Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

Today's beer: Oatmeal Stout by Samuel Smith

I picked this beer up the other day along with the previously rated beer, Siren. I've had it before, but the liquor store I used to go to before I moved hadn't had it in months and I hadn't seen it here. Needless to say I was quite happy to find it.

Oatmeal Stout pours into the glass a very dark brown, but not quite black like most stouts are. It produces a moderate dark tan head. My first sniff revealed the rich smell of toasted malt and the slight scent of coffee. My first sip brought the familiar flavour of malt, and toasted malt. There is also a slight flavour of coffee. Unlike with many stouts there is no chocolate flavour. There is also the very faint flavour of caramel. There isn't a lot of hops in Oatmeal Stout, but there is just enough to balance the malts for a stout. The hops are not upfront at all. Oatmeal Stout is very smooth to drink. If you can find it, I highly recommend buying it.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Lighthouse Siren

Today's beer: Siren by Lighthouse

Wow, I haven't updated in quite a while. December is always a busy month, plus an infected tooth meant I couldn't drink for over a week. I actually drank this yesterday, but was too tired to write the review. I picked this up at a private liquor store along with several others yesterday. The art on the bottle really caught my eye, and when I saw that it was an imperial red ale, there was no way I could say no. It's a little hard to find international beers here, but the store I went to seems to have a decent selection. I'll have to go there more in the future.

Siren pours into the glass a deep red with a moderate off white head that dissipates quickly. With my first sniff, I caught the unmistakable  strong, crisp smell of hops. There was also the slight odour of fruit. My first sip hit me with a massive hit of hops. Siren is packed with hops. It almost tastes like a strongly hopped IPA, something I was not expecting. There is a very slight taste of sweetness of malt on the back of the tongue, just as you swallow.  I might buy this beer again, but only during the heat of the summer, where the large amount of hops could be enjoyed more.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Salt Spring Island Ales Heather Ale

Today's beer: Heather Ale by Salt Spring Island Ales

First an apology to my international readers as this beer may not be available to everyone. In fact, I had never even seen this particular brand of beer until I moved to BC. I saw this beer at a private liquor store and was intrigued by it. Upon reading the blurb on the back I discovered that this beer is following in the footsteps of ancient Scotland, where beer used to be brewed with heather flowers and drunk for courage in battle. I also realize that it has been quite a while since my last post and I apologize for that too. It has been quite busy a month.

Heather ale pours into the glass a cloudy golden yellow with a small off white head. The only thing I could distinguish in the scent was a slight smell of honey. My first sip revealed a very unique taste with a slight taste of pepper. There is also a taste of honey; a slightly sweet flavour. In an effort to replicate the original, Salt Spring Island Ales uses very little hops in this brew, but that is not a detriment to the beer, it is a good thing. This is a very good beer and I would not hesitate to buy it again.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Fuller's ESB

Today's beer: ESB by Fuller's

Today has been another damp, dark, rainy day. A day that would be perfect for a good hardy stout. However, having fish and chips for supper, I was left with a craving for something a bit lighter. I did briefly consider a few of the lagers I have in my fridge, but kept coming back to the ESB. Perhaps it was the fact that I had had English style fish and chips that was influencing my decision. I've had ESB before, but that was before I started this blog. Oh the torture of having to drink a beer again to review it.

ESB pours into the glass an amber/copper colour with a moderate off white head. My first sniff revealed the classic odour of hops. Considering ESB stands for Extra Special Bitter, this comes as no surprise. As an ESB, it does have more than the standard alcohol that most English beers seem to have; it comes in at a solid 5.9%. The hops hit me with my first sip, but they are not overwhelming. There is also a flavour of apples and something I tentatively identify as sour cherry, though I'm not sure. There isn't a great deal of malt in ESB, but there is enough to keep the hops from being overwhelming, but not really enough to taste. ESB is a very crisp beer and easy to drink. It would have gone great with my fish and chips.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Hoyne Dark Matter

Today's beer: Dark Matter by Hoyne

Wow, it's been a fair while since I've reviewed a beer. Over two weeks. It's been a rather hectic month and I simply haven't had time to do any reviews. I picked this beer up earlier today on a walk around town. I wasn't looking to buy anything, but this beer had caught my eye previously and now seemed like a good time to buy it.

