Filthy Dirty

Guest Blogger: Damian the Great

Label: Dirty Filthy

Type: IPA    

ABV: 7.2

IBU: 55

Packaging: Growler fills and 341 ml bottles

Brewery: Parallel 49, Vancouver

Nose: Light, fruity. 

Head: minimal and lingering. 

Carbonation : Almost English. 

Colour : deep amber gold 

Kick: subtle yet strong 

Rating: 7/10 

Notes: this brew replaces P49's famed Lord of The Hops brought down by litigators of Tolkien. A Customers choice beer from 5 proposed recipes. Sure to be a future staple and the t-shirts are awesome. Growler fills and six 341 ml bottles.

Hopnotist

Guest Blogger: Damian the Great

Label: Hopnotist

Type: Imperial IPA    

ABV: 8.5 

Packaging: 650 ml bomber 

Brewery: Parallel 49, Vancouver

Smell: strong citrus floral (mosaic hops) Head: minimal 

Colour: slightly dark gold 

Carbonation : minimal 

Kick: potent Rating: 9/10 

Notes: Not a session beer. Two bomber max then it's bedtime. Great with BBQ Lamb.

Hopfen Weisse

Label: Hopfen Weisse

Type:  Weisse bock

ABV[%]: 8.2

Packaging: 500 ml Bottle
Brewery: Schneider Weisse

Smell: hops! Some fruit
Head: thin, no lacing
Color: cloudy pale
Carbonation: low
Kick: smooth motha... Jus talkin bout Shaft!
Rating: 7/10

Notes:

40 IBUs with 8.2 ABV. Lots of flavors, some of which seem caramelized juices. 

Remarkably smooth! Odd (good odd) aftertaste, but not outrageously hoppy. The sediments carry a lot of flavor... Probably too much for my liking though. 

Not that it's bad... It's good and not as nearly as sharp as I expected for such a high ABV. It's pale... Very much makes you think how beer was brewed in the early days. Old school beer. That's what I'm calling it.

Snap!

Science... It's hard.

Let it fly my brothers.

Maibock

Label: Maibock
Type: Strong Maibock 
ABV[%]: 6.75
Packaging: 750 ml Bottle
Brewery: Lighthouse Brewing, Victoria BCCA

Smell: Pilsener, malty
Head: thin, no lacing
Color: copper clean
Carbonation: medium
Kick: Migeri kick... SUH
Rating: 9/10

Notes:

Well, the name isn't very creative, but can't say that for the brew itself.

Light bubbles, not sweet, with a very clean finish. Wow. Delicious malts with a bitterness ... Not like grapefruit bitter but more mild at first... but then you get that other kind of bitter in the aftertaste. Cool. I'm biased towards Bocks so I'm obviously loving this stuff. Carbonation is just perfect.

It's almost not like a beer but a malty+hoppy beverage without much sweetness. So this would be perfect if the day was hotter (not like the evening when I'm normally "reviewing" beer.

This is a seasonal so I guess you won't find it on the shelf for long. And by the taste I'd also guess that it wasn't brewed yesterday. Snap it up.

Tall Poppy

Label: Tall Poppy
Type: Ale
ABV[%]: 7.0
Packaging: 500 ml Bottle
Brewery: 8 Wired Brewery, NZ

Smell: hops, citrus, Carmelo Anthony watermelon?
Head: thin, little lacing
Color: copper
Carbonation: medium high

Kick: Sweet home Alabama
Rating: 8/10

Their Big Smoke blew me away so I looked forward to trying out another brew from this New Zealand brewery. The label claims it to be an American style IPA plus Amber Ale. Could it be? The suspense is mind-numbing.

It's quite caramelish (more than I'd like)... So more leaning towards Amber Ale, but with a serious citrus hop blast. It starts quite sweet and the hop blast leaves a pleasant linger. You don't get too much of the alcohol-taste, but you can tell it's not like making love in a canoe (Monty Python joke there). Clean.

Normally I'd think it has a tad too much carbonation, but they work by revealing the hoppiness after your first swig. Clever (or just lucky with his batch).

It doesn't beat the Big Smoke but, hey, very little probably would.

Now, to watch the Final Four that I PVR'd.

I'm calling it "Will-I-Gad-Damn"

I'm calling it "Will-I-Gad-Damn"

Label: Little Willy
Type: Porter
ABV[%]: ? Guess 5.5
Packaging: 750 ml Bottle
Brewery: Manjy mash, WA

Smell: toasted oats, hint of red grapes, molasses, maybe touch of cilantro?
Head: thin, no lacing
Color: black/ brown opaque
Carbonation: medium
Kick: King Kong Balls
Rating: 8.5/10

Notes:
Just finished coaching an hour of U11 boys basketball and it is time to wind down.

