Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

An offering from Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico, California. Clocking in at 7.2% ABV so is just in the range of and Imperial IPA.

         Pours a beautiful, slightly hazy burnt orange/copper colour with 2 fingers of slightly off white head.  The head is nice and fluffy, sticks around nicely and clings to the glass leaving beautiful lacing all the way down.  There are a few bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass but not much.  All in all, a great looking IPA.

        Smell is pretty much all hops. Nice citrus smell with pineapple being the main note and a some grapefruit being present as well.  There's a little bit of astringency as well as a very very faint note of caramel and slightly bready malt if you're looking for it. 

        Taste is essentially the same as the smell with juicy citrus and pineapple from the hops followed immediately by bitterness that lingers and lingers on the back of the tongue.  Not a whole lot of malts present but it doesn't take away from the beer at all.

        Mouthfeel is a fairly light body with medium carbonation that coats the mouth slightly with a little juiciness from the hops and a slight amount of dry finish.

         At 7.2% this is a super drinkable IPA just awesomely done. No alcohol present, not too much carbonation, perfect amount of body.  Easy to see why this is such a highly regarded beer and why it was part of Sierra Nevada helping to pioneer the craft brew revolution if you will.

Final Grades:
According to Style:
Appearance:         5/5
Aroma:              4.5/5
Taste:                4.5/5
Mouthfeel:            5/5
Drinkability:          5/5
Overall:           96/100

Personal Preference:  One of, if not the best imperial IPA's I've ever had. Period.
Overall:           95/100

-The Bear

Wild Rose Imperial IPA

Wild Rose Brewery: Imperial IPA 9.4% ABV

Appearance:

Pours a perfect amber colour with a creamy fluffy, two finger of white head. It’s very clear and has a fair amount of carbonation coming up the glass. The lacing coats the walls if the glass and goes all the way to the bottom.

Aroma:

The aroma is not overly complex but my god is it good. It starts with very floral hops up front not to strong citrus wise but just slightly. You get hints of light caramel malts in the finish and a very slight pine note as well. There is no alcohol aroma at all! For a 9.4% beer that is quite an achievement, especially because the rest of the aroma is not over bearing at all. Very well balance and subtle.

Taste:

The taste is just as subdued and balanced as the aroma. The profile is quite different though. Up front you get nice floral hops moving to very pine flavoured hops and pine resin. As the pine resin dies down you finish with an ever so slight caramel malt finish still with the pine resin. There is a little alcohol warmth in the finish but it only enhances the hops and in the back of the pallet giving making the pine flavours feel like they are giving the warmth. It is unusually refreshing for such a high ABV beer even with the warmth.

Mouth Feel:

The beer is medium bodied and coats the top of the mouth pretty well. It has a perfect amount of carbonation that only further enhances the flavours and slightly lightens the mouth feel. A great combination for the style.

Drinkability:

This beer would be incredibly drinkable even if it were a regular IPA. For an Imperial IPA my god it is so easy to get down the Ol’ Gregory. You could really get yourself in some trouble with this beer if you had a lot of it. Between the well balanced and subtle flavours, and complimentary carbonation, it makes a very easy drinking and great beer to drink.

Style: 9.2/10 the marks I take off were for a slight lack of complexity which you look for in an imperial. But even that couldn’t bring this beer down a lot.

Personal Preference: 9.4/10 The only marks I take off are for the pine taste because I’m not a hop head by any sense of the term and it was the only off put to the beer. But it did really work with the slight alcohol warmth.

Whistler Dunkelweizen

A Dunkelweizen (Dark Wheat Beer) from Whistler Brewing Company in Whistler, BC.

        Poured a very dark brown, some ruby around the edges.  About 1 finger of tan head not very thick or fluffy and didn't leave much lacing at all.

        Smell is really really strong.  Roasty malts, really really sweet buttery smell, strong caramel, butterscotch and toffee with some vanilla as well.  The malts are almost drowned out completely by the overbearing sweetness.  There is also a really really faint clove/spice smell as well but really just sweetness abounds in this beer.

