Tag Archives: seasonal beers

Hoyne’s Off The Grid Red Lager

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hoyne_off_the_gridHoyne’s is back with another seasonal release! And as luck would have it, this one has arrived in time to meet the hot, inclement weather we have been enjoying here in Victoria. So how appropriate is it that the brewery has decided to produce a nice, refreshing lager? But in keeping with Hoyne’s style of brewing, this lager comes with a twist.

On the one hand, it has a clean, Munich-style crispness, courtesy of the addition of Noble German Tettnang hops and lagering process. On the other, it has a creamy, smooth profile, courtesy of the darker roasted red malt. And as usual, the style and nature of the beer leads to the double-entendre that is it’s name. “Off the Grid” not only refers to the summertime activity of getting out into nature and setting up camp off the beaten path, it also honors the decidedly unusual nature of this lager itself.

Appearance: Deep red amber, clear, good foam retention and carbonation
Nose: Notes of Munich-style hops, slight sweetness, rich malts
Taste: Smooth, creamy malts, slightly syrupy, giving way dry, pilsner-like hop finish
Aftertaste: Slight tang, lingering creaminess and dry hops
Overall: 9/10

Having endured plenty of hot, sunny days and late evenings, and having now sampled this brew out of both a growler and a bottle, I can attest to this beers refreshing nature and its fine taste. I can also tell you it compliments the change of season quite well. Get yourself to the store, get some bottles, chill and enjoy! Preferably on the patio with some spicy barbeque. Congrats Hoyne, another winner. Hope everyone enjoys the heat!

Dead Frog Winter Beeracle

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deadfrog-winterbeeracleGuess what I just got in the mail? Yep, another sampler pack from the Dead Frog Brewery. And today, consistent with the Christmas season, is their latest version of Winter Beeracle. This year, they’ve altered the recipe somewhat, going from a spiced amber ale of last year to a dark ale with a different palate.

In this batch, the flavors of note are vanilla, which accent the chocolate malts quite well, and some orange peel that add actual citrus to the hop profile (Cascade and Perle). In the end, what comes of it is a gentle Winter Warmer with a flavor that compliments Christmas deserts quite well, is low in bitterness (25 IBUs), but still packs a respectable alcoholic punch (7.5% alc/vol).

WinterbeeracleAppearance: Very dark brown-red, transparent, light foam retention
Nose: Immediate notes of vanilla, slight zest
Taste: Strong vanilla accent, sweet malts, notes of chocolate
Aftertaste: Slightly bitter aftertaste, citrus hops and orange zest
Overall: 8/10

Not a bad winter warmer, Dead Frog. The flavor, strength and spices are all warm, inviting, tasty and sweet. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of mulled wine, hot spice cider, and other holiday beverages that combine fruit, spice and warm your ribs! I envision figgy pudding going very well with this, or chocolate chow mein cookies, or short breads dipped in chocolate. Damn, I need to start pressuring the family to start making Christmas cookies!

Philips Green Reaper Fresh Hop IPA

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It seems just about everybody in Victoria was getting on the “wet-hopped” thing this past summer. First there was Hoyne’s Wolf Vine Pale Ale, then Driftwood’s Sartori Harvest IPA, and now Philips Green Reaper. What do these three venerable breweries and these most recent products have in common? They are all fresh-hopped (aka. wet hopped), meaning they use hops  that are local and fresh off the vine rather than of the usual, dried variety.

However, whereas the previous two beers used Sartori hops fresh from Vancouver, Philips uses Willamette hops were harvested from Nanaimo, mere hours before they were added to this latest limited release. Though I came to it late this past summer, I am happy to add it to my review lineup now.

Appearance: Light, rosy amber, good clarity, low foam
Nose: Light scent of floral and citrus hops
Taste: Light, sweet malts accented by mixed hops palate, herbal, mild citrus,
Aftertaste: Light bitterness, quite smooth and clean
Overall: 8/10

You may notice the word “light” being featured here a few times. Well, there’s a reason for that. As is the case with all fresh-hopped beers that I have now sampled, the flavors are quite subtle and smooth. There is of course the usual combination of citrus and grassy bitterness, but they come across as more subdued and layered. As we are now coming into winter, I have to admit that I will miss this variety of beer which I am quite new to. However, I’m quite sure the winter seasonals will keep me entertained until next summer!

