tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4527531772582971372024-03-25T21:12:46.673-05:00BeerCrank.caCody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.comBlogger1560125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-19583329699581205072024-03-22T07:01:00.001-05:002024-03-22T07:01:00.126-05:00Review: Obsolete Brewing Frogger India Pale Lager<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53596825999_70c0514d37_h.jpg" /><br /><br />This marks the very first time I've ever reviewed a beer by Dauphin's <b><a href="https://obsoletebrewingco.square.site/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Obsolete Brewing</span></a></b>. It's definitely taken me a while to review it. It's only a two hour drive from Brandon but their beer has only been in local LCs sporadically for a few months now, though I've been able to sample their beer at two beer festivals so far, one in <i>Riding Mountain National Park</i>, and one in Brandon.<div><br /></div>Today's sampling is <i>Frogger</i> India Pale Lager. Named after the '80s video game, it's brewed Mosaic and Citra hops to give it a different twist on flavour. 5% ABV<br /><br /><b>Appearance:</b> Pours a crisp golden body with a slight cloudiness to it. The head is fairly faint with a snow white look to it, slightly frothy on the glass, a bit of skim on top of the beer.<br /><b>Aroma:</b> Floral hop with a bit of citrus presence (lemon, pineapple, grapefruit). Hint of honey for sweetness, fairly smooth and crisp so far. In fact, this may be inoffensive enough that non 'India Pale' drinkers might be able to drink without cringing. <br /><br /><b>Taste:</b> Pretty lager-forward but with a nice tropical and hoppy finish at the end. The first things I get are straw, a hint of honey, and a hint of straw. The Mosaic and Citra hops give it a tropical presence of lemon, pineapple and a hint of grapefruit. The mouthfeel is kind of dry, while the aftertaste is a hint of straw and a hint of piney bitterness. Incredibly smooth.<br /><br /><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Sampling this in a 3oz sample cup vs in an actual glass gives me time to actually try out the beer. It's a crisp, clean and tropical lager that's also inspired by an IPA. Is it aggressive like your typical every day non-juicy IPA? No, so for the lager fans out there - I think you might actually like this. Very smooth, crushable, crisp.. and a bit more character than most lagers at the moment. Hops are great, aren't they?!Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-49689292875867564672024-03-13T23:11:00.001-05:002024-03-17T01:29:46.449-05:00What's Cody drinkin'?<img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53586789598_5d27c687c3_h.jpg" /><br /><br />I've had absolutely <i>zero</i> people ask me what I drink when I'm not reviewing beer... Well, here's my usuals. My <i>usuals</i> tend to change by the season and it depends on what the Manitoba Liquor Marts happens to carry - I'll fall in love with a specific beer but then they will price it so far out of my budget that I stop buying it.. Unfortunately it seems like I purchase <b>enough</b> of some beers that it keeps their purchasers ordering it in time after time. I'd be able to budget much better if I cut down on consumption, but the flip side is that then my favourite beers would be impossible to find to begin with.. a serious catch 22... If I don't buy it, they de-list it.. see: many IPAs over the years.<div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2023/03/review-lagunitas-ipa.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Lagunitas IPA </span></a></b>- This California IPA first came to me in 2016 at King's Head Pub in Winnipeg. I love IPAs but I hated it at the time.. it was too heavy, too bitter, too over the top of an IPA so it made it hard to drink it before it got too warm. Fast forward to last year - now it's back in Manitoba and for some reason it's now being imported from Europe (NL and BE), which is funny because we're constantly seeing import brands becoming more and more made domestically so seeing an IPA from California brewed in Europe for sale in Canada is quite something. It's pretty much everything I want in an IPA: It's floral right up front with a moderate bitterness, a bit of grapefruit, lemon, a tad sweet. Sure, it's the kind of IPA that people who hate IPAs complain about most but for me this scratches an itch I didn't know I had for a couple years. 500mL and under $4.00 CAD per can for now? I'll take it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2019/11/review-from-archives-unibroue-la-fin-du-monde.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Unibroue La Fin du Monde</span></a></b> - Yeah, I'm still a Unibroue super-fan but I've seriously cut down on the beer in the past year when it moved from 750mL bottles to 473mL four packs in cans. Pouring the beer in a glass gives you an experience itself on why it's a gold standard - it's sweet, with notes of honey, pear and caramel, light to mild hop profile. Unfortunately the canned version is just WAY TOO DAMNED SWEET for me, it's mostly a bit too much caramel/honey.. but still chill the beer, pour it in an appropriate glass and let it settle. It saddens me but I'll still buy the beer. $17 per four-pack (473mL cans.. vs $6.99 per 750mL bottle a year ago.. this is one beer that will never ever be better out of a can)</div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2024/02/review-kilter-vintage-czech-pale-lager.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Kilter Czech Vintage Pale Lager</span></a></b> - At the the time I write this, I just reviewed this beer the other day but this beer has been a regular feature (when available) in my fridge since I first saw it back in May 2023. The review is fresh so just read it. $4.00 per 473mL can. When not available I've been rotating between Czechvar, Pilsner Urquel and Nonsuch's La Pils (which I'll always just call "La Molière)</div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2023/12/review-sookrams-star-beast-imperial-stout.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sookrams Star Beast Imperial Stout</span></a></b> - I recently reviewed this beer as well. It's stout season on the prairies and this beer warms me up on the insanely cold prairie evenings. It has the right balance of booziness, sweetness, roastiness, chocolate, etc. I don't buy this often as the weather has been very <i>all over the place</i> this season (February 2023 right now as this was originally written) but when it's -20 out.. this is the first beer to pop out at me.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2023/07/review-snapple-spiked-pink-lemonade.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Snapple 'Spiked' Pink Lemonade</span></a></b> - Once in a while I'll get a sugar craving and Snapple's 'Spiked' Pink Lemonade scratches that itch for me. Looking back, I haven't purchased a regular ol' Snapple since they were in glass bottles but their 'Spiked' boozy series of drinks seem to be more common than the NA classics now. The Pink Lemonade is sweet, lemonade-y, fruity and pretty much memories of childhood (but with booze). I sampled a Mike's Hard Lemonade not long after this and between the two, I much preferred this over Mike's, though Mike's was well enjoyed by yours truly in the early 2000s. This was/is supposed to be a limited release but I first tried this eight months ago and it's still pretty easy to find. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a test for you, if any of you actually read this: comment below (or email me with:) <i>Burton Cummings' Moustache!</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Yeah, nobody's reading.</i></div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com1Brandon, MB, Canada49.8437486 -99.951480699999991-25.985779320626079 119.42351930000001 90 40.673519300000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-11181504955918590382024-02-29T10:31:00.005-06:002024-02-29T10:31:00.125-06:00Review: Devil May Care Starstudd Double IPA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53558847424_5a7ff1378b_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="654" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53558847424_5a7ff1378b_h.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>First off - please don't judge me on the glassware - that was all I had in a short period of time. That said, 3 out of the 4 people who read this website won't care either way.<div><br /></div><div>It's been exactly five years since <a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2019/02/review-devil-may-cares-starstuff.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I reviewed</span></a> <b><a href="https://devilmaycarebrewing.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Devil May Care Brewing's</span></a></b> <i>Starstuff</i> APA. For those five years it was a popular Pale Ale in my fridge but now days it's a bit harder to find in my neck of the woods now that they have their own brick and mortar location.. a stone's throw away from Canada Life Centre and even closer to the VIA Rail station.. so those travelling through Winnipeg to Churchill, to the west, or east.. their taproom is a must visit! Anywho, enough with the rambling.. they now have a new beer in the Star- series called <i>Starstudd</i>, a Double IPA at 8.0% (80 IBU)</div><div><br /></div><div>Starstudd is in honour of the fifth anniversary of Starstuff. To make the beer more special they crammed in more malt, more hops, more everything, more Starstuff. Oh and add a space horse on the can, of course.