Ochakovo Stolichnoe

I came across this beer at the LCBO today. It’s a Russian lager. I’m currently conscientiously avoiding Russian products right now in protest of the current regime. I know this blog is not political, so I’ll stop there. But I bought a can because $2.30 isn’t going to make a difference either way and I really wanted to give this one a shot.

The body and aroma are typical of a lager. The body is straw yellow and the aroma is grassy. However, the head is foamier. As for the taste, it’s a lot maltier than I was expecting. The finish is clean and dry. I wasn’t sure if this would be good or terrible. When I smelled the beer I knew it was a safe one. It’s not great, but Eastern Euro beers can be risky. I have a feeling the ABV being only 4.6% actually saves it.

Chimay Blue

I’m sure the blue cap version of Chimay is not new, but I’ve only seen it on a regular basis recently at the LCBO. Chimay Blue is an extra strong Trappist ale at 9% ABV. It pours an opaque brown colour with a thin beige head. The aroma has sour citrus, but with notes of oak and sweet fruits. The flavour is really complex. I want to describe what it’s like, but it’s just a mix of so many things that it needs to be tried on one’s own for an opinion. The finish has spiciness, but also sweet malt and again sweet fruit. The 100 rating on RateBeer might be too much, but this is definitely something I recommend trying.

This isn’t just about beer snobs

Last week I met a gentleman who works in the kitchen at Indie Alehouse, a microbrewery and brew pub in Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood. We got into a discussion about beer and I told him I wasn’t a fan of the City and Colour Maple Wheat from Flying Monkeys.

“Well, that’s OK. That’s allowed,” was his response.

He explained to me about Indie Alehouse a lot of friends think they’ll offend him if they say they don’t like the beer and they don’t. Indie Alehouse speaks of the very same attitude about their beer on their website. I confess I don’t get that far west often, but I will have to visit now. The discussion moved to beer festivals and how some will appease customers by offering larger brands like Moosehead or Keith’s. He told me that there was nothing wrong with people who like macro beer. “They just have a different palate that likes that stuff.”

He’s absolutely right and I don’t think this has dawned on a lot of beer drinkers. Just because someone likes lighter beers and isn’t a fan of the taste of Rochefort or other Trappist beers, doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate beer. They just don’t appreciate the beers you might appreciate. Are they supposed to fake it and be a poseur to be a true beer lover?

But really, this applies to so many tastes. If someone prefers American League baseball over National League baseball, it doesn’t make them less of a baseball fan. The list could go on for a long time with so many of the arts. Having been involved with the Toronto literary and poetry community, I know there have been nasty arguments about this. You like what you like and there’s no need to try to force people to become “more educated” into liking other things. Absolutely it’s great to broaden your horizons and try new things. But if you try a variety of new beer and craft beer and go back to your trusty Pabst Blue Ribbon, power to you.

Innis & Gunn Original is Complex

I was surprised by a couple of things today. 1) Innis & Gunn is sold in 500 ml tall boys at the LCBO and 2) What a complex beer. I’ve had I&G Original before, but am just noticing how intricate the finish is. The original aroma is rather gross. It has hints of sulfates in it with oak and vanilla. The taste isn’t so bad. It starts with a light vanilla taste and long after you’ve swallowed it turns to a bitter taste that you really want to say “blech” to. But if you wait another few seconds, there’s a really nice, sweet, toffee taste. At 6.6% ABV it’s probably good this isn’t an easy-drinking beer. This Scottish ale also has a weird appearance, resembling Scotch with its amber body and having almost no head. This is a beer for sipping and almost studying. It’s not a beer to have a six-pack for while watching a July baseball game. Unless you’re a beer connoisseur, you likely won’t appreciate this one.

Guinness Black Lager Review

In the last few weeks there has been a lot of anticipation over “the first new Guinness in hundreds of years!” If you count other beers brewed by Guinness, but not not under the Guinness brand like Harp, let alone the many different brands under Guinness parent Diageo, it’s not a huge deal.

Guinness Black Lager pours looking like a stout. It even has the thick tan head, which quickly evaporates though, unlike the traditional stout. The aroma has hints of the burnt barley and hops you’d expect, but has more of a grassy lager aroma. If you’d blindfolded me, I would’ve expected to see something straw-coloured when the blindfold came off. The flavour though, is nothing special. It tastes like a Guinness, but less of that full flavour and full finish. It’s more of a Guinness Light, other than the fact there is more alcohol (4.5% ABV) than a Guinness. It was widely thought this is what Guinness was going for as they wanted to get the summer outdoor crowd to drink something that was a little lighter tasting.

