Review: New Belgium & Dieu du ciel Heavenly Feijoa Tripel (Lips ofFaith)

If you're a beer geek like me, you have times when you have absolute impulse purchases that you MUST ABSOLUTELY BUY.. NOW! This week, it was Heavenly Feijoa Tripel by a colaboration between New Belgium and Dieu du Ciel. In fact, this is the first time I've ever purchased anything related to Dieu du Ciel outside of Quebec, it was purchased for $10 US from a liquor store in Minot, ND, so it was a bit of surprise to see.

Heavenly Feijoa is a Belgian-style tripel that combines Dieu du Ciel's famous hisbiscus flowers with New Belgium's love of crazy fruitiness beers.. this should be an interesting one to try.

Appearance: A honey-caramel brown beer, quite sweet looking in appearance, vibrant, more so than most tripels, not much foam, but there's a gentle lacing of a light snow white foam, and a decent amount of carbonation.

Aroma: I've never had Dieu du Ciel's Hibiscus before so I don't know what to expect, this beer gives off a very powerful floral aroma after a gentle rain storm. Lightly sweet and lightly tart like cranberries, Belgian yeast, and a bit of a lambic aroma in there. Quite lighter than I was expecting to tell the truth.

Taste: Tart! It's very much a sour beer. Sour notes reminiscent to a Lambic style beer with a bit of a cranberry tartness to it, decent amount of sweetness, some floral notes, which I assume is coming from DDC's hibiscus. Belgian yeast, quite a fruity tripel, leaves a bit of a floral aftertaste.

Overall Thoughts: Didn't know what to expect out of this beer, I was thinking this would be your run of the mill tripel which is sweet, yeasty and pretty drinkable, but this is more of a sour lambic style meets a tripel, sweet, incredible amount of tartness, and flower flavouring in there. I'd drink this again. It's 9% ABV, which is about average for a tripel, and costs around $10 for a 22oz (650ml) bottle.

www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=3733ec0a-b319-4855...
dieuduciel.com/

Review: Samuel Adams' Magnificent Seven Imperial IPA

Usually if you want to have your beer brewed for the general masses, you have to start up a brewery.. or you could do what three lucky home brewers who won the Longshot American Homebrew Contest over at Sam Adams. Zach Adams' Magnifcent Seven Imperial IPA was one of the three winners for the 2012 edition. What's interesting about the Magnificent Seven is that Zach and a friend of his created this Imperial IPA to showcase seven of their favourite American-strain hops, so that's going to be quite a treat to try out!

Appearance: Pours a nutty brown yet caramelly beer, followed by a twinkling and frothy head of foam, very beautiful foam, reminiscent to some whipped topping you would get at a high quality coffee joint. Decent amount of carbonation going on here as well.

Aroma: Before the review, I had NO idea what style of beer this was going to be, and I didn't even read the label, so I like surprises! This is very much an Imperial/Double India Pale Ale, hops are first and foremost here. It has a rich and floral bitterness that's familiar in American DIPAs, not quite as aromatic as some West Coast IPAs out there but the pine & grapefruit scents are quite inviting.. telling me to driiiiink up!

Taste: First impression of the beer is that you immediately get a bit of an alfalfa/floral presence in the beer, not that strong of a flavour for an Imperial IPA, but then all of a sudden, the bitterness hits, it's not as bitter as a lot of standard American IPAs, but it's a piney bitterness. For the sweetness, there's a hint of grapefruit for the citrus, and the oddest flavour I'm getting out of this is a weird skunky flavour, like as if you were drinking a Heineken, but don't worry folks.. this is a tasty Imperial IPA! This is certainly a hop forward IIPA, floral, bitter, different bitterness notes showing up all over. The more I'm drinking this, the more I'm starting to get a hint of a Dill Pickle chips in it.. damn it Cody! Get your taste buds checked, just like that time I thought Brooklyn Brewery's Sorachi Ace tasted like dill pickles.

Overall Thoughts: While it has a slight skunkiness to it, that didn't scare me off as it has a nice balance of hops that give it a really interesting medley of hoppy flavours including pine, grapefruit and even leaves a creamy mouthfeel. I can't wait to see who ends up winning the 2013 edition of the Longshot American Homebrew Contest! The Magnificent Seven Imperial IPA has an IBU of 7.8%, which is about right for an IIPA/DIPA. I would like to see a larger Canadian microbrewery do a similar contest on a national scale. I know Russell Brewery does a homebrew contest once in a while (review here), but it's not national.. yet. This isn't available in Canada, so don't rush down to your local MLCC/LCBO/SAQ looking for it, you'll have to buy it in the States, I picked up a 6 pack (with the three different winning brews) for under $9, not bad!

