I'm better than Kathie Lee Gifford

well.... for at least one evening I was. after seeing Kathie Lee drink Dogfish Head on the Today Show, I had to treat myself by drinking some high end beer. did I accomplish this task? you're damn right I did - one evening and three beers all rated in the 97th percentile or higher on RateBeer.com. first up was Alesmith's legendary Speedway Stout. only a myth until now, this 12% chocolaty stout lived up to the hype with a well balanced, yet uber-flavourful beer. the more it warmed up the bigger the taste was. I tasted chocolate, coffee, toffee and some vanilla. it was delicious from start to finish, but unfortunately this bad boy hasn't been brought into any of the Vancouver specialty stores, so you'll never be able to contradict me.

Tippler Ben was riding the stout train, so I hopped on board with him and tried some Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast. all I can say is, "choo, choo!". I've had this one once before, but I forgot how great it was. while Alesmith makes a stout with loads of flavours, Mikkeller makes theirs focused on one - coffee. and they do it very well. if I had more money, I would dedicate a fridge shelf to it. but, at $10 a bottle, I'll have to settle with having it on special occasions.

last up was Brooklyn's Sorachi Ace. this is a saison that uses just one hop varietal; Japanese sarachi hops. all the saison characteristics were there, pale yellow and a thin head, wrapped up in cloudy unfiltered goodness. there was some lemon and a bit of banana in the taste, but what I remember most about it was this beer's incredibly dry finish. Tippler Ben may be able elaborate a little more on this one as, for some reason, my memory of this one is hazy. I do recall stating that Big Love would love this beer.

there we go. three awesome beers in one night... I'm waaaay better than Kathie Lee.

Alesmith Speedway Stout - 750ml, 12% alc
Mikkeler Beer Geek Breakfast - 500ml, 7.5% alc
Brooklyn's Sorachi Ace - 750ml, 7.6% alc
(I think I'm going to to abandon the A to F school grading system for these ones as they're all exceptionally good beers.)

PS. I just remembered that we had some Stone IPAs afterward. that's another one hundred percenter on RateBeer. Kathie Lee and her Dogfish Head look pretty damn lame now.

The Dog Days of Summer - Granville Island Belgian Wit (Limited Release)

Granville Island Brewery

breaking up the relatively mundane selections of Granville Island's arsenal of beer are their more interesting seasonal limited releases. past releases have included, a ginger beer, a Scottish ale, a pumpkin ale, the Jolly Abbot (their version of a Belgian tripel), and a Christmas ale that I look out for every year. this summer's release from Granville Island is their Belgian Wit.

this beer pours like you would want a wit to pour, very pale yellow, cloudy, with a thin head. usually wits like this have a banana aroma that I'm obsessed with, sadly the smell of GI's Belgian Wit doesn't fuel this olfaction obsession of mine (what kind of music would a band called Olfaction Obsession play?) . there are, however, some strong lemon notes at first that die quickly. I'm disappointing with the taste, as the is no evidence of orange peel and coriander - two classic white beer ingredients. I wouldn't be disappointed if GI hadn't specifically noted on the beer's label that these are what were used to flavour the beer. what I do taste is some tart lemon. the minimal carbonation provides a nice, smooth drink, but it is a bit dry and yeasty - leaving me with an remarkably average white beer to drink. BUT that being said, it was a nice fresh relief on a scorching hot Vancouver day (yes, we get one or two of those per year).
[*the happiness of the dog is not representative of my love of the beer in particular, just my love of cold beer on a hot day.]

C+ 650 ml, 5%

Little Creatures Pale Ale

Little Creatures Brewery

I received an awesome book for my birthday a few months back called 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die. if you haven't figured out by the fact that I have a blog dedicated to this wonderful elixir and that my last three vacations have centered around brewery tours and brew pubs, I love beer. that being said, of the 1001 beers in the book, I've sadly only just drank past the century mark. I felt like a beer novice after discovering this measly number, until I read that one of the book's contributors, who has been a beverage journalist for 20 years, has only tried 250-300 beers of the book's 1001. my mission over the next few months is to stick to the book and get drink off some of my beer bucket list.

