Inedit

Estrella Damm Brewery

I got a wee bit excited this weekend during a trip to the liquor store. okay, fine, that's nothing really new. I was searching, as always, for something new to try when I saw this nice and simple looking 750ml bottle. it had a promotional booklet draped on its neck that sold me in two words: Ferran Adria. for those non-foodies that are not familiar, Adria is a chef that associated with starting the molecular gastronomy movement. this movement deconstructs the ingredients of classic dishes and reinvents the dish by using the same ingredients but preparing them in an entirely new way. conversely, a classic dish can be made without using ANY of the original ingredients. if you've gone to a chichi restaurant and had asparagus or espresso or whatever "foam" on your plate, he is to blame for that too. anyway, Indeit was developed by Adria and his restaurant's chefs and sommeliers in cooperation with the Spanish brewery Estrella Damm to be "specifically paired with food". it is described as a brewed blend of lager and wheat beer styles. I'm a little skeptical of the quality of this beer as the Spanish beer that I have tried before were essentially the same as the previously reviewed Portuguese beer - lagers that are easy drinking. light lagers are not exactly my love in life, but I should give this one proper respect. so, I figured that having people over for dinner was a perfect excuse to sample this bottle of Inedit.

the Inedit pours a very light straw colour, with a healthy amount of pillowy head, and has the distinctive murkiness of a wheat beer. the aroma is equally light, but there is a faint candied lemon sweetness. on the first sip, I tasted slight notes of citrus and a little bit of yeast. Tippler Ben has said this of previous pours, but he got a 'gunpowder' taste from this beer. I'm not exactly sure what he means by this, but I like it - it makes the beer sound far more dangerous and risque than it actually is. Tippler Carlea enjoyed the easy-drinking and refreshing nature of the beer and I'd have to agree with her, so refreshing that you could quite easily finish the big bottle yourself. the big standout with this beer, was how it finishes extremely clean. this element worked well with dinner, in that it was a sort of palette cleanser for the next bite of food. personally, I prefer a beer to match the tastes of the food that I'm eating. I'm guessing that Inedit was crafted to be paired with more complex menu items in attempts to showcase the food. unfortunately, this beer, while perhaps showcasing our lasagne, didn't allow itself to shine. my contention is that a perfectly paired beer, will raise the level of both the food and drink.

everything about this beer, appearance, aroma, and taste, is minimal. I'm wondering if these elements were made gentle and subtle as to not interfere with food, or whether it's just gutless. I would suspect that "the world's greatest chef" would would have an equally great palette for both food and drink, so the former must be true. although Inedit is a thoroughly drinkable and refreshing beer, I expected something a little more experimental from the man that makes caviar from green apples.

B-
750ml bottle, 4.8% alc/vol

The Tipplers' Night In ... Review by Big Love

An outcome of being a procrastinator is that one often finds that one has the last word on a matter. This can be good or bad and, as it is unintentional, it rarely has any specific advantage. In this case, I find myself the fifth reviewer of the evening to register my thoughts, and, to tell you the truth (not that I would consider lying to any of you...really), I am unsure what I can add to the discussion. However, as a dedicated professional, I find myself compelled to at least try.

The evening featured a wide variety of styles and tastes. The 3 Monts was a great opener--the smell of apples and white grapes and the feel of champagne make drinking it very pleasant indeed. The Oro de Caladaza is a really odd beer, with complex Belgian-style yeast and a faint taste of sweet pickles (thanks for that, deebag). The Delerium Tremens had a lovely balance of sweet and sour, with a very short taste and virtually no aftertaste. The mahogany-hued Traquair House Ale brought out tastes of candy and caramel. I favour Traquair's Jacobite Ale slightly over this, but it is a wonderful beer nonetheless. The highlight of the evening for me was the Unibroue 17, which features a plethora of tastes--some spicy, some sweet, some savoury--which all slip out subtly from underneath a strong, sweet malt. The Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout was black, syrupy and almost impossibly sweet, with tastes of smoke, nuts, caramel and oak making it a truly complex brew. The Pike Tandem is a well balanced beer with a hint of fishiness. I was very intrigued by the Sara Buckwheat beer, which was, not surprisingly, very 'wheaty'. I flaked out after the Pelican Kiwanda Cream Ale, but not before marvelling at its bright, almost flourescent yellowness. It has a mild taste, but its subtleties (if indeed it has any) were lost on my well used palate by this point in the evening.

All in all, the event was a smashing success. It goes without saying, I suppose, that I very much look forward to part two...

