Beer #60 - Mill St. Coffee Porter

Mill Street Brewery Coffee Porter
www.millstreetbrewery.com

I have reviewed a couple of other Mill Street brews and discussed a little about the Toronto, Ontario brewery before.  Here, Beer #32 Franconian Bock and here, Beer #44 Tankhouse Ale  This Coffee Porter is brewed with fresh brewed Balzac's dark roasted coffee and blended with a traditional dark porter.

It has a deep black colour with a latte coloured head.

In the aroma both the coffee and the malts are very apparent with a touch of the floral and bitter characteristics of the hops as well.

The porter and coffee tastes blend perfectly, it starts with a coffee taste which never lets go, it simply gets changed by the other flavour components as they come into play.  First the maltiness comes in and makes the coffee almost taste like a latte, with a creamy taste, then as the floral notes come in it tastes as if something akin to nutmeg was added to the latte, then, once the bitterness of the hops come into play it finally tastes like drinking a black coffee with a slight bit of the floral notes still clinging to the taste.

Mill Street Coffee Porter is a very well balanced beer, if you like coffee and beer I can't see how you would not like this one.  It is not overpowering in any way, it drinks nice and smooth and gives the best of both worlds.

Beer #59 - Pyramid Audacious Apricot

Pyramid Brewing Audacious Apricot Ale
www.pyramidbrew.com

Pyramid Brewing out of Seattle, WA has been brewing since 1984 as Hart Brewing, in 1996 it was reborn as Pyramid Brewing.  They have expanded and now breweries and alehouses in California, Oregon and Washington.  Audacious Apricot is an unfiltered wheat ale blended with fresh apricot, creating a delectible fruit brew.

A cloudy, well, apricot colour with a thick white head that doesn't retain very well but with nice lacing.

It smells of apricot with a nice counterpoint of the bitterness of the hops and a yeasty wine character.

It starts with a mixture of the apricot and the hop bitterness with the yeasty wine flavour taking over the bitterness and mingling with the apricot to finish nice and clean.

It drinks very smooth and can sneak up on you, the alcohol is hardly apparent in the taste.  Certainly one of the nicest fruit beers I've tried recently and so very refreshing.  If you have any slight like of apricot and of beer you need to try this.

Beer #58 - Carlsberg

Carlsberg Pale Lager
www.carlsberg.com

Carlsberg Brewery was founded in 1847 in Copenhagen, Denmark and begand brewing the flagship Carlsberg Lager.  Carlsberg has acquired many other breweries over the years, I've touched on some of them in the past, making them the 4th largest brewery group in the world.

It has a nice clear golden straw colour with a bright white foamy head with great retention.

It smells of both the floral and bitter notes of the hops and malt.

The malt comes strong at the forefront of the taste, with the bitter notes of the hops, as the taste goes on, the maltiness gets overtaken by the floral notes of the hops which fade away just leaving a crisp and pleasant lingering of the bitterness on the tongue.

A ncie crisp pale lager, with a slightly different flavour profile than most.  Certainly worth a try if you haven't had it and great on a warm day with some friends.

Beer #57 - Hopworks Abominable Winter Ale

Hopworks Urban Brewery Abominable Winter Ale
www.hopworksbeer.com

A little about the unique Hopworks Urban Brewery from their website:

"Hopworks Urban Brewery and Hopworks BikeBar are Portland’s first Eco-Brewpubs. We offer handcrafted organic beers and fresh, local ingredients, all served in sustainably-built and operated buildings with a relaxed, casual atmosphere.
Hopworks incorporates many aspects of sustainability.  From composting to rain barrels, and from pervious pavers to hand dryers, we have made every effort to protect “our” future with a thoughtful alternative.  Hopworks is 100% renewably powered and “cradle to gate” carbon neutral.
Our 20-barrel brewery produces 8,500 barrels a year and provides our restaurant with ten different HUB organic beers on tap and two cask ales at all times."


A nice clear dark copper colour with a nice white head with great lacing.

