Jukebox

Jukebox

I bought these beers for no other reason than I liked how they looked.  This probably goes to highlight the importance of a good label and theme in selling beers.  In any case, Jukebox have several beers along this musical theme, which all claim to be American influenced and very hoppy.  Here are the first three…

Number 332 – Mélodie Sauvin

This is an American Wheat with quite an appealing aroma.  It has quite an acidic tone and is very citrusy.  I quite liked the taste of this – it had quite a bit of fizz and was therefore very refreshing with a strong hop aftertaste.  The acidity and fruity flavour was quite sweet, which created a nice bitter-sweet balance.  It’s a very good wheat beer.  I’m giving it 7/11 for being good, accurate, worth the price, for drink-again-ability and recommend-ability and I would go out of my way in a heatwave for a bottle.

Number 353 – New Wave Milkshake IPA

This is another good beer.

The aroma brings out tropical fruits and is a little more bitter than the Mélodie, but it’s very appealing.  To taste, this one is odd for an IPA, it has a creamy texture more akin to a malty beer – obviously coming from the ‘milkshake’ style.  To me this is a good thing.  I personally prefer maltier beers with a creamier texture so taking an IPA (a style that I don’t like so much) and giving it a texture that I like can only be a good thing.  The tropical fruit aroma comes through a little in the flavour too giving this beer a nice balance of fruit, bitterness, hops and creaminess.  An easy 7/11, for being good, accurate, worth the price, a little different, for drink-again-ability and recommend-ability and I would go out of my way for a bottle.

Number 354 – Classique

Finally, the Classique American pale ale.  I don’t have any notes on this one because I was a little disappointed after having tried the Mélodie and New Wave Milkshake IPA.

There was nothing wrong with it, in fact it was a decent pale ale but just had nothing special about it.  I gave it 4/11 – it’s fine, ok for the price, accurate and I may drink it again.

So Jukebox have a pretty good selection of beers so far – I will definitely be trying their Distortion, Double Distorsion and Jazz before the year ends.

Nos. 288 and 330 – Brasseurs du Monde Porter Selection & Marshmallows

Nos. 288 & 330 – Brasseurs du Monde Porter Selection & Marshmallows

I bought myself a Brasseurs du Monde giftpack a month or so ago with two porters, an opener and a couple of small glasses.  I then for some reason added marshmallows to beer…

No. 288 – Robust Porter Vanilla

This is unsurprisingly a standard porter with a hint of sweetness.  The head was rusty brown and the aroma was everything that you would expect from a decent porter but with a little dab of vanilla.  To taste, the sweetness comes through and builds nicely leaving an unusual aftertaste, but other than that there just seems to be something missing.  It’s by no means a bad beer, but it’s not up there with many of the other porters I’ve enjoyed so far.  I gave this one a 6/11 for being good, ok for the price, accurate, for having something different, and for drink-again-ability and recommend-ability.

No. 288 with Marshmallows

I’ve tried pairing certain beers with snacks throughout the year, this is the first time I decided to make some notes on it.  The idea originally came from the gorgeous coffee and chocolate stouts I tried earlier in the year.  Espresso biscuits and a Le Trefle Noir Stout are a great pairing for example.  Something told me that marshmallows would go well with a thicker, creamier stout or porter so I decided to try them with this porter as the vanilla may have also worked with the sweetness of the marshmallows.

It didn’t. 

I don’t recommend putting marshmallows into porter.  I shall however, continue to try different combinations and whenever I stumble upon something great I will write it up.

No. 330 – Robust Porter Chipotle

This is an odd beer indeed.

It looks and smells like a nice porter, more chocolate in the aroma in this one than anything else and it even tastes like a nice porter initially but then there is the chipotle.

A mild spiciness stays in the throat and builds with each gulp.  I don’t particularly like spicy things so choosing this beer was really an attempt to try something different.  Unfortunately, I just did not like this.  The curious thing is that I like scotch ales and imperial stouts and they usually leave a warmth in your throat and chest through sheer alcohol content.  The warmth from this was just unpleasant.  I’ve given it 3/11 for being accurate and different, and also as I would recommend it to anyone wanting a spicy beer.

Any suggestions for snacks that go with beer are welcome!

Back Home 1 – Belfast Pub Crawl

Back Home 1 – Belfast Pub Crawl

A giant fish and a slanty clock – I miss Belfast!

