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

Went to the Keg'n'cork.

Arrived 20 minutes before closing time.

The closed sign was already hung up.

Phillips Brewing(Victoria B.C.) Longboat Chocolate Porter, 5.2%abv 650ml bottle

Pour

Relaxed pour yields a cola brown ale, bit transparent at the edges. Moderate carbonation evident(but appearances are deceiving - well carbonated). Barely a fiinger of rapidly dissipating tight mocha coloured head. Not alot of lacing.

Aroma

Somewhat subdued milk chocolate & malty roasted barley.

Taste

Pleasant malt & hops seem to overtake the taste buds simultaneoussly & linger while swelling slightly as a soft chocolate mist rises before an ever-so-slightly chalky drying finish. Somehow carbonation seems to surge a bit just before the swallow. Lighter medium body & rather 'filmy/tissue-papery ' mouthfeel. Quite nice!

Alley Kat Blue Dragon Double IPA, 7.5%abv 650ml bottle
~using Columbus as opposed to Red Dragon's Simcoe hops~

Nice clear coppery amber with good carbonation. Barely half a finger of rapidly diminishinh tight white head. Nice impressive lacing.

Floral/citrus aroma...bit malty.

Malty & spicy, rather a Pilsner/Saaz hop spiciness...clean drying finish. Not much to it...medium body, slightly chewy mouthfeel. Slightly musty aftertaste with a bit of a chalky/powdery mouthfeel. Not all that bad...like the Columbus hops...

Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel, 9.5%abv 341ml bottle

Relaxed pour yields a familiar opaque black stout. No real carbonation evident(although mouthfeel asserts that it has been substantially increased since I last had it). Barely half a finger of rapidly dissipating tight mocha head...some dense lacing.

Hmm, malt & much subtler dark roast coffee than I recall from a couple years ago. A bit of graininess & a whiff of alcohol.

Coffee-softened partially by decreased strength I imagine as well as increased carbonation. Also I detect a bit of a vanilla latte quality to it. Some malt is there of course...but it drops off/fades out abruptly, about mid-palate leaving coffee/hop bitterness...and a bit of a cola-like vanilla flavour. Followed by a clean drier finish. Bit of...vaguely...anise/cinnamon-imho-in the aftertaste Not the 'coffee assault' Peche of days gone by...but, you know I rather like it!

Mmm, unmistakable nuttiness brought out in a Truffini Italian Hazelnut bar! An east/west thing... Quebec stout - Vancouver chocolate...wait, tiny hint of coconut in the aftertaste.

http://www.truffini.com/barhazelnut.htm

Black Sheep Brewing, Black Sheep Ale, 4.4%abv 500ml bottle
Masham, Yorkshire http://www.blacksheep.co.uk

Pours a darker amber with a swirling burst of initial carbonation, that fades to very minimal(visible)carbonation. Finger of gradually fading eggshell coloured sudsy head. Bit oof dense lacing.

Grassy-new mown pasture-bit of spice...tiny hint of clean bready yeast.

Clean and malty, but spicy bitterness folllows in half a heartbeat...then as the bitterness starts to fade, thhat clean yeasty undertone as in the aroma, rises. It levels off, leaving a slight powdery feeling on the tongue, just before a very clean drying finish. Just slightly lighter medium body, clean-refreshing-drying mouthfeel...trace of powdery residue lingers after the swallow.

Fine complement to Applewood Smoked Cheddar with Sundried Tomato. The bitterness(hopping?) of the ale drawing out remnants of the long dormant tomato acidity. I found that the smokiness was also accented somewhat, as well as a bit of a creamy aftertaste. Carefully wrapped at the back of my fridge, what should I find but the last bit of that Havarti wiith Fine Herbs! Very nice! Chives and a bit of dill brought out by the ale...much moreso than is ordinarily evident.

Hmm just came across a promo video for what looks like it would/could be a fine(certainly interesting)series. Beer Among The Belgians.

(posted on/at) http://www.thirstypilgrim.com/

Early morning beer-dity(or beer oddity).

http://www.aol.com/2011/12/05/alaska-man-stranded-in-th_n_1129501.html

Right, also beer-related. Been enjoying the Advent Beer Calendar on...


http://www.beersweden.se

Hmm~mm...