What I've got here is a medium gravity porter than has the basics for a good, pub quality brew. The first thing I thought of when sipping this was how much it tastes like Backhand of God. Certainly not as refined and polished as that beer, but it has a good base. It has a bit if a sour taste up front, maybe from the grapes, and finishes quite bubbly. Maybe tad less carbonation would bring out the flavors a bit better. There is a bit of sweetness and some vanilla in the finish, but it doesn't leave a silky aftertaste.

It's got a bit if a dank taste, but that's likely from the gaminess of the beer.

I'm going to guess an ABV of about 5.5 ish.

Later Turbanator.

http://twitter.com/Psbasran/status/289600187175931904/photo/1

Mad Bruin Sour Ale

Label: Mad Bruin
Type: Sour Ale
ABV[%]: 7.0
Packaging: 750 ml Bottle
Brewery: Driftwood Brewery, Victoria BC

Smell: Red wine grapes/berries, vinegar
Head: thick and bubbly but settles very thin, no lacing
Color: brown bear brown
Carbonation: medium
Kick: Graawwllll, Rooaaaar...
Rating: 8.5/10

Notes:
I tried this stuff about a month ago but was too tired after my soccer game to write it up. I liked it then, but didn't have the energy to take notes.

The nose is interesting, almost industrial-like with a vinegary smell, but with a fruity/earthy punch. It hits your tongue all over the place: certainly sour, bit of saltiness and bitter, sweet and leaves a crispy aftertaste. It doesn't lack middle ground (that's an inside joke).

Again, like many good craft beers, you can't taste the rather high abv value except at the end of a swig, and even then it's pretty tame. Should age well.

I haven't got ahold of many sour beers but this has really perked my interest.

Port too?

I prepared some lasagna tonight, but something very gamey would go nicely with this: thinking a bison or venison burger.

Put the lotion in the basket.

@Psbasran: Lasagna is in the oven. Fireplace on. Cold outside. Time for @driftwoodbeer : Mad Bruin Sour Ale #craftbeer 7% ABV http://t.co/lkXbIZJA

Terrible

Label: Terrible
Type: Strong Dark Ale
ABV[%]: 10.5
Packaging: 750 ml Bottle
Brewery: Unibroue, Chambly QC

Smell: yeasty, sweet, molasses
Head: thick pour but settles with little lacing
Color: blackish opaque
Carbonation: medium
Kick: Gangam style
Rating: 6/10

Notes:
Unibroue makes some serious ass kicking beer. This is no exception. This is a mind numbing lager with the abv stealth of a drunk chameleon in a bar full of Venus flytraps. It is really, really sweet. It leaves a sweetish sour aftertaste, full of cherries/berries. Almost like a dessert.

Very yeasty. It is too sweet for my liking so I'm not giving it a high rating: and I can do this because this is MY blog intended to track MY tastes.

But I'm buying another bottle to keep cuz it is very memorable... Not terrible memorable but memorable memorable.

Pumpkineater Imperial Ale

Label: Type: Pumpkineater Imperial Ale
ABV[%]: 8.0
Packaging: 1 Litre Pot-Stopper

Brewery: Howe Sound Brewery, Squamish BC

Smell: Cinnamon, Nutmeg
Head: Pours bubbly but settles to a thin rich head
Color: Copper
Carbonation: medium
Kick: Deceptive. Sleuth
Rating: 8.5/10

Notes:
Wow, nice gravity on this beer. Looks almost syrupy. Despite this being a Pumpkin beer, the pumpkins weren't the first thing I tasted. Instead, the spices tended to dominate. The pumpkin taste sorta oozes gently into your mouth, in a very good way, and it is a pretty clean finish... smoo0ve. And the head that settles after you poor is a beauty: thin but rich giving a really great nose.

Perhaps my tolerance was high when I tasted this, but it didn't really feel like a 8 ABV beer (I'm Canadian ). So this didn't hit me as hard as I thought it would.

I'm not a big pumpkin beer fan. Reminiscent of Cannery's Apricot Ale (i.e., not a fruit drink, but beer). And this really hits the spot.

I'm glad I found this stuff while I could. It is tough to find now.