one such beer on the bucket list is the Pale Ale from Australian brewer Little Creatures. I have previously passed up this beer in the aisles of Brewery Creek for two reasons. first, BC only sells it by the single bottle and charges $4 a pop. secondly, it's Australian. I know that Ozzies are great drinkers, but with only Foster's and VB to form my outright opinion of an entire nations beer existence, I just figured that Australians were great at drinking crappy beer. like with most things that I form an unreasonable opinion over, I was wrong.

the pungent floral hops of the LC Pale Ale hit your nose right when the cap is cracked. light citrus aroma comes along with those floral notes. she poured an amber/honey colour with a decent amount of a foamy head. I tasted some fruit at first and then the hops cut through that sweetness and settled into my mouth. although lingering, the hops are toned down a lot in this Pale Ale allowing some of the sweet tastes to mingle. after being in Portland and being subjected to some over the top Pales and IPAs using traditional west cost hops (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, etc), it was nice to have a beer using these same hop strains to a much mellower effect. as the beer warmed up, the fruit came out a little bit more. this is my ideal summer beer - lots of flavour, a nice bitter bite, and one that you will make you skip to and from your fridge a few times over the course of a night.

B+ 355 ml bottle, 5.2%

Hop Circle IPA: One Man's Hopinion

Dear Phillips Brewing,

With the introduction of your Hop Circle IPA, you have, in my humble opinion, really established yourself amongst British Columbia's finest breweries. This is a stand-out West Coast IPA--from its wonderful floral aroma, to its muscular hoppiness, to the delicate balancing effect of its malt and the pleasant, not too bitter finish. In fact, it is so immediately endearing one might argue that it sells itself.

Why, then, did you give it such a stupid name? And such a ghastly label? Were you trying to prove this theory?

I know that many fine and well-regarded microbrews have elements of Sci-fi kitsch and puns on the word "hop", but this does not make it right. You had a chance, here, to set a higher standard. To take the high road. I, for one, wish you had taken it. Because this is a classy ale. It doesn't need to be dressed in flourescent clothing and adorned with bad puns.

I suggest you rebrand it, quickly and quietly, so that it doesn't embarrass you in a few years.

I'll likely be drinking it either way, because its good. And I like good beer, even more than I dislike ugly, corny marketing.

Sincerely,

Big Love

B+

Québécois Beer & Italian Pubs - Tipplin' in Ottawa!

in general, finding good beer in Ontario is harder than it is in BC. sure, it’s slightly cheaper, but The Beer Store is more for getting your twofour on rather than imbibing some quality beer. the great thing about Ottawa, is that the city borders Quebec, so you can skip The Beer Store and head straight to the supermarché. ah, La Belle Province - where the beer is cheap, there’s loads of selection and it’s sold everywhere. to my delight, Tippler Ellie and Tippler Jeff had stocked their fridge to the teeth with a huge variety of beer, namely ones from Montreal’s Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!. all four of the beer that I sampled from this brewery* were absolutely delicious. the two that really made my taste buds do a double take were their hemp ale, Fumisterie [Smoke Screen], and their bottle conditioned hibiscus white, Rosee d’hibiscus [Pinkish Hibiscus].

about ten or twelve years ago, a number of local breweries were putting out hemp beer. I remember buying them, drinking, and enjoying them, but I don’t really remember them being anything of note. if these beer had been anywhere near the quality of BDC!’s Fumisterie, I would've started a campaign for Bowen Island Brewery to bring back their Hemp Cream Ale (remember when Bowen Island had decent beer?). anyway, Fumisterie has a very nice velvety mouth feel and buttery taste. I don't mean that the taste was smooth like butter, it actually tastes of butter. very pleasant and very luscious. the Rosee d'hibiscus is the other beer from BDC! that I really enjoyed. this delicate wheat ale is brewed with the petals of hibiscus flowers that give it a beautiful pink colour. the pink hue is more evident due to the cloudiness of this unfiltered ale. the obvious floral tastes balance out the citrusy ones that are present and common to whites like this. truthfully, the crisp, floral taste was a bit tiring by the end of the bottle, making me not want a second one. but, this isn't a session beer. this is a once in while, palate cleansing beer.

