Lindemans Framboise Lambic

Today's beer: Framboise Lambic by Lindemans

It was another hot day, toping out above 30°; a perfect day for a beer. I am slowly going through my older beer stock and anticipating a hot week have put several summer style beers in my fridge. I decided that this one would be a nice one to try on such a hot day. I admit I was completely dumbfounded when I popped the cap off and discovered a cork under the cap. I think one should only need one tool to open a bottle of beer: a bottle opener. I have had beers that had corks in them, but they were more champagne style corks that pull out rather than needing an actual corkscrew.

On with the review!

Framboise pours into the glass almost a cherry red and develops a small red-white head that dissipates quickly. While pouring I got the distinct smell of raspberries (Framboise is French for raspberry).  My first sniff gave me the smell of raspberries. Further sniffing revealed the very light smell of hops. My first sip was wonderful, bursting first with the sweetness of fresh raspberries and finishing with their slight tartness. There was a slight secondary flavour, but I couldn't identify it. This is an excellent warm/hot weather beer, especially if you really like raspberries (like me).

Rating:





May your glass always be full of good beer!

Brouwerij de Molen Bloed, Zweet & Tranen

Today's beer: Bloed, Zweet & Tranen by Brouwerij de Molen

Today was another hot day, somewhere in excess of 30° and the weekend is expected to be just as hot. A great time for a beer! I've had this beer for several years, and even though it says to "enjoy within 5 years", I think this may be one that keeping it around for a while is not such a good idea. This one was bottled on 07/07/2011 so I am enjoying it just inside the best enjoyed by date. I may have to try it when it is fresher. Bloed, Zweet & Tranen is a Dutch beer, that translates to Blood, Sweat & Tears. I wasn't expecting it to be a stout-porter and it wouldn't have been my first choice on a hot day, but c'est la vie. On with the review!

Bloed, Zweet & Tranen (BZT) pours into the glass a dark brown. A mountainous light brown head built after the beer started to foam up after I opened the bottle. This could be due to age. The head took a very long time to dissipate, but it did start breaking down fast. I noticed that there was a large amount of carbonation in the beer, again this could be due to age. With my first sniff I got foam and the smell of malt. I couldn't smell much else in the beer even when I had drunk some and was able to sniff with out getting foam in my nose. My first sip gave me the taste of heavily roasted malt, almost to the point of burned. There is some hops in there lending a slightly bitter note, but it is very faint. BZT has a slightly acrid taste with the strong taste of alcohol. Hardly a surprise, given it's a 8.2%, but then I've had beers with a higher alcohol content that didn't have a strong taste of alcohol. As I said earlier, I may have to repeat this review at a later date with a fresher bottle.

Rating:





May your glass always be full of good beer!

Damm Damm Lemon 6-4

Today's beer: Damm Lemon 6-4 by Damm

Yet another post in May! Who knows, maybe June will be just as productive. Today was another scorching day with the temperature above 30°. It was a good day to have another of the beers I put in the fridge for just such an occasion. I wasn't sure if Damm Lemon was going to be an actual beer, or more like Rekorderlig or a cider. Turns out to be an actual beer. The 6-4 in the name refers to it's composition: 6 parts beer to 4 parts lemon. On with the review!

Damm Lemon pours into the glass a dusty straw colour with a moderate white head that dissipates fairly quickly. My first sniff revealed the smell of citrus and hops. No identifiable or overwhelming lemon smell, but certainly a citrus smell. Further deep sniffs did result in the extremely faint smell of lime. With my first sip, a burst of lemon shot through my mouth as the beer passed my lips. There is a very faint malt after taste. Damm Lemon manages to achieve an almost perfect balance between the hops and the malt. It's not too bitter and not too malty. The taste is very hard to describe. There was, of course, a citrus taste through out the sip. Damm Lemon is the perfect beer for a hot day, and at only 3.2%, you could have more than one. If you are looking for a really good summer beer, look no further than this beer.

Rating:




May your glass always be full of good beer!