PS: Boston Beer Co, if you're reading this, you promised me an interview with Jim Koch since last July ;)

www.samueladams.com/longshot

Review: Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

I just came back from a 2 day vaycay in the States, and brought back a bunch of beer, first beer I'm sampling is from Flying Dog Brewery out of Maryland, USA. Some of their beers have gotten a bit of attention due to their beer names - they aren't afraid of using not-so-rated-G names for their beers, but since they seem to make some pretty tasty beers, it didn't stop them.

I bought their mixer pack so I could taste a variety of their beers, the first beer out of the case is their Snake Dog IPA

Appearance: Pours a clear amber/caramel yet golden ale, lighter in appearance than some India Pale Ales out there, but looks like a tasty beer anyways. Thick creamy foam, a light beige foam, like whipped cream.

Aroma: Lighter than I was expecting, but after having a wide amount of West Coast IPAs in the last few months, that could have done it for me. It's a light hopped India Pale Ale. A bit musky, a bit of a lemon citrus and that's aboot it.

Taste: Starts out light and citrusy but the bitterness of the hops really sneak up on you, leaving a bitterness tingling on your palate long after you've sipped on this East Coast IPA. The backing of this beer is a mild alcohol taste to it, which isn't all a surprise as this is a bit stronger than the standard IPA at 7.1% ABV. Light pine, was expecting more hoppiness, but for those who aren't generally a fan of IPAs, this may be a gateway beer as it isn't too bitter nor is it too light.

Overall Thoughts: Not as hoppy and bitter as I would expect, so it's not a hop forward IPA, so if you're not a fan of overly bitter IPAs, you may enjoy this. I enjoy it because there are times when I just want a smooth and creamy (to the palate) IPA, which is exactly what this is. It's 7.1% ABV, and for a 12 pack (mix case), it's only $16, so I'd buy this again.

flyingdogales.com/beers/snake-dog-ipa/

Review: Rickard's White Wheat Ale (Molson)

Believe it or not, the majority of visitors who come to my blog aren't fellow beer snobs looking for reviews of the latest and greatest Canadian Double IPA, nope.. they're regular people who like beer but not strong beer looking for reviews of the newest macrobrewed beer. I'm not going to do a review of Rickard's Shandy, because it does not fit in with the theme of Rickards. Rickards was once a subbrand of Molson that created only pub style ales that were pint-worthy, but since the release of Rickard's Blonde, the direction had turned for the worse. Rickard's White was THE single most popular Rickard's product ever launched after the creation of Rickard's Red, which turned the Rickard's into a pseudo-"I like good beer"-wannabe brand to those who weren't familiar with micros.

I remember the first time I had Rickard's White, it was summer of 2006, I was living in Quebec City, it was a hot humid day, and if you've ever been to Quebec in the summer.. it's unbearable. I went to a terrasse at one of my favourite pubs and saw it was on tap, never seeing it before, and being a person who will try nearly any beer twice, why not try it? At this time, the most popular witbiers in Canada were Unibroue's Blanche de Chambly and InBev's Hoegaarden. Whenever I brought over witbier or witbier-like beers to parties, people would cringe at the taste, but Rickard's White changed this, it made witbiers "cool" and "popular".

Appearance: A hazy and pale orange, it looks like as if someone took some orange juice and put it in a witbier as the pale orange appearance has a weird brightness to it. As I pour it, it has a thick amount of foam, a snow white foam, it quickly diminishes.

Aroma: A very noticeable scent of orange slices. A good deal of coriander to give it that witbier spiciness, cloves, and a smidge of Belgian yeast.