I wish that I could tell you a lot more of the following Ottawan drinking institution, but I went to Pub Italia after a multi multi multi course meal at Atelier and was struggling to ingest anything more. I can tell you that the bar seems to have a bit of an identity crisis as it's an Italian pub, with a shamrock logo complete with a Belgian abbey to drink in - not that I'm complaining! I can also tell you that the liquid selection on their "beer bible" is awesomely overwhelming, boasting 35 taps and 20 or so pages of bottles. I tried out the cognac infused X.O. Beer from France, which (from what I remember) was just okay. it's an 8% beer that tastes like a 10% one and the taste of cognac just flat out doesn't do it for me. I have no regrets in choosing this one as I figure how often are you able to choice a beer that's been infused cognac? I tried a little sample of Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast, a coffee stout from Denmark. I just had a taste, but was really surprised and pleased that the mega dark malts and high level of coffee didn't overpower this stout. the mellowing hops really balanced it out. I'll be nagging my local beer store to start stocking this one.

Fumisterie A- 355ml bottle, 5.5%
Rosee d’hibiscus B+ 355ml bottle, 5%
X.O. Beer C+ 355ml bottle, 8%
Beer Geek Breakfast A 500ml bottle, 7.5%

*the other two were Blanche du Paradis [Paradise White] and La Paienne [The Pagan]

Mardi Gras & Micro Brews - Tipplin' in Vermont!

when planning my trip to visit Tippler Ellie in Ottawa, we decided on doing an American beer tour as Ottawa is a relatively short drive to both New York and Vermont. a quick Google search led us to the obvious conclusion of going to either Burlington, Vermont or Lake Placid, NY. seemingly, these towns are both hotbeds of craft beer in that neck of the woods. since my trip was spawned from a need to get out of Vancouver during the Olympics, I didn't want to go to another Olympic town - so, Burlington it was. initially, we were going to try to tour some of Burlington's breweries and then do some sampling, but soon after arriving, a couple of Burlingtonians informed us that we had arrived during Mardi Gras weekend and that we should get ready to give'r.

although we didn't end up doing any tours of breweries, we tried to sample a lot of different beer - mainly ones from Vermont. it seemed as if every restaurant/pub that we went to had a minimum of a dozen beer on tap and many had cask conditioned offerings. our first stop was for burgers and beer at the Scuffer Steak and Ale House which boasts 15 taps and 50 different bottles. we tried a few Vermont brews including the citrus hopped Wolavers IPA and the floral hopped and sweetly malted Long Trail Pale Ale, but the standout here was from neighbouring NY - Brooklyn Brewing's Cookie Jar Porter. with an initial sweet, vanilla aroma, this porter had lots of deep dark chocolate tastes and a creamy body. I guess with all that sweetness, it shouldn't have been a surprise to find out that it was rocking a 8% ABV punch, but I would have never known if I hadn't read the menu. before heading to one of our preplanned beer destinations, we went to some townie bars and loaded up on $2 Rolling Rocks. this light 'extra' pale ale is one of my guilty drinking pleasures when I travel stateside. they're very easy drinking and sometimes that's the name of the game. after being refused a round of Jagerbombs at the townie bar (due to the bar's potential legal ramifications from people chipping their teeth), we headed towards the Vermont Pub & Brewery.

we had tried to get into the VPB earlier in the evening, but there was a 45 minutes line up and our beer thirst couldn't handle that length of time being unsatisfied. we got there later in the evening to have a couple before last call. VPB makes all there own draughts, which at the time, had an arsenal of 10 with 3 more being cask conditioned and ready to be pulled. they did 3oz sampler bats here, so I went with their Dogbit Bitter, Citra Pale Ale, Bombay Grab IPA, and the Vermont Smoked Porter. although they were all great, 2 of the samples really stood out. I could tell you that VPB smoke their own malts over apple, maple and hickory wood chips to recreate this 7th century style robust porter, which is how the menu describes this superb porter, but it was late and I was drunk so my tasting notes just read, "this Porter tastes of campfire and beef jerky!" sadly, that's really my best description of it's taste. the other standout beer was the Citra Pale Ale. golden in colour, very citrusy in aroma, this pale ale had a beautiful citrus bitterness that overwhelmed and then faded quickly. the short lasting bitterness, made this 60 IBU beer a lot more drinkable than a lot of it's highly hopped counterparts. so much so, I ordered another pint. I didn't realize this until now, but the Citra PA is very similar to a Yaletown IPA that is being poured at the Alibi room right now (more on that one in a few posts time).

