Beyond the Pale: Mullet

After a bit of a hiatus the microbrew times is back with a beer by my favourite local brew artists, Beyond the Pale.  This is one of their Belgian IPA's, and a toned down version of their very tasty but very dangerous Party Animal.  I say toned down because it doesn't have as much alcohol as the Party Animal (5.8% vs. 9%) but still contains a lot of flavour.  As someone more partial to British beer styles than Belgian ones I can say that I am pleasantly surprised by this latest creation by the BTP boys.

It pours a cloudy and wheaty golden brown as a proper Belgian IPA should, which is a good omen.  The nose is quite hoppy and bitter, it really smells like a wheat IPA so on the nose I was a bit apprehensive.  The sip starts with a front load of hops that may be off putting to someone who is not familiar with IPA's, however it isn't as hoppy as some craft IPA's and APA's.  Fortunately those hops don't end up overwhelming the beer, it progresses into a smooth and wheaty middle that is actually quite sweet.  Notes of mango and pineapple are quite noticeable through the middle of a sip before those strong hops make a return for a finishing touch.  It's a surprisingly complicated beer that I really enjoy.  I also like the party animal but as a smaller guy I find it hard to enjoy in moderation, Mullet is a great alternative.

It's definitely available in growlers at the brewery on Hamilton Ave in Ottawa, you may also be able to find it on tap, their website only lists pubs and restaurants that BTP beers are sold, but they don't list which beers you can get.

Alc. 5.8% IBU 49

Rating: 3.5 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

Alchimiste Imperial Stout

Alchimiste are one of the up and coming breweries in Quebec, and one that make an excellent variety of beers.  I have tried a number of them, but not the Imperial stout, so when the opportunity arose it was only natural that I give one a try, for research obviously.  Now, Imperial stout is not one of my preferred beer types.  I tend to find them too strong, too bitter, too boozy, and usually acrid tasting so to say that I was apprehensive about Alchimiste's version is an understatement.  As it turns out those preconceived notions (as they often are) were unfounded.

I had it from a bottle, poured into a glass and I knew I was on to something I could drink by the surprisingly mild nose.  Most Imperial stouts announce their bitter credentials immediately, so the mild nose was a welcome surprise.  I guess when you are brewing beer for Russians (who have a well founded reputation for hard drinking) then you don't normally worry about smoothness.  When you take a sip, it's hard to follow a traditional sip pattern of tongue, middle, and finish, this one sort of mixes the tongue and middle into one satisfying taste.  It's nice and malty, with the roasted malt flavour being very prominent, accented by some mild chocolate hints.  This progresses into a distinct coffee flavour that is really prominent on the finish, but it doesn't dominate the beer.  Most Imperial stouts have a really acrid finish, like you are drinking espresso, but the coffee finish on this version is much more tempered, more cappuccino than espresso.  This is really a fine example of Imperial stout, and one that I would be willing to try again, although handle with care due to the high alcohol content.

It's available in depanneur's and grocery stores throughout Quebec as well as on draught in a variety of bars and restaurants.

Alc 7.9% IBU 60

Rating: 4 Steins.

What you need to know

Website:
http://www.alchimiste.ca/en/index.php#

Brewery Address
681 Rue Marion
Joliette, Quebec
J6E 8S3

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MicrobrasserieAlchimiste/

Black Oak Nut Brown Ale

English Brown Ale is a great beer style, I'll just throw that out there.  It can be malty, complex, and yet not hoppy enough to turn people off.   Brown Ale was one of the beer types that convinced me that there was more to beer than fizzy lager so I have always had a soft spot for it and always pounce on the opportunity to try a new one.  I am actually surprised I had never had Black Oak's Nut Brown before, maybe they haven't been selling it outside the GTA for that long, but I found it in Ontario's much maligned Beer Store so I decided to grab myself a six pack.  