        Taste is just like the smell with a little bit of roasted malts but really just super sweet butterscotch and toffee etc. with a slightly increased amount of clove and spice.  As with the smell however, most of the other notes are overcome by the sweetness so much so that it rendered the beer undrinkable for me after a few sips.

        Medium body with low carbonation which, had the taste not been so sweet may have been ok.  For me with the taste though it just didn't work.


       This beer just missed the mark being too sweet to be drinkable in any way for me personally.  The flavours present could work if they were present in different proportions but the sweetness was just out of control. I don't know if I got a bad bottle or not but this beer was just awful in my opinion and if I hadn't had it at a restaurant it would have been a drain pour.

Final Grades:
According to Style:
Appearance:      2.5/5
Aroma:              1.5/5
Taste:                1.5/5
Mouth feel:        2.5/5
Drinkability:          1/5
Overall:           36/100

Personal Preference:
Overall:           20/100

-The Bear

Crannog Back Hand of God Stout

A dry Irish stout from Crannog Ales in Sorrento, BC.


          Pour was black.  No light getting through at all.  There was no head however I got this on tap at a local bar and that was probably due to the bartender's pour.  The lacing was pretty decent but I'm not sure if the lack of a head interfered a little bit as I was expecting a bit more.  It was really really cold when it was served so I waited a while to let it warm up.

           Smells just like you'd expect from the style, really malty with healthy servings of burnt and roasted malts with quite a bit of chocolate as well.  Not a whole lot of coffee smell present but more became noticeable as it warmed up.

           Taste is the same as the smell with roasted and burnt malts dominating followed closely by a strong chocolate presence and faint coffee taste.  The upfront malts are followed by some burnt bitterness and the finish is fairly dry but doesn't linger for too long.

           Medium plus body, kind of in the middle for a stout; I've had heavier and I've had lighter ones.  Not a whole lot of carbonation so it coats the palate nicely to set up the dry finish.

          Definitely a real drinkable stout. Could definitely see myself having a few of these in a night. Really true to the style. 

Final Grades:
According to Style:
Appearance:        4.5/5
Smell:                  4.5/5
Taste:                  4.5/5
Mouth feel:          4.5/5
Drinkability:         4.5/5
Overall:            90/100

Personal Preference:  A really good Irish dry stout really true to style. Just missed being exceptional as I really enjoyed it but just would have liked a little more; maybe more coffee or more of a burnt character personally.  I recommend trying this if you have a chance to, Crannog doesn't sell bottles and only distribute their beer in kegs so if you ever see it on tap at a bar I'd get it because it may be the only chance you get to try it.
Overall:             86/100

-The Bear

Pretty Things Jack D'or

Today I'll be reviewing Jack D'or from Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project in West Port, Massachusetts. 

       The pour is a beautiful hazy golden colour (the haziness being because it is unfiltered) with about 1 finger of light white head that faded fairly quickly but left really nice lacing down the glass.  Lots of carbonation visible rising up from the bottom of the glass as well.

       Wow there's a lot going on with the nose on this beer. Sweet and flowery, with a little bit of candy and spiciness with some pale malts barely noticeable in the back. Definitely a very strong yeast presence in the scent and I would be surprised if it weren't a Belgian strain. Also a slight citrus/fruity smell.

      The taste is similar to the nose with strong yeast qualities present right off the bat.  Very flowery again and fairly sweet, however before this gets to be too much a surprising amount of hop flavour and bitterness come through that works perfectly to counter balance the sweetness.  This is followed by a spicy and slightly fruity finish that is also a little dry.  The malts are present throughout however they are very understated and barely there.

      The body is about medium with high carbonation that scrubs the palate with every sip.  Smooth yet coarse at the same time to provide a really unique overall experience beyond just the smell and flavour.

      This is a pretty drinkable beer, maybe a little too carbonated for a serious session beer but i definitely wouldn't mind sitting down and having a few of these. 

      Although this beer is technically a Saison, it, along with pretty much every beer made by Pretty Things, doesn't really adhere to a style and it has elements that can be found in a wide range of styles and is one of the most unique and interesting beers I've had.