Iron Plow Harvest Marzen

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Hello and welcome back to the Fall Beer series! After a brief diversion to sample a new brewery, well new to me (Parallel 49), I’m back on the seasonal beer horse! And the beer in question is Vancouver Island Brewery’s Iron Plow Harvest Marzen, a pale lager that commemorates the end of the summer harvest and the beginning of the fall season.

And much like many of their other limited release or seasonal beers, I was quite happy with this one. Not only was it a pleasant drinking experience, it confirms that Vancouver Island is once again excelling at craft brewing, making small batch, high-quality beer that has good flavor and is faithful to the best in brewing traditions.

Appearance: Light orange hue, clear and low foam
Nose: Mild hop aroma, slightly sweet, mild notes of honey
Taste: Light creamy malts, tangy and slight minerality, mild bitterness
Aftertaste: Clean and refreshing finish, mild bitterness
Overall: 8.5/10

I’ve now sampled this beer a total of five times and still find myself still going back for more. But that’s the thing with a good, refreshing Marzen lager. They get the job done and go very well with food, especially the kind of spicy or warm, comfort food that goes so well with dreary fall weather and cold, early evenings!

FYI, this is my 100th post as the GCBS! Cheers!

Phillips Crooked Tooth Pumpkin Ale

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You know it’s officially autumn when three things come together. One, cold weather. Two, the leaves start to turn that lovely combination of yellow, red and orange. And three, craft brewers begin to ship the pumpkin ale. And in honor of this season, I intend to spend it sampling as many seasonal beers as possible.

These will include brown ales, Oktoberfest lagers, and most importantly, pumpkin ale! Nothing says fall, thanksgiving or Halloween like a pumpkin in a glass. And if it should come at 5% alc/vol, then so much the better! And to start things off right, I selected a brewery notorious for their seasonal and limited release beers, Phillips Crooked Tooth!

Appearance: Golden-orange, slightly cloudy
Nose: Strong hints of pumpkin and clove spice
Taste:Slightly sweet malts, traces of pumpkin pie, cloves and nutmeg
Aftertaste: Slight bitterness, lingering flavor of clove spice
Overall: 8.5/10

Overall, I was impressed with the flavor of this particular pumpkin ale. It was flavorful without being overpowering, the malts were sweet but not too sweet, and the spice palate was highly appropriate. All in all, a fitting accompaniment to turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, or just plenty of sugary snacks!

Moon Under Water IRA

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Last evening, I picked up Moon Under Water’s first specialty brew. The attendant in the store even congratulated for my good taste when he saw that it was part of my latest haul. Named IRA (not to be confused with the radical separatist movement of Northern Ireland), it’s an India Red Ale, a dark, tasty, and multilayered number that combines the traditions of red ales and IPA’s.

In addition to being their first seasonal, this beer is Moon Under Water’s strongest and hoppiest beer to date, and probably their most complex. And since I’m reviewing this beer on it’s own, I think I’ll do the four point breakdown yet again. And I’m sure it deserves the attention. Here goes:

Appearance: Deep reddish-brown, clear and transparent
Nose: Rich floral aroma, roasted malts
Taste: Deep, toasty malts, bitter hops, touches of citrus
Aftertaste: Slightly coarse malt finish, bitter lingering hop kick, notes of grapefruit
Overall: 9/10

Yes, the good folk at my favorite liquor store picked a winner once again. Well, I picked it, but they told me it was good, and they were right. Seems the good folk at Moon Under Water have hit their first seasonal out of the park. Keep up the good work, and looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the Fall (hint: Pumpkin Ales are always a good choice!)

St. Ambroise Seasonals!

