Day 365-Beer 365 Korbinian, Brauerei Weihenstephaner, freising Germany HAPPY NEW YEAR

It's truly hard to believe but 1 year and 365 beers one new beer every day is complete. Tonight's brew was drank for the New Years Celebration, it is a Dopplebock or Dunkles Starkbier at 7.4%ABV and poured an almost black colour one fingers of head that settled to leave only a spattering of lacing. The aroma is somewhat of medicinal, alcohol up front with some dark fruits and roasted malts, toffee and chocolate. The flavour has lots of dark fruits, cherries, plum and some toffee, caramel and a hint of coffee all with a nut background. A really good brew for its style but a little syrupy for my tastes, overall a great way to end the year's quest 3.7 out of 5. NO MORE BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, UNLESS MAYBE I GET THIRSTY AGAIN WE WILL SEE. HAPPY NEW YEAR AND MAY 2015 BE A GREAT YEAR IN YOUR LIFE, THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG AND CHECK IN AGAIN NOW AND THEN I MAY FIND A FEW MORE TO ADD TO THE LIST. The body is medium to full, and slightly syrupy.

Day 364-Beer 365-1 Harvest Special Ale, Southern Tier Brewing Co. Lakewood New York

The count down to midnight has begun, after tonight one more beer to go to accomplish my goal of 365 different beers, one each day for the year 2014. Tonight's brew is an ESB an extra special/strong bitter. A similar brew is Hobgoblin. This one pours a golden amber with a couple of fingers of head that leaves some very nice and very sticky lacing. The aroma is grapefruit and caramel malts with an earthy background. The flavour is toffee and caramel background with some nice grapefruit hop bitters. A really nicely balanced ESB with a crisp dry finish and much more flavour than most beer in its style, 3.9 out of 5, I wish I had a couple of these to drink tonight but unfortunately I only bought 1. ....ONE MORE BOTTLE OF BEER ON THE WALL....

Day 363-Beer 363 St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, Brouwerij St. Bernardus, Watou Belgium

Well it still the Christmas Season and so my last Christmas ale, this one a Belgian abbey ale. This beer is listed as a Quadruple or a Quad. Inspired by the Trappist brewers of Belgium, a Quadruple is a Belgian style ale of great strength with bolder flavor compared to its Dubbel and Tripel sister styles. Typically a dark creation that ranges within the deep red, brown and garnet hues. Full bodied with a rich malty palate. Sweet with a low bitterness yet a well perceived alcohol. This one is 10%ABV and comes in a 750mil bottle. It poured a dark mahogany colour with lots of fuzzy head that settles to a thin layer of sticky foam. The aroma is fairly sweet with lots of dark fruits, plums, brown sugar with a brandy like background. the flavour is again sweet up front with some dark fruits especially plum with hints of black cherries along with toffee and caramel malts. A great winter brew that will warm your innards 3.9 out of 5

Day 362-Beer 362 Grande Cuvee, Porter Baltique, Les Trois Mousquetaires,Brossard Quebec

An interesting night for an interesting beer. Kristal decided to try a play the Interview on our Internet on the spot and I stated watch it will probably run out with 5 minutes to go. I must have esp because with almost exactly five minutes to go our Internet time ran out, not to worry we refilled it with of course my card and managed to see the end of a movie that was so bad and so corny that it almost became funny. As for tonight's brew it was a nice big 750 mil bottle at 10%ABV which helped me make through the movie. It poured a very dark chocolate colour with a finger of tan coloured head. The aroma had hints of espresso, chocolate, dark fruits, roasted malts and some brandy making almost the aroma of a liqueur. the flavour stars of very sweet, toffee, roasted malt and licorice then coffee with a smokey background and a sweet finish on the palate. Overall a good brew but a little on the sweet side for me 3.6 out of 5. A great desert brew that you could serve as a frozen yogurt float or add it to the pot when you cook your next batch of buttered carrots.

Day 361 - Beer 361 Organic Chocolate Stout, Bison Brewing, Ukiah California

This one is an American Style Stout brewed with Peruvian Cocoa. It poured almost black in colour with one finger of tan coloured head The aroma is dark chocolate, burnt coffee and roasted malts. The flavour chocolate espresso coffee and a hint of bitter chocolate hops. Try this one in your favourite recipes that call for beer or forget the water and add some of this brew to the next gravy that you make. Overall a good stout, 3.5 out of 5 Four More Bottles of Beer on the wall

Day 360-Beer 360 2XMass, Southern Tier Brewing Co. Lakewood New York

some more Christmas cheer, this on is brewed in the tradition of Swedish Glogg with figs, orange peel, spices, 2 varieties of hops and 4 types of malt. It pours a a hazy mahogany colour with one finger of cream coloured head that leaves some spotty lacing with lots of continuous carbonation bubbles. As for the aroma it smells like a cinnamon cookies, candy cane, with some pine tree resin thrown in for good measure. The flavour has a nice pine hop bitterness in the background with some peppery spices and then some sweet candy candy flavour remains on the palate. It certainly is an interesting and different brew that was worth the sample but I probably wouldn't buy another. 3.3 out of 5 .

Day 359-Beer 359 Snow Roller Hoppy Brown Ale, South Burlington, Vermont

I'm Dreaming of a white Christmas.... well there is no snow here in Florida today, although it was a little cool. Had dinner a 1 oclock at Camp Tiger, wow what a meal, then five holes of golf with Kristal and Rochelle followed by a losing game of dominos against the pro's Phylis and Lynn. Well back to the white Christmas we couldn't find any snow so I drank a snow roller. The name contradicts the look, it's far from white. It is listed as an american brown ale and pours a dark brown/mahogany colour with two fingers of off white head that settles to a thin laye of sticky lacing. The smell is nutty with rich earthy malts and some pine and floral hops. The flavour leaves a little sweetness on the palate with nutty malts with pine resin and grassy hops and a peppery background. Overall a good brew that lives up to its label of a "Hoppy Brown Ale". There are more hops than are usual for a Brown Ale. It also makes a good Winter Warmer with is 6.2%ABV. Take your soul for a roll in the snow. 3.4 out of 5. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT

Day 358 Beer 358 Helios Farmhouse Ale, Victory Brewing Co. Downington Pennsylvania

Tonight's brew is a saison or farmhouse ale. It poured a golden yellow with lots of white head that left a nice coating of lacing. The aroma has a lemon background with soem bread yeasts and sweet malt. The taste is typical saison wheat/bread yeast a hint of lemon zest some herbal hops and a peppery dry finish. Saison has become one of my favourite styles but this one just doesn't do it. 3.2 out of 5. 7 more bottles of beer on the wall......

Day 357-Beer 357 Brooklyn Summer Ale, Brooklyn Brewing C. Brooklyn New York

Tonight's brew is an English Pale ale. It pours a clear golden colour with an orange hint to it. It had one finger of white head that dissipates quickly leaving just a spot of lacing. The aroma is very light with a hint of grassy hops. The flavour has a sweet malt character with a hint of coriander, orange and some grassy hops, Not the best brew but not the worst either 3.2 out of

Day 356-Beer 356 Le Freak Ale, Green Flash Brewing Co. San Diego California

A great day today, weather in the high 70's , golf in the 80's, overall 62 with my handicap, My daughter arrived in Florida for the holidays and some good rummio games with the neighbors, and now the countdown is 10. Le Freak is a combination of two styles, Belgian Trippel and American IPA hence the category Belgian IPA. At 9.2% ABV it is a strong beer and it comes in a one pint 6 oz. bottle. It poured an amber colour with tons of frothy off white head that seem to last forever and stuck to the sides of the glass. The aroma was more Belgian than APA, banana, bready yeast cloves with a hint of citrus and pine resin. The flavour was sweet, banana, bread yeast, coriander, citrus, grapefruit and orange with some peppery spices, coriander and a heavy metallic background from the high alcohol content. It finishes with a bitter yet sweet taste in your mouth. Overall a very interesting brew 3.5 out of 5. .....NINE MORE BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL.....

Day 355-Beer 355 Old Man Winter Ale, Southern Tier Brewing Co. Lakewood New York

this one list as an old ale or a stock ale. They are left in vats to mature hence the name. The usually have a full malt body with plenty of character. Their colour ranges from dark amber to very dark brown. Hop levels can vary greatly they should have a fruity background of raisins and or black current. This one poured a dark brown with one finger of off white heat that created a sticky film of lacing on the sides of the glass. The aroma is very malty, caramel, raisin and toasted nuts with some pine resin and citrus hops in the background. The taste matches the nose, it has a creamy texture at first with hints of dark fruits and sweet caramel malts, toasted grains with a background of pine resin, citrus peel providing a nice hop bitterness. It not what I remember Molson Stock Ale being like but then Molson stock ale does not fit the category at all. A very good brew 3.8 out of 5.10 more bottles of beer on the wall

Day 354-Beer 354 Maximus Ale, Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma California

Tonight's brew is an American Double or Imperial Pale Ale. Typically they are an IPA on steroids with a very heavy malt background and a high alcohol content, this one is 8.2%ABV. It poured a golden/orange colour with one finger of off white head and lots of carbonation bubbles. The head settled to a thick layer of lacing that stick to the sides of the glass as you drink this beer. The aroma is heavy on the hops, citrus, lemon and grapefruit, pine resin and just a hint of something sweet, apricots maybe, in the background.The flavours are also nice and strong,pine resin hops up front moving to sweet toffee and apricot than back to some grapefruit bitterness and a peppery feeling from the alcohol. A really great APA, 3.9 out of 5. Check out 90 Minute IPA for a comparable.

Day 353-Beer 353 Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA, Hopology Collection, Boston Beer Co. Jamaica Plains Ma.

Tonight's brew poured a golden amber colour with two fingers of head that lasted a long time and created a nice sticky film of lacing. Lots of carbonation bubbles. The aroma was citrus hops and pine resin. The flavour has some caramel malt up front with some nice cir=trus/grapefuit hop bitterness that finishes with a nice dry taste and some grapefruit on your and a creamy feel. Overall a good American Pale Ale 3.5 out of 5.

