Tag Archives: ale

Wyld Raspberry Berliner Weisse – Hearthstone Brewery

by Mike

From Hearthstone Brewery in North Vancouver comes their “Wyld Raspberry Berliner Weisse”. The beer pours a reddish pink colour with a small white head.  The aroma is of Raspberry, sweetness but not to much else.  The flavour is of raspberry, tartness with some undertones of sweetness with a mild malt note.  The alcohol content comes in at 3.2% with an IBU of 00.  You can not go wrong with a nice session sour ale and this one will not disappoint.

Commercial Description:  We brew this the way they did back in the day, using a 100% wild lactobacillus bacteria to sour the beer, then we bring it back into the kettle and add 200lbs of real, whole local raspberries resulting in a pink, tart and refreshing summer beer.

Red Truck Beer launches craft beer floats and new menu items at The Truck Stop Diner

by Mike

I was recently invited out to Red Truck Beer in Vancouver with some other media members to check out some of their new menu Items.

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I have a bad habit of always being early to events and this was no different so I sampled their new Dry Nibbed Stout.  While I didn’t take any notes on this beer I did quite enjoy it and it was probably my favourite of the ones I sampled.

Once the small group was rounded up we were taken on a short tour of the brewery.  I was less interested in the technical side of the brewery as I have both done the tour and also know more about the brewing process than the rest of the group.  I took the chance to take more photos.

Once the tour was done we headed up to a private room that can be rented for events to taste some of their beer and their new food.

They started the tasting off with their 3 core beer and one winter seasonal.  The beers were 1st the Lager, 3rd the Ale and 4th the IPA that rounded out their core lineup and 2nd their Pilsner their winter seasonal.  Their mandate is to make flavourful but accessible beers.  While I am not a big drinker of Lagers and Pilsners personally there is not doubt that they are making their mandate with well crafted easy drinking beers.

The new food includes their new Fish Sandwich that is battered and has fried tortilla’s making it almost a fish and chips sandwich.  The next sample was a pulled pork sandwich that had nice ranch slaw on it.  Next up was the pulled pork tacos a great tasting treat.  The last thing we were able to sample was the bone out dry ribs.  They were great with the spicy sauce they were served with.  Even though I expected to like one of the pork dishes the best for me it was the Fish Sandwich that really hit the spot.  It had everything you would want in a sandwich and more.  Not to say anything bad about the other options as there were all really tasty and I would love to eat more of all of them.

Now they were not done with the great samples.  The next thing they brought us was a sample of their brand new beer floats.  This one used their Blackberry Bourbon Ale and some really tasty ice cream.  They also gave us a sample of the Blackberry Bourbon Ale without ice cream to compare.  Personally I cant wait to get back and try a full sized beer float!  This little sample was to die for. 

Now while we where up in a private room for this tasting the Truck Stop Diner got really busy and shows just how popular a spot this is to hang out.  They also have a growler bar and off sales location at the front door.  If you have not made it out to Red Truck Beer yet what are you waiting for?

Field Guide Ale – Coast Mountain Brewing

by Mike

From Coast Mountain Brewing in Whistler comes their “Field Guide Ale”. The beer pours an amber colour with a white head. The aroma consists of fruity notes, caramel and grainy malts and some floral hops.  The flavour is of bready, grainy and caramel malts with citrus, mild hops bitterness and maybe some earth.  The alcohol content comes in at 5.2% with an IBU of 30.  This is a tasty what I would assume to be a Pale Ale and will fit right in to the atmosphere in the mountain town.

Commercial Description:  German and English specialty malts provide a beautiful body of biscuits, crackers and light caramels. While generous additions of Cascade hops lead us into to a pleasurable back note of grapefruit. This is the perfect lifestyle wrapped up in a pint, always evolving, relaxed & full of flavour.

