Monday 28 December 2020

December 25, 2020

 


Merry Christmas

December 24, 2020

367/3347) Home:  Tourist Trappe Belgian Style Tripel Ale brewed by Beer Hub, LLC for MIA Beer Company of (Miami) Florida, U.S.A.:  **1/2; 10%; final entry of the of Advent calendar and a terrific send off; pours clear; nose is sweet and sugary with dried fruit notes; I found this sweeter than most Tripels; fruit is slightly more muted than many; very nice just the same;



December 23, 2020

366/3346) Home:  Milk Stout by Exit Brewing of Australia:  **1/2; 5.2%; brewed with the usual four ingredients plus lactose and "love"; some sweetness to the nose; unlike many milk stouts, very roasty, dark coffee, nearly bitter - certainly not sweet but it becomes sweeter as it warms with a dry after taste;


Of the years in which I have achieved the goal of one new beer per day this (leap) year is the latest I have done it.  I managed this with no 3 Brewers local to me, no C'est What Spring or Fall Festival of Craft Brewers, no Péche Day and so very many Etc.s.  It was a challenge. 

December 22, 2020

365/3345) Home:  Red Dawn Amber Wheat Ale by Carson's Brewing of Indiana, U.S.A.:  **; 5.5%, 30 ibu; nose is bready with notes of caramel; caramel, grainy notes; ambers tend to leave me non-plussed but I found this one very nice with its mild dry hop edge;



Sunday 27 December 2020

December 21, 2020

364/3344) Home:  Mudpuppy Porter by Central Waters Brewing Co. of Wisconsin, U.S.A.:  **; 5.6%; nose is dry with cocoa notes; starts sweet, finishes dry; a very fine porter;





December 20, 2020

363/3343) Home:  Fivepine Chocolate Porter by Three Creeks Brewing of Oregon, U.S.A.:  **; 6.2%; to quote the can, "2 lbs. per barrel of the finest Belgian chocolate" and "porter brewed with cocoa nibs"; mild chocolate nose; Belgian chocolate flavours; 



Thursday 24 December 2020

December 19, 2020

362/3342) Home:  Low pHunk Sour Ale by Mob Craft of Wisconsin, U.S.A.:  *; 4.2%; quoth the can:  "conditioned with lactobacillus using a solera blending method" and "No kettles were soured during the making of this beer" as well as "unpasteurized live product"; mildly cloudy; very tart nose; super sour; no fruit or other distractions just funk and tartness; sure to please fans of sours; not so keen on it myself but this is why there are 31 flavours at Baskin Robbins: 


I am sure it's not just me observing that there have been a lot of beers from Wisconsin in this Advent calendar.  It could be this region is an overlooked wealth of fine beer options.   

December 18, 2020

361/3341) Home:  Autonomy Lost brewed by Brouwerij Eutropius of Belgium for White Pony Microbrewery of Italy:  **; 9.0%; an Imperial India Pale Ale brewed with barley malt, oats and sugar; earthy, herbal nose; dry, herbal, earthy flavours; the alcohol is scarcely noticeable; 



They must have seen it coming when they brewed this.

December 17, 2020

360/3340) Home:  Introducing Martha Sexy Blond by The Brew Society of Belgium:  **; 8%; "symbolizes her crazy, wild and happy nature";  pours clear, the colour of ginger ale; nose is sweet and yeasty; only the four usual ingredients are listed otherwise I would have believed there is candi sugar; sweet, yeasty;



Oh, dear.  My guess is Belgium does not have Twitter or maybe there is a higher proportion of adults in Belgium than, say, Toronto and surrounding areas.