This isn’t the first time a beer of this style has been tried. Great Lakes tried a black lager called Black Jack a few years ago, for example.

Thornbridge Kipling South Pacific Pale Ale

Thornbridge Kipling South Pacific Pale Ale is designed to be a New Zealand style pale ale. The beer pours with a light yellow body and a a medium-sized white head. The aroma is very hoppy with fruity citrus tones. The flavour is too hoppy and too bitter for my palate. The finish has the same hoppiness but does finish rather nicely with hints of kiwi and citrus. Thornbridge credits its flavour to the Nelson Sauvin hop and claims to be the first British brewer to use this hop, which is grown in New Zealand.

Rochefort 8

Hello there. It has definitely been awhile since my last post. I have been very busy with work.

But back on topic, a week ago I saw a friend’s band play at the Only Cafe in Toronto’s Greektown. The Only Cafe has an excellent selection of beer. In a YOLO moment, I ordered a $10.50 Rochefort 8, which was on their “new and notable” list. I might’ve had a Rochefort before, but I never had a Rochefort 8 until that night. Beer snobs will likely hate me for this: I don’t regret trying it, but have probably tried it for the last time.

The beer pours with an opaque body and a very thick tan head (the head reminds me of the Weihenstephaner Vitus I reviewed here a while ago). The alcohol taste at 9.2% ABV isn’t overpowering, but this beer tasted a little too much like carbonated sour wine to me, with a bit of plum flavour in it. I know how well this Belgian Trappist ale is received by beer lovers, but it just wasn’t to my liking. I have read the beer needs to age and have no idea how old the bottle was that I ordered.

Why is Harp so cheap?

I noticed this on the weekend. I was at my local LCBO looking at Irish beer options (it was St. Patrick’s Day this past weekend) and saw a four-pack of Harp tallboys was $8. a four-pack of Guinness was $4 more. I tried to figure out why imported Irish lager that was once hard to find and in high-demand when you found it was now being sold for the same price of gut-rot stuff. I examined the cans closely. They do appear to be from Ireland. It’s not a deal where the beer is brewed by Sleeman or some other brewer making a sub-par beer with a famous name. (Remember old Canadian Carlsberg?) I myself have found Harp to be a solid lager, but not as premium as some have said. Still, $2 a tallboy is baffling for Ontario. Perhaps the tallboy is new and it’s a way to get new followers and drinkers of the beer? It’s my only suggestion after many Google queries. If I had the free time I’d pick up the phone and inquire with Diageo, parent company of Guinness and Harp. Maybe I will do just that. Hang on…

Weihenstephaner Vitus

After I bought a 500 ml  bottle of Weihenstephaner Vitus, a Weizenbock, I looked at the back of the bottle and saw it was 7.7%. “Someone’s about to enjoy a big beer buzz,” I said. Weizenbock’s are basically stronger versions of Hefeweizens. A good site for explanations of German beer styles can be found here.

Vitus pours much like your traditional wheat or white ale with an opaque light yellow body. However, the head is much thicker. In fact, the foam started to slowly rise after I opened the bottle and it was slow, not like the effect you get with fobbing. After the pour, the beer will take awhile to settle. The aroma, not surprisingly, if you’ve ever had something like Hoegaarden, is very citrusy with hints of banana. The flavour starts with sweet malts and hints of caramel and moves to mild hoppiness, but with the banana and fruit flavour.   The finish is mild spice flavour. The strong alcohol content does not show itself in this beer and this is a great wheat ale.

Sam Adams Boston Lager

Samuel Adams Boston Lager is probably my favourite American beer and I get excited when I see it offered on tap, even if it is offered at a high price. So I was surprised when searching TFTBT archives that I’ve never reviewed it here.

The beer pours a beautiful orange-amber colour with a thick creamy head. The aroma has hoppiness and citrus notes. The taste has light, slightly bitter citrus flavour mixed with creamy maltiness and a touch of honey. The finish has a really nice balance of hops and mild bitterness. On the recommended list for widely available American beer, even if it’s not “discount brand.” Ask for it next time you’re at Consumers Beverages. This week a 12-pack is $14.99. Also a 12-pack of bottles Guinness is $8.99 after the mail-in rebate (I joke not. A mail-in rebate for beer).