Today's beer adventure: Waterloo Brewing Co. Union Mills Porter (Waterloo, ON). 473ml can. 7.0% ABV. Served in pint glass. Was given the beer by my beer loving co-worker Rob, who was less than impressed with the brew. Available at SLGA outlets. ~$17.00/6 tallboys.
The pour is dark dark brown - almost black. Very small amount of tan head. Very little retention. Light carbonation.
Aroma is sweet, malty and roasty. Some lingering "kit twang" on the nose.
The flavour as the nose without the kit twang. Roasted malt and molasses. Negligible hop character. No real off flavours
Rating is 3.5/10 dogs. It's like a decent kit beer. Not a GREAT kit beer, but a decent one. Your buddies will drink it because you made it..not because they like it.
What other people think: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/416/104696/
Brewer's website: http://waterloobrewing.com/small_batch_brew/
FROM THE ARCHIVES (forgot it in drafts..).
April 2013's beer adventure: Bushwakker Saskadian Black IPA (Regina, SK). On tap at brewpub. 6.8% ABV. Served in a pint glass.
The pour is dark, dark brown with ruby highlights. Good clarity. Medium carbonation. Large off-white head with fantastic retention. Medium carbonation in glass.
The aroma is complex..all over the map. Big, big floral and pine hop aroma. Some citrus fruitiness as well. The dark roasted malts offer chocolate and some black liquorice. Lots going on in that glass. Tons of lacing.
The flavour is big floral hop out front followed immediately by dark roasted malt. Some chocolate and liquorice make their way into the flavour, but it is mainly bitter floral hops. Finish is slightly sweet, long and hoppy bitter. There is a low amount of astringency, but not too much.
Rating is 7.0/10 dogs. This is Bushwakker's second go at their black IPA. The previous version was highly astringent IMHO, but this one is far more balanced. Black IPAs are odd ducks and I would like to try more offerings from other breweries for comparison's sake, but this one is pretty good. I'd like to see *slightly* more citrus quality in the hop blend. I think that might even out some of the astringency.
What other people think: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/bushwakker-saskadian-black-ipa/182782/
Brewer's website: http://www.bushwakker.com/
Today's beer adventure: Waterloo Brewing Co. Classic Amber (Waterloo, ON). 473ml can. 6.8% ABV. Served in pint glass. Was given the beer by my beer loving co-worker Rob, who was less than impressed with the brew. Available at SLGA outlets. ~$17.00/6 tallboys.
The pour is well...amber. Small amount of bubbly white head. Very little retention. Light carbonation.
Aroma is sweet and malty with some caramel. There's an adjunct-ish aroma in there too that I can't really place.
The flavour is sharp(?) and sweet(?). Dry adjunct undertones. Some alcohol hotness. Supposedly there are Hallertauer hops in there. Really too bad. Seems a waste of perfectly good hops. Not sure what direction this beer is trying to go here..Alt? Amber? Red? It does none of them well.
Rating is a generous 3/10 dogs. I remember asking Rob "which of the beers was drinkable again?" It wasn't this one. I'm not sure if it's better to grin and drink it, or clear the drain pipes in my sink. Don't buy this beer. No, really. Don't.
What other people think: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/brick-waterloo-authentic-amber/153695/
Brewer's website: http://waterloobrewing.com/amber/
Today's beer adventure: Waterloo Brewing Co. (Waterloo, ON). 473ml can. 5.0% ABV. Served in pint glass. Was given the beer by my beer loving co-worker Rob, who was less than impressed with the brew. Available at SLGA outlets. ~$17.00/6 tallboys.
The pour is medium/dark straw yellow. Negligible head. No retention. Light carbonation.
Aroma is light, a bit grainy along with some fruity hop character.
The flavour sweet malt and fruity hop. There is some bitterness on the finish which does linger. Initial service temperature was cold, and as the beer warms, it seems to keep itself together.
Rating is 5/10 dogs. Not bad really. I wouldn't hold it up as a glowing example of the Pilsener style according to guidelines, but it's drinkable. Better than Molson Pilsner in SK, IMHO.
What other people think: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/brick-waterloo-classic-pilsner/201543/
Brewer's website: http://waterloobrewing.com/pilsner/
Today's beer adventure: Anderson Valley Brewing (California, USA). 355ml can. 7.0% ABV. Served in pint glass. Purchased at Willow Park Wine and Spirits in Regina. ~$5.00/can.The pour is medium coppery amber with an impressive white head. Great retention. Medium-high carbonation.
Aroma is mostly pine and grapefruit hops, but I was surprised to detect a substantial sweet malt backbone. If an IPA can have a gentle nose, this would be it.The flavour is not what I was expecting. Pine and grapefruit hops blend effortlessly with the sweet-but-not-too-sweet malt, then the bittering hops kick in..but not too much. Incredible balance. The medium-long finish is both sweet and hop bitterness..just like the flavour.Rating is 8.75/10 dogs. Wow. I had been told to try this beer at all costs and now I know why. It isn't the great big hop-monster that some west coast IPAs can be. It is a beautifully balanced hop-forward IPA. Sweet without being cloying. Bitter without being too much. This beer BEGS you to take another pull, and then another, and then another. World class IMHO. Anderson Valley is putting out some incredible beers and is rapidly becoming one of my favourite breweries.What other people think: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/193/611Brewer's website: https://avbc.com/our-beers/hop-ottin-ipa/
Today's beer adventure: Deschutes Brewery Jubelale (Oregon). 355ml bottle. 6.7% ABV. Served in a stemmed porter glass. Purchased in the craft beer capital of Saskatchewan - Plentywood, Montana, USA.The pour is clear ruby brown with a huge tan head. Terrific lacing. High carbonation in glass.The aroma is bready, biscuity malt followed by pine-y hops. Small amount of lemon and grapefruit. Graininess. A bit of toffee.
The flavour is HOP FORWARD. Toffee, biscuity malts married to a resin-y pine hop character. A bit of coffee? A slight bit of malt sweetness balances off the brew very well. Medium hop-bittered finish. Full mouthfeel.
Rating is 8.5/10 dogs. This is a seasonal offering from Deschutes that cellars well enough that they had a vertical tasting of it this year I believe. Would have been very neat. Very nice hop-forward warmer. I have one bottle left. I think I might stash it away somewhere.What other people think: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/deschutes-jubelale/2142/Brewer's website: http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/brew/jubelale
Today's beer adventure: Big Sky Brewing Cowboy Coffee Porter (Montana). 355ml bottle. 6.2% ABV. Served in a stemmed porter glass. Purchased in the craft beer capital of Saskatchewan - Plentywood, Montana, USA.The pour is blaaack with a small amount of ruby highlights when held up to the light. No actual light gets through though. Large, tan head with excellent retention.The aroma is of coffee (duh), bittersweet chocolate, a hint of dark fruit.The flavour is roasted espresso coffee beans, chocolate, and plums/cherries. Roasted malt and hop bitterness is very present. Excellent medium-full mouthfeel both from the thickness of the porter and the carbonation. Finish is bitter, a bit fruity, and relatively short.Rating is 7.75/10 dogs. Actually I had a bottle or two of this a few weeks ago, but just got around to having one more for the review, and it is better than I remember by a fair bit. At first it seems like it will just be a huge coffee-infused porter, but the porter itself stands up very well once you get past the coffee Very tasty!What other people think: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/big-sky-cowboy-coffee-porter/121259/Brewer's website: http://www.bigskybrew.com/cowboy%20coffee%20porter