Mikkeller The American Dream

Today's beer: The American Dream by Mikkeller

Three posts this month! Amazing! If the heatwave continues there may be more yet. Today was cooler than the past few days, today got to about 25°, Thursday got up to above 30°. I've had this beer for several years and since the heatwave began I have put two other beers that I've had for a while into the fridge. This was just the one that happened to be picked. One of them isn't a beer really, but I can let that slide, the other says that it should be drunk at 10°, or cellar temperature. Should be interesting. On to the review!

American Dream pours into the glass a copper colour and develops a very large light tan head. In fact the head develops so rapidly and is so large, I can't fit it all 330ml into my glass, which is designed to hold a 330ml beer. My first sniff gives only the smell of hops. A further sniff does reveal the faint smell of malt. My first sip almost overpowered me with the amount of hops. I've had some really hoppy beers and this one is way up the list. I was surprised that hiding behind the hops was the faint taste of chocolate. It's there, but just barely. I am a lover of all beers, but given a choice, I prefer beers that are more balanced. I don't mind hops, and I do like my IPAs, but at a certain point there is too much hops. If you are a real hop lover this is a beer for you.

Rating:




May your glass always be full of good beer!

Elysian The Immortal IPA

Today's beer: The Immortal IPA by Elysian

Wow! Two reviews in two days! I picked this beer up shortly after reviewing Night Owl, also by Elysian, so I've had this beer for a few years. Yes, beer can keep that long, provided you keep it in a dark, (preferably cool) place. Some brews improve with age (the Unibroue Quatre-Centieme is  a good example, as is the Harviestoun Ola Dubh), but some do definitely expire. If you have a beer that has "floaties" in it, or stuff on the bottom, it may still be good, just be careful when you pour. This is the kind of beer I was looking for yesterday, a nice IPA. Since today is as hot (or hotter than) yesterday it seemed the logical choice for a beer. I have found some other "summer" type beers I had stashed away and have placed them in the fridge. Who knows, this may turn into a 3 or more review month! On to the review!

The Immortal IPA pours into the glass a beautiful golden colour. I could smell the hops even as I poured it. A small off-white head forms, but it dissipates fairly quickly. My first sniff revealed exactly what I expected, a huge hit of hops. What was unexpected was the light flower scent that I also got. My first sip gave me lots of hops and, again a surprise, a slight taste of pepper. Malt is not completely absent from this brew, as can be the case with so many IPAs, which was a nice touch. There was also the light taste of citrus. This is a nice crisp beer, perfect for a hot day like today.

Rating:




May your glass always be full of good beer!

Tin Whistle Black Widow

Today's beer: Black Widow by Tin Whistle

It's been over a month since my last post, despite my promise to myself that I would try to update the blog twice a month. Perhaps I can get two posts done this month. I've had this beer for quite a while. It was quite warm today, around 27°C, not including the humidity, and I felt the need for a nice cool beer. I poked around in my fridge looking for something that was on the lighter colour side, something not stout or porter like. There's a really nice dark lager by Vancouver Island Brewery called Hermann's Dark Lager. I do intend to review it, but so far the price is a little high. For some reason a 650ml bottle is almost twice the price of almost any other. On to the review!

Black Widow pours into the glass a deep brown. I was surprised at this because I was expecting a golden colour.  Very little head developed and any that did develop dissipated almost immediately. My first sniff gave me the smell of hops with the faintest hint of pepper. Perhaps it would be a mild ale, like the label says. My first taste however revealed that it is in fact a porter. I got the taste of roasted malt with a slight coffee taste. There is also the taste of hops, but it is quite faint. There was another taste that I can't identify. It's not a bad taste and it was very faint. Black Widow has almost no carbonation and goes down very smoothly. On a slightly cooler day this would be a wonderful beer. However it definitely would not be my first choice on a hot day.

Rating:




May your glass always be full of good beer!

