Abandoned Abbey - Big Rock Brewery (Canada - Alberta - Calgary)

Abandoned Abbey - Big Rock Brewery (Canada - Alberta - Calgary) 9.2%

A strongly yeasty, herbal aroma; cloves and banana. Very dark in a glass without much of a head of foam.

The taste is also strongly yeasty: banana, herbs, cloves. Lightly spicy, the faintest bit of licorice. Sweet with some dark, dried fruit flavours. A bit of chocolate comes out in the finish, and dark crusty bread out in the aftertaste. These same flavours are there in the main body but overshadowed by the Belgian yeasty tones. A well constructed Belgian Style Dark Ale that conceals it's hefty alcohol content dangerously well.

Duvel (Belgium)

Duvel (Belgium) 8.5%

Gold and slightly cloudy (don't store these bottles on their side, the only downside of the lovely gift pack I received for Christmas). A resilient and marenge-like head of white foam that forms little foamy peaks and lovely Belgian lace as it recedes.

Banana, herbal and sweet, nectary aroma. Herbal and sweet nectary (maybe even honeyed) taste, banana as well, with a slightly bitter and quite herbal aftertaste. Nothing in the taste that wasn't in the aroma. The alcohol is well concealed and the flavour is extremely well balanced in all aspects.

I was a bit worried I would get a larger than optimal amount of sediment but it was better than fine, despite my concern with the Duvel being stored on its side.

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel (Germany) 5.3%

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel (Germany) 5.3%


This wheat ale pours a cloudy brown colour in a glass with an impressive head of resilient off-white foam.

It has a stronger yeast aroma than I was expecting, probably because I gave it a gentle roll to agitate the yeast before I opened the bottle: you don't want all that flavour just staying on the bottom of the bottle. Floral, nectar and blossom aromas as well as banana and cloves, just like a typical hefeweissen except there is dark malt background of lightly earthy, roasted malt with touches of chocolate.

Banana and cloves lead the slightly tart flavour when drinking through about three quarters of an inch of head. These flavours are followed by roasty and caramelized malt flavours that remind me of barley candy with some milk chocolate tones. It is this second group of flavours, along with mild red fruit tones, that come more to the forefront once the foam mostly subsides. Of course the yeast tones remain and feature strongly in the finish.

Chatoe Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale (USA - Oregon - Newport) 6.0%

Chatoe Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale (USA - Oregon - Newport) 6.0%

A slightly cloudy, deep copper colour like a lucky (though not shiny) penny. Cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, the classic aroma of pumpkin pie, along with touches of the earthy aroma of the gourd itself.

The flavour is more or less identical to my description of the aroma though there is a bit of a roasty and sweet malt flavour which complements the spices nicely. There is some sediment at the bottom and, if it finds its way into your glass, it adds not just some yeast flavours (banana and an intensification of the cloves) but also suggestions of the orange peel Rogue used so it's worth adding.

Smokin' Banana Peels Wild Oats Series #11 - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Smokin' Banana Peels (Wild Oats Series #11) - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 4.9%

A typical weissbier aroma of cloves, blossoms, nectar and banana; as well as a lightly smoke twist that is more like well-browned, nearly burnt toast than a smoky wood fire.

Pale gold in a glass and as cloudy as you decide to make it. Similarly Smokin' Banana Peels features a silky white head of foam that can get quite foamy if you agitate it enough to get some of the sediment.

Creamy mouthfeel, yeasty with tasty cloves, banana and nectar flavours: sweet summery wheat beer flavours all. It isn't as smoky as other rauchbiers but there is a touch there, it comes out a bit more with some sips than other, and I'm sure the smoke flavour could be accentuated by pairing with smoky food. Fortunately, Smokin' Banana Peels is a very tasty weissbier even if it isn't very smoky and I have to say the name is quite clever.

La Pitoune - Le Trou Du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan)

La Pitoune - Le Trou Du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan) 5.0%

Gold in a glass with a big white head of foam and that gradually collapsed into a large iceberg of very resilient foam in the middle of the glass. There is some very fine sediment and it makes the beer a little bit cloudy. A dry european hops aroma that is herbal and has a bit of yeast too.

The taste is drily bitter with a floral, herbal and lightly spicy touch. The herbal flavours sometimes comes across as the slightest bit of banana while the malty body has tones of grain and loads (or loaves?) of toasted bread flavours. It is refreshing and quite nice even though this style doesn't give the brewers at Le Trou Du Diable a chance to show off some of their exceptional flavours like their other beers do. La Pitoune is a nice Pilsner on the bitter side of the average Pilsner and also with more of a herbal taste.

Kellerbier - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Canada - Quebec - Brossard)

Kellerbier - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Canada - Quebec - Brossard) 5.5%

Full gold in a glass with a head of white foam that leaves behind nice lacing. A banana, herbal and slightly sweet grain aroma. There is some very fine sediment in the bottom of the bottle of this unfiltered beer but only the very slightest amount ended up in the glass.

Quite bitter with a distinct herbal taste with just a touch of citrus (lemon). Toasted bread and grain tones make up the malty body. A very bitter finish and lingering bitter aftertaste with an appetizing grain flavour and hints of the aforementioned herbal flavour. The bitterness fades as your taste buds adjust but also as the beer warms a bit.

Muskoka Summer Weiss (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge)

Muskoka Summer Weiss (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 5.0%

Gold in a glass, ever so slightly hazy. Cloves and banana all feature in the yeasty, floral aroma that is also slightly herbal with touches of mint.

