BeerFest 2011

Organic Lager

Label:  Original Organic Lager
Type:  Lager
ABV[%]:  4.2
Packaging:  355 ml bottle
Brewery:  Mill St. Brewery, Toronto, ON

Smell:  Sweet and slightly fruity
Head: white, thin little lacing
Color: gold
Carbonation:  medium
Kick: meh...
Rating: 8/10

Notes:
So I pulled on my Granite Pub T-shirt on and heaved a small sigh that i was no longer able to go to my local brewpub, having moved  from Toronto. As great as the beer scene is in the TDot, there are but two (at least while I was there) brew pubs in a city of 4 million... Pretty pathetic (Victoria now has three). The good news is that there is still a lot of great beer-making in the Tdot.

Thanks to a fellow nerd named Dave, I was introduced to Mill St. by way of a their astounding Coffee Porter. This stuff kicked my ass: ninja style. But you can't have more than 2 or 3 of them, unless your one of those Red Bull junkies. So I was pleased to pick up a potential session beer by Mill St.

This beer has a great nose and it and really, really finishes well. Really. There is very little aftertaste and finishes great. Did I say it finishes well? Crap. I could pound these babies down like a Flava Flave beats down women. It has a nice but very mild fruitiness to it. The barley is mild and perhaps not as flavorful as I'd hoped, but I ain't complaining. It leaves to tongue clean with very little aftertaste. It's great... Even luke warm.

My bro is a Lager guy... And I'm getting him a case of this fizicchisle when he comes to town.

Later, poop-heads.

Ginger Beer

Label: Ginger Beer
Type: seasonale ale
ABV[%]: 5.0
Packaging: 650 ml bottle
Brewery: Phillips Brewing Co., Victoria, BC

Smell: Ginger, with a dash of Mary Anne
Head: thin with little lacing
Color: gold
Carbonation: medium
Kick:
Rating: 8/10

Notes:
-sweet smelling
-not very many flavors except ginger, hops and some barley.
- a little dark for a Ginger Beer, from the malts, but the malts give it some bodied taste which makes it more thirst quenching
- the ginger hits you a second or two after the swig, making you think "hey, this isnt... What? Oh yeah, nice ginger"
- is isn't bitter at all and the sweetness likely comes mostly from the ginger root itself. Or not.
- really hits the spot on a nice warm evening after a hot sunny day.

The perfect tool

For the beer loving technophile.

Citra IPA

Label: Citra IPA - BeerMaster Series
Type: IPA
ABV[%]: 6.5
Packaging: 650 ml bottle
Brewery: Dead Frog Breweries, Aldergrove, BC

Smell: Orange Peel, Hops
Head: Thick with a medium lacing
Color: light orange, clear
Carbonation: Mild to medium
Kick: Scream... Ahhh!!! .... not loud enough!
Rating: 7.5/10

Notes:
On the way to the airport while dropping off my in-laws, I had the pleasure of driving behind a black truck that had silver testicles dangling off the rear hitch. Now I've seen these before, but these were very shiny. I could not keep my eyes of them, thinking "why do people do this?", followed by "does he shine these things every night", spiralling downwards to "does he use his bare hands and mouth to shine them?". So, after nearly missing my turn-off and no longer hypnotized by these metallic swinging asymmetric squiggy sacks, my thoughts migrated to "i wonder where this dude is from... maybe Aldergrove".

Enter Dead Frog Breweries. These guys have a great lager and a nut brown ale which I frequently pick up. But they also make a few small batch brews and bottle them for local distribution. So they've already demonstrated that they can make some great session beers and seeing this bottle on the rack got me interested.

This has a smooth taste upfront, but then hits you with a hop and citrus orange peel blast after a second or two, followed by a tingy tongue and some funky-ass beer breath. It starts like a campfire on the beach but ends like a 1976 Megadeath concert (their first concert was on this day in 1976). The carbonation is mild so you get to soak in the hops. The alcohol bite is only slightly sharp, which is good if you like deception. I do. Bitches.

Post-note: this is about my 43 beer review.

Blackheart Oatmeal Stout

Label: Blackheart Oatmeal Stout
Type: Stout... No really!
ABV[%]: 5.7
Packaging: 341 ml bottles
Brewery: Nelson Brewing Co., Nelson, BC

Smell: Oats, Mocha?, Barley
Head: nice lacing, but not very thick
Color: dark... Cloudy
Carbonation: medium
Kick: this monkeys gone to heaven
Rating: 7/10

Notes:
Nelson BC is a beautiful little saw mill town in the thick of BC which has ready access to fresh water and oats. This beer is an organic one and you can tell in the crispness in the flavours. But the real question is there anyone in friggin Nelson that actually drinks this stuff? Regardless, yet another example of the depths of the fantastic brewing scene in BC. "BC" = Beer Connoisseurs.