Final Grade:
According to Style:
Appearance:         4.5/5
Smell:                      5/5
Taste:                   4.5/5
Mouthfeel:               4/5
Drinkability:          4.5/5
Overall:             90/100

Personal Preference:  As I said above this is a really unique and interesting beer that manages to transcend styles without being over the top.  It's a really good beer and if you have chance to pick it up I highly recommend it if even just for the experience. Awesome.
Overall:              93/100

-The Bear

Dogfish Head 90 minute Imperial IPA

 Dogfish Head 90 minute Imperial IPA 9% ABV

Appearance:

Orange Amber in colour slightly hazy with a half finger off white head.

Aroma:

Lighter citrus hops more of an orange and light lemon aroma up front. Balance with sweet and caramel malts in the middle, followed up by the slightest hint of roasted malts and hop pine resin. As it warms you get hints of alcohol but barely any at all. Very well balanced.

Taste:

Initial taste is very nice. It starts with balance Grape fruit hop flavour that changes quickly into orange zest and malt flavours. As the flavours settle the hops die down quite a bit but leave a light pine taste like in the aroma. The flavour is then primarily malts, Caramel malt and a slight roasted flavour like in the aroma but goes perfectly with the pine flavour. It finishes with some alcohol warmth at the back of the mouth and some more hops that leave a great dry mouth feel, bitterness and slight orange flavour. As it warms though everything mellows out and the flavour is very well balanced. Despite this there is a little to much alcohol flavour at the end but it isn’t a sweet alcohol taste so the bitterness from the hops kind of masks it just adding to the beer. I really enjoy the flavour profile.

Mouthfeel:

The mouth feel is medium to full bodied. Probably just slightly bellow full bodied. The beer coats the mouth and lets all the flavours linger in a very nice way. The carbonation is a little high and is partially to blame for the alcohol warmth and emphasise at the end. But as it warms and the carbonation dies down the warmth dies down too solving the problem.

Drinkability:

The problem with this beer is if it is served at a temperature just bellow room temperature it is really drinkable for a 9% beer. For people new to the style it may not be quite the same, due to not being used to certain flavour profiles that change from a regular IPA to an Imperial IPA, however all in all for the style I would say very drinkable indeed. The only off put I would give the beer is the slightly too much alcohol finish but other than that it is a very good Imperial IPA.

Style:
Appearance:  8.5/10
Aroma:          9/10 

Taste:            8.5/10
Mouthfeel:     8.5/10
Drinkability:   9/10
Overall:        8.7 /10

Personal Peference: 9/10 highly recomended

-The Ass

Mitchell's Extra Special Bitter (ESB)

     Today I will be reviewing Mitchell's Extra Special Bitter, a local offering from Spinnakers Brew Pub and Guest House in Victoria, BC.

     Pours about 1 and a half fingers of white head. Not very thick or creamy and dissipates fairly quickly although it does leave some light lacing on the glass.  Colour is a dark copper/ light reddish brown with quite a bit of light permeating through the brew.

    Smell is fruity, kind of apple like, with other diacetyl and ester notes as well as a slight metallic scent.  There is a solid biscuity or cereal like malt back bone with a slight amount of floral hoppiness as well.  A nice scent not too light or overpowering; just right.

     Taste up front is the fruity diacetyl yeast notes again slightly apple-like. This is followed by a strong cereal/biscuit malt flavour which fades to a dry finish with a little bit of floral hop flavour and a slight bitterness that lingers for a surprising amount of time given the understated flavours.

      The body is fairly light (too light to be medium but too heavy to be light kinda in between) with a medium amount of carbonation which contributes to the dry finish nicely.

      Overall a pretty good example of an ESB with quite high drinkability, great choice for a session beer as none of the aspects are overwhelming.

     Final Grades
According to style:
Appearance: 4.5/5
Smell:              4/5
Taste:              4/5
Mouthfeel:       4/5
Drinkability:  4.5/5
Overall:        84/100

According to Personal Preference: A good example of the style that hits all the desired points however I would have preferred the flavours to be a little more pronounced with a little more to it in terms of body as well. That being said still definitely worth checking out if you can get it.
Overall:        75/100

-The Bear