From Granville Island Brewing out of Vancouver comes their new “Pacific Northwest Porter”. The beer pours a very deep black with a brown head. The aroma consists of roasted malts, smoke, caramel and earth. The flavour is of smoke, ash, roasted malts, caramel and a big hit of bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 6% with an IBU of 32. Once a gain Kevin Emms has made a very tasty brew and should be picked up if you see it. Granville Island Brewing is owned by Molson.
From Boundary Brewing in Kelowna and Crannóg Ales in Sorrento comes their “Not For Nazis” Organic Nut Brown Ale. This beer was born out of a digital attack that threatened the business and life of the brewer Oliver and his children for hanging an Anti Fascist flag in their brewery. When Sorrento’s Crannóg Ales stepped up to say hey we have been hanging that flag for many months it moved over to them. From this horrible situation this beer was born. If you would like to hear more about the situation take a listen to the Pacific Beer Chat episode where we profiled Boundary Brewing. The beer pours a deep chestnut brown with a brown head. The aroma consists of a good nutty start with mild roasted malts, caramel and some residual sweetness. The flavour was of nuts, caramel, roasted malts, some ash or smoke and a mild bitterness in the finish. This Organic Nut Brown ale is a great example of what I look for in a Brown Ale. So get off your couch and help fight hate by picking up a bottle of this brew!
From Halifax Nova Scotia’s Garrison Brewing comes their “Wintervention” a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Chocolate Imperial Stout. The beer pours a black close to opaque with a brown head. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, toffee and oak. The flavour is of chocolate, toffee, treacle, coffee, vanilla, bourbon, oak, roasted malts, ash, bitterness and resin. The alcohol content comes in at 11.5%. Garrison Brewing does some amazing things and this one ranks up there with some of their best beer.
Commercial Description: With 11 months in Bourbon barrels, we’re taking this Wintervention to the next level! The time spent in the Bourbon barrels give this brew a deliciously complex flavour. Rich bittersweet chocolate aromatics with cherry and vanilla underneath. Layers of chocolate fudge, coffee, malted milk balls and molasses flavours with a bittersweet chocolate finish.
From Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks in Richmond comes their “Dark Side Russian Imperial Stout” from the December 2016 Vintage a beer I have had in my cellar for a year. The beer pours an opaque black with a brown head. The aroma consists of roasted malts, chocolate, pine and some floral hops. The flavour is of roasted malts, chocolate, earth, ash, caramel, toffee, pine, resin and alcohol with bitterness in the finish. The alcohol content comes in at 9.9% with an IBU of 40. I wish this was not my last bottle in my cellar as it was really tasty and had aged well loosing its almost Imperial Black IPA notes.
From Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in Victoria BC comes the “Holliewood Oyster Stout”. If you have a shellfish allergy you will want to skip this beer as it used Ocean Wise Oysters in the brewing process. The beer pours a deep black colour with a brown head. The aroma consists of roasted malts, chocolate, salty and some sweetness. The flavour is of roasted malts, chocolate, toffee, earth, mild bitter, ash and some salt. The alcohol content comes in at 7.6% with and IBU of 20. I don’t know if this would pair well with Oysters as I do not like them but I sure as hell liked this brew.
Commercial Description: Oysters and stout have a rich history as food for the masses. With a creamy rich texture and briny finish from the oysters and a roast bitterness from the malt, this heavyweight stout was brewed with three additions of prime fresh oysters from our friends at Hollie Wood Oysters in Fanny Bay BC. The world is yours. And yes, there really are oysters in this beer!
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