Wednesday 23 December 2020

December 16, 2020

359/3339) Home:  Jetty Ale by Great South Bay Brewery of New York, U.S.A.:  **; 5.5%, 20 ibu; a Long Island brewed American Cream Ale; grain bill includes flaked corn; also brewed with orange blossom honey; hazy and golden; fruity, honeyed nose; orangey, mildly sweet; only the faintest hint of cream ale mineralliness;



December 15, 2020

358/3338) Home:  Graham Cracker Porter by Denver Beer Co. of Colorado, U.S.A.:  **1/2; 5.6%; "Campfire in a can"; nose of particularly sweet graham crackers; sweet graham cracker notes;



December 14, 2020

356/3336) Home:  Li'L Gally Stout by Orange Snail Brewing of Ontario:  **; 4.2%, 30 ibu; pours dark with a creamy head; an Irish dry stout; roasty, faint wisp of smoke to the nose;  roasted malt with a hint of fruit;  rather nice;

357/3337) Home:  hi-wire lager by hi-wire brewing of North Carolina, U.S.A.:  *1/2; a 4.6% American lager brewed with Pilsen malt and German hops; brewed and canned by Three Ring Brewing Co. of North Carolina; clear, pale; like the can reads, "light and crisp"; rather fruity but pretty much standard issue beyond that;



December 13, 2020

354/3334) Home:  Kiwi by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.5%; brewed with New Zealand hops:  Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka and Motueka; as they point out, no kiwi;  nose is tropical fruit and lime; both are featured in the flavours;  


355/3335) Home:  Ripple White Ale by 4 Hands Brewing Co. of Missouri, U.S.A.:  *1/2; 5.0%; "Ale with Orange"; yeasty orange nose; mildly hazy; yeasty with orange notes; I might have enjoyed it more with seafood, as the label suggests, or during the summer months;



December 12, 2020

352/3332) Home:  Dog Haze of Summer by Orange Snail Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.4%, 11.3 ibu (that's what the tin reads); from Orange Snail's Small Batch Seasonal Series; purchased in November; sharp tropical nose; sweet, fruity, tropical; my favourite IPA from Orange Snail so far;

353/3333) Home:  Under Current Pilsner by Deep Creek Brewing Company of New Zealand:  *1/2; "vegan friendly"; pours clear; nose is typical of the style; sweeter than most pilsners;



December 11, 2020

351/3331) Home:  Granola Brown Ale by Black Hog Brewing Co. of Connecticut, U.S.A.:  **; 5.7%; grainy, nutty nose; nutty, grainy, malty;



December 10, 2020

350/3330) Home:  Duluth Coffee Pale Ale by Earth Rider Brewing of Wisconsin, U.S.A.:  *1/2; 5.5%, 32 ibu; single farm sourced coffee beans from Duluth Coffee Company; clear; coffee nose; flavours are mostly coffee with malt notes and a mild hop presence; there is a hint of yeast throughout - unusual;


December 9, 2020

349/3329) Home:  American Pale Ale by The Bronx Brewery of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (according to the can):  **; 6.3%; pours a clear brown with an herbal nose; earthy, herbal flavours;


December 8, 2020

347/3327) Home:  Triple Bone Tree by Third Moon Brewing of Ontario:  **; a 10.5% Triple IPA brewed with Citra and Citra Cryohops; murky, tropical nose - at this abv level the alcohol is creeping into the nose and flavours; still very nice; I don't dare down more than one in a sitting; a touch sweet;

348/3328) Home:  Dark Moor by Kelburn Brewing Company of Scotland:  **; 4.5%; the grain bill is barley, oats and rye; pours dark brown; roasty with a hint of sugary sweetness;


I am up to day 8 of the Advent calendar.

Tuesday 22 December 2020

December 7, 2020

345/3325) Home:  Naked Sunbather by Mad Swede Brewing Company of Idaho, U.S.A.:  **1/2; 5%, 35 ibu; a Nut Brown Ale; the can advises, "Drink like a Viking"; rich, malty, nutty nose; delicious and rich, roasty and just a touch sweet with light brown sugar notes; reminds me why nut brown ales were my favourite style way back in the pre-IPA days;


346/3326) Home:  Pikeland Pils by Sly Fox Brewing Company of Pennsylvania, U.S.A.:  *1/2; 4.9%; a Northern German style pilsner; clear, rather like ginger ale in appearance; a standard pilsner, a bit fruity, somewhere between dry and bitter;


Days six and seven of the Advent calendar.


