It’s an airplane — let’s get that straight from the beginning. I have to say, Sceamin’ Beaver is a great name for a Canadian beer. In the true fashion of company that is proud of it’s roots but humble in its beginnings, Beau’s Brewery has taken de Havilland’s iconic Beaver aircraft and created a striking…
Innovative and Community Minded — The Best of Beau’s
Innovative ♦ Community Minded ♦ Environmentally Sustainable …. and just plain great. Over the holidays I purchased a “mix pack” containing four different bottles of beers representing “The Best of Beau’s” Brewing Company in 2013, a local company I can’t say enough good things about. I love the “buy-local” movement. I love local foods, craftsman,…
“Lake Effect IPA – Tank Ten” (IPA), Great Lake Brewing
Ok, so I’m learning that I’m a sucker for a pretty, I mean well-designed, bottle. Yes, I guess that makes me easily influenced when it comes to beer reviews …. (Shhhh) So here’s a 650mL bottle that has been yearning towards me for a number of weeks, but I had to get through the Renaissance…
“Hennepin” (Saison aka Farmhouse Ale), Brewery Ommegang
So now for something completely different…. My last foray into American brews salvaged what was becoming a dubious relationship. Don’t get me wrong, and contrary to a historic Canadian disdain for the brewing ability of our southern brethren, a disdain tied as much to our own Canadian inferiority complex as it is to a pre-craft-brewing…
“BIA” (India Pale Ale), Birrificio Del Ducato
Seeking a great west-coast IPA? Go west … I mean, go east. I mean, get on a plane, cross the Atlantic and head for the middle of the Mediterranean. I know … it’s counter intuitive. I know … I’m from Western Canada. I should know which direction is west. So you’ve read in the past…
“Hop Head” (IPA), Tree Brewing Company
There is something powerful about going home. In that homecoming, there is a sense of being completed, of filling a space that is at the foundation of who we are. Even if that space goes unrecognized, even while we build upon it, and while we take our lives to distant ramparts, the space remains. Last…
“Phillips Hop Circle IPA” (IPA), Phillips Brewing Company
This past weekend I had the pleasure of drinking Rogue Ale’s IPA, which is an excellent example of a west-coast IPA made on the actual west-coast … go figure, they actually make IPAs on the west-coast. When the beer came to the table, one of my very good friends remarked that it looked “hoppy.” While…
“Strong Patrick” (Irish Red Ale), Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company
Having just reviewed Beau’s Lugtread Lager and giving it the highest rating I’ve yet provided, I was looking forward to this next bottle from Beau’s Brewing Company that I had hitherto never tried. I bought it on a bit of whim and because I hadn’t reviewed a red ale to this point – I say…
“Beau’s Lug Tread” (Lagered Ale), Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company
As you may have guessed or soon will know with certainty, I’m a big fan of buying local and supporting local businesses. I personally feel that if our value structure as consumers, instead, first privileged “Is this company good for my community” rather than going with the all-mighty capitalist philosophy of “price” and supply and…
“Boneshaker” (IPA), Amsterdam Brewery
Purity • Passion • Revelry …. Such are the words found on the cap of Amsterdam’s “Boneshaker Unfiltered IPA.” Great words to drink to … even better words to live by. At 7.1% alcohol, a macabre skeleton riding a c.1865 “velocipede,” and with phrases like “over the top hops” and “copious quantities of hops” and…