Taste: Quite a bit sweeter than the standard witbier. It has an artificial orange flavour to it, orange peel and orange juice. More coriander than most witbiers on the market, and overall - more citrusy. Not as flavourful as the aroma is, but for a hot summer afternoon, this is gulped down in an instant. What I find at most pubs that don't generally serve microbrews is that the bar staff will put an orange wedge in the beer, whether or not if you asked for it.. personally I don't want someone's possibly unwashed hands touching something that will go into my beer. (hey 1/3 people don't wash their hands after being in the restroom they say)

Overall Thoughts: When I go to a pub that doesn't sell any microbrews, this is generally my go-to beer, it's a decent take on witbiers, though it's a bit too sweet, and restaurants adding orange slices to it makes it even more sweeter for my liking. Since Blanche de Chambly isn't available at most pubs, when I want a citrusy summer treat on a 28C day like today, I drink this. PS - Coors' Blue Moon Wheat Ale is basically the same thing as Rickard's White, but Rickards has a bit of tweaking.

www.rickardswhite.com

Review: Microbrasserie du lac Saint-Jean's Tante tricotante tripel

This here belle bière comes from Microbrasserie du lac Saint-Jean out of Saint-Gédéon, Quebec, right along Lac St-Jean (obviously), which is about a 3 hour drive to la belle ville of Quebec City where I was at the other week. One thing that's great about Quebec's beer scene is that small towns, villages, and even farms seem to have their own brewpub or brewery out there, while here in Manitoba.. we only dream about it. One thing behind that is that it's insanely restrictive to get craft beer from elsewhere IN Quebec, so they have to survive somehow.. and survive they have!

The folks over at La Boîte à Bières right off of Avenue Laurier were insanely helpful in helping me pick and choose beers that I should bring back to Manitoba, and I was not disappointed by any of their suggestions! Thankfully this beer made its way over, phew!


Tante Tricotante which is a bit of a play on words loosely translates to English as Aunt knitting-aunt, so a you can see.. it doesn't translate well to English, but hey.. let's drink the beer! It's a Belgian-style triple ale and 8% ABV and 500mL bottle - perfect size for individual consumption.

Appearance: A classic Belgian Triple, a light citrusy appearance, a bit of orange peel, lemon peel, straw, yet hazy (minimal sediment) and reminiscent of a witbier in some sense... a very patio worthy beer in appearance. Head wise.. thick thick bright snow white head.. and after 10 minutes since pouring it.. it's still almost all there!

Aroma: Scents of various fruits and citruses like pear, lemon, and a bit of apple, your standard Belgian yeasts, a light spiciness/floralness coming from the hops, but honestly.. quite a light aromatic tripel by my standards.

Taste: La Tante tricotante has a citrusy and fruity forwardness when you first drink this beer, lemon, pear and a hint of apple. Very noticable rich Belgian yeast throughout the beer, somewhat boozey, but quite a stellar tripel.

Overall Thoughts: 8.0% ABV in a 500mL bottle, perfect size for sharing with me, myself and I. It's a citrusy and fruity take on a Belgian tripel and does a very solid job at keeping my tastebuds happy. A patio-friendly beer for watching the Habs lose against the Senators tonight.. there's always next year Habs!

PS, if you're ever in Quebec City, check out La Boîte à Bières!

www.microdulac.com/

Review: Molson Canadian Wheat

When life gives you beer, drink it. I got a parcel in the mail today, not knowing it was... was excited to open it. It was a package from MolsonCoors and there were two bottles of Molson's new Molson Canadian Wheat Lager, which is an unfiltered wheat lager with standard two row barley (uh.. doesn't that defeat the purpose of a wheat beer?) and Soft White Spring Wheat. I'm not a picky guy, I'm willing to try any beer for the purpose for "why the hell not?" so that's why I'm reviewing it today.

Appearance: As soon as you pour the Canadian Wheat Lager, you immediately notice it doesn't look like your standard Molson Canadian, in fact - it looks more like a Rickard's White, which I've been a fan of since it first came out in 2006 and finally made the witbier style popular throughout Canada. It's a hazy golden wheat, light orange, a bit of sediment, your standard unfiltered wheat ale for the most part. A decent amount of soapy & snow white head at the top.

Aroma: A slight musky aroma with a scent that only can be described as the "Molson Canadian aroma", with a hint of wheat added to it. Sweeter than your standard Molson Canadian, but nowhere as sweet as a Rickard's White, a bit corny, but overall.. a more pleasant aroma than the standard lagers from Molson (Coors/Canadian/MGD).

Taste: Perhaps it's from the Doritos I just ate immediately before doing this review, has a bit of corniness to it. It tastes like a standard Molson Canadian.. with a wheatiness to it and some citrus,

which is a bit of a lemony & orange citrus but lighter than I expected. Not much bite there, but seeing that this is a lager, but with wheat.. not really surprising, but a bit sweeter and yet still better than standard Canadian.