Monday 21 December 2020

December 6, 2020

344/3324) Home:  Double Love Lies Bleeding by Third Moon Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 8%; double dry hopped with Tavistock Rakau, Sabro, Mosaic and Idaho 7 hops, all product of Ontario; hazy; nose of tropical fruit and coconut; wonderful lingering juicy tropical flavours with coconut;

Thursday 17 December 2020

December 5, 2020

343/3323) Home:  Piña Colada American Style Sour Ale by Shades of Pale, Inc. of Utah, U.S.A.:  *1/2; 6.2%; from their Kveik series; pours cloudy, nearly murky; brewed with coconut, pineapple and lactose; tart, funky pineapple/passionfruit nose; tart but with sweet coconut notes and pineapple; a surprisingly tolerable sour; 



December 4, 2020

341/3321) Home:  Pococktoberfest Dunkel by Pocock Brewing of California:  **; rich and malty with chocolate notes; very nice;


342/3322) Home:  Gatecrasher English Style IPA by Temperance Brewing Co. of Illinois, U.S.A.:  **; 6.6%; pours translucent; nose is dry and herbal; dry, bitter herbal flavours;


Days three and four of the Advent calendar.

December 2, 2020

340/3320) Home:  Qualified by Taxman Brewing Company of Indiana, U.S.A.:  **1/2; 9.5%, 28 ibu; a Belgian style quadrupel ale - "Belgian Imperial American crafted"; sweet nose of dark fruits; complex blend of caramel, dark fruit; as fine as any quadrupel I have encountered; if only it was more readily available locally;


Day 2 of the Advent Calendar.  

Tuesday 15 December 2020

December 1, 2020

338/3318) Home:  No One Knows Anyone Anymore by Third Moon Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.5%; brewed with Strata, Citra and Mosaic hops; also barley, flaked oats and flaked wheat; not quite so murky as can be; lemony citrus nose; sweet citrus and melon flavours; another winner from Third Moon;


339/3319) Home:  Fist City Chicago Pale Ale by Revolution Beer LLC of Illinois, U.S.A.:  **; 5.5%; "Proudly brewed only in Chicago using pure Lake Michigan water"; they admit to it…; clear; herbal Asian tea nose; herbal with tannins and Asian tea; 



A fine start to the 2020 Advent calendar.



November 30, 2020

337/3317) Home:  The Famous Taddy Porter by Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster) of England:  **1/2; 5.0%; pours dark as night; creamy head; silky smooth mouthfeel; mocha nose; mocha and caramel flavours; lovely, well nigh the ideal Porter;





November 29, 2020

336/3316) Home:  Almanac 2019 Imperial Stout Kentucky Rye Barrel Aged by Cowbell Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **1/2; 11.3%; bottle conditioned; nose is boozy with bourbon and vanilla notes; very boozy with flavours of oak, vanilla and bourbon standing out from the chocolate, dark coffee and caramel notes; this is the only way I could imagine improving upon the original;

Sunday 13 December 2020

November 28, 2020

335/3315) Home:  Almanac 2019 Imperial Stout by Cowbell Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **1/2; 11.3%; brewed on Cowbell's first anniversary, August 5, 2018 for release on their second; nose of figs, raisin, dates; tastes of caramel, vanilla, chocolate, dark fruit, coffee;  very nice;



November 27, 2020

333/3313) Home:  L'Éclipse I.P.A. Noire by Microbrasserie Le Castor Brewing Company of Quebec:  **1/2; 6.8%; brewed with malted barley and malted wheat; nose of espresso and dank hops; I am used to dark IPAs being sweet  - this is dry, nearly bitter; dark espresso and dank, earthy hop notes; very interesting;