the next day we sampled a couple of different beer at Magic Hat's tasting room, but soon realized that everyone was getting ready to head into town to take part in the Mardi Gras parade. after filling up on brekkie, we decided to follow suit. a few walkie poppies later and we were on Church Street ready to see some floats and catch some beads. it was loads of fun, but my beer critiquing cap had gone back to the haberdashery from where it came from. in fact, I think (and by 'I think', I mean 'I know') that I ended up at an afternoon dance club, listening to Lady Gaga with a bear couple that Ellie met and drinking (not enjoying) a Bud Lite with lime. hey - don't judge me! they were $2 and I'm half Scottish. to salvage some respect, that I have obviously lost in your eyes, I can tell you that the day ended with a pint of Farmhouse Ale at the American Flatbread Tap Room. this 10% ABV Belgian-style ale wasn't the wisest choice to end a long day drinking session with. I literally went with the first choice on their extensive list of 11 house brewed zero gravity beer, 8 'guest' taps (3 of which were cask pulls), and 80+ bottles. rereading the menu now, I'm really kicking myself for not having the stamina at the time to pay more attention to it. the menu easily has 20 beer that are on my bucket list. I guess that was my punishment for drinking a Bud Lite with Lime.

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

La Vache Folle (Mad Cow) Extra Special Bitter

Microbrasserie Charlevoix

I've been waiting far too long to drink this Christmas present from Tippler L.E. and after a month off the sauce, I've built up quite a beer thirst. a thirst that these mini cans of Asahi that were left in my fridge can't quench.I've looked in all of Vancouver's beer haunts and have yet to find any of Charlevoix's beers, so we're not likely to see this bottle of small-town Quebecois beer 'round these neck of the woods. this is a sad fact as La Vache Folle is delicious! is it delicious because it's the first beer I've had in a while or is it actually delicious? honestly, it's a bit of both.

as you can see by the photo, The Mad Cow rocks a pretty seriously thick, pillowy, root beer float head. the head lingered for a stretch and left some clingy lace in the glass. not surprisingly, this unfiltered Extra Special Bitter poured very cloudy. it's aroma is basically a marmite sandwich - yeast on top of yeast. most ESB's that I've tasted really lack a good dose of the promised 'B' - not the case here. the bitterness hits you right away with some spicy hops and yeast and continues with long lasting piny hops. I think that strong yeast smell tricked me as there wasn't a strong taste of it in the beer. the heavy yeast smell and the multiple hop tastes in this beer reminded me of the Unibroue beer, Trois Pistoles.
as I said earlier, delicious!

A-
500ml bottle, 6% alc/vol

Old Rasputin XII Imperial Stout

last night a few of us got together at the Alibi room to celebrate the holidays. we managed to crack the bottle of Old Rasputin XII Imperial Stout that I gave to Big Love for Christmas. I only had a wee lil' sample of it, but I was in love from the first sniff. there was loads of molasses and dark liquor in the nose. I tasted bitter chocolate while a couple of us said it tasted a little like port. alas, my 2 ounce sample was quickly gone. Big Love will have to elaborate on this one and I'll have to start busking outside Brewery Creek to afford another bottle.

anyway, Merry Christmas, Tipplers!

A Tippler's Roadtrip Part 2: Meandering to Mecca

After a couple of nights in Vegas and a couple in the Bay area, we started up the Northern Californian coast in attempts to be at North Coast Brewing for lunch. the road to Fort Bragg from San Francisco leads you through Sonoma County, which is California's other great wine region. it's a good thing that it was fairly early in the morning when we passed by the wineries as a glass of morning Zinfandel is not as appetizing as a cold afternoon beer. my Dad and I pressed on through to the town of Boonville which is home to Anderson Valley Brewing. I have tried a few of their selections during one of the previous Tippler's Night Out sessions, but I believe that we had limited ourselves to Anderson Valley's IPAs. AV Brewing was very impressive with a full selection of their beer on draught at the tasting bar, a store with beer glasses and accessories, a bottle filled fridge, a cool dog that hung out at the brewery, and an 18 hole FROLF course! of the few samples that my Dad and I selected, the standouts for me were Brother David’s Double Abbey Style Ale and Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout. my Dad really liked their Belk's ESB. if you can seek out a bottle of the David's Double, I highly recommend picking up a couple of bottles. it has really long-lasting tastes of rum and molasses and is high in alcohol, bound to keep you warm over Christmas.

