2012

HAPPY NEW BEER

A new day dawns on a new year. While some of us are turning over new leaves and making our new years resolutions I return filled with guilt to my oft neglected blog. Time and tide has passed, I see that I have had not posted since August of last year and I have missed noting some important events. Firstly. I missed my first year anniversary. November 8th marked the first full year of the Pint Jockey. I started with Railway City's  Dead Elephant Ale. Secondly. I have passed my 4000th page view. I am impressed that that many people have wanted to read what this old farm boy has to say.

So new year, new mind set. We have our ducks in a row again here at Pint Jockey Headquarters, and I will being posting with due regularity. I will also be adding a new feature. I will over the coming year begin experimenting with brewing my own beer. I have always had a fascination with ancient beer recipes, and I would like to re-create a few of them. I will post updates, pictures, and stats in side posts (I will continue to bombard you with my regular posts of my thoughts on beer  from around the world)  and when the finished product is ready I will critique it in its own post.

Thank you dear reader for hanging in there... and let's all get ready to enjoy the new beer... I mean year.

Beer # 65 Nøgne-O Imperial Stout

NØGNE O  IMPERIAL STOUT

Det Kompromissløse Bryggerri
Grimstad, Norway (Independent)

Imperial Stout 9.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.

$6.25 (Canadian) At LCBO.


Tonight a return trip to the nation of Norway, and  Nøgne-O, "the uncompromising brewery," gets tonight's  treatment. Nøgne-O is a line from native son Henrik Ibsen, and it means the naked island. Opened in 2002 and run by it's founders for years before they actually got paid Nøgne-O has expanded from a tiny 300 hl brewery to 3500hl in 2010. the brewery now counts 20 impressive brews in it's stable. All of their beers are brewed for the utmost quality and bottle conditioned for best  flavour.


Black in colour, with a thick and long lasting dark tan/reddish head. Light smoke and chocolate nose, tannic and leathery. First sip gives us a warm rum-like alcohol with dark chocolate, light fruity notes. Sweet and malty, cedar and leather. The bottom of the glass reveals yeast precipitate.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional

                                                                       

Cost:  5/6  PASS

Colour:  6/6  PASS        

Beer Style:  6/6 PASS  

Re-Order:  6/6 PASS   

Experience:   5/6  PASS

Final Thoughts:


A very high pass for a very good beer. Excellent example of an imperial stout beautiful colour and a massive head. Alcohol is very forward a makes this a one at a time beer, but I would definitely order this one again. I really enjoy trying new beers from places I have never been. It gives me a connection with that area and a better understanding of their culture.


Cheers
CJT

Beer # 66 Celt Golden Ale

Dark copper in colour. Off white head with small bubble. Floral citrus hops with an underlying malt nose. Brown sugar and malt in the first sip vanilla and licorice.Bitter orange turning into a citrus and herbal finish. Very simple straightforward beer. Very drinkable.

Beer # 64 Hitachino Nest White Ale

Hitachino Nest White Ale

Kiuchi Brewery
Kounosu Naka-Shi Ibaraki, Japan (Independent)

Belgium Style Wheat 5.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.

$3.85 (Canadian) At LCBO.

Today is International Beer day and to celebrate I have a couple of international beers to post. First trip out we are heading to Japan to a place that was ravaged by the earthquake earlier this year. The brewery in question had some roof damage, heaved roadways, a broken bottling line, and *Gulp* 500 smashed bottles of product and 800L of lost sake! But in true rebounding spirit, the brewery fixed it's bottling line and began bottling water to aid survivors and rescue crews during the clean-up of one of the worst earthquakes in Japanese history. The Brewery has since restarted and is back up to full capacity.


Kiuchi Brewery began life in 1823 when it's founder Kiuchi Gihei started a small sake operation. Over their 180 years they perfected the art of sakes and decided to expand. in 1996 They began the Hitachino Nest beer line and began using the iconic "white owl" as the logo for the beer. The brewery also makes Shochu a rice wine that is part rocket fuel. As of 2004 Kiuchi had started purchasing grapes with the intent of making wine.

