Fullers Organic Honey Dew

Sparkling gold, hops character, accents of honeycomb and vague sweetness.  The honey is interesting, but doesn't make much of an impact in the overall picture.

The Bottom Line: This novelty beer will be quickly forgotten, unless, of course, you're a bear of very little brain.

The Rating: Eh

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Mill Street Tankhouse Ale

This Toronto-based microbrewery turns out a mighty fine brew.  Tankhouse Ale is a cheery reddish copper crowned with bright white.  Hops and mild maltiness greet the nose, and the palate follows suit with flavors of slightly sweet malt, caramel, grass, and hoppy bitterness.  Finish is bitter but rounded and clean.

The Bottom Line: A sturdy brew with more depth than many American Pale Ales.

The Rating: Good Stuff

Krombacher Pils

The reviews for boring beers should be short and to the point, right?  So to that end: Looks like apple juice with a nice head and lacing.  Smells like alcohol and hops.  Taste is straighforward hops, vague fruitiness, slight metallic from the can, and finishes with a bitterness that is almost acrid.

The Bottom Line:  You'll remember the cool tower logo a lot longer than you will the beer.

The Rating:  Eh.

Singha Lager Beer

I tried this pale lager by Boon Rawd Brewery in Bankock, Thailand, in a bottle at a local Thai restaurant.  It pours a clear golden yellow with an almost non-existent white head, giving off whiffs of corn and sweet malt.   Taste is clean and crisp, with sweetness and fruit that is almost wine-like, and accompanied by a prickly mouthfeel and a dry hops finish.

The Bottom Line: A little sweeter, pricklier, and more fruity than most American pales, but not bad with food.

The Rating: Not Bad

Garrison Martello Stout

Garrison Martello Stout is a thick, black and surly blending of bitter espresso, dark chocolate, and roasted malt.  Medium tan head lasts forever with nice lacing, while the beer itself is a murky black.  Aroma is of chocolate and coffee.

The Bottom Line:  On the dry and bitter side, but still good.

The Rating:  Not Bad.

Harviestoun Old Engine Oil

Pours out a thick, murky black with no head or lacing to speak of.  Aroma is rich and hints of bitter-sweet chocolate and roasted malt.  More layers of chocolate, coffee, roast, malt, smoke, and bitterness greet the palate, accompanied by a slight prickle of carbonation.

The Bottom Line: This is viscous black liquid love.

The Rating: Legendary.

Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout

This beer is an indescribable experience like no other.  It's a cool summer midnight in your glass, rich and dark and alive and yet understated and refined.

It pours an oily black with a rich khaki head.  Aroma is a complicated palate of yeast, chocolate, bread, raisin, and light caramel.  Fruit and yeast greet your tastebuds, followed quietly by chocolate that isn't sweet, roasted coffee and malt, and a mild burst of alcohol.  There's a depth of flavor here that is both mysterious and comforting, strange and yet so hauntingly familiar.  It finishes bitter and a little dry and slightly sour, but refreshingly and invitingly so.

This was my first imperial, so it may be that I don't yet know what I'm talking about... but.  If this beer really is an example of the imperial style, then I am, without a doubt, an Empire man.

The Bottom Line: I think I've got something in my eye... *Sniffle*

The Rating: Legendary.

Hockley Valley Black and Tan

A "Black and Tan" is blend of pale ale and dark beer, often poured in such a way as to create a layered effect.  In some cases, the two are simply mixed together.  When a pale lager is substituted for the ale, it's called "Half and Half".

In this case, it's a blending of Hockley Stout and a specially-brewed ale to stand in as the "tan".  This delightful brew pours out a rich dark mahogany with a creamy tan head that gently exudes the aromas of smoke, coffee, chocolate, and sweet malt.  The taste is a subtle explosion of sorts, bursting with all of the aforementioned presences with breathtaking richness and harmony that takes one's breath away.

The Bottom Line: I ran out of this liquid awesomeness last night, slurped the last precious drops from the bottom of my glass, and *may* have tried to lick the Hockley Valley website.

The Rating: Good Stuff.

Holsten Festbock

I like the contrast of light and dark, so I grabbed this dunkler bock from Holsten Brauerei last night to pair with my Hockley Valley brown ale.