I went back home in May for a week or so and profited from the trip by trying sixteen beers I haven’t seen in Montreal.  I’ll post about the several beers I tried at home and in a couple of bars in Antrim at some point, but first here are a few beers I tried on a mini pub crawl in Belfast on a perfect Saturday afternoon in May…

Number 153 – Whitewater Brewery’s Belfast Black

The drinking started at McHugh’s bar and as usual I started with a stout.  Whitewater Brewery, not to be confused with Whitewater Brewing Co. (a Canadian brewery), have made a really great stout here.  It’s got a creamy light head that fizzles on the tongue and has mild hints of coffee.  The creaminess coats the mouth and the flavour builds with each gulp, it’s just like a good Guinness.  It gets a solid 8/11 for being good, worth the price, accurate, having something different (in this case surprising – I didn’t expect it to be that good), for drink-again-ability and recommend-ability and I would go out of my way for it in a snowstorm or heatwave.  Indeed, I travelled 3000 miles for it.

Number 154 – Clonmel 1650 Pale Ale

Also at McHugh’s, this is a beer that like several others that I noticed around the bars of Antrim seems to have appeared everything over the four years that I’ve been in Canada.  I’ve confirmed that it is definitely a pale ale/lager though it was very light.  I got a hint of apple from the beer and it felt a bit more like a cider in that it was very fizzy, like lemonade almost.  I originally gave it 1.5/11, but I’m going to round that up to 2/11, I remember it not being great, but I’ve tried a few appley beers since and I may have been overly harsh on this one.

Number 154 – Stella 4

The final beer at McHugh’s was Stella 4, which is definitely different from Stella Artois, I think.  Well that’s what the advertising campaign said when it first was released.  It’s supposed to be a lighter, smoother, slightly more classy lager than the regular Stella Artois.  I’m not going to bother researching but I think the 4 is for 4%.  It is a fine lager and gets a 5/11 in any case.

Numbers 155 and 156 – Smithwick’s Blonde Ale and Pale Ale

The next bar I went to was the Cloth Ear, I place I had been to on a few occasions in the past, mostly to take advantage of happy hour prices on work nights out.  Here, I found that they had other varieties of Smithwick’s.  I drink Smithwick’s red ale regularly, and tried it earlier this year but am still to write about it – it is a good beer.  The blonde ale and the pale ale were both also quite good beers.  The blonde was quite malty and had a thicker texture than a lot of the other blondes I’ve tasted, it also had a hint of caramel, hinting at the taste of the red ale.  It gets a good 6/11.  The pale ale was a little more hoppy, but light and refreshing.  It gets 5/11.

Number 157 – Franciscan Well Chieftain IPA

I had this pint at the Harp Bar and after that it started to get blurry.  Looking at the Franciscan Well webpage, this seems to be an IPA, but it seemed much more like a blonde ale – again with hints of caramel to it.  It was however also quite fruity, which was very good indeed.  I gave it 7/11 for being good, worth the price, accuracy, for being a little different, for drink-again-ability and recommend-ability and I would go out of my way for it.

The pub crawl continued on to the Duke of York bar, a bar that I don’t know and finally the Crown bar before I got the bus home.  I don’t remember getting the bus home though.  I tried at least one other beer I hadn’t tasted before but didn’t make notes so it is lost to history!

More to follow in my next post.

Catch up

 

Catch Up

If I keep trying new beers at the rate I have been for the last three months I will complete 365 beers in 266 days – my hunch that 365 beers would be too simple was correct.  The 500 beers will be complete hopefully mid-December so that I can relax and think of something for next year (suggestions welcome, clean suggestions).  I’ve put a nice sunset picture as the year is almost drawing to a close, like one long drunken hazy day.

I’ve only posted about slightly less than half of those beers so here are a few photos and thoughts on some of the average tinned beers I’ve tried at various places throughout the Summer.

Nos. 167 and 168 – Rickard’s White and Blonde

I had these at a barbecue in early June or late May – the white was ok but didn’t really feel too much like a white.  The blonde was fine and had a nice aftertaste, but was no better than any other blondes I’ve tasted.  The white gets a 4/11 and the blonde gets a 5/11.

Nos. 185 and 186 – St. Ambroise Pale Ale and Archibald Coquine

In early June I organised a drumming pic-nic at the Mont Royal park near the tamtams.  I would recommend it if you like hearing the same rhythm played over and over again for several hours.  Anyway, I tried a few beers there too.

The St. Ambroise Pale Ale was a decent pale ale but nothing special.  In fact, it was a little disappointing given the other St. Ambroise beers I had tried up to that point.  It gets 5/11.  Archibald’s Coquine, despite the nice picture also only gets a 5/11.  It was ok and for the right price I’d drink it again, but I’m not going to go out of my way for it.

Nos. 187 and 188 – St. Ambroise Double IPA and Session IPA

I tried these on the same day as the previous two.  Curiously enough they both get similar marks.  The Double IPA was ok but a little too hoppy, which was obviously not a surprise from the name and description – 4/11.  The Session IPA was better, but only a little – 5/11.

