Phillips Double Dragon Imperial Red Ale

Phillips Brewing Company

when this red ale caught my eye in the store and I conjured up memories of playing video games on the ferry to Victoria. although I wasn't compelled to wear a blue leather vest and throw down some kung fu as I walked down the street, the Double Dragon is so easy to drink and so high in alcohol that given enough, I probably would have.

it pours more of a chestnut brown colour than the typical red. it has an exceptionally smooth taste with a luscious malt the coats the tongue - Phillips has put together a nice Red Ale here. Phillips Brewing has been bringing out some new brews over the last few months, and I'm looking to having a gander at them soon. In fact there's a bottle of Skookum Brown Ale waiting for me and my liver in my fridge.

650 ml bottle, 8.2% alc/vol

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.)

Griffon Red Ale

McAuslan Brewing Inc.

i was going to review the classic west coast beer that aids the process of giviner (Pil), but my memory from last week's camping adventure is hazy. i do remember jumping over the campfire a few times, shotgunning a bounty of beer, and there being an incident involving a fellow camper hatcheting his thumb and fixing the leak with a diaper and electrical tape. if the night's photos jog my memory, then there will be more to follow.

one of the outcomes of such a debaucherous evening was a cold that has destroyed my smell, taste, and ability to get out of bed. i was able to get out of bed long enough yesterday to open a Griffon (Rousse) Red Ale and watch the finale of america's next top model (i know, i know).

appearance: the rousse poured a nice dark red with long lingering head. it seems to have more carbonation than other ambers that i have tried before.
aroma: .....um, well the cold prevented me from getting any real sense of the aroma, but i did smell some roasted maltiness.
taste: starts with a roasted quality that reminded me of coffee. overall, it had a subtle malt flavor that went down exceptionally smooth much like McAuslan's pale ale. the finish was a little too clean for me - i wanted that roasted taste to stay a little longer.

overall, it wasn't the most inspiring selection from McAuslan, who have some very nice ales and a great oatmeal stout. i'll definitely be re-visiting this rousse when i get back on my sea-legs. i'll be camping again this week, but this time with a little more organization. while i'm sure there will be more drinking of dubious beer, i will be bringing that Moylan's IPA that i promised to review last week.

B

Ruedrich's Red Seal Ale

North Coast Brewing Co.

Here is a powerful American-style ale from California. I first tried it on tap at Vancouver’s the Alibi Room some months back, and have been thirsting for it until this tasting. These are the circumstances which often lead to disappointment, it is true, but I am optimistic all the same.
The beer poured a beautiful reddish-amber colour, with about half an inch of head that dissipated quickly to a thin line of foam and left little lacing on the glass. It is not very aromatic, but gives off a mild, flowery scent of hops and something sweet as well.

Tasting begins with this sweet malt taste, and lasts for no more than a half second before the hops kick in. The hop flavour drives strongly through to the end and, while it dominates the malt, it never dismisses it, so there is some sweet malt flavour right through to the finish. This prevents the taste from ever becoming too bitter, and gives this brew a balance that is difficult to achieve in an IPA.

Ruedrich’s Red Seal Ale is as crisp as you would want from a beer of this variety and smoother than you might expect. I was definitely not disappointed with this brew after so long a wait. It is wonderfully well-balanced for such a hoppy beer, making it very drinkable in any situation. I recommend it highly.

A