Day 352-Beer 352 Farmhouse Red Ale, Blue Moon Brewing Co. , Golden Coloradao

Great game of cards tonight, a Rochelle takes home the big prize again, maybe my turn next week or maybe not. Tonights brew is a saison/farmhouse ale. It poured a copper/amber colour with one finger of off white head that left a thin layer of foam across the surface and some sticky leggs. The aroma for a saison was quite mild, some bread yeast, dark fruit/raisin and a hint of spicy hops. The flavourI bought a six-pack of Farmhouse Red Ale in a grocery store, poured in to a pint glass.The flavour has some swwet malt up front with bready yeast, pepper and just a hint of hop bitterness. An good brew as I do enjoy farmhouse ales. 3.6 out of 5 F

Day 351-Beer 351 Blonde Bock, Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. San Jose California

15 bottles of beer on the wall and soon one will be drank and then there will only be 14. Tonight's brew is a Maibock or Helles Bock, see Dead Guy Ale for a comparative beer. It poured a realitively clear light amber/copper colour with some floaties and one finger of head that left a minimal amount of lacing and a sticky film on the sides of the glass. The aroma is bread yeast, caramel malts and a hint of grassy hops.The flavour has a bready taste up front with very sweet caramel malts and honey with hints of peppery and citrus/lemon hops with some warming as it has 7%ABV. An okay brew but a tad on the sweet side, 3.5 out of 5 14 to go

Day 350-Beer 350 Vitus, Brauerei Weihenstephaner, Freising Germany

Tonight's brew is from a brewer that lists itself as the oldest brewing co. in the world, established in 1040. It brews all of its beers under the purity law of 1516. The brew is a Weizenbock a more powerful Dunkel Weizen (of "bock strength"), it should have a pronounced estery alcohol character, with some spiciness from this, and bolder and more complex malt characters of dark fruits. The average alcohol by volume (abv) is in the range: 7.0-10.0%. This one is 7.7% ABV and comes in a one pint one oz bottle and it won a world beer award for the world's best strong wheat beer in 2012, I am looking forward to this one. It pours a typical unfiltered wheat bear, a cloudy golden yellow colour with two fingers of fluffy white head that settles to leave a small amount of lacing. The aroma is very bold with bread yeast up front and a sweet background of banana and bubblegum and hints of clove and peppery spices. The flavour also stands out, banana bread, spices, cloves with a little honey spread. There is a nice warmth from the high alcohol content but not a burn. This would be a great beer for a cold evening back in Canada which I don't miss right now. And you know I am not a wheat beer fan but this well it transcends the style. A fitting beer for my birthday. 3.9 out of 5

Day 349-Beer 349 Maibock, Capital Brewery Co, Middleton Wisconsin

tonight's brew as the name states is a Maibock. It poured a a murky golden amber with a slight orange hue with two fingers of head that left almost no lacing. The aroma was very yeasty up front with a sweet honey and molasses background. The flavour has caramel malts and bread yeast of front with a spicy hop background which settles back to a sweet finish. A little to sweet for the style but a fairly good brew, 3.5 out of 5

Day 348-Beer 348 Farmers Tan, Southern Tier Brewing Co. Lakewood New York

I'm not sure if it is a Farmers Tan or a Golfers Tan but I probably have both. It poured a orange/amber colour with two fingers of sudsy head that left a little lacing and lot of rising carbonation bubbles. The aroma has hints of floral and citrus hops and some bready malts.The flavour is malty up front with some citrus hops and a dry finish. An okay brew but it won't be on my list for Santa 3.2 out of 5

Day 347-Beer 347 Shock Top Honey Bourbon Cask Wheat Ale, Shock Top Brewing Co. St Louis Mo

This one is thanks to Edie and Fred. This one is a Belgian-Style Witbier, or an unfiltered wheat ale and is brewed with honey, caramel malt, and aged on bourbon cask staves. It pours a very muddy orange colour with one finger of off white head that leaves only a small amount of lacing. The aroma is very unique, lots of honey, caramel candy apple with an oak wine barrel background and the smell of a spicy bourbon. The taste is very sweet lots of honey and brown sugar taste with a very creamy feel in your mouth then some spice and oak which fades again to honey and sugar. A beer that a non beer drinker might enjoy on a hot summer night. A little to sweet for my taste but a good brew 3.4 out of 5

Day 346-Beer 346 Batch 19, Coors Brewing, Golden Colorado

They say this is a pre-prohibition style lager or maybe they just don't want to admit that they made this brew during the prohibition era. It poured a hazy golden copper colour with one finger of head and almost no lacing. The is light, sweet malt and hints of citrus and grassy hops. The flavor is very similar some sweet malt up front with a hint of grassy hops and minimal bitterness. 3.3 out of 5

Day 345-Beer 345 Toasted Coconut Porter, Thomas Creek Brewery, Greenville South Carolina

Tonight's brew is listed as an American Porter. This one uses, according to the label toasted coconut to enhance the flavour. It poured a dark chocolate, almost black colour with almost no head and no lacing although it did leave a sticky film on the sides of the glass as you drank the brew. The aroma unlike the label seemed absent of coconut but rather had a coffee and sweet toasted caramel malt smell. The flavour had a definited essprsesso background with hints of toased and burnt malts and some bitter chocolate and nuts, 3.3 out of 5

Day 344 Beer 344 Sigha, Boon Rawd Brewery, Thailand

It was Dolores and Tom's 48th aniversary tonight and to celebrate we had went to a great Thai restaurant in Winterhaven to celebrate along with Tom, Dolores, Edie and Fred. So a supper the gents, Tom, Fred and Myself all had a couple of Singhas. Singha is a Euro Pale Lager. It poured a clear golden yellow with only one finger of head and virtually no lacing. The aroma is slighty sweet with a grassy hop background. The taste is very crisp and clean with hints of citrus/grapefruit hop bitterness and a nice dry finish. Overall a very good euro lager, 3.4 out of 5.

day 343-beer 343 Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale, Minhas Brewery Monroe Wisconsin

This is supoosed to be a farmhouse ale but it is far from it. It pours a clear golden colour with very little head and no lacing. Very little aroma, some citrus hops and bread yeast. The taste is more like a cream ale, a sweet cream soda start with some spicy hops. Not what I would expect of a farmhouse ale but not a bad brew. 3.2 out of 5

Day 342-Beer 342 Swiss Style Amber, Minhas Brewery Monroe Wisconsin

It pours a copper/amber colour with very little head and no lacing.The aroma has just a hint of caramel malts bread yeast and some hops. The taste is fairly sweet, caramel roasted malts a hint of citrus/spicy hops with a sweet after taste, not as much flavour as one might expect in a 5.5%ABV beer. 3.3 out of 5

Missed Post Day Beer 341 from day166-Beer 166 Maclays Traditional Pale Ale, Sleeman Breweries, Guelph Ontario

Couldn't figure out why I was off by a day in my countdown to New Years Eve and checked back to realize this post ended up in my draft posts instead of on the blog. Adding this one back in makes my count right.Last night was a trip to Scotland for a brew so tonight is a Scottish brew made here in Canada. Smallish white head slow recedes above a clear bright washed out golden colored beer. It poured  a golden yellow with a small fizzy head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing, jus t a few carbonation bubbles around the edge of the glass. The aroma was bread grains, sweet malts and a hint of something sour, apple maybe. The taste is typical light ale, bread grains, syrup, malt and just a faint hint of hop bitterness.
Overall the only thing going for this beer is the price as it was one of the cheaper beers I have tried during my sojourn, but, if you like bud light you might like this one. 3 out of 5

Day 340-Beer 340 Fighting Billy Bock, Minhas Brewery, Monroe Wisconsin

Just as an aside Minhas has been brewing beers since 1845, the name of last night's pils. This one pours a very dark amber with a copper hue. It only produce one finger of head but it left some nice sticky lacing.The aroma has hints of chocolate, nuts dark fruit and burnt sugar. The flavour is sweet malts, dark fruit with a hint of spicy hops. Overall a good brew, very tasty and refreshing 3.5 out of 5

Day 339-Beer 339 1845 Pils, Minhas Brewery, Monroe Wisconsin

A little late entering this one,ppearance my internet was down last night so here goes. It poured a golden yellow colour with one finger of head and not much lacing. The aroma was sweet malts and grassy hops. The taste was pils all the way, nice balance of sweet malts and just a hint of hop bitterness, a real easy drinking brew and an above average pilsner. I really enjoyed the refreshing taste of this brew 3.7 out of 5

Day 338-Beer 338 Irresistable Amber Ale, Madison Roiver Brewing Co. Belgrade Montana

Another beer from K&B's trip through Montana, this one an amber ale. It poured a hazy amber colour with lots of carbonation bubbles and one finger of cream coloured head that produced very sticky lacing that clung to the sides of the glass. The aroma had a bready yeast background with hints of caramel malts. The taste although a little thin was also a bready yeast background with some sweet malts and a hint of earthy hops. Overall an okay brew but a little on the light side for my taste 3.2 out of 5

Day 337-Beer 337 Moose Drool, Big Sky Brewing Co., Missoula, Montana

Tonight's brew is an American Brown Ale. It pour a dark amber colour with lots of cream head that left lots of very sticky lacing. The aroma was malty, caramel and hints of nuts and floral hops. The flavour was toasted caramel malt, a slight hop bitterness and a dry finish. Overall a good brew 3.5 out of 5

Day 336-Beer 336 Wild huckleberry Wheat Lager, The Great Northern Brewing Co. Whitefish Montana

you know what I say if you have to add fruit to make it taste good ...... well this one fits. It poured a hazy golden colour with one finger of white head that lasts forever and a day. The aroma has a sour background with lots of wheat and bread yeast and a hint of sweetness from the huckleberrys. The taste is bready up front with lots of fruity sweetness almost blueberry like with a hint of spicy hops to round it out. Not my cup of ... but someone that likes fruity tasting brews would probably enjoy this one 2.9 out of 5

Day 335-Beer 335 Pigs Ass Porter, Harvest Moon Brewing Co. Belt Montana

In a pigs eye or is that in a pigs ass. The label you have to picture, three pigs standing at a bar with only topcoats that are too short to cover there ass, quite a site. This one pours a very dark brow colour with only a little tan coloured head which leaves some spotty but very sticky lacing. The aroma has hints of coffee, milk chocolate and roasted malts. The flavour has lots of chocolate, caramel and toaste malts, maple syrup mixed with coffee and a nut background. A very good porter 3.7 out of 5. Thanks again K&B.

