Today's beer is another beer I've been hoarding in my basement for some time. It comes in a 500mL narrow bottle with a pry cap and 4.8% alcohol/vol. The Garrison Brewing company is relatively well-respected, so I have decently high expectations for this beer.
When opened, I could immediately smell lots and lots of chocolate malts. It poured a dark brown colour with a small tan head. The bubbles were almost completely undetectable due to the darkness of the beer. After the pour, the chocolatey aroma had completely disappeared and was replaced with with a smell I couldn't quite place.
The first sip went alright. I found the beer to have an exceptionally weak flavour. There wasn't anything off per se, it was just weak. There was a faint coffee flavour to it. The feel in the mouth had a little bit of bite. The beer had a bitter aftertaste that came slowly and was probably the most noticeable part of the beer. The beer wasn't unpleasant, but I don't think I would waste my time with it again.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Grand Teton Bitch Creek
It's been a while since I've had a beer. So what better excuse to drink one tonight?
I've heard a bit about today's beer. It's not available here in Manitoba, so props go out to my sister for getting me a bottle for Christmas. It comes in a 355mL brown bottle with a pry cap. It has a surprising amount of information on the bottle for beer nerds: 15.0 plato original gravity, 54 IBUs, 6.0% alcohol/vol, and it's bottle conditioned.
When opened, I got a facefull of hops, and maybe a little fruitiness? Wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The beer poured a dark brown with some sediment in it, and few bubbles. The fruity aroma was much more noticeable after the pour and the hoppiness was scaled back.
The first sip was very bitter. And sour, too. I wasn't sure if the beer had gone "off" or if this was an intended flavour. I didn't enjoy this beer very much, but finished it anyway. I couldn't think of any good qualities to note for this beer other than it had a fairly soft feel in the mouth. I don't think I would drink this beer again unless somebody convinced me I had a bad bottle.
I've heard a bit about today's beer. It's not available here in Manitoba, so props go out to my sister for getting me a bottle for Christmas. It comes in a 355mL brown bottle with a pry cap. It has a surprising amount of information on the bottle for beer nerds: 15.0 plato original gravity, 54 IBUs, 6.0% alcohol/vol, and it's bottle conditioned.
When opened, I got a facefull of hops, and maybe a little fruitiness? Wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The beer poured a dark brown with some sediment in it, and few bubbles. The fruity aroma was much more noticeable after the pour and the hoppiness was scaled back.
The first sip was very bitter. And sour, too. I wasn't sure if the beer had gone "off" or if this was an intended flavour. I didn't enjoy this beer very much, but finished it anyway. I couldn't think of any good qualities to note for this beer other than it had a fairly soft feel in the mouth. I don't think I would drink this beer again unless somebody convinced me I had a bad bottle.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Fort Garry Kona Imperial Stout
First off, apologies for not writing in a while. Second off, I'm fighting off the tail end of a cold so my sense of taste may be a bit wonky.
It's time for Fort Garry Brewing Co.'s second beer in their Brewmaster Series. I was a huge fan of their eisbock, so I have big expectations for today's beer. It comes in a 650mL brown bottle with 6.5% alcohol/vol and 50 IBU's. The label proudly displays a tiki doll, putting more emphasis on the "Kona" part of the beer's name. Near the bottom, it says "beer brewed with coffee". Oh boy! I suppose the best beers (that I've had) to compare this one to are Half Pints' Stir Stick Stout and Mill Street's Coffee Porter.
Upon opening, I was unsurprisingly greeted with a strong coffee aroma. It wasn't as strong as I was expecting, however. Upon pouring though, the coffee aroma got much stronger. It formed an average-sized dark brown head on its ridiculously opaque brown body. I couldn't even see through the beer as I poured it. Any bubbles were completely undetectable.
The first sip was pretty good. It tasted like the love-child of a beer and coffee. The beer was exceptionally bitter, but obviously needed to be as it made my lips slightly sticky (from the malts). The beer had a very soft feel in the mouth. The aftertaste was remarkably like that of a strong cup of black coffee. While the taste was like coffee, it was unlike any coffee I had ever had. Most likely due to the Kona variety of bean used in the brewing process. I will definitely have this beer again due to its limited production run. This beer pretty much reinforced my conclusions that coffee-flavoured beers are not my favourite.
It's time for Fort Garry Brewing Co.'s second beer in their Brewmaster Series. I was a huge fan of their eisbock, so I have big expectations for today's beer. It comes in a 650mL brown bottle with 6.5% alcohol/vol and 50 IBU's. The label proudly displays a tiki doll, putting more emphasis on the "Kona" part of the beer's name. Near the bottom, it says "beer brewed with coffee". Oh boy! I suppose the best beers (that I've had) to compare this one to are Half Pints' Stir Stick Stout and Mill Street's Coffee Porter.
Upon opening, I was unsurprisingly greeted with a strong coffee aroma. It wasn't as strong as I was expecting, however. Upon pouring though, the coffee aroma got much stronger. It formed an average-sized dark brown head on its ridiculously opaque brown body. I couldn't even see through the beer as I poured it. Any bubbles were completely undetectable.