The taste is also yeasty with herbal tones that reminded me for just a moment of black licorice. Mostly cloves and banana and typical Weiss flavours. A nice wheat beer, I (and many others) always thought that wheat beers go well with summer and this one by Muskoka seems particularly well suited.

Chaudiere - Mill St (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Chaudiere - Mill St (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 7.0%


A cloudy gold orange in a glass. Aroma of herbs, alcohol, nutmeg, strongly banana, yeast, apricot and blossoms. The taste was of sweet banana, yeast, alcohol, herbs with a bit of a bitter finish. Interesting beer and a cool style. Reminiscent of much a lighter Fin Du Monde.

Tried this one at the brewery in Toronto, it is a lovely spot in an interesting neighbourhood. Definitely worth checking out.

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.

The Legendary Muskoka Spring Oddity

The Legendary Muskoka Spring Oddity 2012 (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 8.0%

Hint of melon in the hops, some banana. Sweet malt. Quite sweet and quite bitter - hops and distinctly gin-like with the juniper berries. A orange peel flavour rather than the sweetness of orange flesh. A bit of alcohol warming, toasted bread bordering on caramel in the malt. Full gold in a glass, no sediment in the glass or the bottle. A bit spicy maybe a bit of honey finish. The juniper, orange peel and malt form a really nice mix that puts me in mind of nectar though the mouthfeel is not thick, though not quite watery. As it warms and loses carbonation (it is well carbonated by the way) it tastes more and more like honey.

I wonder how this beer would age, if it were bottled on lees? It seems like the flavour could go from good to great however it's not bottled on lees so it would only grow musty and stale; it even has an expiry date. It also has great artwork on the label and an interesting story you can read in the image below.

Hopfenweisse - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Canada - Quebec - Brossard) 6.0%

Hopfenweisse - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Canada - Quebec - Brossard) 6.0%

A big frothy proper wheat beer head with impressive resilience and nice lacing. The orange, citrus aroma typical of wheat beers brewed with orange peel is accentuated by the choice of hops to give an aroma that is exactly as they claim on the label: papaya and mango. I can also detect something like banana too although more like banana, in fact the whole thing smells a lot like a smoothie but with a hoppy pine-like touch. As time passes, a more herbal aroma comes out as well. Hopfenweisse (a pitch perfect name too, by the way) is a glowing orange in a glass and is cloudy with some light sediment.

The taste is quite bitter: a great deal more of the pine aspect of the hops character comes through. The papaya and mango flavour is still there but more muted. Malt and wheat characteristics are also there but again mostly overshadowed by a fairly bitter pine hops flavour with some touches of mango. No surprise that this reminds me of the last hoppy wheat ale I tried, Electric Unicorn White IPA by Phillips Brewing out of Victoria, British Columbia.

The marketing reps earned their pay-cheque with this one: the stylish bottle (like a mini champagne bottle), minimal but chic label and lettering, and the clever name all ooze opulence. The aroma is very cool and the taste is quite good too but I am just a little disappointed that more of the papaya, mango couldn't come through in the taste also the wheat characteristics are somewhat silent. All that being said, the hop aroma is nearly worth the price of the beer on its own and the taste is going to be very pleasing for you hopheads out there. Hopfenweisse is an interesting example of what I would characterize as an American Wheat: a wheat ale with a pile of aromatic hops.

Affligem Blonde (Belgium) 6.8%

Affligem Blonde (Belgium) 6.8%

This Abbey ale is deep gold in a glass and well carbonated. It has an floral aroma of apricots. The aroma is also distinctly alcoholic reflecting its strength at 6.8% ABV.

The taste is along much the same lines: sweet at first, floral, tastes of fruits like apricots and mildly banana, spicy like coriander; then bitter and obviously high in alcohol with a gingery aftertaste. It is right in the middle of the pack as far as abbey beers for alcohol content (or even towards the low end) but because its flavour is relatively mild the alcohol comes through quite clearly.

The flavour of Affligem Blonde is pronounced and interesting when compared to your average beer (and in truth profoundly delightful for those of us who have fallen for Belgian Abbey beers), but it is not nearly as strong as some other Abbey ales, especially compared to, say, Trappist ales. This makes it an excellent ale to use to introduce someone to the style: after having tried and enjoyed Affligem Blonde, some of the more "exotic" tasting (and thoroughly wonderful) Belgian beers will be much more approachable.

Affligem makes several other types of beer, a Dubbel, a Tripel and a Belgian ale, which I suspect will be much more like the explosion of flavour expected of a Belgian Abbey beer and I look forward to tracking them down.

A note on the serving: this beer, like any Trappist ale or Abbey beer (or really anything at all with a pronounced floral nose and spicy taste), should be served in a goblet style glass or, failing Belgian Abbey Ale dedicated glassware, a wine glass would do nicely to capture the aroma and bring out some of the best flavours.

Banana Bread Beer - Wells & Young (UK)

Banana Bread Beer - Wells & Young (UK) 5.2%

Tastes like banana at first which is what it is supposed to taste like but it is pretty odd to drink. It is sweet but the finish is quite bitter and also tastes just like banana bread. A brownish red colour in a glass. I think that the initial banana flavour is a little artificial tasting, like banana flavoured candy or medicine, however I have always had a hard time with the taste of banana outside of bananas and banana baked goods. The banana bread finish is spot on. If you want a beer that tastes like banana bread this is the beer for you. If you are interested in trying as an wide assortment of beers as possible you would remiss if you passed on Banana Bread Beer by Wells & Young Brewing. If you hate flavoured beers: obviously stay away from this one.