Day 334 Beer 334 Salmon Fly Honey Rye, Madison River Brewing Co. Belgrade, Montana

Another brew from Ken and Barb. This one is a rye beer. It pours a golden colour with a one finger head and little lacing. The aromints of rye a has lots of sweet malts upfront with hints of honey and some earthy hops. The flavour has a real sweet background of honey and caramel with some rye and spicy hops. Overall a very good brew 3.6 out of 5

Day 333-Beer 333 Golden Grizzly Ale, Glacier Brewing Co., Polson Montana

This one is a German style Kölsch. It poured a golden colour with only a small head and little lacing. The aroma had an off, sour, background with hints of bread yeast and some grassy hops. The flavour likewise had a sour background with hints of caramel malts, citrus hops and an acidic aftertaste. Not a very good brew, but I am not sure of how this style is supposed to taste, 3 out of 5

my neighbours chip in

My wonderful neighbours here in Florida, Ken and Barb( also snow birds, they are from NY) went travelling this summer and spent some time in Montana and Wisconsin. The rounded up several beer for me to help with my beer tour. Hope you enjoy the results of there journey, I know I will.

back on the net finally, day 330-332, beers 330-332

finally hooked back to the internet, the long drive to Florida was realitively uneventful, some snow of and on for the first ten hours then clear sailing, just under 22 hours door to door. Day 330-Beer 330, Wells IPA, Wells and Young Ltd., Bedford, UK Day 330 was on the road so this one was drank as a traveller about 10 pm when Rochelle took over the wheel for a few hours. I had to drink it from my travel coffee mug so I am not sure of the colour but it did produce a lot of head. The aroma was fairly light with a hint of hops and some malt but there really wasn`t much of anything. The taste had hints of caramel and some hop bitterness. Not much of an IPA, 3 out of 5

Day 331-Beer 331 Grapefruit Radler, Waterloo Brewing Co. Waterloo Ontario
one should know better than to try something grapefruit from Canada. It was more like drinking fresca than a beer. too sweet, to carbonated all round not my cup of beer 2.9 out of 5

Day 332-Beer 332 La Joufflue,Archibald Microbrasserie, Quebec City, Quebec
The last of my beers from Norm and the last I brought with me from Canada.  this one is a belgian style witbier. It poured a hazy golden yellow colour with nice white head that left some good lacing. The aroma hints of bready yeast, lemon, orange and coriander. The taste matched the smell, bread yeasts, wheat a hint of lemon, orange with a spicy background of cloves and coriander. An okay wheat beer, 3.5 out of 5.

signing off for a few days

I will be traveling tomorrow and will be back on line as soon as possible but I will still be having my nightly brew. I will update the sight as soon as I have access to the internet again.

Day 329-Beer 329 Niagara College Rauchbier, Niagara College, Niagara on the Lake

Another brew from the Niagara College Brewing Program, this on is Rauchbier or smoke bier and this one is just that. It poured a murky amber copper colour with lots of head that left some nice sticky lacing. The aroma is molasses and campfire smoke. The flavour is smoke heavy with a sweet background and just a hint of spicy hops. An okay brew 3.4 out of 5.

Day 328 - Beer 328 Arctic Circle Ale , Malmgardin Pamimo, Malmgard, Finland

Tonight's brew my first from Finland and my first brewed with dark rye and juniper twigs. This is also a first for it is listed as a Sahti. It is said to be one of the only primitive beers to survive in Western Europe, Sahti is a farmhouse ale with roots in Finland. First brewed by peasants in the 1500s, mashing (steeping of grains) went down in wooden barrels, and then that mash would be scooped into a hand-carved wooden trough (a kuurna) with a bed of juniper twigs that acted as a filter. The bung at the bottom of the kuurna would be pulled to allow the sweet wort (liquid infusion from the mash) to pass through the twig filter, followed by wort recirculation and a hot water sparge (rinsing of the grains), all of which created a juniper infusion of sorts.

Sahti is also referred to as being turbid, because the wort isn’t boiled after lautering (separation of spent grain and liquid), leaving loads of proteins behind, thus providing tremendous body. A low-flocculating Finnish baker’s yeast creates a cloudy unfiltered beer, with an abundance of sediment. Traditional Sahti is not typically hopped, so the task of balancing is left up to the juniper twigs, which impart an unusual resiny character and also act as a preservative.

Arctic Circle, only available in the winter season pours a murky/muddy dark brown with two fingers of head that settle to leave almost no surface lacing yet it sticks to the sides much like a heavily laced beer. The aroma  is big on caramel malts with a milk chocolate background and a hint of pine. The flavour is quite malty with a caramel and honey sweetness and a nice spicy background of rye and juniper. This is my first beer of this style and my first comment to my wife was this is a really good brew. It is very drinkable with a nice balance of malts, the alcohol is not overpowering although it is 7.3%ABV and it has some great fruit and yeast characteristics. 4 out of 5.

Day 327-Beer 327 Hatachino Nest Espresso Stout, Kiuchi Brewery, Ibaraki-ken Naka-gun, Japan

Tonight's brew is a double or American stout, unlike last nights this one is a strong brew at 7%ABV. It poured black in colour with very little head and only a very tiny amount of lacing. The aroma was very malt forward with lots of sweet caramel, molasses and toasted malts along with coffee with a metallic background and a hint of something sour. The flavour was similar, dark roasted malts, espresso coffee, molasses and caramel, very little hop bitterness. Overall an okay brew. 3.4 out of 5

Day 326-Beer 326 O'Hara's Irish Stout, Carlow Brewing , Bagenalstown, County Carlow, Ireland

Ooh a beer by CARLow, the name some of my Italian Friends call me. This one is an Irish Dry Stout, the big three of which are Guinness, Murphy's and Beamish. It poured a dark brown almost black colour with on finger of tan coloured head that left some blotchy but very sticky lacing. The aroma is dark roast cappuccino with milk chocolate. The flavour abounds with roasted malts and hints of milk chocolate in an espresso. In the background just a hint of spicy hops with a very dry finish. This is a great tasting stout especially for one so light in alcohol 4.3%ABV. This one should be a hit with any stout lover. 3.8 out of 5

Day 325-Beer 325 Autumn Hop Harvest Ale, Amsterdam Brewery Toronto Ontario

Tonight's brew is listed as an APA.  It pours a cloudy golden orange colour with nice white head that leaves some nice lacing. The aroma has hints of caramel and grainy malts along with some floral and citrus hops. The taste has a sweet caramel malt background with a very nice balance of floral and citrus hops giving a nice pine resin and grapefruit bitterness. A very good brew that has a very fresh feel on your palate,
it's easy drinking with a nice dry finish 3.8 out of 5

Day 324-Beer 324 Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen, Brauerei Heller-Trum, Bamberg, Germany

The original smokebeer or so the label states. The brewery dates it origin back to 1405 and apparently has been run by six generations of the same family. The Rauchbier (Smokebeer)style is an old German beer style, its origins go back to the 1500's and to the district of Franconia and the town of Bamberg. It's typically of dark colour and has similarities of the Oktoberfestbier. Green malts are literally dried over an open fire of beech wood giving it a strong smoky flavour they say almost that of smoked meat.


It pours a very dark coppery black colour with a couple fingers of head that leave a sticky layer of lacing.  The aroma is definitely smoky like the smell in your clothes after sitting around a campfire with lots of sweet malts scents in the background. The brew  as the style states has a very smoky taste like that first bite of home hickory smoked bacon with a nice dark fruit and malt background and just a hint of spicy hops and a dry crisp finish that leaves a hint of that campfire smoke on your palate. It not a beer that I could drink five or six of in an evening but it is a wonderfully flavoured brew. I may have to look for some recipes to use this one in to add the wood smoke flavour and aromas to. 3.8 out of 5.

Day 323-Beer 323 Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel, Brasserie D'Achouffe, Achouffe Belgium

This brew is listed as a Belgium IPA. This is a relatively new style that Belgium Brewers have developed to compete with APA's in the export market as Belgium's do not drink very much of the hoppy style of beers.  It is seemingly a take off of American IPA's and Double IPA's. They tend to be very hoppy pale coloured ales that range in the 6 to 12%ABV range. They are usually bottle conditioned with Belgian yeast strains. Although they use American hops they tend to be dryer and as is the case with tonight's brew crossed with a Belgian Trippel. The brews are usually quite cloudy with long lasting  billowy heads that give way to lots of sticky lacing.


So here goes, the bottle exploded with a bubbly head as I opened it. It had an abundance of head when poured in the glass. The head left behind a frothy lacing that stuck to the sides of the glass as I drank this brew. The colour is a cloudy pale yellow with lots of floaties and lots of carbonation and at 9% it is a strong brew. The aroma has a bread yeast base with some sweet toffee hints and some floral and grassy hops. The flavour starts with some floral hops with a creamy sweetness of honey in the background. Your are left with both a sweet taste on your tongue and a hop bitterness, grapefruit and orange zest on your palate. Overall a very flavourful brew 3.9 out of 5.

