North Coast Pranqster

Made in a Belgian blonde ale style, this very well crafted beer has become my new standby blonde. Pouring with a murky and yeasty colour, this beer has a pleasant deep straw colour and a small but persistent head. The nose has apple, banana, tropical fruits and cream, while the palate is filled with tropical fruits and is rich and full with an opulent creamy texture. This is a flavourful blonde ale with more richness than is standard from Belgium, and some interesting herbal bitterness on the finish. A highly drinkable beer, the Pranqster is food friendly for simple French or Belgian inspired fare.

Very Good
$10 / 4 pack of 333ml bottles at BCLDB (more at private stores)

Shmaltz Brewing Coney Island Lager

With the recent spate of fall-like weather in Vancouver, a lager may be the last thing on your mind right now. For the beer geek, the lager has become emblematic of big corporate beer and its quest to dominate the realm of flavour with bland swill. Fortunately, both the weather monger and the corporate beer hater have something to appreciate in this micro-brew from New York. Shmaltz brewing, also producers of the HeBrew series, uses the Coney Island label to exclusively release lagers. Contrary to popular belief in the beer geek world, lagers are not de facto flavourless and boring. In fact, lagers constitute quite a large category of beers unto themselves, similarly to ales, and the style should not be written off quickly. Lagers are traditionally made in spring and cold-stored over the summer months and come in various styles including Helles, Bock, Marzen and Pilsner. Further, lager can range from dark and malty, to hoppy, to light and dry, the lattermost being the dominant style in the US macro-brewing market.

This particular lager is on the darker and maltier side of the scale, with a nose of sweet malts, fruit, bread, sugar, banana bread and candy apple. Interestingly, the palate is almost Belgian-like and has an incredibly full bodied texture and really highlights the bready elements of the beer. Despite its massiveness, I also enjoyed some slight floral notes on the palate and its very clean dry finish, which also happens to make it outstanding for pairing with fuller bodied spicy foods. I suggest trying this beer with some East Indian cuisine or a spicy sausage, and I hope that any beer afficionado is willing to give this beer a try in order to revitalize the unfairly demonized world of the lager.

Very Good+
$9 / 22oz at Brewery Creek

Russian River Brew Pub

So after all the festivities of #WBC09 Graham, Sean and I decided to hit up Russian River Brewing before heading back to San Francisco. And, as the saying goes it takes a lot of good beer to make a good wine. If all beer were as good as Russian River, well we might never get to the wine. Here are two video reviews of two fantastic sour beers brewed right in Sonoma. Cheers!







P.S. Thanks to Sean of Vinifico for providing the video equipment and editing these videos.

Pelican Pub and Brewery MacPelican's Scotch Style Ale

With our arcane alcohol importing laws in BC it is an exciting event to see a new brewery on the shelves. Oregon's Pelican Brewery has recently arrived in Vancouver with 3-4 offerings. I had heard good things when I was living in California but never had the chance to try anything from Pelican, until now.

The colour on this scotch ale is a golden brown, which is metaphorically suggestive of the malty nose with its great notes of honey and walnuts. On the palate this has great balance for a scotch ale (many of which can be too sweet), and has a nice creamy texture for smooth drinking. When sipping I noticed flavours that remind me of lager yeasts along with nuts and honey. Easy drinking and food friendly, but also simple. Enjoyable but not mind blowing.

Very Good
$8 / 22oz Bomber at Brewery Creek

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre

Having tried and very much enjoyed the super version of this beer (Raison D'Extra) I was looking forward to seeing how the regular version faired. Happily I can say it did quite well in both drinkability and pairability, two essential categories for a great beer.

This poured a cloudy raisin brown with a fairly small head. While the aromas were subdued I did get soft malts and sweet sugar on the nose. Made with beet sugar and raisins, this beer is really quite unique flavour wise with cigar, tobacco, malts, and touches of raisin and beet on the finish. This was a smooth and full ale with some interesting components that actually came together quite well. Further, this was a great treat with cod, and complimented the fish's richness well. A true food ale.

