Friday 31 December 2021

December 21, 2021

350/3700) Home:  Penn Quarter Porter by DC Brau Brewing Company of Washington D.C., U.S.A.:  ****; a 5.5%, 40 ibu Robust Porter; by their own admission, this approaches the border between Porter and Stout; nose is mildly sweet, mostly coffee; tastes of coffee and unsweetened chocolate; 

Penn Quarter is perhaps best know as the area of town where the Ford Theatre is located which is where President Lincoln was assassinated.


 Advent day 21.

351/3701) Home:  Pime Ӧö PX by Põhjala of Estonia:  ****1/2; a 12.6%, 60 ibu Imperial Stout aged in Pedro Ximenez sherry barrels; "brewed for the darkest night of the year", singular; I poured it at 4:44PM, which is  sunset on this Winter Solstice; grain bill is barley, rye and oats;  the 12.6% figure is from a sticker applied by the LCBO - any mention on the label has been blacked out; nose is sherry, raisins, dates; very strong sherry flavours nearly completely overshadow raisins, dates and a scant hint of the alcohol; thick heavy mouthfeel;


December 20, 2021

348/3698) Home:  Viva La Stout by Sawdust City of Ontario:  ****; a 5.9%, 25 ibu Chocolate Raspberry Cookie Stout; brewed with vanilla, Graham cracker extract and raspberries; nose is chocolate, sweet vanilla and raspberry; tastes remarkably like those cookies (I think we call them chocolate marshmallow puff or similar) with a Graham cracker base, raspberry and marshmallow wrapped in chocolate;


349/3699) Home:  8 Second by Elevation Beer Company of Colorado, U.S.A.:  ***; a 5%, 15 ibu Kolsch; clear, golden; sweet, honey-like nose; sweet with mild candied ginger notes; 


Advent day 20

December 19, 2021

346/3696) Home:  Nano Boss by Newburgh Brewing Co. of New York, U.S.A.:  ***1/2; 4.5%, 30 ibu; hopped with  Citra, Cascade, Lemon Drop, Sorachi Ace and Centennial; mildly hazy; lemony citrus nose; reasonably flavourful for a "session" beer, mostly lemon and zest;



We are up to day 19 of the Advent calendar.

347/3697) Home:  Landlord by Timothy Taylor's Knowles Spring Brewery of England:  ***1/2;  4.1%, 38 ibu pale ale; pours clear; mildly citrusy nose with biscuity malt; very English:  malty, bready, mild leafy hop bitterness; people do seem to talk this one up but I gather I need to try it on cask to experience it at its best;   


December 18, 2021

344/3694) Home:  Duvell 666 by Duvell Moortgat of Belgium:  ***1/2; a 6.66% Belgian Blonde brewed with malted barley, malted wheat and six hop varieties - "a hell of a combination" and orange zest; brewed for Duvell's 150th anniversary; nose of Belgian yeast, gentle malts; yeasty flavours with a touch of zest; interesting that one sort of "feels" the zest in addition to the scent and taste;



345/3694) Home:  Ring of Dingle by Sun King Brewery of Indiana, U.S.A.:  ***1/2; a 4.6%, 34 ibu Irish dry stout; named for a scenic road network in Ireland; nose of sweet chocolate and coffee; sweet mocha and roasted malt flavours;





Monday 27 December 2021

December 17, 2021

342/3692) Home:  Dead Man's Switch by Lake of the Woods of Ontario:  ****1/2; 6.8%, 40 ibu;  the grain bill is malted barley, malted wheat and flaked oats; hopped with Citra and Amarillo; cloudy; nose of peaches and citrus; flavours of pineapple with citrus in the background; touch of bitterness from the pineapple notes causes this one to stand out from a good many New England IPAs; 

The tin advises that this is Best consumed while doing laundry".


Lake of Bays is based in Kenora and the tin reminds us that the Kenora Thistles won the Stanley Cup in 1907.

It also recalls the 1973 CIBC bank robbery in which a man who arrived in Kenora under an assumed name walked into the CIBC branch wearing a balaclava and armed with a rifle, a pistol and a homemade bomb consisting of six sticks of dynamite with a dead man's switch between his teeth.  He demanded a getaway vehicle and driver to go with the sack of cash he took.  The driver turned out to be a plain clothes police officer.  A crowd approaching 1000 people gathered outside and witnessed a rifle being delivered to another police officer outside the bank.  He shot the robber which set off the bomb.   It is believed the sack of cash shielded the plainclothes officer though he did suffer hearing loss. To this day the robber has not been was identified.  There was not enough left to work with.

