Showing posts with label 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Sax in Dark by Phillips

No preamble nor sharing, just cleaning up notes. This was the second in the Phillips sour series, Thorny Horn was the first. And much tastier.

Sax in the Dark = 3/10


Not a big fan of this one, most of the sour or tartness came from grape additions. It smelled a little like table grape bits on dark toast. Sour notes seemed to come from grape tannins and not Lactobacillus influence. The sip was a mix of whole wheat toast, slight chocolate and tart grape seeds with a linger of tongue coating grape tannics. Not really for me.

Taste +2
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0
Value 0
Appearance 0

Glassware: Clean

Food Pairings: Something

Cellar: Nope

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Hard Rain DIPA by Hoyne

It has been a while since the Hoyners have released anything new. I believe the last truly new one was the Entre Nous in July. Come to think of it, it has been rather quiet in the new release category for most breweries. That is if you ignore Phillips and Spinnakers. I tried four new beers at Spinnakers last week that did not have any press releases, all quite good. The Rainforest Logger was very nice, for a lager that is. But today I open the cap on a double IPA from Hoyne. Lots of hops going on including a new one called cytra? Perhaps it was a typo by either Hoyne or Canadian Beer News. Anyways double IPA means double everything: double hops, double malts, double flavour and usually double cost. How did the Hard Rain double up?

Hard Rain = 3/10


Is it just me or does this beer smell like it has been dry hopped beyond all recognition? Perhaps it is all the nugget hop giving off that grassy herbal aroma. Certainly some spicy pine too. This beer is all about the hops: spicy, herbal, pine, cedar and bitter orange. But there are no malts to back it up. The malts of a DIPA should be apparent and syrupy, to barely balance the hops. Even just compare the colour with the Twenty Pounder from Driftwood. The Hard Rain just looks thin in comparison (Matty has much better lighting than I do and the Pounder still looks dark). When I hear DIPA, I expect certain things. Call it a extra/double pale ale and then I know what to expect. This beer is drinkable if you dig your hop bombs. Perhaps I am just being overly critical and jerk-like in my old age? You decide.

Taste +2
Aftertaste 0
Alcohol Content +1
Value +1
Appearance 0 (usual fun Hoyne poetry but no real description of how beer will taste)

Glassware: Definitely a fancy IPA glass. If no, then anything clean will do

Food Pairings: Lots of cedar and pine going on here with sweetness. Should enhance flavours of cedar plank salmon. For cheese something robust like a aged cheddar or Beemster.

Cellar: nope

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Mile High Mountain Ale - Vancouver Island Brewery

This is the first, or maybe second, beer VIB has released since it sacked most of it's beer geek employees. Maybe the Bohemian Pilsner was first. Many of us in the beer geek community were worried about all those passionate beer drinkers displaced by this shake-up. No worries, most have found jobs in the local craft beer industry. The label of the Mile High reads ,"blahblah blah hop forward, Northwest-style blahblah blah dry-hopped aroma... blahblah blah sessionable ale." Marketing certainly hit all the popular key words that resonate with craft beer. Sadly this beer did not live up to any of these claims, except for the Northwest part. I could neither taste, not smell any forward hops and sessionable is below 5%. Is there a false advertising law that applies to craft beer?

Mile High Mountain Ale = 3/10

Mile High is beer; that is all. It is a reasonably well crafted beer. I thought it tasted like a slightly maltier Piper's. The nose was a pleasant mix of bread crusts and raisins. A high carbonation sip delivered a medium to full body that was slightly cooling. Each sip added nothing new: slightly fruity, raisins, dark grapes, prunes and a vague hop bitterness. It finished relatively clean with an earthy lager character. Once it warmed up though, there was a bit of the D-bomb approaching. Certainly a very calm beer that will appeal to the masses. Not another Sabotage brew that pushed VIBs beer reputation higher.

Taste +2
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content +0 5.9%
Value +1 (it's not bad, just not exciting)
Appearance -1 (label looks like it was made an unemployed cartoon artist and the description was no way close to the taste)

Glassware: Any clean pint glass will do. Yes, you Brian.

Food Pairings: Meaty, calm foods would be idea. Try with a pulled pork sandwich.

Cellar: Nope

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Twisted Oak Rye Bock (Phillips)


Brevity shall be the order of writing today. Not due to lack of verbiage but lack of positive things to say. I think Mr. Beaumont mentioned a few months ago that not all things need to be barrel aged. Barrel aging will not make things inherently good.

