Braunschweig Wicked Wheat - Pump House Brewing (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton)

Braunschweig Wicked Wheat - Pump House Brewing (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.0%

A delectable aroma of cloves and banana, typical of the style. Braunschweig Wicked Wheat pours a cloudy full gold in a glass with a huge, white, fluffy, and highly resilient head of foam: well defines peaks and valleys remained on top of the beer throughout several pourings and plenty of drinks. The veritable eruption of foam does a splendid job of expressing the aroma but does delay the drinking by more than a few precious moments.

The cloves and banana tones of the aroma continue in the flavour and keep this fine wheat ale light and refreshing even as the wheat gives it a creamy mouthfeel and a light grain (wheat) flavour that would pair well with summer fare. The aftertaste is also quite appetizing and is the same balanced flavour (with perhaps just a bit more emphasis on the banana) lingering on. I suggest you try it out as it is a really nice summer beer; now if we could only get some warm weather to go with it.

Merry Time Pilsner (Cask) - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton)

Merry Time Pilsner (Cask) - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.6%

A very light mango or passionfruit hop aroma; grain and malthouse also. Yellow and cloudy in a glass with a thin white head with good resilience and lacing. Lots of grain and malthouse in the taste too, a bit raw, some barnyard with a little hay and vegetal hops and the barest hint of citrus (lemon). No sign of the more exotic hops tones I initially picked up in the aroma.

Merry Time Pilsner (Draft) - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.6%

A dry hops and malt taste that is just a little bit nutty with a nice grain background flavour. The aroma is one of dry hops and lightly grain. Clear, pale gold in a glass without much head. A good Euro style Pilsner.



These two different formats make beers that are quite different, though there are similarities, which just goes to show how different a beer can be as a result of cask conditioning.

Highland Rye Ale - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.8%

Highland Rye Ale - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.8%

An ever so slightly cloudy full gold colour in a glass with an appealing and fairly resilient head. A light aroma of grain and malthouse tones. Highland Rye Ale is sweet and creamy with a mellow grain flavour that strengths as you swallow and a nice strong-ish bite of bitterness at the end. There is a distinct rye grain flavour throughout and in the aroma. This is an interesting Rye Ale.

Muddy River Stout - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 4.8%

Muddy River Stout - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 4.8%

Opaque in a glass and served with just the perfect amount of head, which is tan coloured, thick, creamy and left nice lacing. The aroma is chocolatey with sweetness just a little roasty caramel.

The mouthfeel is creamy and just perfect for the style. Chocolate flavour with a smoky finish. The sweetness has just a hint of a very pleasant sweet caramel flavour. There is just a little acidity and a faint touch of dry hops as well as something that comes through like just a bit of grapes or maybe black cherry. You may be surprised to hear I think that there is a grape flavour in Muddy River Stout but bear in mind it is very mild, tasty and mixes very well with the other flavours - it is likely just the way my toungue is processing the slight acidity and the yummy chocolate malt flavours. This is a fine stout, true to the style and very much pub-appropriate.

Blueberry Ale - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.0%

Blueberry Ale - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.0%

Smells strongly of fresh blueberries with a bit of malt and grain. Gold in a glass. The flavour is full of crushed blueberry but it is also clearly an ale: malty, creamy, and sweet with grain tones. Very nice.

It reminds me their Cadian Cream ale but less creamy with not as much malt. Pump House's Blueberry Ale is an award winning beer that can be found pretty far a field. The flavour is light and fruity but also has a tasty ale base, it certainly can be enjoyed in any season but really suits summertime. It is sometimes served with blueberries in the bottom of the glass but this can make the beer overly sweet for some and this ale can definitely stand on its own.

Special Old Bitter - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.0%

Special Old Bitter - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.0%

Gold with an amber hue in the glass. A big fluffy head with good resilience and nice lacing. Resin and cedar hoppy aroma with a bit of roast and a malty, slightly raw, grain touch. Quite a hoppy, cedar and resin taste. A bitter initial flavour with a roasty, and quite a sweet, middle and a bitter resiny hops finish.

This is such a nice "west coast style session beer" and one of my favourites. The freshness of the malt paired with the touch of roast and the perfect amount of hops bitterness makes this Pump House's S.O.B. a great pairing with any pub food from pizza to flavourful pasta to burgers. A great beer, sessionable, interesting and refreshing.

