Stack Brewing Les Portes L'Enfer Side by Side

Les Portes de L'Enfer: Side by Side

Stack Brewing Company

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Independent Microbrewery

Twitter: @Stackbrewing

Two beers for one tonight. I just stopped up in the Nickle City (AKA Sudbury) the Paris of Northern Ontario. I kid you not! More good stuff goes down in Sudbury than anywhere else around here. There is a thriving art community, a theatre community, a music community, There is a Cheese Shop! And thankfully, there is an amazing craft brewery. We go up once or twice a year to go to Science North, and Dynamic Earth... because we are nerds. And my visits would not be complete with out Cheese from the aforementioned Fromagerie Elgin, Drinks at Hardrock 42 the best craft beer bar north of Toronto (possibly). And last, but not least a visit to Stack Brewing. I left with 6 beers this time... stay tuned to this space.

Les Portes de L'Enfer (The Doors to Hell) is Stack's award winning biere de garde (Gold at the Ontario Brewing Awards in the Biere de Garde category and Bronze in the Canadian Brewing Awards) I tried to get some on my last trip to Sudbury but it was not long after the Ontario Brewing awards so the beer had all been snapped up. As it was a seasonal I had to wait for it to be brewed again and when I arrived in Sudbury this time, I was rewarded with a bonus a Portes de l'Enfer that had been barrel aged in Malivoire Winery's oak barrels. So tonight I present them to you side by side.

Onto the tasting.


# 238 Les Portes de L'Enfer

Biere de Garde 8.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml (16 oz).
$6.00 (Canadian) At The Brewery

Pours a hazy chestnut brown with a tan head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is clove fresh hay some bread malt sugars and a touch of earthiness. First sip is toasted wood,caramelised sugars, some coffee and toffee. wheat notes sneak out underneath the bolder flavours along with a hint of bitter green hops. Rich and complex, very chewy, a good strong mouthfeel. Aeration brings out the darker breadiness, deep rye or pumpernickel tones with lots of toasted sugars and some pleasant bitterness from the hops finishing in a slight black tea taste.

# 239 Les Portes de L'Enfer Barrel Aged

Oak Aged Biere de Garde 8.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml (16 oz).
$6.00 (Canadian) At The Brewery

Pours a lighter chestnut that it's un-aged counterpart with a hint of red running through it. Head is a similar tan colour but the bubbles are much finer. Aroma is a stellar red wine and oak wood nose a slight berry, and red fruit aroma with hints of grape must and yeast. First sip is... WOW. Very smooth, creamy toasted oak and vanilla mixed with the breadiness of the beer. Taste similar to a Cabernet Sauvignion, some slight tannins, some tartaric acid and the barest hint of hops underneath. The fruit and the bread give it a sort of "jam sandwich" flavour which is not unpleasant at all The barrel aging has softened the beer and smoothed out the flavour profile, drawing out the finish into a nice long hum of wheat and fruit. Slightly tart on the attack, it has just enough sugar in it to balance it out, and not be cloying. Aeration gives us a rounded creamy oaky explosion, slightly nuty, bready, and yeasty.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Regular                                     Barrel Aged

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


Final Thoughts:


Two Great beers great for two different reasons. Honestly it is hard to tell that they started out as the same beer. While the regular one is a wonderful example of a biere de garde, the oak aged is all about what the barrel brings to the product, it's magical transformation. Though equal, I would say that the barrel aged beer slightly edges out the regular on my palate. lovely smooth and fruity. I could drink that beer for days.


Cheers
CJT


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Rant...

