Living on the Ontario-Québec border, I have a great advantage when it comes to finding great craft beer. I can go to my neighbourhood LCBO, where I have a good selection of Ontario beer, and I can go to places, such as Bières du Monde, where the selection of awesome Québec microbrasseries is abundant.
That's exactly what I did last week: I went to both places and found two imperial porters. But which province's brewers delivered the best beer?
Let's take a look:
Obsidian Imperial Porter—Oak Aged Series—Rum Barrel (9.2% ABV)
Cameron's Brewing Company
Oakville ON
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Appearance: deep brown to black, with a creamy, deep taupe head that settles to a dense foam cap.
Nose: rum and coke, dark chocolate, and rich malt.
Palate: oak, cedar, cigar, coffee, and bitter cocoa, which culminate in a roasted malt and espresso finish. There is not much alcohol picked up on the palate at first, but it does build without overpowering.
Overall impression: this is a rich, decadent porter, possibly one of the best I've had in a while. All of the flavours work, and I savoured every drop.
This was the first beer I've had from Cameron's: it won't be my last.
Later in the week, I paid Ryan, of Bières du Monde, a visit, and walked out of his shop with more porter.
Porter Baltique Grande Cuvée—Black Lager (10% ABV)
Les Trois Mousquetaires
Brossard QC
Beer O'Clock rating: 3
Appearance: deep walnut with a fizzy taupe head that settles to a fine lace.
Nose: coffee, prunes.
Palate: more prunes, cedar, eucalyptus, sour cherry, and bitter malt. This porter finished with lots of alcohol and dark chocolate.
Overall impression: this is an intense, serious porter. It is definitely one to share (it came in a 750ml bottle and was too much for me to finish by myself). I found that the alcohol overpowered the other flavours and would have liked to see it better balanced.
Still, I enjoyed it and will drink it again.
As you can see, I enjoyed the Obsidian over the Baltique, though I do recommend both to anyone who loves porter.
Cheers!
Ryan, of Bières du Monde, is one smart man. One may say, a marketing genious.
He already knows that I love his beer shop, in the Galeries d'Aylmer, and am happy to recommend it as a place to find some amazing Québec microbreweries. It's a little bit out of my way when driving home from work, but the detour is always well worth the added time.
To entice his clients, Ryan has set up a Facebook page, on which he advertises the latest beers to fill his shelves. He also offers discounts on various bottles, and specials, such as free beer glasses with purchases.
I go for the beer, but I'll always find room for a new glass.
When Ryan contacted me the other week and asked me if I'd like to review a couple of beers that he had in stock, I jumped at the offer. But then I wondered, for someone who doesn't make this beer, why would a review of it be beneficial to him? And reviewing a beer, I made no promises that I would give a good review if I didn't like the beer.
I'm dreadfully honest when I review a beer, and if I don't like it, I'm not afraid to admit it, or even show me pouring it down the drain.
Sure, a good review of a beer would get folks visiting Bières du Monde and emptying the shelves of those beers, but no matter what the outcome of my tastings, I was still going to give Ryan free advertising for his shop.
So here it is: for a great selection of Québec craft beer, Bières du Monde is the place to go. If you don't check out the extensive variety, you're missing out. And both Ryan and André are great guys.
Luckily, when I tried the beer that Ryan offered, I liked them both. And so, for my first post on the return of my Beer O'Clock blog, I'd like to share my thoughts on two ales that are available at Bières du Monde.
La Saison du Tracteur Farmer's Strong Ale (6% ABV)
Le Trou du Diable
Shawinigan QC
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Appearance: an unfiltered, deep gold with hints of orange; a thick, foamy white head that leaves a moustache and never goes away.
Nose: luscious pineapple and yeast.
Palate: a creamy citrus and bitter mango, with a malt finish. As I drank, the taste of alcohol becomes stronger.
Overall impression: as a caution, there is lots of sediment in the bottle that made its way in my glass and danced with the bubbles. If you don't like drinking sediment, either pour slowly and stop before you get to the bottom of the bottle or sip slowly from your glass and don't finish the last mouthful or two.
This is a very pleasant ale with lots of flavour and a great blend of bitterness and malt. I would have liked to taste less alcohol, which grew more dominant in the finish as I emptied my glass.
With summer coming to a close, this is a beer with which I would take advantage of the waning patio season.