Very Good+
$5/333ml at Brewery Creek (and other private stores)

Green Flash West Coast IPA

Green Flash is an extremely solid San Diego based brewer that has recently entered the BC market with some of their well crafted year round offerings. However, given the dearth of quality beer in Vancouver Green Flash always seems to disappear quickly from the city's best beer stores. Lucky for me, I got one of four six packs of the West Coast IPA from Brewery Creek a few weeks ago.

This is a very west coast IPA in style: extremely dry with pretty much no residual sweetness or maltiness. The nose had pine, grapefruit and a nice floral element. The pine continued heavily on the palate, with the addition of crisp bitter citrus rind. Without much malt to balance out the hops, this is for hop-heads who love a dry-hopped style. Nonetheless, Green Flash does not go over the top like some brewers that tend to create hop extract rather than beer. And, the beautiful clean and crisp finish makes this ideal for the summer.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$17 / 6-pack at Brewery Creek

North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

Stout - isn't it summer? You wouldn't know that given the last week of weather here in Vancouver. Hence, I pulled out and revisited an old favourite from California brewer North Coast (maker of other tasty beers such as Brother Thelonious).

Pouring with an awesome thick head, the nose on this was classic toasty caramel and heavy roast coffee. The palate expands on this and is very deep and intense: fresh coffee grounds, ash and cigar punctuate the viscous texture. Each flavour also manages to keep in balance with the others and the alcohol (at 9% abv) is not overly noticeable - a feature that will smooth even more with the proper aging. In the end, this is a very well made Russian Imperial Stout and a perfect standby for cold summer evenings.

Very Good+
$4/333ml at Brewery Creek, Viti, Liberty

Brooklyn Brewing Local 1

Brooklyn is one of those breweries that has helped spread the word about micro brewed beer. They have pretty good market penetration with their basic beers, which are all above average for the style. However, it is their specialty beers that really show their prowess.

The Local 1 is made in a Belgian Strong Blond Ale style and pours with a huge head. Proper carbonation can be hard to come by, but this is balanced just right and the bubbles add freshness to a pretty high alcohol brew. The nose has lots of Belgian Trippel notes - fruity esters, some rootbeer and cream. The palate has plenty of baking spice, licorice and candy floss. This is smooth and robust summer drinking, even at around 9% alcohol.

Very Good+
$15 / 750ml at Brewery Creek

Dogfish Head India Brown Ale

Dogfish Head are surprisingly consistent in quality across their huge selection of microbrewed beer. The India Brown Ale is somewhat of a hybrid between a creamy English style ale and a malty strong ale. Brewed with brown sugar, this has a significant texture that is smooth and viscous.

On the palate, the caramel and brown sugar flavours from the malts develop into a smoky and slightly bitter herbal finish. This is quite a robust beer at 7.2% ABV, but is balanced enough to go with many foods. I could see this with a pot pie or some sort of stew. And, a few days after drinking this I find myself repeatedly craving more. Always a good sign.

Very Good+
$5/375ml at Brewery Creek

Dogfish Head Red & White

This was an old bottle I had been storing for about a year: spoils from the Seattle International Beer Festival. Without comparison to a non-aged version it is hard to say what the effect was, but I can attest that this was very balanced for such high alcohol, which I find a common occurrence when you age such beers for about a year.

The spicy nose gave way to malted spice, bread, cake, orange peel, caramel sauce and maybe correander on the palate. Complex and well balanced, this went down super easily on a hot summer day. This was perhaps due to the distinct juicyness which suggested freshly pressed cherries and strawberries - a factor likely the result of the added pinot noir juice. The finish is refined and malty without being too sweet. Excellent stuff. 10% ABV.

Very Good+
Around $15-20 USD I think.

Deschutes Mirror Mirror 2009

Here we have a highly anticipated beer from Deschutes (of Bend, Oregon) in the same series as The Abyss, an extremely well respected barrel aged Imperial Stout. This, on the other hand, is a barrel aged barley wine - a suped up version of the Mirror Pond ale.