Twisted Oak Rye Bock = 3/10


Perhaps this is a bit nit picky, but where to start - the aroma. It is very faint of cola, spicy rye and cardboard. Wood aging can round out a beer's flavour with complimentary oxidization; mild beers just smell like musty wood. The mouthfeel is right on at light to medium and lowish carbonation. Perhaps mild flavoured beers do not mesh well with barrel aging. I love that spicy, powdery rye flavour like a good Canadian. This beer just doesn't cut it. Each sip is lackluster with temperate tastes of cola, tannic oak, stale coffee and watered down Jack Daniels. The ending is a little boozy and metallic. Great pangs of guilt sting my fingers with each tap of the keyboard, but unbiased thoughts are paramount. To be fair the other two barrel aged beers by Phillips have been great: rum barrel red ale and Scotch ale.

Taste +1
Aftertaste 0
Alcohol Content +1 6.8% AB1
Value 0
Appearance +1 (Elegant label with good description of beer)

Glassware: Technically this is a lager, so elongated pint glasses or mugs are called for. Seeing this is a barrel aged version, perhaps something slightly rounded would be good. A red wine glass would do well.

Food Pairings: Normally bocks are rich and pair well with wild game or rich bread dishes. This one, with its rich tannic notes, might do well with cedar smoked salmon.

Cellar: Nope



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Green Reaper (Phillips)

This is going to be a rough week. Four beer reviews this week. I forgot to try Moon Under Water's fresh hopped IPA. The Phillips fresh hopped IPA release is peculiar. I wonder if the timing for picking of the hops had anything to do with it? Driftwood picked hops September 5 and Satori hit shelves and it hit shelves September 26th (21 days). This is consistent with Oregon Hop Commission recommendations to pick hops mid August to mid September. Phillips' hops arrived past mid month on September 20th and brews hit the shelf October 22nd (32 days). All photos and release dates came from brewer's facebook pages. Makes you wonder is this made any difference; this is no Sartori.

Green Reaper = 3/10

The nose starts off well with muted floral hints and mild fruits. Once the fluid hits the tongue, things go wrong. There is just not much there. The hop residue is a tad flat, maybe a hint of mint, citrus, cotton candy and photocopy paper. The malts are almost non-existant, no chewiness, no breadiness, no nothing. Luckily the ending is nice, only a mild tongue coating of tired citrus hops remain. Maybe it was the picking time, who knows. I have had wonderful IPAs from Phillips. Usually the single hop IPAs in the Hop Box are golden. If you release a fresh hopped, or any IPA, in this town you will meet some fierce scrutiny. It's OK, but I was expecting more.

Taste +1
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content +1 6.5%
Value -1 was not impressed
Appearance +1 Always great label art and good description of beer

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Triple Phillips Review

I have not posted in a couple of weeks because blogging is hard to do in the forest. Those who follow me on Twitter or Untappd, will have seen that I was busy. This will be a quick and rambling review of three Phillips beers that I found interesting; Did I just say that?

Phillips Amarillo IPA = 8/10

This was a single hop IPA in the Phillips Hop Box - perhaps the greatest bit of marketing I have ever scene. It is too bad you have to drink all those other beers to enjoy the special guest. Both hop heads and beer geeks will enjoy this brew. Yes, these two classes of beer drinkers are different. The hop head will enjoy the gripping spiced orange rind and floral tastes that are amarillo. Beer geeks will enjoy learning this hop flavour profile so they can detect it in other beers.

Taste +4
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content +1 6.5%
Value +1
Appearance +1 always fun art and a good description of the beer's flavour

Evergreen Ale = 3/10

I liked this beer for it's originality and uniqueness. Bonus points for the Phillips boys and girls for trying a new style of beer using locally sourced ingredients. Sadly this beer tasted like unhopped Blue Buck with only a hint of spruce. The spruce did come through with it's characteristic flavours of yellow mustard and table grapes. While these flavours may not sound appealing, in the right balance, spruce produces a stellar beer. The only other spruce beer sampled was Fort George's glorious Spruce Budd Ale. I look forward to sampling the Evergreen Ale if they attempt in again.