The other ale that Ryan invited me to try was an IPA that I've been meaning to try all summer, but never took the opportunity to pick up. For this opportunity, I say thank you, Ryan!
Yakima IPA (6.5% ABV)
Microbrasserie Le Castor
Rigaud QC
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Appearance: an unfiltered, pale amber with a foamy white head.
Nose: big hops, bold grapefruit.
Palate: intense, but not overpowering hops; bitter grapefruit that takes you to a lengthy finish.
Overall impression: I was first introduced to Le Castor earlier this year, with an oatmeal stout that received less than a stellar review. It was Ryan who suggested that the bottle I tried was off, and he replaced the beer. He was right, and I redeemed the oatmeal stout in a second review.
This offering from Le Castor is a classic IPA, something that you can drink anytime, anywhere.
While you can find beer by Trou du Diable at the LCBO, the saison is not the one you can get. And there are no beers by Le Castor on the LCBO site. If you want to try these ales, and I recommend that you do, go to Bières du Monde.
And tell them I sent you.
Cheers!
And now, a word about Beer O'Clock:
I have decided that I will only review beer that is available in the greater Ottawa area and Gatineau, or is listed through the LCBO. One of the things that I didn't like about the blog is that I would write a review on beer that wasn't available to the majority of my readers (or, at least, the ones who encouraged me to revive the blog).
If I find I'm cutting out readers who live outside the National Capital Region, I'll broaden my range accordingly. Your comments are always welcome.
I hope you enjoy the beer.
Seriously, I'm not saying this because the bottle was given to me on the house.
My readers have spoken out and I have given a beer another chance.
Last week, I reviewed an oatmeal stout on the recommendation of someone working in a craft beer boutique that I visited for the first time. But before I say more, I want to back up a bit and make a clarification.
In my review, I may have given the impression that I was unhappy with the man in the boutique because his chat kept me in the store for far longer than I had planned to stay.
That part is true.
The man was a friendly, knowledgeable, helpful person who obviously loves craft beer and likes to talk about it.
It was also evident that the man liked to talk about many subjects, as our conversation moved from one topic to the next. At one point, I wondered when he was going to wrap up, but it became clear after nearly 30 minutes that if, given the chance, he would have chatted with me all afternoon, or until another client would require his help.
I want to make it clear that if I had had the afternoon to chat, I would have done so. The man is a warm, delightful person who is, as I said, friendly and knowledgeable. But the initial purpose of my visit to his store, Bières du Monde, was to quickly go to A) check it out, B) grab a beer that I knew was there, and C) get back to work.
For me, a trip to Bières du Monde should take far less time than a similar trip to Broue Ha Ha, which is where I had been going prior to learning about this closer shop. From where I work, I can drive to Bières du Monde and back in less time than it would take me just to get to Broue Ha Ha.
On Tuesday morning, as I was preparing to go to work, I checked my e-mail and learned that I had received a comment on my post about the oatmeal stout. And Bières du Monde. It was an apology, from the owner of this boutique, for my feelings about the stout and about his chattiness. He also wanted to give me another bottle of Le Castor to try again.
And this time, he added, when I came in, he wouldn't talk my ear off.
He signed his name, Ryan.
After work, on Tuesday, I paid Ryan a visit. I wanted to apologize, to his face, for unwittingly painting him in a bad light. When I arrived, I saw a young man behind the counter and I asked him if Ryan was in.
"I'm Ryan," he said.
"Really?" I replied. "I'm Ross."
He looked at me and said he didn't recognize me. "That's because you're not the person I met last time I was here," I said.
He instantly knew who I had written about. His name is André.
I apologized for the tone of my post, but wanted to make it absolutely clear that I did think André was a great guy, was very helpful, and that I would continue to visit the store.
Ryan, true to his word, gave me a complimentary bottle of Le Castor to try again.
Last night, I cracked open the bottle and poured a glass, approaching the stout with a clean slate.
Let's begin, again.
Oatmeal Stout (5% ABV)
Microbrasserie Le Castor
Rigaud, QC
Beer O'Clock rating: 3.5
Colour:
this is the lightest-coloured oatmeal stout I've ever seen. A clear but dark
walnut colour with slightly red highlights, this stout reminded me of
an A&W root beer, with its thick, dense, taupe foam. The appearance is the only aspect of my tasting that remained the same.
Nose: coffee, roasted malts, and a hint of chocolate.
Palate: rich, dark chocolate, espresso, with a touch of smoke in the finish.