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Tucan Slam – Machine Ales

by Mike

From Machine Ales part of the brewery collaborative Callister Brewing comes their “Tucan Slam” what they call a Tropically Hoppy Freestyle Ale. The beer pours a golden colour with a white head. The aroma consists of a fruity, cereal, fruit loops and some floral hops.  The flavour is of tropical fruits, fruit loops, cereal and mild bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 5.5%. Some may not think that tasting and smelling much like fruit loops would be a good thing but this really works and should be a must try.

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Craftmaster 12 – Red Truck Beer

by Mike

Red Truck Beer Company has launched a mixed 12 case since the opening of their new brewery in Vancouver.  The mixed case is called the Craftmaster 12 and includes 3x IPA, 3x ISA, 3x Ale and 3x lager.

Going with the truck theme of the brewery the box has a pretty workman like look and really resembles a toolbox.  The mix of beer is pretty darn good with two beers that feature more hops an ale that would probably come in as an amber ale and a easy drinking lager.

Red Truck India Session Ale (Currently Mixer exclusive for bottles)

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The India Session Ale or ISA pours a golden colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of citrus, floral and grassy hops and a mild malt note or two.  The flavour is of some earthiness, citrus, grassy, mild malts and a decent bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 4.2%.  If you are looking for an IPA with lower alcohol content then this might just be your answer.

Commercial Description:  A lovely light Session ale with a ton of Australian Galaxy hops. Perfect for the Outback…or even better, any local patio.

Food pairing as per brewery:  Thai, Vietnamese, Indian Cuisine (cream or coconut based curries go really well…and Vietnamese food is just awesome!)
Mexican Cuisine (grilled meats, and herbal, citrus flavours do really well)
Grilled or roasted meats such as beef, pork, or lamb (fattier, the better; IPA bitterness cuts the fat really well) Burgers (but that’s a bit too easy tho…isn’t it) Sandwiches, especially with cold cuts Pizza (but what beer doesn’t go well with pizza?) Stronger flavoured cheeses
Note: Vinegar (acidic) hot sauces will exponentially bring out an astringent bitterness in this beer; avoid!

Red Truck India Pale Ale

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The Red Truck India Pale Ale pours a golden colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of lemony citrus, tropical, grassy hops and a malty finish.  The flavour is of citrus, orange, tropical, sweetness, mild pine, earth, caramel and hops bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.3% with an IBU of 69.  If you are looking for a good day to day IPA then this could be a good option for you.  It won’t stand up to the special release IPA’s but that is not what the aim is with this beer.  This is a great IPA if you just want to sit down to a few in a sitting.

Commercial Description:  A bright IPA filled with lovely floral, pine, and citrus aromas and flavours. A soft sweetness followed with a lingering bitterness makes this beer an easy drinking friend suitable for all occasions.

Red Truck Ale

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The Red Truck Ale pours an amber colour with an off white head.  The fact that it pours amber is fitting as I would assume this is actually an amber ale.  The aroma consists of caramel, fruity notes and a mild bite from hops in the end.  The flavour comes in with fruit, caramel malts, earth and a small but noticeable hops bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 5.2%.  I would not kick this beer out of my pint glass.  Again this is an easy drinking beer that may not knock your socks off but it will do exactly what it sets out to do.  It will be refreshing and taste good!

Commercial Description:  A blend of premium Belgian malts, plus German and Pacific Northwest hop varieties gives this luscious, copper-hued ale a wonderful complex aroma, a rich depth of flavour, and smooth drinkability.

Red Truck Lager

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The Red Truck Lager pours a straw yellow with a white head.  The aroma consists of biscuit malts, citrus, sweetness and a grassy finish.  The flavour is of biscuit malts, citrus, sweetness and a grassy hops finish and an ever so slight hops bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 5.0%.  If you know me well then you know this is not a style I gravitate to at all.  I will say though that this lager does have much more flavour than any macro brewery and does go down very easily.

Commercial Description:  Made with Canadian Prairie two-row malted barley and hops imported from Germany and the Czech Republic. Red Truck Lager is a beer with world-class credential.