Page Turner IPA

 

I put a lot of thought into exactly how I judge the beers I review. On the one hand, I think about the style of beer I'm drinking. I think about what attributes that style of beer ought to have once poured into the glass. I try to take into account what innovations are being offered by the brewery. For instance, are they bittering the beer with something other than hops? Or is the brewery doing something more straightforward?

When I drink the beer, my first thought is to those flavors passing across my tongue. Are they appropriate to the style of beer I'm drinking? Do they taste good or bad? And if so, what drives how good or bad the beer tastes? Sometimes that final factor can come down to something as simple as balance. Do the flavors support each other in a way that's harmonious and balanced?

Then it comes time to add all these factors together and give the beer a score and a recommendation I think is appropriate. Page Turner pours into my glass slightly hazy and the color of polished copper. The head is rocky, white, and lasting.

Page Turner's nose starts off assertively hoppy. Hop aromas are ripe, juicy citrus combined with grapefruit pith and pine needles. As with many good American IPAs, Page Turner gives me a hint of grain, combined with unbaked bread dough and notes of yeast. A gentle earthiness also provides an interesting through note.

On the tongue, Page Turner is medium bodied with an assertive up front dryness. The center gives me notable graininess mixed with not very much flavor of caramel. Hop profile comes in strong at the end, giving me woodsy hop flavor. Woodsy hop flavor moves quickly into a decently assertive bitterness. Unfortunately, that bitterness combines a little to easily with flavors of grain and up front dryness.

I'll give Page Turner IPA a 6.5 out of 10. Overall, it's a good smelling beer, with aromas of hop and malt that make me eager to take that first sip. Unfortunately the flavor profile has a sort of grainy dryness that only serves to accentuate the hop profile a little too much. Without that up front dryness, this would be a really good IPA with medium bodied mouthfeel and flavors of caramel. As it is though, the dryness detracts from the overall experience a little too much.

Open Road American Brown Ale

 

When people look back on the COVID19 pandemic, I wonder how many will compare it to prohibition in reference to its effect on breweries. In the last year a lot of breweries had to close their doors, or at least operate at a greatly reduced capacity. Some breweries however, found a creative way to keep their brewery operating during the pandemic. They decided to make hand sanitizer.

When the pandemic hit Canada, breweries like Troubled Monk followed WHO guidelines and started producing hand sanitizer in addition to their regular lineup of beer. Not only does this help everyone stay safe by making sure there's more sanitizer to go around, but it helps the brewery protect its bottom line in these tough times. Open Road is crystal clear and a deep, leathery brown colored ale. The head is packed, cream colored, and decently lasting.

Rich, malty aromas are the first thing I notice. Open Road's nose is full of chocolate, combined with nuttiness. Leather and damp earth give this brown ale's nose depth, helping it from skewing overly sweet. Cocoa, nuts, and the rest combine seamlessly into a rich malty whole before leading into a gentle finish that gives me peppery hops.

Open Road is a smooth, full bodied brown ale. Up front sweetness is a combination of caramel and cocoa powder. The center is rounded, sweet, and definitely malty but with a gentle toasted quality, helping keep it from being overly sweet. Flavors of tobacco and damp earth help add depth of flavor and overall structure to Open Road's flavor profile. As with the nose earthy, peppery European hops give a notable bitter finish.

I'm giving Open Road American Brown Ale 8.25 out of 10. This beer is rich and flavorful, smooth, and drinkable. The flavors and aromas are all nicely balanced, each element leading nicely into the next. I particularly enjoy how dryness combine with flavors of tobacco and damp earth, keeping the whole flavor from being really sweet. It gives the beer a more-ish quality that make me want to go for that next sip.

Ommegang Saisonztraminer

 

On a recent trip to my local beer store, I saw single bottles of Saisonztraminer from Ommegang sitting on the shelf. Having tried their Saison Rose, my curiosity was piqued and I had to give this one a try as well. It's part of the same co-fermentation project where Ommegang explores the interaction of grape and grain. The goal being to take an established style of beer, combine it with a classic wine making grape and come up with something new and wonderful. 