Day 322-Beer 322 St Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Brasserie McAuslan, Montreal Quebec

Stopped at the LCBO at Rymal Road today, they must have 25 new beers on the shelf that were not there on my last visit a couple of week ago, this journey could go on for a long time. Tonight's brew poured almost black with one finger of cream tan head that left some spotty and very sticky lacing. the aroma has lots of caramel, roasted malts and espresso with a hint of chocolate and vanilla. The flavour is very malty up front
with hints of bitter chocolate and some peppery spice.  A good stout that one could share with there best beer recipes, 3/4 for me 1/4 for the recipe or better yet open a couple of them. 3.8 out of 5

Day 321-Beer 321 Iceberg Beer, Quidi Vidi, St. Johns Newfoundland

I have to thank Norm for this one. He's graciously donated a few to the cause and this one is from his trip to NFLD. It has a special ingredient, Iceberg water. They say it takes about a year for an iceberg to float past St John's Harbour from when it breaks away from a northern ice shelf.  During its journey the outer layers melt away leaving crystal clear ice from water that thousands of years old. It is this absolutely pure water that they use to brew this beer.  It is a light lager, it pours a clear golden with very little head and no lacing.  The aroma although faint has hints of floral hops and some bready malts. The flavour has some caramel malts with just a touch of hops. The overall brew is very refreshing and a nice easy drinking beer. Quidi Vidi has done a very good job producing an above average light beer if light beer is your thing. 3.4 out of 5

Day 320-Beer320 Brutal India Pale Ale, Rouge Ales, Newport Oregon

Join the Rogue Nation, Dream, Dare, Risk. This one is listed by the brewer as an Imperial Bitter, a cross between an extra special bitter and an IPA. Well Rogue got this one right. It pours a cloudy golden tangerine colour with lots of off white head and tons of lacing. The aroma  is citrus and pine resin with a honey background. The flavour starts with a wonderful creamy feel  with honey, caramel malts and rubyy red grapefruit in a really nice balance just leaving enough of the grapefruit taste on your palate as you swallow your brew. If you like IPA's this is a must try, its well balance not overly hopped sweet yet a nice dry finish. 4 out of 5

Day 319-Beer 319 St Ambroise Pale Ale, Brasserie McAuslan , Montreal Quebec

Tonight's brew is an APA, it pours an amber/copper colour with minimal head that leaves only a spattering of lacing. The aroma has hints of fruits, caramel malts and grassy hops but it certainly isn't overpowering. The mouthful is sweet and creamy up front with hints of tropical fruits and it finishes with some spicy hop bitterness but not as much as you might expect from an APA. 3.5out of 5

Day 318-Beer 318 St. Ambroise Double IPA, Brasserie McAuslan, Montreal Quebec

I am sure glad my daughter loves to travel, this week she brought me back a few beers from Montreal. This one is a American Double or Imperial IPA, see 90 Minute IPA for a comparable. This style is supposed to be like an IPA on steroids, it should be an all out assault on your palate with lots of malts and hops and they generally have alcohol contents running between 7% and 14% ABV.
This one is 8%ABV and pours a golden orange colour, Very little head which leaves a very thin layer of lacing.  The aroma is very hoppy, citrus and pine resin with a syrupy, honey and maple background. The flavour is like the style is supposed to be, lots of fruity and sweet malts up front, tangerine, caramel, honey  and then a big bang of  citrus hops, orange zest and red grapefruit. It ends with a nice dry finish. Overall a very good brew 3.8 out of 5

Day 317-Beer 317 Little Norway, Sawdust City Brewing Co, Arendals Bryggeri, Arendal Norway

Sawdust City Little Norway Pale Lager  Only in Norway

Well this is an interesting brew, my Daughter was in a grocery store in Norway and saw picked up a beer for me because it had a red maple leaf on the label and its states that it is a Canadian Craft type beer. Well when you look closer is has the name of a brewery from Gravenhurst Ontario on it. Sine the rest of the label is in Norwegian it meant a little research had to be done and as it turns out it is possibly the first intercontinental brewing collaboration to feature a Canadian brewery, a beer co-created by Sawdust City and Arendals Bryggeri. The result is Little Norway Pale Lager, a beer that they describe as being inspired by Sawdust City Gateway Kölsch, but with a number of tweaks:

"We elected to make a hoppier version of the Kölsch, and being that Arendals is a lager brewery, we used lager yeast for simplicity. I worked with their Brewmaster and then sent them a recipe for the beer. It’s very similar to our Kölsch but with Saaz hops instead of Spalter and a lager yeast instead of an ale strain. "

And so they called it a pale lager and since it is brewed with 4.7%ABV it can be sold in the grocery stores in Norway as their limit for grocery sales is 4.8%ABV.


It poured a clear golden colour with little head and little lacing, the aroma was fairly mute with a hint of caramel malt and some floral hops. The taste was an average lager with just a hint of extra hops giving it a spicy touch. Overall it might be a big cellar in Norway but I don't think it would be a hit in Canada. 3.2 out of 5

Day 316-Beer 316 Great White Hype, CAP Curious Audacious Products, Stockholm Sweden

A not so good night at the poker table so here's hoping the brew makes the evening. The label again says IPA but the brewers list is as an APA, . which should mean a little more hop bitterness and some higher alcohol content and add to the mix it is also a hefewiezen or unfiltered wheat beer. This should be interesting.  Well it is 5.6%ABV so that fits. It poured a cloudy golden yellow with lots of white head that takes a long time to settle. That fits a hefe. The aroma has hints of yeast, floral hops, lemon and citrus and some malt. The flavour has a sweet background with some spices, cloves and coriander, pepper and some citrus like hop bitterness and orange zest. Its hard to rate this one as the style is very mixed, somebody's idea of creating a new style of craft beer 3.6 out of 5

Day 315-Beer 315 Aergir India Pale Ale, Aegir Bryggeri, Flam, Norway

Well there is only 50 bottles of beer on the wall and if one of those beer should happen to be..... This one is also by Aergir but unlike the one a few days ago it is not peated. The colour is almost the same, a muddy amber orange with off white head that leaves a nice layer of very sticky lacing. The aroma is grapefruit and pine resin with a hint of caramel malts. The flavour starts with a creamy texture and a sweet caramel and some tropical fruit base with a nice hop mainly citrus background. A definite grapefruit aftertaste. A very good APA, not an IPA, and I think slightly better than the smoked version 3.7 out of  5. Thanks Kristal for another brew.

Day 314-Beer 314 Aass Fatol, Aass Brewery , Drammen, Norway

What to do you think aass means in Norwegian, well even better it is  a Poul's last name, wouldn't if have been great in school Hey Aass stand up or Mr. Ass quiet down.... I think I would have enjoyed being in his class. Back to the brew, it is a euro lager. It pours a golden yellow with very little head and almost no lacing. The aroma is very mild but typical euro lager, bready malts, corn and a hints of hops. The taste is very light with some malt flavours and a hint of hops and a metallic aftertaste. Certainly not in the top of the style but I love the name, 3.2 out of 5

Day 313-Beer 313 Lokka IPA, Grunerlokka Brygghus, Oslo Norway

Another of the brews from Norway, this one is actually an APA. It pours a cloudy golden tangerine colour with nice white head that settles to a thin covering of sticky lacing. The aroma has hints of tropical fruits, pine resin and citrus hops with a malty background. The flavour much the same with a nice balance blend of citrus ( grapefruit) and tropical fruits, hints of caramel malts but with no lingering sweetness for a brew of 7%ABV.  Overall a very good brew 3.8 out of 5.

Day 312-Beer312 Hyrrokkin India Peated Ale, Ægir Bryggeri, Flåm, Norway

Another beer from Kristal's last trip to Norway, this one is a India Peated Ale, It is listed as an APA but we will see what the peated means as the label is all in Norwegian. From Wikipedia Hyrrokin is from Norse Mythology (and it means fire smoked) , it is a giantess who is dark and has a shrivelled appearance in the pictures of her. It is also a moon of Saturn. Anyhow here goes. It poured a muddy amber/copper colour with some off white head that leave some sticky lacing around the edge of the glass. The aroma is citrus and pine resin with hints of caramel malts. The flavour consists of strong cirtrus (grapefruit) and pine resin hop bitterness with a touch of smoke and peat and some caramel malts. Overall a good APA that is not overly sweet and has the added touch of smoke and peat. 3.7 out of 5sweet.

Day 311-Beer 311 Piston Head Kustom Lager, Spendrups Bryggeri AB, Stockholm Sweden

Thanks again to my daughter this next week or so will include brews she brought home to me from her last trip to Norway. This one is an APA from Sweden. It poured a clear golden yellow with only a small head that disappears leaving no lacing. The aroma although light has hints of grassy hops, corn and some sweet malts. The flavour is not as hoppy as expected with some citrus and pine flavours, some mild fruits and some corn syrup. It not a bad brew but its closer to a pilsner than a real APA. Overall it is quite refreshing with a nice dry finish but no hop bitterness in the aftertaste 3.4 out of 5

Day 310-Beer 310 Sofie, Goose Island Beer Co. Chicago Illinois

This one is a Belgian style saison/farmhouse ale. It ours a slightly cloudy golden yellow colour with lots of bubbly head that dissipates quickly leaving very little lacing. It almost appears champagne like. The aroma is fruity, pear and grape with some floral hops. The taste is made up of tropical fruits with hints of lemon and orange cloves and pepper and a hoppy background. The 20% of the brew is aged in wine barrels with orange peel which accounts for some of the champagne like tastes. Overall not the best saison that I have had, the wine barrel thing doesn't seem to help with the overall product. 3.2 out of

Day 309-Beer 309 Night Marzen Octoberfest Lager, Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. Vankleek Hill, Ontario

Another Beau's was hiding in the fridge, this one a Marzen or Oktoberfest Lager. It poured a copper colour with lots of head that settles to a thin  layer of foam. The aroma is has hints of caramel, bread malts and some grassy hops. The taste is much like the aroma caramel and toffee, bready malts with some grassy hops. Overall a good marzen 3.5 out of 5.

Day 308-Beer 308 Big Mouth Tap Room Pale Ale, Hop City Brewing Co. Brampton Ontario

This one is posted late as I was unable to log on last night. It poured a golden/orange colour with  white head that left some lacing. The aroma was citrus/orange and caramel. The flavour was quite unique, with some sweet fruit flavour, citrus and very floral hops with a nice dry finish. 3.4 out of 5

Day 307-Beer 307 Happy Pilsner Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. Vankleek Hill Ontario

The last of a variety four back from beau's, this one a Bohemian/German  style pils. It poured a cloudy golden yellow colour with lots of sudsy white head that settles to a thin layer of sticky foam across the surface. The aroma is mainly grainy malts, cereals, grass but nothing overpowering. The taste similar to it aroma and typical of the style, malt and bready notes with a mild grassy hops. Overall easy drinking with a nice dry finish 3.4 out of 5

Day 306-Beer 306 Zwickelbier, Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. Vankleek Hill Ontario

Zwickelbier is similar Kellerbier, They both are a very old style of brewing lagers dating back to the 1500's, they are unpasteurized and unfiltered and matured in open or unbunged kegs originally in deep vaults. The beers are naturally cloudy and yeasty, often with a high hop bitterness.
This one poured a murky amber orange colour with some off white head that left no lacing at all. The aroma has hints of bread yeast, sweet malts and some earthy hops. The flavour is fairly sweet up front with a fruity background and a mild hop finish that leaves a malt and yeast aftertaste on the lips. An okay brew certainly better than the Kellerbier I tried earlier in the year but still not great, 3.4 out of 5

Day 305-Beer305 Dark Helmut, Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. Vankleek Hill Ontario