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Appearance:</b> Juicy as heck, full on pint of OJ to me. The head starts off a bit thick and has an off-white/light beige hue to it, it gradually diminishes to a few bubbles sticking the glass and a light layer of head on the beer.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Aroma:</b> The fruity, almost perfume-like aroma is inviting me.. it's nice. Tropical juicy notes with orange, pineapple and a hint of grapefruit. It's definitely reminding me of Starstu<i>ff</i> but yeah, elevated. Hint of lime at the end, slightly oaty.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Taste:</b> Juicy, danky Double IPA. It's sweet with notes of orange, a bit of caramel, pineapple, melon and lemon. It's a tad oaty, has a bit of a leafy/floral presence in the taste. Quite sweet with a very slight burn for the aftertaste. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> The beer gets a tad bitter as it warms up near the end. Very smooth for 8% and it got diminished pretty quickly by yours truly. Definitely a nice beer to honour five years of Starstuff.. here's to five more! </div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-41039381583393283722024-02-26T16:28:00.001-06:002024-02-26T16:28:04.402-06:00Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2022<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="562" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53542305586_214c94db79_h.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Last year I was just about to head home from the States so I stopped by a liquor store with a good craft beer selection, as I usually do. I already knew I was over the limit on beer I had to bring back to Canada so while this beer was calling my name.. it didn't 100% bother me to not buy it until the next time I made a visit to the states 2-3 months later. The beer was Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. Thankfully for me, a good friend gifted me a bottle of it pre-COVID so <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2019/09/review-bourbon-county-brand-stout-2018.html" target="_blank"><span>I got to review that</span></a> </span>way back then.. It's just one of those beers that still happens to be one of those <i>holy grails</i> of beers.. even when owned by one of the largest beverage companies in the world, AB InBev.<br /><br />I don't need to say much more about <b><a href="https://www.gooseisland.com" target="_blank">Goose Island's</a> </b>Bourbon County Stout - it's a masterpiece, it's boozy, it's sweet and it's incredibly decadent - a dessert in a bottle.. and this bottle is listed as 14.3% ABV - definitely a beer you need to share with a couple of friends <i>("Friends.. Ha.. what friends?" </i>as Cody thinks to himself about to review this beer)<div><br /></div><div><b>Appearance:</b> The body is pitch black with a moderate amount of burnt caramel head on top. The head diminishes quite quickly to the point that there's only a slim amount of bubbles around the rim of the glass and right immediately on top of the beer. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Aroma:</b> Brown sugar, molasses, dark chocolate, oak, vanilla and a sweet & boozy caramelly Bourbon aroma in there. If this were a chocolate bar.. this would probably my favourite chocolate bar! Tad smokey.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Taste:</b> My very first impression (after several years) was that it was a bit watery the instant it hit my palate but then nope nope nope.. I get a very rich creamy, silky presence caressing the tongue.. nice! It's quite sweet with caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, a mild earthy peat-like presence and a very heavy dose of Bourbon to give it a booziness like no other. Definitely a sipper, quite desserty and chocolatey as well. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> I didn't look at my review notes of the 2018 edition until I finished the 2022 review but I felt pretty snobby/negative with this one. Well, I guess this batch was more balanced - the Bourbon, the vanilla, the oak, the chocolate.. etc. It's sweet, sure, but it's definitely a 'winter evening, sink into your chair, watch your favourite hockey team score a bunch of goals' kind of beer. 14.3% is boozy, I do feel it warming me up, but that's a given.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-80763127774247650862024-02-21T10:51:00.002-06:002024-02-21T10:51:00.126-06:00Trying out Grolsch Premium Pilsner brewed in Netherlands vs brewed in Canada<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53542775780_9f1957bfee_h.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="555" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53542775780_9f1957bfee_h.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can of Grolsch (Left) Brewed in Canada under license - dating code Mar 22, 2023 (? impossible to read) / Bottle of Grolsch brewed in Netherlands - dated July 5, 2023</td></tr></tbody></table><div>It's already been over two years since <b>Labatt/AB InBev</b> started brewing Corona in Canada instead of Mexico. Since then, we've seen a few Canadian breweries be bought up by international brewers to be able to brew the beer domestically in Canada - Amsterdam Brewing was bought by <b>Royal Unibrew</b> out of Denmark and now brews <b>Faxe </b>in Toronto. <b>Waterloo Brewing</b> was bought out by <b>Carlsberg</b> group, also of Denmark, and now brews <b>Carlsberg</b> in Canada, a first since 2008.</div><div><br /></div><div>We're only going to see more and more import beers being made domestically and I just discovered the other day that <b>Grolsch</b> (<b>Asahi Breweries</b>) is now made by a brewery out of New Brunswick.. I have my assumptions on who the brewery is but as far as I know, Sleeman has the rights to the beer in Canada but as far as I know they don’t have a brewery in that province.<br /><br /> Today I’ll be doing a comparison review of <b>Grolsch</b> made in Canada (New Brunswick) vs Grolsch made in the Netherlands. Seeing that Grolsch imported from the Netherlands (for now) is still in green swing-top bottles, the taste will likely vary between the two. <br /><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Grolsch Premium Pilsner (brewed in the Netherlands)<br /></span></b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53542775760/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Grolsch"><img alt="Grolsch" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53542775760_34202c85c3_5k.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grolsch Premium Pilsner brewed in Canada</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><b>Appearance:</b> Clear, light golden straw body with a good amount of carbonation in the body. The head is pretty frothy with a snow-white appearance to it, diminishes pretty quickly leaving behind a sprinkling of lacing on the glass.<div><br /><b> Aroma:</b> Sweet with a honey-forward profile to it. A hint of pepper-like spice that tickled the nostrils, light grassy hop profile, hint of toasted bread. Quite smooth, so far.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b> Taste:</b> Mildly sweet with a honey profile to it, slight nuttiness to it, crisp malt, a bit of a tingling sensation from the hops but the hops themselves are mostly giving off a slight grassy profile to the beer. Very dry for mouthfeel. Pretty smooth, light and crisp.<br /><br /><b> Overall Thoughts:</b> I had expectations for a skunky aroma/taste but I got none of that here. It’s an easy-to-drink Pilsner that it’s easy to see why I was drinking this regularly exactly twenty years ago. Quite dry for mouthfeel, notes of honey, a slight nuttiness and a hint of grassy hops at the end. Solid Pilsner from Netherlands. Since when have their swing-top bottles been only 450mL? I swore they were not as “chubby” and taller years ago.<br /><br /><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Grolsh Premium Pilsner (Brewed in Canada) </span></b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53542775740/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Grolsch"><img alt="Grolsch" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53542775740_f5c32f94aa_5k.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grolsch Premium Pilsner brewed in Canada</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><b>
Appearance: </b>Pours a clear, bright, golden straw body with a very, very heavy amount of bright, snow white head on top. I have to wait a good minute or five just so the head dies down a bit. The head eventually does, leaving behind a very thick lacing on the glass as well as a bunch of “piles” of bubbles on top of the beer.<br /><br /><b> Aroma:</b> Quite a sweet-forward Pilsner with notes of honey, wet dough, wet grain. It’s sweeter than I was hoping for but then I’m trying to remember the last time I remember this kind of aroma.. oh I do, 15 or more years ago when I had a 5L mini keg of… Grolsch! <br /><br /><b> Taste:</b> Not as sweet as the aroma but it’s giving off notes of honey, a bit of graininess, a slight hint of hop that gives it a bit of grassiness but also a slight hint of bitterness. It’s fairly light, crisp, smooth the palate. The mouthfeel is pretty much watery and the aftertaste is a slight bitter finish at the end.<br /><br /><b> Overall Thoughts:</b> Part way through reviewing the Canadian brewed one I was thinking I was reviewing the Dutch classic. So they have done a decent job. I hope they keep the swing-top bottles as an import because sometimes you just want to feel like you’re able to afford to travel internationally just by buying a beer.