Sasquatch Stout

Label: Sasquatch Stout
Type: Stout, you dummy (ala Sanford and Sons)
ABV[%]: 5.0
Packaging: 650 ml bottle
Brewery: Old Yale Brewing Co. Chiliwack BC

Smell: molasses, burnt oates, sweetness
Head: non existent
Color: super dark brown
Carbonation: mild
Kick: above the belt
Rating: 7/10

Notes:
Boys this is one opaque beer. On my first swig, I tasted Smokiness. And it left quite a linger of a burnt flavor on my tongue. The carbonation brings out the sweetness in this beer, even though it isn't very carbonated. It doesn't taste like a heavy stout. But it does linger in your mouth for quite some time. To me, this tastes pretty mild And given how dark the beer looks, I was expecting a little more. Now the label says that this is a full body beer, but I'm not so sure about that. Because there's next to no head nor any lacing on the beer, there aren't very many flavors that come through the nose. There is clearly some chocolate and some coffee in there ... probably a little more coffee than chocolate.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the Stout. But it isn't the "kick you in the pants "kind of stout but I thought it might be, given the mysteriousness of the Sasquatch shadow that is on the label. In fact, it tastes more like the little horse emblem on the label than a Sasquatch. I wouldn't go so far as to call the session beer, but you could put quite a few of these babies down without much trouble.

The city of Chilliwack itself seems like a city that is supposed to be there but not necessarily required, being nestled between farmlands of Abbotsford, and the mountain ranges of Hope BC. Unfortunately, my memories of Chilliwack are not all that great. I remember my mother frequently requesting me to drive her from Abbotsford to Chilliwack so she can go to the apparently only Zellers in the lower mainland. This, coupled with that unfortunate band from the 80s, doesn't leave favorable impressions of Chilliwack. But having this beer might change that.

Rock out wid your sock out.

Twenty Pounder

Label: Twenty Pounder
Type: Double IPA
ABV[%]: 9 point holy knotknickers batman zero
Packaging: 650 ml bottle
Brewery: Driftwood Brewery, Victoria BC

Smell: Cascade hops with light citrus
Head: Light with mild lacing
Color: Burgundy Brown
Carbonation: mild
Kick: Holy PantsOnTheGround Batman
Rating: 6.5/10

Notes:
For those about to hop... We salute you.

This is a very sharp tasting brew as might be obvious from the high ABV, coupled with the fact that it's a double hopped IPA. This isn't just about the hops... It's also about the buzz.

It pretty much attacks you with some sweetness at first at the edges of the toungue, followed by a kick of hoppiness to the middle, and concluding with a tarty and dry palette, typical of a really strong brew. After 5 or so swigs, my toungue feels like it's been carpet-bombed by Cascade hops. And as for the hoppiness... it's kinda like a premature ejaculation: immediately satisfying self-absorption, but feeling awkward now... was that it? (subject matter I know very, ahem, little about of course).

The label art is reminescent of the AC/DC classic album cover, which pretty much exemplifies what this beer is all about... maybe some "Balls to the Wall" as well.

I will give kudos to Driftwood for making this beer (and I have one in my beer 'cellar'), but it really isn't my cup-o-tea. So my rating is what it is... Live with it crappy-nut lovers. Speaking of edibles, this would likely go well with some strong cheese.

Keep hope alive.

Edit 2015:

So after keeping. A bottle aged in high efficiency conditions I cracked open a bottle aged after about 2 years. Boy what a difference!

The hoppiness is pretty much gone and the Caramel tones are on full display. The lacing and carbonation are weak but it's a totally different experience. I'm going with a 7.5 now.

Jack D'Or

Label: Jack D'Or
Type: IPA (saison americain)
ABV[%]: 6 point friggin 5
Packaging: 650 ml bottle
Brewery: Pretty Things, Massachussets

Smell: Hops...
Head: white and rich with thick lacing
Color: yellow and a bit cloudy
Carbonation: mild
Kick: jacked
Rating: 8/10

Notes:
Oh dear. How I have missed this blog.

Pretty Things is a delightfully weird brewery that has a few nice brews Ive heard of but never tried. So seeing their flagship brew on stock in my local store in the west coast made my mouth water. But it wasn't until about 6 months after buying the bottle that I had the opportunity to pop the cap (more on the reason in a later blog).

This is a deceptively strong beer given the color and taste. It has a great balance of hoppiness and tartiness that gives you the kind of beer breath your partner will object to. Small penance. The finish is very balanced, and again very deceptive: you'd think it was citrus flavours but it isn't. They manage to pull off the tart by balancing hops with a variety of grains (rye, oats...).

Upon pouring, it had a beautiful goldish yellow transparent color, but at the end of the bottle was some sediment, so my second glass was fuzzier... And a bit more rich tasting.

I totally get why locals in MA would dig this beer out of the tap as it would likely have better consistency and it tastes great. But it is strong so it isn't a session beer unless your objective it to get blitzed. And the label art is ugly/weird enough to attract the curious.

Until next time beatches.

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.