Dark and Handsome - Box Steam Brewery (United Kingdom)

Dark and Handsome - Box Steam Brewery (United Kingdom) 5.0%

Dark brown in a glass with a frothy, light-mocha coloured of foam. Earthy, chocolatey aroma with tones of black licorice, tobacco and leather.

The flavour is also earthy with light chocolate flavour, light leather and subtle licorice. There is the a faint hint of lemon that adds an interesting dimension to the flavour even though it is rather subtle. There is something there that I wouldn't have called black currant if it wasn't on the label but I do get a little of that too. Light mouthfeel and nice sort of toasty, faint tobacco, aftertaste. All in all, a very pleasant beer.

Porter Baltique - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Canada - Quebec - Brossard) 10.0%

Porter Baltique - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Canada - Quebec - Brossard) 10.0%

This Baltic Porter pours an opaque, and bordering on black, brown in a glass with tan head that faded fairly quickly and features an aroma of prunes, figs, leather, raisins, black currants, espresso and dark chocolate.

The flavour is, well, exquisite. The dried dark fruit flavours continue from the aroma along with quite a lot of sweetness. There is an earthy, leather tone to the flavour as well as just a hint of the high alcohol content. It is definitely on the sweeter side of what I would expect from a Baltic Porter, less bitterness and the malt flavours aren't as pronounced or nuanced as I have had because they sort of get glossed over by the sweetness. Also Garrison and Rock Bottom Baltic Porters have the slightest salt flavour. It is still a very good beer but I think it would be a lot more interesting if it had just a little less sugar.

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.

Ephemere Cassis (Black Currant) - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly)

Éphémère Cassis (Black Currant) - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly) 5.5%

A beautiful, floral, fruity and mouthwatering aroma of black currants. The taste is very much the same with a tart punch carrying the lovely black currant flavour, sweetness and more than a hint of citrus. There is a light malty backing that is more pronounced in the aftertaste as the showy fruit flavours fade to leave an appetizing impression of a rye (or darker) bread with a fruit glaze. Éphémère Cassis is a charming, slightly cloudy pink colour with a brown hint in a glass and a real standout.