Taste = +1
Aftertaste 0
Alcohol Content 0 5%
Value +1
Appearance +1

Pandamonium 11th Anniversary Double IPA = 9/10

Why a giant panda spreading fear in a Tokyo cityscape appears on bottle of beer evades me. Perhaps 'panda' is a prefix for the number 11. Nope, that prefix is undec. You can read all about the undecamonium on the Phillips website. Lots of hops and lots of boiling. So how did they do?

I am certain to take a lot of heat by saying this; I liked it. This was a vast improvement over the 10th anniversary ale. Despite the fact that the undec was the hoppiest thing ever sampled, it kept drawing me in for another sip. The nose didn't add much: only an unassuming hint of sticky citrus and pine resin. Each heavy, astringent hop slap made this beer almost undrinkable. The hop flavour list is huge: tropical fruit, every citrus, lemons, pine resin, passion fruit and jack fruit. Pick your hop taste and it was there, especially amarillo (see above). This barrage left a dry tongue tingle of alcohol and sweet Drambuie mixed with club soda and honey.  Each painful sip revealed further flavour discoveries. I suspect this one will age well, it would benefit with some mellowing of the hops.


Taste +4
Aftertaste +2
Alcohol Content +1 11%
Value +1
Appearance +1

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Highland Challenge (Lighthouse)

Sometimes reviewing a beer is hard. Beer geek bloggers love to rave about the biggest, brashest and most obscure beers. If the beer spent 16 months aging in 16 different barrels, we want to try it. If the malts were hand picked by the brewmaster, the resulting brew must taste better. Rare cat shit coffee beans always produce a better beer.
No one gives a crap about the everyday beer. The lagers, mild ales and common pints are always sneered at. This is where the Highland Challenge come in. The Highland Challenge is not a flavour powerhouse, nor is it going to make you regret not buying two six packs. You are not going to line up for your allowable allotment. Take it for what it is: an 80 shilling Scottish ale.

If you look at the style, this not an exciting category. The word 'low' appears too many times to count in the BJCP style guidelines. Please don't confuse this with the familiar strong Scottish ale - a more exciting brew. The Highland is session like at 4.4% ABV. So what did the beer prick think? I get to use my favourite phrase in this review!

Disclaimer: This was a gift from the very nice people at Lighthouse Brewing - thanks Wade. However, a favourable review cannot be bought with a six pack of beer. If a keg of Switchback IPA were included, the answer might change.

Highland Challenge = 3/10

This beer might be considered boring. It is, from a certain point of view. The nose is faint of caramel, fruits and floral. Sniff reallyyyy hard and you can pick up a slight earthly/peaty smell. If you have a cold, it might not work. Each sip is a thin with a slight slick buttery mouthfeel. This is appropriate for the style - I love that phrase! A sessionable gulp is rewarded with a light fruitiness and mild caramel flavour. Then comes the medium linger of earth, butter and toast. It is all just a little bit sticky. That being said; I have gone through three beers while doing this review. I find myself wishing I had put the whole six pack in the fridge. While this may seem like an unfavourable review, it - in fact - is not. Most likely this is the secret favourite beer of a few people, perhaps supertasters. For those who like a sessionable low hop ale, this is the one.

Taste +2
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content = -1 4.4%
Value +1
Appearance 0 (no fun artwork)


MacPelican's Scottish Ale

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Son of the Morning (Driftwood)

So do you want the good news, or the bad news first? Bad news it is. I tried the Son of the Morning by Driftwood last night. Perhaps the name of the beer is in homage to the greatest strong Belgian pale ale, Duvel. Duvel means 'devil' in some Flemish dialects. In case you haven't Googled it already: Son of the Morning is another name of Lucifer. Check out Isaiah 14:12-15 for reference about the dark angel's throw down.  Judging by the rest of the label, I don't think they were referring to Venus. Was there truly Witchcraft used to make this beer? The pentacle in the label background hints at this fact.

What did the beer prick think?