Onto tonight's tasting:

Washed out straw colour, translucent with copious amounts of sediment and particulate. Head is bright with small bubbles and short lived. Cinnamon and clove on nose with slight mustiness. Dry wheat sweet flavour of concentrated orange juice and bitter orange peel. Aeration brings out orange peel and sharply bitter hops.

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:
I was excited to try this beer as I had only previously had the Japanese staples (Sapporo and Kirin) It does reflect the Belgium style for a wheat beer, but it is not spectacular. 


Cheers
CJT

Beer # 63 Radlermass

Radlermass

Brick Brewing Company 
Waterloo and Formosa, Ontario, Canada (Independent)

Radlermass or Alsterwasser 4.8% ABV Tall Can 473 ml.

$2.75 (Canadian) At LCBO.


Today's beer is more of a beer flavoured drink that a beer itself. 
Radlermass or Alsterwasser as defined by the German Beer Institute, is a blend of Lager and a lemonade or lemon soda. In England this is know as a Shandy. The story is best told from the back of the Waterloo can below:


"After World War I, bicycle riding became popular in Germany. A local innkeeper opened his own watering hole and arranged for a bike trail through Munich to his alpine meadow, only to find some 13,000 cyclists had descended upon his establishment and almost depleted him of his fine beer. Quick thinking led him to mix a stock of lemon soda with his remaining beer and he called it Radlermass (Radler meaning cyclist and Mass means litre of beer in German), which became a wonderful refreshing summer drink."

Brick Brewing Company is Ontario's first craft brewery. Opened in 1984 by Jim Brickman, Brick has grown substantially, producing a number of award winning beers. Brick started the "Buck a Beer" war in 2004 with it's Laker series, and the annoying catchy jingle "...Make 'er a Laker, it's a buck a beer." They also purchased and revived the Formosa Brewing company From Molson Canada and in the process salvaged the Fromosa Springs beer label. They also played upon the Nostalgia of the Canadian Beer drinker by being one of a (very small) handful of brewers to bring back the Canadian icon the "stubby" beer bottle. (the only other breweries that spring to mind using stubbies are Heritage in Ottawa (now Kichesippi Brewing Co.) Full Sail, and Red Stripe. Brick Brought back the iconic 50's and 60's  beer Red Cap in stubbies in 2002 (N.B. Brick has returned to using industry standard long necks for Red Cap)


Onto Tonight's Tasting:


Light gold in colour, off-white head made of small bubbles, with a good duration. Aroma is ginger, lemon, some hops, and a slight breadiness. First sip is effervescent soda like, lemon and malt. Very clean, with a citrus tang finish. Aeration bring the lager taste to the front with some bitter hops.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional

                                                                                                               

Cost:  5/6  PASS

Colour:  5/6  PASS        

Beer Style:  5/6 PASS  

Re-Order:  3/6 SO-SO   

Experience:   5/6  PASS

Final Thoughts:
It is a delightful summer drink, but Shandy is what they give the kids in the UK, and I'm a big boy now! Ice cold on a patio, sure thing, just not my cup of tea today (or should I say glass of beer?) Very tasty though, glad I tried it.


Cheers
CJT

Beer # 62 Nickel Brook Gluten Free

Nickle Brook Gluten Free

Better Bitters Brewing Company 
Burlington, Ontario, Canada (Independent)

Gluten Free Alcoholic Beverage 5.8% ABV Tall Can 473 ml.

$2.95 (Canadian) At LCBO.


I was quite surprised when I was going through the statistics of my blog. I had wanted to see what beers people were reading about so I could try similar beers for future blogs. My number one beer was Aguila, from Columbia, however the big surprise was that the second most read about beer was from Milwaukee Wisconson: New Grist, Gluten free. Now Celiac Disease, or gluten intolerance is getting a lot of press time. It is estimated that upwards of 1 in 1000 people have a sensitivity to the proteins in wheat. (if you suspect you have a gluten intolerance PLEASE GO to www.celiac.ca or www.celiac.com and seek professional help. A gluten free diet SHOULD ONLY be prescribed by a trained physician ) The beer industry, obviously, uses grains in the production of their product so people began to seek ways of making a beer tasting product without using barley or wheat. Tonight's tasting uses three fermentables in it's production: sorghum, pear juice and demerara Sugar. Sorghum is a grain used around the world in more tropical areas than Canada. Related to sugar cane, it can be used as a cereal, a grain, a starch or fermented into a beer-like substance. I say beer-like as most countries define beer as a beverage that must contain either barley wheat, or both.