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The OG Dutch Pilsner is quite a bit drier on the palate than the Canadian, both are very easy to drink, smooth, crisp and crushable.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Price-wise as of February 2024, it's about the same - $3.79 CAD per bottle or can.. you do get more out of the Canadian can than the OG swing-top bottle but the bottle is great for home brewers/reusing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-11996303634304357162024-02-10T16:42:00.001-06:002024-02-10T16:42:00.134-06:00Review: Kilter Vintage Czech Pale Lager<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53513940915/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="692" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53513940915_e11f652904_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />Cody back in May 2023: "This is a Lager that <a href="https://brooklyn99.fandom.com/wiki/Teddy_Ramos" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Teddy from B99</span></a> would approve! Very crisp, grassy and straw lager. Has a finish that almost reminds me of 90s lagers"
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This is a beer I thought I reviewed here but somehow haven't. <b><a href="http://kilterbrewing.co" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Kilter</span></a></b> has been absolutely knocking it out with classic/vintage style Lagers and Pilsners for the past couple years now. I still remember running into Miguel from Kilter at a Sam Roberts Band at Ft Gibraltar nearly two years ago. Kilter was the beer sponsor for the concert (amazing time!) and we chatted about Pilsners and Lagers for a quick second - it's something that absolutely nobody on the planet gets excited over.. except Teddy from Brooklyn Nine Nine.
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I've lost count on what kind of <i>Vintage</i> beers I've tried by Kilter over the past three or so years but their Vintage Czech Pale Lager has been my go-to whenever it's available Liquor Marts here in Brandon. The funny thing is that exactly ten years ago I'd be talking about how all Lagers and Pilsners were bland and boring and L&P were pretty much the official style of beer of Manitoba because we're a bland place to begin with. Now? Yeah, we are a Lager and Pilsner kind of province but you know what? Nothing wrong with that, you sometimes have to accept yourself. 5.0% ABV<br /><br /><b>
Appearance:</b> Deep golden straw body with a lot of carbonation in the bottle, slightly cloudy. The head is thick, snow white and diminishes rather quickly to leave behind a mild lacing on the glass.
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Aroma:</b> Very crisp. There's a sweet toasted grain profile in there that has a hint of honey to it, an ever so slight sour note, light grassy hops, an ever so slight bitterness, and a hint of 5¢ bubble gum at the end. Taste: This is a sweet, crisp, crushable Lager with a hint of graininess, a slight metallic mouthfeel, a light tingling from the hops that hit the middle/back of the tongue. Grassy hop profile, lemon, very smooth and approachable. <div><br /></div><div><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Yours truly from ten years ago would never expect future me to be regularly drinking Lagers and Pilsners of all kind, and to the point that Pilsner Urquel and Czechvar (the OG Budweiser) would be in my fridge almost all the time, but here we are! I’m intrigued to see Miguel et Cie do a Vintage German Lager one day.. I seriously miss <b><a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2018/08/review-winnipeg-brew-werks-pils.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Winnipeg Brew Weeks’ Pils</span></a></b> German Pilsner.</div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-14241021216363972222024-02-07T10:27:00.002-06:002024-02-07T10:27:00.127-06:00Review: Kilter Liquid Technologies Prototype 001 Experimental IPA<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53509312549/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="740" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53509312549_363239166c_h.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />Every time I go to Winnipeg, <b><a href="http://kilterbrewing.co" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Kilter</span></a></b> has something new and unique up their sleeves, I just can't ever keep up at all! Their Kilter Liquid Technologies series works on more prototype/experimental style of beers that aren't going to be big releases. Today's sampling is their Prototype 001 Experimental IPA. Described as Juicy/Hoppy/Hazy. Brewed with experimental mashing methods and double dry hopped with Cashmere and Sabro. 6.5% ABV</span><p></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Appearance:</b> Pours a bright, opaque orange juice body with a thick amount of snow white head on top. The head diminishes rather quickly leaving behind a good amount of lacing on the glass and a light sprinkling of foam on top of the beer.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Aroma:</b> Quite sweet. Sugary with a lot of tropical fruit in there. Orange, pineapple, etc, as well as a hint of coconut in there. Mild leafy hop presence. Slight piña colada vibe in there.</span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Taste:</b> Very leafy hop presence, mild bitterness. The sweetness is still.. sweet but it’s no longer an overly sugary sweet like we saw in the aroma. I get a bit of melon and orange, slight bit of toffee as well as a slight dank profile. There’s also a bit of something I can’t quite describe at the end. Somewhat watery yet a bit creamy for mouthfeel and minimal aftertaste surprisingly enough (maybe a hint of oatiness?).<br />
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Overall Thoughts:</b> Juicy sweet IPA with a lot of a leafiness to it. A bit overbearing sweet at times but in the end it’s pretty drinkable. I definitely have flashbacks to a few other Kilter beers from who knows when in my mind. </span></p>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-43771148117108373942024-02-05T13:48:00.004-06:002024-02-06T16:45:55.539-06:00Review: Half Pints $ellout $tout<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53331680487/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1229" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53331680487_bdd6f3ea1f_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />Being someone who has had good luck with trying some insanely great beers over the years, there's only been a few times I've missed out on some legit amazing beers, and even rarer to miss out on some local GOAT-level beers. One such beer is <b><a href="https://halfpintsbrewing.com/taproom/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Half Pints'</span></a></b> <i>$ellout $tout</i> - a boozy, heavy stout that I believe was a beer to <a href="https://www.canadianbeernews.com/2009/12/23/half-pints-sellout-stout/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">poke fun at themselves</span></a> for creating a beer that's aiming more for the Pilsner/Lager drinkers (the majority) at the time with the release of St James Pale Ale.. ah I still remember having $4 20oz pints of St James fresh on tap at Lo Pub back in the day, that made my 20s go by a bit smoother.<div><br /></div><div>As for the "Sellout Stout", all my friends got their hands on the limited release but I never did. During my most recent visit to Winnipeg, I stopped at the brewery before heading home. I quickly glanced at the fridge and what did I see... a bunch of 355mL cans with a black and white punk rocker cartoon staring right at me, calling my name. So after 16 years, I <i>finally</i> tried $ellout $tout.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>From the can:</b> Brewed with heaps of roasted barley, crystal malts, and flaked oats and then hopped up with Willamette and Centennials. During the fermentation, jaggery (a sugar derived from palm tree sap in India) is added, and when finished, the brew is aged in Whiskey barrels for six months. The result is a beer of unquestionable character and complexity, much like the folks at Half Pints. 8.4% ABV</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Appearance:</b> Thick, black as the night and has a nice thick burnt caramel head on top. Within a minute of pouring I'm finding the head is already diminishing a good deal and leaving behind a nice layered lacing on the glass.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Aroma:</b> Notes of toffee, mildly roasted notes to it, a surprising hint of pear, cocoa and a hint of burnt wood at the end.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Taste:</b> Quite a sweet-forward stout with a heavy toffee-caramel vibe going on here. There's a tingling on the tongue that I'm getting from the roasted malt, while the wood used for barrel aging is giving off a slight presence to it but pretty muted. Like in the aroma, I get a bit of a fruitiness in there, <span style="font-family: inherit;">predominantly pear, but also a slight hint of black licorice.. that's a fruit, right?</span><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> This review took me over six months to review - I started to review it back in early autumn of 2023 but felt like I needed more notes for a beer I've been waiting 16 years to get my hand on - not expecting to ever get to try it at all. Looking back, it makes me chuckle thinking that this beer was conceived all because of the creation of St James Pale because now days you see every brewery on the planet creating crushable beers that beer geeks would scoff at in 2008 but now accept with welcome arms now.. I feel like if the can was re-designed to feature a modern era version of the <i>rocker, </i>he’d likely have a bit of a beer gut, a regular standard hair cut and probably a salt and pepper’d beard. Quite a boozy stout, creamy, mildly roasted, dark chocolate, tingles the tongue. Absolutely tasty - this alongside <b><a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2017/02/review-half-pints-le-temps-noir-batch.