Son of the Morning = 3/10

Perhaps I judge the beers from Driftwood a little harsher because most of their releases are awesome. I felt this one of was lackluster. Lets compare it with BCJP guidelines for a strong Belgian Ale. The aroma was heavy with the alcohols and earthy spices/hops. These esters became apparent as soon as the cap popped. Lots of fruit alcohols, fermenting pear and apricot baby food, and light Christmas cake. A little too burning perhaps. The earthy coriander spice was a nice touch. No luck in finding the long-lasting fluffy-white head. Strong Belgian ales should hide their alcohol well. Alcohol burns for the first few sips; luckily it numbs that tongue and you can pick out the flavours. Fermented pit fruits (apricots, pears), Rogers golden syrup, coriander and miscellaneous spices can be coaxed out of the golden elixir. At the end, a long burning alcohol washed away everything for a dry, mouthwash like finish. Maybe I am being a bit harsh, this is not a bad beer. It does have many outstanding benchmark brews. If you don't believe me, pick up a Duvel or a Delirium Tremens. Duvel should be at every BC Government liquor store. Rumour has it that Delirium is on tap at Vis a Vis in Oak Bay.


Taste +2
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content +1 10%
Value 0
Appearance -1 (found the label undescriptive and offensive. Had to hide it from my daughter)

Other strong reviews
Delirium Tremens
Batch 666 Swan's
Rayon Vert (Green Flash)




Saturday, February 25, 2012

Longboard Island Lager (Kona)

Everyone needs a good lager once in a while. I'm sure a lot of finger wagging is going on right now, but it's true. Your beer palate needs a little rest every so often.


Longboard Island Lager (Kona) = 3/10
Ratebeer 2.79 31st percentile
Beer Advocate 78th

Nothing really to see here. It's a premium style lager, so anyone can predict the flavours off by heart. The glass smells of straw, water, lemons and the barest of honey. A light to medium mouthfeel serves up a crisp superfecta of straw, apple, spicy and earthy hops. Only a mid-grade linger of straw and honey remains. It's an above average lager.

Taste +3
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content -1 4.6%
Value 0
Appearance 0

Other Lager Reviews
Lucky Force 8 100th review
Brooklyn Lager
Galt Knife Old Style Lager

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Double Dragon 2012

For some unknown reason, I keep buying this beer year after year. Perhaps it was the taste in 2008 that drew me in: overabundance of hops with a great toasted malt accompaniment. 2011 was such a let down that I dumped most of the bottle down the sink. Life is too short for bad beer. How about this year? It was better than last year...


Double Dragon 2012 = 3/10
Ratebeer 3.29 81st percentile
Beer Advocate

First off, this beer smells amazing! It has all the PNW hop goodness one could ask for. Say 'hello' to floral, ruby red grapefruit rind, blood orange, the earth and a hint of toasted biscuits. After this it all went wrong. There was lots of carbonation which only enhanced a vague soapy and citrus astringency. Behind the initial glorious hop slap was a thin whimpering of toasted malts, caramel, cherries ending with spicy arugula salad. The ending was a tad soapy, tacky and sticky. It reminded me of a wilted arugula salad with grapefruit slices on top.  As it warmed up and the aromas died down, the brew became relatively flavourless. Past memories willed me to like this beer, but alas the last bits hit the drain.

Taste +2
Aftertaste -1
Alcohol Content +1 8.4% (hidden very well)
Value 0
Appearance +1 (great label art, but then I had a thing for Asian art)

Other imperial red reviews
Captain Sigs Northwest Ale
Big Red Imperial Ale (Southern Tier)
Hop Head Red Ale (Green Flash)


Monday, February 6, 2012

The Beast (Batch 666) at Swan's

This is called a Belgian style golden ale. The same family as Duvel, Delerium and Affligem. So I was looking forward to a big fruitness, spices and finishing dry phenolic snap. I guess one out of three ain't bad.

The Beast (Batch 666) at Swan's = 3/10

Things were off to a good start with ample apple fruitness, hint of pears and alcohol nasal warmth. From here things went south. There was no sparking mouthfeel, no alcohol tingle not much at all. It tasted very much like an apple cider with a little pear mixed in. This all just ended a little sticky and sweet. For those who love a good apple cider; this is for you

Taste +1
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content +1 9.1%
Value 0
Appearance +1 (nice pub)

Other Belgian Golden Ales
La Chouffe
Delerium Tremens
Pranqster (North Coast)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Mass Extinction (Phillips)