Well here it is more time has slipped away from me. Sadly, dear Reader I left you in the middle of Canada Beer Month, as my work schedule overtook my play schedule, among other things and I have not been able to touch virtual pencil to virtual paper in quite sometime. As well, on a more personal note I have been thinking long and hard about the future of this blog. I rapidly approach my 5th year writing my bar stool pontifications and it makes me wonder how much further should I take this blog. Should I be devoting more time to it? How much of my life can I let it consume? Should I be looking to move  toward a more full time approach? What about furthering my education in the Barley Arts? Should I get my Prud'homme Certificate, and or my Cicerone? (I have never made bones about my experience with beer... I am, in real life, a Chef, and I have many years experience in beer and beer sales at various restaurants and hotels. I have an above average palate and a passion for good beer... I am not an expert). So I have been stuck in a loop... sitting down to stare at my blog, and letting the beers pile up in the Fridge of Fame (until my Loving partner in Crime, The Queen of Pint Jockey Headquarters has basically intimated that either I start blogging again or she puts the beers AND me out for recycling...)

Where do we go from here? I'm not sure. I started the blog as a necessary creative outlet, as much as an excuse to drink more beer and keep track of it. Some days I don't feel I can do the blog justice... It's hard in my little corner of the world to come across a lot of variety of beers. My hands are tied by the ordering managers at the LCBO and the Beer Store. Thankfully Sawdust City Brewery is just a quick walk away and they do bring in guest beers, but some days I feel too reliant on their products for material. There is the odd time we head down to Toronto, and the inevitable mad dash into one of the many LCBOs there, where I come out... often 30 minutes later, clutching bags of beers and nursing 50 to 60 dollar hole in my pocket. I also nipped into Stack Brewery this weekend because we were in Sudbury, 33 dollars later... I came out with 6 beers (stay tuned!) I enjoy the festivals, when work allows me the time, I made it to OCB week last year and this year to Session Muskoka, which I will talk about in another post (better late than never! there were some excellent beers there!). I would like to go more and report more on the festivals, but somehow time never allows.

Which brings me to the last part of my rant. How I lost over 2 weeks trying, and failing to upgrade to Windows 10. My wonderful hand built computer Dzunukwa, who has given me 2 years of reliable service (except for that time that Perry (the cat) knocked my laptop off of the back of the computer and snapped off the connectors to my video card necessitating a new card), was due for an upgrade and when Win 10's free rollout came, I jumped on it... a little too soon I would guess. It trashed my computer It erased my old copy of Windows 7, it booted only to a black screen. None of my files were accessible. I spent hours online reading up on how to fix it. I was not alone this was happening to a lot of people, especially people with custom machines. So finally I gave up to the point where I needed to do a clean install and start again. The computer wiped my hard drive and then got stuck in an endless install loop: load a bit, shut down, reboot. I was so pissed I installed Unbuntu the open source software... yeah... that didn't go so well either. Despite what I have been told that Unbuntu is supposed to be easy and virtually bullet proof, it was anything but. Nothing would install, no antivirus, could not update my video card drivers, my web browser crashed repeatedly. So today I pulled the hard drive out of my laptop and installed that. So I have a semi-functional computer again, patched together with duct tape and promises of glory... So very frustrated.

Thank you for letting me vent... I needed that. I hope you are all still with me. I have lots of beer to do. If you have thoughts or words of wisdom for me please leave them in the comments below. I would like to know how you feel about this blog and what you would like to see in the future.

Well I need a beer... How about you?

Cheers
CJT

#CanadaMonthBeer Old Baldy Farmhouse Ale

# 237 Old Baldy Farmhouse Ale

Northwinds Brewhouse

Collingwood, Ontario, Canada

Independent Brewpub and Bottle Shop
Farmhouse Ale
IBU 24
3.5 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml
$6.19 (Canadian) At the brewery

Twitter: @Northwindsbeer

Another trip up to Collingwood tonight with some "Old Baldy" Farmhouse Ale, as we continue our spotlight on Canadian craft beers for the month of July.

Straight into the tasting tonight.

Pours a darker gold with a nice thick off-white head made of small bubbles. Nose is a robust malty and spicy mix with wheat and rye tones. Lot's of cloves, some cinnamon. First sip is rich malt with some woody notes Some deep roasted malt and some licorice. Aeration brings out some creaminess a light green hoppiness and a slightly bitter aftertaste.

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 well flavoured beer. So far this is my favourite from Northwinds but I have three more to go... which I am looking forward to more and more.