Overall impression: Much better. While I did not suspect a fault in the first bottle I tried, I did think there was something wrong with the stout. And I blamed the brewer. To him, I also owe an apology. This is a seductive oatmeal stout with great flavours from beginning to end. It's exactly what I expected an oatmeal stout to be with a little bit more.
There was no charred wood taste, whatsoever, in this bottle. Le Castor is creamy smooth in the mouth with the right amount of smoke at the end.
Thank you to my readers for encouraging me to take another look at this ale. You've opened my eyes. Le Castor is a keeper.
And I'd like to send a special thank you to Ryan, for his kindness and generosity. Though I was planning to be a repeat customer before we met, he has solidified my commitment to his shop.
If any of my readers has not yet visited Bières du Monde, do so as soon as you can.
And tell Ryan or André, when you see them, that I sent you.
Cheers! Santé!
Right after last week's WinterBrewed festival, I got sick. Hardly surprising, considering how much time I spent outdoors in the frigid cold.
Monday, I stayed home with a migraine and felt run down with a sore throat and cough.
On Tuesday, I went to work but that cough persisted. I didn't let it slow me down, and I even got a chance to check out a beer shop that opened last November but that I hadn't heard of until that very day. It's called Bières du Monde and is located in the Galeries d'Aylmer, which is much closer to my office than Broue Ha Ha.
And, thanks to some friends on Twitter, I learned that it stocked a beer that I tried at WinterBrewed and was now desperate to get my hands on.
The owner of the shop is friendly and chatty: so much so that it probably would have taken me about the same time to go to Broue Ha Ha and collect the same beer. Those folks are helpful but have never talked my ear off.
Less than two minutes to find the beer I sought; almost 30 minutes to leave the store.
When I mentioned to the proprietor that I have a love for oatmeal stouts, he immediately pointed one out and told me it was his favourite and that it never lasted long on his shelves.
So I picked it up.
On Wednesday, as I worked from home, I began feeling achy and developed chills. That evening, I had a fever and was in bed.
Thursday and Friday are a blur; Saturday was slow and rough.
On Sunday, I awoke feeling that I had lost about 10 pounds and was light-headed, vaguely remembering what it was like as a teen, taking my first drag off a cigarette. The cough persisted and I was tired, but was mostly tired of feeling tired.
In the afternoon, I thought, because I haven't posted a blog since Tuesday evening, I had to get back to it.
And so I pulled out that lone bottle of beer that was recommended to me.
Oatmeal Stout (5% ABV)
Microbrasserie Le Castor
Rigaud, QC
Beer O'Clock rating: 2
Colour: this is the lightest-coloured oatmeal stout I've seen. A clear but dark walnut colour with slightly red highlights, this stout reminded me of an A&W root beer, with its thick, dense, taupe foam.
Nose: coffee, toasted malts, and sharp cedar.
Palate: bitter espresso, burnt wood, smoke, with a vague hint of chocolate in the short finish.
Overall impression: I have to say I'm disappointed. As I drank this stout, the charred wood grew stronger, until that's all I could taste. Where I thought I tasted chocolate in the finish of the first few sips ended up more like the coating of a burned marshmallow. And though the alcohol level isn't high at all, I started tasting it as I fought to find something else on the tongue.
Not even halfway into my pint, I felt like I had finished smoking a dried-out cigar.
At the halfway mark, I poured the rest down the sink. I have never done that with a stout before.
I'm not saying that you should avoid this stout, but I will in the future. If you decide to try it and you like it, let me know. Maybe I can chalk my experience up to the fact that I was recovering from a flu bug and that perhaps this was not the beer to pick when returning to tasting.
But when I look at this beer I tell myself that I could have waited more than five days to have it.
And as for Bières du Monde? I'll definitely return. The selection is incredible. I'll just have to refrain from making conversation if I'm in a rush.
And I'm picking my own damned beer.
UPDATE: Since I first posted this review, I have heard feedback from many who have said that they have not detected the charred wood; instead, they have tasted intense chocolate. I'm starting to wonder if I had a bottle that was flawed (though I didn't detect any faults with the beer itself).
I'm persuaded to pick up a second bottle (I usually do but for some reason did not this time) some time later this week. I'll give it a second tasting and will let you know how the stout fares.
I do this because of my love for stout: I have yet to try one that I truly dislike (though there was that one raspberry stout in Buffalo last year... ).
Cheers!
