When I first saw the bottle in the LCBO, I thought, great: Beau's has yet another brew out. I saw the shape of the 600ml bottle, the artwork, and the tag strung with rough twine around the neck, and threw two bottles into my shopping cart.
It's nice to see new offerings from the greater-Ottawa area's largest craft brewery. They are always experimenting, always trying something new. Yet, I find it hard to keep up with all of the brews that they put out. If I drank every new beer from the Vankleek Hill brewery, I doubt I would have time to try all the beer by all the other breweries, Beer O'Clock would become Beau's O'Clock.
I'm sure that the brewery would be fine with that, as long as I gave glowing reviews of everything I drank. But I don't like everything they brew, although I find that I like the majority of what hits the LCBO shelves or the taps around town.
I'm not, of course, going to be able to review every Beau's beer, and with this bottle, I'm not sure that I am reviewing Beau's, anyway.
When I brought those two bottles home, I set them down in my cellar, next to the other Beau's bottles on my wine rack that now holds more beer than wine. It wasn't until I opened one of the bottles, poured it into my Beau's glass, began sipping it, and making notes, that I actually read the label.
And saw that there were two words below Gigantic: Brewing and Company. I try not to read any information that is written on a label or on any card that accompanies the bottle, because I don't want any tasting notes to interfere with my own.
I found that this beer was brewed by a Portland, Oregon, brewery. What a coincidence that they share a similar packaging to Beau's, I thought. And then I saw something on the label that got me scratching my head again: this beer was brewed in Vankleek Hill—the home of Beau's.
I had to finish my tasting notes before I delved further. So let's find out what went on, together, shall we?
La Formidable American Belgo IPA (6.9% ABV)
Gigantic Brewing Company, Portland OR
Brewed in Vankleek Hill ON
Appearance: not-quite-clear, amber-orange with an effervescence of steady, tiny pearls, and an off-white head that maintains a healthy cap.
Nose: orange citrus with hints of pine—almost as though you were standing in an Oregon forest. There's a wet earthiness about it.
Palate: pine resin and grapefruit, bitter hops, and an orange-rind finish.
Overall impression: I really like this beer and, if not for the formidable alcohol content (see what I did there?), I could drink this all afternoon. This is definitely something that I would enjoy on a hot day, under a shaded patio.
La Formidable is brewed under Beau's B-Side label, in which they share capacity with international brewers. Gigantic Brewing's brewmasters, Ben Love and Van Having, brought their recipe and brewed a batch of this delicious brew in Vankleek Hill, and the marketing folks from Beau's packaged it up and brought it to Ontario beer lovers.
La Formidable is... well... formidable!
Gigantic's brew is the second ale to run under the B-Side label. The first beer, Kissmeyer Beer's Nordic Pale Ale, was a tasty offering that I tried more than a year ago, but was also fooled into thinking that it was strictly a Beau's creation.
Maybe different bottles would help?
So, I accomplished two things in this tasting: I tried another brew that came out of Beau's brew house and I tried a beer from another brewery. I call that a win-win situation.
I don't know how long La Formidable is going to stay on store shelves, but stock up while you can.
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Cheers!
Here we are: the first official day of summer. The time when we think about hot, sunny days, hanging out on the beach, and relaxing on a patio with a cool beer to quench our thirst.
And I've found the perfect beer to help ring in this hot season.
Hawaiian Style American Pale Ale (6% ABV)
Spearhead Brewing Company
Toronto, ON
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Appearance: a pale orange, semi-clear liquid with a whitish head that settles to a thin cap and eventually to a fine lace.
Nose: orange and lime citrus with a hint of pineapple.
Palate: grapefruit rind and bold hops that culminate in an orange-peel finish.
Overall impression: this is a great, easy-drinking APA. It's a refreshing ale that I've enjoyed with steak and potatoes, with pizza, and on its own, and it goes down beautifully any way you sip it.
I first tried Hawaiian Style at this year's WinterBrewed Festival, and while I could taste the crisp hops, the weather was far too cold to understand the complexities of this beer (I detected no pineapple, nor any fruit, on that frigid day). This is not a beer to serve cold: don't store it in your refrigerator. Keep it in a cool place, like a cellar, or put it in the fridge for only a half an hour or so before enjoying it.