Holsten has been brewing since the mid nineteen hundreds, and it shows in this classic bock.  Clear and coppery in color, it spouts an odd, fizzy, soda-like head that dissipates quickly and disappointingly without leaving a ghost of a trace behind save for the occasional prickly bubble.   It's pleasantly nutty and malty on the nose, exciting the imagination with visions of a crackling hearth, a soft chair, and quiet conversation.

The taste was surprising in it's sweetness, and even more so in how well it works.  Starting off slightly bitter, the flavor flowers into buttery caramel, roasted malt, and a rounded sweetness that finishes smoothly.

The Bottom Line: A good choice for sipping by a fire with good friends.

The Rating: Not Bad.

Anchor Steam Beer

I've been eyeing this West Coast brew at my local MLCC for quite some time, but never tried it until today.  The anchor logo and squat bottle have always intrigued me, conjuring up grainy, yellowed images of bearded sea captains and chugging trawlers.

Anchor Steam pours a nice coppery color with a creamy off-white head.  Lacing is slight, but sticky.    It's full and nutty on the nose, with malt and hops taking center stage.  Likewise on the palate, where the sweet malt and rounded profile are both pleasing and refreshing.  Tapers off with a slightly crispy bitterness.

The Bottom Line:  This nicely balanced and no-nonsense brew went well with my spicy dinner and was the perfect ending to a long, hot day.

The Rating:  Good Stuff.

Negra Modelo

This Mexican beer had me expecting a fiesta in a glass, but ended up being surprisingly generic.

Dark amber in color with an off-white head, this beer smells oddly of Vienna sausages, malt, and not much else.  Taste is fairly clean with no particularly distinguishing character.

La línea de base: ¿Podría un mejor sabor si se combina con música de banda.

La Valoración: Eh.

[Traducción al español por traductor de Google]

Estrella Damm

Estrella Damm cervesa is nothing more and nothing less than your average Damm lager.

Crystal clear, straw-colored, and with a tall white head, this Damm beer is crisp, clean, and light.  The Damm aroma is of Damm delicate hops and a slight Damm sweetness, and finishes cleanly.

The Bottom Line:  It's not horrible, but it's not Damm good, either.

The Rating:  Eh.

Desnoes and Geddes Dragon Stout

Dragon Stout by Jamaican brewer Desnoes and Geddes comes in a teeny-tiny bottle (only 300ML) but packs a wallop with the 7.5% alcohol content.

It pours murky and dark with a vague reddish hue and a finger of dense tan head.  Aroma is of alcohol, toffee,  coffee, light hops, and baker's chocolate.

The taste is sweet, but then it would have to be to cover up all of the alcohol.  It hints of licorice and spice, almost like some sort of rum.  Notes of espresso lurk in the background, but chocolate takes center stage.  The finish is bittersweet and alcoholic.

The Bottom Line:  Good, but a bit sweet and chocolatey for my tastes.

The Rating:  Not Bad.

Erdinger Weissbräu Dunkel

Brewed by Erdinger Weissbräu, this Gernan dunkel [dark beer] is described as "A wheat beer from the good old days".  If the good old days were as good as this beer, then they were indeed good.

It looks absolutely beautiful in the glass, a rich, murky dark brown with contrasting off-white head.  The head remains all the way to the end, without much lacing.

My nose was quite busy with this beer, picking out the predominant chocolate, subtle fruit, light alcohol, raisin, roasted hops, and caramel.  Flavor is heady, with malt, hops, and toasted wheat dominating.  Carbonation is mild, and it finishes with a medium bitterness.

The Bottom Line:  This complex dark beer has an interesting aroma and flavor profile which makes it highly enjoyable.

The Rating:  Good Stuff.

Wychwood Hobgoblin (Pasteurized)

I noticed this brew from the UK brewer Wychwood at the local MLCC and thought I'd give it a whirl.

Hobgoblin is a pale reddish brown with a light tan head.  The head sticks around and laces nicely.  The aroma  isn't bad, smelling of malt, caramel, and tea, but the alcohol overpowers it a bit.  It dominates the middle half of the flavor profile, too, which has a medium burnt sugar bitterness that fades into prickly alcohol and then to a hops finish.

I found the alcohol flavor to be fairly distracting and odd, especially considering that it's only 5.2% ABV.  If it wasn't for that, though, Hobgoblin would fall fairly flat, as the only other major theme is the same hops and malt you can get from most any other brew.

The Bottom Line:  Not a horrible beer, but not a good one either.

The Rating:  Eh.