This one is an Imperious Schwarzbier, I am not sure what the imperious means in terms of the brew but Schwarzbier in German means simply means black beer and this one is just that as it pours black in colour with tons of tan coloured head that lasts a long time but eventually settles to leaving some very sticky froth.   Aroma of chocolate and dark roasted coffee and roasted malts prevail. The taste is more like dark bakers chocolate and toffee with a hint of a creamy sweetness that settles on your palate with just a touch of bitterness in the background and a nice dry finish. Its 7.3%ABV but it is not noticeable in the taste. Overall a very good brew that goes does well and would make a great addition to your best gravy recipes. 3.7 out of 5

Day 304-Beer 304 Rauchstack, Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. Vankleek Hill, Ontario

Tonight's brew is a smoked dunkel. It pours like a dunkel, dark brown with a mahogany hue, some nice tan coloured head that leave some spotty lacing  with a small ring around the glass of sticky lacing.  Its aroma definitely has a smokey campfire background with hints of roasted malts and caramel. The taste is smoked malts with a sweet caramel and peppery background that leaves a sweet taste on the lips and a slightly bitter hop residual in the throat. Overall a good brew 3.6 out of 5

day 303-Beer 303 Jumpin Jack India Pale Ale, Tree Brewing Co. Kelowna British Columbia

Its Halloween and what better way to celebrate than with a pumpkin and I am not fond of pumpkin pie so its a pumpkin beer. This one combines a traditional IPA and a pumpkin ale. The colour is dark amber/orange with nice head that leave some very sticky lacing that clings to the glass as you drink this brew. The aroma has some faint notes of pumpkin pie, nutmeg cinnamon and all that junk along with some caramel malts and citrus/grapefruit hops. The taste surprisingly is very nice, floral and citrus hops with some clove and other spices, the nutmeg is not noticeable, a good thing and  just a slight hint of pumpkin. It has a sweet background of caramel malts along with a peppery zest and some citrus/grapefruit and pine hop bitterness to finish the brew. I truly enjoyed this brew which is amazing considering I do not fancy pumpkin pie. 3.8 out of 5. Have a ghoulish night.

Day 302-Beer 302 Eureka Cream Ale, Bell City Brewery, Brantford Ontario

Tonight's brew is a cream ale, it pours an amber/copper colour with off white head that leaves some nice lacing. It is fairly strong for a cream ale at 5.8%ABV. The aroma is malty with a caramel base and a hint of some grassy hops. The flavour is very malty with caramel and toffee up front and some dark fruit undertones and a light spicy/grassy hop finish. Overall a very good cream ale 3.5 out of 5. 

Day 301-Beer 301 Hobgoblin, Wychwood Brewery, Witney England

Hobgoblin is an extra special/strong bitter. It poured a dark amber colour with tan coloured head that left sticky lacing.  The aroma is quite sweet, dark fruits, and toffee with a hint of some earthy hops. The flavour is similar toffee, roasted malts, dark fruits, mainly plum with a hint of smoked malt some spices and hoppy finish with a bit of an alcohol aftertaste.  Overall a good brew but nothing spectacular 3.5 out of 5

Day 300-Beer 300 First Draft Ale, Niagara College Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

I was a little afraid about tasting this one as the last brew, a lager, from NC was one of the worst brews I have tasted so this one is a bit of a surprise. It poured a golden amber with some very nice head that settled to a thin covering of lace that sticks to the sides of the glass as you drink this one. The aroma had a lot of bread yeast with a slight sour background but only slight. The taste has a bit of a hop spice to it but as it settles it leaves a very nice sweet creamy caramel/maple syrup flavour in your mouth. Overall a pretty good ale and in comparison to there lager an excellent brew. Very refreshing and very drinkable. 3.4 out of 5

Day 299 Beer 299 Uber Berliner Style Weiss, Nickel Brook Brewing Co. Burlington Ontario

Tonight's brew is a Berliner Weissbier, and I should learn to read about the style before I buy one. The label states it pretty clear, it is a sour style of beer as a result of a natural by-product of lactobacillus that occurs during a sour mash. The colour is a slightly hazy golden yellow that appears more watery than most brews. There is very little head and no lacing but there seems to be quite a bit of carbonation. The aroma is sour mash and bread yeast, already not my cup of bad tea and the flavour even worse. If you are going to try this one you better like sour beer. It does have a hint of lemon hidden in the very acid tasting sour mash. Not a beer that I would ever recommend even though it may or may not be a good beer for its style, 1 out of 5

Day 298-Beer 298 Rickard's Lederhosen, Molson Coors Canada, Toronto Ontario

Tonight's brew is from a big brewer but you need to try some of their brews too. This one is a Marzen or Octoberfest Lager. See Sept. 17 for a description and comparison. This one poured a clear amber/copper colour with lots of off white head that settled to a thin layer of sticky froth across the surface. The aroma was somewhat skunky, sour mash or musty hops of some kind, with some caramel malt in the background. Although the sour taste is still there, the flavour is better then the smell, some faint hints of caramel, nuts and roasted malts with a mild hop bitterness. It however finishes with a slight metallic taste from the alcohol content. Overall for a big brewery not a bad attempt at an old style of beer, get rid of the sourness in the first mouthfuls and the aroma and it would be a lot better, 3.3 out of 5

Day 297-Beer297 Kissmeyer Nordic Pale Ale, Kissmeyer Beer, Vankleek Hill Ontario

Quite the list of ingredients in this one, Barley and Rye malts, Maple syrup, Heather Flowers, Rosehips, Cranberries, Wild Sweet Gale and Yarrow. A very interesting list to create a pale ale. It appears that this one is brewed by Beau's although the lablel doesn't state this.  It poured a hazy golden/peach colour with lots of fluffy white head that left some sticky lacing. It has some floral scents with hops and pine dominating the aroma. The flavour is lots of hops, floral and citrus with some sweet undertones. Overall an okay brew but the ingredients just don't add up to any special flavours. 3.5 out of 5

Day 296-Beer 298 Silversmith Black Lager, Silversmith Brewing Co. Virgil Ontario

Tonight's brew is a Schwarzbier, which in German means black lager, these are lagers and not porters or stouts which get there bitterness from burnt and dark roasted malts, these brews use hops similar to a regular German pils or lager. It poured almost black in colour with tons of creamy tan coloured head that eventually settles to leave lots of very sticky lacing that clings to the glass as you drink this brew. The aroma has hints of espresso, dark chocolate and dark fruits. The flavour is dark roasted malts, coffee, baker's chocolate and a hint of hops in the background.  It is almost a very light version of a Guinness.  Overall a very good black lager, 3.7out of 5.

Day 295-Beer295 Black Oak Saison, Black Oak Brewing Co. Toronto Ontario

This one is a saison or farmhouse ale. Generally there alcohol content is much higher than this brew and it has some unique ingredients that include orange zest and coriander. The orange zest affects its colour as it pours a hazy golden/orange colour with a small layer of white head that leaves some bubble patches on the surface of the brew. The aroma is yeast, floral hops and spice I guess the zest and coriander. The flavour has a toasted wheat background with hints of some sweet malts along with some coriander, cloves and hops. It is very carbonated almost giving a champagne feel. There certainly is a lot more aroma and flavour than expected for a light ABV saison, but still not what I would call a very good saison, 3.3 out of 5

Day 294-Beer 294 First Draft Campus Lager, Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

Niagara college has started a course for brewers, well the professor that oversaw this batch flunked. It did pour a clear golden colour, point one okay, no much head and no lacing almost an f, then the aroma, well it smelt like the dregs of the wine barrel from the days my father made his own wine in our basement  f minus, and the taste was even worse, it was beyond a sour mash, f double minus, as for the drinkability this was only the second beer in my sojourn that I could not finish a whole glass. 1.5 out of 5.

Day 293-Beer 293 Cameron's lager Cameron's Brewing Co., Oakville Ontario

Tonight's brew is a Euro Lager. It poured a hazy golden yellow colour with minimal head that left a very thin layer of foam across the surface. The aroma has hints of bready malts and some grassy/floral hops. The taste is typical euro lager, some malt sweetness with just a hint of hops creating a slightly spicy  flavour with just a tiny amount  of bitterness that disappears rapidly. This is a very refreshing and drinkable euro lager with some very nice flavours. 3.5 out of 5

Day 292-Beer 292 OREgasmic Ale, Rogue Farms, Indpendance Oregon

This is another APA, it poured a very muddy and murky brown with a cream coloured head that settled to a thin layer of lacing.  The aroma has a sweet overtone, caramel malts, dark fruits and a very piney background. The taste is also very sweet upfront with lots of roasted caramel malt and lots of hop, grassy, pine and citrus are all present. Overall not the best APA I have tasted but not the worst either, 3.4 out of 5

Day 291-Beer 291 Hr. Frederikson Imperial Stout, Amager Brygrus, Kastrup Denmark

This one is listed as a Russian Imperial Stout. These beers were first brewed in the 1800's for Russian Czars, high in alcohol content with lots of roasted malt, chocolate and dark fruit flavours. The hop content varies greatly from almost none to very high.
This one is 10.5% ABV and poured a dark almost black colour with a small tan head that left just a small ring of lacing around the edge of the glass. The aroma is dark bitter chocolate, espresso, caramel and plum with a earthy hop background.  is a nice herbal aroma to this. The flavour has a hop bitterness with a very sweet almost molasses taste with some roasted malts some dark chocolate, dark fruits and a bitter chocolate aftertaste. This one is a good example of the style but it has a little too much of a sweet background for me and the alcohol taste is very present as you drink this brew. It might be one to try in some of your gravy recipes or marinades. 3.4 out of 5

Day 290-Beer 290 Roman Line Lager, Black Donnelly's Brewing Co. Lucan Ontario

Visited great friends in Parry Sound Last night and delighted in a brew from J.D's brother's new venture, Black Donnelly's Brewing Co. Currently the beer is being brewed by another craft brewer as they gear up to produce there own beers.  This brew is still in the trial stages and is on tap at only a few pubs but I am sure it will catch on as it is a very drinkable lager. It poured a clear golden yellow with adequate head that left some spotty lacing. The aroma is typical lager, a little sweetness from the malt with some graininess. It is very mellow and very drinkable, and refreshing  just like most good lagers, with no hop bitterness or after tastes. Once they go into full production this one will make a great keg to have on ice beside the BBQ for the hot summer party. 3.4 out of 5
Visit there web site to get the story of the Black Donnellys and one of Canada's most infamous massacres

Day 289-Beer 289 Ayinger Brau Weisse Brauerei Aying, Aying Germany

Tonight's brew is a hefeweizen, Bavarian style wheat unfiltered wheat beer. It poured a cloudy golden yellow colour with lots of fluffy white head that left some stick lacing around the edge of the glass. The aroma has a lot of malt and yeast notes with some banana, fruit and spice in the background. The flavour matches the aroma and the style, sweet malts, a hint of honey, bread yeasts, banana and cloves. Before I started my beer tour I was never a hefe fan but I sure an learning there are some very good wheat beers out there and you do not need to add fruit to make them taste good. Overall a crisp clean finish with some very nice malt flavours, 3.6 out of 5

Day 288 Beer 288 Raven Cream Ale R&B Brewing Co. East Vancouver British Columbia

Every now and then you hit a do not buy this on again. It poured a chocolate/cola brown colour with little head and virtually no lacing at all. The aroma had hints of roasted malts and some grassy hops. The flavour was terrible, with some hints of malt and hops but the overall flavour was very sour, almost vinegar like, or skunky without the skunky smell. 2.7 out of 5, this is no where near what one expects of a cream ale.

