Warka Strong (Poland) 7.0%

Warka Strong (Poland) 7.0%

Full gold with a little amber colour in a glass with a frothy but quick fading head and some lacing. A malty aroma, hints of grain and just a little bit of alcohol. Quite a toasty, very sweet taste. A little caramel and just a bit of alcohol taste with some mild chest warming. This beer drinks more like an amber than the strong lager I expected it to be, and it's actually pretty nice albeit rather ordinary. My usual caveat is to buy locally brewed beers where possible rather than European beers (unless you're in Europe obviously) and that certainly applies to Warka Strong.

Organic Old Ruby Ale 1905 - Duchy Originals from Waitrose (England) 5.0%

A full amber that seems to glow the way it catches the light. Ruby seems a bit of a stretch but (if it is meant to describe colour rather than style) as suitable a word as any. Quite a sprucy flavour paired with plenty of sweet roast stickiness, a mild touch of citrus in the middle and hops comes through on the back-end with a fairly bitter finish. A lively ale, the taste seems to change with each second as it passes from lips to belly.

Certified organic this ale is one of many varied organic products by Duchy Originals from Waitrose a partnership founded by HRH The Prince of Wales. More information can be found on the link below. I wonder if they'll knight me for linking to?

www.DuchyOriginals.com

Waterloo Amber by Brick Brewing Co (Canada - Ontario - Waterloo)

This nice little number was only briefly carried by NB Liquor and at the time of publishing there are still some on the shelves of certain stores (use NB Liquor excellently useful Product Search to see which ones) but when they gone: that's it, that's all for Waterloo Amber in New Brunswick.

Waterloo Amber by Brick Brewing Co (Canada - Ontario - Waterloo) 6.8%

A red, roasty and sweet aroma with a hint of hops and more than a hint alcohol. There is a distinct alcohol warming and a bit of bitterness when drinking it after it has been out of the fridge for eight or so minutes. Best to let this warm up a bit so that the alcohol can mingle with the other flavours rather than stand out on its own. That's better: a nicely sweet and roasty body with a touch of honey and wooden edges though, with a still quite boozy finish.

For a beer with nearly seven percent alcohol by volume the flavours are on the light side, especially when compared to the darker, thicker, hoppier beers that one tends to find in that 'weight' class. Waterloo Amber is a good beer and really good for a strong beer. I think it would taste even better still if the alcohol content was slightly lower (6 or 6.2%) so it didn't mask some of the lighter flavours quite so much. A honeyed amber colour in a glass.

Take the Long Trail

This great craft brewery located in Vermont makes great beers and also has directions to the brewery printed on every bottle, gotta love it. Funny labels too.

Long Trail Ale (USA - Vermont - Bridgewater Corners) 4.6%

A deep amber colour, sweet but quite bitter. A full malty taste, roasty too. A nice change from bland beers and those that only show bitterness with a strong hops taste. Quite a malty and roasty aroma.

Long Trail Double Bag (USA - Vermont - Bridgewater Corners) 7.2%

Hoppy and caramel malt aroma. Light caramel flavour with quite a bit of bitterness. Not much of a hops flavour (other than the bitterness) but there is certainly some hops discernible. Also quite a hefty mix of dark malt tones: coffee, roast and dark chocolate flavours. In the same vein as the Long Trail Ale (bitterness and in colour) but definitely a unique beer that is quite good in its own right.

Long Trail IPA (USA - Vermont - Bridgewater Corners) 5.9%

Deep gold in a glass. A tangy strong hops aroma that tingles the back of your jaw and the sides of your tongue. A very hoppy taste and quite bitter but also a little sweet and nutty, floral with a strong malty finish.

Picaroons: PART TWO

Picaroons is a great brewery located right in my own "backyard" here on the East Coast of Canada.

This is the concluding half to my review of the eleven Picaroons beers I've had the good fortune to try. In addition to the eleven I've tried, I'm looking forward to their Maple Cream Ale that I've heard is coming out at the end of March.

Irish Red - Picaroons (Canada - New Brunswick - Fredricton) 4.8%

Sweet roasted caramel malt, a dark taste with a bit of tang. Malty with a mildly bitter and sweet aftertaste. A good red though they are not my most favoured style.

Man's Best Friend - Picaroons (Canada - New Brunswick - Fredricton) 5.0%

Black in a glass with a velvety froth. Coffee, hints of the taste and mouth feel of oatmeal, malty, milk chocolate. It is sweet but bitter, well balanced and very pleasant. This is a good porter and like most porters you likely wouldn't drink more than one but you would drink the first one very happily.

Simeon Jones River Valley Amber Ale - Picaroons (Canada - New Brunswick - Fredricton) 4.5%

Smells of sweet caramel malt. Doesn't taste overly sweet though, tastes malty, barely bitter and a hint of what I would describe as pumpkin spice, with a roasted malt edge. A very pleasant amber ale.


Timber Hog - Picaroons (Canada - New Brunswick - Fredricton) 5.0%

Black, black, black in a pint glass. Smells sweet and of malty caramel. This stout is thick and even sounds thick as you pour it in a glass. It is sweet and tastes strongly of caramel malt, appropriately bitter, a little bit nutty and all round good. It is, however, very filling and 500ml was a little hard to finish. Although, it was good to the last drop.

Winter Warmer - Picaroons (Canada - New Brunswick - Fredricton) 7.5%

Lovely sweet smell of caramel malt that carries over into the taste: initially very sweet with a nice overload of caramel flavours; a touch of hops accents the malty tones. The combination leaves a mild bitter aftertaste. Quite nice and typical of North American winter beers.

Yippee IPA - Picaroons (Canada - New Brunswick - Fredricton) 6.5%

Smells of malt and hops - more malt than hops. Tastes of hops and malt - way more hops than malt: very green, hoppy and super bitter. Initially somewhat sweet and tastes of caramel malt but very quickly that is washed away by a stinging hopes taste that is very bitter and linger on and on. It gets less bitter with the drinking.

Since your bitter taste buds are more concentrated at the back of the tongue you can hold a tiny sip of this beer at the front of your mouth, just behind your teeth under but not touching your tongue, to enjoy the sweet caramel malt taste before swallowing it and fully activating the hoppy bitterness. It's an interesting beer because you can play with it like this. Picaroon's Yippee IPA definitely would be a fun entry in any beer tasting.