Nos. 221 and 233 – Archibald’s La Valkyrie and La Brise du Lac

I tried La Valkyrie at a house party and was a little disappointed.  Maybe it would be better on draft – but the beer I tried was a little weak on taste – 4/11.  I bought La Brise du Lac in Sherbrooke but brought it back to Montreal and had it at some point presumably when I had nothing better to drink.  It’s not bad for a pilsner, another 5/11 but I don’t know if I’ll ever drink it again.

No. 77 and No. 247 – Lowenbrau and Modelo

A little tour of the world here – Germany and Mexico.  I tried Lowenbrau at some point in May after my holiday back home I think and thanks to a decision to not include a few ciders I had previously been counting it ended up being No. 77 rather than one hundred and something.  It was ok for a barbecue but not great – 3/11.  Modelo was a surprise, it’s a very good lager with a lot of fizz and a more orangey colour than I would like, but it was refreshing and had a really good taste – an easy 6/11.

So that’s a few beers caught up on, the only one of note being Modelo, which is a beer I will drink again.  It’s particularly good for a warm day.  The others, meh…

Brutopia – great place for a leaving party

Brutopia – great place for a leaving party

I realised at the weekend that even though there is a list of the beers I’ve had so far it is still difficult to find that information quickly.  So, to resolve this I need to do more posts and have a few more summary pages for the microbreweries I drink from the most.  This first post along this theme focuses on several trips I have made to Brutopia this year with reviews ranging from minimalist to slightly less minimalist…

So far at Brutopia I have tried their…
Scotch Ale, Raspberry White, Extra Blonde, Honey Brown, Korova Milk Stout, Honey Beer, IPA, APA, Cherry Wheat, Nut Brown, Oatmeal Stout and Speculaas Pumpkin Ale.

No. 17 – Brutopia’s Scotch Ale

I enjoyed this one cold and wintery day back in January, even though the winter wasn’t particularly bad, it was still necessary to warm up with a good Scotch Ale once in a while.  I have no notes on this unfortunately, just the rating 6/11 – which means it is worth trying and something that I am curious to try again this winter.

No. 93 – Brutopia’s Extra Blonde

I tried this one in March, again I don’t have any notes, but I do recall that it was a decent blonde beer.  I had given it a 5/11, which tells me that it is worth trying but nothing too special.

Nos. 164 – 166 – Brutopia’s Honey Brown, Korova Milk Stout and Honey Beer

I tried these beers the day after I got back from my trip back home to Northern Ireland at a leaving party for a friend.  T’was a good evening, and the beers were fine.

These all get a 6/11, I’ve mentioned before that the Honey Brown and Nut Brown were pretty much the first microbrewery beers that I ever tried.   The Milk Stout was particularly good, not too thick but creamy and somewhat Guinness like.

No. 301 – 303 – Brutopia’s IPA, APA and Cherry Wheat

I tried these towards the end of August, at another friend’s leaving do – I also made some notes…

My overall impression of the IPA was that it is quite malty for an IPA, I got a hint of caramel from it, but the hoppyness comes through in the aftertaste and builds with each sup – 6/11.  The APA didn’t really come across as a pale ale, more of a blonde, but it was fine – 5/11.  Finally, the Cherry Wheat, the real treat of the night.  This smells of sweets, of amaretto and of Battenberg cake.  It’s almost a little too sweet smelling.  To taste it has an instant hit of marzipan.  The other people I was with thought it was a bit odd, but I quite liked this.  Maybe it would be difficult to drink several pints of it but definitely for a one-off this is a good beer.  I gave it 6/11 initially, but I’m upgrading it to 7/11 now.

No. 334 – Brutopia’s Nut Brown

I stumbled into Brutopia on a pub crawl recently and tried this (this is the time I referred to above where I couldn’t figure out what I’d already tried – made more difficult by my level of drunkenness at the time).  This gets 6/11, a pretty good beer, very good if you like that style.

Nos. 341 and 342 – Brutopia’s Oatmeal Stout and Speculaas Pumpkin Ale

And so, I went to Brutopia last night for another friend’s leaving do…

The oatmeal stout had a thick head that looked like oatmeal cereal but which disappeared in a few seconds.  It’s a thick stout, with light hints of roasted coffee and a deep aftertaste which is oddly refreshing.  It’s getting a 6.5/11.

The pumpkin ale, has a nice aroma, cinnamon and possibly pumpkin (I don’t really know what pumpkin smells like).  The beer itself is quite good, with most of the flavour coming in the aftertaste and building with each drink.  Definitely the best pumpkin ale I’ve had this year (for the other, click here).  It gets 7/11.

So that’s Brutopia so far, a mixture of decent beers and a couple of strong seasonal beers with something different.

 

3 From Les Trois Brasseurs

3 From Les Trois Brasseurs

A quick mention for Les Trois Brasseurs, or the Three Brewers if you’re in Ottawa.

