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!

Phillips GrowHop Chinook IPA

Today's beer: GrowHop Chinook IPA by Phillips

This is the final new beer from the Phillips Hop Box. There are apparently different varieties of GrowHop, each one dedicated to one specific hop variate, in this case Chinook Hops.

GrowHop pours into the glass a deep yellow with a large pale straw coloured head that persists quite a long time. The only smell I got from my initial smelling was hops, though after having drunk some of the beer (and reduced some of the head in the process) I did get the slight smell of grapefruit. As for taste, this beer is all about the hops. There is virtually no malt to this beer at all. But surprisingly, the hops is not overwhelming, as can be the case with some IPAs. GrowHop also has a nice level of carbonation, which probably leads to the longevity of the head. The other thing that I tasted was a slight hint of grapefruit, but I only got that in the last few sips of the beer. Again, as with the other Hop Box beers, I'd love to see this one available in packs other than just the Hop Box.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Fuller's London Pride

Today's beer: London Pride by Fuller's

London Pride is another of those beers that I've had before and need to drink again so I can review it. I had actually been talking to a friend about London Pride not too long ago. He had gone over to Europe but before he left, he had had a London Pride and not liked it. When we talked about it, he admitted that his beer palate had expanded a bit, and he would have to try it on tap in London next time he was there. I won't be visiting London any time soon, so a bottle will have to do me.

London Pride pours into the glass a beautiful deep gold/amber colour with a moderate white head that dissipates fairly quickly. With my first whiff I detect the smell of malt. That was all I could smell, but only faintly. My first sip was a disaster; I thought maybe I had somehow got the wrong beer in my glass. The major flavour was something akin to cough medicine. There was also a minor flavour of hops. However as I had a few more sips, the taste of cough medicine disappeared and the taste of hops became more prominent. There was also the taste of toffee malts. London Pride is a very drinkable beer and I could see myself popping down to the pub after work and having a pint, if I could get it that is.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Big Rock Honey Brown

Today's beer: Honey Brown by Big Rock

I have enjoyed Big Rock beers for many years now so I can't believe it's taken me this long to review one. Like the Stella Artois from last night, I also picked this beer up in the singles bin at my local beer store.

Honey Brown pours into the glass an amber colour. There is very little head and what head there is, dissipates almost instantly. There is a fairly standard beer smell with a sweet note. My first sip revealed the taste of malt. There is also the sweet taste of honey. Even though this is a lager, there is almost no hops. In fact, I couldn't taste any. After the tiny head forms, there is almost no carbonation and after a few minutes of drinking, I couldn't notice any carbonation at all. When I looked at it, I did see a small amount of carbonation, but not much. Honey Brown is very easy to drink and is quite refreshing. It would be very nice on a warm day on a patio or deck.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Stella Artois Stella Artois

Today's beer: Stella Artois by Stella Artois

At my local beer store, occasionally one of the employees drops a case of beer. When this happens, they sell off the undamaged bottles as singles and I can pick up a beer that I would never by a case of. Stella is a prime example of this. If it hadn't been for the broken case, I wouldn't have ever bought a case of Stella Artois.

Stella Artois pours into the glass a clear bright yellow with a light head that dissipates quickly. From my first whiff, when there was still a bit of a head, I caught a scent remenicent of Innis & Gunn (yes I know I still need to review the original Innis & Gunn and I promise it is coming soon). However after the head dissipated, all I could smell was the standard beer smell. My first sip revealed a light taste of hops and something I'll tentatively identify as yeast, though not in a bad way. There is also the light taste of malt. Stella is a crisp beer with moderate carbonation. For a mainstream beer, it's not all together bad, but when placed against some of the good micro brewery or craft beers, it pales in comparison. I don't know that I'd ever pick up a case of it, but if the opportunity ever came to pick up a single or two, I just might do it.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!