Dark Matter pours into the glass a very dark brown. However it is not a stout kind of dark brown/black. Dark Matter has a moderate light-tan head that dissipates fairly fast. My first sniff revealed the faint smell of toffee, roasted malt and the very faint smell of coffee and chocolate. While most of these point towards Dark Matter as a stout or porter it is not, it is in fact more of a very dark ale. My first sip revealed more stout like flavours. The most prominent was the taste of roasted malt. Dark Matter has a slightly watery flavour, making it taste a little thin. There is a very faint aftertaste of coffee that becomes stronger as more is drunk. There is also a faint chocolate taste to the coffee aftertaste.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Baltika Baltika 7

Today's beer: Baltika 7 by Baltika

I picked this up at the local beer store a few days ago after I went in to see if the new Innis & Gunn holiday sampler pack had come in. It hadn't. I picked this up more out of curiosity than anything else; I've never had a Russian beer, but I was willing to give it a try, even though it is a lager.

Baltika 7 pours into the glass a clear yellow with a large white head that dissipates at a moderate speed. After the pour there is a great deal of carbonation in the glass, but it evaporates, leaving the beer rather flat. Baltika 7 has a slight yeasty smell to it along with what can only be described as a slightly swampy aroma, rather like Moosehead. Don't get me wrong, the swampy smell is not bad, nor is it a bad thing, many great beers (like Innis & Gunn) have a slightly swampy smell. My first sip revealed lots of malt flavour and a slightly swampy flavour, again like Moosehead. This beer is missing hops. There are no hops present in the taste in anyway, shape or form. Some hops would really pick up this beer, give it a bit of a zing and maybe impart some citrus flavour. Baltik 7 is quite a bland beer that I wouldn't buy again.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Duchy Originals Old Ruby Ale 1905

Today's beer: Old Ruby Ale 1905 by Duchy Originals

I picked this up at one of the private liquor stores here. There are two types of liquor stores here: private and government. The government liquor stores are cheaper, but they often have less in the way of craft beers; the private ones can have a wider selection but can cost more. I decided to see what the private store had because I was a little disappointed with the government store, but I didn't intend on buying anything. However, this just jumped out at me.

Old Ruby Ale 1095 pours into the glass a ruby colour with a small head that dissipates very, very fast. I couldn't smell anything initially besides the almost undetectable odour of hops. In fact I had a hard time smelling anything through out the entire time I was drinking this beer. What 1905 lacks in smell, it makes up in taste. There is a nice taste of malt, but the hops is really where this beer shines. It's not an overwhelming amount of hops, it balances out the malt just right, but the flavours the hops produces are amazing. It has a very unique flavour that I struggled with trying to identify and couldn't. I could detect a very faint citrus taste, but it's almost non-existent. 1905 is very crisp, light and easy to drink.

Rating;

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Phillips Double Barrel Scotch Ale

Today's beer: Double Barrel Scotch Ale by Phillips

I picked this beer up a few months ago and it's been in my fridge ever since, with the exception of a few days when I moved. I've looked at this beer many times, only to pick something else. Every time I just couldn't bring myself to try this beer. Tonight it came down to a choice between a lemon beer, a stout and this. In the process of putting the stout back in the fridge, I knocked over the lemon, so this was the only choice left, and am I ever glad it was. I must admit, my first glass was mostly drunk at too cold a temperature as Double Barrel is supposed to be drunk at cellar temperatures.

Double Barrel pours into the glass a rich, almost red, brown with a small white head that dissipates quickly. My first sniff revealed the rich aroma of malt and a faint hint of a fruit I couldn't identify at the time. I now think it might have been grape. My first sip was glorious, with the wonderful flavour of roasted malt mixed with a smokey flavour and the taste of grapes. There is also a taste of hops. Not too much, but just enough to keep Double Barrel from being overwhelmingly sweet. Double Barrel is very tasty and quite easy to drink. If you can still find it, I wholeheartedly recommend picking it up; I know that if I can find it again, I most certainly will.

Rating:





May your glass always be full of good beer!

Elysian Night Owl

Today's beer: Night Owl by Elysian

I picked this up at the same time I picked up the 4 pack of Wychwood. I thought it would be nice to try another pumpkin ale after having had the Alley Kat Pumpkin Pie Ale. Again, this being Halloween night, it was the perfect time to have it, and since I'd already split the Wychwood (and the Alley Kat, though a few weeks ago) with my dad, I figured another beer couldn't hurt.