334/3314) Home:  Rosé Max by Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste of Belgium:  **1/2; 4.5%; allow me to quote the ingredients list:  "sugars (malted barley, raspberry juice, sour cherry juice, red currant juice, blackberry juice, apple juice)"; also wheat, artificial flavour, Acesulfame potassium; nose is sweet, mostly cherries; seems to sweeten as it warms; cherries, berries, I can taste the apple;






November 26, 2020

332/3312) Home:  Stout À L'Avoine/Oatmeal Stout by Microbrasserie Le Castor Brewing Company of Quebec:  **1/2; 5%; brewed with malted barley, roasted barley and flaked oats; coffee/mocha nose; dark coffee flavours with a hint of mocha;




Sunday 29 November 2020

November 25, 2020

331/3311) Home:  Nano IPA by Oshlag Brasserie & Distillerie of Quebec:  **; 2.5%, 15 ibu; a Session India Pale Ale; brewed with barley and oats, Cascade, Nugget and Centennial hops; citrusy nose - mostly lemon; similar flavours, only very slightly washed out;  a passable session beer;

November 24, 2020

330/3310) Home:  Blanche - Thé du Labrador by Oshlag Brasserie & Distillerie of Quebec:  **; 5.0%, 20 ibu; brewed with Sorachi Ace, Tradition and Cascade hops, barley, wheat and oats; also Labrador Tea which is described as an abundant, local, edible wild plant - hikers chew the leaves and First Nations communities have brewed tea with this for some time;  rather lemony to the nose and palate; I found it very refreshing;

November 23, 2020

328/3308) Home:  IPA New England by Oshlag Brasserie & Distillerie of Quebec:  **; 6.0%, 10 ibu; brewed with Chinook, Centennial and Cascade hops along with coriander and angelica seed; Oshlag uses 100% Quebec ingredients; pours hazy and golden; nose is sharp citrus with herbal notes; citrus flavours with leafy herbal notes; interesting and unusual; 


329/3309) Home:  Stout Blanc by Oshlag Brasserie & Distillerie of Quebec:  *1/2; 5.6%, 30 ibu; the grain bill is barley, wheat and oats; brewed with Cascade and Centennial hops, coffee, vanilla and lactose; pours golden; sweet coffee nose; very sweet coffee flavours; I am still not entirely sure about/sold on the notion of white stouts; then again, I take my coffee with no impurities; 

Today's entries and the next few featuring beers from Quebec are courtesy of my son who currently resides in Montreal.

November 22, 2020

327/3307) Home:  Zundert 10 Trappist by Trappistenbrouwerij De Lievt B.V. of Belgium:  **1/2; 10%, 53 ibu; a Quadrupel; rich dark brown colour; nose of dark sugar, dark fruit; delicious flavours of raisins and dark fruit with a hint of sugar; a wonderful slow sipper for the first snowfall of the season;






Thursday 26 November 2020

November 21, 2020

326/3306) Home:  3 Threads Porter by Magnotta Brewery of Ontario:  *1/2; 5.5%, 30 ibu; the 3 threads are tradition, the art and science of brewing and their family hops; mocha nose; flavours of mocha, mild roast, nutty notes;



November 19, 2020

325/3305) Home:  Coast Haste Imperial Hazy India Pale Ale by Rogue Ales Brewery of Oregon, U.S.A.:  **1/2; 8.6%, 51 ibu; brewed with hops from Rogue Farms; dedicated to harvest time; tropical fruit nose; sweet , fruity, tropical;



November 18, 2020

324/3304) Home:  Old Engine Oil by Harviestoun Brewery of Scotland:  **1/2; 6%; brewed with barley and oats; rich and roasty with notes of espresso; lovely;


To illustrate, these are uncommonly small cans.  Today is International Stout Day.