The fermentation of this beer and wine grape is then aged in oak wine barrels. As with the saison rose, this beer starts with a saison which is then mixed with the juice of Germany's famous gerwurtzaminer grape. The intended result is a traditional saison blended with a vinous quality and given the character of aging in oak. Ommegang Saisonztraminer is slightly hazy, and golden in color, like ripe wheat. The ad is fluffy, bone white, and lasting.

Taking a sniff, the first word that comes to mind is "delicate." At first, I find a sort of woody quality, reminding me of the dusty attic of some old Victorian home. Then come the delicate, yet funky aromas you'd expect of a Belgian beer. There are aromas of peppercorn and spice, supported by fresh baked bread and a general yeastiness. All of this mixes expertly with the softness of rose petals and the juiciness of grapes before fading into a peppery hop finish.

My first sip is of something smooth, crisp, and gently dry in the finish. Flavors of ripe grape lead the charge, giving Saisonztraminer's flavor an up front juiciness. This juiciness helps take the edge off the beer's peppery, spicy, funkiness without otherwise interfering with its presence. All of this moves into a center where I get hints of citrus, before moving into the peppery, earthy bitterness of European hops combined with a flinty dryness.

I think Ommegang Saisonztraminer deserves an 8.5 out of 10. It's delicate and juicy, while also being spicy and funky and nature. The fresh baked bread helps round things out well before leading into a dry, and gently bitter finish. And all of this combines with flavors of grape and barrel aging to make a beer that is flavorful, complex, and beautifully refined in nature.

Old Engine Oil

  English porter has kind of an interesting history dating back to the 1700s when it was popular amongst porters, hence its name. Originally, this was served at the pubs as a blend of an old ale, a new ale, and a weak ale. The end result was known as "Entire Butt" or "Three Threads" and was often ordered as such. The story goes that porter was "invented" when an enterprising pub owner started blending the beer in advance to save his bartenders having to do extra work every time a pint of three threads was ordered.

Over the years porter spread throughout the UK where an Irish brewer was inspired to invent stout that so many of us love today. When pouring an English porter, there are certain things we can expect as being common to the style. For instance, an English porter should be full bodied, and a dark brown color. The head will be off white or light tan and the aromas will be rich and malty with aromas of roasted grain.

Old Engine Oil fills my glass true to its name. It pours into my glass as black and thick as motor oil, throwing a cream filled coffee colored head with great retention.

Taking a sniff, the first thing I smell is coffee, supported quickly by dark, European chocolate. Malts make their presence known in the form of rye bread, hot and fresh from the oven. Below that are hints of nuttiness and a general earthy aroma. Each aroma leads smoothly, from one to the next, giving a rich, lush, seamless porter. All of this leads to a coffee scented aroma combined with earthy, leafy hops.

That first sip of Old English Oil shows me a porter that is full bodied, lush, and full flavored without being overpowering in its dark, roasty flavors. Old Engine Oil’s flavor is slightly more coffeeish than the aroma, giving slightly stronger flavors of dark, black, roasted coffee. Belgian chocolate and dark bread lend structure to the beer’s flavor profile. All this leads into a bitter finish full of dark roasted coffee.

Overall, I’m giving Old English Oil an 8.5 out of 10. It’s delicious, complex, and robust, without being overpowering in its flavors of roasted coffee. The flavors walk the line between flavor and overpowering complexity very deftly, making it a drinkable, approachable example of the style. In my opinion, it would be very easy for a porter to venture too far into the flavors of roasted coffee, making it hard to drink.

Mellow Gold Munich Helles

 

During the course of the calendar year, I drink certain beers on a strictly seasonal basis. For example, I just can't drink a stout or porter in the summer. They're too thick, so I save them for winter. I likewise drink most lagers in the summer when I need something more thirst quenching. And when it comes time for a lager, I sometimes like to try something like a Munich Helles. 

Named for the German word for "pale," the Helles is a more malt accented lager than the mainstream north American model. It's also rounder and fuller in body than these lager, not focusing so much on that dry, crisp finish. Rather, it's more focused on a soft, bready malt character. This gives the beer enough character to stand up to a light dinner while still being refreshing enough to enjoy on a hot, summer day. Mellow Gold is crystal clear, light amber in color. Basically it's the color of ripe hay. The head is fluffy, white, and lasting.

