River City Raspberry Ale by Brewsters

Brewsters' River City Raspberry Ale

The Hoppy Hippy sez:

Ahhh… Brewsters. Allow me to be nostalgic for a moment. Brewsters is where it all started for me. In the fall of 2007. New to the big city life, knowing only 3 souls, and being literally one block and an intersection away – Brewsters was it.

I hated beer very much at that point, but really only had Canadian, Lucky and the one beer that shalt not be named (John Oliver gets me)… so …obviously.

I was a spiced rum and coke, non-beer drinker looking for a change and Brewsters quickly became a local hang out for us at least once a week. The change was inevitable.

November 2007- 2011 plus beer, plus friends equals the best of times.

The first time I dabbled back in the beer world since my first few sips in high school was November 2007 and it was a pint of Brewsters Brew Foot Blueberry Ale. It was like how you felt when you first heard the album ‘Throwing Copper’ by Live in its entirety, or when you put bacon in your grilled cheese sandwich for the first time. You dug it. You were intrigued. It was really good.

Yup. Brewsters in Oliver Square holds a special place in my heart; mostly for all the memories and stories that developed at those tables for the next few years while we held a pint in our hands. But also…Brewsters beer is damn good.

I’d still order a Blueberry Ale over the Raspberry Ale 100% of the time. But that’s because I love the Blueberry. Don’t let that stop you from ordering the Raspberry though – it’s fantastic.

Described as fruit wheat beer mixed with raspberry puree, this ale is refreshingly clean and clear. It’s low on head and super smooth to drink. I don’t find the raspberry flavor to be overwhelming or tangy– it’s subtle with very little after taste.

If you order a pint of this at Brewsters it comes with raspberries floating on the top of the beer. Grab a six pack from the local liquor store and the labels have an almost trendy retro look that could be mistaken to be an old fashioned root beer in the fridge. The bottles are also stamped with the date the beer was bottled so you can make sure you’re picking the freshest of the crop.

If you’re looking to start training your taste buds on beer. This is where to start. It’s an easy one and constant in flavor. Apply the stamp of approval here. 

Alewife Anne sez:

Typically, I hate brew pub chains like Brewsters; they're invariably populated by douchebags with neck tattoos and ballcaps, macking on girls who agree to kiss their girlfriends in order to get the douchebags to buy them more drinks. Gross. And even grosser than the social dynamics in these places is the beer, where Stella Artois is considered a bold choice (NOT!).

But the beer at Brewsters is so good that I will enthusiastically hole myself up in a corner (preferably one where I can't see the large screen tvs featuring "professional" sports) and order a pint or two. There's always something seasonal on tap at Brewsters, and we're lucky that the River City Raspberry Ale is around all year long.

The 5% apv wheat ale is a perfect base for the raspberry puree used to flavour it. It's a lovely golden colour, brilliantly clear and crisp and with a lively effervescence. A thin head melts away to the edges of the glass to allow the tart, winey raspberry nose to float up. What impresses me most is how balanced it is--it's a masterful blending of the hoppy wheat ale and fruit. The raspberry is there, but it's a complement, not the dominant flavour.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable beer. The River City Raspberry Ale transcends all the disdain and snobbery that fruit beers have had to endure. This doesn't have to be just the one character beer you start the night off with before settling into the session. This one will give you raspberry all night, and in the nicest possible way. 

And, if, like me, you can't stand the douchebags and the faux lesbians for too long, Brewsters offers their product in bottles or growlers at the bar to take home at a reasonable price! Or skip the pub altogether and hit Sherbrooke Liquor Store for a six-pack!

3.5 hop cones out of 5.

And that's the truth. PHHHTTT!

Steigl Radler Grapefruit Beer by Steiglbrouerie zu Salzburg (Austria)

The Hoppy Hippie sez:

Steigl Radler

Two things. No three:

1)         I hate drinking beers out of cans. Hate it. 

2)         I dislike the taste of grapefruit very much.

3)         I fucking love Stiegl Radler.

Three more things:

1)         Stiegl Radler is in a can. A tall can. So there’s extra can.

2)         It’s grapefruit flavored.

3)         I fucking love Stiegl Radler.

There’s something about the colors of the can that remind me of a countryside picnic sometime in the 1950’s. From Austria; this Radler is ridiculously inexpensive in the liquor stores, (typically around $3.00 or under,) but ridiculously priced at pubs and restaurants (usually around $8-$9.)

I discovered this one a few years ago while at Public House downtown with some friends. I was wanting a Rickards White, which they were out of, so the waitress recommend this. It was on tap and comes in a slim curvy drinking glass. Rickards White and Stiegl Radler are not the same tasting FYI, but I really dug it.

It’s high with carbonation and pours a very cloudy sunshine yellow color. It’s hard not to notice the carbonation first, but it is quickly replaced with a poppy refreshing smack of flavor. 

This is that drink you want after spending hours doing yard work on a sunny day. This is not really the drink you want at 11:00 pm at your local Irish pub. 

I fucking love Stiegl Radler. You will too. Just pour it out of the can and into a glass.

Alewife Anne sez:

I have heard this beverage described dismissively as a "chick's beer", usually by some mouthbreather in a backwards ballcap and an Oiler's jersey slugging back a cold Coors Lite (which I can assure you will never appear on these hallowed pages). The intimation here is that "chicks" dig Steigl Radler because "chicks" prefer sweet things, and Steigl might as well be soda pop.

Well, boys, to start with, you're wrong about chicks. I know several ladies who are as excited by a mouthful of suds as Bill Cosby over quaaludes, and these women can throw down with the best of them. These broads can drink, and they drink good stuff.

Which is why some of them like Steigl Radler. It's as cloudy as any heifeweizen, but the similarities stop there. It looks and smells just like grapefruit juice. It starts with a lively white head that disappears almost immediately, like Mountain Dew, and the first sniff promises that it will taste like Fanta.

