Monday 24 August 2015

Brooding Soldier Barrel Aged Dubbel by Brewsters


The Hoppy Hippie Says: 


With a mouthful of a name like that I was expecting a tormented tall dark and handsome. It ended up being some of those.

I won’t bore you with my past love affair with Brewster’s again,(see our River City Raspberry Ale review for that) so I’ll just dive right into this Brooding Soldier.

It comes strong at 8% and pours a gorgeous dark reddish amber color. I love this color. I want a cozy blanket in this color. It’s translucent and with barely any head it looks as though it should be poured into a whisky glass not a pint glass. Rewind. No a wine glass. Cause crazy. This smells of red wine…a 40 year old port even…I immediately wondered if Michael Scott would think it has an oaky after birth.

I want to like this beer.

Torment though, because I don’t like this beer. I’m making a sour face. Not to be confused with a bass face. And there’s the oaky after birth.

I really do not like this beer. This is not a beer. Or should I ask how is this a beer? And while we’re at it…what’s a Dubbel? Does that stand for wine? I hope Alewife Anne lets us know.

I pour my cup over. I can’t finish it. There’s no joy here.

Alewife Anne Says: 

I saw The Brooding Soldier on the shelf, saw that it was by Brewsters and was immediately intrigued, because I couldn’t remember seeing this one on the menu. How had I missed it? Perhaps it was during one of those periods I avoided the bar, due to the assholery that often occurs there. After all, my capacity for good beer is endless, but I can only tolerate so much douchebaggery.

Anyway, the Brooding Soldier is a Belgian “dubbel” style. In the 1830s, these beers were produced by Trappist monks, although the dubbel is now made by secular breweries as well. Originally, the Trappist dubbel was a light, sweet brew with a fairly low alcohol content. Monks had a lot of work to do and needed to have their wits about them. After World War Two, the dubbel developed into a heavier, fruitier beer with more of a wallop. The Brooding Soldier, for example, is 8% apv.

It pours out a fine cinnamon red with a lazy white head. Aged in cabernet sauvignon barrels, it is not surprising that the nose is all red wine. Sipping it reveals a big Malbec fruitiness with a chewy mouthfeel and a dry oaky finish. 

I really, really like this beer.

Some of you may be thinking, “WTF? If you want wine, drink wine. Beer shouldn’t taste like wine!” What I love about this is how it underscores the complexity of beer. It easily has as many different flavours and nuances as wine does. Gone are the days when beer was just a pale pilsner. As much as I hate IPAs, at least they demonstrate a certain creativity and willingness to experiment with the established formula of malt, water, yeast and hops to create something unusual. There is a beer for every palette, and bottom line, this dubbel is unique and delicious.

Four hop cones out of five!




Sunday 16 August 2015

Fuller's India Pale Ale

The Hoppy Hippie sez:
Well, we didn't *hate* it...
Fuller's India Pale Ale
I’ve tried a few IPAs in the past and the two things I’ve noticed on a consistent basis when I try them is; IPA’s make me angry and I never finish the bottle. I’ve even stopped after one sip. This review is off to a good start non?

I refused to buy a 6 pack and grabbed a single Fullers IPA to review instead. The bottle is tall (500ml) and shows to be 5.3%. Visually it looks exactly like the Fullers Organic Honeydew (which I dig) but the label is a royal purple instead. I find the bottle to be a bit of an awkward shape - not super pleasing to the eye and I am not a fan of this purple shade. Quite clearly, my pre-disposition to my rage like feelings towards IPAs is starting to sink in. It pours medium golden blond with little head and smells bitter.

On first taste it’s noticeably flat. And hops. Hops hops.  But amazingly enough not as bitter as I was expecting. To get even weirder here for a moment I noticed the flat before the hops. And with lacking the bitter of an IPA I tried it again. It does have bite (probably the hops) but I’m surprised (and pleased) it’s lacking the bitter taste. I’m even MORE surprised that I don’t hate it.

IPAs are on such a high right now…I don’t understand it. Are you a fan? What am I missing here? I was done with this after 4 sips. Would I buy it again or give it a second thought? Nope. Would I drink it if I was stuck on a deserted island? Yup. And that’s more than I can say for a lot of IPAs I’ve tried. This Hippie gives it a thunderous “Next!”

Alewife Anne sez:
Bit of a history lesson for you now, folks: India Pale Ales (or IPAs) hearken back to the bad old days of the British Raj. The popular story is that those colonizing British bastards were having trouble getting fresh beer from England. The warm Indian climate made it all go off, which was dreadful, Reggie, simply dreadful. This story is not actually true. Beer is alcoholic, which means it is already preserved.