Night Owl pours into the glass an orangey copper colour with a small light orange head. Night Owl give off a very spicy smell with the smell of cloves being prominent among the spices. There is also the smell of pumpkin. My first sip gave me a large taste of both pumpkin and spice. There is just a faint touch of hops as well as a light touch of alcohol. Rather than detracting from the beer, the slight taste of alcohol really makes this beer stand out. There is a lot of spice in this beer, and unlike the Alley Kat, in which the spice was a warm spice blend, the Night Owl spice blend is not warm. They could have reduced the amount of the spices a bit, in my opinion. My dad really liked the Night Owl, in fact he preferred it to the Alley Kat Pumpkin Pie Ale.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Wychwood Scarecrow

Today's beer: Scarecrow by Wychwood

This is the second of three reviews for the sampler 4 pack of Wychwood I picked up not too long ago. Today being Halloween and all, I figured this would be a good beer to have. Also, this is the first beer that I've split with my dad since he moved. Since we are now in the same general area, it will be nice to return to sharing the occasional beer with him.

Scarecrow pours into the glass a cloudy yellow. There is the smell of hops and the faint aroma of fruit. My first sip hits me with a large amount of hops, but it's not an overwhelming amount as there is also a touch of malt to keep the hops in check. Scarecrow has a lot of carbonation and it really works well in this beer. Scarecrow is a very crisp beer that is quite drinkable and very enjoyable. I did notice one thing that I thought a bit odd, as I was finishing I did notice a faint hint of pepper on the roof of my mouth. It's not a bad thing, just interesting. It also could have just been some pepper from my dinner.

Rating:





May your glass always be full of good beer!

Wychwood Goliath

Today's beer: Goliath by Wychwood

I walked into a government liquor store today (there are two types of liquor stores here government and private. Private liquor stores can carry more, but are more expensive) just to see what they had and to see when the new Innis & Gunn holiday box was available. I hadn't planned on buying anything, but then I saw a sampler 4-pack of Wychwood and I knew I had to get it. So this is the first of three reviews of Wychwood that will be coming in the next little while (the fourth beer in the pack is Hobgoblin, a decent beer and already reviewed).

Goliath pours into the glass a beautiful red-copper colour with a yellowish/off white head that disappears quite rapidly. My first sniff brought the aromas of hops and fruit. I also detected a faint whiff of caramel. My first sip yielded a very interesting combination of fruit and hops. A delicious combination. Goliath has a warm flavour that is a little hard to describe. In addition to the fruit and hops there is a decent amount of malt. Goliath is very easy to drink, although the carbonation seems to disappear quite quickly, which is a bit disappointing. Despite this I would definitely drink this again.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Mt. Begbie Begbie Cream Ale

Today's beer: Begbie Cream Ale by Mt. Begbie

When I picked this up, I was sure that I had reviewed this beer already. Fortunately, the guys at the beer store had access to my blog and a quick search revealed that I had not in fact, reviewed it yet. I must have just drunk it already, possibly before I had started my blog, therefore, I must drink it again for the blog. Life's tough.

Begbie Cream Ale pours into the glass a clear golden straw colour with a thin white head that dissipates very quickly. As with the last beer, the only thing I could smell was the standard beer smell, this one leaning perhaps a bit more towards a wheat beer smell. My first sip revealed that this was no wheat beer, this was most definitely a cream ale; the creaminess is apparent from the first sip. The malts and hops are fairly well balanced with the hops standing out just enough. There was also a faint flavour that I struggled to identify. My first thought was that it was possibly oak, but it could have been honey, as the label says that there is a "subtle honey flavour". Begbie Cream Ale has a very nice, crisp flavour that makes it a pleasure to drink.

Rating:





May your glass always be full of good beer!

Adnams Broadside

Today's beer: Broadside by Adnams

This was among the last beers I bought at my local beer store. The reason is that I have now moved. I guess I'll just have to find a new beer store and  befriend a new beer guy. But I do still have quite a stock from the old store to work through first. My dad, who helped me move was quite frankly astounded at the amount of beer in my fridge. The move is one of the reasons why there hasn't been too many reviews in October; I simply haven't had any time to drink any beers. On with the review!