This is a sharp tasting stout with some mocha flavour and a harder aftertaste. It is has the obvious oatiness to it and has a nice kick... Purportedly dry, but I have my doubts. It leaves a silky aftertaste, but as said, quite sharp. It has a great look and finish to it... Tops Guinness by a mile in my view, but in taste only... the head on a Guinness is simply magical... and I guess that isn't really a stout now is it.

A nice stout, but don't have more than two pints... Unless you're Irish or from Nelson.

Apricot Wheat Ale

Label: Apricot wheat ale
Type: Ale
ABV[%]: 5
Packaging: 650 ml bottle
Brewery: Cannary Brewing, Penticton BC
Smell: hops with citrus
Head: fluffy, little lacing
Color: amber, cloudy
Carbonation: just right
Kick: meh
Rating: 8/10

Notes:
This is a beer first. Apricot flavoured beer second. It does a good job in defining a taste that is different from St. Ambrois apricot ale, which is sweeter and less hoppy. It has a clean finish and would be great on a patio on a sunny day.

In all a nice niche beer.

Big Bear Black Stout

Label: Big Bear Black Stout
Type: Stout, dumbass
ABV[%]: 8.1
Packaging: 6fl ounces
Brewery: Bear Republic Brewing Co, Cloverdale, California

Smell: Strong and Malty
Head: Brown, thick lacing
Color: unfiltered brown, looks black
Carbonation: Medium, just right
Kick: not much... Eh, WTF?
Rating: 9/10

Notes:
-hefty black stout
- sweet, malt and Carmel
- perfect carbonation, making this a real tasty treat. Almost a meal
- got a bit of a burnt sourness but then settles to just burnt with the malty carmel aftertaste.
- it is a heavy beer, but a real stout.
- easily the best stout I've had this year.

Sap Sucker

Label: Sap Suker Maple Porter
Type: Porter
ABV[%]: 5.5
Packaging: 750 ml
Brewery: Fernie Brewing Company
Smell: Maple! Wood
Head: Beautifully thick with a wonderful lacing
Color: almost black but not cloudy
Carbonation: medium
Kick: medium
Rating: 7/10

Notes:
This is a sweet molassesy beer with a maple flavour. It is worth getting just for the head itself. It leaves a slightly silky aftertaste and the initial flavour is slightly bitter. You can taste and almost imagine carmelized sugars when they were brewing this beer.

I only gave it a 7 but only because I'm not a huge porter fan. Having said that, the taste is fresh and it pours into the glass wonderfully. It also has a bit of hoppiness to it but in the end the barley flavours mixed in with the maple are teh tones that hit you. Nice.

The brewery is based out of -you guessed it- Fernie, who like many other breweries in BC are cashing in on the craft brewery explosion on the west coast. It won't be on my must-drink list but I am pleased to see a competitive porter from the interior. Besides Blackheart, there aren't many stouts brewed well from in the mountain ranges of BC... Or are there?

Feed the people, stay alive.

Calico Amber Ale

Label: Calico Amber Ale
Type: Amber Ale American
ABV[%]: ?
Packaging: 650 ml bottle
Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Co. San Diego, CA
Smell: Hoppy with a citrus zing
Head: full with a thick lacing
Color: amber brown
Carbonation: medium
Kick: meh
Rating: 8.5/10

Notes:
What a citrusy and hoppy zing in the aftertaste! It is almost as if there wasn't as much flavour as there is aftertaste. It really wipes off the tongue... almost minty. It has a beautiful color to it, nice and clear. You can taste a bit of heaviness in the malt, but it isn't a heavy brew. These go down pretty fast! It has a mild but distinct spiciness to it that makes it a nice drink to chill out to.

This is the kind of beer that you know would taste much, much better out of a keg, but it ain't too shabby from the bottle. I had it slightly cooler than room temperature, which I think is ideal since you'd probably miss some of the spiciness if it was too cold.

It has, however, perhaps the second ugliest label I have seen on a beer bottle. The font and ugly looking fish on the label just look cheap. For a brewery so creative in their beer, they spared little imagination on the label. But I'm gonna look out for this stuff in SoCal, baby.

Apparently it was judged one of the best beers in the world, winning the world cup. Brew Hah!