It has a nice spicy caramel nose with the maltiness and bitterness apparent but in the background and some citrus peaking out at the end .

The spiciness comes out right at the start with the caramel and maltiness joining in and mingling with the spice as the bitterness gradually overtakes the lead and is joined by a hint of citrus on the finish.

A nice seasonal brew, big and flavourful, yet still easy enough to drink. Quite a unique winter ale from quite a unique brewery.  Well worth a try if you can find it in your neck of the woods.

Beer #56 - Two Beers Sodo Brown

Two Bears Brewing Company SoDo Brown Ale
www.twobeersbrewery.com

Two Beers Breing began from very small roots in a Seattle garage in 2006, they have grown to producing 12 beers, 5 of which are available year round and 7 being seasonal, they also produce small batch blends and infusions.  Their new location, while still in Seattle has gorwn from the tiny garage to 4800 square feet.   SoDo is only brewed with 1 hop variety but 7 different grains creating some complex malt flavours.

A dark brown colour that seems clear but so dark you still cannot see through it. It has a bright white head with a little retention that provides nice lacing.

It smells strongly of roasted nuts and coffee with a little floral notes of the hops also apparent

It starts with some bitterness of the hops quickly followed by maltiness and then the coffee notes take over to be rejoined by the bitterness with a little raisin note coming in at the finish.

A nicely balanced brown ale with a nice malt profile, with enough bitterness to create a counterpoint to the sweetness of the malts.

Beer #55 - Kilkenny Irish Crem Ale

Guinness Brewery Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale
www.diageo.com

I recently reviewed Guinness' Harp Lager and covered a bit about the history of the brewery here, Beer #50

Kilkenny is similar to Smithwick's Ale (Which I will be reviewing soon as well) but, has less hop finish and Kilkenny is nitrogenated to produce the distinctive cream head, as Guinness is. The name 'Kilkenny' was originally used during the 1980s and 1990s to market a stronger version of Smithwick's in Europe and Canada due to a difficulty pronuncing 'Smithwick's.' Kilkenny is the result of brewing traditions started in the 14th century in the Abbey at Kilkenny where the monks were brewing ales which grew to become Smithwicks and Kilkenny.

Kilkenny has a nearly clear copper colour with a creamy ivory head.  As with Guinness it takes some time to pour and settle in to drink, creating that anticipation as you watch.

It smells quite distinctive as well, all the aspects of the hops used can be smelled.  At first whiff you notice the bitter aspect and the floral note, but the citrus aspect comes in a little too, all the while smelling the maltiness and a nutty, earthy aroma.

It starts off with a dry roasted nutty taste, with the bitterness of the hops slowly creeping in and continuing to grow right to the finish, the maltiness comes in along the way and the citrus notes join in at the finish.

Kilkenny is a classic, if you haven't tried it you must.  It is somewhat filling, but goes great with pub fare.  

Beer #54 - Williams Bros Fraoch

Heather Ale Ltd / Williams Bros Brewery Fraoch
www.heatherale.co.uk

From their website "The Williams Bros. Brewing Co. started life in the humble ‘Glenbrew’ homebrew shop in Glasgow. This was the family owned business that was both our occupation and passion. In 1988 a lady of Gaelic decent came into the shop with a translation of the recipe for ‘Leanne Fraoch’ that had been handed down through the generations. It was her simple goal to recreate a batch of this historic brew to share with her family."

The brewery began its life as Heather Ale Ltd and in 2004 they changed their name to Williams Brothers Brewery.  They are now located in Alloa, Scotland.  This style of heather ale has been brewed in Scotland since 2000 BC, and since 1988 they are the only brewery still to be producing this type of beer.

Froach has a very clear yellow colour with a bright white head with good lacing.  Tiny bubbles of carbonation rise to the top.

Froach has a very intriguing aroma, a blend of floral, spicy, citrus and malty notes.

