Friday, July 26, 2013

Kichesippi Heller High water

Kichesippi are one of Ottawa's most prominent Craft Brewers and it surprised me when I noticed that I had yet to review any of their beers, so when one of their brews was the keg of the week at my local watering hole, the Rochester Pub, I jumped on the chance to 1) have a pint and 2) take notes to be able to review it. 

Heller High Water is a Bavarian style lager.  A beer for those 365 special days a year when many Bavarians like to go to the beer hall to have a maß (1 liter beer) or 4.  What first struck me is how pale and yellow it is, looks more like a wheat beer than a traditional barley lager.  It is a very smooth and drinkable beer, it goes down very easy but it felt as if though something is lacking in it.  I could see how it would be a good beer if you were planning on drinking 4 litres of it, but for a simple pint I found it to be underwhelming.  It does have a slight hop finish to it, which helps, but it still is a bit watery and lacking in flavour for my liking.  It is certainly not a bad beer, but there isn't anything special about it either.   I have had Bavarian style lagers that were better, but I have also had worse also.

It's available at their brewery in growlers and 6 packs as well as at some LCBO outlets in the National Capital Region (NCR for those fellow government employees).  It's also available on tap at some pubs throughout the city, their website has a more comprehensive list.  

Rating: In normal circumstances 2.5 Steins
           If I was wearing lederhosen: 3.5 Steins

What you need to know
Brewery address
866 Campbell Avenue,
Ottawa ON K2A 4C5

Website
www.kbeer.ca

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/KichesippiBeer?fref=ts

Twitter
@kichesippibeer


Saturday, July 20, 2013

Beyond the Pale: Pink Fuzz

One great feature of the rise in popularity of microbrews is the fact that brewers are trying more and more weird and wonderful flavour combinations and beer styles and my neighbours Beyond the Pale are a great example of a brewery who try all sorts of new ideas. Some of these ideas turn out excellent but some of them turn out not so excellent, fortunately Pink fuzz grapefruit wheat ale falls into the former category, an excellent refreshing brew.

I will start out by saying that I am not a fan of fruit beers in the traditional sense, however Pink Fuzz is not a traditional fruit beer.  I find Belgian Kriekbier to taste like cough medicine and St. Ambroise apricot wheat to be way too sweet.  Despite my general dislike for fruit beers, BTP have really come up with something special here.   Firstly, the grapefruit flavour is not overpowering, it has notes of grapefruit but doesn't really taste like the fruit, this results in a beer that is really refreshing but still tastes like something.   The bitterness of the grapefruit is mellowed by a delightful sweet aftertaste (from the wheat) which results in a really neat balance.  A sip of this is a bit of a journey, you can taste the peaks and valleys of the bitterness and sweetness, a sort of sweet and sour beer.   A word of warning is that it stronger than it tastes, it is 6% but really tastes like something less strong, so it is easy to drink a lot of it.

It is available at their brewery and they have extended their opening hours to be Thursday-Sunday which makes it easier to acquire.  Some of their beers are available at pubs in Ottawa but their website doesn't have a listing of which ones have which beers so I am not sure if Pink Fuzz is available on tap anywhere. 

Rating: 4.5 Steins

What you need to know
Brewery Address:
5 Hamilton Ave N
Ottawa, ON
K1Y 1B4

Website: www.beyondthepale.ca 

Twitter: @BTPBrewing

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondThePaleBrewingCompany?fref=ts

Monday, July 15, 2013

Amsterdam 416 Local Lager

Apologies for the lack of posting, haven't had a chance to try a lot of new beers of late but last weekend I was in Toronto and tried Amsterdam's 416 local lager.   For the uninitiated 416 is the local area code of Toronto and it is 4.16% Alcohol, very clever Amsterdam brewery! 

I'll have to admit, that I was a bit skeptical of 416 because I was worried that it would just be another "Light" beer.  Fortunately, despite the low alcohol content, it does not have a light flavour.  It is actually a wheat beer that has a good refreshing flavour with some citrusy notes.   If I am honest, I had it in a tall can at the Indy Toronto race and wasn't paying all that much attention to the details, so I only found out that it is actually a wheat beer when I looked on their website, it doesn't really taste like a wheat beer.  Despite not tasting like a wheat beer it is extremely refreshing on a hot day.  I was walking around watching race cars in the hot sun and needed a cold, refreshing beer and this really fit the bill.  If you like beer, but want something that is a lower in alcohol, avoid the traditional light beers and get this, it is a great alternative, however I don't think I would drink it when I wasn't out in the sun on a hot day as there are other beers I prefer when looking for a wheat beer or a lager.

It's available throughout Toronto in cans, bottles, and in pubs on draught, sadly those who don't live in the GTA are out of luck.

Rating: : 2 steins
When out in the sun on a hot day or if I have to drive: 4 steins

What you need to know:
Brewery and retail store:
45 Esandar Dr. Toronto, ON
M4G 4C5

Website: www.amsterdambeer.com
 Twitter:
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amsterdambeer?fref=ts