November 17, 2020

323/3303) Home:  Home:  Maple Each Beast A God by Third Moon Brewing of Ontario:  **; 8.5%; a double stout with coffee and maple; powerful sweet maple nose; coffee is quite strong, even stronger than yesterday's beer; sweet maple flavours; this is one for sharing - I am pretty sure I couldn't manage a full bottle;

November 16, 2020

322/3302) Home:  Each Beast A God Cinnamon Latte by Third Moon Brewing of Ontario:  **; 8.5%; a double stout with cinnamon, vanilla and lactose;  low carbonation; strong dark coffee and cinnamon nose; sweet vanilla flavours dominate until a splash of cinnamon towards the finish;



Wednesday 25 November 2020

November 15, 2020

321/3301) Home:  Foghorn Juicy IPA by Lake of Bays Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.2%, 30 ibu; the grain bill consists of malted barley and malted wheat; brewed with Mosaic hops and dry hopped with Cashmere hops; partially filtered; mildly hazy; lovely tropical nose, especially pineapple with oranges; delicious flavours of tropical fruit, pineapple and orange; very nice;

November 14, 2020

320/3300) Home:  Joe Blo' Bohemian Pilsner by Joseph Bloor Brewery of Ontario:  *1/2; 4.7%;  grainy nose; mild fruit, Saaz is soft along the edges; an easy going pilsner with a dry after taste;

The tin informs, "established 1830", "made the traditional way" and "pairs well with beer drinkers".  Strictly speaking, Bloor should be spelled with an "E" at the end if it is named after Toronto brewing pioneer Joseph Bloore but as they did when a major road was named for him, the "E" was dropped.



November 13, 2020

319/3299) Home:  It's A Stout by Kensington Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **1/2; 5.8%; brewed with roasted cocao nibs, wheat malts and oak flakes; roasted malt, dark coffee nose; roast, dark coffee, unsweetened chocolate flavours; a very hearty stout;



November 11, 2020

317/3297) Home:  NEIPA by Spearhead Brewing Company of Ontario:  **; 7.0%, 45 ibu; very clear for a New England IPA; sweet malt and resiny hops to nose; not a typical NEIPA with its of lack of pulpiness and juiciness; sweet pineapple and resin flavours; bitter finish and after taste;




318/3298) Home:  Voodoo Ranger IPA by New Belgium of Ontario:  **; 7.0%, 50 ibu; features Mosaic and Amarillo hops; citrus, pineapple nose; fruity with plenty of zest notes; the abv. is  scarcely noticeable; brewed for New Belgium by Steam Whistle in Toronto;



Monday 23 November 2020

November 10, 2020

315/3295) Home:  West Coast IPA by Granville Island Brewing of British Columbia:  *; 6.5%;  reasonably clear; a bit piney, a bit fruity; earthy floral notes, bitter after taste; remarkably unremarkable;


The term "West Coast IPA" is trademarked on the tin!

316/3296) Home:  Belhoste Ale by St. Mary Axe of Ontario:  **; 4.6%, 30 ibu; an English Pale Ale; brewed for St. Mary Axe at Junction Craft; dry hopped with "North American hop varieties"; fresh nose of citrus and zest; flavours don't deliver exactly that but it's still not bad; a strong malt presence with sweet citrus; it's not precisely what I expect of an English ale but rather nice just the same;





November 9, 2020

314) Home:  Artificial Paradise by Clifford Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **; 6.8%; 60 ibu; an India Pale Ale with Citra, Simcoe and Galaxy hops; citrus and tannins to the nose; pours hazy; citrus, lemons and pear notes; 


I seem to recall that Artificial Paradise was an album by The Guess Who released in the early 1970s.

November 8, 2020

313/3293) Home:  Next Coast IPA by Goose Island Beer Co. of Ontario:  **; 7.0%, 40 ibu; features Eureka, Nugget, Mosaic, Citra and 06244 hops; fruity with a pine nose; similar flavours; hides the abv. very well;  I am saying that a lot of late;



November 7, 2020

312/3292) Home:  Shine IPA by Elora Brewing Company of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.0%; hazy; another one that hides the abv. very well; lemon and other citrus to the nose; delicious citrus and mango flavours;