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!

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 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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May your glass always be full of good beer!