Day 287-Beer 287100th Meridian Organic Amber Lager, Mill St.Brewery, Toronto Ontario

This is listed as an amber lager, it poured a golden colour with just an amber hint, a small amount of head that left some spotty lacing. The aroma has hints of biscuit malts and some hops but overall there really isn't much there. Some sweet malts and spicy/floral hops in the background. Nothing special about this brew organic or not, 3.3 out of 5

Day 286-Beer 286 Hop Nouveau 2014, Trafalgar Ales and Meads, Oakville Ontario

Another APA, this one an unfiltered brew poured a murky golden/peach colour with an overabundance of fluffy/sudsy white head that eventually left some nice lacing across the surface.  The aroma was caramel floral and citrus hops with a hint of spice. The flavour has a caramel base, quite sweet,  with a hint of banana, and some citrus hops, grapefruit and tangerine that leave a sweet creamy taste in your mouth with a background hint of grapefruit bitterness. Much like last nights brew its a little weak in the hops for an American pale ale but over all a good brew that I quite enjoyed. 3.7 out of 5.

Day 285-Beer 285 La Morsure, Le Trou du Diable, Shawinigan Quebec

This one is courtesy Bill O, thanks for another brew on this thanksgiving day. This one is an American Pale Ale, you can check out several others on my blog by searching the letters "APA" or the words American Pale Ale".  La Morsure translate to "the bite" as an APA should have. This one poured hazy golden colour with very nice white head that left a covering of lacing across the surface. The aroma consisted of sweet malts, honey, tangerine and hints of pine resin. The flavour started out somewhat sweet, honey and tangerine than moved to floral and citrus hops but not overly bitter as is expected with the style.  A little light on the hops for its style but overall a very good brew that is quite refreshing and easy drinking, 3.7 out of 5.

Day 284-Beer 284 Big Rock Traditional Ale, Big Rock Brewery, Calgary Alberta

I am posting this one a little late but I did have the beer last night at my brothers house as we celebrated thanksgiving. We all have lots to be thankful for and to remember as my brother so eloquently stated. My Niece  donated this brew to the cause, thanks Kayla.  It poured an amber/copper colour with  just a little head that left only a spotting of lacing. The aroma was sweet, caramel and toasted malts. The flavour was similar caramel malts up front with a hint of orange zest and some grassy hops. Overall an okay brew 3.4 out of 5.

Day 283-Beer 283 Canuck Pale Ale, Great Lakes Brewing Co. Etobicoke Ontario

Although they call this one a Canuck Pale Ale it is in fact an American Pale Ale, see July 23 for a description of American pale ales. This one  poured a hazy golden/orange colour with nice creamy head that left some spotty lacing around the edge of the glass. The aroma is a citrus cocktail, grapefruit, tangerine, orange zest with a hint of tropical fruits. The taste has a hint of pineapple and caramel as it first hits your mouth, with a nice creamy feel than the hops begin to kick in with a nice grapefruit and orange zest bitterness but nothing overbearing and a nice dry finish that leaves a hint of caramel on your palate. Overall a very good brew, I know I will try this one again 3.9 out of 5

Day 282-Beer 282 8th Sin Black Lager, Hop City Brewing Co. Brampton Ontario

Tonight's brew is a Schwarzbier ( German for black  beer). Unlike porters and stouts they are much lighter  and refreshing, similar to pilsners, but with much more colour and flavour. Tonight's poured  a clear black colour with lots of tan coloured head that left some nice sticky lacing. The aroma was dark chocolate and espresso with hints of smoke in the background. The taste  has hints of smoked malts, dark roasted coffee and chocolate with just a small amount of hopy spice and pepper in the finish. A very good example of its style and overall a nice refreshing brew 3.6 out of 5.

Day 281-Beer 281, Reserve Tripplebock, Wagner Valley Brewing Co. Lodi New York

This is beginning to pay off, had a little card game at my house tonight and Bill and Don both brought beers for me, the host, wow. So tonight's brew is from Don's trip to the finger lakes in NY.  Thanks for the treat. Tonight's brew is a dopplebock, see August 12th for a description of the style. This is the 5th dopplebock that I have evaluated and although not the worst it just did not impress me. It poured a deep amber/mahogany colour with almost no head and dissipated quickly leaving virtually  no lace. The aroma although not strong was  very sweet with hints of chocolate, coffee and some dark fruits. The taste is much the same, honey, molasses, a metallic taste of alcohol some dark fruits with  no hops or hop bitterness. Both Don and myself would not rate this as a beer we would buy again, and, not much better, if at all, then a beer from the big brewers, Tom on the other hand liked it a little more but still was not overly impressed 3.4 out of 5.

Day 280-Beer 280 Resurrection Roggenbier, Cameron's Brewing Co. Oakville Ontario

Had a great day on the course today, we played Thundering Waters, a John Daly Course, I scored pretty good and we all had a great time, thanks guys. Then as I am watching tv and starting my brew for the night a commercial comes on for a new series RESSURECTUION, kind of spooky, anyhow as for the brew a roggenbier ( a rye beer),  it poured a cloudy dark amber colour with off white head that settle to just a thin layer across the surface. The aroma has hints of banana and clove similar to a hefeweizen but with a sour background of rye, yeasts and some herbal hops.The flavour also had a sour element from the rye with lots of bready yeast, banana, dark fruits and finishing with a bit of spice, pepper and a hint of grassy hops. Overall an okay brew but not one I would rush to buy again, 3.5 out of 5.

Day 279-Beer 279 Imperial Compass, Southern Tier Brewing Co. Lakewood< New York

This one is an APA with a little additive to spice it up.. Rose Hips. It's also a strong one at 9%ABV.  It poured a golden orange colour with lots of head and carbonation bubbles that left only a small amount of lacing. The aroma was lots of citrus, grapefruit, orange zest with some sweet overtones of honey. The flavour is very sweet for an APA lots of honey up front with a background of grapefruit and floral hops finishing with only a slight bitterness that is than overtaken by sweet malts and the taste of alcohol. Not the best example of an APA and I am not sure where the rose hips fit in 3.4 out of 5.

Day 278-Beer 278 Le Paysan, Nickel Brook Brewing Co. Burlington, Ontario

Tonight's brew is a Belgian Saison, see Day 201, July 21 for a description of the style or search saison for comparables as saison is quickly becoming one of my favourite styles of beer.
This one poured a typical cloudy golden yellow colour with lots of head that when it finally subsided left only minimal lacing. It's aroma has a sour background with hints of tropical fruits, citrus and bready yeasts. The taste has hints  of lemon and tangerine zest up front with some spices and pepper in the background and a dry floral hop finish. Its not the best sample of the style but it still is an okay brew. 3.5 out of 5

Day 277-Beer 277 Elemental Porter Ale, Renaissance Brewing Co. Marlborough New Zealand

Hey Malcolm this ones for you. This one is an English Porter. The name apparently dates back to the 1700's when this style of beer was popular with transportation workers in London. This one poured almost black in colour with a small tan head that left some nice sticky lacing. The aroma was molasses, caramel, espresso and roasted malts. The flavour included coffee and caramel with a sweet toffee background. A good brew but not a great example of its style. 3.5 out of 6

Day 276-Beer 276 Jever Pilsner,Friesisches Brauhaus,Jever Germany

Tonight's brew is a German Style Pilsner. German Pilsners should be very light straw to golden in color with dense rich head. Generally they are also well-hopped, brewed using Noble hops such has Saaz, Hallertauer, Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, Styrian Goldings, Spalt, Perle, and Hersbrucker. These varieties exhibit a spicy herbal or floral aroma and flavor, often they have a strong citrus background with lots of hop bitterness.
This one is a good example of its style, it poured a clear golden yellow with nice white head that left some nice lacing across the surface. The aroma has a grassy hop and citrus zest background. The flavour similarly has a nice grassy hop background with a hint of citrus and a slight sweetness in the background  and a nice dry bitter finish. Overall a very good pils, 3.6 out of 5.

Day 275-Beer 275 Quidi Vidi British Ipa, Quidi Vidi Brewing Co. St Johns Newfoundland

This one is an IPA, it poured a golden amber colour with very little head that dissipated very quickly leaving just a small amount of lacing. The aroma was sweet malts with a hint of citrus hops. The flavour has a citrus/grapefruit bite up front with a sweet background of honey and caramel malts and a not much on the finishing hop bitterness typical of a great IPA, 3.5 out of 5

off golfing for a few days so here is my catch up for beers 271,272, 273 and 274

Off on another golf trip, played Parry Sound Golf and Country, Bigwin Island and Rocky Crest, had a great time with the crew, drank to many beers but I always had room for my beer of the day.




Monday Day 271-Beer 271 Eight -Ball Stout, Lost Coast Brewery, Eureka California
It is listed as a sweet oatmeal stout. It poured almost black in colour with lots of nice tan head that left some nice sticky lacing. The aroma was coffee/espresso with hints of caramel and toasted malts. The taste is coffee up front with a nice subtle hint of hops. Overall a good brew 3.6 out of  5.


