Noctis – Torchlight Brewing


From Torchlight Brewing in Nelson BC comes their “Noctis” a dark lavender hibiscus sour.  The beer pours a deep red brown colour with a brown head.  The aroma consists of floral hops, hibiscus, fruits and mild tartness.  The flavour is of hibiscus, citrus, stone fruit, flowery and mild sour notes.   The alcohol content comes in at 6% with an IBU of 8.  This was a very interesting beer.  This is a mild sour but would be a great one to try if you are just getting into sours.

Commercial Description:  This dark, dry-hopped, kettle soured, lavender, hibiscus hybrid is one of the more intricate beers made here at Torchlight.

 

Old Ale 2017 – Moon Under Water Brewing


From Victoria BC’s  Moon Under Water Brewing comes their “Old Ale 2017″ a beer in the Ancient Ale Series.  The beer pours a deep reddish brown with a tan head.  The aroma consists of spices, mild vinegar notes and semi sweet notes.  The flavour is of mild sour notes, spices, herbal notes,  tannins, earth, oak and some wine notes.  Most reviews I have read spoke of smoke but I did not get that in my bottle.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.9%.  This is definitely a very different beer but I really enjoyed it none the less.  I mean I am always hoping to try new and crazy beer and this one fits that mold.

Commercial Description:  A long time ago.  In a civilization far, far away…  For 9,000 years our history has been shaped by the myriad of ingredients use to crate fermented beverages.  This series pays homage to the variety of starches, spices, fruits and whatever else civilizations of the past have used to satisfy humanity’s love affair with alcohol.

Vapor Wave IPA – Twin Sails Brewing


From Twin Sails Brewing in Port Moody comes their “Vapor Wave IPA”.  This is the breweries third release from their new brewery only release.  The beer pours a murky orange colour like orange juice with a white head.  The aroma consists of orange, citrus, huge fruit and floral hops.  The flavour is of orange, citrus, very juicy, hint of salt some resin, mild acidity and low bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.7%.  This newest winner from Twin Sails has a ton of body and is well worth a pickup.  Wow!

Commercial Descrition:  Vapor Wave is an experimental IPA brewed with acidified malt which adds a nice tart acidity and sea salt to give it a complex flavour profile that is both balanced and refreshing. It was then triple dry hopped with Citra, Lemon Drop and Motueka hops giving it a big citrusy hop punch that reminds you that that beer you’re crushing is actually an IPA.

Gruit (Traditional Medieval Ale) – Torchlight Brewing


From Torchlight Brewing in Nelson BC comes their “Gruit (Traditional Medieval Ale)”.  The beer pours a deep brown colour with a tan head.  The aroma consists of lots of different spices and a sweetness but I can not really differentiate what is what.  The flavour is of a mixture of spices, sweet caramel, some sourness and lots of fruit notes.  The alcohol content comes in at 8%.  I will admit the first time I had this beer when it was still fresh I was not a huge fan but this bottle has really mellowed out and I quite enjoyed it.  I will also admit I enjoy very few Gruits as I am not a big fan of most of spice combinations they use.

Commercial Description:  Definitely not for everyone this ancient ale is sour and less carbonated than anything we drink today. The recipe is from the Middle Ages and the herbs used to make it were used before hops were discovered. Flavoured with things like mugwort, yarrow, meadowsweet, heather tips, and fermented with some brettanomyces this is definitely a strange taste experience and not for the wary. It’s bottle conditioning and best when aged so putting it away to cellar will vastly improve its taste and carbonation.

 

Strange Times for Modern Fellows – Strange Fellows Brewing (Modern Times Beer)


For the Launch of Modern Times Beer into British Columbia Canada they came up to Vancouver for Farmhouse Fest.  While here they partnered up with Strange Fellows Brewing in East Vancouver for a collaboration called “Strange Times for Modern Fellows” a saison using a blend of yeasts including Blaugies Saison & multiculture including Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus.  The beer pours a straw yellow colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of mango, pineapple and citrus with grainy malts and grassy hops.  The flavour is of mango, pineapple, citrus, citrus rind, stone fruits, grain, mild sour notes, some hops and a brett finish.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.5% with an IBU of 25.  This is a wonderful beer made by two very good breweries!  I hope this beer pops up again in the future.

Commercial Description:  Brewed in June 2016 in collaboration with the folks from Modern Times Beer in San Diego, this is a complex, dry and refreshing beer. Fermented with a Iquique multiculture, flavours of pineapple, Lemon and Lychee dominate this bottle-conditioned beer.

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For the Launch of this beer Strange Fellows Brewing held a launch party in collaboration with Beerthirst the distributor for Modern Times Beer in Canada.   For the launch the brewery was serving glasses of the collaboration beer with a 4 oz pour of one of two Modern Times beers.  I was lucky enough to get a sample of the Looking Backwards from Modern Times usually a tasting room only beer in California.  It was a super tart beer and very tasty!  There was also a Modern Times Beer on tap also in their Fruitlands (Blood Orange & Hibiscus) a sour Gose.