Mellow Gold's aroma starts off malty sweet with gentle aromas of soda cracker. Aroma of soda cracker is supported by a very faint hint of slightly toasted grain, present at levels that are barely notable. Definitely a background, supporting aroma. Malt builds slightly in the center, giving an overall rounded quality before fading into a finish that gives just a hint of peppery European hops.

Taking a sip shows me a lager that is smooth, rounded, and refreshing. Sweet malt flavors lead the charge before moving into a subtle hint of toasted grain. Toasted grain isn't present enough to make the beer taste at all grainy. Rather, it gives a subtle toasted flavor that gives the beer's flavor a little backbone and structure. Sweet flavors move through the toasted grain center, leading into a finish that is short, dry, and crisp in nature.

Mellow Gold is a very decent example of a Munich Helles. It's smooth, sweet, and malty in flavor with none of the esters you might find in other types of German lager. The flavors and aromas are delicate and very nicely balanced. Overall, I'd be willing to give Mellow Gold a solid 7.5 out of 10 and would recommend giving it a try.

Leifur Nordic Saison

 

Like many countries around the world, Iceland experimented with prohibition. Unlike most nations though, Iceland's prohibition lasted more than half a century. Starting in 1915, prohibition didn't end completely for Iceland until 1989. Over the decades, prohibition was repealed incrementaly. First, wine was legalized in 1922. Then in 1935, all alcohol was legalized except for beer stronger than 2.25% abv. 

There was a resistance to legalizing beer because it was feared that teenagers would be most susceptible to the temptation to drink beer. Thankfully, beer was finally legalized in 1989 and less than twenty years later, Iceland joined the craft beer community. Leifur fills my glass with a beer that is somewhat hazy and a medium copper color that reminds me somehow of apricot jam. The head is dense, off white, and decently lasting.

Aromas of fresh bread lead the charge before moving into what smells like ripe, fresh fruit. Fresh fruit aromas remind me briefly of ripe stone fruit with hints of orange peel. Ripe fruit leads into subtle notes of peppercorn and a rounded earthiness that somehow does not seem out of place here. A tiny hint of overall spice combines with bready maltiness, providing an interesting through note.

Leifur's flavors and mouthfeel start out smooth, rounded, and with a gentle malt sweetness. Modest carbonation carry flavors into a dryer center with spiciness that is more assertive than what I found in the aroma. Flavors of orange juice and orange peel lend support to flavors of peppercorn and Belgian spiciness. All this moves into a short, dry finish flavored with hints of peppery European hops.

Overall, I think Leifur deserves a 7.75 out of 10. It tastes very much like a saison ought to taste, but has a delicacy to it. That delicate nature makes the beer refreshing and accessible for those who've never tried this style of beer before. If you've never had a saison, this would be a good beer to introduce you to the style and would be a good beer to return to once in a while.

Kinabik Pilsner

 

Whenever I review a beer I’ve never had before, I try to judge the beer on two admittedly broad criteria. First, how well does that beer compare against the style of beer it bills itself as. Secondly, I judge the beer against how good I think it tastes. I do this because I sometimes find myself enjoying a beer despite it not being a “strictly correct” interpretation of a certain style of beer. After all, the craft beer is known more for its innovative nature than for its strict adherence to traditional style guidelines.

Kinabik Pilsner for example, lists itself simply as a pilsner which means it could be a German, bohemian, or American style pilsner. Beer advocate narrows it down for me, classifying Kinabik as a German pilsner. This tells me to look for grainy aromas with no fruit esters, and crisp, bitter flavors, with a dry finish. It tells me a little more than this of course, but you get the idea. Knowing what style of beer this is, tells me what sorts of sights, smells, and flavors, I should look for when I review a beer. Kinabik Pilsner is crystal clear and pale amber in color, much like the color of ripe wheat. The head is rocky, bone white, and lasting.

Taking a sniff, Kinabik’s aroma starts off with a mild graininess reminding me of a combination of soda crackers and fresh baked bread. This leads into a slightly rounded center where I pick up the faintest hint of lemon candy. Aromas of bread come back in, giving some support to the beer’s nose, before leading into a finish where I pick up hints of peppercorn. 

