Thursday, March 20, 2014

Good times were had by all at the CISDEP Board game night

The Microbrew times would like to thank everyone who came to the board game night at Monopolatte and  in Ottawa last night to support CISDEP, Christy's Integration Skills, Daycare, and Education Programs.  An enthusiastic crowd turned up to play games and support CISDEP.  Christy's is taking giant leaps towards their grand opening and you were all a great help.

For more information on Christy's, please visit their website:  http://cisdep.org/

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Mill Street Vanilla Porter

I have started to become a bit skeptical of beers that advertise a certain flavour.  Unless it is a fruit beer they tend to have no more than a few notes of the advertised flavour.  This is particularly common in the stout and porter department so I wasn't really expecting a whole lot of Vanilla flavour when I picked up a couple of cans of Vanilla porter at the LCBO.  I figured I would get a good beer, but what I got really caught be off guard. From the moment I opened the can I knew this would not follow the mold of other "flavoured" stouts and porters.

First to get this out of the way, this beer really really tastes and smells like vanilla, a heck of a lot more than I have ever tried.  This beer tastes a bit like washing down a piece of birthday cake with beer, a very very odd combination.  Not to say that it is bad, odd is good but I have never had a beer with this strong a flavour before.  Once you get past the "Holy vanilla batman" impression it is actually a pretty good beer.  The vanilla flavour is contained primarily in the creamy/foamy head so once you get past that it is a very smooth and creamy beer.  Unlike some stouts and porters it is not bitter whatsoever so if you are nervous about bitter beer then have no fear, however if you are worried about a thick beer then this one is not for you, it is smooth, thick and creamy.  Where it gets let down is the balance.  When you first take a sip you are overwhelmed by the vanilla flavour, but beyond the vanillaness there isn't a whole lot of flavour left.  I felt a bit let down with how bland it seemed to taste past the vanilla head. I wish the vanilla flavour was more spread out as opposed to being all right at the start.  Regardless this is still a good beer, and one I would be happy to try again, however people who are not fans of vanilla should stay away.

It's available at Mill St. Brewpubs as well as in the LCBO in Ontario.

Rating: 3.5 Steins.

 What you need to know
Brewery & Brew Pub

21 Tank House Lane
Toronto ON
M5A3C4

Other Brew Pubs
Ottawa
555 Wellington St
Ottawa, ON
K1R 1C5

Toronto Pearson Airport Terminal 1
Mississauga, ON
L4W 1S9

Website:
http://www.millstreetbrewery.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MillStreetBrewery?fref=ts
Twitter:
@MillStreetBrew

Monday, March 10, 2014

Cassel Brewery Caboose IPA

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, had some technical issues with my primary note taking instrument (my phone) so didn't have any info!   Tonight's review is of Cassel Brewery's Caboose IPA, yet another beer with a train themed name!  As someone who is not the biggest fan of uber hoppy IPA's, I always try new ones with a bit of trepidation.  Fortunately the good folks of Cassel brewery share m y philosophy of hop restraint and have produced a pretty tasty brew!

One thing that I noticed about Caboose is that it is really well balanced.  It pours a decidedly clear and light colour, less cloudy than a lot of IPA's that you see.  Keeping with that theme of being different from a lot of IPA's, it actually has a bit of a sour taste at parts.  A sip starts out with a bitter opening that nicely transitions into that interestingly sour and and citrussy middle bit.  This sour middle moves into a bitter "second wind" so to speak that nicely rounds out the IPA goodness.  I tried it at the "Winterbrewed" festival back in February and it was one of the highlights of the event, however it does pack a bit of a punch, somewhere in the 6-7 percent range, so be warned if you are planning on driving afterwards.

It's available on draught at a variety of places in Eastern Ontario as well as in bottles at their brewery in Casselman. 

Rating: 4 Steins

What you need to know
Brewery and shop address:
715-C Rue Principale
Casselman ON
K0A1M0

Website
http://www.casselbrewery.ca/

Twitter
 @casselbrewery

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cassel-Brewery-Co/201323393214987