Overall Thoughts: Not truly a Wheat Ale/lager as it uses the standard two row barley WITH some soft white spring wheat added to it, it's not surprising that this beer tastes like your standard Molson Canadian, with some wheatiness added to it. This won't be on the list for beer geeks to try, but the wheat gives it a nice flavour to it over the standard Canadian.. and with most pubs here in Manitoba not having any micros on tap, I'd likely drink this when it's 25C like it was today. For those who like lagers like Canadian, I'm sure they will appreciate the wheat addition to the beer, but I'm a bit disappointed that it's not a full out wheat ale. Easy to drink, and at 4.5%, if you want something just for lunch on a very hot day, this will quench the thirst without getting you tipsy.

One thing I found weird on the back of the bottle was the serving instructions, telling you how to pour the beer: Something that's not new to beer geeks, but for those who just like to drink beer wouldn't expect it.

www.molsoncanadian.ca/en/wheat/index.aspx

Review: Amsterdam Big Wheel Deluxe Amber Ale

One of my friends was a big fan of Amsterdam Brewing for quite a few years now, so much so that that's all he would drink for a long period of time, but I never got to try any of their beer because it was simply not available in Manitoba.. that is.. until now!

Amsterdam's popular Big Wheel Deluxe Amber Ale is now in Manitoba in 473ml cans, so it's time to try a beer I've been wanting to try for years now!

Appearance: Pours a standard honey-amber brown, clear, minimal amount of snow white foam, looks like your average amber ale in every sense... lol.

Aroma: Quite interesting.. first thing that pops out is a decent amount of floral hops, much more aromatic than most amber ales you see at the liquor store (See: Sleeman). Following the hops is a roasted caramel maltiness, quite sweet, yet slightly roasty. Quite a flavourful and sweet aroma coming off of the Big Wheel.

Taste: The floral hops are more minimised in the flavour. Instead, it's a slightly roasty caramel sweet amber with very light hoppiness. A bit of grassiness in there, slightly creamy to the palate, and lightly bitter. Not much to describe here, but for an amber ale, very decent, easily a beer I'd drink at a pub.

Overall Thoughts: While the aroma is a nice floral hoppiness, it doesn't show up in the flavour, instead giving a sweet caramel amber with a bit of grassiness to it. Quite a solid amber ale honestly, sure better than the ambers by Molbatts/Sleeman. A good summertime beer and I could drink this around the fire without worrying about getting too woozy after a few. It has 5% ABV and costs just under $3 before tax for a 473ml can.

amsterdambeer.com/beers/big-wheel/

Review: Muskoka Summer Weiss

Who would have known that within a week, Manitoba would go from winter to late spring quickly.. now it's so beautiful out that the patios are open, people are starting to smile again and beers outside are becoming a thing again! Oh and don't forget the smell of the bbq!

Muskoka Brewery's Summer Weiss Wheat Ale just arrived in Manitoba, just in time for patio season... after a gruesomely long winter. The Summer Weiss was available in Manitoba last summer, but it was only in big 750ml bottles, and at a $8+ per bottle, it's a bit costly for those who want to have beers on the patio, so this year, they're selling it in 355ml bottles, for just under $3/bottle, so for those who may not like it, they don't have to buy a big 750ml, but hey.. this is one of the best Summer Wheat Ales out there.

Appearance: Muskoka's Summer Weiss pours a coppery-orange, reminiscent of just about any wheat ale you see on the patio in the summer time, hazy, good amount of sediment, minimal snow white foam. If you like unfiltered ales, this will likely make you drool!

Aroma: Cloves followed by fresh banana, a yeastiness like most Belgian or German wheat ales, coriander, and generally.. what you want and expect out of a hefeweizen. A hint of "Juicy Fruit" gum in there too somehow.

Taste: What you expect in a solid hefeweizen, it has a great deal of coriander, clove, a bit of bubblegum and of course, a bananay goodness. If one could get their source of fruits from this beer, I'd drink a whole six pack of this! A yeastiness hits the palate as well, so yep.. very much a decent hefe.

Overall Thoughts: Part of me wishes they did this beer in the 750ml corked bottles to bottle ferment, because this beer would easily stand the test of time thanks to the yeast used in it. A very solid hefeweizen wheat ale, so if you are looking for a bananay wheat ale for the patio, this is it. Easy to drink, great citrus notes and very enjoyable in every sense. This is another example why Muskoka is one of Canada's best breweries. It's 5% ABV, so it's on par with most standard hefeweizens/witbiers on the market today. Enjoy this at a family barbecue!

www.muskokabrewery.com/summer-weiss.php