The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 20: Long Dark Voyage To Uranus Coffee & Vanilla by Sawdust City

Beer # 479 Long Dark Voyage to Uranus Coffee & Vanilla

Brewery: Sawdust City Brewing Company


Type: Independent Microbrewery    
Est.:  2015

Location: Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Barrel Aged Uranal Stout

ABV: 9.5%      IBU: 60

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $6.25 CAD   
Purchased At: The Brewery

 sawdustcitybeer

    @sawdustcitybeer

Another offering from the brewer in my backyard. Sawdust seemed to go overboard this year with new beer releases, and they are doubling down for next year. Since it is their fifth anniversary in the Gravenhurst Location, they are doing their "52 Pickup" which is a beer release a week every week for the entire year. I will be trying them all and I will be posting a few of them but I doubt I will go shot for shot with them... I do have a day job...

So this beer tonight is a rework of their classic seasonal LDV or Long Dark Voyage to Uranus. It gets most of its kick from fresh Lot #7 Katia Duke coffee from Cut Coffee in Toronto and is rounded out with some vanilla. According to Cut... Lot#7 is open fermented for 36 hours then dried on special beds in the African sun. It has notes of peach honey and fresh fruit.

Onto our beer...


Pours a deep dark brown with a short dark tan head made up of tiny bubbles. The nose is fresh ground coffee with hints of dark malt and brown sugar. Coffee continues on the first sip like that first fresh aroma of coffee when the hot water hits the grounds for the first time. Toffee, caramel and vanilla fill out the middle. Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, not unlike cold brew coffee.  Aeration gives chocolate brown sugar and whiskey. 

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:

The smell of this beer is amazing. It alone has the power to perk you up. Very smooth well rounded easy drinking and the 9.5% can quickly sneak up on you so imbibe carefully. 

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 19: Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Porter 2018 by Collective Arts

Beer # 478 Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Porter 2018 Edition

Brewery: Collective Arts Brewing

Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  2013

Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Barrel Aged Imperial Porter

ABV: 11.5%      IBU: 38

Format: Brown Glass Bottle  Size: 500 ml

Cost: $14.25 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

collectiveham

    @CollectiveBrew

After a short break, we are back to finish the Christmas beers... Apologies for the delay.

This beer choice was mainly the responsibility of The Queen of Pint Jockey Headquarters. She loves bunnies. And this beer features an art print of a bunny on it's label. (Not to mention she is a huge fan of big bold porters and stouts #keeper). Collective arts brews out of Hamilton Ontario and it focuses on new artists and musicians. Their can art is often young and undiscovered artists and each beer run will feature several different artists. This beer's artist was Kait Cooper An Illustrator and graphic designer from Montreal. The Beer actually included a print of the bunny Image which the Queen has claimed, so I have to frame it for her. Tonight's beer is a bourbon barrel aged Imperial porter. I seriously can get enough of these beers when they come out in the winter... so delicious. 

Onto our beer.

Pours a very dark brown almost black with a deep tan head made up of small bubbles. Nose is laced with whiskey, smoke leather, chocolate and fresh coffee. First sip is rummy and malty, with vanilla toffee, and liquorice.  Lips are left sticky, and tongue is quite warm from the alcohol. Malt, molasses, jammy fruit and an oaky creamy finish. Very reminiscent of sticky toffee pudding. As the beer warms brown sugar comes out near the finish. Aeration brings out some chocolate hints of toasted oats, and a long lingering sweet finish.

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: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Christmas Cheer 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL


Final Thoughts:

I've had a few Collective Arts beers and for the most part, they are pretty good, but this one is great. Fantastically rich and smooth with all the right flavours one would expect from this style. A good hint of alcohol, perfect for warming up on these cold nights. Really good check this one out if you can. 

Cheers

CJT


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Happy New Beers!

