beers about town

my softball schedule is wreaking havoc on making it to my usual cask nights
but i’m still getting out there when i can!

last night’s cask at the yaletown brewpub was an unadulterated brick and beam ipa
after a hectic day at work lemme tell ya, that stuff went down very easily!

beernesday (a special off-season edition) this week offered me these delicious brews:

pint of klickitat pale ale
pint of el torero organic ipa
pint of brooklyn sorachi ace
sampler of vancouver island brewing beachcomber summer ale
sampler of whistler brewing paradise valley grapefruit ale
sampler of paddock wood 606 india pale ale
sampler of elysian brewing the wise esb

beernesday tasting notes

october 19, 2011
rogue chipotle ale – 5.5% roasted chipotle peppers produce an eye opening chile flavor in this deep golden ale with a malty, smoky aroma and smooth, crisp flavor
i love chipotle!  so delish!
howe sound devil’s elbow ipa – 6% an assertive ale that is heavily bittered and dry-hopped providing an intensive aroma and brewed using selected english and north american barley and hops
its a baby next to the imperial ipa, but its a lovely tasty baby!
paddock wood loki double ipa – 8.7% double ipa weighing in at 80 ibus.  brewed using cascade, amarillo, willamette and ekg hops, giving the beer a strong hop character
i dunno about this one… too boozey for me.  but everyone else likes it and isn’t finding the booze in it
rogue imperial younger’s special bitter – 7.5% it has a triad of caramel maltiness, fruitiness and hop bitterness in aroma and flavor and a dry, hoppy finish
too boozey for this little princess.  but again, everyone else loves it and can’t find the booze
maybe its me?
phillips eternal optimist ipl – 6% this ipl may be eminently smoother but, as an ipa brewed like a lager, it’s just as rare
it smells like a lager, it tastes like a lager at first
but then the hops come on through and its a little bit of alright!
central city red racer ipa – 6.5% this ale has an intense aroma and a long lingering finish.  a beer for the connoisseur, this is the brewmasters choice
as always, this is one hell of a beer!

october 26, 2011
rogue double dead guy – 9.5% buttery peanut brittle, orange blossom tea aromas follow through to a rich chewy and fruity full body with nice notes of caramel drizzled dried apricot and roasted grains and spice
fabulous as always!  double the fun!
elysian bifrost winter ale – 7.5% taste is bold and balanced with a good amount of citrus and earthy hop bitters to offset the malt character
so nice i ordered it twice!  paired well with my garlicky caesar salad
light, pale and hoppy for a winter ale – yes, yes, yes!
rogue chatoe good chit pilsner – 5% made with rogue farm barley that is floor-malted in small batches
yup, i really like this pilsner – yum!
granville island brockton oval ipa – 6% brwed in the style of a pacific northwest india pale ale, this refreshing ipa is golden coloured and well hopped
had a little trouble standing up to the other bigger boys i ordered in my sampler
green flash imperial ipa – 9.4% a super-hoppy (101 ibus), high gravity, yet highly quaffable ale, green flash imperial ipa is created in this new tradition, with intense hop flavors and aromas from a unique blend of summit and nugget hops
just lovely!  and it didn’t overwhelm the rest of the beers in my sampler
for a flavourful imperial ipa that’s darned impressive!
red truck alt – 4.7% the aromas and flavors are restrained to emphasize a firm hop character.  despite the colour, this ale is very drinkable as the overall impression of this beer is very clean
me, i don’t much care for an alt

tasting notes

from last week’s beernesday at st. augustine’s:

i began my night with a sampler
dead frog’s christmas beeracle!  5%  a festive, rich, warm amber ale with a medley of spices including cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
cannery’s no jail pale ale:  3.05% a lower-alcohol beer with an authentic ale taste!  a clean, crisp ale with a bright hop finish and about 40% less alcohol than conventional beer
salt spring’s golden spike ale:  5%  voted “best golden ale” at the canadian brewing awards
paddock wood’s london porter:  5.3%  a dark ale based on a recipe from 1850 which lets chocolate malt take the lead.  smoother than stout, but still holds a deep roast profile

i very much liked the christmas beeracle!
gingery goodness (reminiscent of the steamworks ginger from last spring)
and no vanilla!!
i would definitely have this one again
and i don’t say that about many christmas or winter ales
bridget liked it a lot too!