At first blush, Kinabik Pilsner is smooth, crisp, and just a little bit dry. Grainy flavors of soda crackers lead the charge before building slightly in the center. The center is where I get just a hint of fresh baked bread and a little bit of generic sweetness. Sweetness gives way quickly to grainy again, before moving into a finish that is dry and lasting, but not overpoweringly dry. Slightly dry finish blends easily with hints of bitter, European hops before fading into the background, leaving you ready for the next sip.

With an even 7 out of 10, Kinabik Pilsner walks the line between being genuinely decent and only not bad. It’s enjoyable enough with nothing unfavorable to detract from the thought of drinking it. That being said, nothing about this beer really stands out for me in a positive manner, either. It’s one of those beers that I’d drink if someone else bought it for me, but probably wouldn’t burn many calories seeking it out for myself.

It Always Starts In A Tavern

  I sometimes wish there were more European beers available for sale in Alberta. Whenever I want to try a traditional European beer, I often have to purchase some craft beer interpretation of the style. Fortunately, there are a great many brewers in north America who make awesome European beers. I still think it's nice however, to be able to purchase a "real" English brown ale once in a while just so I can have something official to compare the local stuff to.

English brown ale can be described as malt forward with a certain nutty character. At least this is the case for northern brown ale, as opposed to the southern example. The color should be a deep, leathery brown. Fruit esters should be low, with flavors skewing towards dryness. Hops tend to be more subtle, being only present enough to balance the beer's malt sweetness. It Always Starts in a Tavern pours into my glass crystal clear and a deep, leathery brown color. The head is dense, tan in color, and lasting.

On the nose, rich aromas of malt lead the charge. Up front I get notes of deep, rich caramel combined with hints of nuts. Nuts lead into a center where I find aromas of damp earth combined with hints of tobacco. This may be my imagination but I smell just a hint of something that could be dates. All of this leads into a finish that is short and gentle in its dryness. 

Taking a sip shows me an ale that is smooth and rounded up front. As with the nose I find rich flavors of caramel only this time it seems to be paired with something like cocoa powder. The flavors take a turn towards leather and tobacco in the center. As with the nose I taste something reminding me of dates before things move into a finish that is dry and lasting.

I think this beer deserves a solid 7.75 out of 10. It's smooth, rich, flavorful, and decently balanced. It Always Starts in a Tavern reminds me of a very solid English style brown ale. I would go so far as to say that if you can't find an "authentic" brown ale from England, this would be a good substitute.

Fjord NEIPA

  First of all in case you were wondering, S.Y.C. stands for “Show Your Colors,” an apt name for a new brewery dedicating itself to making top notch new beers. SYC brewing has devoted itself to brewing a variety of styles, instead of focusing on just a couple as some new breweries tend to do. Instead, SYC’s range of beers include lagers and IPAs as well as Saisons, Belgian dubbels, and a couple of sours. 

On a recent trip to the liquor store, I found a single can of Fjord in the "breakage" section. This is the section where the liquor store breaks up a 4 pack of beer when one of the cans is broken. This way, the store sells the other three cans without losing too much money on a 4 pack they can't sell. It's also great news for me since I can try new beer without havin to commit to a 4 pack of beer I might not like. Fjord NEIPA is hazy, and a bright, almost golden amber in color. The head is rocky, bone white, and lasting.

The aroma on this NEIPA is fairly bursting with hops. I could smell those citrusy hops as soon as I opened the can. On closer examination, Fjord’s nose is all about the hops. Hops are an enticing mix of navel oranges and ripe peaches, combining to give a ripe, fresh fruit juiciness. Hints of rising bread dough lend support to the beer’s overall hoppiness. These two elements of clean, simple malt and ripe, juicy hops give Fjord a pleasing nose any hop lover should enjoy.

As for the flavor and mouthfeel, Fjord NEIPA is smooth, and medium bodied. There’s a gentle, spritzy carbonation helping give support and structure to the beer’s flavors. Bready malt flavors come in first, giving a platform for the upcoming hop blast. As with the nose, the hops are all ripe fruit juiciness. Hop flavors start with slightly bitter flavors of orange before moving into more generic flavors of pear and ripe stone fruit. All of this leads into a lingering dry, bitter finish.

