Tag Archives: mild booze

Imperial IPA – Black Kettle Brewing Company

by Mike

From Black kettle Brewing Company out of North Vancouver comes their “Imperial IPA”.  The beer pours a dark amber colour with an off white head.  The aroma consists of caramel, dough, mild fruit and floral hops.  The flavour is of caramel, brown sugar, grain, mild earth, fruit, bitterness with only mild booze coming through.  The alcohol content comes in at 8.7% with an IBU of 78.  This beer came in on the slightly sweeter side but it had the booze and the bitterness one would expect form a Double IPA for sure!

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Barley Wine 2014 Vintage (Aged 1 year) – Parallel 49 Brewing

by Mike

From East Vancouver’s Parallel 49 Brewing comes their latest beer in their Barrel Aged series the “Barley Wine” 2014 Vintage aged from December 2014 to December 2015.  The beer pours a deep cloudy amber colour with an off white head.  The aroma consists of dark fruits, sweetness, caramel malts, vanilla, chocolate and vanilla.  The flavour is of dark fruits, caramel, toffee, sweetness, earth, anise, chocolate and mild booze.  The alcohol content comes in at 11.8% with an IBU of 61.  This is tasting different than when it was fresh but it is still tasting awesome!

Commercial Description:  The granddaddy of English ales, this beer pours a tawny amber and boasts a huge mat flavour. Aging in whiskey barrels for 10 months has added a woody vanilla note that will age beautifully. This beer begs to be cellared.

Here is my original post.

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Brooding Soldier Barrel Aged Dubbel – Brewsters Brewing Company

by Mike

From Brewsters Brewing Company out of Calgary Alberta comes their “Brooding Soldier Barrel Aged Dubbel”.  The beer pours a ruby red colour with a tan head.  The aroma consists of dark fruits, candied sugar, oak and a sweet finish.  The flavour is of dark fruits, toffee, candied sugar, dark fruits, red wine, oak, semi sweet, oak and a mild boozy finish.  The alcohol content comes in at a strong 8%.  The first sip of this beer I was not sure about it but by the second sip I was sold.  This is a great beer with all kinds of things going on in it.

Commercial Description:  You may have noticed some wine barrels on display in our restaurant in the Calgary Foothills industrial area. Rest assured, we’re not dipping our toes into winemaking. We’ve been busy concocting this barrel aged brew. Brooding Soldier Barrel Aged Dubbel exhibits a complex, malty sweetness with notes of ripe red fruit. It has a warm, dry finish and oaked wine character.

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Black Dog Quad – Red Collar Brewing

by Mike

From Red Collar Brewing in Kamloops in the Okanagan comes their “Black Dog Quad” a one year anniversary ale.  The beer pours a deep brown colour with a small tan head but not a lot of carbonation.  The aroma consists of dark fruits, brown and candied sugar, sweetness and maybe a hint of grapes but I am not sure.  The aroma also has a hint of booze but not a lot.  The flavour is huge and includes dark fruits, plums, grapes, black cherry, anise, brown and candied sugar, cinnamon, toffee, sweetness, mild hops bite and a mild booze finish.  The beer comes in at a big 11.69% alcohol with and IBU of 35.  To say this beer was a good beer is a serious understatement.  This bottle conditioned beer is one to be sought out if you like a good Belgian style Quad!

Commercial Description:  Black Dog Quad is a bottle conditioned, lightly carbonated ale brew3ed in the Trappist style.  Best served at 14c, decanted from height into your favourite tulip glass.  This bottle will benefit from and extended stay in your cellar.  Please enjoy responsibly.

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Singularity 2015 – Driftwood Brewing

by Mike

Victoria’s Driftwood Brewing releases a very limited release Russian Imperial Stout every year in the depths of winter.  This beer is called “Singularity 2015” and is much more approachable this year much like the winter in BC.  The beer pours a dark opaque brown that almost passes for black with a brown head.  The aroma consists of roasted malts, chocolate, licorice, raisins, vanilla, bourbon and some coffee.  The flavour is of roasted malts, burnt coffee, chocolate, toffee, dark fruits, vanilla, bourbon, oak and a mild booze note to finish it all off.  The alcohol content comes in at 12.2% although it would probably pass for a much lighter 7-8% with this batch.  This years batch seems to be much lighter on the Bourbon notes which help to make it much more approachable than previous years.  This may not be to some of the biggest fans of this beers liking but it hit the spot for me as it is amazing fresh and does not need to be aged to enjoy.  Don’t get me wrong this beer will probably age epically but it does not need it to be great.  I have only one complaint with this beer this vintage.  Why did you guys (Driftwood) make an already hard to read label even more difficult to read and photograph?

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