h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey! I'm back in!


So, when you get back, did you see Jason Foster's column in Vue this week about fake craft breweries? That's something that needs to be seen in a few of the big media outlets.

Hope you make it through the changeover.

Yes I have made it, after a bit of a break & I certainly did see that!

Oh & I brought a bottle along. My faith in Innis & Gunn nicely restored after a bad bottle a few years ago.

Innis & Gunn Rum Cask Oak Aged Ale, 7.4%abv

Pour

A reddish cola brown(more a red than brown really). Distinct bright red when held to the light. Good initial carbonation, but it fades to a minimum. No head as such but a tight white ring of foam & dense lacing.

Aroma

Molasses & malt-certainly hints of rum in the molasses. A definite vanilla note & a cinnamon spicey sweetness...bit like a baked apple(brown sugar with a pinch of cinnamon and a cooked or at least well-heated apple background).

Taste

Initially caramely malt, deepening to a richer molasses, quite sweet but not overpowering imho...vanilla character & a slight hop undercurrent before a smooth & slightly drying finish. Lighter medium body & a rather creamy mouthfeel. Very nice...rum a bit too predominant for some maybe. But I certainly enjoyed a couple bottles(on different occasions). A bit like Dieu du Ciel's Equinox du Printemps in a way. Except that here there's a potent rum sweetness, much more prominent than the maple syrup of the Equinox. And more a spicy hop I found than the citrus/floral caracter of the 'EdP'

from a few days ago:

Creemore Springs Premium Lager (owned by Molson's now.)

341 ml/5%



The pour:

dark amber, brief light brown head


The aroma:

Smells like a lager. A little touch of cinnamon in the hop`s.

The taste:

clean, refreshing, pleasant but unremarkable


October 26, 2011



I'll be dropping by Amber's later on today with the six `pack of Lunch ~Pail Ale I bought yesterday. I opened a bottle last night and . . .



the pour:

cloudy and thick, minimal head

The aroma:

fruity, fruity, very off!

The taste:

fruity, fruity, fruity, very very off.


I checked out the other five bottles (without opening them): all quite cloudy.

I should've checked CBN http://www.canadianbeernews.com . Jason Foster's blog has beenhacked...which explains the repeated appearance of 'Turismo Rural Gastronnomico'

And I see that Alley Kat has brought back the Three Bears as a winter seasonal - actually I had also noticed it on the Alley Kat site.

And the latest Big Bottle is a Cranberry/Ginger , dubbed 'Cringer'...hmm cranberry, ginger? Promising, although... guarded optimism is what's called for I suppose.

a beer blog . . . hacked?

That just seems inconceivable.

Why would anyone bother?




Unless their corporate name began with 'M' or 'L'.



In other news:

My sorghum malt experiment is fermenting nicely just now. I'm hoping in works out.

And

I had a bit of a bad six `pack from Amber's a few days ago. The good news is that it was replaced with a good one without question. The (perhaps) bad news is that the bad one was blamed on an ex-employee who left the `place long before the suspect six pack was put into the 'for sale' cooler'. 'The buck stops over there' is not a good corporate motto.

Yes a beer blog hacked or hacked into. Last year I had stumbled on a Vancouver beer blog(if I remember correctly, called 'womenlovebeertoo.com') I seem to recall her review of a B.C. beer coming up in a Google search. So I stopped by to browse every couple weeks or so. In any case, some months later the site was hacked...& http://www.womenlovebeertoo.com ...seems now!

I just realized I should have posted this here as well:

This Howe Sound eater is interesting.

The ness is very subtle (unlike Alley Kat's Spice, which tastes like a pie stuffed into a beer bottle.

eater has a warm, earthy spiced winter ale aspect to it but also, I think, a bit of a barley wine character. None of the spices nor the are overstated at all. Very, very nice!


(1 litre/8%)

Wychwood Brewery Hobgoblin, 5.2%abv 500ml

Pour

Moderately relaxed pour yields a lovely medium mahogany/ruby ...quite ruby when held to the light. Ample initial carbonation, that tapers off. Two finger pillowy eggshell head that gradually subsides to good ring of fine bubbles. Nice bit of lacing.

Aroma

Primarily malty toffeeish sweet, bit of a roasty quality..

Taste

Malty. prominent raisin notes...bit of a plum character too. Bisquity undertones & then a citrusy bitterness that lingers before a clean drying finish. Very nice, I'd have no problems with being haunted/revisited by this hogoblin.!

Copied over from that other beer thread:

Alley Kat Brewing Company (Edmonton, Canada)

Cringer Cranberry Ginger Ale

650ml/4.8%

It pours a nice big white head over a slightly cloudy pale amber body. The colour is actually not very inspiring.

The first aroma I detect with a good huff is juniper. I suppose it's the ginger. Then there's a bit of a cranberry poking through the evergreens. Definitely a woodsy aroma.

Despite the good head, it's a little flat in the mouth (quote of the day when taken out of context?). The flavour is almost as thin as the body. A hint of ginger but no actual bite. A faint hint of something fruity that must be the cranberries. Distant bits of malt.

It's sort of like a trappist, but mixed half and half with soda water -- flat soda water.

I'll be interested to see what Jaz'd has to say about it (I don't expect anyone else here will be trying this one.)

I reserve the right to comment at a later date, in other words when I have a bottle. Right now-pun Quite intended-I'm 'cringing' at the probable scenario.

For the time being, I have this to contribute...