I think Fjord NEIPA deserves an 8.5 out of 10. It’s very much what a New England IPA should be. There’s a huge hop presence that is all about ripe, fresh fruit. Malt profiles take a back seat, giving a simple platform for the hops to stand on and be the star of the show. Well worth checking out, and one of the better examples of the style.

Estrella Damn

 

So far I've tasted and reviewed over four dozen different beers from around the world. I've been trying to make sure I get examples from as many different styles as possible. One reason for this is because I'm trying to educate my palate so I can determine what kind of beer is in my glass just by way of sensory evaluation. With most of the world's beers that's an achievable goal because most beer styles have specific guidelines which define the different styles of beer.

When it comes to beers like Estrella, they don't fit into traditional lager styles. This isn't a German pilsner, or a Helles, or a mainstream American lager. Instead, it seems to be simply a generic European lager. So, I find myself thinking of beers like this as the European version of a mainstream American lager. This raises the question of what I should look for in this theoretical style of beer.

For the most part I look for a beer that is rounded in the center, well attenuated, crisp, and refreshing. I don't expect a very dry finish, nor do I expect big malt up front or hop in the finish. I just look for something that is simply, generically, lager flavored. So far, that definition seems to work for me. Estrella pours into my glass crystal clear and the color of ripe hay. Thin streams of CO2 support a fluffy, bone white head with good retention.

On the nose, Estrella starts of slightly grainy. Hints of soda cracker make their presence known before moving into a sweetness I can't identify at first. Closer examination reveals a combination of corn and green apples. Green apples add a sharpness to the nose that isn't doing anyone any favors. Adjunct sweetness dominates, but I imagine I can smell a hint of leafy hop in the finish.

Taking a sip, the first thing I notice is the combination of corn and green apple. As with the nose it gives the flavor an odd combination of swwetness and green apple sharpness. The mouthfeel is smooth enough and there seems to be a soda cracker quality in the foreground. Unfortunately though, that odd adjunct green apple sweetness dominates the beer's flavor.

Overall I'm giving Estrella 5.5 out of 10. To put it bluntly, the beer just isn't enjoyable. That odd sweet green apple flavor combines with a graininess, both of which dominate the beer's flavor and aroma. I would recommend giving Estrella a hard pass.

Blue Buck Pale Ale

 

These days I'm happy to see any company take its environmental responsibilities seriously. I'm especially happy when small or mid size businesses do it because it would be easy for them to slide under the radar on environmental issues. Phillips Brewing has almost a dozen initiatives in play as they try to do business in a way that's friendly to the environment. There's the spent grain program, efforts to reduce water use, and labels made from recycled paper. 

They even recycle the CO2 produced by the fermentation process so they don't have to purchase CO2 produced by the fossil fuel industry. Phillips Brewing is a member of a local bottle pool program allowing them to use recycled bottles to bottle their beer. Over the course of the last 5 years, they even use 30% less water to make their beer. This is only a portion of what Phillips does to make the environment better. Blue Buck pours into my glass clear and the color of polished copper. Thin streams of CO2 support a dense, off white head with decent retention.

Up front, Blue Buck's aroma starts out malty; sort of a combination of caramel and crushed grain. Aromas of bread dough come out in the center, smoothing out those initial aromas somewhat. The doughy character combines with something smelling of fondant, of all things. These combine together well enough before moving into a finish that is peppery European hops.

My first sip reveals up front graininess, leading into barely present flavors of caramel. After the caramel, graininess becomes a more pleasant flavor of toasted grain. The caramel flavor intensifies a bit, cutting through the overall graininess before moving into a lasting bitter finish. Somehow there's a hint of sweetness providing a subtle through note as well.

All things considered, Blue Buck is not bad. I feel willing to give it a 6.5 out of 10. I find there could be room for improvement on one main front with this beer. Mainly, the flavors could have less graininess, more malt, and maybe some fruit esters. All things being equal, maybe a little more hop presence wouldn't hurt either.