The 2-4 Beers of Christmas Day: 2 Howling Gale Scotch Ale

Beer # 393 Howling Gale Scotch Ale, Moonlight Kettle Series

Brewery: Muskoka Brewery


Type: Independent MicroBrewery    Est.:  1996

Location: Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Scotch Ale

ABV: 6.2%      IBU: 16.5

Format: Brown Glass Bottle  Size: 330 ml

Cost: $2.95 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery

MuskokaBrewery

    @MuskokaBrewery

Well, we haven't been up to our neighbouring town of Bracebridge for a while, and since it was recently was their Santa Claus Parade I figured it would be a good day to add their entry to the 2-4 Beers of Christmas. For those who are not familiar with the Moonlight Kettle Series, it is a collaboration between the brewmaster and one of the other staff members of the brewery. The staff member picks a style and a punny name and they brew up a beer, once a month. Howling Gale was their November release.

Onto our beer.

Pours a darker amber colour with a little tinge of orange.  Nose is malt forward with floral notes of honey some spice and a touch of black pepper. First sip is mildly tart with a deepening of the honey tone, some biscuit. Slightly sour finish with some funky malt and a touch of caramel. Aeration gives us a burst of sweetness and florals and a little wet grain.

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: 4/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer 4/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

Let's start off by saying this is not a bad beer. It's just not up to Muskoka Brewery's usual stuff. The beer seems a little hollow and the flavours are undeveloped. The caramelization is too light and it leans more to the sour rather than the bitter. A good effort but I will pass on a second.


CJT

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The 2-4 Days of Christmas Day 6: Innis and Gunn Limited Edition Highland Ale

Beer # 254 Innis and Gunn Limited Edition Highland Ale

Innis and Gunn Brewery

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Independent Brewery
Oak Aged Ale 7.4 % ABV 
Brown Glass Bottle 330 ml.
$5.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @InnisandGunnCA


Another beer for the holidays. Innis and Gunn from Edinburgh is a great brewery for coming up with one shot and limited edition beers. This version has been aged with Highland Scotch whisky barrels.

Onto the tasting...

Pours an orange/amber, the colour of a nice honey. The head is off-white, short and made up of small to tiny bubbles. The aroma is very scotch-like. Notes of honey heather, spice, figs vanilla caramel and fresh baking. There are also woody notes, sharper than if it was aged in a barrel more like if chips were added.first sip is sweet and creamy. Honey is very present as is some toasty vanilla and bread. If we poured some maple syrup into this we could call it "French Toast" beer. Aeration gives us a nutty toasty fig and honey 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:

Much of what you would come to expect from an Innis and Gunn beer. Toasty, smooth, slightly creamy. The scotch notes work well with the style of beer, and the overall beer is very good. Mind you, there is where I start to run into some problems. This taste almost exactly like every other Innis and Gunn beer. It's starting to become too hard to tell them apart. Perhaps it is time to take this beer in a new direction? Other than that the beer is definitely worth the price of admission.

CJT


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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas Day 5: Church Key Brewing Holy Smoke

Beer # 253 Holy Smoke

Church Key Brewing Company

Cambellford, Ontario, Canada
Microbrewery
Peat Smoked Scottish Ale 6.2% ABV 
Brown Glass Bottle 650ml
$5.95 (Canadian) At LCBO

Twitter: @ChurchKeyBeer




Church Key Brewing is another one of those stepping stone for me on my way to my craft beer education. I "discovered" them many years ago, not long after they opened in 2000. I was pouring wine for the Waupoos Winery (Prince Edward County) at the former Fiesta Buckhorn Food and Drink Festival which had been held in the Buckhorn community outside of Peterborough. It was there I ran into the then, fledgling brewery the first beers I had from them were the Northumberland Brown Ale and a speciality beer made with Rosemary and Ginger. It was this last beer that really sparked my interest in cooking with beer. I started to use it to make my pot roasts and then moved on to putting different beers in my soups and so on. I've run into them a few times since but being on the other side of the province from them it is hard to find their beers, other than the rare occasion I find one on tap in Toronto, at C'est What or Bar Volo. So when I found this gem at the LCBO I snapped it up and I present it to you here now.

Let the smoke clear...
Pours a very dark chestnut colour with a tan head made up of small bubbles.The aroma is peat smoke and scotch whiskey with a hint of oak barrels.some charcoal and leather. First sip is a smoky dark malt with hints of soft wood fires. Very woody with light fruit notes. Peaty whisky notes. Light bodied, hints of oats and caramel, with the slightest hint of vanilla. Aeration gives us darkly toasted bread.