It strars off clean with mostly the citrus notes coming through, with the maltiness coming in soon after with the floral notes, the maltiness stays as the spiciness comes in for the finish.  A little bitterness comes out to round out the taste profile and linger on the tongue at the finish.

Froach is a very interesting beer which I think is worth a try if for nothing else but the uniqueness.  I think it's a very well balanced ale with a great yet complex flavour profile while still drinking smoothly.

Beer #53 - Bowen Island Irish Cream Ale

Bowen Island Brewing Company Irish Cream Ale
www.bowenislandbeer.com

Bowen Island Brewing is a British Columbia, Canada brewery located on, you guessed it, Bowen Island.  They concentrate on brewing quality beer at lower prices.  Generally their beers are nearly at the bottom of the price scale, but are on par with a lot of the other micro breweries at nearly double the price.  All of their beers are 100% natural and brewed with no adjuncts or fillers, all are brewed acording to the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, stating that all beer is to be brewed using only barley, hops, yeast and water.  This particular beer is their take on an Irish cream ale,

It has a clear copper colour with a thin white head with very little retention.

It smells of citrus, bitterness, maltiness and nuttiness all in equal parts.

It starts off with the hops coming into play with its bitterness followed by the maltiness and the nuttiness, followed quickly after by the citrus for it to end quite dry with a little of the bitterness coming back into play.

It's not a typical Irish cream ale, it drinks a lot lighter but still packs in a lot of the flavour you would expect.  If you see it, I suggest picking it up and giving it a try, it's great bang for your buck.

Beer #52 - Courage Directors

Courage Directors Ale
www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk

Wells and Youngs Brewery has a great history as I've touched on briefly in Beer #40 Young's Double Chocolate Stout.  They acquired the Courage line in 2007, which includes this great beer, which was originally only brewed for the directors of the Alton brewery, but public demand was so great that they released it.

It has a nice amber colour with a great foamy white head, with great retention and forms a nice lace on the side of the glass.

In the smell the fragrance of the hops is very apparant, from floral notes, bitter notes and citrus notes all playing together with a nice malty smell making for a pleasant aroma.

In the taste all the aspects of the hops come out as well.  At the start the floral notes come into play, with the maltiness coming in quickly with the citrus notes taking over, to be joined by the bitterness which takes over momentarily and then fades back to be re-joined by the citrus notes and both just fade away leaving a nice light lingering of both on the tongue.

This is a very complex ale with a great flavour profile.  It finishes nice and clean, perfect to enjoy with some good friends.  If you haven't tried this one, I definitely suggest you give it a try, it is well worth it.  Don't be surprised if it becomes a regular brew for you.

Beer #51 - Dead Frog Nut Brown

Dead Frog Brewery Nut Brown Ale
www.deadfrog.ca

Aldergrove, BC's Dead Frog Brewery has only been brewing for a half-dozen years, but still manage to crank out great brews while keeping it fun.  This is the third of their beers that I've reviewed, #4 their Mandarin Orange Amber Ale and #25 their Pale Ale.  This is particular beers is one of their most popular and one of my favourites.  I expect that as they release new beers I'll be reviewing them as well and by their track record they should be worth a try at the very least.

It's clear with a dark brown colur with a little bit of a white head which leaves very little lacing.

It smells both earthy and floral with some bitter, espresso and hoppy notes.

It starts off with a nutty-chocolate note which soon gets overtaken by the maltiness and then joined by the bitterness of the hops to both fade away and finish clean with a little espresso note lingering on the tongue.

This is a really nice example of a nut brown, it is full of flavour, but finishes nice and clean, making it drinkable in any circumstance.

Beer #50 - Harp Lager

Guinness Brewery Harp Lager
www.diageo.com

Harp Lager has been brewed by the Guinness Brewery since 1960, it is named after the distinctive harp logo of the Guinness Brewery.  The Guinness Brewery merged with Grand Metropolitan in 1997 to become the Diageo Group, which is currently the largest producer of spirits worldwide, and a leader in beer and wine.  Harp Lager is a pale lager which began production as a response to the UK trend towards "Continental Lagers" and has become a major player in the lager market.