The fact is that in the late 18th century, the Bow Brewery in Middlesex became one of the first breweries to ship beer to India. The East India Company preferred the Bow Brewery product because of its location close to their docks and the Bow's lenient credit terms. Prior to this, pale ales in England had been lightly hopped. But by the mid-18th century, commercial breweries began to sell something called an October beer, which had previously been domestically produced. It was made of a lightly roasted malt, therefore pale, slightly higher in alcohol content, and well-hopped. It proved to be popular with the working classes. The IPA grew out of this October beer, and due to its popularity, was a natural choice for shipment to the British colonies in India.

Now, as anyone who knows me will tell you, the only thing I like better than a nice cool mug of beer is history. So you'd think I'd be all over an IPA like a fat kid on a Smartie. But I don't like 'em. I find them unbalanced. And too grassy. And I utterly deplore the fact that IPAs are absolutely everywhere. It's like an international obsession. The Schmaltz Brewery in New York even makes a quadruple IPA, which makes me queasy to think about. I think the people who go for that kind of thing are the same people who challenge each other to eat the hottest chicken wings on the menu--it's not about taste, it's about stamina.

Anyway, the Hoppy Hippie and I chose to try Fuller's IPA because Fuller's is a fantastic British brewery whose London Pride is possibly one of the best commercially produced beers on the market. We thought that if there was an IPA worth trying, this was it. Fullers' IPA is bottle conditioned, which pays tribute to the original October beers, which were cellar conditioned for two years after brewing. 

This rich golden beer poured out yielding a lacy head and an unremarkable nose. The first sip revealed a medium-bodied beer with a silky mouthfeel, a very clean flavour with a predictably bitter finish. I drank the whole 500 mL bottle and didn't hate it. This is pretty strong praise, considering how I feel about IPAs generally. Seriously, this one was better balanced and more enjoyable than most. The best I can say about it is it was inoffensive. Your mileage may vary, especially if you are an IPA fan.

2.5 hop cones out of five.


Friday 7 August 2015

Picaroon's Irish Red Ale by the Northampton Brewing Company Ltd.

The Hoppy Hippy sez:

Picaroon's Irish Red Ale
And on the seventh day boys and girls, God created Picaroons Irish Red. Yup. That’s right. This is one heavenly creation.

Ambers are never my go to brew. But this one came recommended by a co-worker who’s from out East so I assumed he knew what he was talking about. He’ll laugh and say he had no clue and just thought it was good.

Well he’s not wrong. It’s good. It’s incredible. It’s Buffy season two writing good. It’s Bey when she woke up like this. It’s flawless. Do I drop the mic at this? Dare I throw the beer towel in? Is that it? Am I out? Cause I can’t foresee it getting any better than Picaroons Irish Red.

From Fredericton New Brunswick, this Northampton Brewing Co. LTD Picaroons comes in a 500 ml bottle at 4.8%, and pours a clear dark red amber color with high head. There’s a lumberjack man in red plaid flannel on the label. I dig his beard.

The beer smells of caramel and molasses…and almost a hint of chocolate cookie dough? Is that an option? I don’t even like cookie dough but if that is the smell it’s amazing.

Hitting your taste buds is a completely different taste than the one that lingers for a moment after your first sip. Both hold velvety love though. This beer is smooth, yet holds complexity in a very elegant fashion.

My handwritten notes I made when I tried this beer have a lot of ‘OMG’ underlined, with ‘LOVE IT!’ and the one liner “feels like velvety blanket wrapped around my tongue.” (Which makes sense to someone who describes Hendrick’s gin as “tastes like a rainbow cloud.” Get what I’m saying? It’s really, really good.

Thanks for the recommendation! In return I gave him the address to a little liquor store in town called Sherbrooke so we’re even ;) You can buy this Irish Red ale there under the Amber section as singles. If you find them in 6 packs available somewhere in town please let one Hoppy Hippy know.
 
Alewife Anne sez:
 
This beer came recommended by one of the Hoppy Hippie's friends, and we were anxious to give it a go. I poured it out into my favorite glass tankard, noting the deep, jewel-tone red and the generous foam racing to the edges of the glass. I couldn't get my snout into it fast enough. Big malty nose--I had to check the label a second time because I couldn't believe this wasn't a British beer. Produced by the Northampton Brewing Company of Fredericton, New Brunswick, it's all Canadian, but after the Irish style.

It is said about the Irish that "All their wars are merry, and all their songs are sad". I don't know about that, but this Irish beer makes me very happy. Words I would use to describe the overall impression of this brew? Spectacular, magnificent--yeah, that's nice, Annie, but what does it taste like? Well, beer is often about contrasts. Picaroon's Irish Red Ale is a study in contrasts. The malt delivers a powerful, rich mouthful of toast and dark chocolate, balanced off by spicy Goldings hops, leading to a long, lingering dry espresso finish.
 
I don't dish our five hop cones to every beverage that comes along, but unequivocally, this delicious ambrosia gets full marks.
 
Five hop cones out of five, kids.