the no jail was a little thin
very pale in colour and quite crisp
i didn’t really find that hop finish they spoke of
you could definitely session this one
and what’s not to like about a beer you can have one of and still drive afterward?
but i probably won’t have it again

i’ve had the golden spike before, but didn’t remember that until i tasted it
apparently i am not a golden ale fan because i really didn’t like it
(neither did bridget)
i like a roastier malt

the london porter was fabulous
very light and refreshing for a dark beer
malty without cloying chocolate or espresso
i would definitely have this one again

next up for me was a bottle of the pyramid snow cap 2010:  7%  deep mahogany in colour, this full-bodied winter warmer is crafted with roasted chocolate and caramel malts, and is generously hopped

yup, its dark and the mahogany comes through in the light
quite clear
and no vanilla!
nicely malty, not too sweet
no over the top flavours
just good reliable maltiness

brooklyn brewery’s penant ale ’55:  5.1%  a classic english pal ale, brewed with the prized maris otter malt and fuggles, willamette and cascade hops.  maris otter is an old malt variety that yields an incomparable biscuity flavor.

lovely stuff this
the maris otter are a fine malt
this would make a great session beer
tasha is not a big fan – but it does make her want a hot dog!
i would prefer a bit more of a hop profile, but that’s hardly a surprise
i’d have it again
i might especially like to have it at a ball game, hot dog or not!

anchor brewing company christmas ale 2010:  5.5%  aroma and flavours of figs, cherries, plums, vanilla, caramel malts, raisins, nutmeg and other winter spices.  medium-bodied with low carbonation and malty, spicy mouthfeel.

i didn’t like last year’s christmas ale, but this year’s isn’t bad
i don’t love it, but its alright!
quite fruity, but not too sweet
and the vanilla isn’t overwhelming
glad i tried it, but i won’t have another

and finishing off my night, i had to go with the southern tier pale ale again – i love this stuff!!!

ode to the ipa

at this past week’s beernesday i had an ode to the ipa sort of evening
it seemed like it hurt my head too much to come up with beers for a sampler
and i knew they had some great ipas on tap…
so i just went with four pints of four different ipas
(and didn’t love myself as much as usual on thursday morning when i woke up…)

howe sound’s total eclipse of the hops:  8%  a supremely well balanced and drinkable imperial ipa weighing in at 90 ibus and 8% alcohol.
you know i love this one!
so happy to see it back in the rotation at st. augustine’s
its a damned fine day when a seasonal that you thought was all sold out comes back to let you savour it again!

driftwood’s fat tug ipa:  7%  a northwest style india pale ale that is characterized by an intense hop aroma
i do love this brew
very aromatic hop nose
not quite as balanced as the howe sound
but oh, so delightful to drink!

hopworks ipa:  6.6%  rich and resinous flavours of citrus fruit and pine.  the finest organic pilsner malts and then bring balance to your new fave beer.
anna, who is not a big ipa fan, loves this beer so much she gestured too vehemently with her arms and spilled beer all over me
fortunately it wasn’t the hopworks she spilled, and also fortunately they gave her another pint of her pilsner
(and yay for me, i dried before i had to make the long trek home in the snow!)
delicious and delightful
such a great ipa

elysian’s the immortal ipa:  6.3%  golden copper in color and loaded with new world hop flavor and aroma.  lively aromas of citrus and pine greet the nose while tastes of bready and sweet caramel malts beautifully balance the hop bitterness
i don’t taste breadiness, which is a good thing as its not my favourite hop balancer
what a great fourth ipa to round out my crazy ipa-fest

anna let me try her salt spring ales fireside ale:  7%  with a rich ruby colour, and a complex fruity nose.  low hop bitterness allows notes of fresh fruit to come through backed by flavourful malt
which neither one of us particularly liked
for me, it was too fruity and malty

so she switched to the paddock wood czech mate pilsner:  5.4%  made with european pilsner malt, czech hops, and water as soft as that of pilsen itself
much better choice
this is a mighty tasty pilsner
delicious!

