehead. However, of those names... Carling was bought by Molson which in turn merged with Coors of The United States. Labbat bought Keith's brewery and then was in turn purchased by Belgian company InterBrew which merged with Brazillian Company Ambev which merged with Anhueser-Busch which merged with SAB MIller to make the enormous zombie beer conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (UGH!). That leaves Moosehead. Moosehead is still owned by Susanah's grandchildren. For six generations the Oland family have owned and operated Moosehead breweries making it the only wholly independent National Brewery left in Canada.
To celebrate, they brewed a beer... Let's try it.
Pours a cloudy medium to dark gold with a massive off white head made up of small to medium bubbles. Aroma is very malt forward with some strong hints of caramel, and molasses. A little grassy and hoppy right near the end. The first sip gives us classic Brittish Pale Ale stylings with a sweet fruity maltiness. Medium bodied malt gives way to a nice warm caramel, vanilla with a hint of molasses on the finish. Aeration is biscuity and bready with hints of wine.
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: 5/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
This was a good pale ale. Not a standout, but drinkable. I would have expected something a bit more spectacular for a sesquicentennial anniversary. But it is still far better than their lager in my opinion.
Cheers
CJT
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#205 8th Sin Black Lager
Hop City Brewing Company
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Saint John, New Brunswick
Wholly Owned Craft Beer Subsidiary of Moosehead Breweries
Black Lager
5.0 % ABV 473 ml Aluminium Can
$2.85 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @HopCityBrewing
Another trip down to Hop City... (Sounds like a song). I was quite enamoured with this can and it's "Dias de Muertos" (Day of the Dead) decorated skull. The skull motif is very popular in Mexico where it is a remembrance of family and friends that have passed. Families travel to cemeteries to clean and maintain graves and then enjoy a feast and party to celebrate their lost loved ones. A special treat is often given to the children on this day a "Calavera" a decorated sugar skull. (I've had one, it's like eating a giant sugar cube, but very fun!)
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| Examples of Calavera |
The 8 in 8th sin refers to the eight different malt used to produce is very dark colour.
Onto our tasting...
Pours and inky brown/black with fluffy off-tan head made up of small bubbles, that disperse quickly. Aroma is sweet malt, burnt sugar, licorice and vanilla. First sip is caramel, coffee, and nuts. Body is very light, almost watery. Finish is funky marijuana scented hops. Aeration accentuates the vanilla caramel, and slight mocha hints.
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: 4/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
Very refreshing and a surprising amount of flavour. Like a lager and a very light stout had a baby. However the body is very weak, a problem I noted with another Hop City beer, Hopbot IPA. Which is surprising because I am a fan of their other beer Barking Squirrel, which is not shy in the flavour or body department. Is it a good beer? Yes, very much so. Tasty? Indeed. Should you try it? Of course. Would I buy it again? Probably not... I do like my beers to have a little oomph.
CJT
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#202 Big Mouth Tap Room Pale Ale
Hop City Brewing Company
Niagara, Ontario, Canada
Saint John, New Brunswick
Wholly Owned Craft Beer Subsidiary of Moosehead Breweries
Pale Ale
5.0 % ABV 473 ml Aluminium Can
$2.85 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @HopCityBrewing
Back down to Hop City again, the craft brewing arm of Moosehead Breweries. Tonight's beer is a pale ale, and I do believe it has been quite some time since I tasted a true pale ale (so many IPAs, so little liver...). My liver has a long history with pale ales, for a year or two in college Bass Pale Ale was my poison. So I am always happy to find a good one near at hand.
Onto the tasting...
Pours a pale clear gold with a scant off-white head made up of tiny bubbles. Aromas of honey, lychee, some floral, and bitter greens. First sip is very light, effervescent, light tropical fruit, and honey, light notes of sweetened green tea, and hints of jasmine. Aeration brings out the slightest hint of malt.
Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order: 4/6 PASS
Experience: 4/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
Two things about this beer struck me. One, I thought I was drinking a bubble tea flavoured beer. While the fruit and honey and all is quite balanced All I could think of was "where are my tapioca pearls." Sadly it was very distracting. Two, this beer seriously lacks body. Almost to the point of being watery. While I don't mind a light refreshing beer for summer sipping, this one seems a little too light. However, that being said, this would be an excellent gateway beer for someone who has only ever drunk macro beers and wants to try new things. Everyone has that buddy who won't put down that can of bud light. Buy him a case of this and warm his frozen taste buds up.
CJT
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#201 Hop Bot IPA
Hop City Brewing Company
Niagara, Ontario, Canada
Saint John, New Brunswick
Wholly Owned Craft Beer Subsidiary of Moosehead Breweries
India Pale Ale
7.1 % ABV 473 ml Aluminium Can
$2.95 (Canadian) At LCBO
Twitter: @HopCityBrewing
Ok, I confess... I bought this can because I love robots. I didn't even check the label before it went into my basket at the LCBO. I was home (for at least a day or two), before I realised this was a Hop City Beer.
Hop City Brewing Company is the former Niagara Falls Brewing Company. In 2004 they were purchased by Moosehead Breweries and re-branded as their "Craft Beer Wing." It was not an unusual event this. Around the same time Molson... now MolsonCoors bought Creemore Springs Brewery, and Granville Island Brewery which became Six Pints the Craft arm of Molson in Canada. Sleemans... before they were purchased by Sapporo, bought Unibroue from Quebec, among others. The Macro breweries have known, for at least a decade now, that the craft beer revolution was coming, and they wanted a piece of it. It was easy to see, because it started in the USA in the 1980's and was slowly working it's way North. That aside, Moosehead is the "last brewer standing" so to speak. It is the oldest continuously operating fully Canadian brewery left. (Molson is half American now, Labatt is owned by the Dutch, and Sleeman is now Japanese).
Hop City tries very hard. They have a tough row to hoe. They have large corporate expectations, small craft brew ideas, and a large audience that is unsure if they like craft beer or not. I will not lie, I used to drink their product "Barking Squirrel" a lot. (It was convenient and available at my local). It was not a horrible product, but I found it to be inconsistent in flavour. That being said, I am eager to try some of their other beers.
Everybody do the robot...
Pours a slight orange colour with a hint of cloudiness. the fluffy off-white head is made up of small to medium bubbles and is short lived. The aroma is fresh green herbs with a good strong grapefruit scent followed lightly by passion fruit and the barest hint of pine. First sip is malt forward followed by more grapefruit, orange, and guava. Bitter herbs and some pine come through for the finish which is light and clean with some black tea at the very end. The overall body of the beer is very light despite its 7.1 5 alcohol, and the mouthfeel is a little watery. The finish is a re-iteration of the malt with a touch of caramel, Aeration brings out a little extra bitterness from the hops.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Cost: 4/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order: 4/6 PASS
Experience: 4/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
Lovely colour, and a great aroma. However, I found it too lacking in the body department for an IPA. While the malt forward notes at the beginning made me think West coast Pale ale, they had no staying power and fell flat. The nose promised me a Fruit-Bomb IPA (a style which I am really coming to love BTW), but it also had no staying power. Sadly I think this is a beer lost between two styles, and neither the twain shall meet. Would I drink it again? Of course, it is worlds better than many beers out there, but it the flavour profile just sits a little off on me. Get out there and try it for yourself and tell me what you think.
CJT
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Re-Order: 4/6 PASS