The Tipplers' Night In ... Review by Deebag

it's been a week and a half since our epic beer-a-thon. I thought that since these various ales, wits, stouts, and porters were so good, I'd remember all the fine details and subtleties to them. unfortunately, after sampling 14 of them, my brainbox was left to rely on the progressively illegible notes that I had made that evening. the other Tipplers have weighed in, some more poetic than others (literally), but here's what I thought. (I'll do my best to get the beer names & websites correct):

3 Monts (Brasserie De Saint-Sylvestre) 8.5% alc/vol
the aroma was straight-up apple for me and was reminiscent of Strongbow cider. very light in colour with a dense, foamy head. a balanced taste that coats the whole mouth. sweet fruit and apple tastes. B+

Oro de Calabaza Artisan Golden Ale (Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales) 8%
I think that I ruined this beer for everyone. as soon as I tasted it, I yelled "PICKLES!", because that's all I could taste. loads of foam, very cloudy in colour (like real apple juice/cider). after the pickle taste, there was a bitter after taste that lasted and lasted. my notes say, "unique - not sure if I could do it again". B-

Delirium Tremens (Huyghe Brewery) 8%
a beer named after alcohol withdrawal that's packaged in a clay bottle with pink elephants and dancing sunglassed alligators on it?! Tom Cruise must've been drinking this stuff on the set of Risky Business. there was no head and loads of sediment - but, I should point out that I got the last pour from the bottle. the other Tipplers had far different pours than me. this one had the most substantial malt of the first beers sampled. with the heavier malt was a slight fish taste (in a good way). again, my profound notes just say, "yum!". A

Traquair House Ale (Traquair House) 7.2%
the aroma was of dark liquors such as rum with some maple syrup. the colour was the same as Dr. Pepper (which I believe is the same colour as Coke, Pepsi or any other cola. I'm not sure why my mind raced to the Doctor first). the comforting deep roasted malts tasted of chocolate. the hops balanced these malts off well and lingered for a bit. B+

Unibroue 17 (Unibroue) 10%
I've been holding on to this anniversary bottle since last Christmas and it was well worth the wait. it poured with just a little bit of head and had an undetermined sweet aroma. it wasn't a fruit aroma -- brown sugar, maybe? sweet at first, then some spice and then a yeasty mouth coating. loads and loads of malt, hops, and alcohol heat! the over-the-topness of the 17 reminded me of a Dogfish Head beer. this one is a true dark winter ale. A

Bourbon County Brand Stout (Goose Island Beer Co.) 13%
no head, no carbonation, and no light is getting through this - the motor oil of beer. all that I can say is malts, malts, malts - they are thick and heavy in this stout. this is where my favourite beer note was made. I wrote, "I'M PARALYZED - make sure to emphasize that in the review". B (but, I'd like to try a whole bottle to figure this one out as this was a small 355ml bottle split 5 ways)
my notes for the next 3 beers have very little info and are as follows (word for word):

Pike Tandem Double Ale (Pike Brewing Co.) 7.5% | ice tea colour; taste:fish (?)
Sara Buckwheat Ale (Brasserie De Silenrieux) 6% | aroma:weed; taste:Belgian beer for someone that likes Kokanee.
Limfjord's Porter (Thisted Bryghus) 7.9% | thick-ass head; aroma:smoke; taste:BBQ.

for some reason a bit of clarity came with the notes on the last two selections.
Blue Dot Double IPA (Hair of the Dog Brewing Co.) 7%
the aroma was HUGE on this one... ultra citrusy. the citrus continues right through the tasting. floral hops are thoughout the taste too - the start, middle, and finishing hops play very well with the citrus. a classic Westcoast IPA. A-

Kiwanda Cream Ale (Pelican Brewery) 5.1%
a treat after so many high-octane brews, this cream ale hit the spot. it has to be the strangest cream ale that I've ever seen; it's colour is golden like a lager. there wasn't much of note in the aroma. did Ben just pour a lager into this Pelican bottle and reseal it? hmm... I wonder. I liked the taste at the time, but this is as much a cream ale as Alexander Keith's is an IPA. anyway, I'd like to give this one another shot when I am less drunk, as Pelican's other beer is amazing.

The Tipplers' Night In ... Review by Tippler Kat

Here is a haiku about Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout:

Darkness drinks the light
and gives only the scent of
walnuts in return.

Kat's notes on the evening (also in the form of haiku):

Chris says “Pickles!” just
like I am thinking. I turn
and say: I know, right?

Evening of plenty!
Can't agree on “beers” or “beer”
Which is more dirtbag?

The Tipplers' Night In ... Review by Tippler Curtis

Curt's notes on Unibroue 17

Robust, hard candy
sweet and thoroughly
malty (I am told).