Half Pints Bulldog Amber Ale

Half Pints is quickly becoming my favorite brewery.  Their Stir Stick Stout is definitely good stuff, and this refreshingly dry ale isn't far behind.  It's high praise coming from a guy who thinks darker is better.

Bulldog Amber Ale pours a clear, well, amber color with a reasonable off-white head.  The aroma is clean and complicated: wheat, fruit, floral something-or-other, vanilla, dry malt, and other things I can't place.

Taste, like the nose, is a crisp combination of hops, malt, caramel, earthiness.  Pomaceous fruit offers a slight sweetness, while the hops provides medium bitterness.  The finish is dry and crisp and lingers on the roof of your mouth, but not unpleasantly.

The Bottom Line:  I've changed my go-to beer to this one.  This stuff is awesomeness in a bottle.

The Rating:  Good Stuff.

Fort Garry Riptide Pilsner

I've been told that Fort Garry brews "Riptide" specifically for South Beach Casino in Manitoba, but I've never witnessed anyone ordering it there.  Today I found out why.

This watered-down version of Fort Garry Pale has a garish, artificial coloring that is yellower than day-old piss.  Smells like nothing.  Tastes like faint wannabe hops, plastic, carbonation, dishwater, and absolutely nothing else.

The Bottom Line: I couldn't make myself finish drinking this mess.

The Rating: The Gag Reflex.  I had to create a special rating just for this beer.

Moxie's Big Life Amber Ale

Moxie's "Big Life" beers are brewed for them by Big Rock Brewery.  In order to comply with Truth-In-Advertising laws [Do they have those in Canada?], it should probably be renamed, "Nothing Special".

Big Life Amber Ale pours a rich copper with a nice white head that disappeared before I was ready for it to and left little tracing behind.  I tried my best to get a whiff of this thing, even going so far as to stick my nose within a hair's breadth of the head, but to no avail.

Despite being a called an ale, this brew doesn't differ in mouthfeel or body from your average lager.  Diving in, the carbonation is probably the first thing you'll notice, followed by a barky bitter tang that makes the sides of your tongue tingle.  There's a pleasant woody flavor buried somewhere in there, but the hops and roasted malt do a good job of covering it up.

The Bottom Line:  I felt a bit gypped as I was given a copper-colored lager instead of the well-bodied ale I was expecting.  Still, it was significantly better than the mass-marketed crap that most places serve (Fort Garry Pale, for instance), which lends it a much-needed "Get Out Of 'Eh' Free" card.

The Rating: Not Bad.

Big Rock IPA

Big Rock's India Pale Ale was on tap at Moxie's in Winnipeg this evening.

For a "pale", the color is a rich amber, and boasts a decent-sized cream-colored head.  The aroma isn't strong, but what one can detect is simple and straightforward: malt, caramel, and perhaps a touch of hops.

I didn't get much from my first sip.  Second sip was rounded, malty, and may have a bit of a roasted nuttiness that is pleasant and understated.  The taste is predominantly bitter, with a medium dryness that trails off.  There are distinct floral notes, but they don't appear until mid-finish and then quickly dissipate.

The Bottom Line: A solid, tasty IPA that is tolerably bitter and refreshing.  Definitely worth a try.

The Rating: Good Stuff.

Rickard's Red

I'm going to spend as much time writing this review as the beer deserves.  Which isn't much.

Rickard's Red, as the name implies, is red, with a lacy white head.  It's vaguely fruity on the nose, but the aroma is mostly of malt.  It tastes like malt, too, but understated and dry, with whispers of fruity sweetness that turn into a sour bitterness at the finish.

The Bottom Line:  The color is the only memorable thing about this boring Molson grubswill.


The Rating: Eh.

Craft Beer Link

I found this website in the links section of Half Pint's website.   It has lots of basic information about various aspects of craft brewing, including news, how to choose a glass, style definitions, recipes, pairing tips, and more.

If you're like me and don't know much about brewing, this is a good place to start.

http://www.craftbeer.com/

Half Pints Stir Stick Stout

This is my second tasting of this great stout by Half Pints, a local Winnipeg brewery.  It's the only one of Half Pint's brews that I've tried so far, but it has me very excited to try the rest of their line.

Stir Stick Stout pours a very rich black with a short tan head that doesn't hang around.  Chocolaty on the nose, it also hints of slight smokiness that almost borders on acridness.  There's a richness to the aroma, though, which I'm thinking may be the malt.