It pours a proper brown colour, lighter than some but darker than more popular brown ales (I'm looking at you Newcastle) so it definitely looks the part.  The nose is a satisfying malty flavour with strong caramel and coffee notes to it but neither of those are dominant.  They advertise chocolate notes as well, although I didn't really notice that, coffee and caramel yes but chocolate not so much.  On the intro to the sip you really get the coffee flavour, the malt is quite front loaded but not over the top which I quite like but it sorta disappoints from there.  After the coffee and malty intro it really falls off badly, I found the middle and finish to be quite watery with a hit of hops on the finish.  It is certainly drinkable but I found that it was a little bit disappointing given the promising intro and nose.  I certainly am willing to give this more time (I have 5 more in the fridge) but first impressions are that it needs work. 

It's available at the beer store, the LCBO, their brewery in Etobicoke as well as in some bars and restaurants in Ontario.

Alc 5% 

Rating 3 Steins

What you need to know

Website

http://www.blackoakbeer.com/

Twitter

@blackoakbrewing

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/blackoakbrewery?fref=ts

Brewery Address

75 Horner Ave, #1-

Toronto, ON

Tree Brewing Company: Cutthroat West Coast Ale

One phenomenon of the Craft Beer revolution is that geographic monikers get added to beer styles.  Until recently you never had an American Pale Ale, or a California Pale Ale or indeed a West Coast Pale Ale so breweries often take creative license with the definitions.  In my mind West Coast Pale ale is synonymous with American Pale Ale, which is synonymous with a whole pile of hops, however they only advertise this as being 38 IBU (and is just called West Coast Ale) so I didn't know what to expect, as it turns out I got a pretty good beer.

Cutthroat pours a nice burnt orange colour, which as loyal readers will know, is what I consider a sign of a proper pale ale so it was already promising.  The nose is not strong, but has a nice subtle sweet malt smell to it, some beers have really potent noses and weak tastes, this one has a weaker nose but good taste so that is a plus.  The sip opens with a slightly watery and minerally taste, this can be a bit deceptive as it progresses into a very sweet malt middle.  They say it has toffee notes, which I agree with, it's actually more like caramel to be specific but it's quite nice.  This sweet malt progresses into a distinctly ale-like finish with a surprisingly citrussy hop taste to it.  The hops don't have much of a presence until the finish/aftertaste but they are a welcome addition.  Overall it's an interesting beer, it starts as a sweet malty beer that is reminiscent of a Vienna lager (Stiegl and Gösser are good comparative examples) but the finish is an assertive reminder that this is indeed an Ale.  I find that the watery intro is an odd contradiction that makes me struggle to fully enjoy the beer, it's good but not great.

It's brewed in BC but distributed across Canada.  In Ontario you can get it in the LCBO, a full list of cities is available on their website.

Alc 5.0% IBU 38

Rating: 3 Steins

What you need to know

Website
http://www.treebeer.com/

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

Twitter
@treebrewing

Brewery Address
1083 Richter St
Kelowna, BC
V1Y 2KG

Underdogs Brewhouse, All or Nothing Hopfenweisse

One of the many advantages of Ontario relaxing their prohibition era liquor laws is that the LCBO is carrying more and more interesting craft beers, so when I dropped in last night I had to pick up a few new ones, for research purposes of course.  One of the ones I picked up was All or Nothing Hopfenweisse I beer type I don't normally drink by a brewery I had never heard of.  It's all part of the adventure of being a reviewer, and unlike other reviewers of other things I get beer, so without further ado, let's find out if this was a win, or a loss.

Underdogs are a rare breed of craft brewery in that they only brew one beer, hence the name all or nothing.  The rationale behind this is that you focus all of your efforts to make one beer really well, and Underdogs describe it as a beer unlike you have never seen before so I was looking forward to it.  It pours a cloudy orange colour, underscoring it's weisse credentials (which is always a good start) and on the nose you get very strong banana notes with an assertive wheatiness that really shows a lot of potential.  As a result of  the nose I was really looking forward to having a taste but sadly the nose is really the strong point of the beer.  As the sip starts you get an overwhelming taste of pretty much nothing unfortunately.  It starts with a mineral water flavour that progresses into a light beer esque middle that trails off with a slightly sour and bitter beery taste. I couldn't detect any of the tasting notes they have on their website so writing this review was quite difficult.  I really wish there was more to this beer as it is a pretty easy drinking brew, but it really doesn't taste like much.  It's a shame because the pour and the nose have so much potential, but the overall product is a letdown.  I wish every brewery success but I fear these guys won't go very far with a product that falls this flat, unfortunately I won't be buying it again.

