Siduri - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Siduri - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 10.2%

A nectary and yeasty aroma with red berry hints just out of the neck of bottle before pouring it. It pours a cloudy (quite cloudy) gold in a glass with large, resilient, fluffy head of foam. The aroma is, obviously, much stronger now herbal, flower blossoms, touches of mint, and clover with a tartness in the background that reminds me of raspberries.

Wow. There is a lot going on in the flavour profile of this beer. It is peppery and tart yet sweet with a herbal yeast flavour. The pepper combines with the alcohol to serve as a mouth-tingling reminder that this is a strong beer at 10.2%. This same peppery flavour makes up the spicy aftertaste and it's very nice with food.

The overall flavour is in a way supported with wood tones that are mixed with a flavour that is very much red ice wine and complement the flavour nicely without being all you can taste and without fading into the background behind all the other delightful flavours. I'm not sure that I would have characterized the as red ice wine right away but knowing that this fabulous saison aged in red ice wine barrels makes it obvious where this delectable undercurrent originates.


This beer is quite expensive at nearly ten dollars a bottle but this price seems very reasonable when you consider the barrel aging, the presentation, the ingredients used and how delicious it is. I strongly suggest giving it a try.

Shock Top (USA - Missouri - St. Louis)

Shock Top Belgian White (USA - Missouri - St. Louis) 5.2%

A nice orange apricot colour in a glass, slightly cloudy. This beer has a pleasant wheat and peach aroma. the taste is more floral and citrus (orange) than spicy but you can definitely taste the added coriander. Made by Anheuser-Busch/In-Bev this is actually (in my opinion) a nice beer. Pleasant fruit tones to go with the wheat flavour and a very slight kick of spice. I'd still prefer it with a little more coriander flavour and I have the sneaking suspicion that they may have used adjuncts like rice or corn in the brewing process but that could just be my natural suspicion of mega-breweries.

Shock Top Raspberry Wheat (Saint Louis, Missouri) 5.2%

Smells strongly of raspberries but doesn't taste all that much like them. Spicy and sweet, fruity and malty; a little bitter. Because it is not drowned in raspberry flavour it is distinctly a wheat beer and a cloudy gold colour in a glass.

Hoegaarden Rosée (Beligum) 3.0%

Hoegaarden Rosée (Beligum) 3.0%

Quite pink in a glass, cloudy. Lots of raspberry but strawberry too in the aroma; a bit like strawberry-rhubarb pie. Tastes a lot like Hoegaarden mixed with fruit juice... because that's pretty much what it is. Some wheat flavours come through with a touch of coriander. Hoegaarden Rosée has a moderately creamy mouthfeel, it is quite sweet but still a little tart, though not very tart, with plenty of raspberry and strawberry flavours that kind of run to peach.

Overall, Hoegaarden Rosée is a very low alcohol, wheat-ale-based, fruit-flavoured wobbly pop: tasty but not really a good fit for beer lovers. It is refreshing enough and could certainly make for an interesting ingredient in some beertails (cocktails made with beer).

False Creek Raspberry Ale - Granville Island Brewing (Canada - BC - Vancouver) 4.5%

False Creek Raspberry Ale - Granville Island Brewing (Canada - BC - Vancouver) 4.5%

Cloudy pink with amber hints in a glass with a frothy quick-fading white head. Tart and sweet raspberry jam aroma but with some nice malty tones in the background. Very tart raspberry flavour with sweet notes, some citrus hints and an appetizing aftertaste. The malt flavour is underwhelming or more accurately overwhelmed by the fruit, so this is a mainly raspberry ale. False Creek Raspberry Ale would mix well in a beertail (aka a beer-cocktail) and would pair well with summer fare from salad to BBQ to sorbet.

A good fruit flavoured beer, if you aren't into flavoured beers: move right along, nothing to see here.

Clocktower Brewing Sampler (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa)

At $14.95 I thought this sample tray was a bit on the expensive side but the glasses were large for samples so that made up for it. An enjoyable time all around: good brews and the food was good too. Unfortunately I can't find my photos so this is going to be a rare photo-less review but there are plenty of pictures on their website. Enjoy!


