From Torque Brewing in Winnipeg Manitoba comes their “Bumper Shine Winter Warmer”. The beer pours a very deep ruby red colour with a tan head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, brown sugar, cinnamon and sweetness. The flavour is of cinnamon, toffee, caramel, brown sugar, earth, butterscotch and a sweet finish. The alcohol content comes in at 8.5% with an IBU of 45. I like this style of beer as its got lots of flavour and the alcohol warms you up. This is a good representation of the style.
From Red Collar Brewing in Kamloops in the Thompson Okanagan comes their “Session Pale Ale”. The beer pours an amber colour with an off white head. The aroma consists of malty butterscotch and floral hops. The flavour is of toasted malts, butterscotch, lemon, sweetness and some hops bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 4.2% with an IBU of 39. If you are looking for a nice drinkable sessionable pale ale this might just be your beer for this summer.
Commercial Description: A session ale perfect for fun in the sun during warm summer days. Golden in colour, mildly hopped and balanced with malt for a light bodied beer.
Limited Edition
Bottle 6,561 of less than 15,000
From Samuel Adams out of Boston Massachusetts comes the Holy Grail of most beer nerds “Utopias” 2013 Vintage (also the most expensive beer to date). This beer destroys your perception of what a beer is as not only is it uncarbonated but it is also 28% alcohol and is a blend of beers some of which have been aged in barrels for up to or more than 20 years! This years edition has been aged in Bourbon barrels, 8 year old port barrels and rum barrels and the finished product is blended together with a small amount of their beer the Komsic Mother Funk. Before you pour this beer understand it is not meant to be refrigerated and should be served at room temperature. The beer pours a ruby brown colour and as mentioned is uncarbonated. The aroma begins with alcohol up front with whiskey, vanilla and some sweet fruits. The flavour is of huge malts, maple syrup, toffee, plums, cherries, butterscotch, chocolate, honey, vanilla, salt, rum, port, bourbon with a good sweetness. This beer is quite viscus and feels almost more like a syrup than a brew. The beer has a strong alcohol warmth and a medium alcohol flavour in the finish. To say this beer is tasty would be the understatement of the year! This is a game changer in the brewing industry as not only is is amazingly flavourful but it is also a beer that is brewed to an amazingly strong 28% (IBU is 25). This beer does not use any gimmicks such as freeze distilling to achieve the alcohol content. This beer tastes as good as high end Cognac and sherry.
Malts: Two-row, pale malt, caramel 60, munich
Hops: Hallertau Mittelfruh, Tettnang Tettnager
Special Ingredents: Maple Syrup, Komsic Mother Funk
Commercial Description: Utopias is brewed using traditional methods. The brewers begin with a blend of two-row Caramel and Munich malts that impart a rich, deep amber color. Noble hops – Hallertau Mittelfrueh, Spalt Spalter and Tettnang Tettnanger – are also added to lend complexity and balance. During fermentation, several yeast strains are used, including one normally reserved for champagne. The beer is then blended with a variety of different brews, some of which have been aged in different wood barrels for more than 20 years. As a result of the blending and aging, Utopias invokes the flavors of a rich vintage Port, fine Cognac, or aged Sherry while feeling surprisingly light on the palate.
Mike's Craft Beer 