It's available at the LCBO as well as at bars and restaurants throughout Ontario. 

Alc 5.1% IBU 25

Rating 1.5 steins. 

What you need to know

 Website
http://underdogsbrewhouse.com

Twitter
@underdogbeer

Facebook
 https://www.facebook.com/UnderdogsBrewhouse

Brewery address
1100 Skae Drive
Oshawa, ON L1J 7A1

Tooth and Nail Brewing Tenacity Pale Ale

There are  a lot of misconceptions about pale ale, particularly about the colour so I am always skeptical when I hear of a new one.  I love a good, proper pale ale in the old British style.  British organization CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) has done a great job at promoting the definition of proper ales, to help fend off the lagerization of the beer world.  All this to say that a lot of people think pale ale is synonymous with blonde ale, when a proper pale ale should be a dark orange colour as opposed to yellow, straw colour and fortunately brand new Ottawa brewery Tooth and Nail have made a proper pale ale.  Tooth and Nail have only been open for 4 days at time of writing, so I can forgive them if their beers need some work, fortunately their Tenacity is nearly there, a great first beer!

A lot of Pale Ales front load the hoppy bitterness, however Tenacity is decidedly mild on the nose and tongue.  As the sip opens you get a nice and malty taste that gradually introduces the hop flavour, so as someone who isn't a fan of beers with front loaded hop flavour this was a refreshing change.  As the sip progresses the hops make their entrance, not overwhelming but enough to satisfy the most partisan of hop supporters.  This hoppy middle trails off into an interesting citrussy finish, something that is very reminiscent of a Belgian beer as opposed to an English Pale Ale, there is even a touch of banana flavour as you finish the sip.   The overall consistency is quite good, although I found it to be a tad thin, it could use some more malt.   Despite this thinness it is quite refreshing, a beer I would definitely recommend.  The interesting entente cordiale between English and Belgian styles is a nice touch, makes it stand out from other pale ales.

So far it's only available on tap at their on site bar/tasting room and at Brothers Beer Bistro in Ottawa, however they are planning on opening a retail shop soon and expanding to other bars and restaurants in Ottawa. 

Alc 5.8%
Rating: 4 Steins.

What you need to know

Website:
http://toothandnailbeer.com/

Brewery/Brewpub
3 Irving Ave.
Ottawa, ON

Twitter
@toothnailbeer

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

Pit Caribou: La Bonne aventure Rousse

It's amazing how many microbreweries are popping up all across North America, in all parts of the continent and so it's only natural that there would be breweries in Gaspé.  Now, I have never been to Gaspé, however when my father brought back a few of their beers from a recent trip up that way I had to give them a try and take some notes.  Gaspé is a long way away from big cities so it's natural that their beer style would be different, however the good folks at Pit Caribou may be wise to take some lessons from other brewers as their beer could use some work. 

Bonne Aventure Rousse is a reddish brown ale that on the outside looks like a British style ale.  On the nose it is very earthy and woody, smells a bit like the forest but it doesn't end up tasting like it.  When you first take a sip you are hit with a powerful wave of hops, like a windy day on the coast, except with hops instead of sea water.  These hops really linger on the palate and overshadow a pretty good middle and finish, decently flavourful despite being a bit too thin for my tastes.  It's a shame that the hops are so front loaded as this beer does have some potential.  I would suggest trying it with something sweet, like a piece of chocolate, sweetness really cuts the bitterness of the hops and brings out the nice malty middle.  This beer does have potential but it has some serious balance issues, they really need to have more malt and less hops.  They claim it is a 25 IBU beer, but those IBU's are all front loaded, so it will taste like a much hoppier beer.

It's only available in the Gaspé region, either at their brewery in anse-à-beaufils, Quebec, their brewpub in Percé and at convenience stores througout the area.

Alc. 5% IBU 25
Rating: 2.5 Steins

What you need to know.

Website:
http://pitcaribou.com/

Brewery Address
27 rue de l'Anse,
Anse-à-Beaufils, QC

Brewpub
182, route 132 Ouest,
Percé, Quebec

twitter
@pitcaribou

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Microbrasserie-Pit-Caribou-525384144158039/timeline/