Iron Duke - Wellington Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Guelph)

Iron Duke - Wellington Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Guelph) 6.5%

A deep yet red hued brown colour in a glass with a tan head of foam and a sweet, sticky malty aroma.

This malty beauty has a sweet, toasty, chewy dark fruit, molasses and lightly caramel flavour with some light smoky wood tones. There are some hops detectable, especially with the first few sips (hop aromatics and flavours come from more volatile compounds than sugars so they tend to be most noticeable at first especially in the head on the beer), but this is a malt forward beer for sure. This strong ale reminds me a little of a Wee Heavy and is just plain good.

Deviator Doppelbock - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 8.6%

Deviator Doppelbock - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 8.6%

Earthy, molasses, dark fruit (prunes) and sticky sweet aroma with the bourbon barrel notes coming through clearly and deliciously. Very dark but actually clearly translucent if you hold it up to a bright light which reveals a deep red hued brown colour. Some sediment towards the bottom of the bottle but very light and without a noticeable effect on the flavour.

Make sure you allow this and all Doppelbocks to warm up from refrigerator temperature before you drink them. Of course you don't have to wait for it to warm all the way up before you open it, in fact pouring it and warming it with your hands and sampling it over time allows you to pick out the temperature you prefer.

Smoky, malt flavours with chewy dark fruit undertones. Bourbon barrel flavours like oak, smoke and a little bit of spice are again quite prominent, which delights this bourbon fan. This beer is bitter with the smoky malt flavours and some subtle hop bitterness but has a molasses-like sweetness too. Something about the mix of flavours reminds me of chocolate and cherry confectionary such as a black forest chocolate cake or those chocolate orbs stuffed with a cherry and syrup that everybody's mom seems to like. This is a nice Doppelbock and the barrel aging complements the flavour excellently.

Russian Gun Imperial Stout - Grand River Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Cambridge)

Russian Gun Imperial Stout - Grand River Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Cambridge) 8.5%

Dark brown in a glass with a veritable explosion of mocha coloured foam that leaves behind highly impressive lacing and a iceberg like cap of foam on the beer. A bit of alcohol, earthy yeast, dark chocolate, subtle red and dark fruit tones, brown sugar, some wood tones and maybe a touch of leather in the very pleasant aroma.

The taste has, in my mind, the perfect amount of alcoholic bite for a Russian Imperial Stout. The flavour is comprised of hearty umami, brown bread, dried fruit a touch of espresso, smoky wood tones, earthy, chocolate, a bit of a hops edge too - like pine needles which also fits my concept of the style.

I really like this Russian Imperial Stout, I'm very fond of the taste. It also seems to drink a bit higher in alcohol than 8.5%, good times.

Irish Potato Stout - Black Creek Historic Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Irish Potato Stout - Black Creek Historic Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 5.0%

Opaque in a glass with a thin tan coloured head. This beer pours quite flat but is carbonated well enough on the tongue. Earthy, roasty, smoky aroma with a sweet dark fruit aspect as well. Dark chocolate tones and coffee are mixed in there with a very, very faint black licorice impression.

Smooth mouthfeel, smoky yet sweet dark chocolate flavour - earthy as well with some dark fruit flavours. Stick to your ribs thick actually. I had never heard of a stout (or any beer for that matter) made with actual potatoes but you can certainly tell there is an extra ingredient here. It is not in the flavour but just based on how hearty this Black Creek ale is: I'm pretty sure I could live off a strict Irish Potato Stout diet.

Wellington Russian Imperial Stout (Canada - Ontario - Guelph)

Wellington Russian Imperial Stout (Canada - Ontario - Guelph) 8.0%

Black and opaque with a slight red hue topped with a full, fluffy and fairly resilient brown head. A dark chewy malty aroma with some nice smoky tones. The taste is very malty and filled with dark dried fruit tones like prunes and dates as well as molasses and the same smoky wood tones as in the aroma. Some hints of alcohol in the aftertaste and some tongue tingling but still highly drinkable.

Just like lots of high alcohol and very malty beers I prefer this one fairly warm, maybe even quite warm. I find the alcohol blends better with the overall flavour and many more individual flavours reveal themselves for your enjoyment. There isn't too strong a hops flavour, though there is some pine, even though this Russian Imperial Stout is fairly bitter after all you'll get a fair amount of bitterness from your darker malts anyway. This is quite a nice Russian Imperial Stout though it doesn't have the hop forward taste some of the more aggressively hopped RISs do.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen - Brauerei Heller-Trum/Schlenkerla (Germany - Bamberg)

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen - Brauerei Heller-Trum/Schlenkerla (Germany - Bamberg) 5.1%

Rauchbiers use malt that has been dried over a wood fire to give it that distinctive smoke flavour. The Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbiers are perhaps the best known of the style.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen has a smoky, distinctly beechwood and slightly spicy aroma with a hint of the malts of a hearty brown ale. It pours a dark brown in a glass with an off-white head.

The taste is smoky, no doubt, with the same pleasant beechwood tones as in the aroma. Sweet, toasty not quite caramel tones in the background. Some light coffee flavours from the malt as well. There is the slightest bit of acidity in the moderately bitter finish that is characterized by the lingering smoke flavour and a malty taste of the brown crust of multi-grain bread.