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:

A very good smoked beer. very light despite the alcohol and the peat smoke. Best if served with food. I would love a nice juicy burger with double smoked bacon to go with this beer.

CJT


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Beer # 127 Highlander Scottish Ale

Scottish Ale

Highlander Brew Company

South River, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Scotch Ale 5.4 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml
$4.75 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @HighlanderBrew

Back again for the second of three from the Highlander Brew Co. This beer tonight is the original beer brewed by Brewmaster Brian Wilson (still no connection to the Beach Boys, or the catchy Bare Naked Ladies song).  Tonight's beer is actually Highlander Brew Co.'s first they brewed way back in 2009. It contains four different malts of grains and four different hops for a smooth complex flavour.

Enough already... on to the Highlander... (There can only be ONE!)

dark chestnut in colour with an off white head made up of small to medium bubbles. Aroma is dark malt, molasses, wood and licorice. First sip is nutty, and malty, dark sugars at work. Lightly smoky, yet still light and fruity. Leathery and tart on the finish. Aeration gives up smoky toasted wood, and toasted walnuts.



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


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


Final Thoughts: 

An excellent beer and a solid flagship for the Highlander Brew Co. Very light and approachable for a Scotch Ale. Flavour is straightforward and light but still pleasing. Please go pick this one up and try it for yourself... you will not regret it.




Cheers

CJT


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Beer # 83 Pugsley's Signature Series Smashed Blueberry

Pugsley's Signature Series Smashed Blueberry


Shipyard Brewing Company
Portland, Maine, USA
Independent
Flavoured Strong Ale 9.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 625 ml.
$7.60 (Canadian) At The LCBO


Twitter: @shipyardbrewing


I was going to say this was my first beer from Shipyard, but I remembered I had a bottle of the Smashed Pumpkin last year. It just so happened it was around the time of my epic cold/flu battle where I got very little work done on the blog. I remember trying to start it and tasting it, but I was too ill and I could not describe anything in it so I abandoned a fair number of postings last year. So I will say this is officially my first "taste" of a Shipyard Brew.


Shipyard stated in 1992, as Federal Jack's Restaurant and Brewpub in Kennebunk, Maine. However in two short years demand for their locally crafted brew outstripped their ability to produce, so in 1994 Investor Fred Forsley and Brewer Alan Pugsley set up Shipyard brewing company in Portland.  Shipyard has grown enormously over the last 18 years. The are currently the 3rd largest Microbrewery in New England (After Boston Beer Company, and Harpoon Brewing Company both of which I have visited.) Shipyard is also designated as the 15th Largest Microbrewery in all of the United States.

Onto the Tasting:

The label states that tonight's beer is a hybrid of the styles of porter and Scotch ale, I however could not determine if they use fresh blueberries as the label only states "flavour." The beer uses 5 grades of malted barley and torrified wheat, as well as three hop varieties: Summit, Tettnang, and Cascade.


Pervasive aroma of fresh blueberries filled the kitchen when I opened the bottle. It poured a very dark purplish brown. Not unlike the colour of prune juice. The head was short with the same colour of the head on a pint of Guinness, light tan to brown with small bubbles. The aroma is sweet and fruity, especially blueberries, with a dark roasted malt under tone. Slightly smoky, and chocolate with a touch of burnt sugar and licorice. The attack is sweet hard candy with dried blueberries. Then comes a different layer. After the fruit a dark ale smashes through with notes of chocolate, coffee, malt sugars, then the beer fades down to a more subtle sun-dried blueberry, currant, and a "Cherry brandy" type of alcohol. The alcohol content is quite noticeable. Aeration gives a burst of hot alcohol more berries, and a hint of hops. My lips are sticky after tasting, just like eating fresh berries.


When I first poured the beer it was a little too cold, and as I tasted it it seemed to be two distinct beers fighting for dominance. It felt like a lambic was competing with a stout. However as I sipped and typed the beer melded together at the proper serving temperature of 55 degrees, and became something wonderful. As I have said before, if the brewer has gone through the trouble of putting a temperature at which the beer should be consume on the label, chances are he knows what he is talking about.



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 beer took a short time to open up but once it did it made quite the impression. Surprisingly well balanced and well suited to food. The bottle recommends BBQ, and glazed duck. I recommend you try the beer. I hope I can get Smashed Pumpkin again this year and post it because I would like to see more from this brewery.


Cheers
Happy Independence Day
CJT


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