This is an ice barley wine. I have never heard of this style of beer. There are ice bocks (ie. eisbocks) and yours truly once brewed an eisdunkle. Everyone's favourite Hermannator is an eisbock. To brew an eis-anything you take the finished beer, freeze it and use the unfrozen liquid. The fancy term is called freeze distillation. When you freeze the beer, only the water forms into ice. The remaining liquid is higher in alcohol - and usually - higher in flavour.
I have a few reservations about this beer. The first is that it is only 12%ABV. A barley wine runs about 10-12 ABV% already. Old Cellar Dweller is 12% ABV and Phillips Trainwreck is 10% ABV. If it was freeze distilled three times - as the label claims - where is the big jump in ABV? Everyone's favourite gimmicky brewers - BrewDog -have done frozen beers before. The Tactical Nuclear Penguin was frozen twice? and it hit 32% ABV. Sink the Bismark was frozen four times and it hit 41%ABV. So why did a thrice frozen beer increase so little in ABV?
The second reservation is a minor one. It comes in a twist off bottle? Not very suitable for aging.


Mass Extinction (Phillips) = 3/10

Admittedly I started drinking this beer a little too cold. It smelled faint of jet fuel, dark fruit and rum. The sip started off with an alcohol and bitter hop burn. This then morphed into an overtly sweet mix of caramel, fruit rum pot and Nin Jiom cough syrup. It reminded me of a watered down Swedish bitters. Yes, I used a wee dram of Swedish bitter for comparison. At the end of the sip you were left with a long burning of alcohol, rum sweetness and herbal hop bitterness. It was very hard to discern any distinguishable flavours. The flavours changed once the beer warmed up and vented off some of the alcohol vapours. More tastes of caramel, citrus, herbs and molasses could be noticed. Would I recommend this beer to a casual-beer drinking friend - no. I might suggest it to the beer geek who has tried everything

Taste +0
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content +1 12%
Value 0
Appearance +1 (fun label and good description of the beer)

Other frozen beer reviews

Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock (Dang this beer is good)
Yankee Jim Ice Bock (I hope Yankee Jim gets hit by a bus)
Hermannator (A local and Canadian favourite)

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Kolsch Style (Hales Ales)

I have come to the realization that I am a failure. Last years resolution was to get caught up documenting all my 33beer journals. The current journal is numbered 14; journal #2 has not been finished. Sighhh. such is the life of a beer ticker.

Kolsch Style (Hale's Ales) = 3/10

Ratebeer 2.97 44th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

I like a good Kolsch style but so many are done poorly; have people never tried a true Kolsch before. This one is pretty good; very light nose with straw, honey and spicy hops. The nose is also very lager-like despite being an ale. A very clean sip produces dancing flavours of apricot, honey, straw/grass with a lightly spicy hop snap at the end. There is a bit of light fruits and apricots in there also. This is not a flavour powerhouse, but something calm and refreshing. Very much suited for a hot patio.

Taste +3
Aftertaste 0
Alcohol Content -1 4.5%
Value +1
Appearance 0

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Phoenix Gold Lager (Phillips)

I was not expecting much while sampling this beer. When you set your bar low, you will always succeed. That should be on a fortune cookie. Anyways: the Phoenix.

Phoenix Gold Lager (Phillips) = 3/10

It's a lager and smells as such: honey, grass and a little lettuce. There was good carbonation which made easy drinking of this relatively flavourless lager. Every sip was clean with straw, honey and a mildly spicy hop snap at the end. The ending was dry with only the slightest of hop linger. It is what it is, a very approachable lager.

Taste +2
Aftertaste 0
Alcohol Content 0 5%
Value +1
Appearance 0

Friday, January 21, 2011

Farsons Lacto Stout

A milk stout tastes just like it sounds. It has an added sweetness due to the addition of lactose sugars. They are usually low in alcohol and the sweetness tempers the roasted flavours.

Farsons Lacto = 3/10
Ratebeer 2.83 35th percentile
Beer Advocate C

This is not a brew for the average beer drinker; it is quite sweet. The faint nose of roasted chocolate and condensed milk does not give away the first sip. It is velvety and creamy on the tongue yet lacks a roasty and hop presence. Milk chocolate dominates the taste and lacks the bitterness associated with stouts. The wet and creamy chocolate at the back of the throat fades of quickly and clean. It was OK, but I have had better milk/sweet stouts.

Taste +3
Aftertaste 0
Alcohol Content -1 3.4%
Value +1
Appearance 0

Hitachino Nest Lacto Sweet Stout
Stockyard Oatmeal Stout

Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy New Beer


This is the first Vancouver Island beers drank in 2011. I mentioned previously that I intend to try every beer produced on our island. Spinnakers Happy New Beer is a Belgian witbier. Classic examples include Hoegaarden and Allagash white. This style usually has a high percentage of wheat and some added spices: coriander and orange peel are common. The kicker with this one is most of the ingredients were grown on the island: Mike Doehnel’s malted wheat & barley from the Saanich Peninsula and Saanich grown coriander.