343/3693) Home:  Double Skull Doppelbock by Epic Brewing Co. of Utah, U.S.A.:  ***; 8.6%, brewed with six different malts and Noble hops; chestnut in colour; rich, roasty, malty nose; mildly sweet with mild roast, and malty flavours; 


Advent day 17.

December 16, 2021

340/3690) Home:  5th Coast Hazy IPA by Side Launch Brewing Company of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6.4%, 38 ibu; grain bill is barley, wheat and oats;  hopped with Citra, Mosaic, El Dorado and Idaho 7; named for the shores of the Great Lakes; only mildly hazy; juicy nose of peaches and tropical fruit; tropical flavours with citrus and stonefruit, no bitterness to speak of;


341/3691) Home:  Whoopty Whoop Wheat by Wild Ride Brewing of Oregon, U.S.A.:  ***; a 5.5%, 20 ibu Hefeweizen with lemon peel; lemon peel is added late in the fermentation process; hazy, golden; nose is yeast, the sweetness of which is offset by lemon notes; tastes of lemon, cloves and yeast; lemon makes for an interesting addition to this Hefeweizen;


Day 16 of the Advent calendar.

December 15, 2021

338/3688) Home:  Hop Commander by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company of New York, U.S.A.:  ****1/2; 6.5%, 65 ibu; hopped with Bravo, Centennial and Citra; pours translucent; piney, grapefruit nose; piney, resiny grapefruit flavours are offset by biscuity malt and mild caramel notes; delightfully Old School; 


Advent day 15;

339/3689) Home:  Stashmere by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 6.5%; hopped with Strata and Cashmere;  bottom of tin reads, "Movember for life"; cloudy; nose is dank and melony; tastes of citrus and melon; paler than many Badlands offerings;



December 14, 2021

337/3687) Home:  Thirsty Hippo by Uncharted Brewing Company of Sweden:  ***; a 5.5%, 31 ibu Coriander Amber Ale; brewed with English hops then dry hopped with New World hops; strong coriander nose overshadows malty aromas; tastes of coriander with a hint of oranges against a rich malty backdrop;


Day 14 of the Advent calendar.

December 13, 2021

336/3686) Home:  Sunnyside Session Wheat by Sawtooth Brewery of Idaho, U.S.A.:  ***; 4.7%, 18 ibu; pours nearly translucent, ever so mildly hazy, and golden; almost gingery nose with yeast and cloves; flavours of cloves and yeast, mildly bitter; 


Day 13 of the Advent calendar.

Friday 24 December 2021

December 12, 2021

334/3684) Home:  Marma by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****1/2; 6.5%; the recipe goes back to 2017 but I only caught up with it now; hopped with Citra and Amarillo; I suppose the nose is a bit like marmalade at that with orange and tropical fruit notes; mildly dank with orange and other citrus notes; 

335/3685) Home:  Three Kord Kölsch by Witch's Hat Brewing Co. of Michigan, U.S.A.:  ***; a 5% Kolsch ale; pours golden, translucent; nose is sweet, grainy, yeasty; sweet, lagerish, grainy with mild apple notes;


Day twelve of Advent.

Sunday 12 December 2021

December 11, 2021

333/3683) Home:  Bike Tree by Badlands Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 6.5%; hopped with Nelson and Riwaka;  pours cloudy; mostly berries to the nose; tastes of berries and candied hops with a bitter edge and tropical fruits; 

This is another great story:  as a child, co-owner Grace's brother parked a couple of bikes in a tree.  Over the years the tree grew and now there is a bicycle perched several metres above the ground.  I was taken to see it.  It is just behind where the food truck is parked on Saturdays.  The bottom of can reads, "How'd nature do that?".


Advent Day 11 is Optimal Wit which I tried a while back;

December 10, 2021

331/3681) Home:  Mingle November 2021 by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6.5%; hopped with Citra, Ekuanot Cryo and HBC638: downright swampy; nose of citrus zest;  dank citrus flavours with an herbal edge;

332/3682) Home:  Big League by Harpoon Brewery of Massachusetts, U.S.A.:  ***; 7.5%, 50 ibu; billed as a juicy, hazy IPA brewed with buckwheat, kasha, chia seeds and salt; hazy; nose is citrusy; flavours of citrus, herbal with a hint of salt; perhaps a few ingredients too many;  Advent day ten;