Tuesday Day 272-Beer 272 Paulaner Hefe Weissbier, Paulaner Brauerei, Munchen, Germany
It poured a  hazy, golden color with a okay head that left only a small amount of lacing. The aroma was typical hefe, banana, cloves, a little caramel sweetness. The flavour was sweet up front with hints of cloves, citrus and pepper. Overall okay but not the greatest hefe I have sampled 3.5 out of 5


Wednesday Day 273-Beer 273 Lancaster Bomber, Thwaites, Lancashire, England
This one is an extra special bitter/strong bitter. This one doesn't live up to it's name or style. It poured a amber/copper colour, with adequate head that left almost no lacing. The aroma had hints of caramel and grassy hops. The flavour was off somewhat with a musty background some hop bitterness and carmel. This one didn't rate well 2.9 out of 5.


Thursday Day 274-Beer274 Castello Birra Italiana / Friulana Blonda, Castella Di Udine, San Giorgio di Nogaro, Italy
This one is a euro lager. It poured a clear golden yellow with only a small amount of head that left almost no lacing at all. The aroma was almost non existent with just a hint of sweet malts and some floral hops. The flavour had some ssweetness up front  with just a hint of hops to finish the beer. Another strike out 3.2 out of 5.

Day 270-Beer 270 Belgian Wit, Mill Street Brewery Toronto Ontario

Tonight's brew is a witbier, it poured a hazy golden yellow with adequate head that left a thin layer of lacing across the surface. The aroma has hints of citrus, orange with a wheat background. The flavour is sweet up front with bready yeasts and some spice, possible something like coriander and a bit of hop bitterness. This one is not my cup of ...Beer so to speak, 3.1 out of 5.

Day 269-Beer 269 Steam Works Pilsner, Steam Works Brewing Co. Vancouver British Columbia

This one poured a golden yellow leaving some nice sticky lacing. The aroma was more of an IPA than a pilsner, citrus hops up front with a sweet fruity background. The flavour was caramel malt and peppery spices with some hop bitterness but not the grapefruit that seem to be a big part of the aroma. Overall an okay brew 3.5 out of 5

Day 268-Beer 268 The Bold Belgian Pale Ale, Dead Frog Brewery, Aldergrove British Columbia

Tonight's Brew is a Belgian Pale Ale. This style of brew generally uses aged hops to produce a pale ale that is less bitter than other pale ale styles. The usualy have a sweet and toasted malt backbone. Don't make the mistake I made and pour it properly as they tend to have a lot of yeast sediment on the bottom.
This one poured a very murky amber/copper colour with lots of floaties, my mistake, lots of cream tan head that left nice thick sticky lacing.  The aroma is surprisingly hoppy with lots of citrus and a sweet fruity background. Not what I expected from the style. The taste also quite hoppy with lots of grapefruit more like an APA, but a very malty background not overly sweet with hints of bread yeasts as well. Overall a pretty good brew but after reading up on its style  I think they over hopped the beer but still I rather enjoyed it. 3.7 out of 5.

Day 267-Beer 267 Muskoka Detour, Muskoka Brewery, Bracebridge Ontario

99 bottles of beer on the wall if.......Tonight's brew is an American IPA. It is a very light version at 4.3 %ABV. It poured a hazy golden yellow colour with minimal head that left some nice sticky lacing around the edges of the glass. The aroma has hints of citrus and grassy hops with a nice floral aspect to it. The taste is not your typical overpowering APA but rather is has a nice clean taste with lots of grapefruit up front along with some pine and grassy hops. It is very flavourful for a lite beer. 3.6 out of 5

Day 266-Beer 266 Muskoka Summer Weiss, Muskoka Brewery, Bracebridge Ont.

100 bottles of beer on the wall if one of those bottles should happen to be drank tonight I'll only have 99 bottles of beer to go.
Tonight's brew is a Hefeweizen or unfiltered wheat beer.  I never really tasted any wheat beers that I liked prior to my sojourn but I have now found several that are pretty good beers and are very drinkable. This one poured a hazy golden yellow colour with only minimal head that left no lacing at all. The aroma is citrus, banana and honey. The taste is sweet honey, citrus (mainly orange) with hints of cloves and pepper. Overall a very refreshing brew and don't ruin it by adding a slice of lemon or orange, 3.6 out of 5.

Day 265-Beer 265 Artic, Mack bryggeri, Nordkjosbotn, Norway

This is #5 of five from Norway. My Daughter left for Norway again  today for a month contract flying job near the town of Bodo. This one is another pils that poured a clear golden yellow with nice white head that left some spotty lacing across the surface. The aroma was sweet malt with a hint of lemon , caramel and spicy hops. The flavour is sweet with a somewhat fruity background and some spicy/ peppery hops. Not quite as good as last nights but almost. Very refreshing with a nice dry finish 3.5 out of 5

Day 264-Beer 264 Ringnes Skjaergards Pils, Ringnes Bryggeri (Carlsberg) Olso, Norway

Norwegian Pils #4. This one is listed as a German style pils,  a comparable beer of this style is Warsteiner Premium Verum. It pours a golden amber colour with some nice head that settles to a thin covering of lace across the surface. The aroma is somewhat of a malt background with hints of honey, lemon and grassy hops. The flavour is nicely balance with some spicy hops and sweet malts. The feel is almost creamy with a nice dry finish.  A very good brew and certainly better than the first three pils from Norway 3.6 out of 5.

Day 263-Beer 263 Frydenlund Pilsener Ringnes Bryggeri (Carlsberg) | Oslo, Norway

Norway Pils #3 Fydenlund Pilsner. It poured a clear golden yellow with lots of head and carbonation bubbles that settled quickly leaving just a small amount of lacing around the edge of the glass. The aroma was fairly lite with just a hint of malts and some grainy yeasts. The taste again typical pils, some sweet malts up front with just a hint of something bitter in the background, but it just didn't seem to be a nice hop created bitterness. Not as good as the first two but not bad 3.4 out of 5

Day 262-Beer 262 Isbjorn Lys Pilsner, Mack Norway

 Norway beer #2
 Mack Isbjørn  is a pilsner from the northernmost brewery in Norway. The Polar Bear is the symbol of freshness in Norway and they feel its freshness is from the water that they use. It poured a clear golden yellow with some frothy head that dissipated quickly leaving only a little lacing . The aroma has a slight fruity hint to it with a caramel malt background. The taste is somewhat sweet up front with a quick hit of pepper and some grassy hops with no aftertaste or bitterness. A good pilsner, very drinkable with a nice dry finish but only slightly better than last night's brew from Norway 3.5 out of 6.

Day 261-Beer 261 Nordlands Pils, Nordlands Bryggeriet, Oslo, Norway

This is the first of six pils from Norway courtesy my Daughter who just returned from a contract flying job in the most Northern reaches of Norway, way inside the artic circle. This one is considered to be a Euro lager. Similar brews of this type are Stella Artois and Heineken. It  poured a clear golden yellow colour with nice foamy white head that left some spotty lacing. The aroma is earthy/grassy hops and some sweet malts. The taste is sweet up front with some nice herbal hops in the background and a nice dry finish. Somewhat of a typical Euro pils/lager 3.5 out 5.

Day 260-Beer 260 Arkell Best Bitter, Wellington Brewery, Guelph Ontario

 Another tough day, had to golf again, I was having a great game until the eighteenth where I quadruple bogied but I still broke 90, go figure. If you are ever in Guelph stop at the Fat Duck for a great spicy curry wrap and lots of beers on tap. We tried the Arkell Best Bitter. It poured an amber/copper colour with very little head that disappeared quickly leaving no lacing at all. The aroma was caramel and toasted malts and not much else. The taste although not overly sweet was malty up front, mainly caramel and just a faint hint of grassy hops with not bitterness. Overall an okay beer that was quite drinkable after a game of golf 3.5 out of 5

Day 259-Beer 259 Samuel Adams Octoberfest,Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) , Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

A great day on the course with 7 fellow golfers. We played Otter Creek and as usual it played pretty tough and as for my game the back nine beat me up. Anyhow after the game we had a few drinks in there 19th hole and on tap was tonight's brew.  It is listed as a Märzen / Oktoberfest Beer. These beers were brewed in the spring (Märzen or March brews) to be bready for the fall and kept a in cellars with cool enough temperatures to keep the brew over the summer as brewing in the summer b prior to refrigeration often prove difficult. They are generally dark/copper in colour with only a mild hop profile.
This one is very typical of the style, it poured an dark amber/copper colour with adequate head that dissipated quickly leaving some sticky lacing across the surface. The aroma was somewhat sweet with toffee and malt being the predominant smell. The taste was also fairly sweet, toffee, brown sugar with a fruity background and virtually no hop bitterness. Bill's comments were "a little to sweet, it looks like Rickard's Red and doesn't taste much better". Over all an okay brew that does fit its style but as Bill said not much better than a Rickard's Red, we both scored it at 3.5 out of 5

Day 258-Beer 258 California Sunshine APA, Cameron's Brewing Co. Oakville Ontario

Tonight's brew is an APA see Day 203 (July 23) for a description of the style or search APA for lots of comparable beers. This one pours a hazy golden yellow colour with adequate head that settled to a thin film of lacing across the surface. The aroma has hints of malts and musty earthy and grassy hops with a citrus background. The flavour is a little peppery and sweet up front but that quickly leads to a  grapefruit bitterness . Overall an okay APA but nowhere near the best that I have tried 3.5 out of 6

Day 257-Beer 257 Bear Paw Honey Lager, Whistler Brewing Co. Whistler, British Columbia

Tonight's brew poured an amber  colour with very little head but what was there stuck around for a while and left some nice sticky lacing. The aroma as one might expect for a honey lager is quite  sweet with hints of honey and caramel. The flavour consists of honey up front with some caramel malts, a hint of licorice and just a touch of grassy hop bitterness in the background. This is a very drinkable brew and above average for a honey lager. 3.7 out of 5

Day 256-Beer 256 Chimay Première (Red) - Bières de Chimay ,Baileux (Chimay), Belgium

Tonight's brew is a Belgium Dubbel, Dubbels are rich malty beers with some spicy characteristics. Generally they have dark fruit aromas and flavors with a mild hop presence.
This beer has a Trappist logo certifying that is was brewed within the walls of a Trappist  Monastery and under the control of  the Trappist Community. " The exceptional yeast isolated by Father Theodore combined with the purity of the highly protected water of the abbey's wells give Chimay its unique richness. Since 1862 Chimay's secondary fermented ales have neither been pasteurized or filtered and only natural ingredients are used."
Its definitely and unfiltered beer as it poured a very murky dark amber colour with lots of head that when settled left virtually no lacing. The aroma is bready yeast, caramel, dark fruits and some spices (maybe pepper and cloves). The taste has hints of caramel, toffee, pepper, dark fruits(plum) honey up front with a hint of cloves and some grassy hops that produce just a touch of bitterness. Even though it is a strong ale at 7%ABV there is no real tastes of alcohol. 3.7 out of 5

Day 255-Beer 255 1812, Butler's Bitter, Niagara College, Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

Thanks Pat for another brew to try, this one from Niagara College. It runs a college program in beer making, just wish I was a little younger when they started this course. As the name states it is an English Bitter.   The English  meaning of bitter is pale ale. They are the typical casked beer on tap in an English Pub, usually poured at cellar temperature and had alcohol contents between 4 and 5%. They are usually gold to copper in colour and are light bodied with low carbonation. Hop bitterness is generally very moderate and most have a fruitiness in the aroma and flavor.
This one poured an amber/copper colour with good soapy head that settled to leave some nice lacing across the entire surface. Not much in the way of aroma with just a hint of sweetness and bready yeasts. The taste is made up of a sweet fruity and caramel flavours with some subtle hops that have earthy tones. A nice dry finish with no lingering bitterness. A good beer for its style, 3.6 out of 5.

