Channel Ocho - Beau's All Natural Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Channel Ocho - Beau's All Natural Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 8.9%

It pours an opaque dark dark brown, bordering on black, with tan head of foam that faded fairly quickly. Lots of dark, dried fruit, like figs and prunes in the aroma; leather, dark chocolate, some plum, something a bit floral and a spicy note that makes my nose tingle.

This beer is spicy! And very chocolatey but the dark fruit flavours continue as well. I can't quite place the name of the spice (habanero?) but it is quite familiar and its flavour comes through as well as its heat. You cannot taste the alcohol but it may be contributing to the warming feeling I attributed to the spice. There is a bit of a gingery flavour too.

This is a nice spicy ale, I've had a couple (and tried to make one) but this is the best execution.

Christmas Ale - Shepherd Neame (United Kingdom)

Christmas Ale - Shepherd Neame (United Kingdom) 7.0%

A reddish gold colour in a glass with a frothy, white head of foam. A dry, slightly herbal hop aroma with light red fruit and plum flavours. Sweet, lightly boozy and herbal taste with caramelized stickiness and dark malty flavours mixed with some light fruit tones (apple, raisin, plum). Shepherd Neame's Christmas Ale has sherry traits but also the robust malty body of a nice amber ale. The mix of flavours reminds me of really good fruitcake and is pretty close to my ideal concept of an English Christmas Ale.

Two Mighty Beers from Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax)

Ol' Fog Burner - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 11.5%

Amazingly bitter, sprucy, a touch sticky with a strong alcohol burn when served very cold. A nice smoky, sweet and mellowing aftertaste. A cloudy amber, a shade on the red side. It was served too cold, I think it ought to be taken out of the fridge several minutes before serving.

Upon further drinking it is definitely best served nearly warm as it changes from being barely drinkable to very nice. A thick liquid with a nice head. A sprucy flavour with tones of molasses flavour. Molasses, sprucy hops, sweet caramel and toasted bread aroma. Much better warm, as are many high alcohol beers.

Baltic Porter - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 9.0%

Smells salty like seawater. Also quite sweet, caramelized, red, roasty, molasses, hoppy but more so than hoppy it is the high alcohol that come through. The taste is very much high alcohol, a bit of spruce, salty like kelp (almost or something), very roasty, dark malt and super salty finish. Amazing how a beer can taste salty, if I hadn't had the Rockbottom Balticus already I would say this is the first beer I ever had like this but it's along much the same lines.

Definitely high alcohol flavour, roasty, a touch of cedar along with the roast and molasses combines to make it somewhat resiny. A good beer but not for the faint of heart. A touch of plum carrying throughout, baked beans, very strongly molasses. Herbal and green tones comes through with the high alcohol, hops and yeast (lees). Fine sediment on the bottom of the bottle that it is best to leave in the bottle.