It appears to be a busy time of year for beer. All of these events are getting in the way of just sitting on a patio and enjoying beer... wait, never mind that.
First off I'd like to thank Beau's and Bar Volo for putting the feature together. There were plenty of beer fans hanging around to try a few new beers to the scene of Ontario. One being the Beaver River IP'Eh? and the other being Matt's Sleepy Time Belgian Imperial Stout. Now, The Beaver River had made an appearance last spring and I will now look forward to it every spring.
The Stout is a great release. I may have trouble thinking of it as a "stout", but as a beautiful Belgian Strong Dark Ale it seems to fit my palate more. Regardless of titles, which indeed mean very little, it is a tasty brew, I assure you.
Beaver River IP'Eh? from the cask poured a lovely glowing orange around the edges blending into the copper like body, a huge creamy head that settles amongst the hazy contents. Obviously a little over carbonated while being forced through the hand pump. I Don't complain about this due to the aroma that follows.
The nose is really floral, citrus grapefruits, a hint of mangos, clementines, followed by a slight pine note. You can really get a sent of caramel from the malts and a touch of biscuit. Very cool. The floral bouquet was a little different and interesting. It had a lot of very nice tropical fruit aromas. I enjoy the hops in this one.
The taste was much to follow from the nose. Very bitter and citrusy up front. All the zest and pine just seem to swirl into the caramel malt sweetness. There isn't much hop burn from this. A little sweeter than the tap version, which at first seemed a little hop forward (I ain't complaining on either parts... just a new ball game). The mango returns in the sweetness along with some nice biscuity flavours and returns with that satisfying hop residue on the tongue.
With the over carbonation and the hand pump, this is super thick and creamy. Very frothy, smooth, and totally clean.
I really do look forward to this beer. I get hop crazy sometimes, but this really had the best of both worlds. A fantastic offering from this brewery!
Matt's Sleepy Time Belgian Imperial Stout from the tap poured a dark black and surprisingly clear, there was a little mahogany hue around the edges of the glass, and an ever so slightly tanned head that sunk to a slight film. Not much retention for the head or lacing.
The nose is pretty interesting. The belgian yeast character gives it a nice kick . Front off there is a hefty amount of smoke, charcoal, a little chocolate and vanilla along with a herbal character that is similar of cola nut. The yeast brings out some ripe raspberry and strawberry qualities as if they are stewing in their own juices and just mingle with the roast and chocolate tones.
The taste leans away from the smoke and puts front a very rich roasted cocoa beans, coffee, chocolate and vanilla. There is a little herbal quality that floats over the tongue and is blended with bready notes from the yeast. The finish is very nice and dry and snaps quickly with cloves and pepper and leaves the berry-like sugars resting on the palate. It is fairly complex.
The mouthfeel does end up seeming a little thin with it's high carbonation and why I would lean away from wanting to place it with other imperial stouts, but what's in a name? It doesn't take away from the drinkability of this one.
It seems everyone wants to pair dark beers with the darkest chocolate, or smoked meat or really strong cheeses. Personally, due to the light and crisp body I'd lean more towards pairing it with something simple and light, for example strawberries and whipped cream, with chocolate sprinkles of course, or potentially something like a strawberry shortcake. Let the beer take the food to a new level. If my food is merely blending flavours of the beer, then I'll just stick with the beer and eat before or after. I'm not huge on pairing, but if deemed necessary I really think it should be a complete experience, it should take your taste buds to the next level that the food or the beer could not do alone.
I did not have any of the Lug Tread at the feature, however I did recently pick up a brand spankin' new 4-pack earlier in the week. I did a review of it, however I'll just chalk it up to the time of day, and the whole atmosphere: It really hit the spot on a nice sunny spring day. The packaging is awesome. The bottles look cool, the cardboard is pretty hippy-like, and it looks as good as the contents inside. Good work!
I had a great chat with Steve at the bar. It's really good to see people who are behind the beer 110%. Even if he isn't the brewer, he wants and needs to know everything about it. The idea of being small, independent, and family oriented is a beautiful thing. He seemed really excited about his product because you could tell he loved it himself.
It makes sense. Why brew beer you wouldn't want to drink yourself? If you have a beer for ever mood and season, brew more beer!
I'll finish off by saying there is nothing better than a bar full of people excited about beer. Some may be there just to tick another off the list, rub noses with the brewer, or just socialize, because that's why we drink at a pub.
Cheers!
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