For all its flavour Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen is still very smooth and easy drinking and would pair well with roasts, stews, pizzas (especially wood fired ones if you really want to play on the wood smoke flavours) and pastas with red sauces.

Martello Stout - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 4.8%

Martello Stout - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 4.8%

A delectable aroma that is bitter and dark, full of coffee and chocolate tones with hints of sweetness and a touch over something that makes me think of black olives. Opaque and black in a glass with a tan head of foam that leaved behind nice lacing. The taste is also dark and delicious. Garrison's Martello Stout has a strong coffee flavours and a pleasantly creamy mouthfeel. A few mild touches of hops come through at different point balancing the malt nicely. A bitter almost smoky long lingering aftertaste makes sure you won't forget what you're drinking. This thick (nearly meal replacing), malty yet refreshing and low alcohol beauty of a stout should be a pub staple.

Barley Wine - Grizzly Paw Brewing (Canada - Calgary - Canmore) 11%

Barley Wine - Grizzly Paw Brewing (Canada - Calgary - Canmore) 11%

A sweet honey, and molasses, roasty aroma with a touch of hops and a bit of coffee. A nearly opaque walnut colour in a glass. Chewy malt taste with a bit of tartness, alcohol warming and dried red fruit esters. Roasty and sticky with darker malt tones that are not quite coffee or chocolate. And a smoky aftertaste that reminds me of barley candy. Overall a very nice barley wine.

Rifleman's Ration - Black Creek Historic Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Rifleman's Ration - Black Creek Historic Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 5.0%

A rosy brown colour in a glass with a subdued head that fades quite quickly but leaves nice lacing. I'm not sure how unfiltered it is but there was zero sediment. A smoky, extremely roasty aroma with some grain, lots of wood tones, a floral touch as well as an earthy touch. Also an aroma like the crust of well baked brown bread and a bit tartly astringent as if it was higher in alcohol than only 5.0%.

The taste is all that and more. Molasses, palpable smokiness, wood tones, piles of roast, brown bread, a milk chocolate aspect, a bit a fresh cut grass taste from the hops and a slight taste of alcohol with a chest-warming booze sensation (5% really?) that combines with the other flavours already mentioned to be a little rum-like. An umami and brown bread aftertaste with a touch of molasses and smoke. A delicious taste indeed to have lingering in your mouth. Definitely follow Black Creek Historic Brewery's recommendation and drink Rifleman's Ration at room temperature.

I can't say enough about how much I like the concept of this beer and brewery. For me, trying historic beers brewed according to old recipes is one of my favourite spin offs of the craft beer revolution. Garrison makes a Spruce Beer that is a similar concept though with a different flavour and different ingredients.

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.

Seaport Beerfest (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax)

Seaport Beerfest 2012

A few general notes about my recent Seaport Beerfest experience in Halifax: it was awesome despite the rain. I got a number of reviews done and it was great to see such a vast selection.

Of the beers I tried, the ones that really stood out were: Rogue's Roost's Barley Wine, Garrison's Comet Double IPA, Flacatoune a Belgian Pale Ale from Microbrasserie Charlevoix and Hell Bay's English Ale which I thought I was a superb English Pale Ale. There were many more beers that I tried and enjoyed and many more that I didn't have time to try. Hell Bay's Smoked Rye also gets special mention for being such an interesting beer even though I couldn't finish my sample for fear that the intense smoke flavours would mess up my palate.

I also would have liked to be able to make it to some of the ciders since I don't usually drink those. In fact, one of things I enjoyed most was being able to try beers that I wasn't expecting to be all that remarkable without having to shell out the cash to buy a 12-pack just to confirm my suspicions.

I'm definitely going next year and wholeheartedly recommend it to all you beer enthusiasts out there.

Maple Cream Ale - Picaroons (Canada - New Brunswick - Fredricton) 5.0%

Maple Cream Ale - Picaroons (Canada - New Brunswick - Fredricton) 5.0%

This ale has a velvety head and is the colour of a dark genuine New Brunswick maple syrup. The aroma is a combination of wisps of smokiness and sweet, dark maple syrup reminds me of the campfires back in the sugar woods where syrup is best enjoyed poured over a scoop of freshly fallen snow.

The taste is sweet and distinctive: while there is a malty smokiness, sweet maple syrup is the dominant taste and smell too. Pick up this seasonal treat while it's here!

Alexander Keith's Tartan Ale (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax)

Alexander Keith's Tartan Ale (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 6.1%

A delicious smoky, malty mix with sweetness and a refreshing carbonation. It doesn't taste like a beer with a high alcohol content but at 6.1% it certainly qualifies as a strong beer. A glowing brown, like a polished penny in a glass. Keith's Tartan Ale (a Scottish Ale) is a surprisingly complicated beer for a mega-brewery, it's a good beer and a hopeful sign that Keith's Brewery may have some interest in making some beers with more character than the typical bland international lager.

Since it is only out for a limited time: Go out and get this beer while it's available!