A Canadian spring is a fickle creature and just as changeable – so it makes sense to approach with caution. It’s nice to do a slow decompression from a longer than recently typical winter and instead of rushing into “summer” beers, an amber (or red) seemed an appropriate ‘next step.’ I have to say, one…
“Brown Ale Americaine” (Brown IPA), Pit Caribou
As relatively disappointing as my last few tastings have been, and with a bizarre spring storm brewing that has sucked the light out of the air last weekend, it felt right to return to Quebec and a darker brew. This is also a nuanced type of beer I haven’t hitherto tasted: Brown American Ale. I’ve…
“La Vache Folle” (Imperial Milk Stout), Microbrasserie Charlevoix.
On Monday, and on what turned out to be a rather despicable day in terms of weather, it was appropriate that I decided to turn to the last winter beer I planned to review before next winter. It may not be entirely appropriate that I also decided to do a slow barbeque full for baby…
“Raccoon” (Imperial Black IPA), Microbrasserie Le Naufrageur
A cool, cloudy day with still lots of snow on the lawns seemed as good as any for a return to winter … and to Imperial Black IPAs. I grabbed this beautifully styled bottle Le Naufrageur’s Raccoon out of the fridge thinking at first this was an imperial stout. The capped popped, the smells immediately…
“Seiglerie” (Rye Bitter), Les Brasseurs du Monde
With the sun beaming in and the thermometer, admittedly in the sun, registering in the teens, I just couldn’t bring myself to quaffe another winter beer tonight. For a night, even with the many feet of snow in our yards, I thought I’d cheat and immerse myself in the idea of spring. It’ll happen, it…
“Stout Imperiale” (Imperial Stout), Multi-Brasses microbrasserie
One of my most interesting discoveries this season of immersing myself in winter beers as a genre has been the “Imperial Stout” whose history is just as interesting a discovery (see Dunham’s “Imperial Black IPA”). While these are not beers for the faint of heart owing to their intense flavours and high alcohol levels (in this case…
“La Marée Noire” (Black American Ale), Microbrasserie Saint-Arnould
Torrefaction: “the act or process of torrefying or the state of being torrefied.” Not so helpful … humph. God I hate such definitions. Let’s try that again …. Torrefying: “to subject (ores) to scorching heat so as to drive off volatile ingredients; to roast.” Ah … there’s the ticket. “Huh?” you ask. “I read it…
“Palabre du Cloporte” (Black IPA), À l’abri de la Tempête
With a winter storm approaching the Ottawa Valley, spring seems more than a few days away … but given that I over-indulged in my purchase of “winter beer” at my last trip to BroueHaHa, I could use a few more weeks of winter to get through my “drinking list.” I’m also still working through the…
“Écume” (“Lager”), À l’abri de la Tempête
This beer drinking is becoming a full time job … or fulltime hobby, at least. Thank god for spinning! I figured I’ve picked up enough momentum that I should continue to work through the rest of my beer list for À l’abri de la Tempête – and experience the full range of their brewing abilities. Next…
“Belle Saison” (“Blonde”/Pale Ale), À l’abri de la Tempête
Back to beer … and a return to a beer that, in particular, was seminal in getting this blog started; a beer I’ve mentioned, but not yet reviewed. It was also the first beer that I drank from BroueHaHa where I purchased it. The reason I selected this one was because at $6 for a regular sized…