NatureLand Organic Amber Ale

Pacific Western Brewing Company

I'm a sucker for packaging. so, when I saw a new box of bottles on the the liquor store shelf, my eyes locked directly onto it. the new box belongs to PWB's NatureLand Organic Amber Ale. I had previously tried their organic Lager without much fanfare, and have never really felt compelled to try PBW's other organic offering. however, throw the beer in some freshly designed package and apparently I'm all over it, like irony on hipsters.

my opinion of this beer maybe skewed due to the anemic arsenal of brews that have previously come out of PBW. I mean, these are the guys that have brought us such classics as Dude Beer, TNT (now available in an 8% Lager), and Ironhorse (all aboard - choo choo!). history aside, I tried my best to be impartial for this tasting.

right of the bat, the pour came out surprisingly beautiful - a golden, honey colour with a fluffy head and extremely lively bubbles. maybe this will be the PBW's crown jewel. the aroma was very sweet, reminiscent of caramel. first, I tasted some decent bready malts which disappeared quickly and were replaced by some skunky finishing hops, which didn't match the malts at all. the bitterness lingered a lot longer than expected and not in a good way. after finishing half of the bottle, the bitterness started to taste very chemically and metallic; an unfortunate taste for any beer, let alone an organic one. the more I drank, the more I saw wrong with this beer. any positive reactions to the appearance and smell were erased by that lasting chemical taste. with the bulk of the 6-pack remaining in my fridge, it looks like I now have a few bottles of this left over to pawn off onto house guests.

C
if you're looking for a good organic BC beer, look towards the offerings from the Nelson Brewing Company which is now 100% certified organic.

Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale

Bear Republic Brewing

yet another California selection has found it's way out of my fridge and into my belly. this time it's Red Rocket Ale from Bear Republic Brewing located in Healdsburg, just north of San Francisco. I was expecting this to pour a similar colour as the previously reviewed Red Seal Ale, but it come out of the bottle a deep, dark brown. this was shocking to me as it looked more like a porter than a red ale. along with the deep hue was a huge thick head that remained for the duration of the tasting (... I wish I could say that about myself! [queue a rim-shot and a fat sidekick yelling, HEY OHHH!]) the taste shocked me as much as the colour did. there are very complex roasted malts here - I'm guessing that there's a few at play. I tasted coffee, some smoke, and maybe some bourbon. the over-the-top malts are counteracted with some over-the-top finishing hops. even with these big tastes, the balance of the two result in something very memorable. so much so, that I tried this beer a week ago and I'm still remembering all the taste details today. a brain numbing 6.8% ABV is attached to this ale, preventing it from being a real session beer (for me, at least), but it's definitely a good one to either start or finish the evening with.

A-
(purchased at the ever-awesome Brewery Creek Liquor Store. I've seen it at a few stores around town including Viti and at Everything Wine. so far, it's not available the regular provincial BC liquor stores.)

Lost Coast Indica India Pale Ale

Lost Coast Brewery

this will have to be a quick review as my already slow and poor typing skills have been further impaired by a recent kitchen accident. luckily, the flapper is on my non-beer guzzling hand, so last night I skipped on down to the Alibi Room for a few pints. first up was a pint of Lost Coast's hop-heavy Indica IPA. although the lights were down at the bar, you could still tell that the Indica had a mellow, hazy orange hue. it had a piney and floral aroma which was weaker than most West-Coast IPA's tend to be. on to the good stuff; the taste. I tasted some citrus at first, but once the hops kick they linger for a stretch after tasting. there's also a slight herbaceous taste that loiters with those hops (it didn't occur to me until just this second that's probably why this IPA is called Indica). the Indica is not a balanced beer by an means, which seems to be another IPA tendency from the batty-for-hops Californians. I would've liked to have some more malt to back up those cascade hops.

C+

since The Tippler got started, I've come to realize, not surprisingly, that I can only review the first beer of the night. on subsequent pints, subtlety and nuance are lost on my tongue as well as in my demeanor. that being said, I can't really say much about my next pint other than it was ... what's the word... good. my friend, Ellie, attended the Great Alaska Craft Beer Festival in May. I was asking her about some of the festival favs, and she said that there was an overwhelmingly good response to a mixed beer which was one half chocolate stout and one half raspberry ale. I was intruiged, so we decided to do a version of this from the Alibi Room's offering. Ellie wanted to use a $20 bottle of raspberry lambic in the mix, but I wasn't drunk enough or rich enough to use the lambic in this experiment. we went with a chocolate porter (which I believe was from Phillips Brewing) and Granville Island's limit release raspberry wheat ale. the waiter appreciated the experimental drinking and told me of a few beer mixtures that he likes. the raspberry taste was quite faint, so the ratio needs to be adjusted a bit, but otherwise the result was very tasty. I think I've just opened up a new drinking realm.

Bohemian Lager

Trader Joe’s Brewing Company

After a long week of work I am eager to open this Czech-style pilsner and give it a proper, uh, reviewing. It pours a golden blonde colour, light and very clear. Lots o’ bubbles. It is nice to look at, but I am more excited to get to the tasting part.

I smell wheat, and that slightly buttery aroma that seems to follow certain wheat malts around. Also, there is something fishy here. I don’t mean suspicious, mind you (some people who have been drinking with me will know I have a tendency towards this). Enough sniffing, though. Let’s get this one in me, yes?

It is sweeter than I expected, with a pleasant mild hop taste. It has a hint of that familiar European lager taste, but only a hint—the malt gives it more complexity. There is no sign of fish in the taste, thankfully. It is very carbonated, which gives it an exciting mouth feel (yeah, I said “exciting mouth feel”—savour it, kids).

The sweetness clings a bit to the aftertaste, which seems to cover over anything else that might otherwise be happening here. Overall, I find this sweetness a little bothersome, and I detect no bitterness at all. It is a good lager, and more interesting than some, but, ultimately, does not really impress me much. A decent quaffer at a low, low price (for those of you who live in the U.S.).

C+