Happy New Beer = 3/10
Ratebeer 3.2 (1 rating - thanks CapFlu)
Beer Advocate n/a

I was surprised by the forward nose: light spices, wheat, coriander and lemon. This must have been a poorly sealed bottle because there was no carbonation. These beers are usually very bubbly. The taste made up for it. There was ample yeast, lemon bread, light spices but it was a little lifeless. I'm sure it was the lack of carbonation because the flavours really grew on you. It all just faded away too quickly but left a touch of wheat and lemon. I would have picked this as a summer release and not a winter beer.

Taste +3
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content -1 4.5%
Value 0
Appearance 0 (average label art)

Estrella Damm Inedit
Double Wit (Great Divide)
Celis White

Friday, December 17, 2010

Russell Pale Ale

Just culling the extras in my beer fridge. Didn't even take a photo; but you know what a pale ale looks like.

Russell Pale Ale = 3/10

Ratebeer 2.28 0 percentile
Beer Advocate C+

The nose was all pale ale: grassy, honey. Even the flavours were standard/boring with sweet grass and honey. Hops were a bit floral and vague with no fruit. At least the aftertaste was not bad; just a bit of clean flowery hops.

Taste +2
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0%
Value 0
Appearance 0 (boring can)

Blue Buck
Drifter Pale Ale
Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Bruegel Amber Ale


Bruegel Amber Ale

Ratebeer 2.96 44th percentile
Beer Advocate B

Taste +2

This was an average beer; the nose too was average of yeast, bread, honey and slightly fruity. The taste was just like the nose, so no further excitement here. There was the nice floral and herbal hop bite up front. It was not so much a bit as a nibble. I actually thought it tasted a bit watery.

Aftertaste +1

It was clean but with a slippery ending of faint fruits and honey

Alcohol Content 0 5.2%

Value 0

Not really a beer of excitement.

Ingame Enhancement 0

Meh, I done with this beer.

Overall 3/10

Anyone who raves about how great all Belgian beers are needs to try this one. I found it boring and quite plain. It was a bit watery with honey sweetness, light fruits, yeast and a lackluster hop bite. In case you were wondering, the art on the label was Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Peasant Dance.

Augustijn
Achel Blond
Saint-Martin Blond

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Beaver Brown Ale (Canoe Club)


Beaver Brown Ale (Canoe Club)

Ratebeer 3.32 75th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +2

Enjoyed on tap at the Canoe Club Pub. The roast nose was above average but there was a bit of vegetal in there. It was malty forward with a slight fruitiness. The taste was the same as you would expect from the nose. It has a light to medium mouthfeel and slightly creamy. I thought it was a bit thin.

Aftertaste 0

Very clean finish with just a hint of roasted malts.

Alcohol Content 0 5.6%

Value 0

I did taste nice and fresh, but as it warmed up more of the vegetal came forward.

Ingame Enhancement +1

Had over dinner with my main man Geoff (note happy person in the photo). This pub has great food and solid beers.

Overall 3/10

It was a good malt forward beer, roasted and easy to drink. I would have scored higher if the vegetal was not present.

Howe Sound Nut Brown

Friday, February 5, 2010

MacPelican's Scottish Style Ale


MacPelican's Scottish Style Ale

Ratebeer 3.19 62nd percentile
Beer Advocate B

I picked this one up at the Cook Street CBAW

Taste +3

The nose is faint with caramel malt. At least the taste makes up for it. There is big toffee malts with spices. It was a light to medium mouthfeel with a good alcohol tingle. There is also a slight roast and phenolic fruitiness. It was barely carbonated.

Aftertaste 0

It had an oddly clean ending that just vanished

Alcohol Content -1 4.7%

This was a surprise, usually Scotch ales are a bit stronger.

Value +1

It was not as good as Swan's, but was very drinkable.

Ingame Enhancement 0

Nope.

Overall 3/10

It was a good Scotch ale but a little week in the alcohol department. Luckily it was not at the expense of flavour.

Swan's Scotch Ale

Brooklyn Winter Ale