i do have one question for st. augustine’s though, and that is:  how long does it take to reno a bathroom?  seems like the bathroom destruction has been taking forever to move into any sort of renovation…

tasting notes

okay, so i’m just gonna admit it right from the top of the post
i got pretty darned drunk at beernesday this past week
not that i don’t usually get somewhat drunk, but this was a bit beyond the norm
people were doing beer shots from the divet of my clavicle… it was one of those kinda nights

so, my tasting notes are even worse than usual
but let me give you what little i can!

began and ended with a pint of the rogue dry hopped st. rogue red:  5.2% named the world’s best pale ale at the world beer awards.  reddish copper in colour, a roasty malty flavor, with a hoppy-spruce finish.
i love this beer!
it makes me happy – must be all them hops
i can see why its the world’s best ale
its a maltier darker ipa… divine, simply divine

my sampler was supposed to be an ode to hops in various styles
but it ended up being rather disappointing…
paddock wood 606 pale ale:  5.4%  featuring a blend of cascade, amarillo and willamette hops on top of a solid malt base.  the finish is balanced with rich, aromatic hop profile
eel river brewing organic india pale ale:  7%  brewed with the finest organic malts and hops, this ipa features a bright-minted copper color and a crisp, yet smooth hop bitterness
longwood brewpub extra special bitter:  6%  a deep copper coloured, malty ale, moderately hopped
howe sound boomer’s canadian red ale:  5%  a strong, malty red ale with aromatic cascade hop nose

i loved the paddock pale ale – great hop balance and lovely flavour.  my favourite of the sampler.. a pale ale over an esb and an ipa?  who’d a thunk it?  but why not, all my favourite hops were well represented and made themselves known.  i’d drink this beer again, and often!
the eel river?  my notes read “i hope to fuck this beer has gone off cuz its fucking awful”.  so there you have it.
the longwood esb was very malty.  definitely very light on the hops.  “not that bad, but really not the esbs i’ve fallen in love with.  just too malty for me”.  so if you’re buying, i won’t turn it down, but i’m not gonna buy it for myself!
the howe sound promised me aromatic cascade hops.  i didn’t find them.  which i found disappointing. boo hoo hoo.

katy tried the lost coast great white:  “drinkable but not so hoppy.  not my favourite.  on a hot summer day i would love it”
and the vancouver island hermann’s dark lager:  “dark and creamy and warmy”

i tried a sip of the cannery blackberry porter – and found it fruity as hell without being sweet, so i’m a fan!

as for bottles, i sampled the moylans hopsickle triple hoppy imperial ipa: 9.2%  this is a “hop” tribute, worthy of a king’s imperial court!  enjoy the blast of fresh tomahawk, cascade and centennial hops as they stimulate the taste buds in a truly imperial fashion.  pucker up!
fabulous – delicious – wonderfully hoppy!
but i wanna know, is it the tomahawk hops or just that there are three times as much hops in general that is giving it that extra boost of hops flavour over the regular three c’s?

moylans dragoons dry irish stout:  8%  dry, roasty and incredibly rich in flavour.  dragoons dry irish stout is made with a unique blend of imported hops and malted barley from the uk.  this award winning stout is brewed in the irish tradition to commemorate gen. stephen moylan, irish-born commander of the 4th continental dragoons during the american revolutionary war
appropriate drink for the night before remembrance day??
yes very dry and roasty and flavourful
delicious little stout!

ballast point big eye ipa:  7%  one of the very best big, hoppy west coast ipas.
my notes:  “oh yes, now that’s a lovely bunch of hops. xoxoxo”
apparently i liked it, i really liked it!
good thing there’s a bottle in the beer fridge!

and then pints of driftwood’s fat tug ipa and hopworks ipa
my notes simply give them three hearts
i was past note taking by that point
yay me!