Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout

Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout

Ratebeer 2.81 28th percentile
Beer Advocate C+

This style is unique from other stouts by the low hops and addition of lactose sugar into the mix. In the case of Hitachino, it is 10% of the grain bill. This imparts a creamy, milky sweetness with a bit of acidity. I also have the classic example of this style in my cellar, Farsons Lacto. Still looking for anyone to share a good beer with... I picked this beer up at West Vancouver Liquor Store. They have quite the selection of beers.

Taste +4

I liked this beer; it is in stark contrast to the rest of the beer rating world. The nose carried a faint roast and milk chocolate. The taste was silky smooth with sweet milk chocolate and roasted malts. It was a very thin beer and slightly bready. It lacked any noticeable hop bitterness; most likely masked by the lactose acidity and astringency.

Aftertaste +1

A long lasting sweet coating on the tongue was similar to a Malteser.

Alcohol Content -1 4%

This was far from a session beer; too sweet.

Value +1

I liked it and would recommend it to anyone who likes the sweet stouts.

Ingame Enhancement +1

I bought this brew on a panic beer run before the 2010 men's gold medal olympic hockey game. There was a lot of ingame enhancement here; I think I wet my pants during the overtime.

Overall 6/10

A good sweet stout. It was a little thin, but had enough roasted malts, sweet chocolate and lactose astringency to make it interesting.

Dorothy Goodbody Wholesome Stout

Old #38 Stout
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout

Monday, March 29, 2010

Pretty Things Jack D'or


Pretty Things Jack D'or
label states 'American Saison'

Ratebeer 3.61 91st percentile
Beer Advocate A-

Taste +3

The nose was built on a lemon yeast, yeast and light fruit tartness with spices. The taste was the same. With lots of carbonation the mouthfeel was creamy with an abundance of tropical fruits, lemons and spices.

Aftertaste +2

It was slightly dry with a lemony tart, yeasty coating.

Alcohol Content +1 6.4%
Value 0

I know a good saison when I taste one. This was tasty but quite average; certainly not a good as a Dupont.
Ingame Enhancement 0

No gaming tonight, I just sat on the couch and watched my monthly hour of TV. According to Manswers, fishing is the sport most likely to kill you. I don't feel that I am missing out by not watching TV.

Overall 5/10

I was an average saison style; tart, lemony, yeast and tropical fruit. It takes a lot to get me excited about a beer; this wasn't it.

Moinettes Dupont

La Moneuse
Farmhand Ale (Driftwood)

Friday, March 26, 2010

Pilsner Urquell

Pilsner Urquell


Ratebeer 3.27/5 72nd percentile
Beer Advocate B

I had this on tap at Clive's lounge. Did I mention it was ON TAP? There are few places where you can get this great beer on draft.

Taste +4

The nose was very grassy and light of spices/herbal. If every glass of Urquell tasted like this I would drink nothing else. On the tongue there was malty syrup, honey, grass and barnyard. I like sheep so barnyard is good. The hops were not too assertive with herbal and slight minerals. There was a slight butter taste in every sip.

Aftertaste +2

The carbonated minerals mixed well with the palate scraping herbal hop bite. It never went away.

Alcohol Content -1 4.4%

Value +1

On tap this brew on glorious; in the bottle it was bleck. Perhaps a sampling of a Pilsner Urquell can is in order.

Ingame Enhancement +1

Nope no gaming, but the lounge at Clive's was worth a positive score

Overall 7/10

This is proof that on tap is better. If you like this stuff in a bottle, you owe it to yourself to visits Clive's and savour its real(er) flavour.

Panzer Imperial Pilsner
Molson Old Style Pilsner (100th review)
Bitburger Pils and Palm Springs

Kwe Archibald

Kwe Archibald
Blonde Ale

This brew has enjoyed in the Quebec house at the 2010 Winter Olympics. We were a very captive audience so $10 for a 500ml can was the only game in town.

Taste +3

The nose was faint of grass, floral and honey. Your taste was just like the nose with a faint mineral and high carbonation.

Aftertaste +1

At the end this brew really shone. There was a faint lingering of tart yeast and earthy hops.

Alcohol Content -1 4.8%

Value +1

I would buy this beer again, but not for 10 bucks.

Ingame Enhancement +1

The Olympics was cool and a great show. I am a little fearful about the bill.

Overall 5/10

This was a nice craft beer in the Belgian golden ale style. There were the floral hops, honey, carbonation, cereals and light grasses. I would be curious about the real price of a 500ml can.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Cannery Brewing Maple Stout


Cannery Brewing Maple Stout

Ratebeer 3.62 88th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +4

It seems that I actually have some readers now. Perhaps I should put a little more effort into my postings. This reviewer has never been a fan of flavoured stouts or porters. Mainly because the stouts were either not that flavourful to begin with or they tasted really good. Why harm a great stout my adding stuff to it. This beer falls into the latter category. The base stout is good and roasty with hints of bittersweet chocolate. The maple syrup, mostly a liqueur like flavour, truly enhanced the sweetness of this stout. The mouthfeel was full and effervescent. Not too thick and not too thin

Aftertaste +2

The bitter chocolate dominates and goes away after a while.