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Le Temps Noir</span></a></b> and <b><a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2012/06/review-half-pints-pothole-porter.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Pothole Porter</span></a></b> have made me a giddy boy for the past many years. </span></p></div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-73819735481153591832024-02-02T14:11:00.005-06:002024-02-02T14:24:34.449-06:00Review: Bellwoods Stay Classy Non-Alcoholic IPA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53499495514/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="657" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53499495514_6ca15836c4_h.jpg" /></a></div><i>Thanks to Brandon's <b><a href="https://section6brewing.ca" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Section 6 Brewing</span></a></b>, I'm able to review today's beer! They have a good selection of non-alcoholic beers available for those who want to have a beer but may not be able to partake in one for various reasons. They had a nice selection of IPAs, Sours, Lagers and even a Belgian-style Witbier in stock for NA beers, NA beer has come a long way!</i><div><br /><div>So get this, there was a <i>brief</i> period of time where I was somehow considered to be one of the <i style="font-style: normal;">leading experts</i> in non-alcoholic beer - I was the only one writing about it for a time, so for quite a while the only people who came to <b>BeerCrank.ca</b> were people looking for non-alcoholic beer reviews. NA beer is becoming much much more welcoming than only a couple years ago when people mocked me for it stating "if you wanted to drink a beer, just drink a beer" or "drink water instead" - NA beer is becoming more mainstream and accepted, finally, but it's so hard for me to catch up - I haven't even had time to review any myself in the past year or so due to my busy schedule. <div><br />
Today's sampling is <b style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://bellwoodsbrewery.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Bellwoods Brewery's</span></a></b> <i>Stay Classy</i> Non-alcoholic IPA. The very first time I ever saw <span>Stay Classy</span> on Bellwoods' Instagram page, <i>I neeeeeeeded</i> to try it - the label gives off a very retro vibe, specifically from a big brewery that I <i>shall not name's</i> branding from the 70s/80s back when <a href="https://www.stubby.ca" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Stubbies</span></a> were still king. Brewed with water, malted barley, oats, hops and yeast. 70 calories and 0.5% ABV </div><div><br /><b>Appearance:</b> Hazy with a lemon-yellow body to it. There's a moderate amount of carbonation in the body and a thick amount of snow white head on top that diminishes pretty quickly, leaving behind a slight lacing on the glass and a scattering of bubbles here and there on top of the beer.</div><div><br /><b>Aroma:</b> A very leafy-hop centric IPA. It's a tad dank, mildly bitter, slightly sweet. The first impression I got was dill with a bit of alfalfa and pine.. it's a familiar aroma to me that I've seen in another NA IPA before.. possibly? It may be aggressive for non-hopheads but for me, I don't mind it so far but there's just something about it that reminds me of a lot of NA beers. Slight amount of black pepper and a bit of a "wet grain" profile that reminds me of a lot of NA beers I've had before.</div><div><br /><b>Taste:</b> Lots of hop in here to give it notes of pine, alfalfa and even dill in it. I feel like it's to mask a bit of a 'raw grain' taste that I remember from my childhood growing up on a mixed farm. There's a hint of lemon and grapefruit for citrus presence. The mouthfeel is very watery and slightly metallic, while the mouthfeel is a mild bitterness of hops.<br />
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Overall Thoughts:</b> The dill presence surprised me but it’s pretty much a floral and hoppy IPA, West Coast? For sure. It’s quite watery at points for me and sometimes it feels like the hops are just masking the grain but that being said.. I’ll be sampling this again in the near future. Also, I should be reviewing Bellwoods’ Jelly King NA Sour one of these days. Stay tuned.. <a href="https://bellwoodsbrewery.com/products/stay-classy-ipa"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;">https://bellwoodsbrewery.com/products/stay-classy-ipa</span></a></div></div></div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-73036824820999758372024-01-28T20:03:00.004-06:002024-01-28T20:03:58.807-06:00Review: Negra Modelo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53494745069" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="588" height="800" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53494745069_77121b92ef_h.jpg" width="588" /></a></div>Several months ago I reviewed <a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2023/07/review-modelo-especial.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Modelo Especial Lager</span></a>. At the time <b>Modelo</b> was becoming one of the more popular import-style lagers on the market. Fast forward to now: I've definitely noticed more people buying it over Corona lately as people are only starting to realize that it's being brewed in Canada and not Mexico. I was meaning to review Negra Modelo a long time ago but life happens and I don't tend to drink dark lagers in the summer, so reviewing this now makes more sense (it's currently a warm day in January).<br /><br />From their website: Negra Modelo is a medium bodied Munich dunkel-style lager with slow roasted caramel malts that is brewed to prove dark beer can deliver both full flavour and refreshing taste. 5.3% ABV<br /><br /><div><b>Appearance:</b> Amber-coloured body with a moderate amount of carbonation in the body and a thick off-beige head on top that diminishes to absolutely nothing within seconds. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Aroma:</b> Sweet but not too sweet. It's got notes of caramel/toffee, a tad bit of a nuttiness, a bit of a toasted malt profile - so not quite a coffeeish aroma in this beer, quite subdued even. Not at all aggressive but it's very welcoming at the same time.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Taste:</b> Again, sweet but not too sweet. There's a good caramel sweetness going on that hits the palate and goes away to leave behind just a a nutty aftertaste. For the mouthfeel I get a bit of a carbonated tingle and then a slight tinniness to it, while the aftertaste is a slight nutty/slight caramel flavour to it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Very straight-forward dark lager and you know what? If someone handed this to me back in 2004, it could have been my favourite beer at the time rather than whatever lager trend I was hopping on that week. Very approachable, smooth, definitely sweet and a bit nutty - quite welcoming for not only the craft beer geek but also those who may be at the beach wanting a cerveza but something with a bit more personality to it. This actually reminds me of the very brief period when I was a fan of Dos Equis Ambar.. that was almost a decade ago. </div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-30166715222344955562024-01-16T00:58:00.007-06:002024-01-16T00:59:22.923-06:00Review: Microbrasserie Vin d'Orge Américain<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53456466806" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="586" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53456466806_6aeb5900a0_h.jpg" /></a><br />I have no idea how old this is but I'm assuming I picked this up sometime since my last trip to Montreal.. so sometime from May 2019 or earlier. I love a good Barley Wine and I'm incredibly well known for aging them for more than a few years. I wish there was some sort of indicator how old it is but I'll have to just enjoy it without knowing. Edit: apparently this was made in 2015.. wow.<br /><br /><b><a href="https://www.microlecastor.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Microbrasserie Le Castor's</span></a> </b>Vin d'Orge Américain Barley Wine is 8.5% ABV and here's the description on the bottle (I used to do the French text too but not many of my followers parlent français). If ever there was a macho-man of beers, this is it. More malty than an American Double IPA, and more hoppy than an English Barleywine, this beer bridges the gap between two countries, and two massive beers. Alcohol, malt and hops flex their muscles here in gratuitous proportions. This beer doesn't get along well with others. Try placating it with strong cheese, or olives. That might work. But drink slowly, and always share with a friend. Or you might just get thrown to the canvas in savage fashion. <br /><br />Appearance: Pours a dark brown ale with a vivid ruby red hue to it, almost like a red wine. The head is minimal but doesn't go anywhere - thin yet creamy in appearance with a beige hue to it.<br /><br /><b>Aroma:</b> This week is the first really wintery week of the year so this beer makes 100% sense right now - It's boozy, it's sweet, it's got a lot of caramel and dark fruits like prunes and raisins hitting my nostrils. It's got a good amount of boozy burn so it gives me shivers all over. Lastly, I get a hint of biscuits/graham crackers at the very end of this beer. 8.4%? My body's thinking more like 13-14%... and I haven't even taken a sip yet!