Cheers


CJT



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#CanadaMonthBeer Three Stage XPA

# 236 Three Stage XPA

Northwinds Brewhouse

Collingwood, Ontario, Canada

Independent Brewpub and Bottle Shop
Extra Pale Ale
IBU 24
4.6 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml
$6.64 (Canadian) At the brewery

Twitter: @Northwindsbeer


We took a drive up to Collingwood to see the Scenic Caves (great trip if you have never been!) AND it just so happened that our drive took us by Northwinds Brewhouse. So I ran in a got a few bottle of their beer. I have tried one of their beers it was last year at OCB Week in Toronto and I recorded it in my Bar Volo Post. The Beer was Rooster Tail American Wheat. Not bad as far as I can remember. 

Tonight's offering is an extra pale ale Let's hop on our bike and try it.

Onto the first stage:

Pours a hazy darker gold colour with an off-white head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is creamy and grain heavy. First sip is sip is a warming spicy and slightly bitter mix of citrus and and a slight muskiness. Flavour is heady and earthy. A little closed at the beginning it starts to open up as it warms. Some malt sugars and a hint of caramel. Aeration gives us some smoky malt and a bit of bruleed sugar.


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

Final Thoughts:

A good solid little XPA. One that needs to warm up a touch to fully experience the flavours which change and develop as the beer has sat open. Looking forward to trying the other beers I bought at Northwinds (There are four more in the the "Fridge of Fame.")



Cheers


CJT



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#CanadaMonthBeer: Old Tomorrow Canadian Pale Ale

# 235 Canadian Pale Ale

Old Tomorrow
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Independent Contract Brewery
Pale Ale
IBU 25
4.9 % ABV Aluminium Can 473 ml
$2.95 (Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @OldTomorrowbeer

Well July is the time we celebrate Canada up here in the great white North, While we will often give a nod to our southern neighbours who happen to celebrate their birthday on the same weekend, we here at the Pint Jockey Headquarters are going full Canuck the whole month of July. It is #CanadaMonth, and we picked Old Tomorrow for our inaugural #CanadaMonthBeer.

Old Tomorrow takes it's name from Sir John A. MacDonald, irascible Scot, persuasive orator, well know, drinker, fancier of trains, and sometime graffiti artist. Oh, he was also the driving force behind the formation of Canada, the building of our railroad, and our first Prime Minister. (Sometime during his campaign for Prime Minister he stayed in a private home in Walkerton Ontario where I used to live. The home is now a B&B and I stayed there one night and my room was the same room he had stayed in. He made sure everyone was aware of this fact by etching his name into the glass in the window. His signature is still there today.) Old Tomorrow was one of Sir John's many nicknames, politics of the time were far more interesting back then parties would give their candidates nicknames. (as would their opponents although they were less flattering) Since in that time there were no radio TV or Internet ads, and most of the exposure to a candidate was through the newspapers, a catchy nickname went a long way.

On to tonight's offering. Old Tomorrow calls it a Canadian Pale Ale. I'm fairly certain Sir John liked his whisky, but let's see if he would like his namesake beer.

Onto Tomorrow!

Pours a darker gold with an off-white head with hints of tan, made up of small bubbles. Aroma is a rich, deep, spicy, malt with lots of wood tones. First sip is a complex malty West Coast style pale ale. finish is light bitter herbs and some herbal hops. Aeration brings out the grains and the malt sugars.