I visited their St. Catherine/Crescent location on Saturday after a day at the Chambly Beer Festival (write up to follow).  It’s s place I’ve been to on a few occasions in the past and always liked somewhat.  This year so far, I had only visited the St. Denis location and tried their brown ale, so an opportunity to try others was hard to resist…

Nos. 326 – 328 – Les Trois Brasseurs Stout, Amber and Blonde

None of these live up to the Brown Ale that I tried earlier in the year at the St. Denis location, but having said that, they’re not bad.

The stout has a creamy thick head and is in effect very much a Guinness style beer.  It’s pretty good if that’s what you’re after and I’m giving it a 6/11.  If I really fancied this type of beer (a standard stout without those extra coffee flavours), I would probably just go and grab a good Guinness somewhere.

The Amber and the Blonde ale were both a little disappointing.  Appearance wise they are not that different, which tells you more about the potential flavour of the amber ale than the blonde.  It was a little weak, fine for drinking with a meal in that the flavours will not overwhelm anything, but only enough to get a 4/11.  The blonde was a decent blonde ale, but lacked anything special that would give it a higher than average mark.  Again, it’s probably fine for accompanying a meal, it’s not going to be overwhelming but if you’re just out to enjoy good beer, it won’t sate your thirst.  Also a 4/11.

That’s four from Les Trois Brasseurs to date.  It’s a fine place, but not special for tasting beers, which is disappointing on consideration of the Brown Ale.  If I find myself there again this year trying a new beer it will be opportunism rather than choice.

Nos. 176 – 181 – Vices & Versa

Nos. 176 – 181 – Vices & Versa

After having written about Birra, it makes sense to look at a few beers I tried in another bar in little Italy with a great selection of beers.  I tried these in early June, therefore I don’t have too much to write (a good thing from time to time), but I recall a couple of them being somewhat special…

No. 176 – Dieu du Ciel Gaélique

It has become something of a ritual to start with a cream ale or a stout over the last few months.  This one in particular was a very good choice.  It is a finely balanced sweet fruity cream ale with an aftertaste that brought memories of drinking dandelion and burdock lemonade many, many years ago.  This therefore is not only a good beer but one that also evokes memories for me – indeed I recall at the time having to text my mum to ask what the drink my dad used to buy was as I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.  It gets an 8/11 for being good, accurate, worth the price, having something special, for drink-again-ability, recommend-ability and I would go out of my way for it, and go out in a snowstorm or a heat-wave.

No. 177 – Brasserie Dunham Berliner Mango Weisse

So that was a really good start, what could possibly go wrong?

I’m not generally a fan of sour beers in this style but over the course of the summer I’ve had one or two which have been good.  This one was not.  Maybe it was a bad pint – but it was overwhelmingly sour and finishing it was a chore.  I’m generously giving it 2.5/11 for accuracy, being different and for the fact that I would recommend it, to someone I don’t like.

No. 178 – Le Trou du Diable Maiden Shawi

And back to good beers again…

This is a pretty good brown ale of a standard I’ve come to expect from Le Trou du Diable recently, having tried several more of their beers at home.  It has a toasty aroma with caramel coming through strongly and this is reflected nicely in the flavour.  The picture doesn’t do it justice as it looks gorgeous too.  An easy 6/11 for being good, accurate, worth the price, I’d drink it again, recommend it and I’d go out of my way for it.

No. 179 – Les 3 Mousquetaires Blonde Helles

My notes for this and the next one total four words.  This one is a ‘fine blonde,’ and I’m going to leave it at that – 4/11.

No. 180 – Microbrasserie Charlevoix Kläss Lager

And this one is a ‘great lager.’

Lager seems to be difficult for north Americans to get right – either that or my European sensibilities were already warped before I got here.  In any case, I drank lager almost exclusively for seven or eight years and am still searching for a really good one that is worthy of being in my top twenty beers at the end of this year.  This one is so far one of the best.  I’m giving it 6.5/11 for being good, accurate, worth the price, for drink-again-ability, for recommend-ability, I’d go out of my way for a pint or five and I’m giving it 0.5 for luck.

No. 181 – Pit Caribou La Gaspésienne Porter

I asked the server to surprise me with this one so it took me a while to figure out exactly what beer it was and from which microbrewery.  I’m pretty confident that this is the correct information, though the beer seems a little too stouty to be a porter.  It’s a very creamy, almost milky porter with a nice aftertaste.  From memory, it felt like a porter except for the head.  Maybe it’s one of those really good hybrids, the best of both worlds.  It gets a 7/11 for being good, accurate, worth the price, for drink-again-ability, recommend-ability, I’d go out of my way for it and I’d go out in a snowstorm for it.

So four really good beers out of six, a pretty good return for an evening out.  I’d recommend Vices & Versa, you could almost do a mini pub crawl on St. Laurent with it and Birra!