It is a pale golden colour, typical of the pale lager style, with a big foamy white head with a little bit of retention and creates nice lacing on the side of the glass.

It smells quite a bit of citrus, with a slight undertone of the floral notes of the hops.  There's a definite maltiness and a slight bit of a bitterness of the hops apparant in the nose as well.

It starts off with the maltiness and a touch of the floral note of the hops, with the maltiness staying but the hop character changing to the citrus notes and becomming bitter shortly after and fading away with the maltiness to end clean.

It's a nice light drinking lager, with enough flavour to keep it drinkable and not lost in the masses of other lagers out there.  Definitely a huge seller for a reason.

Beer #49 - Tuborg Pure Gold

Turk Tuborg SA Pure Gold
www.tuborg.com

Tuborg Lagers came onto the scene in 1880, yet the Tuborg brewery was founded in 1873 in the small port town of Hellerup, just north of Coppenhagen, Denmark.  In 1894 Tuborg merged with United Breweries, which then entered into a profit sharing agreement with Carlsberg before being acquired by Carlsberg in 1970.   This particular beer is a pale lager which is brewed at 5.5% ABV in Canada where I bought it, however apparently it's only 3.5% in the United States, which even with converting between the ABV and ABW methods would put it at only about 4.2%ABV in the US.

It has a very clear golden colour with a nice big white head which dissipates fairly quickly leaving a hint of lace on the side of the glass.

It smells very fragrant of the floral notes of the hops with a hint of citrus and malt.

The hops are very apparant the whole way through the taste, it starts with the floral notes then the bitterness comes into play, gradually incorporating the malt taste which fades away leaving just the bitterness of the hops which gets joined by a hint of citrus on the finish.

This is quite a complex and flavourful light lager, suitable for drinking at any occaision with or without food.  It's lightness belies it's 5.5% ABV strength.

Beer #48 - Stanley Park 1897 Amber

Stanley Park Brewery 1897 Belgian Amber
www.stanleyparkbrewery.ca

Stanley Park Brewery is located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC.  It is named afer a brewery that used to exist in Stanley Park which served its beers to the many visitors of the park.  They have decided to make their brewery 100% sustainable.  This Belgian style amber is unpasturized and made from a mixture of hops and malts.

It has a cloudy golden colour with a white head with tiny bubbles.

It smells quite yeasty with a nice malty component with a hoppy undertone.

The yeastiness and maltiness comes out at the start and slowly fades as the hops slowly materialise and take over the flavours to fade to a clean finish.

It is a nice and mellow beer with a fair bit of complexity yet still drinks crisp and clean.

Beer #47 - Caracole Saxo

Caracole Saxo
www.brasserie-caracole.be

The "Brasserie Caracole" traces it's history back to 1766 when the brewery was called the Brasserie Moussoux and then changed it's name to the Brasserie Lamotte in 1941 until eventually being taken over in 1992 and the name changed to Brasserie Caracole.  They are based in Falmignoul, Belgium and are known to heat their water in a wood oven. 

It has a cloudy dark yellow colour with a big head filled with big bubbles.

The smell is filled with yeasty, malty, floral, citrus and spice notes all mingling together.

The taste starts clean with some bitterness of the hops apparent with the malt and yeast coming in the middle and the finish is all malt and hops with a little spice note.

It drinks lighter than you would expect with its cloudiness.

It's a really nice complex and flavourful beer that drinks far cleaner than it's 7.5% or 8% ABV would indicate.   I found it to be quite refreshing, it is defiintely worth a try.

Beer #46 - Salzburger Stiegl

Salzburger Stiegl
www.stiegl.at

Stiegl's been being brewed in Salzburg, Austria since 1492.   It is Austria's largest brewer.

It has a beautiful clear pale golden colour with a great big white foamy head, with great retention, it clings to the side of the glass creating a nice lace.

It smells of apples, citrus, malt and a little floral note.