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

Final Thoughts:


While not a bad beer at all I don't feel that it stands out very well from all of the pale ales and IPAs that are being made now. However, They have my attention, and I can't wait to try more

Cheers


CJT



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Sawdust City Collab Little Norway

# 235 Little Norway

Sawdust City Brewing Company
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Independent Microbrewery
Pale Lager
IBU 25
4.5 % ABV Aluminium Can 473 ml
$2.50 (Canadian) At the brewery

Twitter: @sawdustcitybeer

Tonight's offering is the result of a collaboration between Sawdust City Brewing Co. and Norway's Arendals Bryggeri. The name Little Norway has a very historic meaning with Sawdust's hometown of Gravenhurst During the Second World War when Nazis had occupied Norway the King and the Government of Norway escaped to England and was running a resistance movement from London. They arranged for some planes to be "borrowed," in a Lend/lease agreement. and set up a training camp in Toronto at the Island Airport. When one of these planes crashed into the lake the residents of Toronto got nervous and the training camp was moved to the Muskoka airport just outside of Gravenhurst. From 1942-45 thousands of displaced Norwegians came to the airport nicknamed (you guessed it) Lille Norge, or Little Norway.

The beer was developed in the summer of 2013 When the  brewmaster of Sawdust journeyed to Norway and collaborated with Arendals Bryggeri. The beer was launched in Norway in 2014, and then Sawdust brewed their own batch with pure Muskoka water in 2015.


Onto the tasting...

Pours an apple-juice coloured light clear gold with a bright white head made up of small bubbles. The aroma is malty and heavy with European style lager hops (Saaz and Magnum). First sip is reminiscent of a Euro lager crossed with a west coast pale ale. Very malt forward with some slight sourness. Malt gives way to some lemon and orange zest and then to a bitter herbs and medicinal hop finish. As the beer warms the malts become more distinct and defined. The grain flavours deepen. Aeration brings out a very green and bitter herb flavour along with some smoky malt sugars.

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:

I am not a big lager drinker (anymore... anyway). I used to drink Labatt Blue in my younger, wilder days. However, my tastes have matured. These days I am far more comfortable with a ESB or an IPA in my hand. After drinking so many inky-black, barrel aged, high octane beers it is hard to come down to the lager level and be objective. The lager is a simple, clean, crisp beer. And in my mind it is a beer best suited for food, the acids and citrus aromas (not unlike a white wine) compliment something fatty (like sausages, hamburgers, chicken wings... etc) or hot (curry and the like). This beer took a little warming to fully open up, so unlike it's counterparts, (that are best served just above 0 degrees Celsius) let this beer warm to at least cellar temperature 8 to 10 degrees Celsius.  5 to 10 minutes on the counter out of the fridge would do nicely... your patience will be rewarded. And put the chicken wing down...

Cheers


CJT



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Ontario Craft Cider Week: Coffin Ridge Forbidden Artisanal Dry Cider

Cider # 10 Forbidden Artisanal Dry Cider

Coffin Ridge Winery

Annan, Ontario, Canada

Boutique Winery

All Natural Hard Apple Cider 
6.5 % ABV Aluminium Can 500 ml.

$2.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: @coffinridge

@ontcraftcider

Well it has finally arrived. Not only is summer here, but the beverage festivals begin. I am going to be a busy boy for the next few months. And first up on our list is the Ontario Craft Cider Week, sponsored by the Ontario Craft Cider Association (check them out... give them some love). Our first offering is a first for the blog. It is actually brewed at a winery. And a special winery to boot. Coffin Ridge is located in Annan Ontario. which is in between Meaford and Owen Sound and boasts some of the most northerly vineyards in Ontario. It is also the heart of Ontario apple country, which goes to explain the cider, and why we are here today. Coffin Ridge is a member of the Ontario Craft Cider Association and therefore the perfect beverage to kick off Cider Week.

Enough small talk... Let's PRESS on (get it? Cider Press?)

Clear gold in colour with hints of green. Slight skiff of a carbonated head that disappears quite quickly. Aroma is apple pie, bready, with cinnamon and cloves, some citrus and a hint of ginger. Quite tart, yet with a smooth finish, very crisp dry and clean. Lingering taste of slightly green wild apples.Aeration gives us lots of bright lemon and tart green apples

 Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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



Final Thoughts:

This is what dry cider should taste like: Crisp, tart, full of good apple flavour... and grown in our backyards. This is a cider made by a winemaker and it shows. It is gentle and well balanced and drinks like a crisp summer white. This is an absolute must try and a great way to kick off Cider Week.

Cheers

CJT


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