January 11, 2017

16/1834) Home:  Lagunitas Sucks by Lagunitas Brewing Co. of California and Illinois, U.S.A.:  **; 8%, 63.2 ibu;  described as a Brown Shugga' Substitute;  the story is they couldn't make said beer and this is what they came up with instead;  green tea nose and flavours with a dry finish;

January 10, 2017

14/1832) Home:  Silver Bottle Beer by Schloss Eggenberg of Austria:  *;  4.9%;  this is the first of the Advent Calendar beers which, being as late as I am to receive them (or at least most of them), I have decided to consume alphabetically by nation;  the words on the front of the bottle read,"urban poems/reality spirit/fashion love/earth glamour/liquid music/freedom art;  very well carbonated;  clear straw colour;  hopped with hops and hop extract;  malty nose;  tastes mostly of malt with a restrained Euro-hop snap;

15/1833) Home:  Lord of the Lupulin by Pint Pursuits Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **; 5.4%, 52 ibu;  brewed with Vermont ale yeast;  mildly resiny nose with notes of citrus, soft warm citrus flavours;

January 9, 2017

13/1831) Home:  Golden Beach Ale by Sawdust City of Ontario:  **1/2;  4.5%, 25 ibu;  "our hoppy session ale";  pours hazy;  nose of tropical fruit, especially mangoes;  tropical flavours;  dry finish; surprising;

January 8, 2017

10/1828) Home:  Secret Saison by Innis & Gunn of Scotland:  *1/2;  brewed with spices and botanicals;   nose is a bit fruity, a bit peppery;  tastes very herbal, slightly medicinal with a citrus zest finish;  not bad, just not exactly their strength;  Innis & Gunn works better for me when they are setting the trends, not following them;  I now live in fear that they will hear that sours are fashionable;

11/1829) Home:  Vertical Epic by Stone Brewing of California:  *;  7.5%;  marking 20 years of brewing, from Stone's 20th Anniversary Encore series;  the full name is Stone 02.02.02 Vertical Epic Ale;  brewed with orange peel, spices, wheat, coriander and black pepper;  bottle conditioned;  pepper overshadows all else in the nose;  reminds me of a saison more than anything; lingering black pepper flavours obscure all else;

12/1830) Home:  Finest Kind IPA by Smuttynose Brewing of New Hampshire:  **1/2;  6.9% 75 ibu;  green tea nose;  touch citrus and some resin to nose;  resiny green tea notes;

January 7, 2017

8/1826) Home:  Go To IPA by Stone Brewing of  California:  **1/2;   4.8%;  "a vibrant hop-bursted session IPA";  "The hop-heavy IPA for the everyday";  juicy, citrusy, tropical nose;  citrusy tropical flavours;  a great IPA if not precisely my definition of "session";

9/1827) Home: Ten Fidy by Oskar Blues Brewery of Colorado, U.S.A.:  **1/2;  10.5%, 65 ibu;  pours dark as night;  "this dog'll hurt";  I don't think this was barrel aged but it is complex enough to be;  roasty nose with alcohol notes;  roasty flavours with notes of wine, dark coffee and alcohol;

 

January 6, 2017

5/1823) Home:  Lager Beer by Innis & Gunn of Scotland:  *1/2;  4.2%;  "brewed with naked golden oats:;  inspired by German Helles style beers;  brewed with the usual four ingredients plus wheat and oats;  I don't know that this is barrel aged;  clear and golden;  a Euro style lager;  tart, bready nose;  sweet citrus flavours;  it's OK for a lager, but a bit of a disappointment considering the source;

6/1824) Home:  Imperial IPA by Collective Arts of Ontario:  **1/2;  8.5%;  pours orangey;  citrus and peach nose;  fresh citrusy flavours, resiny hop notes alongside peaches and mangos;

7/1825) Home:  Bons Vœux by Brasserie Dupont of Belgium:  *1/2;  9.5%;  bottle fermented;  sugar is added to the mix;  opaque;  persistent fine white head;  tart, musty, nearly bitter nose;  my wife called it "tangy";  very dry after taste but a sweet fruitiness prior;

January 5, 2017

3/1821) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Smurfette's Dirty Laundry by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  **;  a Thursday cask;  version 2.0;  their white ale with blueberry extract (instead of blueberry juice which was used in their first version), Belma hops and hibiscus;  strong blueberry nose;  it is the colour of pink lemonade from the hibiscus, which also adds a sharp snap to the blueberry and other fruit flavours;

4/1822) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  The Blizzard by the 3 Brewers of Ontario:  **;  8%, 28 ibu;  an English style barley wine;  sweet, sugary nose;  tastes of stone fruit and alcohol but mostly sugar;  this one is good but it is also a tiny bit of a mess - it would almost certainly benefit from aging;