<br /><br /><b>Taste:</b> My first impression was that it's very velvety smooth.. then the beer hits my brain. It's moderately sweet, nowhere near as sweet as I was getting from the aroma. Definite notes of caramel/toffee as well as dark fruits of raisin and prunes.. maybe a bit of plum. One thing I didn't expect was a bit of a tobacco to hit heavy, it's earthy, moderately bitter and very rich in flavour. The mouthfeel has a good carbonation to it, slightly tinny but has held up after all these years. The aftertaste is moderate caramel meets tobacco mashup at the end, something that doesn't last long.<br /><br /><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Held up pretty well. I don't get a real booziness to it as I drink it. It's got a moderate sweetness of caramel, a nutty malt and a good deal of tobacco to it. I don't even know if they still even brew this beer anymore! I do miss when breweries did the custom painted bottles like this, it gave the beer even more specialty to it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-73058811362517168992024-01-10T20:33:00.004-06:002024-01-10T20:33:44.514-06:00Review: 9 Mile Legacy 'The Ticket' Belgian-style Blonde Ale<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53456385196/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="800" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53456385196_90366eccdf_h.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br /></div>It's already been over five years since my first and only visit to <b><a href="https://9milelegacy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">9 Mile Legacy</span></a> </b>in Saskatoon, and since then they've opened a new taproom/brewery and closed their old cozy as heck tiny taproom. I keep saying I'll go back one of these days but I don't have enough time in the world to make that happen, so the second best thing I can do is pick up their beer whenever I see it at retailers within couple hour drive from me. <br /><br />Today's sampling is <i>The Ticket</i>. The ticket is your invitation to indulge in great Saskatchewan craft beer. Treat a friend to a ticket of their own. Our Belgian-style Blonde ale is golden straw in colour and finishes with character. Perfect for novice craft beer drinkers and experienced fans alike. 4.7% ABV<br /><br /><b>Appearance:</b> Pours a clear golden-straw body with a thick snow white head on top. Looks like your typical every day Blonde to me, so far. The head diminishes rather fast, leaving behind only a couple bubbles here and there on the glass itself and a thin layer of bubbles on the top of the beer for pretty much the entire sampling.<br /><br /><b>Aroma:</b> Upfront, the beer is very sweet, almost like honey. Notes of a spice that gives me memories of coriander, a bit of Dove soap aroma, a very crisp malt profile and a good heaping of straw.<br /><br /><b>Taste:</b> I had a Belgian Ale the other day from a local brewery and this tastes a lot like what I had - it's got a hefty sweetness to it, predominantly honey and straw, a bit of a Belgian vibe in there.. so possibly a bit of coriander? A hint of bubble gum, and a taste that's crisp and inviting that reminds me of a classic crisp Saskatchewan Pilsner. There's a tad syrupiness for mouthfeel that also leaves behind a hint of a honey-like aftertaste to it.<br /><br /><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> A standard Blonde Ale with a bit of a Belgian vibe to it, slightly spiced but lots of honey-like sweetness. Not aggressive in any way but also enough to not be ignored by the beer geek.. so the label was pretty much on point.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>See also: <a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2017/09/photos-visit-to-9-mile-legacy-brewing.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">My visit to 9 Mile Legacy</span></a></div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-51571127507618450322024-01-06T08:59:00.001-06:002024-01-06T08:59:00.128-06:00Review: Founders' 4 Giants Imperial IPA<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53445794975/in/dateposted/" title="Founders 4 Giants Imperial IPA"><img alt="Founders 4 Giants Imperial IPA" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53445794975_8c2b1d4fdc_h.jpg" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br /><b><a href="https://foundersbrewing.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Founders Brewing's</span></a></b> <i>4 Giants Imperial IPA</i><br /><br />Summon the Giants!<br /><br />
You possess in your hand the power to unite the four titans and unleash the gargantuan flavor and aggressive, high ABV of 4 Giants IPA. Boasting an assertive bitterness balanced by a malty, sweet backbone – the enormous aromatics in this Imperial IPA come courtesy of seven hop varieties. Command your destiny and write your own legend with 4 Giants Imperial IPA. 9.2% ABV<br /><br />I picked this beer in North Dakota a while back. I had a hard time picking it out so it ended up with me picking up a beer just based on the look alone. Well, Founders made it harder, they had a bunch of "4 Giants" beers which almost has a <i>Marvel movie</i> vibe on every can.. I don't know who the 4 Giants are but to me it seems like their own super heros on each can in different scenarios and outfits for each version.<br /><br /><b>Appearance:</b> Fairly clear with a caramel-amber body to it, a thick amount of off-white/beige head on top. The head diminishes pretty quickly, leaving behind a liberal amount of lacing on the glass.<br /><br /><b>Aroma:</b> When it's an Imperial, you know it's going to be more sweet than bitter. I get a heavy caramel aroma, some fruitiness of grapefruit, as well as a hint of melon. Leafy, bitter hops, but seeing it's been waiting be opened for a few months now, they've subdued a bit so far.<br /><br /><b>Taste:</b> Starts off a tad boozy, almost like a Brandy. It's quite sweet with a lot of caramel to it, but doesn't give off a syrupy mouthfeel as it's more of a watery mouthfeel. Moderate pine bitterness that lingers a great deal once the beer is savoured.<br /><br /><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Not bad, boozy, good amount of sweetness, moderately bitter. Solid and the 9.4% creeps up on ya.<br /><br /><a href="https://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/4-giants-ipa/"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">https://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/4-giants-ipa/</span></a>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-26516720887561980642023-12-28T18:28:00.005-06:002023-12-31T14:20:32.697-06:00Review: Sookrams Star Beast Imperial Stout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53427361301_ad1aaae149_h.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="732" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53427361301_ad1aaae149_h.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Today's sampling is Star Beast Imperial Stout by Winnipeg's <b><a href="https://www.sookrams.com" target="_blank">Sookrams Brewing</a></b>. I love a good strong, boozy stout when it's -30C out but this winter has been warm so I haven't craved many but every time I see Star Beast or its Trinidadian Black Cake version at my local liquor store, it whispers "buy me!" I just can't say no. I listed this beer as one of the <a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2022/12/ten-great-beers-available-in-manitoba.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">ten great beers available in Manitoba</span></a> this time last year but haven't made any time to give my tasting notes on it... here we are!<div><br /></div><div><b>From the can:</b> Star Beast is a complex and full-bodied Imperial Stout with hints of dark chocolate, molasses, and a resinous hop bite. 10.5% ABV</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Appearance:</b> Black as the night, light-to-moderate burnt caramel head on top that diminishes rather quickly, leaving behind a slight sprinkling of bubbles on top.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Aroma:</b> Moderate sweetness, bit of a roasty profile, boozy? Probably. Notes of caramel, roasted yet not burnt malt to give it a moderate coffee vibe to it, raisins and a hint of chocolate at the end.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Taste:</b> The first thing I get about this Imperial Stout is that it's surprisingly not overly boozy. It's a tad sweet, a bit of a nuttiness to it, hint of peat, a tad roastiness to give it a slight coffee-like flavour to it. Dry mouthfeel, bitter aftertaste.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Not over-the-top in personality, making it a straight-forward Imperial Stout - surprisingly not overly boozy, not syrupy, not overly sweet. Straight ahead stout.. at 10.5% ABV. It does get a bit sweeter as it warms up but not too, too much.</div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-63689962569377685432023-12-15T20:06:00.004-06:002023-12-15T20:06:41.361-06:00Review: One Great City Humbug 2 Harder and Grumpier Fruited Belgian Dark Strong Ale <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53400844364" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="710" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53400844364_b8bb035f49_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />For those who may not be familiar with Winnipeg traditions, the winter time <a href="https://winnipeg.citynews.ca/video/2019/12/05/the-meaning-behind-winnipegs-popular-humbug-sign/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Humbug sign</span></a> popping up on an apartment balcony in time for Christmas is one of the most popular traditions for over forty years now. Unfortunately the building is being renovated this year so no bright red HUMBUG sign this year. One Great City Brewing decided to pay tribute to the sign (which is located a short walk from the brewery) by putting it on their roof.. turns out there was <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ogcbrewingco/posts/pfbid02h4wAkM9ss61uGaqJkzyNAhdoSEgCPkpM5xQviN6ZCjKKwy6pWZBsxVomnoT91uYdl" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">miscommunication</span></a> with their landlord and the local Reddit army got a bit angry as Reddit can be sometimes. Great tribute to a popular Winnipeg tradition!