The floral note comes to the forefront along with the maltiness.  The fruit notes come in as the bitterness from the hops also comes in.  It finishes nice and clean with a light lingering of the apple and bitterness.

It's a nice light yet distinctive and flavourful lager and prefect for summer and a nice day out on the patio.  It's flavour profile is quite different from most of the other lagers from the region and definitely worth a try.

Beer #45 - Innis & Gunn Original

Innis & Gunn Original Oak Aged Beer
www.innisandgunn.com

This is the flagship brew of Innis & Gunn and put them on the map.  They've followed it up with many other great brews, but this one will always be their first, and will always be what I remember of this brewery.

It is a slightly darker colour than golden, but completely clear with a nice white foamy head.

The smell of the oak is quite apparant, though not overpoweringly so.  You can still smell the floral notes of the hops, and the malt is distinctly there as well.

The oakiness is right there at the beginning of the taste and stays right to the finish, being modified by the other flavour aspects as they come into play.  The hops are the first to join into the fray and add a nice floral and mildly bitter aspect to the oak, the malt follows and mellows out the flavours and the oak lingers lightly on the tongue at the finish.

This is a great and very unique beer with a great depth of character and complexity.  Great on its own or with food.  I just enjoyed one with some prime rib and it was perfect.

Beer #44 - Mill St. Tankhouse Ale

Mill Street Brewery Tankhouse Ale
www.millstreetbrewery.com

Toronto, Ontario's Mill Street Brewery has been brewing since 2002 and have won many awards.  They have a brew pub at their original Toronto location and have also opened one in Ottawa, Ontario.  This particular brew has won many awards, most of them golds.  This is a eropean style ale with loads of flavour.

It has a dark amber colour with a nice big foamy white head which clings to the side of the glass.

It smells of flowery notes of the hops and citrus with a little maltiness as well.

The bitterness of the hops, though not so apparent in the smell comes out right at the start with the flowery notes coming in with the maltiness with a nice citrus note at the end as it finishes nice and clean.

A nice fragrant ale with a nice complex flavour profile.  Perfect for enjoying year round and would go great with food of any sort, though it would pair especially well with fish.

Beer #43 - Okanagan Spring Brewmaster's Black Lager

Okanagan Spring Brewmaster's Black Lager
www.okspring.com

Okanagan Spring opened their doors in 1985 in Vernon, BC, Canada.  They've had a distinctive history and helped to popularize the microbrew movement in BC, opening just a year after the first microbrewery in BC.  They have expanded to the point where they are no longer considered to be a microbrewery, but have still managed to craft quality beers.

It has a very deep black colour with a light brown head.

It smells of espresso and malt with chocolate and hop undertones.

The espresso taste comes right to the start with the hops and malt coming in equally and together mingling with the espresso flavours. The chocolate peaks its head out just before the finish and all the flavours mingle and fade away and finish cleanly.

A beautifully flavourful and complex black lager.  The flavour isn't too big to overpower most foods, but the dark chocolate and espresso notes lend itself especially to rich foods and red meat.

Beer #42 - Bard's Gold

Bard's Tale Bard's Gold
www.bardsbeer.com

This one's for you Chris, both because of the beer number (it is the answer to life, the universe and everything, now to figure out the question) and of course, a Bard for a Bard...  Bard's is the first gluten-free beer in the US made with malted sorghum rather than barley, wheat, oats or rye.  The owners, both with an intolerance to gluten made it their mission to craft a fine beer that the over 2 million other adults in the US that can't handle gluten could enjoy.  You don't need to be intolerant to gluten to enjoy this beer.  Their motto is "discuss it over a bard's" and they are kind enough to supply discussion topics on the inside of each bottle cap, for instance in the one I'm sampling it says "Are we living in a computer simulation?"  It's a nice touch and sets them apart.

It has a crisp clear golden colour with a nice white foamy head.

It smells quite yeasty with a distinct hop smell as well with a note of spice.