after AVB, I took the reigns on the PAR car (yes, that is my golfing Dad's vanity license plate) to drive through the redwoods toward North Coast. it was on this short drive that my Dad revealed to me that my grandfather's last words before he died were, "bloody good beer". it was a response to my uncle asking why he preferred to go to the pub that further away from his house rather than the one that was across the street. can you believe that? he had never told me this before, and I thought it was an obvious sign that I was meant to be a Tippler.

by the time we got to North Coast it was lunchtime and we were ready to refuel. NC Brewing is in a touristy coastal summer town called Fort Bragg and the brewery & pub seem to be the hub of the town with buildings occupying 3 of the 4 corners of the main intersection. maybe I had built up this trip to North Coast too much in my mind as I was slightly disappointed that the pub didn't have any beers on tap that I have yet to try. that being said they had pretty much the entire North Coast line up on tap, except for a few of their limited releases. the pub always has one cask conditioned beer on the menu and I was lucky enough to be there for the last day of their cask condition Red Seal Ale (a JT fav). being familiar (very familiar) with this beer, I has happy to taste the differences between it's conditioned and bottled forms. the conditioning really brought out the smokey flavour that is much more subtle in the bottled version. the cask conditioning also mellowed out some of the hopiness and, of course, softened it's carbonation. I hit up the souvenir shop for some glasses and some bottles of brew and left North Coast a happy Tippler.

remember in the previous post, where I mentioned that Sierra Nevada was a great, widely available West Coast beer? well, in Northern California and Oregon, there is a second great beer that everyone seems to have - Deschutes. their Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Black Butte Porter were at every gas station that we went too and even at The Apple Peddler, the 24 hour pink neoned diner that was at our last stop of the trip, Crescent City. the Peddler had 4 beer choices, Bud, Bud Light, Mirror Pond, and Black Butte... all $2 each. awesome.

the next day of driving was a long one that found ourselves back in Vancouver by midnight. unfortunately the Tippler Trippler had no time to explore any of breweries of craft beer's homeland: Oregon. we managed to go quickly to the Rogue Brew Pub in Portland to pick up the remainder of my Canadian customs allocated beer supply. this consisted of me quickly picking up some bottles that I have never seen or tried before. I hope that I choose some good ones as sometimes Rogue beer is a bit hit & miss. it's too bad my Dad and I couldn't stay for a meal there as the brew pub was a highlight of a previous Oregon trip. come to think of it, I'm OK with missing out on the Oregon breweries, because that gives me an excuse to go back there in the spring. roadtrip anyone?

A Tippler's Roadtrip Part 1: Desert Draughts

I'm back from the pilgrimage with happy tales of tippling. the road trip with my Dad has come to a close after meandering through Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington.

the first stop on the 3273km beer run was Glendale, AZ, to go see the Phoenix Coyotes play. I now understand why this team is bankrupt and averaging a meager 8,000 fans a game. although the stadium is new and in a huge entertainment complex full of bars, restaurants, theaters, and stores, it's in the middle of nowhere. it's a one hour drive from most parts of Phoenix, which is like going to Abbotsford to watch the Canucks play. anyway, unlike most sporting events, the beer at the game was shockingly cheap. $4 got you a 22oz can of Bud, or if you're willing to plunk down another buck, you can get an equally huge bottle of Red Stripe. after the game, we headed to the Yard House to have a look at their legendary beer selection. my little Tippler heart sank as I gazed at their 130 taps of draught beer! overwhelmed by the selection and faced with the time limit of about 2 pints, I had to get my shit together and make some decisions. first up: Dogfish Head's 60 Minutes IPA. we've loved and reviewed this one before, so I won't go into how much I liked it, but this was the first opportunity to try it on tap. it did not disappoint, as the floral hoppiness really seem to mellow out in the keg. I went with Lost Coast's Downtown Brown as my next selection which proved to be a great smooth drinking nut brown ale. I can't remember much more than that as at this point I had been traveling all day and up for more than 20 hours.