While it's the perfect beer for a hot summer's day, it is not something that you want to chill.
Just chill out with some.
Cheers!
Remember the days of Prohibition? Neither do I.
But I do remember studying about how contraband liquor, when confiscated, would be cracked open (when in barrels) and poured down the gutters. The streets would be awash in rivers of gushing alcohol.
It's enough to make a man weep.
This weekend, I finally tried a bottle of an American IPA that I have been hanging onto for months, meaning to have it with the other IPAs that I craved to try. I still have hankerings for a hoppy, bitter brew (usually, around 2:00 in the afternoon), and so with Father's Day upon me, I thought I'd treat myself.
L'interdite American IPA (6.5% ABV)
Brasseurs du Monde
Saint-Hyacinthe, QC
Beer O'Clock rating: 3
Appearance: a cloudy, rusty orange with a creamy, taupe head that retains a thin cap on the top of the beer for most of the pint.
Nose: a floral malt with hints of orange.
Palate: bitter malts, citrus, spice, and hops that lead to an unsweetened, caramel finish. The more I drank, the more the alcohol came out in the finish.
Overall impression: this is a serious IPA; it's not easy-drinking, but it's a good ale to sit back with and enjoy. I found that it was a bit cloying, which makes for a rich beverage, opposed to the clean, crisp flavours that I prefer in an IPA.
While I would drink this ale again, I think I'd enjoy it more on a cold winter's day, rather than a hot summer's afternoon.
But I wouldn't prohibit you from trying it.
Cheers!
I love it when my friends travel and think of me when they're gone.
I mean, it would be kinda creepy if I was in their thoughts when they were away from home. It's nice to be missed, but only when I've been away and my friends haven't seen me, are wondering what I'm up to, and are wishing me well. If they're the ones who left Ottawa, and they missed me, that would be kind of weird, wouldn't it?
But no, I like it when my friends are travelling and they come across a beer and they think of me. And they think: I bet Ross would like this. I'll bring him some.
That's the best way to think of me when they're gone.
Not that long ago, two of my friends went down to The States, on separate trips, and kept me in mind when they were beer shopping. One of them returned with my favourite beer of all time, plus a couple of extras. I'd like to look at one of them now, especially because of my hankering for IPAs.
India Pale Ale (6.2% ABV)
Wagner Valley Brewing Company
Lodi, NY (Finger Lakes)
Beer O'Clock rating: 3
Appearance: copper-orange with an off-white head that quickly dissipates to a fine lace.
Nose: whisky, oak, and orange zest.
Palate: an oaked, bourbon punch with a nice balance between the citrus flavours and hops.
Overall impression: there's something about this ale that reminds me of a rustic farm scene, much the way that some old red Bordeaux wines have an air of barnyard. This is not a bad trait: some of the best French wines have this classic tone. I think the barrel fermentation lends to these classic flavours, especially in the oak (surprise, surprise) and to the whisky-bourbon flavours.
This is a truly enjoyable IPA that is a must-try. I will keep my eye out for more when I next travel through the Finger Lakes region.
The other IPA came with an outrageous name, and because I didn't know what style of beer it was until I did some digging, I was glad that it fit in with my latest brew kick.
Lagunitas Sucks Brown Shugga' Substitute Ale (7.85% ABV)
The Lagunitas Brewing Company
Petaluma, CA
Beer O'Clock rating: 3
Appearance: an effervescent, clear deep gold, with a lively, foamy, sudsy head.
Nose: pineapple, honey, and mild hops.
Palate: solid hop flavours with mild citric grapefruit in the finish.
Overall impression: this is a solid American double/Imperial IPA. While it is a memorable beer and worth trying, I think I'll remember it more for its name than how it went down. Unlike how its name suggests, this IPA does not suck.
That's the best kind of false advertising.
This is the type of review that my manager dislikes. He reads my blog from time to time, but he gets discouraged when a beer attracts him, only for him to learn that he can't get it here.
But if you're in an area that offers these selections, get your hands on some.
And thanks to Katy and Chris for bringing these beer treats to my attention.
Cheers!
