Broadhead brewery are an Ottawa brewery that I have never been all that sure about. Don't get me wrong, I love microbreweries of all types but many of the Broadhead beers I had tried in the past were not all that great. Admittedly it has been a while since I had previously had any of their beer but when I recently tried their Long Shot White I was impressed!
As advertised, Long Shot is a wheat ale. At first glance it looks like any other wheat ale you have tried, pale, hazy, yellow, however the taste is different, more mellow than many wheat ales. It has a very slight citrusy/orange taste but not as strong as prevalent as most other beers and it tastes less hoppy than a lot of other wheat beers. I guess mellow is the best way to describe it, mellow and refreshing. The traditional wheat flavour that most white beers have is also less pronounced in Long Shot than in most others, so those who don't like the wheaty flavour will appreciate it. My overall impression is that this would be a great introduction to wheat beers for people unaccustomed to the style, but those who are aficionados of wheat beer might find it a little bit lacking in flavour. As someone who is neither a newbie to the style nor a connoisseur I found Long Shot to be a nice, refreshing, summer beer but not something that I would go out of my way to find.
It's available at the brewery as well as at a variety of pubs and restaurants in Eastern Ontario as well as a couple in Kingston and Toronto, a full listing is available on their website.
Rating: 3 Steins
If I was an expert on wheat beers: 2.5 steins.
What you need to know
Brewery
81 Auriga Drive, Unit 13
Ottawa, ON, K2E 7X7
Website
http://broadheadbeer.com/
twitter: @broadheadbeer
Facebook
Facebook page
Friday, August 2, 2013
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
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
https://www.facebook.com/KichesippiBeer?fref=ts
@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
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: @amsterdambeer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amsterdambeer?fref=ts
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: @amsterdambeer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amsterdambeer?fref=ts
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Hogsback Vintage Lager
I am returning home (sort of) with this review of Hogback's Vintage Lager, I say home because they are from Ottawa, which is where I live. Geography aside I tried this beer sort of by accident, and I am glad that I did.
Microbrew fans are often skeptical about lagers, and I am no exception. Most of this skepticism is because the most of the large commercial beers are lagers and the mostly taste the same. This makes it particularly difficult to distinguish a good one from a bad one but Hog's Back has managed to come up with a good one. Personally I like Vienna lager's like this one especially when it is hot and I am either watching a sporting event or eating a large amount of meat, or both. Fortunately Hogsback have made something that doesn't taste like Budweiser or Canadian, so it ended up being the perfect companion to the large portion of ribs that I was about to chow down on. As a Vienna lager It's much more of a golden colour than most commercial lagers and it tastes very crisp without being too sweet, so it reminds me of Austrian beers like Gosser or Stiegl but because they kept the sweetness under control I found it more refreshing than those Austrian ones. I found that it has a really consistent flavour to it, nothing very complicated but just the right balance for those hot summer barbecues. There is a good reason for why it wins awards and why it is now on my list of great summer beers, however I don't know if I would drink it when not at a barbecue
It's available at a large number of locations throughout the Ottawa area (they have a nifty map on their website) as well as at the Beer Store and LCBO in other parts of Ontario.
Rating:
When eating a fangorious amount of meat on a summer day: 4 steins
Every other day: 3 steins
What you need to know
Unfortunately they don't list their address on their website so I don't think they have a brewery tour our outlet.
Website
http://hogsback.ca/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/HogsBackBrewingCompany
Twitter
@Hogsbackbrewing
Microbrew fans are often skeptical about lagers, and I am no exception. Most of this skepticism is because the most of the large commercial beers are lagers and the mostly taste the same. This makes it particularly difficult to distinguish a good one from a bad one but Hog's Back has managed to come up with a good one. Personally I like Vienna lager's like this one especially when it is hot and I am either watching a sporting event or eating a large amount of meat, or both. Fortunately Hogsback have made something that doesn't taste like Budweiser or Canadian, so it ended up being the perfect companion to the large portion of ribs that I was about to chow down on. As a Vienna lager It's much more of a golden colour than most commercial lagers and it tastes very crisp without being too sweet, so it reminds me of Austrian beers like Gosser or Stiegl but because they kept the sweetness under control I found it more refreshing than those Austrian ones. I found that it has a really consistent flavour to it, nothing very complicated but just the right balance for those hot summer barbecues. There is a good reason for why it wins awards and why it is now on my list of great summer beers, however I don't know if I would drink it when not at a barbecue
It's available at a large number of locations throughout the Ottawa area (they have a nifty map on their website) as well as at the Beer Store and LCBO in other parts of Ontario.
Rating:
When eating a fangorious amount of meat on a summer day: 4 steins
Every other day: 3 steins
What you need to know
Unfortunately they don't list their address on their website so I don't think they have a brewery tour our outlet.
Website
http://hogsback.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/HogsBackBrewingCompany
@Hogsbackbrewing
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Hop City Big Mouth Pale Ale (also called Happy Hour).