It starts off pretty clean, with a touch of yeastiness coming in followed quickly by a light bitterness of the hops and some nice maltiness, which all fades away with a little spice note coming in at the finish to end cleanly.

It is a nice beer, something different, something unique, something to share with your friends and have discussions over.  It has a nice flavour profile, it finishes clean, it's perfect for enjoying on a hot day, having with any food and of course, sharing over some interesting discussions with friends.

Beer #41 - Chapeau Apricot Lambic

De Troch Chapeau Apricot Lambic
www.detroch.be

De Troch Brewery in Belgium brews many fruit based lambics under the Chapeau banner.  The De Troch family has been brewing in the region since the 18th century but only opened this incarnation of the brewery in 1974.  Lambics are brewed only in Belgium in the region southwest of Brussels and in Brussels itself, using wild yeasts rather than the carefully cultivated yeasts that most beer styles require.  Most lambics are blended with fruit to create krieks (cherry), or in this case an apricot brew.  Or mature and young lambics can be blended to create a greuze. 

It has a cloudy burned yellow colour with carbonation bubbles visibly rising to the top to join with a thin white head which clings to the side of the glass.

It smells yeasty with fairly heavy apricot note and with malty undertones.

It tastes of apricot right from the start and the taste never leaves but is changed by the other flavours as they come into play.  It starts off with a sweet aspect of the apricot, then as the yeast comes into play it becomes more bitter and as the malt joins in it levels off to a sweetness which is less sweet than the start.

It drinks a little on the thick side, it feels much like drinking juice or cider.

This is a brilliantly complex brew, best suited for dessert or to enjoy on a warm spring day.  It would pair well with game and strong cheeses as well.

Beer #40 - Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Young's Double Chocolate Stout
www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk

Young & Co's Brewery started off in 1831 in Wandsworth, England on a site that had a history of brewing since at least 1576.  In 2006 Young's merged with the Charles Wells Brwery, forming Wells and Young's Brewing Company.  They are the largest family owned brewery in England and have continued to expand, including getting exclusive UK brewing rights to Jamaican beer Red Stripe, acquiring the Courage line of beers and distribution rights for the Spanish brewery Damm and more.  This double chocolate stout is so called because it uses both chocolate malt and real dark chocolate.

It is very deep dark brown in colour with a light brown foamy head, which clings to the side of the glass.

It smells very strongly of chocolate and malt, with nice sweet and floral undertones of the chocolate and the sugars mingling with the hops, with a nice bitter-spicy note also lingering on the nose.

It starts off with a big roasted malty flavour, with the bitterness of the hops coming in quickly before being overtaken by the chocolate flavour which mingles with the roasted malt creating a chocolate-nutty flavour, without being overly sweet, with the spicy cocoa notes lingering on the tongue.

This is a nice dessert beer, but not so sweet it wouldn't pair with foods well.  It goes great with red meat and rich foods.  It is a unique taste and well worth a try (or several tries....)

Beer #39 - Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale

Granville Island Brewery English Bay Pale Ale
www.gib.ca

Granville Island Brewery, located on Granville Island in Vancouver, BC opened in 1984 and was the first microbrewery in Canada.  They began naming their brews for Vancouver area landmarks, this one being named after English Bay, which contains Stanley Park on one side and Kitsilano on the other.  This brew, like its namesake, is full of character and complexity.

It has a nice clear copper colour with a white foamy head that creates nice lace down the side of the glass.

It smells of caramel, hops and malt in equal parts with slight undertones of citrus, nuttiness and spiciness.

The citrus and hops come out at the beginning with the caramel and maltiness coming in mid taste to overtake the citrus and fades away leaving just a light hoppiness which is joined by a little nutty spice on the finish.

This is a very fine pale ale, while typical of the style, still with enough character and distinction for it to stand out among the others of the style.  It pairs well with grilled fish and meat and is ideal for a nice summer day barbequeing overlooking the water.  It is made to go with nice days along it's namesake beaches.

