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.

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.

Mild Winter Ale - Okanagan Springs (Canada - British Columbia - Vernon) 4.8%

Mild Winter Ale - Okanagan Springs (Canada - British Columbia - Vernon) 4.8%

A sweet slightly maple, lightly chocolate aroma with roast notes. A dark brown in a glass; chestnut really just like the information on the label says. The taste is somewhat caramelized and almost (but not quite) sticky at first, like a Red Ale, but with a chocolatey finish. There are some dry hop tones throughout and they make the beer refreshingly crisp.

It is a little light, or mild, for a Winter Beer but since that is exactly what they were going for I have to say that Okanagan Springs did a good job with their Mild Winter Ale: it's light and refreshing but still has those warming malt flavours perfect for cold December nights (or cold March afternoons).

Guinness Black Lager (Ireland) 4.5%

Guinness Black Lager (Ireland) 4.5%

True to its name it is indeed black, just about opaque too with a head that is just a shade paler than beige. The aroma is sweet with some roast, something distinctly lager-like and some dry Euro hops.

The taste is a little like any other European Lager but with a bit more bitterness and quite a bit more malt character. There are tastes of roasted malt and some smoke tones. There is a caramel note kicking around in there too. All in all Guinness Black Lager is a pretty nice Black Lager: refreshing and clearly a lager but with a more interesting makeup.

Muddy River Stout - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 4.8%

Muddy River Stout - Pump House Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton) 4.8%

Opaque in a glass and served with just the perfect amount of head, which is tan coloured, thick, creamy and left nice lacing. The aroma is chocolatey with sweetness just a little roasty caramel.

The mouthfeel is creamy and just perfect for the style. Chocolate flavour with a smoky finish. The sweetness has just a hint of a very pleasant sweet caramel flavour. There is just a little acidity and a faint touch of dry hops as well as something that comes through like just a bit of grapes or maybe black cherry. You may be surprised to hear I think that there is a grape flavour in Muddy River Stout but bear in mind it is very mild, tasty and mixes very well with the other flavours - it is likely just the way my toungue is processing the slight acidity and the yummy chocolate malt flavours. This is a fine stout, true to the style and very much pub-appropriate.