I have always loved the craft brew selection in the Western States, but sometimes you're in a small town with less choice or need to get beer quickly at a 7-11 or a gas station. if you find yourself in this sort of situation, there's always trusty ol' Sierra Nevada to bail you out. you can find this stuff pretty much anywhere in the Western US and it's GOOD. it's usually the pale ale that is widely available, but this time I picked up 6 of their Torpedo Extra IPA and I was very pleased. it pours a beautiful amber/cooper colour with a just a little bit of a thin head. in the aroma I smelled grapefruit and of course some strong, pungent hops. I was expecting these hops to dominant the taste but I was gladly wrong. the hops managed to balance the full flavoured malt and was highly drinkable even for a beer showing up to party at 7.2% ABV.

after Phoenix, my Dad and I set out to drive back to the 49th parallel. after leaving a bit late, we were extremely lucky to be able to get to the Grand Canyon for sunset and then drive on towards Vegas. the Tipplerness of Vegas is dubious as the search of cheap or free drinks often outweighs the search for quality ones. a couple of 'go to' Vegas beer staples in the casinos are Heineken and Blue Moon (Coor's 'craft brew'-style wit). both are adequate and easy drinking and perfect for a night out in Sin City, although no amount of alcohol or drugs can prepare you for the psychedelic mindcuss that is known as Cirque du Soliel.

blerg ... time has crept up on me. the 2nd post of the trip, through California, will have to come tomorrow. 'ta 'til then.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
A- Draught, 6% alc/vol
Lost Coast Downtown Brown
B+ Draught, 5% alc/vol
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
A- 355ml bottle, 7.2% alc/vol

The Tipplin' Strikes Back - Tippler Kat

we had a second Tippler session last Saturday. I managed to pass out early, leaving my friends to fend for themselves (and leave notes on post-its all over my apartment). luckily, this isn't 1996, or I would have woken up with Jiffy marker all over my face. anyway, here's the first of the tasting notes. from Tippler Kat:
____________________________

The tippling session started with the Unibroue Chambly Noire. This beer looked dark, but didn't taste it. I wasn't sure how to describe it and this left me feeling a little dubious about the whole tasting process. Fortunately, we switched to Coney Island Blockhead, and my words came back to me. The Blockhead was memorable, but slightly off-putting (kind of like a trip to an amusement park that goes slightly awry). This red lager had no head to speak of, a rich red copper colour, and a hard-blooming sweet alcoholic taste. While other tipplers tasted caramel, I was reminded more of brandy (particularly that weird sweet brandy used to fill Christmas chocolates. Everyone felt a little sick and dizzy after a small glass, as if we'd eaten too much cotton candy and rode the teacups.

In contrast, the Southern Tier Jah-va Imperial Coffee Stout seemed like an exercise in restraint (it probably wasn't). This opaque brew smelled like coffee and boasted sweet malts with a delicious chocolaty aftertaste. Despite the 11% alcohol content, it didn't taste boozy at all. Probably because the Blockhead had melted my taste buds.



At this point, Big Love declared himself “pushed to the malt edge,” so we switched to the crisp and piny Anderson Valley Hop Oten IPA. This golden-brown ale was hoppy, but the bitterness was well-balanced and not overwhelming. As it warmed, it became more bitter, but never lost its appealingly bracing qualities.

The North Coast Le Merle had a fluffy head scented with citrus. The beer was hazy golden-brown and highly carbonated. I could taste distinct notes of grapefruit. The aftertaste was quick-fading.

Now determined to throw Big Love over the hops edge, we tried the night's winner, Half Pints' humulus ludicrous. The bright gold IPA offered a clean, smooth hops taste that was astringent rather than bitter. The delicious finishing hops turned it into an unusually beguiling IPA that coaxes and caresses instead of just punching you in the face (at least, that's what my notes say).

Slightly worn out by all the bold beers we had tasted, we took a breather with a can of Red Racer Pumpkin. This inoffensive ale was perfumy with the smell of pumpkin (and possibly bubblegum). It tasted convincingly like pumpkin pie, with spicy hints of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Then, Tippler Ben pushed us back onto the stout train with Moylan's Imperial Stout. At this point my memory starts to get foggy, but I remember a dark smooth chocolate taste that gripped the tongue. The full-bodied flavour was bitter but luscious. Yum!

At this point, my notes break down. We had all over-tippled and some of us were starting to tipple over. We tried at least three beverages after this, but since I can no longer the type of pizza we ate beforehand, my reflections are probably inaccurate. Although the night started dubiously, I would quite be happy to try Half Pints humulus ludicrous, Moylan's Imperial Stout and the Anderson Valley Hop Oten IPA again.

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.