Beerificio Del Ducato Verdi Imperial Stout (Black Jack), 10%abv 330ml bottle-as in photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beerpatrick/6433237603/

Pours a very opaque dark brown. Minimal carbonation evident & a rapidly diminishing mocha coloured head. Some reasonable lacing.

Good whisky aroma(aged in a Speyside cask), vanilla...bit of cocoa...touch of...hazelnut?

Fairly conventional stout...on the weaker side I suppose. A sweeter spiciness to it. Whisky flavour comes in about mid palate & lingers to a clean semi dry finish. Medium body, slightly syrupy mouthfeel. As it warms a bit of the chili pepper emerges.

Wonderful with Pupatelle Honey Biscuits from the Italian Centre. Very nice accenting of the orange peel as well as both cinnamon & clove. The chili pepper works nicely with clove & cinnamon....though it's softened a bit by the honey/brown sugar of the biscuits.

I've just had a bottle of Amber's' latest batch of Lunch Pail Ale, bottled last week. . . .


It was perfect!


Seriously, it was truly a magnificent example of a pale ale, better than any that's come out of Amber's in a long, long time.


I expect it will be a while until it makes it to the stores, but if you go by the brewery, ask for a pack of the batch Jim, the owner, brewed himself.

I'm so glad I stuck with them through some upheavals and some very disappointing brews. May this one be a sign of things to come!

Alley Kat Brewing/Glenora Distillery/Sherbrooke Liquor Store's Glenda Sherbrooke, 18.5%abv 341ml bottle

Pours into snifter a darker reddish mahogany - fair/moderate carbonation. Not quite a finger of tight white foam(that dissipates quickly). Bit of dense though transitory lacing.

Malty brown sugary dark fruit-raisins/plums. Whiff of alcohol(at 18.5% y'think?). Just a hint of woodiness.

Toffee-ish brown sugar & raisin undertones...subtle woody character...tiny surge of vanilla before a clean slightly dry finish - alcohol all but absent, a faint shadowy presence in the background and a rather subtle warming at the back of the throat upon swallowing...feel 6 maybe 8% by the last couple sips, but 18.5? A few months of settling has smoothed that out!

Very nice with Applewood Smoked Cheddar. I could swear I got a 'pin prick' of apple juice flavour. Just a split-second jab & you're left wondering 'what was that? was that apple juice?'. A second bite'n'sip is no help(first impressions are everything), it was a limited time offer!

~~palate cleansing~~

Unexpectedly good with Irish Whisky-infused from Sweet Lollapalooza http://www.sweetlollapalooza.com/lollapalooza . Eliciting an odd almost 'textural' moment...if pressed to define the texture, I'd have to say grainy/sandy. Yeah I know!

----

McAuslan Brewery St. Ambroise 2011 Vintage Ale, 10%abv 341ml bottle
(I've read that it's brewed in January. I would imagine it's then stored in casks and bottled for distribution mid to late November. So I'm assuming this has already aged about 10 months)

A slightly hazy-unfiltered-darker orange. Good burst of initial carbonation that tapers to minimal. Not even a finger of tight off-white foam. Nice bit of lacing.

Hmm, quite toffee-ish! Second whiff reveals fruit - pear, white grape & apricot. Some alcohol and just a touch of woodiness.

Wonderfully malty-bit of brown sugary toffee-nicely prickling hop undertones...that seem to flare just a bit before a smooth somewhat dry finish...mmm subtle caramel aftertaste.

Nice with Applewood Smoked Cheddar,,, the St. Ambroise bringing out an apple/pear flavour I hadn't experienced before.

~~palate cleansing~~

Remarkable with Armagnac-infused from Sweet Lollapalooza. It(the ) brings out a...vaguely buttery spicy cascading...words fail me! (Brett-Aussie Chocolatier@Sweet Lollapalooza-I owe you a couple pints mate!)

Another try at posting this one.

From a brewery that I see was recently voted best west coast brewery(see http://www.canadianbeernews.com Dec. 6th posting, "BC Breweries...")

Phillips Brewing Trainwreck Barleywine, 10%abv 650ml bottle



Pours reddish mahogany with barely a finger of rapidly dissipating off-white(dim lighting)head. Bits of dense lacing.

Caramel malt and vinous dark fruit aroma...raisin & fig...but I also detect some apple & white grape.