Hop Circle IPA

Label: Hop Circle IPA
Type: IPA
ABV[%]: 6.5
Packaging: 350ml bottle
Brewery: Philips Brewery, Victoria, BC

Smell: Citrus, hops, and sweet
Head: pours heady and leaves thick lacing
Color: light clear
Carbonation: medium
Kick: bowzer
Rating: 8/10

Notes:
This is a well hopped IPA that does not taste as strong as the ABV content suggests. The carbonation has been hoptimized such that it barley distracts. I was hopping that it wouldn't linger on the tongue after a swig and was pleased that despite the hoplification, the aftertaste barley lingers. Or does is Barry Fingers? Anyway, the label says if will blow your senses, and whoah, there is indeed a citrusy hop explosion; however, it maintains a smooth finish and refreshes brilliantly.

You do not need a lot of this stuff to refresh yourself, and having 2 did give me a mild headache. Not sure of that was due to a lingering and persistent cold or flu or whatever H50N99 virus I had, or the fact that I swigged those babies down at a sprinters pace. But, as my moron friends say, irregardless, go buy it, drink it, and fluff your crotch.

Red House Ale

Label: Red House Ale
Type: Ale
ABV[%]: 5.0
Packaging: 355 ml bottle
Brewery: Surgenor Brewing Company Ltd, Comox, BC

Smell: hoppy with citrus tones, slightly malty
Head: pours thick but settle thin with a bito lacing
Color: red baby, red
Carbonation: medium
Kick: goat
Rating: 7.5/10

Notes:
This beer has a hoppy and slightly sweet taste, maybe a hint of maple syrup I'm guessing. It covers the tongue well and leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste, likely from the hops. It finishes smooth and the hops linger for a while, but not unpleasant at all. Just tastes like a good ale. I'm sure this would get a better rating if it were pulled, but where am I gong to find a beer like this from the tap? Likely Comox, but our trip to Parksville did not include a trip to the bar. I was pleased to find something local in the Parksville liquor store that I haven't tried yet.

It is a decent ale, hand crafted and not pasteurized, giving it a fresh taste. It is not expensive either so I can understand why the brewery call it their signature beer.

The label art is quite boring... I could think of a few more exciting things than a barn to put on the label; having said that it likely it is of great importance. The beer stems from Northern Ireland descendants, but their really isn't much in this ale that makes me thing: oh yeah, this is an Iree beer... Apart from the standard ale-ish taste.

It has a great colour and, as I said, finishes nice. Nice.

Singularity

Label: Singularity
Type: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV[%]: 11.8
Packaging: 650ml
Brewery:  Driftwood Breweries, Victoria,BC

Smell: caramel, oats, vodka, tad of coffee
Head: dark brown that fades quickly
Color: opaque brown
Carbonation:  mild to little
Kick: was that a bullet in the head?
Rating: 8/10

Notes:
In physics, the word singularity describes the state of something when the mass of an object becomes so large that the gravitational force it exerts is immeasurably large. The word has fantastic imagery for a state of existence that is cannot be visualized, let alone conceived by most people. Thus it has a mystical spot in the shelves of science: a description beyond reproach.

In mathematics, the concept of singularity is perhaps more tangible: a mathematical expression where the divisor becomes infinitesimally small. The consequence is a number that becomes so large it doesn't make sense to think of it as a number, but instead a concept of something so large there is little value in counting it. 

This is a stout that is (arguably) excessively strong, excessively thick, and excessively flavorful. This isn't yo mamas Cool Aid. This is a damn strong beer. It has a Carmel flavor with a vodka-like infused taste. It doesn't really compare with the scotch infused strong beer brewed by Russell Breweries. With such a high ABV content, you can't swig this back in your favourite beer glass (word to the wise, use a thin glass of ~4 oz or so). It tickles that back of the throat and leaves a burnt, oaty and alcohol aftertaste. 

So yes, the gravity in this beer is high. And yes, the aftertaste lingers forever. But does it reach infinity? No. It is a hell of a treat that I'd recommend to the stout lover. 

But not in a pint glass.

Black Widow

Label: Black Widow
Type: Mild Ale
ABV[%]: 5.0
Packaging: 750 ml Bottle
Brewery: Tin Whistle Brewing Co., Penticton, BC

Smell: spicy, cinnamon and fruitiness
Head: brown and thin
Color: dark brown, beautiful
Carbonation: medium
Kick: a mallet of feathers
Rating: 8/10

Notes:
In the beautiful Okanagan valley rests a small little brewery called Tin Whistle. Nicely packaged with a picture of the ole No.1 Kettle Valley line train, this beer has a nice balance of flavor for a mild ale. It has a sweet taste with a molasses aftertaste which isn't too overbearing. It covers the whole tongue, leaving a slight bitter aftertaste. It is probably the kinda beer that would give you noticeable beer breath, and you probably don't want to have too many of these. I bet this beer would be awesome on tap.