Unibroue Trois Pistoles, 9%abv 750ml

Pour

Relaxed/easy/gentle(ish) pour yields a rather opaque ale with a bit of deep burgundy hue. Slight red/burgundy tinges when held to the light. Only moderate carbonation evident. Finger and a bit of tighter pale tan head that gradually fades to ring'n'cap of foam. Dense though transitory lacing.

Aroma

Malt & hints of roastiness. Distinct dark fruit aroma(ripe plums, raisins & red grapes), as well as rather subtle Belgian Candi sugar notes. Early stages of a cold'n'all, I dare not hold my nose over the snifter Too long lest something ...undesirable occur.

Taste

Initially malty And fruity(red grape) in a somewhat barleywine-ish sense. Some effervescence tickles the tongue, ushering in yeasty/bready undertones. A nice bit of bitterness swells before a somewhat drying finish. Slight fruity-red grape-aftertaste, not unlike(as the brewery website states)port wine. Haven't had this in at least four months, seems a bit different but then again...

http://www.unibroue.com/en/beers/trois_pistoles/product

?

Wordless frustration over a very uncooperative keyboard. However, I should preface my review by stating that I overheard brewery employee & acting barman Gregg tell another patron that the Cringer uses the same wheat base as Aprikat. That being at the brewery launch Thursday evening.

Alley Kat Cringer Cranberry Ginger-Wheat-Ale, 4.8%abv 650ml
~served a bit cooler, much as it had been on tap~

Pour

Semi-relaxed pour yields a cloudy/murky golden ale...not terribly inviting. Barely a finger of tight white head with little retention. Moderate carbonation & nice bit of lacing.

Aroma

Stuffed nose detects ginger with a fruity berry edge, little else of note.

Taste

Initially yeasty for only a second, then brown sugary malt makes an appearance. Followed by a medium-mild ginger with a berry edge....too indistinct to identify clearly as cranberry. This part from memory, I'd say a slightly lighter medium body, fairly clean 'gingerale-ish' mouthseel.

Nice subtle accenting of both the orange and cranberry in Nutorious Cranberry Orango Tango nut mix. The Orange taking on a gingery warmth. (Bought at the Bulk Barn, next to Shoppers Drug Mart just off 104st south of Whyt Ave.))

I went to the Bulk Barn the other day. The cashews were `priced higher than at Bonnie Doon Safeway and the 'some like it hot' mix tasted like nothing other than stale dust.

I'm about to start on a Dieu du Ciel! Derniere Volonte.


I also picked up a six pack of Paddock Wood's Black Cat Black Lager.


Notes to follow.

Brewsters Blue Monk Barleywine. 9.9%abv 500ml

Pour

Relaxed pour yields a nice amber/mahogany ale displaying a burst of initial carbonation. Barely a finger of pillowy tight white head. Nice dense lacing.

Aroma

Malt, plum & a whiff of alcohol.

Taste

Mmm nice, malt & well-integrated dark fruit-plum & some raisin fading to white wine-ish grape skin. Mild hop undertones, more prevalent before a drying finish. Fuller body, slightly chewy & rather syrupy mouthfeel. Bit of fruity aftertaste...nice embellishment of the creaminess in Danesborg Havarti with fine herbs. No real herbal 'reaction'. Pleasant enough though!

Came across an interview on reddit/beer & of course the blog contaiiniing said interview. Thought for what it's worth I'd post the link here.

http://www.beersweden.se/archives/8751

This evening I'm slumming it with Pil again.

I'm feeling remarkable misanthropic. Perhaps drinking like common people will help out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ainyK6fXku0

Latest in the Sherbrooke/Paddoxk Wood 'Beer God' series, Silenius(a Belgian-style tripel) 9%abv 355ml

Pour

Relaxed pour yields a clear darker gold-rather coppery-ale. Nice burst of initial carbonation. Barely a finger of sudsy fine foam. Nice lacing.

Aroma

Malt(hint of sugary sweetness)& fruit-raisin/plum, but also apple/white grape....& a touch of pear.

Taste

Malt with grape/pear fruitiness envelops the tongue. A bit of a hop undertone....hops fade to a clean, slightly dry finish. Some fruity aftertaste...which seems to sour just a bit.

Very subtle complement to the Danesborg Havarti. Although quite nice with applewood smoked cheddar. The smokiness comes through a bit more in the aftertaste.

---

Alley Kat Fresh Hopped Full Moon Pale Alewhich was actually theis last Big Bottle release), 5%abv 650ml

Pour

Semi-relaxed pour yields a darker gold ale, bit coppery. Pillowy sudsy white head. Burst of initial carbonation & nice lacing.

Aroma

Ooh nice berry/citrus hop aroma...and a bit of roasty grain.

Taste

Malty with hop overtones..citrusy hops not really overpowering, but they don't let up, just gradually fade to a drier finish. Bit of spicy/citrusy aftertaste. Quite nice with carefully wrapped Oka cheese, adding a nice bit of depth. Somehow I've enjoyed this more than the pint I sampled at The Next Act's Cask Ale evening.

I was wrong, the Alley Kat Fresh Hopped Full Moon was Not a Big Bottle. The confusion arising-on my part-from the fact that it seems to have only been released in the 650ml 'big bottles'...who said size doesn't matter?

I was on the `phone to Sherbrooke just yesterday, ho`ping to find some Theakston's Old Peculiar.

Not available in Alberta.

I'll have to get out there this week for some of that ~Paddock Wood.




off to`pic, but, I noticed on my walk home from the blood donors' clinic today that Greenwoods is back on Whyte Avenue.