February
15
Talking Valentine’s Day Beers on CBC Montreal’s Radio Noon with Shawn Apel
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February
15
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One of the first beers I’d tasted from @toothandnailbeer was Fortitude, their standard stout. It’s a brilliantly dry, easy drinking stout that still carries a nice body and richness. A little later, I was beyond excited to see the creation of Fortified, a stronger, imperial oatmeal stout with added coffee and chocolate. This amped-up stout was rich and luscious, carrying bold coffee aromatics and an aggressive but balanced bitterness. I loved it. Then Matt up and creates Fortissimo, a bourbon barrel-aged version that was also spectacular and might be my favourite of their beers to date. Just when I thought this series was done, I see Fortississimo show up! This time, he dropped the coffee and chocolate and instead aged the imperial oatmeal stout base in both bourbon and Madeira barrels. What? Let’s get to it!
The nose is a mix of rich vanilla bourbon notes alongside a tangy vinous quality that lends spicy and fruity layers to the aromatics. Cherry, chocolate, blackberry and oak come though as well, alongside deep red grapes.
The flavour profile is rich but extremely drinkable. It begins with the bitter roastiness of an imperial stout (delivering all kinds of dark chocolate and coffee), however the barrels steals the show, providing layer upon layer of amazing complexity.
Just like in the nose, the bourbon barrel puts forth vanilla and spicy oak richness, while the Madeira lends a tart, tannic and very fruity flavour that completely transforms things, delivering cherry, blackberry, figs, and general red fruits to the equation.
It’s luscious on the mouthfeel, but the tannic vinous elements (coupled with the general dryness of the beer) cut through any richness, leaving the beer drinkable and pleasantly clean in the finish. The 10.9% is virtually undetectable, making for a smooth and somehow pretty easy drinking experience.
Fortississimo’s brilliance is in its ability to blend a classic bourbon infused imperial stout profile with rich and bold fortified wine flavours, creating something new and different, while still grounded and accessible. Just wow. #fortississimo #toothandnail #toothandnailbrewing #imperialstout #beerism
Last Saturday was @dunhambrasserie 's first ever Foudres Unis, a new kind of beer festival in this province. I was incredibly fortunate to attend in order to tell you all about it. Did you go? What did you think? Check out my thoughts on this incredible day at beerism.ca (link in bio). #foudreunis2018 #dunham #brasseriedunham #easterntownships #beerism
Getting my @bellwoodsbeer Jelly King on this week. I started with the raspberry, which delivered some incredibly bright and jammy fruit alongside a serious body. It's an incredible beer, but the dry hop wasn't really a player here. I'm excited to dive into more of these variants. Who needs Milksharks when you have these. #bellwoods #bellwoodsbeer #teamnolactose #raspberry #dryhoppedsour #beerism
Pilsner Funky aux Griottes from @bieresavantgarde is the same beer as Pilsner Funky (Pilsner “Jet Set” aged in merlot barrels for 6 months with a house yeast culture), but with the addition of sour cherries. The nose kicks off with a lovely cherry pie filling aroma that is intoxicating. It’s not overpowering, but very present. It lends compliment to some dusty Brett funk, and light oak character.
The cherry is more subtle on the palate, providing a subtle fruity accent to the funky pils base – alongside some additional tannic tartness. Like the non-fruited version, this is incredibly drinkable and could be consumed in bucket loads. Cherries, cranberry and a light, almost hibiscus-like fruitiness make up the front, followed by dusty Brett phenols, vinous wine barrel notes and a dry tannic finish that only slightly lingers.
As it warms the wine comes through even more, lending delicious complimenting notes to the cherry layers. #avandgarde #pilsnerfunky #pilsnerfunkyauxgriottes #beerism #barrelaged #oshlag @oshlag
Ironworks @4originesbeer is a “Golden ale made with quality malts.” The nose carries a bouquet of herbal hops, with a slight earthiness to it. Some light bready malts and subtle fruity yeast esters round out the rest of the aromatics.
The body has a lovely creaminess, while being very drinkable all around. Again, like the nose, you get some hop forward herbal and spicy notes, lending an earthy and tangy layer. It’s crisp and clean, appealing to those who like lagers, but with a touch more fruitiness from the esters.