Category 12 Critical Point

 Today's beer: Critical Point by Category 12

After trying Unsanctioned, I knew I had to try more beers from Category 12. They currently only have a few beers out but this one is slated to be one of their regular beers. I picked this up a fair while ago and it has been in my fridge just waiting to be tried. I usually keep a number of different beers in my fridge because I may want a pale ale, or I may want a stout or anything in between and it's a pain wanting a beer only to have to wait for it to chill.

Critical Point pours into the glass a deep amber with a very light tan head that dissipates quickly. My first sniff gave me the smell of hops, but not the standard hop smell. Critical Point uses Northwest Hops which give a different smell and flavour than standard hops. There was also a smell I couldn't immediately identify but I did finally identify it as citrus. My first sip yielded the wonderful taste of those Northwest hops, strong, but not overpowering. Like any pale ale, Critical Point does have some malt, but it's not very prevalent. While drinking I did notice that while there was considerable carbonation while pouring, it seemed to vanish in the glass quite quickly. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Critical Point is very smooth and goes down easily, though I think it would probably be better on a hot day outside than late in the evening indoors.

Rating:




May your glass always be full of good beer!

Samuel Smith Imperial Stout

Today's beer: Imperial Stout by Samuel Smith

I picked this beer up not too long ago, but was torn between reviewing this beer and a different stout. I figured since the other stout may be harder to get for some people, since it's a Vancouver Island brewing company, I'd review this one first. Hopefully I'll be able to do at least a beer a month this year. Imperial stout was first brewed in England for export to the Russia court under Catherine the Great. Imperial stouts also generally have a higher than average alcohol content. Imperial Stout has 7% so it's definitely a strong beer.

Imperial Stout pours into the glass black and develops a thick brown head. In the glass it is black. It is hard to express how black it really is. I shone a flashlight on one side of my glass and there was no light coming through on the other. My first sniff gave me smells of alcohol and, ironically, hops. My second sniff (after the head died down) revealed the smells of toasted malt and the faint smell of caramel. The first mouthful gave the taste of toasted malt and a very faint taste of caramel. Through out the drinking I kept tasting something else and it took almost the entire bottle to figure out what it was. Alcohol. There is also the taste of alcohol, but it's not over powering and it's not a bad thing. Unlike most other stouts, there is no chocolate or coffee taste or smell. Imperial Stout is a very smooth drink

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Stone Brewing Arrogant Bastard Ale

Today's beer: Arrogant Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing

Well, I had intended to do two (or more) posts in January, but that soon turned into "I'll do it in February." February went by too quickly. Hopefully I'll be able to do more than just this blog this month. I went to the doctor with my mom and while waiting for the doctors to open from lunch, we went into the liquor store. She needed some special wine she likes to cook mushrooms with and I like to look at the beer. I was just about to go when I saw this. My dad has been raving about this beer for years, but until now we've never seen it in Canada. I immediately snagged a few bottles for me and a bottle for him. The Arrogant Bastard bottle says: "This is an aggressive beer. Yo probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful you have the taste or sophistication to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth." I've never had it, but after hearing so much about it, I can't wait to try it!

Arrogant Bastard pours out of the bottle a rich brown and I can smell the hops just off the pour. A tan head quickly develops and though it thins a bit, it persists a fair while. On my first smell I detected hops and a very faint citrus or flower note. Upon further sniffing, I figure it's probably citrus. My first sip hits me with massive hops. There is a very faint aftertaste of malt. Subsequent drinks reveal a slight pepper taste. This beer is all about the hops, but it's not overwhelming like some IPA's can be. There is a lot of carbonation in Arrogant Bastard, but it's not too apparent while drinking it, but it does make it's self known. Arrogant Bastard is fairly strong at 7.2%.


Rating:


May your glass always be full of good beer!

