Blue Buck - Phillips Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Victoria)

Blue Buck - Phillips Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Victoria) 5.0%

Full gold in a glass with a resilient if not overly large head of foam. Nice caramel touch to the slightly raw malt flavour that reminds me of a malthouse. The hops are subtle but lend balancing hints of cedar and forest tones to the flavour. This beer delivers as promised as a tasty session ale, one that features more malt than hops character.

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.

Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec - Lac-Beauport)

I picked up the following four beers in a sample-pack from a grocery store in Quebec. The Archibald Microbrasserie is located in Lac-Beauport, Quebec and makes more than a dozen types of beers so the quad of reviews that follows is hardly exhaustive. Each of the beers is quite good with a cheeky french name and a certain raw malt flavour carrying through the whole group. I look forward to trying more from Archibald the next time I am in Quebec.

La Chipie - Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec) 5.0%

Hoppy aroma with some fruit-like tones (nectarine) and it is also quite sweet which comes through even in the nose.

Very sweet, at first, then a crash of roast and nicely resiny, slightly green hops bitterness balance everything out deliciously. A taste of grain in the bitter finish that also has quite a bit of roast. The bitterness and strong roast combine into an almost mild smoky flavour in the aftertaste.

A top notch Red in my opinion. The confusing bit is that the label in English says it's a Pale Ale while on the French side it still says Pale Ale but it also says Rousse which I usually translate as a Red Ale and which is what I think it looks and tastes like. A darkish red amber in a glass.

La Ciboire - Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec) 5.6%

An amber colour in a glass with a frothy head. A sweet roasty glaze aroma with a touch of resin, not particularly pungent consider the powerfully flavoured tastes to come. The taste is quite sweet and very resiny with a strongly bitter hops aftertaste. Honey, maple and white cake tones are mixed with the malt borne sweetness. The hops tones on the other hand have wooden shades, chlorophyll and touches of cedar mixed in with the resin flavoured that comes through initially. A pleasant touch of earthiness and a touch of grain comes through as well.

Overall, La Ciboire is a nice IPA. The mix of sweetness and hops is good, though it is sweeter than many IPAs. Despite this, the bitterness is stronger than the hops character might suggest so there is still balance. However, if you like an IPA loaded with hops character as well as bitterness you might find this one too strongly sweet and lacking a little in the hops character.

La Joufflue - Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec) 4.2%

This Belgian Style White Beer is quite pale gold in a glass and an aroma full of coriander with a spicy floral aspect and a orange, citrus hint. Nice fluffy head and good lacing.

A very interesting taste, with a hint of green from a distinct hops taste. Also the coriander might not be quite the right word, it may be more like seeds of paradise with maybe even a hint of something like lavender. Also the citrus is less orange and more pink grapefruit. A moderately bitter finish. Overall a interesting perfumy white with some really nice flavours and spice that is a little different from you typical Belgian White. There is some fine sediment in the can which the can suggests swirling and adding to your glass. I recommend it as it adds some flavour and isn't overly thick though it obviously makes the pale slightly cloudy beer a yellow thickly cloudy colour. Definitely worth trying if you find yourself thirsty and in Quebec.

La Matante - Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec) 4.9%

A floral, and slightly sour, sweet malty aroma at first. Also a mild dry and earthy hop aroma. The malt character of the nose reminds me of honey on toast.

Lots of grain in the flavour coming through with malthouse and bread tones. The malthouse is accentuated with a hops touch of green like you would get from eating a bean sprouts. This combined effect makes the malt taste appetizingly raw. La Matante has quite a sugary finish.

Quite a nice, fresh tasting beer. It almost seems like it could have been fermented a touch longer so the yeast could have eaten some more of the sugar and the raw malt flavours could have mellowed but it's nice this way too.