The 2-4 Beers of Christmas Day 6: Dark Helmüt

Beer # 396 Dark Helmüt

Brewery: Beau's All Natural Brewery


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  2006

Location: Van Kleek Hill, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Imperious (*ahem* Imperial) Schwarzbier

ABV: 7.3%      IBU: 33

Format: Brown Glass Bottle  Size: 600 ml

Cost: $5.49 ($21.95 for a 4 bottle mix Pack) CAD   Purchased At: LCBO

beausallnatural

    @beausallnatural

All rise in the presence of... Dark Helmüt.

It's not exactly news, but we love movies here at Pint Jockey Headquarters. And if you put a gun to our heads and asked us what the one absolute greatest Sci-fi space adventure Parody starring Rick Moranis was... well we could only come up with one answer... SPACEBALLS.

Now that I think about it I guess that's the only answer... But I digress. What does this has to do with Stealing air from Druidia? Wait... No... We came here to use the Schwarz... Schwarzbier that is. Swarzbier is a dark lager rich in malt and coffee nuances. Just like Spaceballs is rich in silliness and pop culture references. Dark Helmüt is a beer from Beau's Wild Oats series which pops up every now and then and it is actually a beer I have had on my bucket list for some time. Mainly because... well... SPACEBALLS.

So without further ado...

PREPARE TO TASTE BEER

Ok... lets just go...

Pours an Imperious dark chestnut brown with a short helmut (I mean head) made up of small bubbles. Rich smoky malt, coffee, and chocolate dominate the nose. Roasty toasty malt hits you right off the bat followed by some good bitter coffee, and espresso. Light in body, warming and slightly sweet. Alcohol is present but takes a back seat to the flavour. Nutty, molasses, black licorice, brown sugar, and light green hints of hops spark at the end. Aeration gives us more brown sugar with carmelised figs, raisins and some prunes. Hints of dry grass, hazelnuts. hints of whiskey and vodka on the 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:

Wow, full of flavour and good mix of roasty and bitter flavours. Certainly lives up to the legacy of one of my all time favourite movies. A delicious beer if you can get your hands on one.

CJT

 Let's Stay "Social" Follow my adventures here

   @pintjockey




The Pintjockey Online


pintjockey

And don't forget to "Friend" me on Untappd.

Strong Patrick, Beau's All Natural

# 214 Strong Patrick Irish Style Red Ale
Wild Oats Series # 18

Beau's All Natural Brewing Company

Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Canada
Independent Microbrewery
Imperial Irish Red Ale
6.7 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 600 ml
$7.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Strong Patrick?

Twitter: @Beausallnatural

Strong Bad Glares at Strong Patrick

Getting to this one a little early, I wanted to save it for St. Patrick's day, but I could not wait. # 18 in their Wild Oats series Strong Patrick (no.. Not That strong Patrick --->) is a lovely copper red coloured Irish red ale. What exactly it has to do with a cartoon character wearing a Luchadores Mask... I'm not exactly certain. But I must comment that it bears a striking resemblance to another cartoon character. The infamous Strong Bad of the long running Internet Cartoon "Homestar Runner." And when I say long running I mean 15 years, that means it was on air on the Internet only about 4 years after the first of us got a hotmail account. 

Any which way, It's Beau's so we know we are in for a good beer, Let's check it out.

And in this corner....

Pours a dark copper red with an off white head made up of small bubbles.aroma is heady and malt with some light molasses and hints of spice. First sip is a rich red ale lots of caramel and toasty malt. hint of licorice and vanilla. Slightly woody, and earthy with subtle hints of chocolate. Lightly effervescent at the back of the tongue.

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:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL


Final Thoughts:


Another great outing from Beau's I am always happy when I get a new bottle from them. Give this one a shot, you will not be disappointed. Although it is an Imperial, it is only 6.7 % so it can easily be enjoyed by one person, as long as you drink responsibly.

P.S. I have just been trying out www.julyu.com It's a new social media platform for those who enjoy fine alcoholic beverages, like you dear reader. Come and hang out with some like minded individuals. Sign up now and be sure to friend me!