Kolsch 4.4%

Nice hops spice and malty sweetness gives this beer a nice round finish. The aftertaste is a little skunky like a true Kolsch from Koln Germany, but otherwise it's not very similar to an authentic Kolsch: it's better. Pale gold


Raspberry Wheat 4.4%

Not drowning in raspberry. A fairly bitter finish and aftertaste that is not typical of wheat. Served with a slice of lemon on the rim which I removed at first. With the lemon in the beer it seems sweeter and obviously more lemony, I think it is better with the lemon but I recommend trying it both ways. Barely cloudy gold.


Wishart's Bitter 5.3%

Oak woodiness was first to jump out at me. It is bitter and the hops is a little spicy and floral. Pretty nice. A copper colour in a glass.


Clocktower Red 5.3%

A brown red it's so red. Very hoppy but not overwhelming. Malty and sweet tastes just a little fruity like and finishes with a bit of a burnt flavour suitable to a red.


Bytown Brown 4.8%

Bitter and dark. Roasty, hints of chocolate, quite a bit like coffee. Malty and sweet.

Sea Level Brewing at The Port (Canada - Nova Scotia - Port Williams)

Locate in Port Williams, Nova Scotia, The Port gastropub has award-winning decor, great food and even better beer made on location by Sea Level Brewing. All the prices are very affordable, so, if you are in the area I definitely recommend checking pulling into The Port.

Cheers!

Planter's Pale Ale 4.5%

A sweet, slightly caramel and nutty aroma. Tasted much the same but with hoppy and bitter tones as well as strong bread flavours and a slightly bitter, grain finish. Pale gold in a glass.

Raspberry Wheat 4.5%

A tart but sweet, clearly raspberry aroma. Clear and refreshingly watery mouthfeel. Bitter with a raspberry tartness, not very sweet and more than touch of the grain flavour that comes with freshly crafted beer. The raspberry is not very strong due to the fact that Sea Level Brewing is using actual raspberries rather than syrup or concentrate. Gold with a pink tint that makes it look almost grapefruit pink.

Rojo Mojo Red 5.2%

A mild sweet slightly roasty aroma. Roasty, bitter, more than a touch hoppy. Some sherry like fruit tones. A nice red! Amber in a glass.

Blue Heron Extra Special Bitter 5.5%

Brass coloured in a glass. Very hoppy aroma, sprucy and sweet - makes your mouth water if you are a hops fan and perhaps cringe if you tend to shy away from hoppy brews. Not nearly as bitter as implied by the aroma but still plenty of great hops flavour. Although Blue Heron is a dry-hopped beer, Sea Level Brewing uses hops that they grow themselves that are low in bitter oils but still full of flavour: hoppy and green. It still has a bitter, lingering smoky finish. Sweet but not overly and, as a result of its bitterness, pairs well with food as the menu recommends. Even with the pleasant hops flavours this beer brings it is still mild enough that someone who might not like a strongly hoppy and bitter hops flavour can still enjoy this beer while hops fans are still happy.

Port in the Storm Porter 5.5%

Smoky, coffee aroma with a touch of chocolate. A perfect silky head and very dark in a glass. A very smoky dark coffee flavour touches of grain, bitter and a hint of hops. A smooth mouthfeel. A very nice porter.

St Ambroise Framboise - McAuslan (Canada - Quebec - Montreal)

St Ambroise Framboise - McAuslan  (Canada - Quebec - Montreal) 5.0%

A deep red with a brown hue, this raspberry ale packs quite a flavourful punch. Malty but the tart wild raspberry flavour is the star player here and it pairs with a fresh and lively hops flavour to make a really nice fruit ale. St Ambroise Framboise has some light sediment and also a mix of tastes including pomegranate. Unlike many other fruit beers St Ambroise Framboise is not overly sweet so it still refreshing and not likely to give you that splitting sugar headache the next day like some really sweet beers can. It would pair nicely with light summer fare and it would be interesting to see what recipes it could be incorporated into, I am sure to great effect. A seasonal beer so it's only around for a limited time, I suggest you try it in the sun while you have the chance.