Day 254-Beer 254 Kill-a-wat Irish Red Ale, Silversmith Brewing Company , Virgil Ontario

This one is listed as an Irish Ale but its more of a crossover, The colour dark amber with a reddish tinge, nice off white head that leaves some very nice sticky lacing are certainly typical of an Irish Red but that's the extent of it as it would better fit in an IPA classification. Irish Red's tend to be heavy on the malt aroma's and taste with a very sweet background and often just a hint of hops. This brew has a very prevalent hops aroma, made of grassy hops, grapefruit and pine resin with just a hint of caramel malt in the background. The taste is also typical IPA, caramel and toffee up front which is quickly overpowered by grapefruit and a hop bitterness and a nice dry finish. Not much as an Irish Red but a really good and very drinkable brew that I enjoyed. 3.8 out of 5. Thanks Pat for the brews you donated to my cause.

Day 253-Beer 253 Ellicottville American Pale Ale, Ellicottville Brewing Co., Ellicottville New York

As the name states tonight's brew is an American Pale Ale. It pours a light amber colour with nice white head that left some nice lacing. The aroma is very hop-dominant, it's all grapefruit and pine resin. The taste is much the same grapefruit dominant with just a hint of sweetness from the malts in the background. Overall very drinkable, an excellent APA, 3.9 out of 5.

Day 252-Beer 252 Irish Style Brown Ale, Trafalgar Ales and meads, Oakville Ontario

Tonight's brew is an English brown ale, comparable beers Newcastle Brown and Southern Pecan. This one poured a clear dark amber colour with a hint of red. The cream coloured head settled quickly leaving some sticky lacing around the edge f the glass.  The aroma was very sweet, caramel toffee and roasted malts. The flavour  very sweet up front, toffee, roasted nuts and some dark fruit with just a hint of hops in the background. Overall an okay brew but too sweet for my liking, 3.3 out of 5.

catch up time days 246-251

Thursday  Sept. 4 Beer 246- Blanche De Chambly, Uniboue, Chambly Quebec. This one was courtesy John B who also hosted our great weekend at his cottage with the boys. It poured a golden colour with adequate head and lots of carbonation bubbles that left almost no lacing. The aroma was citrus and spices. The taste was bready yeast, hint of hop bitterness, some orange zest and a spicy aftertaste. An okay witbier, 3.5 out of 5.
Friday Sept. 5 Beer 247- Kostritzer Schwarzbier, Bad Köstritz/Thüringen,Germany. Schwarzbier means black beer, but this is not like stout or porter but rather a lager with added colour and taste. This one pours almost black  with a tan coloured head that left a little lacing. The aroma was roasted malts with a hint of nuts and grassy hops. The taste was dark roasted malts with a hint of caramel and a touch of hops. 3.6 out of 5.
Saturday Sept. 6 Beer248 Side Launch Wheat, Side Launch Brewing Co. Collingwood Ontario, This is a hefewiezen, it poured a hazy golden colour with adequate head that left some lacing across the surface. The aroma had hints of banana, cloves and bread yeasts. The taste had hints of lime and spices. An okay hefe but nothing special 3.4 out of 5.
Sunday Sept. 7 Beer 249 Resurrection Ale The Brewers Art Pottstown Pennsylvania.  This one is a Dubbel, Dubbel's  are rich malty beers with some spicy characteristics and mild hop bitterness.  This one is very typical of the style.  It poured a hazy copper colour with off white head and some lacing around the edge of the glass. The aroma was sweet, burnt caramel, grassy hops, bready yeasts and a hint of citrus. The taste had hints of toffee, sweet malts and some spice, lemon grass and citrus hops. 3.6 out of 5.
Monday Sept. 8  Beer 250Argyle St Grill Pale Ale, brewed by Sleman's Brewing Co. for the Argyle St. Grill Caledonia Ont. Had this one on tap, it arrived at our table with very little head and very little lacing. It was copper colour. The aroma, although not strong had hints of caramel malts and a hint of grassy hops. The taste fairly sweet, caramel and toasted malts with a touch of hop bitterness.  A very drinkable ale but nothing out of the ordinary 3.5 out of 5.
Tuesday Sept. 9 Beer 251 Extra Special Bitter, Trafalgar Ales and Meads, Oakville, Ontario  ESBs are essentially more aggressive and more balanced Bitters, both in alcohol and hop character, but nothing overpowering. Color range will be similar, though leaning towards the darker end of the scale; dark golds to copper. Low carbonation. Malts tend to be more pronounced, often toasty and fruity, with maybe some notes diacetyl. And despite "bitter" being in its name, ESBs are not really all that bitter. They key to an ESB is balance. This one poured a copper colour with only a little head and no lacing. The aroma was caramel, toffee and grassy hops. The taste was sweet caramel malt up front that is almost instantly overpowered by citrus, grapefruit hops. Overall a good but not great bitter, 3.6 out of 5.
Back home and all caught up after a great weekend of brews, golf and cards at John B's cottage with John B., Pat, Norm, John S. and Bill. An absolute great time.

headed out for a few days

A boys weekend in the north, I will update the beers when I get access to a computer or when I return
until then enjoy your beers

Day 245-Beer 245 Wild Oats series 19, Patio Saison, Beaus All Natural Brewing Co. Van Kleek Ontario

Tonight's Brew is a saison, 6%ABV, see July21 Veille Provision Saison for the description of the style (3.9/5) Other comparable brews are on Aug 26 and Aug 13. It poured a hazy golden colour with lots of  white head that left lots of nice sticky lacing. The aroma had hints of citrus, lemon banana and cloves and bready yeast. The taste was sweet malts up front with hints of zesty orange  and some nice spice and yeast with a little peppery finish. Another very good saison 3.8 out of 5.

Day 244-Beer 244 Elsinore, Phillips Brewing Co. Victoria British Columbia

Tonight's brew is a Czech Pislner. Others of this type include Pilsner Urquell, Red hook Pilsner, King Pils (June 9,3.9/5)  Karlavacko (May 11, 3.7/5)It poured a slightly hazy golden colour which cleared quite quickly. It has some nice white head that left nice sticky lacing.  The aroma was typical pils, grassy and floral hops and a hint of sweet malts. The taste also very typical but with slightly more floral hops. Overall a good pils but not outstanding 3.5 out of 5
.

Taste - Similar to the nose but with a very green tea / tea like aspect on the conclusion that is unusual. Grassier and more floral tasting than many other pilsners. For this it is more flavorful, but not quite as crisp and as clean as other sin the style.

Day 243-Beer 243 Palomar Ale, Mill St Brewery Toronto Ontario

If you have to add fruit to a beer to make it taste good.... Well this one is brewed with chipotle and lime, right of the bat I like the idea of chipotle but lime, I just don't know but we will see shortly. Well a least it listed as a chili beer and not a fruit beer. It poured a hazy orange/copper colour with very little head and not much for lacing either. The aroma was caramel malt with a smokey background, I couldn't really detect the lime (this is a good thing). The taste is a sweet background with maybe a hint of lime and lots of chipotle chilli pepper leaving a nice slow after burn, but not overbearing. Overall not a bad beer but I probably won't go searching out another. 3.3 out of 5

Day 242-Beer 242 Brooklyn Lager, Brooklyn New York

Brooklyn Lager is an Amber/Red Lager. Other beers in this style are Yuengling Traditional |Lager and George Killian's Red.
This one pours an amber/copper colour with lots of foamy head. The aroma has hints of caramel malts, tropical fruits and some citrus. The flavour starts of with  a smooth malt flavour typical of the style but then there is a very nice background of citrus/grapefruit hops, finishing off with a very nice dry hoppy bitterness. Overall a very good brew that takes the typical lager into the IPA style, well balanced and refreshing, 3.7 out of 5

Day 241-Beer 241 Dead Elephant, Railway City Brewing Co. St. Thomas Ontario

tonight's brew is in honour of the Jumbo, the worlds largest elephant  and prized attraction of PT Barnum's Circus. In 1885 the Elephant met its demise in a railway accident in St Thomas here in Ontario. Well here's the Pink Elephant from a winery near Fredonia that we visited with friends Lynn and Phyllis.


Dead Elephant is an English IPA, First brewed in England and exported for the British troops in India during the late 1700s. To withstand the voyage, IPA's were basically tweaked Pale Ales that were, in comparison, much more malty, boasted a higher alcohol content and were well-hopped, as hops are a natural preservative. Historians believe that an IPA was then watered down for the troops, while officers and the elite would savor the beer at full strength. The English IPA has a lower alcohol due to taxation over the decades. The leaner the brew the less amount of malt there is and less need for a strong hop presence which would easily put the brew out of balance. Some brewers have tried to recreate the original IPA with strengths close to 8-9% abv.


This one poured a clear golden colour with nice head that dissipated quickly. The aroma although not strong for its style had hints of citrus and grassy hops. The taste was caramel and toffee up front with some tropical fruit taste then the hops kicked in, lots of citrus, grapefruit and the usual bitter aftertaste. Overall a good but not great English IPA. (see 400 pound monkey 3.1/5 for a comparison Jan 21) 3.6 out of 5.