Yeah, yeah... I know it's the end of January... but what are you going to do? It's been a busy couple of weeks. We ended up having to hold a second Christmas because some family could not make it up over the holidays, and it seems like we have been going non-stop since mid-November. I did, however, manage to get a few beers put away in the back pocket over the holidays so I have quite a few to post today and over the next few days. (Including the last of the #2-4beersofchristmas) I was kind of upset with myself last year especially when I realised my post count was one of the lowest over the last 10 years (REALLY!?) yes this is my tenth year. I guess time flies when you drink. I remember one of my biggest goals was to try and reach 1000 beers, and I honestly didn't think that would be too hard. But here we are, ten years in and I am only about halfway. So I decided to make a promise to myself to do at least 100 posts again this year. I did it a few years ago and it worked out fine. I think since this is not really my job, and I don't have any real accountability in posting on a regular basis, having a self-imposed quota really does help. It is hard to remember sometimes that this is just a hobby, it does take up a fair amount of time and money. I have to travel to find new and interesting beers, I have to curate them (I have a huge library of beers in the #fridgeoffame, and the closets, and the basement. I really need my own room to do this. I also have to photograph, keep the blog looking fresh, and try to have a social media image. Twitter and Instagram is a huge time suck sometimes! But I do enjoy it. discovering new beers really gets me excited. The Queen knows (all too well) that if we are travelling somewhere that if I am quiet with my phone out, looking at maps... I'm usually plotting directions to the nearest brewery. She is very patient and loving with my addiction...

Plans for the year are a little up in the air. The Headquarters needs a new kitchen so, my vacation is going to be used for a greater cause than roaming the countryside looking for new beers. I wanted to try and hit a new beer festival this year, other than our local FunkFest, but that will remain to be seen if I can work that in. The other goal this year is a big family vacation South, way South... I will tell you more when I have tickets in hand (It's exciting! and yes there will be beer!)

As for the blog this year I have been thinking of some changes. I enjoy my current format but I am always looking for something that could streamline the process for me and help encourage me to write more. I may try a few new formats out this year but the content will still be the same. I am pondering dropping the numbering system. It was there for my original goal of getting to 1000 beers, but it seems to have lost it's meaning and doesn't add anything to the process. Plus it does seem that most people read the blog out of order anyway. So don't be surprised if that goes away I may retire it at beer # 500. I have also quietly added some embedded Google brewery maps that go mostly province by province. I have a few more to put up and I will try to revisit them regularly to make sure they are up to date. I am also working on the photojournal of breweries I have visited. So check out the new content. Hold on for some changes, because like George Lucas I just can't leave well enough alone. Have a good year Sportsfans and try to be nice to one another, it's a pretty tiny rock we live on.

Cheers

CJT

The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 18: Cherry Porter by MacLean's Ales

 Beer # 477 Cherry Porter

Brewery: Maclean's Ales


Type: Independent Microbrewery   
Est.:  2009

Location: Hanover, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Flavoured Porter

ABV: 4.8%      IBU: 38

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $3.05 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

 N/A

    N/A

A number of years ago I lived in the town of Hanover and that is where I first came across this brewery. At the time they were contract brewing out of Guelph, I'm not sure which brewery though. They brewed one beer at the time which was called MacLean's (obviously). It was similar to Alexander Keith's. It is still brewed today as MacLean's Pale Ale. Since I moved away they moved into Hanover finally opening a bricks-and-mortar brewery, just a few minutes away from where I lived. I will admit to drinking a fair amount of MacLean's when I was in Hanover... It was cheap, tasted marginally better than the macro-brews, and well, it was different at the time. Tonight we are trying their sour cherry flavoured porter. If all goes well I may have to head back to where I used to live and check them out.

Onto our beer.

Pours a dark chestnut brown... a little on the light side for a porter with an off-tan head made of small bubbles. Nose is fruity and malty with hints of molasses. First sip is very dry, bitter, and quite thin. Although there is a slight fruitiness there is not much cherry going on except for a hint of tartness right at the end of the finish. Coffee builds on the finish. There is very little depth to the beer, not much happening. The malt flavours are underdeveloped and the fruit is missing in action. Not a drain award contender but not that good either. Aeration spike up bitterness and tartness.

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:

As I said, MacLean's Pale Ale was ok, and its flavoured porter brother is no different. Certainly, nothing to write home about. Kind of disappointing I hoped they would have had time to improve. I will still drop in and visit if I am ever out that way again. Hopefully, they will have some better beers to surprise me with.

Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 17: Trash Panda Hazy IPA by Parallel 49

Beer # 476 Trash Panda Hazy IPA

Brewery: Parallel 49 Brewing Company


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  2015

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Beer Style: New England India Pale Ale

ABV: 5.5%      IBU: 55

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $2.95 CAD     Purchased At: LCBO

 parallel49beer

    @Parallel49Beer

Ok this beer wins the award for my favourite name for this #2-4BeersofChristmas. I'm a big Marvel fan and one of my favourite scenes from Guardians of the Galaxy part 2 Involves The lovable Rocket Raccoon being called a "Trash Panda" by Star-Lord... Which always brought up the question: If Star-Lord left Earth in the late 1980's How would he have known the term Trash Panda since it didn't get coined until the age of the Meme in the 2010's? Oh well... can be any more unbelievable than his Sony Walkman lasting for 25 years without breaking down...

The beer tonight is a "hazy IPA" but it is, in reality, a New England IPA which is an unfiltered Fruit Bomb of an IPA style.

Onto our beer...

Pours a hazy medium gold with a huge white fluffy head made up of medium bubbles (which has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I dropped the can on my foot before I opened it...) The aroma is grapey, grassy and full of spice. First sip gives us a light, airy, and spicy New England style IPA with caramel and malt. Tropical fruits dominate the middle with grapefruit being the star. Malt builds toward the finish with a lingering hint of grape. Aeration brings out the spicy hops.

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: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Christmas Cheer 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL


Final Thoughts:

This is a light, fresh, and tasty NEIPA. Very refined and balanced, maybe not worthy of it's "Trashy" title but it is a great addition to our list this year.


Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 16: Hali's Comet Dry Hopped Amber Ale by Sawdust City

Beer # 475 Hali's Comet Dry Hopped Amber

Brewery: Sawdust City Brewing


Type: Independent Microbrewery    Est.:  2012

Location: Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Dry Hopped Amber Ale

ABV: 5.0%      IBU: 22

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $2.95 CAD     Purchased At: The Brewery

 sawdustcitybeer

    @sawdustcitybeer

Tonight's beer was released as part of a fundraising effort for a local woman here in Muskoka. Hope for Hali  was created for Hali Camick a 48-year-old mother of three who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Her friends were trying to raise money for Hali to get an innovative new stem-cell treatment that has been showing promise for her type of MS. Being a new treatment it is not covered by Health insurance so she needed $60,000 to cover the costs. Sawdust Stepped up and offered $1 from each can glass of draught sold. According to the site she has received full funding and she is having a going away party at the Brewery in January. The go fund me is still open as I am sure she will still need some money for her convalescence. We all wish her a speedy recovery.

Onto our beer...

Pours a dark gold with a slight amber tinge. The head is a short off-white affair made up of small bubbles. The nose is sweet brown sugar malt and a warm breadiness, with a background of mellow green hops. The first sip is a sweet and spicy red ale with a good malt character and a spicy hop hum throughout the middle. Mouthfeel is light. A long lingering bitterness from the dry hopping rounds out the finish. Aeration gives us some grassiness and a bit of brown sugar sweetness.

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 7/6 EXCEPTIONAL
(IT'S GOOD TO GIVE AT THE HOLIDAYS)


Final Thoughts:

This is a great beer for an even better cause I wish I had been able to get to this sooner but I am glad Hali is getting the treatment she needs.

Cheers

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition Day 15: Let's get B.I.S.A. by Sawdust City

Beer # 474 Let's Get B.I.S.A.

Brewery: Sawdust City Brewing


Type: Independent Microbrewery    
Est.:  2012

Location: Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Beer Style: Belgian India Session Ale

ABV: 4.2%      IBU: 25

Format: Aluminium Can  Size: 473 ml

Cost: $4.25 CAD     
Purchased At: The Brewery

 sawdustcitybeer

    @sawdustcitybeer

Sawdust has been B.I.S.A. ( I mean Busy...) this Holiday season and has put out a large number of brews. This Belgian session ale was released a couple of weeks ago, but I just got around to picking one up, when I got Sawdust's special winter stouts. I decided to add it to the list as it is quite a festive can and named with a terrible pun. I have a weak spot for puns.

Onto our beer...


Pours a cloudy brassy gold with a white head made up of small and medium bubbles. Aroma is mainly malted wheat with hints of spice and green hops. First sip is light bodied airy and refreshing. Notes of wheat hints of banana spice and green hops. Aeration brings out some grapefruit and vanilla and a touch of wheat toast.

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 solid Belgian session ale. Warming, spicy, but still quite bright and green. I would enjoy sipping this under the Christmas tree, I'm sure you would too.

Cheers

CJT

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