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;

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; 

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.

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.

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.

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;

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.  

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;

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;