The brewery's name reminded me of that highly successful band David Bowie had after his serious moonlight tour... Anyone?

Nasty Habit

Label: Nasty Habit
Type: Ale
ABV[%]: 6.0
Packaging: 650 ml bottle
Brewery: Mt. Begbie Brewing Co.

Smell: Hops, spices and fruit, and more hops
Head: thin
Color: Amber
Carbonation:
Kick: greased lightening
Rating: 8.5/10

Notes:
Spicy and fruity, followed by hops and little malty. Smooth, slight sweet aftertaste. Perfectly spiced and smooth. Looks like an English bitter.

Brilliance.

Chimay

Label: Chimay
Type: Strong Ale
ABV[%]: 9.0
Packaging: 750 ml Bottle
Brewery: Scourmont Abbey, Chimay, Belgium 

Smell: sweet molasses
Head: thin but thin lacing
Color: cloudy brown
Carbonation: medium
Kick: Scotty, beam me up!
Rating: 7/10

Notes:
Not much of a dialogue today. Just getting to the point.

Smooth but sharp tasting ale. You could drink quite a few of these. Not hoppy, but sweet and malty.

Major part of the sales revenue is to support charitable works of monks on Belgium. Brewed in the walls of a Trappist monastery under the control of a Trappist community.

Silky little aftertaste but a strong first taste. Not as heavy as it looks.

A good piss-up.

Navigator

Label: Navigator
Type: Dopplebock
ABV[%]: 8.5
Packaging: 750 ml Bottle
Brewery: Lighthouse Breweries, Victoria BC

Smell: Malty with a tinge of spice
Head: thin
Color: dark brown
Carbonation: medium
Kick: To Live Crew beatch
Rating: 8.5/10

Notes:
Yet another night of coaching my sons basketball practice followed by his homework routine and then an hour and a half of indoor soccer. I knew before I came home that I would sample another delicious brew from Lighthouse breweries. My knee kind of blew out so I figured I needed some pain relieve. And what could be better for pain relieve than a Dopplebock. 

I normally prefer hocks over Dopplebocks since the latter tend to be a bit too strong for my liking. And swigging 650ml of a Dopplebock might require some exceptionally good behaviour to veil how piss drunk you really are when you speak to your wife. But I digress. Now to the beer.

The first thing you taste are the malts and it covers your tongue with flavor and carbonation. This is followed with a burnt oatish taste, smooth and slightly bitter. The alcohol aftertaste hits you much later and a bit of sourness. Not discouraging though.

Dopplebocks are stronger and dark malty lager and a staple from Munich. It purports of having a deep flavour.  And that seems to be a fair comment. What is so cool about Dopplebocks are that they are lagers... Not ales, not stouts, but lagers. So imagine a really good bottle of Canadian (if there is such a thing) but brewed to twice the alcohol content and with a ton of malty flavors. Wonderful. I recently has Philips Dopplebock and this one is clearly better. Not too much flavor, and easy going down. And boy is it strong. Very strong. Strong enough for me to summon all my equilibrating senses when trying to have a civil conversation.

In the words of Spearhead "I like it loudy, loudy, loudy!". 

Abominable Winter Ale

Label: Abominable Winter Ale
Type: Ale
ABV[%]: 7.3
Packaging: 750 ml Bottle
Brewery: Hop Works Urban Brewery, Oregon

Smell: hops and citrus with some spice
Head: creamy brown that lingers
Color: brownish
Carbonation: medium
Kick: Scotty, beam me up!
Rating: 7/10

Notes
I saw this bottle at my favorite beer store and the label made me teary-eyed remembering my days as a "yout" and watching the pathetically animated Christmas special "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer". My favorite character was the misunderstood abominable snowman. Poor guy. Nobody realized that his fuss is over a simple toothache. The beer label has a picture of a similar looking snowman. I had to stop myself from sobbing at the beer store. Pathetic.

This beer is full of hops and has a pleasant sweet aftertaste. Luke warm it goes down great so it would probably taste better slightly child. It has a strong finish. It has a variety of spices and, for me, maybe a tad too flavourful. But that might be intentional since it is a seasonal brew. 

You can't argue with this breweries passion for organic substances. It amazes me how different beers taste with organics ingredients. Ask me to compare the taste of organic vs. non-organic oranges and I'd be lost. But ask me to tell the difference in beer, well it is really quite amazing.

It claims of having 6 organic malts, and has a bitterness vale of 70 IBU. That seems about right. It's too bad we don't get many Oregon brews here in Canada. Maybe it is time for a visit.