Alcohol Content 0 5.5%

Value +1

As mentioned before, I am not a fan of flavoured porters and stouts. This one seems to work.

Ingame Enhacement +1

The chocolate and maple syrup really steadied my nerves for an epic night of Left4Dead2 romp through the Dead City 2 map. After 2 hours there were over 6K zombie victims; that's a lot of chalk outlines.

Overall 8/10

This was a solid, bitter chocolate stout that was nicely enhanced by the maple syrup. It was lightly decadent and would go well with a rich stew or as a desert drink.

Mikkell Beer Geek - Weasel
Habit Espresso Stout
Rogers Chocolate Stout

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Seattle Beer Run




The beer fridge is now fully stocked.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Steam Whistle


Steam Whistle

Ratebeer 2.84/5 31st percentile
Beer Advocate B-

Taste +3

The nose is very slight with hints of vegetable sweetness and grass. There was good carbonation that mixed well with the floral, noble hop bite at the start. This was followed by the sweet, grassy and honey malts. It was clean and crisp at the end with mild tastes of green apple.

Aftertaste +1

The floral, noble hops faded quickly.

Alcohol Content 0 5%

There is that magic ABV number again.

Value +1

I know that people can disrespect the average pilsner, but I liked this one.

Ingame Enhancement +1

This beer was drank for my first real beer blog. I might even make money at this one.

Overall 6/10

This was an average, but good, pilsner. The floral hop bite was there, as was the sweet malts, green apple and good carbonation.

Panzer Imperial Pilsner
Pacific Pilsner
Bitburger Pils

Rogers Chocolate Stout (GIB)


Rogers Chocolate Stout (GIB)

Ratebeer 3.38/5 no percentile
Beer Advocate A 2 votes

Taste +3

The thin nose is just as you would expect; roasted barley stout with chocolate and cocoa. Up front there is a tingle from the carbonation, maybe a mild alcohol burn? You get a good dose of sweet, dark chocolate liqueur with each sip. This is followed with the dry, roasted flavours of the stout. Overall it has a creamy mouthfeel, but this is not a thick stout.

Aftertaste +1

There is a slow fading of sweet, creamy chocolate.

Alcohol Content +1 6%

Value +1

It was a little sweet, but I liked it. This would be a perfect beer to serve with a berry or chocolate dessert.

Ingame Enhancement 0

No online video games today; I just played with myself. Wait.. by myself..by myself.

Overall 6/10

This was an average chocolate stout. It was a sweet, roasted but a little thin. I thought it was pretty good.

Green Flash Stout and Frustration
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout
Rogue Chocolate Stout

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Phillips Double Dragon Imperial Red Ale 2010



Ratebeer 3.34 69th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +3

The nose is mostly hops: cascades, citrus, fresh and crisp with some light biscuit malts. The taste is a medium mouthfeel and juicy. There is soem caramel/toffee, cinnamon, biscuits and fruits. Quite well balanced despite the bigish hop nose. The end had a little spicy and alcohol ting.

Aftertaste +2

The after effects were slightly carbonic/minerally with an earthy yeast coating. Very similar to a fresh toffee scone.

Alcohol Content +1 8.2%

It only provided a warmth, not a burn.

Value +1

I picked this up for $6 for a bomber; a very good value for flavour. The label art is also very cool.

Ingame Enhancement +1

It was Monday so that meant Zombie Night in Canada. I managed to get a crazy 50% accuracy. Do they still count friendly fire as accurate?

Overall 8/10

A well done red ale. It was toffee juicy with biscuity yeast and a big citrus hop presence. I'm glad I bought two bottles; might cellar the other one.

Double Dragon 2008
Arrogant Bastard Ale
Fat Tire Amber

Monday, March 1, 2010

Moinettes Dupont


Moinettes Dupont

Ratebeer 3.74 96th percentile
Beer Advocate A-

Taste +4
This is a glorious Belgian Strong Ale. The nose is big with tart lemons, yeast, spices and grass. The alcohol tingle hits the tongue and provides an almost effervescent feel. There is so much going on with the spicy hops, the lemons, grasses, tart yeast and ripe light fruits. I think there were pears and apricots amongst those flavours. At the end the tart spicy bitterness snaps the tongue dry.

Aftertaste +2

The lingering spice, ripe fruits and alcohol burn never went away.

Alcohol Content +1 8.5%

It burned at the start; it burned at the end. The burn never seemed out of place.

Value +1

This was a great, strong ale. If you like your saisons, as I do, this is make your palate happy.

Ingame Enhancement +1

I love it when gamers suffer from the dreaded syndrome known as TMSPS (Too Much Spare Time Syndrome). They use this free time to make beautiful maps for Left 4 Dead. The fire and ice map is visually stunning. I found myself staring at the details and not fighting zombies.
Overall 9/10

This is a beautiful Belgian strong ale/saison. As I write this review up my mouth is watering. It was all there;spices from the hops, alcohol burn, effervescence, lemons, tart yeast and light fruits. This would make a perfect pairing with any meal, including breakfast cereal.

La Moneuse
Ommegang Hennepin
Farmhand Ale (Driftwood)