This beer is perhaps a little on the dry side, but is remarkably smooth.  It tastes exactly like it smells: rich, malty, and a tad smoky, and with strong black coffee bitterness in the middle.  The bitter dark chocolate kicks in at the end with a slightly sour sweetness.  The sweetness may be a bit of a problem for some, and, as Half Pints suggests, this brew may be better suited to play escort to a rich dessert or as an after dinner treat than with a meal.

The Bottom Line:  Perhaps a little sweet, but otherwise very drinkable and full of rich, dark flavors.

The Rating:  Good Stuff.

Yanjing Beer

As the name implies, this is a Chinese beer.  That's all it implies, though, because there's absolutely no further information about it on the 500ml can except for a gaggle of super happy exclamation points.  After a little online research, however, I've learned that it is most likely classified as a pale lager.

Incidentally, I was flipping through movie channels yesterday evening about the time that I poured this watery-looking clear yellow beer, and eventually got stuck on The Switch while waiting for something better to come on.

[I would now like to pause for a moment to briefly state that I'm not a rom-com kind of guy.  This situation was fraught with extraneous circumstances and was decidedly atypical, so please don't go leaping to any unwarranted assumptions.  Thank you, carry on.]

As I sipped this beer and was disappointed with how quickly the weak head disappeared with hardly any trace, I noted several definite similarities between Yanjing's pale lager and Jennifer Aniston's The Switch.  Both were uncomfortably sweet and fruity.  Both were watery and bland -- the beer was so bland, in fact, that I fancied I could actually taste the alcohol.  The beer was slightly prickly in the mouth, while Jennifer Aniston is always prickly on the brain [how the woman is considered to be one of the Hollywood elite when she hasn't done anything particularly more significant than Friends, I'll never know].  Neither was particularly chest-clutchingly bad, but they both felt generic and watery and boring.

Obviously, the movie and the beer were both designed to please the majority of rom-com affectionados and pale lager drinkers respectively by not including any element that might offend or overtax one's delicate taste and sensibilities.  They're both safe.  Unfortunately, this recipe makes for a boring brew and an agonizingly dull flick.

The Bottom Line:  This Super Happy Chinese Beer is Sure to Disappoint Due to it's Bland and Boring Taste!!!

The Rating: The beer will get an Eh rating as soon as I'm finished yawning.  The Switch gets a profound and deserving Yuck.

Lvivske Premium Lager

Mrs. Publican picked up a couple of beers at the local gas, grocery, and MLCC mart this evening.  One of them was this Lvivske Premium, which I've tried before.  She's of Polish descent, so she's naturally biased toward this Ukranian lager.

It pours cloudy and yellow, appearing very similar in appearance to the urine you will produce within an hour or so of drinking it.  There's about a finger or so of dingy white head, but it dissipates quickly and leaves only a few bubbly smears behind.  The aroma is hoppy, somewhat generic, and rather forgettable.

The taste is mildly sweet and smooth, but a mite on the dry side.  The flavor is mostly of hops, but it's nicely rounded and full, giving it a decidedly bread-like quality.  Finish is a bit dry, but not obnoxiously so.

The Bottom Line:  Easily drunk and easily forgotten.

The Rating:  Perhaps the firmest "Eh" I've ever handed down.

Fort Garry Dark Ale

Ahh, Fort Garry Dark.  I have a soft place for this one [it was my first Canadian brew], despite the fact that it's certainly not the best beer you've ever had.  It's not the worst, either, and it's decidedly better than drinking the smelly yellow aberrations of nature and wholesomeness that are Miller, Bud, Coors, and Molson.

Fort Garry Dark Ale pours a murky black, and what light that penetrates reveals reddish hues.  The tan head is hardly worth mentioning, as it fades quickly and, beyond the occasional ring and streak, leaves no lacing.  The aroma is faint, but what whiffs you can get are mostly of burnt caramel.

Mouthfeel is a little prickly due to the mild carbonation.  It's considerably less noticeable in this brew than in Fort Garry Pale.  The taste is of malt, roasted coffee, and a touch of chocolate, but everything is rather understated except for the malt, and even that isn't overbearing or obnoxious.  It goes down smoothly (although, thanks to the carbonation, not as smoothly as Guinness or my new favorite, O'Hara's) and pairs well with food.