Beer #38 - Krombacher Dark

Krombacher Dark
www.krombacher.com

The Krombacher brewery was founded in 1803, in Kreuztal-Krombach, Germany.  They have one of the most modern breweries in Germany now.  They brew their beers according to the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, stating only barley, hops, yeast and water may be used to brew beer.  This is their darkest offering and is touted to be a very complex beer.

It has a deep black colour with a cream coloured foamy head, with good retention that clings to the side of the glass.

It has a nice aroma, floral notes of the hops taking over with roasty and malty undertones.

The roasted malt flavours start off big and gradually fade away leaving the bitterness of the hops to linger, with a little of the roasted flavour coming back at the very end to lightly linger on the tongue.

This is a very nice dark beer, more complex in flavour than a lot of the other German imports.  It is full flavoured and complex, but drinks light enough that it can be enjoyed anytime.  It will pair well with Bavarian fare and pub fare.

Beer #37 - Tree Brewing Vertical Winter Ale

Tree Brewing Vertical Winter Ale
www.treebeer.com

Tree Brewery is located in Kelowna, BC.  They've been brewing since 1996 and I had the pleasure of touring the brewery shortly after that, sadly some of my favourite brews are no longer being made, but they've come out with good new ones as well. This is their seasonal winter ale, available starting October. 

It's clear with a light amber colour and an ivory foamy head with pretty good retention, which clings to the side of the glass with the promise of some nice brewers lace.

The hops and malts come through in the smell with a strong caramel undertone with a light vanilla nose just hinted at.

A complex mix of the sweetness of the caramel with a nutty undertone comes right to the forefront, with the malts and hops joining in mid-taste, but still staying in the back seat.  The malt and hops fade away leaving just the sweet-nutty medley lingering until it fades away and is overtaken by the light vanilla that was hinted at in the smell.

It's a nice, though fairly typical, winter ale.  Great for warming up on a winter night, or with food, or my preference would be after a meal.

Beer #36 - Buffalo Bill's Brewery Blueberry Oatmeal Stout

Buffalo Bill's Brewery Blueberry Oatmeal Stout
www.buffalobillsbrewery.com

First off, I'd like to apologize for this being posted a day late - I had some unfortunate technical difficuties, meaning I botched up the scheduled publishing time/date of this one.  When I saw this brew I just had to try it, I love blueberrries and I love oatmeal stouts, so I had to find out how they would pair up.  Buffalo Bill's opened up in 1983 in Hayward, CA and has a full restaurant/brew pub attached - sounds like the perfect place to go sample some of their brews.  This particular brew is their winter seasonal beer which is a hearty 7.5% ABV.

It has a reddish brown colour with a cream coloured foamy head which clings to the side of the glass.

It smells strongly of both malt and blueberry, with an undertone of chocolate and hops.

It starts malty with the blueberry coming in right away, which changes flavours as the hops and chocolate come into play to finish with a bitter-sweet hops and berry medley of flavours.  The alcohol content is very apparent in the finish as it warms all the way down.

It drinks a lot lighter and smoother than you would expect with an oatmeal stout.

This is a really nice addition to the winter seasonal category, it is a change from a lot of the standard winter ales.  I think this may be my favourite of the fruity winter seasonals I tried this season.  I would recommend it as a perfect dessert beer after a nice hearty winter meal.

Beer #35 - Big Ridge Brewing Old Sullivan Porter

Big Ridge Brewing Old Sullivan Porter
www.markjamesgroup.com/bigridge.html

This is the first brewpub brew I'm reviewing, I've tried all of their brews but decided this one would be a good one to start with.  Big Ridge Brewing, a brewpub in Surrey, BC, has been open since 1999.  They have excellent food, without much variety however.  This brew, is a dark ale "rich and roasty with a smooth malt finish."

It is completely black in colour, no seeing through this glass. It has a thick tan head which clings to the side of the glass.

It smells strongly of chocolate and malt with undertones of hops and licorice.