CJT


Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online

And don't forget to "Friend" me on Untappd.

Beer # 198 The Bottle Imp Russian Imperial Stout

The Bottle Imp Russian Imperial Stout
Pro-am Series # 9

Beau's All Natural Brewing Company

Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Flavoured Russian Imperial Stout 9.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 600 ml
$7.85 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: @Beausallnatural @bridgehead

Tonight we are travelling back up to Van Kleek Hill, near our nation's capital, to Beau's All Natural Brewing Company once again. Beau's really is one of the hardest working breweries in Ontario. Their list of beers, past and present is virtually unrivalled. Their list of collaborations is stunning. Their contributions to brewing in Ontario and Canada are unprecedented. The beer we are featuring tonight on this Robbie Burns Day 2015, is a Russian imperial stout flavoured with organic fair trade coffee sourced from Mexico and Ethiopia. "Wait..." you may ask... "What has a Russian imperial stout flavoured with organic fair trade coffee sourced from Mexico and Ethiopia got to do with a dead Scottish poet?"  It's all in the name...

In 1891 Scottish storyteller Robert Louis Stevenson (see what I did there?) wrote a short story entitled"The Bottle Imp." It was a cautionary tale about a cursed bottle that granted the holder all that he desired but came with a few restrictions. Once you had bought the bottle you could not sell it for more than you paid for it. You could not throw it away or give it away. If you died holding the bottle your soul would be dragged to hell for eternity. From there it turn into a tragic love story and tales of self sacrifice in the pursuit of true love. No spoilers... if you would like to read the story you can find it here at Project Gutenberg in Robert Louis Stevenson's collection of short stories "Island Night's Entertainment."

Back to the beer. This particular Bottle Imp... is actually an IMP... or IMPerial stout so it is 9.0% ABV. Best to share this with a friend or have some snacks while you are tasting it. The Imp is part of the Pro-Am series which is a collection of beers designed by homebrewers that are produced commercially by Beau's. The particular recipe was created by David Thompson, the winner of the 2012 Toronto Beer Week Homebrew Contest. Lastly the beer is infused with some delicious roasted fair trade organic shade grown coffee from Chiapas Mexico, and Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. I love me some Ethiopian Coffee... it's my favourite coffee growing region. The coffee was provided by Bridgehead Coffee in Ottawa

Och... get on wit it... (My apologies to anyone Scottish). Onto our beer.

Pours a very dark brown with a fluffy tan head made up of small bubbles. The aroma is coffee with some dark malt sugars and caramels in the background. Some light floral notes with some nuttiness and fruit are also present. First sip is rich chocolate and espresso light fruity tones with some coffee ground bitterness underneath. As the beer warms figs and dried fruit come out on the palette as does some black licorice. Mouthfeel is very creamy, soft and supple. Alcohol is noticeable but not overwhelming. Aeration brings out a deeper creaminess, and the darker aspects of the coffee and malt. Finish is slightly astringent like black coffee and dark chocolate.


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:

Very, very good Russian imperial stout. Roasty, toasty, smooth, I could imagine myself whiling away the hours in the Russian Imperial court drinking this beer. The coffee is a lovely, and well balanced addition. The floral, fruity, chocolate notes really ground the beer, and balance out the higher alcohol. A great beer inspired by a great Scotsman's story, wrapping up a good Robbie Burns Day. What more could a simple farm boy ask for?
well... maybe another... and a bottle with that wishing imp in it...

Cheers

CJT


Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online

And don't forget to "Friend" me on Untappd.

The 2-4 Beers of Christmas: Day 11 Bog Water Winter Seasonal

Beer # 175 Bog Water Eastern Ontario Gruit

Beau's All Natural Brewery

Van Kleek Hill, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Gruit 6.6 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 600 ml.
$4.35 (Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @Beausallnatural

Sweet Gale

Getting a couple of days behind here (sorry!) but I am catching up today. Had to get all of my Christmas shopping done. Now, I have time for the beer. Back on track here we have another offering from Beau's All Natural Brewery. Another gruit, this time flavoured with locally sourced organic sweet
gale (also know as Bog Myrtle or Myrica Gale). Bog myrtle is a lovely accompaniment to the malt in beer giving an herbal citrus kick.