The Bottom Line:  This drinkable brew is dark enough to be my preferred go-to beer when nothing more interesting is available, but I would gladly give it up if I found something with little more zip.

The Rating:  Not Bad.

Devil's Pale Ale

This novelty beer by the Great Lakes Brewing Company in Ohio is aptly named.  Dark, stocky, and full of guile, this darker-than-most pale ale is a barky blend of 666kg of malt and 6.6kg of hops.

The aroma is delightfully dark, full, and hints of licorice and, perhaps, a certain indefinable earthiness.  Unfortunately, the taste was not entirely satisfactory.

Devil's Pale starts off nicely rounded and enjoyable, with depth and strength that matches the aroma.  The hops kicked in unexpectedly mid-finish and grappled my palate to the mat, leaving a decidedly bitter and unpleasant aftertaste.  It's not a subtle bitterness, either, it's a Kick-Your-Butt-And-Send-You-Running-Home-Crying-For-Your-Mommy kind of bitterness, practically exploding out of nowhere with blaring notes of cigarette butts and burnt rubber and, perhaps, a teaspoon of brimstone thrown in for good measure.

I could see enjoying this once a year on Halloween, but since bitterness isn't my thing this isn't a beer that I would enjoy drinking more frequently than that.

The Bottom Line:  Expect the flavor equivalent of a crotchkick from the Devil's brew.

The Rating:  As it stands, this one is a tie between Eh and Yuck.

Fort Garry Pale Ale

I'm trying to think of something nice to say about this pale ale from Fort Garry, but I'm at a loss for positive words.

There's hardly any head on this amber-colored brew to speak of, and what little there is disappears quickly.  The aroma is simply of hops and not much else, but even that isn't particularly strong or memorable.  The taste starts off with a faintly oaky element, but this fades quickly into ever-so-slightly bitter hops that is almost completely drowned out by the sharp prickle of carbonation.  The finish is vaguely sour, like grandma's armpits after a marathon knitting session.

And that's it.  An astonishing one-dimensional and boring mess that was obviously intended for people who are more interested in washing down the deep fried, salt encrusted slop that passes for pub fare these days than enjoying a well-crafted brew.

The Bottom line: The boys at Fort Garry definitely fell down on this one.

The Rating: Yuck.

Samuel Adams Nobel Pils

I don't normally care for light beer (read: pale lager), so I wasn't expecting much from this Samuel Adams Noble Pils. I was, however, pleasantly surprised.

This pilsner pours a very nice white head with decent lacing, set daintily atop clear gold. Aroma is mostly hops, with subtle notes of orange zest or grapefruit or other citrus. The taste starts off mild and with a ghost of sweetness on the onset, but this is quickly replaced with a grapefruit-like bitterness that's a little dry. The finish is bitter and dry and lingers.

Properly chilled, the barky citrus character of this beer would be a perfect end to a long hot day of yardwork. I wouldn't care to binge with it, but I would keep a few in the fridge during the summer.

The Bottom line: Get me hot and bothered and we'll try again.

The Rating: Not Bad.

O'Hara's Irish Stout

My mother warned me of this.  Dark, strange mistresses of seduction who would intoxicate me with their sheer beauty and charm.  Little did I know she was talking about beer.

I'd been wanting to try a stout (other than Guinness, of course), since I tend to enjoy dark lager.  I was hoping for an imperial stout, but when I noticed this Irish stout by Carlow Brewing Company on the MLCC shelf, it practically jumped into my arms.

Thus began my love affair with this O'Hara's stout.  It poured inky black with a two-finger tan head.  I'm given to understand that the tan head is indicative of having been brewed with coffee, and the aroma quietly agrees.  The aroma was a sweet blend of chocolate and coffee.  Holding the glass up to the light, I wasn't able to see anything penetrating the murky darkness, except for some reddish hues around the edges.  I've read about this sort of thing in books, but I've never seen it for myself until last night.

The beer is creamy and perfectly smooth, comparable in mouthfeel to Guinness but considerably less dry. It's rich with flavor: coffee, cream, chocolate, an understated sweetness, and a burnt smokiness.  The finish is mildly bitter, but in the best possible way.

This beer also introduced me to an afterglow effect that I've never before experienced.  It's the morning after, and I'm still sighing contentedly to myself.  I never knew beer could be so satisfying, but this one absolutely was.

The Bottom line:  I wanted to make love to this beer.

The Rating: Good Stuff.