Beer # 370 Freedom 35 Trailer Park Boys Lager

Beer # 370 Freedom 35 Lager

Brewery: N.A.C. (North American Craft) Importers 

Type: Contract brewery, Brewed at Wellington Brewing Company    Est.: 

Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Lager

ABV: 5.0%      IBU: 

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $2.95 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

wellingtonbrewery

    @namericancraft

As the news spreads that we lost Canadian Actor John Dunsworth yesterday lots of Trailer Park Boys fans are still in shock today. I can't say I was a Trailer Park Boys fan; however, there is no doubt what the show has done for Canadian identity. In the words of my esteemed partner, The Queen of Pint Jockey Headquarters, "Why do I need to watch Trailer Park Boys? You've seen the neighbours." But watch a lot of people did. The show held up a mirror to Canadian society, not a perfect mirror, one of those wavy carnival ones. It poked fun at us, kept us humble and most of all made us laugh at ourselves. That's what good TV should do.

Onto our beer tonight. Freedom 35 is a craft lager produced at the Wellington Brewing Company in Guelph, Ontario for N.A.C. Importers. The North American Craft Importers is an alcohol distribution agency that represents Canadian and American brewers and distillers and sources places for their products in the Beer Store, the LCBO, and now grocery stores across Ontario. They commissioned this beer with Wellington, who also produces under contract the beers for Double Trouble Brewing, one of their other clients. The interesting thing I have found is that in the announcement on the Trailer Park Boys Facebook Page here, they say there is corn in the beer to add sweetness, but it is not listed in the ingredients; but this beer is definitely sweet so I would imagine there is still corn in it. So be cautious if you have a corn allergy.

Onto our freakin' beer...

Pours a light gold colour with an off-white fluffy head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is grassy and sweet with hints of citrus. First sip is surprising. As lagers go this one is not an over-commercialised barrel wash. However, is it malt forward with a surprising amount of sweetness, almost syrupy. Hops are there, lending a bitter green, medicinal bite. The hop varieties are not listed but they taste like German varieties to me, possibly Hallertau. The wheat flakes give it a slight breadiness which makes the beer taste like toast doused in sugar. As the beer warms hints of spice and raisins come to the surface. Aeration gives us some clove and bitter mustard greens.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order:  2/6 SO-SO
Experience: 3/6 SO-SO


Final Thoughts:

This tastes like a hangover in a can. It's not terrible. I honestly thought I would have to issue another #drainaward, but, I was surprised. It has flavour, it has the bones of a good craft lager, it's just not balanced. It's like sucking on a tin of malt syrup. Save this beer for Trailer Park Boys re-runs, on nights you don't have to be anywhere the next morning. Poor decisions are almost guaranteed.

Cheers

CJT

 Let's Stay "social" Follow my adventures here

   @pintjockey




The Pintjockey Online


pintjockey

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

Bonus! Accidentally Aged Terrestrial India Brown Ale.

Aged Terrestrial 

Brewery: Wellington Brewing Company

Type: Independent Microbrewery     Est.: 1985

Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: India Brown Ale

ABV: 5.9%      IBU: ?

Format: Crown Capped Brown Glass Bottle  Size: 750 ml

Cost: $7.95 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

Twitter: @WellingtonBrew

Ok, don't judge. Sometimes I forget I have beers. I have A LOT of beers in the house, and juggling them sometimes... ah... I... get confused, or I misplace them. (Much to the chagrin to the Queen of Pint Jockey Headquarters). Outside of the Fridge of Fame... (Which I keep getting told is supposed to contain food...) I have a little storage area in the basement behind my workbench. This beer has been there since July. Of 2015. However when I went to look up the price I discovered that it had been on shelves at the LCBO since the previous may. So this beer is 18 months old. A year and a half for a hopped brown ale is a bit of a stretch. I was actually concerned that when I cracked it, it was going to, well lets just say, not smell appropriate. However it surprised me. I popped the top and cautiously waved the neck of the bottle under my nose and I smelled, delicious fruity beer.

Relieved, I could not wait to try it.

Onto our beer.

Pours a pitch dark brown with a massive, and fluffy off-tan head, made of small and medium bubbles that shrink randomly, leaving a strange cappucino-esque head. Nose is clean and woody with hints of sweet malt, and surprisingly very bright for its age. Hints of smoky caramel, baking spices, and touches of vanilla fill up the back. First sip is the first sign of age. Hints of smoky malt some charcoal, mouthfeel is still light and refreshing. A slightly more mineral feel to it. Hints of good German rye bread, the ones with some char on the crust. Chocolate builds on the finish with hints of espresso, touches of used leather and a resounding earthy feel. Aeration is all coffee, a nice medium roast with some hints of condensed milk and a whipped cream mouthfeel. Finish is very stout-like, dry and rich.

Final Thoughts:

This is a horse of a different colour. This beer is very far from where it started. That is the amazing thing about ageing beer. It really is a living organism that can grow and mature and improve if you keep it healthy. If you do not it can sour and go bitter. Good metaphor for life, ain't it? Always take care of your beer (and yourself) so it can reach it's maximum potential. Quite frankly... I was shocked this beer survived as long as it did. Usually beers with higher alcohols do better in the long run, but at a little less than 6 percent this hopped brown ale did just fine. I will admit there was a tinge of metal, most likely from contact with the crown cap, when the bottle was not stored perfectly. However it did not distract from the beer's enjoyment, I'll just be more careful storing my beers. This was certainly one of my best back corner finds. Maybe I will have to keep feeding the corner, with a few surprises for future blog posts.