<br /><br />From the can: Humbug 2: Harder & Grumpier - An adapted revisiting of our first Humbug beer, this is our tongue & cheek homage to Sidney Farmer's Christmas light display that has overlooked St. James for 40 years. Although this beer comes across as dark and brooding, it's actually full of Christmas spirit. Nutty toffee, dried fruits and rich chocolate are all wrapped up in this smooth, full bodied and warming winter sipper. 9.2% ABV / contains barley, rye, candi sugar, currant, plum, hops, yeast, cinnamon, oak.<br /><br /><b>Appearance:</b> Deep reddish-brown that gives off almost a dark cherry wood presence to it. There's a reddish hue as it hits the light but unfortunately the lighting of my new place is overly yellow so I can't get a good shot anywhere. Thin head - light beige, diminishes to just a light amount of film.<br /><br /><b>Aroma:</b> The first thing I got was "burnt plastic" smell, which took me back to memories of a million beers I've had from a classic brewery immediately south of OGC. Thankfully for me, that smell went away pretty quickly. Now it's got a very sweet, wintery, Belgian vibe to it. The first thing I think is "I could sure use this when it's -20C" but with it being abnormally warm (0C as I type this), this definitely deserves a colder temperature outside. Quite a syrupy sugar that reminds me of Rogers syrup <i>(if you're reading this in the future - there was a sugar shortage when I wrote this)</i>. There's notes of cinnamon, a hint of oak, plum and a mild breadiness to it. This pretty much smells like a cinnamon bun with dark fruits. Oh, there is a tad bit of a nutty bitterness but my mind is focusing only on the sweetness.<br /><br /><b>Taste:</b> Hmmm, this is an interesting one. It's pretty much what I got in the aroma but the very first thing I get here is cinnamon followed by the candi sugar that gives off a sweet syrupy goodness in every sampling yet. Velvety smooth for palate, a tad nutty and a rich, heavy taste that all I can describe as a really motor oily stout.. it's hard to say. Boozy? At 9.2% it's going to creep up on me but so far it's pretty smooth for what it is.<br /><br /><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Thankfully letting it settle for a good moment made this beer turn out different than my first impression. Will this become one of those new annual beer traditions alongside the cranberry stouts, Toques of Hazard and Innis & Gunn taster packs? It definitely should be, it fits the theme and it's great to chuckle at.. Also.. there's a SERIOUS drought of Belgian ales here so I'll take all I can get!<br /><br />Also, this is definitely a Cody themed beeer... bah humbug..Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-76461056501932114882023-12-07T21:17:00.007-06:002023-12-07T21:17:45.405-06:00Yukon Brewing Conspiracy IPA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53383276544" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="563" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53383276544_f155c5f00f_h.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>It's been a few years since I've last reviewed a <b><a href="https://yukonbeer.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Yukon Brewing</span></a></b> beer - I missed their beer, absolutely solid and lots of them had a great 60s Hollywood film theme vibe to them.<br /><br />Today's sampling is their Conspiracy IPA, a Northwest IPA brewed with Chinook and Simcoe hops. This beer was apparently so popular on the growler bar test batch system that it's now a permanent offering. 6.7% ABV<br /><br /><b>Appearance:</b> Clear with a rich amber-caramel hue to it. Lots of carbonation in the body and a thick amount of off-white to light beige head on top. The head diminishes rather quickly, leaving behind a layered lacing on the glass.<br /><br /><b>Aroma: </b>It's an IPA, that's all I can really say. It's got a bitter hop profile with notes of pine, a mild lemon citrus, caramel, and a slight woodiness at the end. Just on aroma alone, if I were to be blindfolded with this next to a Lagunitas IPA, I might not be able to tell which one's which.<br /><br /><b>Taste: </b>Moderate on the hoppy bitterness - yeah, there's pine but it's giving me more of a sweet grapefruit/lemon citrus combo with a bit of caramel in there as well. Definitely way too bitter for those who aren't a <i>hop head</i> but I like it. Tad woody, not much else to say.. it's pretty straight forward.<br /><br /><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> A classic 'Northwest IPA'. Hoppy, grapefruity and a bit of caramel. I still stay it reminds me of Lagunitas a good deal.<br /><br />I have Yukon in early summer on my bucket list.. so hopefully I'll make it up there... Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-17398057600980580622023-12-01T09:10:00.001-06:002023-12-01T09:10:00.136-06:00Review: Innis & Gunn Presents Islay Whisky Cask Scottish Red Beer Matured in Laphroaig Quarter Casts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53368004308_1efc6f5455_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="562" height="800" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53368004308_1efc6f5455_h.jpg" width="562" /></a></div><br /><div>Before I start off today's review - this is the first <i>new</i> review I've written in approximately six months, excluding one specific review back in the early Summer. </div><br />So, I took a hiatus from BeerCrank.ca and actually called it quits. Mental health and I have a hard time writing about beer to begin makes it hard to keep up in an era when people prefer their beer reviews in TikTok/YouTube/Instagram clips.. I just can't express myself in video form. Nobody reads shit anymore so I felt <i>why bother? </i>I'm just a nobody with a boring beer blog. In the six months I was on hiatus, I didn't really get any fan mail or anything but whatever.. I'm back for now. I hope to also continue to be your source for non-alcoholic beer reviews for those who are there for that or maybe I'll just let this domain expire in 11.5 months time.<br /><br />Anywho, now onto the review. By the time this is posted, it's already December.. and I just wrote this on November 30th (see, freshness for you!). Today's sampling is <a href="https://www.innisandgunn.com/ca/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Innis & Gunn's</span></b></a> Islay Whisky Cask Scottish Red Beer matured in Laphroaig casks. Innis & Gunn has been quite popular in Manitoba for a good amount of years and I'm surprised that I even got my hands on this beer (2-330mL bottles for around $15 CAD) because it randomly made an appearance here and disappeared before you know it.<br /><br />From the label: This beer has slowly matured in a rare cache of Quarter Casks from Laphroaig, an iconic Islay Single Malt Whisky. Absorbing all the rich flavours from these very special casks - spicy woodsmoke and peat, sea salt and burnt toffee, the beer ads its own rich, roasted flavour to create something as unforgettable and uncompromising as the island and whisky which inspired it. 7.4% ABV<br /><br />Appearance: I was thinking this was a stout before looking at the label, so seeing a tad bit of clarity in the bottom confused me. The body is a deep dark brown with a reddish-brown cola hue to it. The head is thick, creamy, with a light beige tinge to it.<br /><br />Aroma: The I&G beers that took off back in in the 2000s were a toffee, sweet as heck variety of ales and lagers that reminded you of rum and whisky with a lot of oak, vanilla and butterscotch. This one immediately gives off a lighter, more refined aroma than overly sweet as we're used to - the notes of peat and smoke are pretty much the first thing you get, followed by a hint of tobacco and followed by a sweet oakiness with a fine Single Malt Whisky at the end that gives off a tad bit of sweet caramel but also gives me a bit of goosebumps from the alcohol burn. Almost a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_shack" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">cabane à sucre</span></a> vibe here.<br /><br />Taste: It's a very familiar taste to me but not in the sense of what I'd think. This reminds me of summer time bon fires and barbecues - this is heavy on the smoke so it reminds me of a classic Smokie dog specifically.. It's got a sweetness of it of caramel, a tad bit of saltiness, a hint of spice.. so makes sense why I keep going back to bonfire and "Smokie cart right outside a nightclub at 2AM" vibe to it. This definitely isn't for everyone but I don't mind it. A bit of oakiness to it and a smidgen of Single Malt Whisky but the smoke takes it all. Surprisingly smooth on palate and leaves behind a slight smoke and sweet aftertaste.<br /><br />Overall Thoughts: Interesting combo. Worth $7.50 CAD per bottle? Probably not but it's worth trying this collab. Decently sweet, lots of smoke, bonfire. <br /><br /><br /><br />Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-34743400486865824632023-10-13T01:45:00.001-05:002023-10-13T01:45:14.538-05:00Review: Klockow Brewing Siduri's Garden Saison with Ginger, Coriander, Rosemary & Grains of Paradise<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codyrl/53254836724" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="691" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53254836724_4ee52809ab_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />Thanks Amanda for sending this my way! Today's sampling is <b><a href="https://klockowbrewing.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Klockow Brewing</span></a></b> out of Grand Rapids, Minnesota's Siduri's Garden, a Saison brewed with ginger, coriander, rosemary and grains of paradise. 