There is almost a Belgian element to the nose with solid fruit esters, candy and cherry. Upon first tasting this I realized that Deschutes' recommendation to age the beer for at least one year was warranted - while carbonated it was clear the yeast had yet to fully activate. But, unlike the Angel's Share, I have no doubt that this will have perfect carbonation in a year.

The palate here is really fantastic with raisins, caramel, wood, white chocolate and some grain flavours. This is very smooth and balanced and has a wonderful creamy texture. Even with all its flavour, this does not go over the top nor is it boozy. This puts it well ahead of the Angel's Share, and I think it will end up being a better beer.

Excellent to Excellent+ (esp. with age)
$12/22oz

Lost Abbey Angel's Share 2008 (Brandy Barrel)

Angel's share is somewhat of a specimen. Only available via mailing lists until this year, and now only in limited quantities at a few lucky beer stores. There is also a bit of a tumultuous story with the 2008, with reports of early bottling and unactivated yeast creating low carbonation levels. I was lucky enough to get 3 bottles of this stuff, one of which was put to the test through a preliminary assessment. The next two will be consumed at yearly intervals.

I can certainly attest that the carbonation tales are true: the yeast has either not had enough time to fully activate or there was some problem in bottling these. Nonetheless, this is still a good beer. The nose offers vanilla, chocolate, figs, raisins and a healthy dose of brandy.

The palate has loads of stewed fig, chocolate, port-like dark fruits, and a heavy brandy flavour. The alcohol is extremely noticeable at 13% abv - but as with many high gravity beers this should mellow with time. A challenging beer to consider this early, but thus far I have had better beer for a lot less money. Then again, if you drank a great Hermitage too young you might have a similar notion. Time shall tell.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$34 at Ledger's Liquors

Russian River Beatification Batch 3

Another experimental beer from California - this time a cross between a lambic and a wild ale. This is one sour puppy with an apple heavy nose and a palate with pineapple, a touch of vanilla, lime and lemon. This is woody and very clean and has great layering - but man does it make you pucker. For me that's fantastic, others may be put off by the sourness, even though it is by no means out of balance. Another extremely drinkable beer with a reasonable ABV (around 6%), this is creamy with some obvious lactic notes. Love it.

Excellent
$23/750ml at City Beer

Lost Abbey Saint's Devotion

I spent the last few days in California with a good friend of mine formerly of Vancouver and now of Chicago. Fortunately, he is also a beer afficionado so it was time to open some goodies I had been saving. Lost Abbey's Saint's Devotion is a wild version of their standard Devotion ale, spontaneously fermented with Brettanomyces yeast. The only way to detect the difference is the brown vs. green label: clearly a sign of the 'leetness' of this beer. I was lucky enough to pick up this rare beer at the Lost Abbey night at Toronado during SF beer week.

A yeast-tactic nose that smells like baking bread already promised some rambunctiously funky times ahead. The palate was certainly wild with lots of funky bread, must and apple notes. The bitter finish was slightly out of balance and less smooth than some of the other wild ale offerings we sampled during the week; however, this is an eminently drinkable beer with a clean and sharp palate. Air certainly helps to mellow this beer and warmth brings out the full complexity of flavour and balances the 'wildness' with the rest of the beer. 6.25% ABV.

Very Good+
$20 at Toronado

A Vertical mini Epic with Stone

A couple weeks ago I found two vintage bottles of Stone's Vertical Epic, a beer with a different recipe each year and designed to be age. They started this series in the early 2000's and mean it to develop up to 2012. I also got my hands on a Stone 12th anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. Stone is a nice older brewery from Southern California that I think has done a lot for the craft beer movement.