Broadside pours into the glass a semi-cloudy red-brown with a small tan head that dissipates fairly quickly. My first sniff revealed not much more than the standard beer smell, if a bit stronger. My first sip yielded a large amount of malt. The other dominant flavour was alcohol, which is quite surprising, considering that Broadside is only a 6.3% beer. While strong, that shouldn't be enough alcohol to create that strong of an alcohol taste. I did get the very faint taste of figs as well. There are almost no hops in the beer to speak of. An interesting characteristic of the beer that I did notice is it has almost a creamy texture in the mouth. It's not a bad thing, just interesting. The overwhelming taste of alcohol ruins what could be a great beer.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Today's beer: Double Chocolate Stout by Young's

Today, Calgary (where I live) reminded everybody that just because the weather has been nice the last few weeks, it's not going to be so for long. Today was a cold day. There was rain in the late morning, changing to snow in the early afternoon with heavier snow late in the evening. A cold, miserable day? I can't think of a better day for a nice rich, thick stout. I picked this one up today after passing it over many, many times at my beer store. When I asked the beer guy about it, he didn't know anything about it; he'd done the same thing.

Double Chocolate Stout pours into the glass a rich dark brown, becoming opaque black in the glass, just as a proper stout should be. A large, medium brown  head forms but disintegrates fairly fast to a thin tan head that covers the surface of the beer. My first sniff revealed the rich smell of toasted malt and some chocolate overtones. I also detected the faint smell of caramel. My first sip hit me with a massive dose of chocolate. It isn't milk chocolate, but more like a bitter/very dark (70%+ cocoa) chocolate. Very nice. There is also the taste of toasted malt in the background, but it is a distant second fiddle to the chocolate. There are virtually no hops tastes to speak of with this beer; malt and chocolate dominate. After finishing about half my glass, I began to notice an almost fruit like flavour along the side of my tongue. Possibly figs. Double Chocolate Stout is very smooth and it has a decent amount of carbonation. I would buy this again in a heartbeat.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Fyne Ales Vital Spark

Today's beer: Vital Spark by Fyne Ales

This is another of the new beers brought in by the beer guy at my local beer store. I'm glad he brought this in. My very first beer review was a Fyne Ales beer, and while looking into it, I went to the Fyne Ales website and found they have several other varieties and this one was on that I really wanted to try.

Vital Spark pours into the glass a dark brown with rich red tones. A small light tan head also forms. The first smell that I got was hops. In fact, the only smell I got was hops. With my first sip, I got a massive hit of hops. There is a slight taste of malt, but it does nothing to balance the huge amount of hops in this beer. Eventually I did get some very faint porter type flavours including an almost non-existent chocolate taste. With the exception of Maverick, Fyne Ales seems to like to add a lot of hops to their beers, which if you really like hops is nice, but if you don't most of Fynes Ales brews won't be for you.

Rating:





May your glass always be full of good beer!

Fuller's London Porter

Today's beer: London Porter by Fuller's

Today was a very cool day. Fall has definitely arrived, but the temperature was cool even for fall, topping out at 5. The normal high temperature is around 15. A perfect day to have a nice dark porter or stout. Didn't want the Guinness in my fridge at the moment, and I have another stout/porter, but the Fuller's caught my eye. A perfect choice for a not so perfect day.

London Porter pours into the glass black with a moderate tan head that decreases in size quickly, but doesn't really dissipate. My first sniff revealed the rich smell of malt, toasted malt and chocolate. There was also a faint smell of berries. With my first sip I got the nice porter taste of toasted malt. There was a nice hint of bittersweet/semi sweet chocolate at the back of my tongue just as I swallowed. London Porter has just enough hops to let you know they are present, but not too many to make it a main flavour. As with most porters, London Porter also has a nice chocolate taste and a very faint coffee taste. An excellent porter.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Westons Wyld Wood

Today's beer: Wyld Wood Classic Cider by Westons

So today is the last day of September and fall is definitely in the air. Most of the leaves have changed colours and many have fallen. While cider is generally thought of as a hot summer drink, it's origins are in fall. My local beer store just brought this cider in. It is a vegan/celiac friendly (has no gluten) drink. I have another cider in my fridge that has been in there for a while; I probably should try that one soon too.

Wyld Wood is described as a premium organic classic cider. It pours into the glass a brilliant golden yellow colour with no head. There is a slightly spicy smell to the cider with only a faint hint of apples. My first sip revealed an unusual apple taste. Not unusual in a bad way, but unusual as in I couldn't readily identify the apple. I'm no apple expert, but it was an apple taste I wasn't familiar with. There is also a faint hint of spices. What I didn't taste, was the alcohol, which at 6.5% could have been prominent, but fortunately wasn't. Wyld Wood has a low carbonation, wich is neither good nor bad. This is a very nice cider to drink on a cool day like today.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Mikkeller Monk's Elixiir

Today's beer: Monk's Elixir by Mikkeller

The beer guy at my local liquor store has acquired more shelf space for more beers. This is a good thing. One of the new breweries that he has brought in is Mikkeller. I have another Mikkeller sitting in my fridge, but this one seemed to be calling my name. It may be due to the fact that I was given a proper glass to drink it in, rather than my standard beer glass, which is adequate, but apparently some beers are better in specific glasses.