6.0% ABV. Sounds pretty interesting even before opening this beer!<br /><br /><b>Appearance:</b> This is a foamy one! It took a few minutes but the foam finally diminished enough to take a photo of the beer. The body has a bright golden body but with a thick cloudiness to it, while the head has a slightly yellowish/beige head on top that has a thick creaminess to it.<br /><br /><b>Aroma:</b> Mildy grainy with a sweetness of honey, a hint of floral presence of rosemary and a slight spiciness of coriander at the end. So far, I don't get the ginger. Fairly Saisony so far.<br /><br /><b>Taste:</b> Quite a grainy presence yet again, notes of honey, a lot of coriander and yep.. it's got ginger to it too. The rosemary is there but pretty much complimenting the hops which are a bit grassy yet gives off a slight bitterness to it. The ginger is a bit odd for the beer as it gives the beer more sweetness than it needs, it may actually be <i>too </i>sweet.<br /><br /><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Yep, too sweet. The hint of ginger is interesting but it makes the beer a bit too much for me. The coriander isn't overbearing in the taste though, so it has that going for it. <br /><p></p>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-24196959402779697452023-10-02T07:55:00.004-05:002023-10-03T15:03:15.115-05:00A re-re-revisit: Molson Canadian 6.0 Cold Shots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53227737993_14caf50e4b_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="716" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53227737993_14caf50e4b_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />My first ever beer review of all time was <b>Molson Canadian 6.0 Cold Shots</b>, reviewed on <a href="https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/molson-canadian-60-cold-shots/33486/15023/" target="_blank">September 4, 2004</a>, making it official drinking age of all of Canada, 19 years old. Who would have known that 19 years ago that I would end up becoming a beer blogger/writer who would briefly have a weekly column in the local newspaper and even cause a bit of viral controversy over a ten dollar bottle of Bud Light. In 2004 I was a simple person when it came to beer - by now I already tried some craft beers - Unibroue specially but also Big Rock, Fort Garry and others but my go to beers of choice were Molson Canadian, Heineken, and Sleeman Original Draught (oh, that was a smooth one). Cold Shots were cheap, 8-250mL tiny cans of beer, perfect for the cheap university student at the time... somehow looking back, drinks at the bar seemed pricy but $3 was actually very affordable.. but I was just broke.<div><br /></div><div>Fast forward 19 years, here's my third visit to the beer. A Canadian-style lager has changed a great deal - back then they had a sharp bite to it that I feel was a combo of malt and the hop used, now they're so smooth. How will this beer fare since first reviewing it nineteen years ago?<br /><div><br /></div><div><b>Appearance: </b>Bright golden straw body with almost a honey hue to it. Couple lines of bubbling coming up from the body of the beer while the head itself is light with a bright white hue for the few bubbles that do remain.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Aroma: </b>Sweet, straw, honey, hint of corn. Very much a malt-forward lager.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Taste: </b>Very sweet lager with an immediate sharp bite to it that you used to get with just about every Canadian-style lager over a decade ago, a bite I can't describe.. is it hop? Is it the type of malt they're using? Notes of straw, a good amount of metallic presence but pretty much a quite sweet-forward malty lager.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Not as malt liquor-y now days as it used to be but it's still a bit too sickly sweet for what it is. One thing I noticed is that since I've last reviewed this <i>beer</i> in 2012 they've moved from 250mL mini cans to smaller 222mL cans. The price is pretty much the same which I don't know if I'd consider it a value or not but the price of beer only keeps going up so I think it's best buying a 15-pack of regular Canadian as it's on sale for $18.59 until 4 days from now (<i>from when I'm writing this - it's not on sale anymore)</i>. 6% ABV</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Will this beer still exist in the 2030s? Who knows, if I'm still alive I might review it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Original review, <b>September 4, 2004:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvyG3F7Q8jUDAZzRsShF34ebe5VQ9-u7uAx-9fDJIwTTn989Yaidd9FAsRSYdKemEYZfamp41fohqOLB4n_r_hoqWGc9w85da9eDEwO8ey59Z_slNtoLvhX3FTgDXGpLfqZEfsdMzs0hYFrIzndiWbDTi83HupzhmTasRyLli3xv7HKUApSQpvvD7fFGb/s908/Screenshot%202023-10-01%20at%206.39.18%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="908" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvyG3F7Q8jUDAZzRsShF34ebe5VQ9-u7uAx-9fDJIwTTn989Yaidd9FAsRSYdKemEYZfamp41fohqOLB4n_r_hoqWGc9w85da9eDEwO8ey59Z_slNtoLvhX3FTgDXGpLfqZEfsdMzs0hYFrIzndiWbDTi83HupzhmTasRyLli3xv7HKUApSQpvvD7fFGb/s16000/Screenshot%202023-10-01%20at%206.39.18%E2%80%AFPM.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Second review: <a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2012/01/review-molson-canadian-60-cold-shots_20.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>January 20, 2012</b></span></a></div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-63595612974451003542023-09-26T19:38:00.005-05:002023-09-26T19:38:50.352-05:00Review: Kilter Immortalis Imperial Stout (Blend III - Booker's Bourbon)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53216601563_776b65e5cb_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="578" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53216601563_776b65e5cb_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />The only good thing to happen from a couple years of COVID was that ordering beer by mail became a thing, but unfortunately most moved away from that once things "returned to normal" more recently. I ordered a decent sized care package sometime last year. A couple of the bottles that I bought online through <b><a href="http://kilterbrewing.co" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Kilter</span></a></b> were various versions of their Immortalis Imperial Stout. Today's sampling is their Blend III aged for 15 months in Booker's Bourbon Barrels. 11% ABV, bottled 05/22.<div><br /></div><div><b>Appearance:</b> Pours your typical black-as-the-night for body, and with a thick dark cookie dough yellow-brown-beige head on top. I'm babying this beer so the head has diminished a great deal, leaving behind only a small amount of bubbles attached to the side of the glass - no lacing somehow!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Aroma:</b> The barrels are coming up more than anything else at the beginning - There's a lot of oak, good amount of caramel and Bourbon sweetness, a hint of vanilla and of course the beer itself. The stout has a nice roasted profile to give it a mildly bitter presence to it, and notes of dark chocolate as well as caramel.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Taste: </b>It's pretty much what I got from the aroma. This is quite a boozy treat so it creeps up quite quickly. Roasted malt but sooo much more of the barrel taking over to give it a rich woodiness with molasses, caramel, vanilla and a light burning sensation from the Bourbon. Smooth, tad creamy but also burns the tongue a tad. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Simply heaven in a bottle/glass. Boozy as heck but lots of flavour in every sip n sniff. </div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-114614936621942342023-09-02T06:40:00.000-05:002023-09-02T06:40:00.147-05:00Review: Cowbell Hazy Days Juicy IPA<div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53157229662_3e26774716_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="748" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53157229662_3e26774716_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />Written way prior to the 2023 MLCC strike</i></div><div><br /></div>I've been complaining a lot for the past six months or year or even more now about how the Manitoba Liquor Commission isn't even trying to bring any out of provinces to beer geeks, rather they're expecting Manitoba breweries to fill up all the craft beer inventory. Well, once in a really rare blue moon the liquor commision will actually bring in a beer from outside Manitoba: Today I'm sampling Hazy Days Juicy IPA by <b><a href="https://cowbellbrewing.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Cowbell Brewing</span></a></b> out of Blyth, Ontario which is right near Lake Huron and I haven't seen any beers from that region of Ontario before so this is a first..<br /><br />Hazy Days Juicy IPA is 6.0% ABV<br /><br /><b>Appearance:</b> Pours a murky orange body with a moderate white-beige head on top of the beer. Once the beer is savoured the head is still sticking to the glass but just bit by bit.<br /><br /><b>Aroma:</b> Surprisingly sweet and tropical, I have no idea how long this has been sitting at MLCC warehouse for. Leafy, citrus, bit of melon and pineapple.<br /><br /><b>Taste:</b> A very leafy IPA but I don't get much time to check this out but it's sweet, has notes of pineapple, a hint of grapefruit, lemon but mostly leafy, a tad piney.<br /><br /><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> Very leafy hopped IPA that has a god melon/pineapple presence to it, lemon, floral, the usual common era IPA. It came from a very far distance to Brandon, Manitoba - props to Cowbell Brewing!