Category 12 Unsanctioned

Today's beer: Unsanctioned by Category 12


Wow. It's been almost 2 years since I last updated this blog. Times have been tough and money tight, so when it came to a choice between getting beer and getting food, food won out every time. I still have some beers stashed away waiting to be drunk and reviewed. I hope to continue to update the blog through out the year this year again. Category 12 is a relatively new brewery from Victoria, BC. The tag on the suitcase, YYJ, is the airport code for Victoria International.  I picked this beer up on December 31st, while picking up a small bottle of bubbly. I hadn't planned on buying a beer while at the store, it just sort of happened. I was thinking about reviewing this beer on January 1st, but that didn't happen. It did get done today, so on to the review!

Unsanctioned pours into the glass a deep amber colour, with an off white to tan head that collapses quickly but doesn't dissipate too fast. My first sniff with my long out of practice nose revealed the smell of hops with an undercurrent of malt. With a second longer sniff, I smelled faint traces of pepper. My first sip treated my taste buds to the pleasant taste of hops. There isn't much malt to this beer but there is something else. Being out of practice, I can only guess it was a spice taste, but can't be much more specific. One thing I did note is that Unsanctioned leaves a very nice aftertaste on the back of the tongue. With an alcohol content of 6.9%, Unsanctioned packs a punch with out having an overwhelming alcohol taste. I'm looking forward to trying more from these guys in the future!

Rating:

 May your glass always be full of good beer!

Harviestoun Schiehallion

Today's beer: Schiehallion by Harviestoun

It's been a fair time since I last updated. I've meant to update more, but things have been hectic. I picked up this bottle several weeks ago. I've had some other beers by Harviestoun and have generally been impressed by them. Along with the Schiehallion, I picked up some variants of some other beers I've had including a Fuller's stout and a Young's London Ale. I'm excited to try them (and some others that I have picked up) and hopefully will do more that just two posts this month.

Schiehallion pours into the glass a cloudy yellow-amber colour with virtually no head, although that could be a result of how I poured it. My first sniff relieved the very definite smells of hops. I was surprised, however to detect some hints of malt and a very faint smell of citrus. The smell of malts is very uncommon in a lager. My first sip gave me a burst of hops followed by a wallop of malts finished by a very crisp hops. A most unusual flavour combination. I was surprised to find so much malt flavours in a lager, not traditionally known for it's malts. In fact, most lagers have very little malt, or just enough to balance the hops a bit. I quite enjoyed Schiehallion and would buy it again.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Driftwood Crooked Coast

Today's beer: Crooked Coast by Driftwood

Wow, again it's been a long time between posts. No holidays to pin this late update on, just me. I bought this today while at the liquor store looking for orange bitters. I didn't find the bitters, but I did find several beers including this one. The other beers were mostly stouts, and though the weather today may warrant a stout, I just didn't feel like a stout today.

Crooked Coast pours into the glass a cloudy dark amber with a moderate yellow-tan head that dissipates fairly fast. My first sniff revealed an unusual, but pleasant sweet smell that I cannot identify, along side with the fairly standard hops and malt smells. My first sip revealed a generous helping of hops. There is no doubt about it this is a hoppy beer. There is a small amount of malt, but not much. Crooked Coast is a very crisp beer. There is a tiny sweet taste on the very back of the tongue. There is little doubt in my mind this is more of a summer beer than a winter beer. I could see enjoying this beer a fair bit more on a hot summer day.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

Cannery Brewing Maple Stout

Today's beer: Maple Stout by Cannery Brewing

First post of 2013! I picked this up along with a few other beers at the new beer store I discovered. I don't know whether to curse them for being so far away, or thank them for having such a good stock. When I discovered this I knew I had to buy it.

Maple Stout pours into the glass black with virtually no head. As might be expected, one of the dominant aromas is maple, but there is also the smell of toasted malt. There aren't many of the other smells usually associated with a stout. My first sip revealed a very slight taste of maple, but not as much as I would have expected. There is a very strong taste of coffee. I also detected a faint smokey taste. Maple Stout has more hops than a standard stout. The extra hops makes Maple Stout taste a bit on the bitter side. If there were more maple flavour and less hops, this would be a wonderful stout. As it stands, especially with the disappointing lack of maple flavour, I'm not sure if I would buy it again.

Rating:

May your glass always be full of good beer!

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!