Monk's Elixer pours into the glass a dark cloudy brown. After a few sips I notice that it also has a reddish tinge to it. A small tan head formed when I poured it, but it dissipates quickly. The only smell I could detect was a faint nutty smell. Other than that, this beer had almost no smell. My first sip revealed a very nice malt taste with a very light amount of hops. Just enough to balance the malt, but not too much so they become intrusive. There was also a light fruit taste and the slight taste of alcohol. The slight taste of alcohol is rather surprising, due to the fact that Monk's Elixir is a solid 10%. Monk's Elixir has a great deal of carbonation, which is very nice and adds a lot to this beer.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Alley Kat Pumpkin Pie

Today's beer: Pumpkin Pie by Alley Kat

Ah, fall. The leaves are turning from green to yellow. There is a hint of winter coming in the air (but not too soon we hope). Thanksgiving is coming soon, within the next few weeks, and so the breweries have come out with their thanksgiving beer selection. Hopefully this will just be the first of the thanksgiving beer reviews.

Pumpkin Pie pours into the glass a gorgeous red/brown, more red than brown. There is no head when initially poured into the glass, however, on subsequent pours (to refill the glass) a small head did develop, but dissipated quickly.  My first sniff revealed the character of the beer: the smell of malt and warm spices. Spices like cinnamon, clove, cardamon and (I didn't recognize this one until I read about it, but it is there none the less) nutmeg. All spices you would expect in a pumpkin pie. The first sip yielded a huge burst of these warm spices as well as a hint of pumpkin. There was also some malt tastes but no hops. This truly does taste like one would imagine a pumpkin pie beer should. Neither beer taste or pumpkin pie taste overwhelming the other, but both working together to create a truly great beer. I must say that I did have this beer on a very warm day, but on a cool or even a cold evening or night, this would be an exceptional beer.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Evil Twin Disco Beer

Today's beer: Disco Beer by Evil Twin

Today being the first day of fall, and a rather warm one at that, and seeing as I was rather disappointed with the last beer I drank, I decided to have a second beer. Disco Beer come in two forms red cap and gold cap. There is no difference between the two.

Disco Beer pours into the glass an opaque red brown with a large head that dissipates quite quickly. My first sniff revealed the smell of fruit, but what fruit, I'm not too sure. It's something familiar, but I can't seem to place my finger on it. The first sip was very interesting. Rather than a malt or hops taste, the first thing that hit me was the taste of grapes, which was then followed by the taste of malt. The taste of grapes isn't a big surprise seeing as Disco Beer is aged in Chardonnay wine barrels. There is a slight taste of alcohol. The alcohol taste isn't overpowering, which is surprising considering Disco Beer comes in at 10.5%. As I drank more I also became aware of a wine taste, seperate and distinct from the grape taste. Overall this is a very nice beer.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Penpont Ginger Beer

Today's beer: Ginger Beer by Penpont

After the disappointment with the Phillips Ginger Beer, and Crabbie's still unavailable, I was pleased to see this beer on the shelf of my local beer store. In my opinion, ginger beer should have a real bite of ginger along with some of the heat that ginger naturally has. On with the review!

Penpont pours into the glass a beautiful gold colour with absolutely no head. When I looked at the beer in the glass the first time, there was a fair amount of carbonation, but when I went to drink it just a minute or less later, there was virtually none. This beer goes flat in no time at all. My first whiff reveals a light scent of ginger and a light scent of malt and not much else. My first sip yields a slightly fruity taste and a faint taste of ginger. There is no bite of the ginger, nothing that makes you sit up and take notice. I suppose I should be glad that unlike in the Phillips Ginger Beer, this one doesn't taste like it didn't wash the ginger; no earthy tones at all. With little in the way of hops, and no real ginger bite, the sweet flavours really take over this beer, leaving it taste very sweet, almost syrupy. In the end, Penpont Ginger beer isn't any better than Phillips Ginger Beer. I have noticed that as I rate more beers, it takes more to get a very good rating. If I were to rate the Philips for the first time now, it would probably receive a similar rating to the Penpont.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Ruckus Hoptimus Prime

Today's beer: Hoptimus Prime by Ruckus

I was able to get this beer before it got onto the shelves at my local beer store yesterday, although, it's probably on them now. The resident beer guy at my local beer store had ordered this along with several other beers, but when I stopped by yesterday, they weren't out yet. Being the nice guy he is, he let me take a look at what had come in and so I was able to get this one before it made it out to the shelf. It pays to become friends with your local beer expert!