<br />Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-8669206932462305702023-08-26T19:11:00.002-05:002023-08-26T19:11:12.520-05:00Review: Container Fresh Horizons Hazy IPA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53136918547_db8198b3b9_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="613" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53136918547_db8198b3b9_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />Today's sampling is Fresh Horizons Hazy IPA by <b><a href="https://www.drinkcontainer.beer/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Container Brewing</span></a></b> in Vancouver. I had a few visits to Container Brewing when I was in Vancouver back in the fall and believe it or not.. I have photos of my visit to Vancouver from back in 2020 - they've been edited but I just need to post them someday! <div><br /></div><div>From the website: The journey continues, as we endeavour towards the bigger, bolder and fresher flavours ever on the horizon. Join us for an intense citrus and tropical experience that finishes slightly tart with a touch of sweetness. 6.4% ABV</div><div><br /></div><div>Appearance: When you're looking for a Hazy IPA, you're wanting hazy AF, deep orange body with a frothy snow white head on top.. which is exactly what this has. 100% according to style so far.</div><div><br /></div><div>Aroma: Sweet, orange, lemon, a tad floral and full on tropical. Slight creaminess at the end. My nose isn't 100% but it's juicy as heck so far.</div><div><br /></div><div>Taste: Dank, leafy and floral hop presence, followed by a lot of tropical sweetness of orange, lemon, perhaps a bit of pineapple. Don't drink this fast because it's definitely a bit gassy for the tummy so it's feeling a tad heavy. Slight creaminess and a slight bitter/pine aftertaste at the end.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall Thoughts: Solid and tropical, bit leafy and citrusy. I found this over at the Quality Beer Store in Winnipeg - I'm never underwhelmed by their beer selection as they always have something new coming in every week from who knows where.</div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-33558465521726920912023-08-17T23:29:00.000-05:002023-08-17T23:29:00.133-05:00Review: The Bruery x Frontaal I've Got Friends Batch #4 Mexican Imperial Stout with Cacao nibs, vanilla and ancho peppers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53118615002_9b08ec2248_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="773" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53118615002_9b08ec2248_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />I picked this one exactly one year ago today (on the day of writing this up) at Wijnhuis Eindhoven in Eindhoven, Netherlands. This sampling is a collaboration between <b><a href="https://www.thebruery.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Bruery</span></a></b> out of California and <b><a href="https://frontaalbrewingcompany.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Brouwerij Frontaal</span></a></b> in Breda, brewed in Breda. The beer is called I've Got Friends Batch #4 and is a Mexican Imperial Stout with cacao nibs, vanilla, and ancho peppers. It tops out at 13.4% ABV, making it one of the stronger beers I've ever had in my life.<br /><br />Appearance: Black as the night, so it's a typical stout. The head is beautiful with a rich thickness of a cookie dough yellowish-brown hue to it. Once the beer diminishes a bit, the bubbles stay behind to leave a nice lacing on the glass.<br /><br />Aroma: Certainly going to be a Mexican style stout right from the beginning - it's got a faint spicy pepper aroma to it that tickles the nose, followed by cacao nibs that give it a rich sweet chocolatey presence to it, a tad bit of roasted malt to give it a hint of coffee-like notes, caramel and a hint of peat at the end. The spice isn't overly aggressive... yet.<br /><br />Taste: For my first impression I get a rich, roasted malt profile more than anything else to the point that it reminds me of a Mocha you would get at a reputable coffee shop, but if they also added in a lot of melted chocolate into said Mocha as well. Rich, very creamy, sweet, chocolatey. Then all of a sudden I get a bit of a tingling on the tongue, it's the ancho peppers finally popping up but I'm a bit underwhelmed, I was hoping for heat like in <a href="https://www.beercrank.ca/2017/04/review-stone-xocoveza-stout.html" target="_blank"><b>Stone's Xocoveza Stout</b></a> from years ago.<br /><br />Overalll Thoughts: The spice is underwhelming but this is still a really good Imperial Stout. I keep forgetting this is 13.4% ABV because it's smoooooth and insanely creamy to the palate, but then it really does start creeping up on you and you start to feel it. Everything I've had by Fronaal and The Bruery have been really good so far, hope to have more of their beers one day! <br /><p></p>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-41273934537183528202023-08-15T18:21:00.004-05:002023-08-15T18:21:31.630-05:00Review: Sookram's Toros Amber Ale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53119615010_0cb260cb45_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="678" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53119615010_0cb260cb45_h.jpg" /></a></div>From the can: Amber. Amber. Amber. Toros Amber Ale is brewed by the women at <b><a href="https://www.sookrams.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sookram's</span></a></b> for International Women's Brew Day and is an approachable Amber Ale featuring Manitoba grown Willamette hops from Prairie Gem Hops. This subtly complex ale marries toasty malt notes with gentle floral, citrus, and grassy hop notes. A portion of the proceeds of this beer will be donated to North End Women's Centre. 5% ABV<div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Appearance:</b> Pours a caramel amber ale with a somewhat opaque look to it - definitely can't really see stuff right through the glass. Good amount of carbonation in the body and a thick amount of off-white/beige on top of the glass. The head diminishes rather gradually and leaves behind a really nice layered lacing on the glass - the kind of lacing you want to see in a nice beer glass at a pub.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Aroma:</b> Sweet, caramel, tad nutty, decent amount of hop presence (slight floral) and pretty much mostly sweet and malt forward. This is already a classic.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Taste:</b> Light amount of bitterness from the hops to give it a hint of pine, a good deal of caramel.. actually.. maybe very caramel forward, slight touch of nuttiness to it, fairly rich, slight woodiness. Bit of a bitter hop aftertaste at the end.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Overall Thoughts:</b> This isn't a style I typically drink but like the huge resurgence of Lagers & Pilsners as of recently, Amber Ales will see a big comeback one day - I remember the days of Rickard's Red and Big Rock.. that was such a long time ago! Very tame to the palate, aside from there being a mild hop aftertaste but we all need a bit of hops in our life!</div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-452753177258297137.post-19801507207919439782023-07-30T13:35:00.002-05:002023-07-30T13:35:18.785-05:00Review: Sleeping Giant White Out Hazy India Pale Ale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53081847406_53742078c8_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="668" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53081847406_53742078c8_h.jpg" /></a></div><br />Several weeks <i>(now months)</i> ago I saw this beer (<a href="http://sleepinggiantbrewing.ca" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sleeping Giant's</span></b></a> White Out) at my local LC and briefly chuckled thinking "imagine if the Jets had a good enough team to get more than two playoff games at home this year.. this could be a beer people could drink to cheer on the Jets." The beer has nothing to do with hockey, but with a name like White Out, kinda seems so.. and Sleeping Giant is one of the closest breweries to Manitoba if coming from the east.. so there's that, but I have no idea what I'm trying to say.<div><br /></div><div>From the can: Unlike the unpredictable weather in Northwestern Ontario, this beer is predictably delicious. With aromas of papaya and a smooth, refreshing mouthfeel, this Hazy IPA is dominated by juicy and tropical fruit notes making it a go to for blizzards and heatwaves. 6.1% ABV<br /><br /></div><div>Appearance: Surprisingly clear for a hazy IPA, not 100% clear but way, way more clear than I expected. Moderate carbonation in the body and a fairly thick amount of snow white head on top that diminishes pretty quickly, leaving behind a light layered lacing on the glass.</div><div><br /></div><div>Aroma: Floral hop presence to start off with a bit of alfalfa. Somewhat sweet with notes of grapefruit and papaya, oh - the grapefruit gives off a slight pepperiness to it. Lemon, slight toasted malt and a hint of caramel sweetness at the end.</div><div><br /></div><div>Taste: I'm quickly trying to write this as fast as I can - this is a very smooth one by Sleeping Giant! It's sweet with a good tropical presence (papaya/orange zest/grapefruit), floral hops, a hint of pine, slight breadiness, lemon and an aftertaste that slightly reminds me of grocery store brand cake icing for some strange reason.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall Thoughts: No where near juicy or hazy as expected but it's smooth and I've had a few of these already so do I like it? Yeah. We need more Sleeping Giant beers out here in Manitoba. It's all thanks to my mom's friend Sue I ever got to try their beer in the first place way back when, I haven't had a bad beer from them yet. </div>Cody Lobreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303065662315919494noreply@blogger.com0