The first sip was pretty good. It tasted like the love-child of a beer and coffee. The beer was exceptionally bitter, but obviously needed to be as it made my lips slightly sticky (from the malts). The beer had a very soft feel in the mouth. The aftertaste was remarkably like that of a strong cup of black coffee. While the taste was like coffee, it was unlike any coffee I had ever had. Most likely due to the Kona variety of bean used in the brewing process. I will definitely have this beer again due to its limited production run. This beer pretty much reinforced my conclusions that coffee-flavoured beers are not my favourite.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Anchor Porter
I reviewed Anchor's Steam beer some time ago, and if I recall correctly, I enjoyed it. Today it's time to try their porter offering. It comes in the same 12oz bottle, and has an unknown alcohol content (I suppose liquor laws in the US do not require that information to be given). It has a bit of information on the label giving a dubious claim that Anchor is one of the "most traditional" breweries in the world.
Upon opening, I eagerly sniffed up the roasted malt aroma. It was strong. It poured black, with a finger-sized dark tan head that lasted a long time. Initially, there were a lot of bubbles, but they became hard to see in the darkness. The aroma was unchanged from when I opened the bottle.
The first sip was pretty good. While the beer was fairly bitter, it was quite balanced; my lips got a bit sticky from the residual sugar in the malts, but the flavour wasn't sweet at all. The roasted malts stood proudly. The beer was incredibly soft in the mouth, but there was ample carbonation. This beer was pretty much what I expected of a porter. I would probably drink this beer again if it was available locally.
Upon opening, I eagerly sniffed up the roasted malt aroma. It was strong. It poured black, with a finger-sized dark tan head that lasted a long time. Initially, there were a lot of bubbles, but they became hard to see in the darkness. The aroma was unchanged from when I opened the bottle.
The first sip was pretty good. While the beer was fairly bitter, it was quite balanced; my lips got a bit sticky from the residual sugar in the malts, but the flavour wasn't sweet at all. The roasted malts stood proudly. The beer was incredibly soft in the mouth, but there was ample carbonation. This beer was pretty much what I expected of a porter. I would probably drink this beer again if it was available locally.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Lucky Buddha
I have reservations about today's beer. It comes from China. On the plus side, it comes in a really cool 330mL green "fat buddha" bottle. It has 4.8% alcohol/vol. Can't really tell much from the outside of the bottle, as there is almost no labelling.
Upon opening, I detected a faint aroma of hops. Then it disappeared. It poured a disgustingly pale yellow colour, with a medium-sized white head that disappeared quickly. There were a few small bubbles. The aroma was hard to pinpoint; not very much of it. The closest thing it smelled to was a domestic.
Fortunately, the beer had more flavour than aroma. There wasn't much flavour, but it was slightly sweet. The feel in the mouth was fairly soft, and there was absolutely no bitter aftertaste. The only reason I can think of to buy this beer is for the bottle. Everything else about the beer is sub-par; it even made Tsingtao look good.
Upon opening, I detected a faint aroma of hops. Then it disappeared. It poured a disgustingly pale yellow colour, with a medium-sized white head that disappeared quickly. There were a few small bubbles. The aroma was hard to pinpoint; not very much of it. The closest thing it smelled to was a domestic.
Fortunately, the beer had more flavour than aroma. There wasn't much flavour, but it was slightly sweet. The feel in the mouth was fairly soft, and there was absolutely no bitter aftertaste. The only reason I can think of to buy this beer is for the bottle. Everything else about the beer is sub-par; it even made Tsingtao look good.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
No beer
I haven't had a beer in over a week. Ugh.
Don't worry, it's not because of choice. It's more because of necessity. I got a decently bad stomach bug a week and a half ago, and I've only recently recovered. Slainte!
Don't worry, it's not because of choice. It's more because of necessity. I got a decently bad stomach bug a week and a half ago, and I've only recently recovered. Slainte!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Innis & Gunn Original
Today's beer comes in a 330mL clear bottle. It has 6.6% alcohol/vol. The bottle has a slightly unique shape to it, with the "Innis & Gunn" embossing. The beer claims to be oak aged, with hints of toffee, vanilla, and oak.
When opened, I certainly did smell the vanilla and oak. The toffee was a little harder to find. It poured a beautiful clear golden colour with a medium-sized white head. There were an average number of bubbles. The aroma had not changed much since opening the bottle, only getting weaker.
The first sip was pretty good. You certainly can taste the oak. This beer tasted a lot like scotch. There was very minimal sweetness to the beer, and I couldn't find any of the claimed toffee flavour. The beer had a fairly soft feel in the mouth. I found this beer to be pretty good. The scotch angle has me hooked. I would certainly look for this beer again.
When opened, I certainly did smell the vanilla and oak. The toffee was a little harder to find. It poured a beautiful clear golden colour with a medium-sized white head. There were an average number of bubbles. The aroma had not changed much since opening the bottle, only getting weaker.
The first sip was pretty good. You certainly can taste the oak. This beer tasted a lot like scotch. There was very minimal sweetness to the beer, and I couldn't find any of the claimed toffee flavour. The beer had a fairly soft feel in the mouth. I found this beer to be pretty good. The scotch angle has me hooked. I would certainly look for this beer again.
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