Hoptimus Prime pours into the glass an orange/deep amber colour with a small head that dissipates quickly. The only smell I could get was that of hops, unsurprising as Hoptimus is a double IPA. There was also the slight scent of citrus. My first sip revealed (surprise, surprise) a moderate hit of hops. Not an overwhelming hit of hops, but a decent one. There is also a slight taste of alcohol, not surprising considering Hoptimus is a 9% beer. As with most IPAs and double IPAs there is almost no hops flavour to speak of. There was another taste mixed in that I can't quite identify. It's not a bad taste, and it definitely adds to the character of the beer.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Innis & Gunn Original

Today's beer: Innis & Gunn Original

At last, the long awaited, much talked about Innis & Gunn review! I've been planning on doing this review basically since day one, but other beers always seemed to get in the way (I know, life's hard). But I decided that this weekend would be the weekend I reviewed Innis & Gunn. I know I've reviewed a few of the other offerings from Innis & Gunn, but this is the beer that started it all.

Innis & Gunn pours into the glass a clear amber colour with a very thin head that dissipates very quickly. My first sniff reveals the signature scent of Innis & Gunn, a skunky/oaky smell. In most beers a skunky smell is definitely a bad sign, but it's a different kind of skunky smell with Innis & Gunn, a good kind of smell. The main taste of this beer is oak. Innis & Gunn isn't big on malt and the hops aren't overwhelming, but they do let you know they're there. This beer is a very nice crisp beer with a nice amount of carbonation.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

The Tin Whistle Brewing Company Killer Bee

Today's beer: Killer Bee by The Tin Whistle Brewing Company

I picked this beer up several weeks ago and have had it in my fridge since. There have been several times I've considered trying it, but have always shied away, but with today being very warm, I figured a nice honey ale would be nice. Killer Bee is described as a dark honey ale. But it is not a dark ale with honey, it is ale with dark honey.

Killer Bee pours into the glass a very dark brown, almost black. It looks kind of like a porter or a a stout. Killer Be produces no head. My first sniff revealed a fairly standard beer smell with a faint hint of honey. A rich malt flavour met my first sip. There was a balancing amount of hops at first, but as I drank more all traces of hops seemed to disappear. Killer Bee tastes rather like a porter or a stout rather than a honey ale. As a honey ale, Killer Bee doesn't do too well, but as a mild porter or stout, it's pretty good.

Rating:
(as a honey ale)



(as a mild porter)


May your glass always be full of good beer!

Brouwerij Van Steenberge Gulden Draak

Today's beer: Gulden Draak by Brouwerij Van Steenberge

My local beer store is expanding its beer section, and for that I am grateful. I am also grateful that summer is over. Not because I don't like the heat (I do like the heat), but because the summer selection of beers is basically limited to either this hoppy beer or that hoppy beer or this light ale/lager. I don't mind hoppy beers, but I like variety. I picked this up today along with a few others including Innis & Gunn, so the long awaited review on that is coming probably within the next few days.

Gulden Draak pours into the glass a beautiful rich deep red-brown with a very large tan head. My first sniff revealed the scent of grapes and some malt smells. Later on, as I drank more and got rid of more of the head, the smell of alcohol became present too. The primary taste of Draak is alcohol. I did taste a bit of grapes and the slightest of malt tastes, but all that was drowned as I swallowed. There is a massive taste of alcohol just as you swallow. At 10.5%, Draak is very high in alcohol and it does taste like it. The taste of alcohol really dominates over all the other tastes in the beer, which is unfortunate because there are hints of some very interesting flavours. What there are no hints of though, is hops. Try as I might, I couldn't taste any hops in this beer. Far from being a bad thing, this is a good thing. This beer does like to stick around though; there is a kind of a film that sticks to the inside of your mouth. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, just an observation. As much as I'd love to be able to give this beer a higher rating, the dominant taste of alcohol really brings the rating down. If they brewed it to a slightly lower alcohol content, or if the alcohol didn't overwhelm most of the other flavours, this could be a top rated beer.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!