Cheers

CJT


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

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

Beer # 292 Red Falcon Ale Stouffville Brewing Company

#292 Red Falcon Stouffville Brewing Company

Stouffville Brewing Company/Falcon Brewing Company

Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Contract Brewing Company  Established 2014
Brewed at Wellington Brewery in Guelph, Ontario Canada
Red Ale
5.0 % ABV IBU: 16
473 ml Aluminium Can
$2.85 (Canadian) At the Beer Store

Twitter: @falconbrewingco

Best as I can figure out this brewery is at a transition point right now. I remember hearing that a Stouffville  Brewing company was coming and I thought, "That's cool." My parents used to drive me up there as a kid... They had a really fun Antique and Flea Market. Interesting side note my Dad was a carpenter, and he made my sister an octagonal keepsake box that she used as a piggy bank. She doesn't remember losing it, but I think it disappeared when she was in college. She went with my parents to the Stouffville Flea Market one day and said "Hey Dad, this looks like the piggy bank you made me." She turned it over and it had her name written on the bottom. She still had to buy it back. She still has it along with a spooky story. 

Back to our brewery. I'm guessing that not unlike the lost piggy bank, this brewery slipped my mind. I hadn't thought of it until I saw the cans of Falcon Ale in the Beer Store.

Thanks Deadpool... But I mean the City of Ajax...
not the foppish British Antagonist

 However when I looked it up it started to get confusing. First off they are a contract brewery and they rent brew time from Wellington in Guelph. Second their address is listed as Ajax.  Third the beer comes up as being brewed by Falcon Brewing Company, and the picture on the Internet still says Stouffville Brewing company on the can.  Confused? Well I was a first but I am assuming this means plans have changed. It is not unusual for a new brewery to contract out the brewing when they first start, especially if your brewing skills are limited or you need to find a brewmaster. I guess a location could not be found in Stouffville or a property became available in Ajax that fit the bill better, or there could be any number of legal reasons that Stouffville Brewing Company could not be used, prompting a name change. Something similar happened to Flying Monkeys Brewery in Barrie Ontario. They were originally named Simcoe Steam Brewing Company, but that name was still owned by a family that had run a brewery in the past. They then changed it to Robert Simpson Brewing Company, and a few years later changed it again to it's final for "Flying Monkeys." So for whatever reason Our beer tonight is made by the former Stouffville Brewing Company now called Falcon Brewing Company, based in Ajax, brewed (for the time being) in Guelph, and currently in my hand right now.

Clear as mud?

Yeah, me too.

Onto the beer...

Pours a amber honey colour with a short white head made up of small bubbles. Head dissipates rapidly. Caramel nose with lots of malted barley and the barest hint of wet dog. First sip is sweet with touches of sourness a little smoke and leather. Body is medium to light with lots of light caramel. Some vanilla and hints of apple and pear. Aeration  brings out some tartness... some mineral qualities and the barest hint of molasses.

 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: 5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

A nice fruity red ale. Good to see a great representation of a British/Irish staple over here in Canada. The malty sweetness was on point as was the bright fruity notes. Worthy of a redo. I hope they get their brewery opened up soon and they can maintain a high standard with this beer. I rather enjoyed it.

Cheers

CJT

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

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

Beer # 200 Frost Quake Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine

Frost Quake


Wellington Brewery

Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine 
9.8 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml (Crown capped with a swing top lid for re-closing)
$11.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: @WellingtonBrew

The morning was cold and crisp today. Down around -29. Perfect day for the namesake of this beer to happen. My 200th beer in fact! As you can see I spruced the place up a bit. New look, new layout, and there are a few more improvements to be coming very shortly. Stay tuned! But back to metaphor I just left dangling there for a second. Frost quake. Maybe you haven't heard of them, but they are quite real and a really weird sensation. It happens more often in areas that have a lot of rock near the surface. Water percolates down in between the cracks of the rocks and when a rapid temperature drop occurs it freezes very quickly causing a big cracking noise. More like cracking your knuckles than an earthquake, but it can still be loud and scary. We have them around Pint Jockey Headquarters at least once a year.

Tonight's beer is named for this phenomenon. A hot little barley wine wine, almost 10 % alcohol, that has spent a few months in Kentucky Bourbon barrel.

Let's get shaking...

Pours a translucent chestnut brown that is slightly hazy. Very viscous. The head is quite thin and the colour of caramel. The nose is quite smoky, earthy, woody, sweet malt brown sugar and a hint of licorice. First sip gives us oak, vanilla, bourbon whiskey, bruleed sugar, bittersweet chocolate and smoke. As the beer warms a mild nuttiness comes out as does the high alcohol content. Very warming, but not to head fogging. Aeration gives us rich oak and smoke with some light malt sugars and a hint of the caramel on the finish.



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 4/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

A bit pricey for what the beer delivered. Don't get me wrong it is a good barley wine, and if you only want to drink one beer a night this one should do you nicely. Better yet sip this with some food, or a friend, or just use the swing top closure to save some for another night. Worth a try pick one up while you still can. Or maybe two... and age one for a year.

CJT


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

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

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


Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey

Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online

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