Fire Chief's Red Ale - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.5%

Fire Chief's Red Ale - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.5%

A fairly dark red hued brown colour in a glass with a fluffy, off-white head. A sweet, toasty grain aroma; parts of which remind me of puffed wheat. Also a touch of the flavours from a sticky glaze's caramelized sugars (different, darker, roastier than the flavour of caramel).

Quite a nice touch of hops in the taste to go with the caramelized sugars I expect in a red and also with a pronounced but appetizing grain flavour. A sweet, almost sugary finish that doesn't linger too long before the more bitter aftertaste kicks in with a continuation of the same hearty grain flavour. A fine red from a great brewery.

Biere de Garde - Pump House (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 7.5%

Biere de Garde - Pump House (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 7.5%

It is an orange amber colour and barely cloudy in a glass. The aroma is spicy, apple, cranberry, malty with cedar hops. The taste is strongly caramel with cedar hops and bitterness initially, fading with drinking; tart some grain and plenty of cranberry-esque fruit esters with quite a bitter finish. Some barely smoky wood tones make it into the flavour along with a little bit of an earthy flavour. A nice beer that is a bit off the beaten path. Reminds me a bit of a darkish and hoppier saison.

Doppelbock - Pump House (Moncton) 9% in cask / 10% in bottle

Doppelbock - Pump House (Moncton) 9% in cask / 10% in bottle

Cask:

Reddish brown, very dark in a glass. Nice head. Hard to get much of an aroma out of a pint glass: sweet, a bit stout-like, nearly chocolate/coffee and smoke, but faint.

Lots of dark fruit, nearly syrupy sweet black currant. Very little alcohol flavour just a bit in the finish with those same stout chocolate/coffee and smoke flavours from the aroma. Slightly tangy due to its strength and a slightly acrid finish. A touch of something lager-like and a bit of maple. Hops are clearly there as there is a bit of a green touch and by implication since the sweetness of Pump House's Doppelbock is being balanced nicely by something.


Bottle:

Their look is same in cask and bottle while the aroma is better from the bottle because I'm pouring it into a snifter instead of drinking it out of a pint glass: malty, roasty and a little sticky with dark fruit along with lots of dark malt touches of chocolate.

The taste is just awesome, powerfully malty with that faint lager yeast touch, a split between roasty, sticky malt flavours like I'd expect from a red and chocolate and wood tones I'd expect from a dark beer. Lots of dark fruit tones likes prunes and raisins. Barley candy with an acrid bitter smoky finish that still manages to be tasty. Some alcohol notes but not much considering it is 10%. I don't pick up the light touch of hops that I did from the cask but the beer is still nicely balanced.

I strongly suggest picking up a 6-pack or two of this fine seasonal offering ASAP. Also, because it's 10%, not to mention so rich and complex, I'm going to keep a 6-pack in my cellar for a few months and see how the flavour changes. Plus at $12.98 a 6-pack (tax and deposit included) the price just can't be beat.

La Gaboteuse - Acadie-Broue and Big Tide (Canada - New Brunswick)

La Gaboteuse - Acadie-Broue and Big Tide (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton and Saint John) 7.0%

Sprucy and resiny aroma, pineapple, melon and touches of citrus. What a bouquet! Cloudy gold in a galss with a nice head and good lacing. The hops character that dominates the taste of this lovely Belgian IPA is along the same lines as the spectacular aroma, quite bitter but with balancing sweetness, a little nectar and a hint of yeast in the bitter finish. La Gaboteuse is super nice if you are lucky enough to get some either at Marky's Laundromat in Moncton or Big Tide Brewing in Saint John before it sells out.

Pump House Scotch Ale (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton)

Pump House Scotch Ale (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 4.8%

A dark brown with a slight orange hue in a glass. Chocolate malt aroma with molasses, wood notes and hints of scotch tones of peat and smoke.

Wood, peat and smoke tones - kind of like in scotch (quelle suprise!), especially in the finish. The dark malt gives us molasses flavours very similar to dark molasses candy and a mellow lingering mix of dark chocolate and coffee. Though Pump House Scotch Ale is sweeter than it is bitter the balance is good and a watery mouthfeel keeps it light and refreshing.

Another Fantastic Seasonal from the Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton)

Thai Wheat - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 5.0% to 5.5%

Spicy, slightly nutty aroma. The taste is amazing: spicy like a touch of chili flakes and ginger with lots of floral, yeasty tones (a bit of apricot) typical of a conventional Belgian wheat and some nutty toasted bread malt flavours. A cloudy pale gold. A watery mouthfeel keeps it refreshing. I really want to pair this with stir-fry and similar food. A great beer with lots of great character and good balance.