I am Gruit...

Groo-it not Groot

For those of you just tuning in gruit (actually pronounced groo-it, not groot. Even though that would be cooler) is an archaic beer style that sprung up in areas where hops were not available. These days Gruits are a craft classification that encompasses beers that do not rely on hops for bittering or flavouring.

Enough witty banter... onto the Groot... I mean Gruit...

Pours a slightly hazy amber honey colour, with a generous off-tan head made up small bubbles. The nose is very herbal, floral, and sweet. First sip is heady with botanicals. The gale is bright green and slightly lemony. A little tart some green tea notes. Effervescent, with mild medicinal hops at the end. Aeration brings out the sweet gale, lemon and herbs .

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
Christmas Spirit 5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:


Certainly one of the more tame beers from Beau's, but still a good quality brew. Nice herbal flavour development and good overall character. Maybe a good beer to start the night out with working up to  stronger beers later on in the night (someone always has to be first!)



Cheers And Beery Christmas


CJT


Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online

And don't forget to "Friend" me on Untappd.

Beer # 101 Opa's Gose Wild Oats Series # 5

 Opa's Gose

Beau's All Natural Brewing Company

Van Kleek Hill, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Gose (Salted and Spiced Beer) 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 600 ml.
$7.85 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @beausallnatural 


Beau's is one of those hard working and quirky breweries. They are constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries, creating very interesting brews for special one offs for festivals and tap takeovers. So their stable of beers is almost impossible to keep track of with out a programme. Today's beer is from their "Wild Oats" series, and is a beer style... I've never heard of: Gose. This beer was invented in Leipzig Germany in the early 16th century. It is a salted and spiced beer which precludes it from being sanctioned under the Reinheitsgebot The German Beer Law of 1516 which states beer may only be made with water, barley, and hops. As well Gose is typified by the inclusion of 50% or more malted wheat. Gose was originally bottled in long necked green bottles that would form a "yeast plug" instead of a cork as the beer underwent a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The salt in the beer came from the water originally, and later was added to the beer. Also, the fermentation of the beer was spontaneous, in open vats like Lambics, but it was soon discovered how to use yeast to produce the same flavour.

Beau's is found in a small town which is geographically located at about the halfway point between Ottawa Ontario, and Montreal Quebec is a rich agricultural area of Eastern Ontario. Beau's was founded by father and son team of Tim and Steve Beauchesne on Canada Day (July 1st) 2006.

On with the Gose...

Cloudy Yellow gold in colour fluffy white head made up of medium sized bubbles. Very wheaty nose with hints of coriander  First sip is very thin and light. The coriander waits until the finish and the salt hits you in the end drying your tongue a bit and turning the mouthfeel mineral. There is a slight damp grain feel to it as well as some citrus. The taste of the wheat dominates but the malted barley is there hiding in the back. Aeration brings out the citrusy coriander but not much else.

At this point I added more sea salt as was indicated by the package.

Salt greatly improved the flavour. It is a very delicate balancing act of adding beer and adding salt to get the right mix (Fortunately it's a 600 ml bottle!) Salt turns the volume up on the muted notes of coriander and citrus. It also tones down the wet grain taste and rounds out the beer perfectly. Strangely it is not unlike drinking beer on the seaside. The sea salt coats the back of the palate and leaves a lingering ocean taste. Malt sugars show up as well leaving a salty-sweet sugary finish. Also... the salt increases the thirst and makes me want to drink more beer faster... a little bit of downside to it.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: N/A First one I have had
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS
Experience:  4/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

This was a new experience for me... I have never tasted a Gose before. And it isn't that I didn't enjoy the beer, but tasting it without food and water was a little difficult. Under the correct circumstances this would be a good food beer, perhaps I can try it again the next time I make schnitzel. Just keep in mind the salt increases your thirst, have water ready, and drink it with a friend.

Cheers

CJT


Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online