Stone Vertical Epic 07

Pouring with a moderate head, the colour on this beer is a cloudy molten yellow. Made in a belgian strong ale style. With a lot of spice, citrus, pineapple, banana and other tropical fruit on the nose, this smells fantastic and is amazingly layered. The palate was full bodied (I think about 9% abv), and yet smooth and creamy. I tasted the same flavours as on the nose, but think it is worth noting the very long lingering finish. Also, the flavour layering on the palate is really subtley integrated and the beer is exceptionally easy to drink. A fantastic effort.

Excellent
$7/22oz at Ledger's Liquors


Stone Vertical Epic 08

Perhaps needing more age, this was made in a hoppier more American style than the 07. THe colour is straw-like and much lighter than the 07. The nose has a pleasant combination of floral and herbal hops and Belgian yeast aromas. The palate was quite a bit heftier than the 07, despite the colour difference, but it was also less complex and layered and the finish not as long (but I find this comes with age). While enjoyable, this just lacked the elegance of the 07, although in a year I bet this will be a very different beer.

Very Good to Very Good+
$6.50/22oz at Ledger's Liquors


Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Oatmeal Stout

With the hops shortage in 2008, Stone was forced to innovate to provide bitterness to its beers. They did that here by adding a lot of bitter chocolate, which as any beer afficionado knows, is the perfect pairing for stout.

The colour on this very high alcohol oatmeal stout (9% again) was very dark brown and pretty much opaque. The nose had plenty of chocolate, with some cherry, fig and coffee as well. There was a detectable note of alcohol lingering behind all those aromas. The palate was creamy and highly roasted. I suspect a lot of chocolate malts were used in this beast. With lots of mocha flavours, this beer does not taste overly alcoholic, despite noticeable traces. Essentially this is a very flavourful beer that does not yet have a lot of complexity but is certainly great for the price. Not to mention that paired with dark chocolate, this is just hedonistically loveable.

Very Good (will improve with age)
$6/22oz at Ledger's Liquors

Russian River Redemption

It seems I'm on a bit of a beer run these days - I suppose leading up to American Craft Beer Week next week: a Congressionally declared event no less!

This particular beer is one of Russian River's basic offerings, although it doesn't quite live up to their other great everyday beers such as Pliny the Elder or Damnation. This is a Belgian blonde style ale that is actually a bit more lager-like than I expected. It tastes like citrus fruits and bread, with a little apple to round it out. There is a small hop kick and some herbs on the back end too.

This is very simple, but well made, well carbonated and good with food. My rating below reflects my attempt to be 'objective', although if I relied entirely on personal preference I would rate this lower since it's not so much my style.

Very Good
$8 / 750ml at Ledger's Liquors

A Pair of Dogs

Brewdog is an extreme brewer from Scotland, specializing in barrel aged stouts. I managed to get my hands on two of their brews, and put them to the test over a few days. It's nice to see that the craft brewing bug has spread from the US and been embraced by like minded individuals from other countries.

I started with the Brew Dog Paradox Speyside Imperial Stout, which was aged in whisky barrels. Sitting at 10% abv, the nose on this was very chocolatey and inviting with hints of whisky vanilla coming through. The palate was very smooth, with no noticeable alcohol and plenty of bitter chocolate, vanilla and herbs. This almost tasted like a 'cream soda' beer and was quite refined in taste, even with the candied elements. I appreciate that the booze was dialed back in the flavour (probably due to the barrel aging), but also how it gave thickness and body to the beer. The barrel aging is quite subtle and far less intense than some of the extreme barrel aged stouts from the US. And, as a bonus, this is a great pairing with chocolate.

Very Good+

$10 USD

The second beer was the Brew Dog Paradox Port Dundas Imperial Stout, aged in port barrels. I found this very soft on the nose and somewhat closed. There were some strange metallic notes coupled with dried dark fruits (probably from the port barrels). The palate was broader with raisin, chocolate, caramel, and plenty of cigar and tobacco. Again, this was very smooth for a 10% beer, but I found it a bit one dimensional and less interesting than the Speyside. I also didn't get a lot of port characteristics on the palate. Maybe these would expand with age, but as of now this was a bit simple. However, as with the Speyside this paired amazingly with chocolate.

