Wellington Russian Imperial Stout (Canada - Ontario - Guelph)

Wellington Russian Imperial Stout (Canada - Ontario - Guelph) 8.0%

Black and opaque with a slight red hue topped with a full, fluffy and fairly resilient brown head. A dark chewy malty aroma with some nice smoky tones. The taste is very malty and filled with dark dried fruit tones like prunes and dates as well as molasses and the same smoky wood tones as in the aroma. Some hints of alcohol in the aftertaste and some tongue tingling but still highly drinkable.

Just like lots of high alcohol and very malty beers I prefer this one fairly warm, maybe even quite warm. I find the alcohol blends better with the overall flavour and many more individual flavours reveal themselves for your enjoyment. There isn't too strong a hops flavour, though there is some pine, even though this Russian Imperial Stout is fairly bitter after all you'll get a fair amount of bitterness from your darker malts anyway. This is quite a nice Russian Imperial Stout though it doesn't have the hop forward taste some of the more aggressively hopped RISs do.

Wellington County Dark Ale (Canada - Ontario - Guelph)

Wellington County Dark Ale (Canada - Ontario - Guelph) 5.0%

A red hued brown colour in a glass; a quite fading head with limited lacing. It has a musty earthy aroma, that reminded me of clay, with roast and wood tones as well. Delicious milk chocolate and fresh brown bread, molasses and just the perfect touch of hops and bitterness to finish. A slightly smoky, roasty and moderately bitter finish with a pleasant biscuit aftertaste. Quite a light mouthfeel making it sessionable and pub-appropriate. I'd suggest serving it around 6 or 7 degree Celsius to allow the flavours to really stand on their own. Wellington County Dark Ale is brewed to be an English Brown Ale and I'd have to say they do a very nice job.