But it doesn't.

It's not as sweet on the palette as the smell suggests. There is an element of fruit juice, yes, but the astringency of the citrus nicely balances that off. The finish is all citrus peel. It is very lightly carbonated, so if you're one of those people whose life ambition is to recite all the lyrics to "Dark Side Of the Moon" in a single belch, try another beverage.

This is not a complex or palette-challenging brew, but it is thoroughly enjoyable, especially on a hot patio or with spicy Mexican food. Also, at 2.5 apv, this is the kind of drink you can enjoy all night without worrying too much about being hungover for tomorrow's job interview or church service. Also, if you're drinking it at home, it's cheap. I paid less than $5.00 CDN for a 500 mL can of Austrian grapefruity goodness.

Yes, this beer certainly has an ardent following with young ladies who wear a lot of eye makeup and use the word "like" to excess in their conversation. And I would generally choose something a little more malt-forward over Steigl Radler, but I would choose this hands down over many pissy North American lagers.

3 hop cones out of 5.

Duchesse de Burgogne by Br. Verhaege Vichte

Alewife Anne sez:

La Duchesse

Duchesse de Bourgogne translates out of Flemish as the Duchess of Burgundy. Burgundy--as well as a province in northern France--is a famous wine. And so it is an incredibly suitable name for this remarkable little beer.

As you can see in the photo above, La Duchesse is a red head, almost porter black, with a lacy off-white foam that rapidly dissipates. The first sniff hints at wine. Then the oak slowly opens up.

This is precisely the order in which the beer reveals itself on the palette. The first mouthful is assertively cidery, one could say that vinegar is the top note. And this continues on until the beer leisurely mellows, like a stroll in the castle garden. One begins to taste oak casks and dark viscous berries, and the wine character so prevalent in the first few sips matures into dryness. The hops are never anything more than a mere suggestion. 

This is easily one of the most unique and flavourful beers I have ever enjoyed. This is why the Belgians and the Flemish are widely considered some of the premier brewers in both the medieval and modern world. La Duchesse is assertive but lively. She is unlike any other, and I look forward to conversing with her again in the near future.

4.5 hop cones out of 5.

The Hoppy Hippie sez:
6.2% Strong Beer from Belgium. I’ve passed this single bottle over on the shelves of specialty beer shops many a time. No reason really. The picture reminds me of the Girl with the Pearl Earring – clearly no relation, but I felt like mentioning it.

First I thought it was caramel I was smelling. Nope. Now it’s a mix of molasses and that port I accidentally drank quickly when I thought it was a Merlot. Cause you know, drinking Merlot quickly is acceptable?? I’m also getting hints of balsamic? What’s happening?

Cheers.

Sip.

WHOA. Ok I don’t know what happened there but I was not expecting that. It’s seemingly very carbonated – more so than what I normally like, but damn is this good!

It’s a reddish amber color with a thin head that diminishes fairly quickly. Notes of balsamic - I still get the molasses. Sour though.

It tastes like the happiness you would get while wearing warm and fuzzy mittens in Canmore.

Not a summer beer for me – but an every other season in Canada beer for sure.

This is exceptional. Where has this been all my life? Or...since the legal age of 18 of course…

I give it a rating way higher than a “meh” and would even raise that to a “seriously – you have to try this.”  

Let me know what you think!

Alley Kat's Lemon Hefeweizen

Alewife Anne sez:
Hello, and welcome to the first posting of Two Women, One Beer. 

The Hoppy Hippie and I decided our first review would be from a brewery right here in town, Alley Kat. You'll be seeing more of their products here, because these guys and gals consistently turn out a plethora of flavours that challenge and delight the palette.

Alley Kat Lemon Heifweizen

Alley Kat's Lemon Heifeweizen  comes in a big ol' 650 mL bottle of tasty 4.9 % apv goodness. Under the bottle cap is written, "Yipee!" which is no understatement. This is a golden blond brew, opaque and cloudy, which is typical of its type, which is often unfiltered. The head formed a lovely snowy froth on the surface, and the first sniff was of cloves. Again, typical of a hefeweizen, but I like these "white" beers, so I was intrigued. I was expecting more of a lemon flavour, but it remained quite subtle--cloves and spice remain the top notes of this beer. If you want more lemon, add a slice or two; otherwise, enjoy the citrus as it slowly matures in the finish.

I found this to be a highly appealing, refreshing beer that captures the best of its breed. If you're looking for a big lemon hit, you won't find it here. It remains quite subtle, but I like that. After all, this ain't no lambic.

This lovely lemon hefeweizen gets 3.5 hop cones out of five!

The Hoppy Hippie sez:
Coming in from your local Edmonton Brewery in a 650 ml bottle, the Lemon Hefeweizen is self-described as “Cloudy With a Chance of Lemon.” As one of Alley Kat’s limited runs for 2015, it gives a bit of bite but not a lot of punch. Don’t get me wrong  - it’s a good beer, but I think “with a chance of lemon” is a fine descriptor for it. Its heavy on the cloves, and the citrus flavor I was assuming would be there as little more than a chance is few and far between. 4^th sip. Rumor says it also contains hints of banana. 5^th sip. The cloves are starting to diminish slightly and the fruity flavors are settling. Interesting. Not sure if the lemon is really there but I can taste banana now that I’m thinking about banana. I’m giving it more than a “meh” for sure, but it’s not overly anything special. Not memorable. I won’t consciously buy it again, but I’d drink it over other mediocre beers. And as always, don’t forget to look under the cap of all your Alley Kat beers. Each cap comes with its own magic 8 ball answer. My cap reads “Definitely.” But I’m not telling you what I asked it.