Very Good

$10 USD

Russian River Damnation 23

Damnation 23 is essentially an oak chip aged version of Damnation, made every 23 batches. While oak chips in wine can produce some incredibly disgusting results, in the hands of a deft brewer, oak chips can add a subtlety, complexity and creaminess to a beer that is really quite exceptional. Luckily Russian River brewer Vinnie Cilurzo knows how to make beer and balance all the important elements.

The Damnation 23 smells a lot like a Belgian tripel, but is rounder and fuller on the palate, with an almost lactic quality to the beer. Pouring a moderately browned yellow, this had lots of herbs, citrus, cream and vanilla when tasted. There is really an amazing mouthfeel here, and the lactic qualities introduced by the oak chips give the beer an outstanding ability to pair with smoky BBQ flavour. A great way to make a tripel, and as with all Russian River beers, the carbonation is just about perfect.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$13/22oz at City Beer

Five Jolly Pumpkins

Jolly Pumpkin is one of my favourite US brewers. They make nothing but sour ales, but are deft at showing the incredibly wide variety of styles that sour ales can produce. Almost everything Jolly Pumpkin does is both barrel aged and bottle conditioned, meaning most everything will improve with age. I collected these five brews over a few weeks and drank them over another few weeks. Here are the results of my tasting.

Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire Dark Farmhouse Ale

Very Belgian yeasty on the nose with banana, malts and caramel, this is distinctly in a dark farmhouse style, almost like a Belgian brown ale. Very sour on the palate, this has moderate bitterness and a nice mouthfeel. The smoky finish is pleasant. Overall a solid beer.

Very Good to Very Good+

$12/22oz at The Jugshop

Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca

I think wheat ales and sour flavours go absolutely fantastic together, and this is no exception. Very wit-like on the nose with spice, pepper and yeast, this is light on the palate and extremely refreshing. Correander, orange and lemon give this a tart and yet alive feeling on the palate. Smooth and balanced, this is a superb sour wit.

Excellent

$12/22oz at The Jugshop

Jolly Pumpkin Fuego del Otono

A fall/winter seasonal beer this is brewed with chestnuts and spices. The nose is very much like an amber ale and is quite subtle. I didn't get any spices until the palate, which was mostly fruity with some twigs and dried indian spices like mustard seed and correander. The beer was on the bitter side, but still quite drinkable. In the end, though, this just is not as good as most of Jolly P's offerings.

Very Good

$15/22oz at City Beer

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

A perennial favourite of mine, La Roja is a flemish style red ale, but aged in oak. This is spicier and more hopppy than most Flemish ales, and distinctly on the woody over the fruity side of things. The nose is very rich, and the beer itself has great structure. As I mentioned, this is not at all sweet tasting and offers currants, lime and lemon zest with some secondary spice notes. This is a very tasty beer and pairs very well with chiles and Mexican food generally.

Very Good+ to Excellent

$10/22oz at City Beer

Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura Dark Dawn Stout

One does not usually see a sour stout, so I was pretty excited to try this extremely dense brew. The first sip of this is very exciting - incredibly robust, deep and flavourful and yet unique. The sourness adds a simply wonderful edge to the otherwise dark roasty flavours of chocolate and coffee. The sourness cuts the heavyness that can weigh down many stouts, and the much higher than average carbonation adds a great mouthfeel to this superbly crafted stout. A beer for the jaded palate.

Excellent

$15 at The Jugshop

Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra

This is an extreme version of Dogfish Head's Raisin D'etre, a beer brewed with, yes, raisins. I've had both versions and am happy to report this is the better of the two. Almost like a barley wine, this is malty and sweet on the nose. The palate is distinctly raisin-y, but that adds quite a nice layer to the barley wine style body, with its strong alcohol. Well balanced, the alcohol is not dominating, even as it adds body. On a really basic level I enjoy this beer tremendously.

Excellent
$9 USD