The Tipplers' Night In ... Review by Tippler Ben

Wow, I like how the comments I made became less informative as the night when on. In a way I found it easier to enjoy the beers that weren't the same and, on looking back, I really enjoyed the Pelican Kiwanda Cream Ale a bit more than the rest. It was the least over the top in comparison to the high calibre beers we had that night. On another night it probably would not stand out as much, but it had unique characteristics that I have never seen in a cream ale. Unibroue 17 was just as amazing as I remember and after tasting it, I feel it to be one of their best beers. The Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout was intense, though highly enjoyable. 3 Monts was a pleasure to finally try but, maybe because we tried so many Belgium style beers, I lost a little on the palate for all of them. Hair of the Dog Blue Dot was booming with it's over-proof alcohol and citrusy flavour, but it did make me long for Pliny the Elder in the same category. Limfjords Porter was a treat for the abstract. I usually detest smokey beers, but this one worked. I found it was less formidable and more fermentable (ha!). I had never had the Traquair House Ale before which was also a wicked treat. I think what was scariest of our fall line up was that the beers we had averaged 8%, which is dubious when sampling many beers in an evening. Thanks for hosting Deebag and when will we tackle the rest and more?

Steamworks' Great Pumpkin Ale

Steamworks Brewing Company

today has been a bit of a foodie day, starting with a 9am wake up text from Tippler Selma stating: 'learning how to brine & stuff a turkey today with a chef in kits... wanna come?'. not how I was expecting to start my day, but I'm game. for some reason, Selma's failed bid on a stuffed, cooked and delivered turkey from Chef Brian at Mon Bella Bistoria instead resulted in getting a great lesson on how to dress and cook a turkey. this lesson, as most lesson's should, came complete with a bottle of Sumac Ridge Stellar's Jay sparkling wine. thank you Selma & Chef Brian!

as there will be a lot of great paired wines at dinner tomorrow, I decided to grab some beer from Steamworks. ladies and gents, I introduce to you - THE GROWLER. 64 oz of Steamworks Great Pumpkin Ale is in my fridge, chilled and ready for tomorrow's feast. I described this beer to Tippler Chris as 'liquid pumpkin pie', which didn't seem to impress him. He tried it a couple of nights ago and felt that it wasn't as sweet as I made it out to be. when I went to fill up the Growler, the bartender gave me a nice little sample of it, and Chris was absolutely right. Steamworks has definitely toned down the sweetness on this year's batch. but, what this ale is not lacking are those classic pumpkin pie spices, such as nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and ginger. I'll have to update this after a full tasting, but the little bit that I tried has gotten my taste buds excited for tomorrow (that, and the anticipation of an amazing Thanksgiving dinner).

[on a side note, I highly recommend the Growler for home beer consumption. in Vancouver, Steamworks and MJG Breweries allow you to get this filled with any of their tap beers. while the shelf life is short (2 days), Growler's are inexpensive ($11/64oz), have essentially no environmental impact, and most importantly, provides you with really fresh beer.]

***__________________UPDATE_____________________***
I had a couple of pints of this on monday, so I have a better assessment of the beer. again, all those spices really came through in the taste. there is a little more sweetness than I had originally thought, a little reminiscent of root beer with some caramel. it wasn't very lively, but I'm going to blame that on the fact that it was a draft beer poured into a twist-off Growler bottle 24 years earlier - carbonation lose was inevitable. overall, it was a really nice seasonal beer with a two pint limit.

The Tipplers' Night In

last night, some of us Tipplers got together to drink and make notes on an impressive selection of beer. the only criteria was to bring a couple of beers that were probably new to us. Tippler Ben, had just come back from a tour of micro breweries in Portland, so he (as usual) came well stocked. for some reason, I thought that we wouldn't have enough bottles to sample - as you can see from the photo, I was dearly mistaken. anyway, as most people left their tasting notes in my apartment, our thoughts on some of the 14 (!!) bottles sampled won't be up right away. stay tuned.

Riptide Pale Ale

Lighthouse Brewing Co.

Uh...wait.

Okay, I got it:

I have only vague memories of the television show "Riptide", but...

No. Forget it. I can do better than that:

*

Actually, I think I'll just copy out my tasting notes, and we can all stop pretending:

Ugly labelling. Very ugly.
Lively carbonation.
Light coppery hue.
Mild smell. Malty. Hint of honey?
Nice hop/malt balance. No sign of alcohol/yeast. Malt is pretty plain. Hops come up a bit at the end.
Okay. Nothing very subtle, nothing special. Pretty mild and palatable for all.
Better cold.
Easy to drink.
Not my favourite local micro, but still beats anything by the major breweries.
Won't offend anyone (unless they look at the label).


C