The taste starts off with malt and licorice with the hops peeking through in the middle.  The finish lightly tastes of licorice with a strong malt component.

This brew is a really nice porter, with a nice complex flavour profile, with a strong finish.  It goes great with pub fare, or, obviously, on it's own.

Beer #34 - Howe Sound Whitecap Wheat Ale

 Howe Sound Brewing Whitecap Wheat Ale
 www.howesound.com

Howe Sound Brewing is but one component of the Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Company, which comprises of the brewery and a boutique hotel complete with brew pub and restaurant.  Howe Sound Inn is located on the Howe Sound in beautiful Squamish, BC, located in between Vancouer and Whistler.  They opened their doors in 1996 and have been garnering attention from the get go and over the last five years have been getting the awards to prove it.  This wheat ale is brewed in the style of a Belgian wheat ale and is brewed with some coriander and orange peel to create that spicy-orange taste.

A nice deep golden, slightly cloudy colour with a fine white head which leaves a nice trail of brewers lace on the glass.

It smells fresh with a light hop scent, a hint of maltiness and a nice orange and spice undertone.

The malt hits the tongue first followed quickly and simultaneously by both the hops and the orange which fades leaving just the bitterness of the hops, a little maltiness and a slight touch of spice coming in to play and all lingering on the tongue but finishing cleanly and crisply.

This is a nice refreshing beer that has enough flavour that it will pair well with most foods, especially salmon right off the barbeque while sitting on a patio overlooking the ocean.  Well, at least that's how you'd be able to enjoy it if you were at the Howe Sound Inn.  This one definitely deserves a try, it is not like the typical wheat beers you'll find most places, it has character and begs to be enjoyed.

Beer #33 - North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
www.northcoastbrewing.com

North Coast Brewing is located in Fort Bragg, California.  It started it's life as a brewpub in 1988.  They have received numerous awards for their beers in general and for this one in particular.
This is what their website has to say about this brew: "Produced in the tradition of 18th Century English brewers who supplied the court of Russia's Catherine the Great, Old Rasputin seems to develop a cult following wherever it goes. It's a rich, intense brew with big complex flavors and a warming finish."

It has a deep dark black colour, with a big cappuccino coloured thick head that fades away pretty quickly leaving a trace of brewers lace down the side of the glass..

It smells strongly of both hops and malt with undertones of yeast, citrus and blackcurrant.

All the flavours come right from the start, hops, malt, yeast and fruit, slowly building to a crescendo and then fading away leaving just the hops at the tip of the tongue to finish cleanly, with a nice warming sensattion.  It has a nice creamy mouthfeel while not seeming to be too heavy.

A nice dark complex beer, while it isn't a seasonal winter brew, it has all the characteristics of one, inclduing the warming finish making it so nice to enjoy on a  dreary fall or winter day. I'd have to say this one did live up to the expectations portrayed on the website.

Beer #32 - Mill Street Brewery Franconian Bock

Mill Street Brewery Franconian Bock
www.millstreetbrewery.com

Mill Street Brewery was the first brewery in Eastern Toronto, Ontario.  They are the "proud producers of Bodacious Batchcrafted Beers"  They have 13 beers on their offering list, many have won awards, including this one which took the Gold at the 2011 Ontario Brewing Awards.  At the Canadian Brewing Awards they've won Canadian Brewery of the Year in 2007, 2008 & 2009.

A nice bronzed copper colour with a cream coloured foamy head with tiny bubbles of carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass to join in.

It smells strongly of yeast and hops with some maltiness a little more subdued and with a hint of citrus.

The malt comes right to the forefront with the yeast and hoppy bitterness slowly overtaking it. The citrus comes in at the end and lightly lingers on the tongue to finish cleanly.

It is very typical of the Bavarian Bocks that it was styled after, in both flavour profile and alcohol content (7%) without losing any drinkability.  It would pair well with any traditional Bavarian fare, think perogies, bratwurst and sourkraut.  Of course, it drinks well on its own as well.