December 9, 2021

330/3680) Home:  O.C.P (Oatmeal Cream Pie) by Pigeon Hill Brewing Company of Michigan, U.S.A.:  **; 6.0%, 10 ibu; a brown ale with "spices & oatey goodness"; nose is off-puttingly soured with a fruity, jam, edge; fruity with mildly tart flavours and a hint of sweetness; I am not getting what I was anticipating which causes me to suspect this might be spoiled; Advent day 9;


December 8, 2021

329/3679) Home:  Kveik 1 by Shades Brewing of Utah, U.S.A.:  **1/2; a 6.5% American style golden sour ale; dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin; cloudy, golden; tart, funky nose; tart, lemony, fruity; Advent day eight;



December 7, 2021

328/3678) Home:  Cwtch by Tiny Rebel Brewing Company of Wales:  ***1/2; 4.6%, 50 ibu; Cwtch rhymes with butch; means a hug full of love; a Welsh Red Ale;  boasts six caramelly malts and three citrusy U.S. hops; pours a translucent red colour; citrus, caramel nose; like a sharply hopped red ale; sweet caramel and citrus; Advent day seven;



December 7, 2021

327/3677) Home:  Pilsner by Fierce Beer of Scotland:  ***; 4.2%, 18 ibu; unpasteurized; grain bill is barley and oats; tin reads, "Suitable for vegans.  Gluten fee"; brewed with malts from the U.K and Noble hops from rhe EU; clear, straw colour; save for the substitution of Noble for Saaz the nose is typical of pilsners -  grainy, grassy; a mildly sweet pilsner, not hurt by the lack of that Saaz bite; Advent day 7;



December 5, 2021

326/3676) Home:  Beyond The Gnome World by Silver Branch Brewing Company of Maryland, U.S.A.:  ***; a 4.9% saison brewed with pilsner malt, Saaz hops and a blend of two yeast strains from Belgian breweries;  pours hazy, straw colour; nose is Saaz, grainy, earthy and dank; very pilsner like with honeyed yeast notes; Day five of the Advent calendar.



December 4, 2021

324/3674) Home:  Bad Matter IPA by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 6.5%; dry hopped with Citra, Simcoe and Nelson Sauvin;  nose of orange, grapefruit and zest; flavours of orange, pineapple and berries;

There is great story behind the name.  Briefly, they learned rather late in the game that a big player owned the copyright to the  name "Badlands".  Bad Matter was their back-up plan.  In the end they asked nicely and they got the name.

325/3675) Home:  Hazy Hero by Revolution Brewing Company of Illinois, U.S.A.:  ***1/2;  7.3%, 50 ibu; hazy and golden; juicy tropical fruit nose; juicy citrus flavours with a touch of pine; 


Day four of the Advent calendar.

December 3, 2021

322/3672) Home:  BOO! by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 8.2%; a DIPA hopped with "mostly Riwaka and a kiss of Citra"; nose is berries and oranges; tastes of dank berries, orange and orange zest;


323/3673) Home:  Dragon's Milk White by New Holland Brewing Co. of Michigan, U.S.A.:  ***; 6% 35 ibu; bourbon barrel aged white stout with coffee, chocolate and vanilla extract; pale; sweet vanilla and white chocolate nose with coffee; sweet vanilla bourbon and oak flavours;


In an era of Revolting Developments here is another:  Nearly two years to the day after it was announced that the 3 Brewers in Mississauga would be closing, Katie let it be known that her lease is expiring on December 30th (which is exactly two years to the day after the 3 Brewers' final night in Mississauga) and she is not renewing.  Thirsty and Miserable will be closing for good.  Rumour has it she will work the connections she has made over the years in the hope of landing a job with a brewery.

December 2, 2021

321/3671) Home:  Autumn IPA by Peak Organic Brewing Company of Maine, U.S.A.:  ***1/2; 4.8%; a hybrid New England style IPA/session IPA; hopped with Citra, El Dorado and Azacca; the tin reads, "a session IPA for Fall"; mildly hazy; fresh citrus nose; citrusy with a bitter, resiny, finish; 

Advent day two

December 1, 2021

320/3670) Home:  APA by Brickstone Brewery of Illinois, U.S.A. ***1/2; 6.25%, 45 ibu; hopped with Amarillo, "then dry hopped for four days"; bright citrus nose; golden, translucent; citrusy with a touch of bitterness at the finish; a great start to the 2021 Beer Advent calendar;


Yes, that's right, I have not had a beer since November 9th.  I seem to have comedown with the seasonal influenza and it knocked me flat on my back.  To be candid, I was faking it on November 9th.  I forced down a very hoppy beer testing the theory that hops were beneficial to the immune system.  I also tried this in 2011 with a similar lack of results.