Although by today’s standards calling this beer hop-forward would be an odd thing to say, but there is a bite to this one that lets it lean just a little towards the hoppier side of things, but nowhere near even the more approachable IPAs. You still get some honey maltiness, but it’s clean and very dry.
You couldn’t hide imperfections in this beer, and there are none to be found. It’s summer in a bottle and perfect for any occasion. #4origines #goldenale #pointstcharles #ale #hoppy #beerism
Petite Fleur from @brasseriechamplibre pours out a foggy orange with some yellow highlights. The nose is a mix of zesty saison phenols, light fruity hops and some subtle but apparent herbal/floral notes. It’s very inviting.
The palate matches, delivering a dry fruity base, alongside some floral accents. It’s light and crisp, with a sessionable body that doesn’t come across too watery.
The botanical layers are certainly an apparent component of the beer, however it doesn’t overpower in the least. Instead the flowers compliment the yeast phenols and hop profile perfectly, adding to the dryness of the beer with what comes across as tannins.
This is a complex and inviting beer that can be pondered over or simply crushed by the pool on a hot day. #champlibre #beerism #flowers #flowerbeer #saison #mercier @alexganivetb @patrickcool_pc
Earlier this year, when it was still all cold and gloomy outside, @toothandnailbeer released two very special beers as part of their new "Barrel Reserve" series. I'm a little late to the party, but I loved these bottles so much that I had to write about them! Check out my thoughts on these amazing products at www.beerism.ca (link in bio). #toothandnail #toothandnailbrewing #beerism #barrelreserve #ottawa #ottawabeer #613beer #imperialstout #madeira #cognac #bourbon
So @btpbrewing has this series of single hopped New England IPAs called "Starring", and due to @bernylatreille I've been able to taste all of them to date. My favourite so far has been the Vic Secret variant - the bright tropical notes carried an emphasis of pineapple, while still being in balance with everything else. The bad news? The Vic Secret is long gone. The good news? A new Azacca hopped verison dropped yesterday! If you are in Ottawa, go get some! #vicsecret #hops #beyondthepale #beyondthepalebrewing #beerism #neipa
Perdu dans Malle Bourbon from @bieresavantgarde is a bourbon barrel aged Belgian inspired Tripel. The nose is a bright fruity mix of fresh pear, light lemon and some cherry notes. The barrel is extremely present, lending lots of bourbon vanilla notes alongside spicy oak layers. There is some acidity and lots of fruity Brett notes coming from the aromatics as well – clearly some flora made it into these barrels.
On the flavour front, there is a lot going on. Peach and pear sweetness hits you up front, mixed with vanilla notes and hints of spiciness. That said, it seems that whatever bugs were in the barrels ate all the phenols, creating less clove and cardamon spiciness, replacing it with lots of bright stone fruits.
There is an tangy acidity, but it’s not sour by any means – more of a tart finish. The Tripel sweetness is cut by some seriously tannic rich oak, ethanol burn, and subtle bitterness, making this rich beer finish quite dry.
This is good, and I’m excited to revisit with some age on it, but the acidity, tannins and bitterness aren’t working together in a way that works for my personal tastes. #avandgarde #avandgardebrewing #oshlag #beerism #tripel #barrelaged #bourbon
If you were not already aware, @smallponybarrelworks created a culture club in order for customers to enjoy limited bottle releases throughout the year. All memberships are sold out for 2018, but I highly recommend jumping on it next year. The first bottle to be released is "Hint of Things to Come", a blend of golden sour ales, aged in oak barrels with Chardonnay Musqué Pomace and passionfruit. The nose is a bright and rich blend of zesty passionfruit, tart green grapes, and loads of spicy oak layers. Vanilla and candied peaches mix with lots of acidic layers to create a pretty spectacular aromatic profile.
This blend is wonderful. The passionfruit is intense, but there is just enough without it becoming overpowering. The vinous layers add complexity, providing zesty juiciness and a white wine-like profile that delivers light tannins to help dry things out. The acidity is very apparent, but not overly aggressive, lending a tangy and sharp balance to the bright passionfruit and juicy grape pomace. The beer is only about half carbonated, but it still works, creating even more of a wine drinking experience. Amazing stuff. #smallponybarrelworks #sourbeer #passionfruit #passionfruitbeer #chardonnay #beerism #oakaged
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