Sorghum

Nickel Brook is the beer line of Better Bitters. It started life as a beer and wine making store and still carries that aspect to today. At some point the owner John Romano began to brew his own line of beers to be sold directly from the store. They have since expanded and now serve restaurants and are placing their products in the LCBO.


Onto tonight's tasting.


Light copper in colour, little to no head. Sugary fruity pear and grape like nose. First sips strikes me more as a wine, fruity, giving over to mild bitterness and herbal hops. Sweet but not cloying. Dry mildly bitter finish reminiscent of a pale. Aeration brings out the wine flavour, tastes like an unfinished merlot. 

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional

                                                                                                               

Cost:  5/6  PASS

Colour:  5/6  PASS        

Beer Style:  N/A  

Re-Order:  1/6 FAIL   

Experience:   3/6  SO-SO

Final Thoughts:
Well as I said in my earlier post about New Grist. The battle rages on whether a gluten free alcoholic drink, can be called a beer. I'm open to it as beers have been made from rye cake, millet, sorghum, and just about anything our ancestors could get their hands on. However, tonight's tasting, leans me the other way. This does NOT taste like a beer. It tastes like a wine made from pears. the hop character is incidental and of little consequence. That being said. This product tastes good, I won't knock it on flavour. However, It is not a beer. 


Cheers
CJT

Beer # 60 Dominus Vobiscum Blanche

Baie St. Paul at sunset

Dominus Vobiscum Blanche

Microbrasserie Charlevoix 
Baie St. Paul, Quebec, Canada (Independent)

Spiced Wheat Beer 5.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.

$4.60 (Canadian) At LCBO.

Twitter: @microbrasserie

The Village of Baie St. Paul

On a bay off of the St. Lawrence 1.5 hours east of Quebec city is the beautiful little village, Baie St. Paul. The entire area of Charlevoix is renowned for its great cheeses wines and fruits. However there is another "must see" on your stop. Microbrasserie Charlevoix or MBC as it is sometimes shortened to, started out in a pub in the centre of town in 1998. Eventually it grew in popularity and moved to expanded facilities in January 2009. I was fortunate enough to visit the brewery in 2005, and had quite a funny experience. As you go East from Quebec City the number of English speaking people drops considerably. When I arrived at the pub they were offering a five beer sampler, however when I ordered it in my broken high school french I was informed I could not have it because there were only four draughts that day. It took a good ten minutes to convince the harried server that it was quite alright to serve me the four beers and charge me the full price, just so i could get the sampler.


Onto the tasting. Tonight's offering is the spiced Belgium style wheat beer: Dominus Vobiscum Blanche. Generally the term Blanche, or "white beer" is either unfiltered or bottle conditioned, as is this one tonight. 


Light gold in colour, translucent, bright white head made up of tiny tight bubbles. First smell is coriander, clove, allspice and orange peel. First sip bursts with clove and allspice. Nutty, wheat and herbal, chamomile. Very crisp and clean short herbal finish. Very refreshing. Sediment on the bottom of the bottle. Excellent summer beer.




Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional

                                                                                                               

Cost:  5/6  PASS

Colour:  5/6  PASS        

Beer Style:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL  

Re-Order:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL  

Experience:   5/6  PASS

Final Thoughts:


I am very pleased that these "tiny" "undiscovered" breweries are now getting the widespread attention they deserve. I had fun "discovering" the brewery, that all the locals were quite familiar with and I am very happy I can go grab a "Blanche" down at the LCBO and relive my wonderful trip.


Cheers 
CJT