Malty flavour with a good hop undercurrent, fading to fine fruity sweetness-apple & more a red grape here...bit brown sugary on a fairly clean finish. Medium body, slightly syrupy chewy mouthfeel. May put one(or two) of these aside.

Good with Applewood Smoked Cheddar, bringing out/emphasizing both woody & smoky notes in the cheese~~And quite good with some west coast chocolate, a Rene Rey Ginger & Cayenne bar to be specific. The Trainwreck holding the cayenne at bay momentarily(letting ginger have the spotlight). Then the cayenne seeps in to mingle with the ginger. A nice separation of the two, the bar alone presents a reasonably blended flavour.

That chocolate http://www.renerey.com/gourmet-bars.php . Which I notice is labelled 'Ginger - Cayenne' and not 'Ginger And Cayenne', which should've dismissed any notion of two distinct/separate flavours. It Is a nice blending though, imho.

And making up for some lost time...

Big Rock Warthog Brown Ale(revisited), 4.5%abv 341ml bottle

Nice bright coppery appearance, moderate carbonation and barely half a finger of white foam. Bit of momentary lacing.

Clean grainy & malty aroma. Hint of hops...quite grassy on a third whiff.

First impression is malt(grainy & just a bit toffee-ish). Then a biscuity malt washes in just after mid-palate, with good hop undertones that grow slightly before a clean drying finish. Medium body, clean refreshing mouthfeel.

Nice with toasted foccacia-type bread, sprinkled with oregano and drizzled with olive oil - good accenting of the oregano.

---

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, 10%abv 750ml bottle(shared with a friend)

Pours a darker amber but settles a hazy cola brown...bit of visible carbonation. Finger & a half of ice creamy pale tan head. Impressive dense lacing.

Primary aroma is fruit-raisin/pear with banana yeast background...malty, vague hint of nutmeg & a tiny touch of cinnamon.

Malty with Belgian Candi sugar and dark fruit-raisin, plum, red grape &...chocolate-coated cherry. Mild spicing imho, mainly nutmeg with just a hint of cinnamon. Then a yeasty undertone surfaces, pulling the last bits of spice(cinnamon/ginger)towards an otherwise clean drying finish. Medium body, lighter than expected mouthfeel(too much carbonation?)...too light for a winter beer, I'd say but I suppse it'll fit in with our currently mild 'climate change' winter. I had heard that this had been brewed since 1946...time for a tweak or two if you ask me.

And last but not least...

Haandbryggeriet Akevitt Porter 8%abv 500ml bottle
http://haandbryggeriet.net/Aquavita.html

Relaxed pour yields a porter with a distinctly stout appearance, quite opaque black. Only a small ring of medium tan foam. Sparse lacing, nice alcohol 'legs'.

Rye bready aroma(some caraway)with a hint of dill...roasty malted barley on a second sniff.

Roasty malted barley taste up front, followed by a nice hop undercurrent...that seems to fade along with the malt & transform into a mildly vegetal character...hint of dill. Otherwise a clean & gradually drying finish. Fuller side of medium bodied, slightly chewy roasty mouthfeel...bit of vegetal/herbal aftertaste.

Hmm, odd combo of herbal/smoky with Applewood Smoked Cheddar..~~~ But quite nice with Walkers Shortbread, the porter subtly emphasizing the buttery flavour of the shortbread.

I meant 'last but not least, before I turn in'...do we need another going-over of the Heartstopper? Oh I had meant to mention that your initial mention of the Heatseeker(in post 768, was it?)barely raised an eyebrow. They had it from the cask at The Next Act back in early Sept. & I was quite disappointed...even after letting my second pint warm a bit.

As I remember, the Heatseeker was fairly ordinary from the bottle.

Since that batch of Amber's LPA that I said was so good, I've mostly been drinking homemade and a few trappist odds and ends I had around the house. I seem to be in a bit of an off beer phase.

I've just made a big `pot of tea.

A last of the day might not be wisest thing at this hour, but I'm having one(with a shot of Sambuca, So a temporary break from the beer for me too...though I did pick up a few last nigh, including that Akevitt Porter...I had noticed that Sherbrooke also had HaanBryggeriet's DobbleDose, a Double IPA. I also spotted a Schmaltz-brewers of He'Brew-product that might be worth a try(see review)

http://www.beersbyruss.com/2011/12/coney-island-lager.html.

I've not been impressed with the Schmaltz in the past.