Question, do you like hoppy and bitter IPA's? Do you need to be able to drive, or do anything productive after having a pint? If you answered yes to all of these then Hop City's Big Mouth Pale Ale is the beer for you! I ask these questions because it drinks more like a strong IPA without being 7 or 8% alcohol so you can have one without making you more than a bit tipsy.
Big Mouth is quite bitter, but it is not overwhelming the way some IPA's tend to be, tipping the bitterness scales at 48 IBU's. One reason for this is that the bitterness is nice and spread out, it's a surprisingly well balanced beer. It opens with a kick of citrusey bitterness but then the bitterness fades out slightly, not like some beers that tend to have a bitter opening and then a flavour that just falls off a cliff. This balance makes it surprisingly refreshing for a beer this hoppy, but you would probably struggle to have more than one or two of them as the bitterness can really catch up to you.
Overall, I really like this beer, and even those who are apprehensive about hoppy beers could enjoy it in small doses. The fact that it is flavourful throughout and it's standard 5% strength makes it good pale ale for any occasion. It's available throughout Ontario at the LCBO as well as in Nova Scotia & New Brunswick. Hop City has been expanding their distribution of their Barking Squirrel across Canada and into the United States so you may soon be able to find Big Mouth in more provinces or states.
Final Rating
4 steins
What you need to know
Brewery
54 Bramsteele Rd
Brampton, Ontario
L6W 3M6
Website
http://www.hopcity.com/
Twitter: @hopcitybrewing
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HopCityBrewingCo
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Amsterdam Nut Brown Ale
I have always been fond of English Style Brown Ales, I find that the roasty and maltiness really brings out the flavour so I was really looking forward to Amsterdam's nut brown ale but although very tasty, it didn't live up to expectations.
Amsterdam's nut brown is very smooth, smoother than most brown ales, however it isn't as sweet and sugary as a mass manufactured brown ale like Newcastle Brown Ale. It has a bit of a bitter taste at first that is followed by a velvety smooth texture, which is nice. At that point you are expecting it to have a nice flavourful finish, but it just sort of falls off, which was disappointing as I was expecting a fuller flavour, but the smoothness does make it a good session beer if you are very very thirsty. My enthusiasm for the beer has since been tempered by visiting Amsterdam Brewery's website and the beer was described as having a "distinct drink-ability". When I see a beer that is not a lager being described as "drink-able" I always get a bit apprehensive because it often means that the flavour has been compromised in favour of smoothness, and sadly this is no exception as it just seems to be missing that flavourful aspect that other English style brown ales have but as an introduction to the style it is a good choice.
Overall, I don't know as if I would try it again, but if you are unfamiliar with brown ales then I would suggest giving it a try over something mass produced like Newcastle as it is less sugary sweet but still smooth. It's a bit of a shame in my mind because Amsterdam make some really nice brews but sadly this is not one of my favourites. It's available all across Ontario in the LCBO and Beer Store as well as in pubs and restaurants throughout the GTA (according to their website), and at their brewery.
Final Rating:
On most occasions: 2 steins out of 5
If I didn't know much about brown ales (or was very thirsty): 3 steins out of 5
What you need to know:
Brewery and retail store:
45 Esandar Dr. Toronto, ON
M4G 4C5
Website: www.amsterdambeer.com
Twitter: @amsterdambeer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amsterdambeer?fref=ts
Amsterdam's nut brown is very smooth, smoother than most brown ales, however it isn't as sweet and sugary as a mass manufactured brown ale like Newcastle Brown Ale. It has a bit of a bitter taste at first that is followed by a velvety smooth texture, which is nice. At that point you are expecting it to have a nice flavourful finish, but it just sort of falls off, which was disappointing as I was expecting a fuller flavour, but the smoothness does make it a good session beer if you are very very thirsty. My enthusiasm for the beer has since been tempered by visiting Amsterdam Brewery's website and the beer was described as having a "distinct drink-ability". When I see a beer that is not a lager being described as "drink-able" I always get a bit apprehensive because it often means that the flavour has been compromised in favour of smoothness, and sadly this is no exception as it just seems to be missing that flavourful aspect that other English style brown ales have but as an introduction to the style it is a good choice.
Overall, I don't know as if I would try it again, but if you are unfamiliar with brown ales then I would suggest giving it a try over something mass produced like Newcastle as it is less sugary sweet but still smooth. It's a bit of a shame in my mind because Amsterdam make some really nice brews but sadly this is not one of my favourites. It's available all across Ontario in the LCBO and Beer Store as well as in pubs and restaurants throughout the GTA (according to their website), and at their brewery.
Final Rating:
On most occasions: 2 steins out of 5
If I didn't know much about brown ales (or was very thirsty): 3 steins out of 5
What you need to know:
Brewery and retail store:
45 Esandar Dr. Toronto, ON
M4G 4C5
Website: www.amsterdambeer.com
Twitter: @amsterdambeer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amsterdambeer?fref=ts
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