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Hello again, and we’re back with the many delicious brews from Montreals award-winning purveyor of craft beers! Last time, I covered their regular lineup, including the beers that were were first for me and remain the best beers I’ve ever had in their respective categories (i.e. pale ales, oatmeal stouts, etc). Now, I’d like to get into their seasonal beers, of which they have many.

Most of these are relatively new to me, having just become available here in BC. And frankly, I sometimes wonder if I would be as crazy about St. Ambroise beers had they NOT been the ones to introduce me to certain varieties of beer. Well, I’m a much more seasoned beer drinker now, but I was still wholly impressed with the new additions to their lineup! Though they may not all be “the best”, they are certainly up there! Here goes…

St. Ambroise IPA: I saw this beer just a few months ago, located in one of my favorite liquor stores on the island (hey Beverly Street Liquor Store!). All I could say was, “’bout time!” and snatched some up. And after years of being heavily impressed with McAuslan, and as a huge fan of IPA’s, the bar was set pretty high on this one. However, McAuslan did it again! Though I’ve had some pretty damn good IPA’s in my time, this one was both impressive and rather unique! I thought I knew all there was to know about hops, but the combination of Golding and Willamette hops produces a flavor and an aroma which is both bitter and uniquely floral. In addition, the combination of the renowned Munich and Crystal malts allows for a degree of smoothness which balances very well with the bite and lingering hop aftertaste. Congrats, McAuslan, you’ve done it again! 5/5

St. Ambroise Scotch Ale: Done in the tradition of the “wee heavy” winter ales of Scotland, this beer boasts a strong, malty profile, a viscous taste that is balanced by a touch of sweetness, a good hop bite, and complex, lingering aftertaste that is reminiscent of vanilla and butterscotch. It’s like Scotland in a bottle! As a guy who doesn’t go in for the “wee heavies” much anymore, I still found this one a fitting example of a Scotch Ale and give it tops marks! 4/5

St. Ambroise Pumpkin Ale: Now here’s a variety that is becoming incredibly popular of late. Everywhere I turn, I see examples of pumpkin ales, the breweries of the Pacific Northwest, East, and everywhere in between producing their own version as a Fall Seasonal. And this baby is no slouch when compared to its competitors; in fact, I was quite impressed. Boasting a golden, caramel color, and smacking of pumpkin, cloves and allspice, this beer is a fitting accompaniment to Fall weather, thanksgiving feasts and as a Halloween treat! 4/5

St. Ambroise Raspberry Ale: Again, a popular example of fruit beers that have been making the rounds for over a decade, and a fitting follow-up to their Apricot Wheat Ale. In fact, I was somewhat surprised that it took this long for it to make an appearance, but I was happy with the end product. My wife, always the fan of rapsberry ales, is my go-to when it comes to comparisons, and this beer had some rather tough local competition (Longwood and Swann’s both brew their own faithful version of this). However, McAuslan’s faired well once again! This beer balances a good malty taste and a pleasant hop character with a strong infusion of raspberries, resulting in a flavor that is at once smooth, tart and semi-sweet. And the color… golden red. Nice touch! 4/5

St. Ambroise Vintage Ale: As I recently learned, St. Ambroise produces a Vintage Ale once a year that is of the same variety as their Millennial Ale (still the best beer I’ve ever had!) However, being outside of Quebec, I have a monster of a time trying to get my hands on some! Which is too bad, considering that this trend began shortly before I moved to the west coast. Apparently, due to high demand, McAuslan decided that beers such as their vaunted Millennial Ale needed to make more appearances, and do so almost every year now in the form of the Vintage. Much like their Millennial Ale, this ale is a combination of wheat and barley malts and hops that is fermented extra-long and then served unfiltered, resulting in a beer that is a deep rich color, smooth on the palate with a complex, semi-sweet flavor that calls to mind caramelized fruit and molasses. It’s time to call in favors! I want me some Vintage Ale for Christmas! 6/5 (again, I know it doesn’t make sense. It’s just that good!)


(The 2010 Release)

Yet to try: St. Ambroise Imperial Stout. Looking for it now…