Tag Archives: plums

Ryujin Belgian Tripel with Plums – Lighthouse Brewing (Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks)

by Mike

From Lighthouse Brewing in Victoria BC in Collaboration with Richmond’s Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks comes the “Ryujin Belgian Tripel with Plums”.  The beer pours a cloudy orange colour with a tan head.  The aroma consists of plums, candi sugar, some spice with a sweet finish.  The flavour is of plums, candi sugar, bubble gum, sweetness but not cloying like many Tripels, some grain, spice from hops and some mild alcohol in the finish.  The alcohol content comes in at 8% with an IBU of 20.  With the addition of plums to this tripel it makes it taste different than the norm which is good as I usually find Tripels far too sweet and I usually avoid them.  I would suggest picking up a bottle or two of this one.

Commercial Description:  Our collaboration brew with Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks from Vancouver!  A Belgian Tripel Style beer, Ryujin pours golden with dark plum on the nose and palate along with classic banana and spicy clove flavours.

Kiwami Plum Sour – Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks

by Mike

From Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks in Richmond comes their “Kiwami Plum Sour” a small batch ale.  The beer pours a cloudy copper colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of plum, tartness and not much else.  The flavour was of full of plum, some citrus, tartness and an  overall sweetness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.3%.  To say this beer is one dimensional is correct but it is also one of the better kettle sours I have had recently.  Its one dimension just really works!

IMG_20160516_2137232

La Trappe Trappist Oak Aged – Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven

by Mike

From Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven inside the walls of the Koningshoeven Abbey in the Netherlands comes the Official Trappist Ale “La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged” from batch #21.  The beer pours a brown colour with a very light brown head.  The aroma consists of dark fruits, plums caramel, and bananas.  The flavour is of dark fruits, plums, banana, caramel, yeast, bubblegum, caramel, oak, vanilla, sweetness and some mild alcohol.  The alcohol content comes in at 11% with an IBU of 16.  This is a great fully flavoured quad and I am glad that I came into possession of a bottle.

Commercial Description:  This unique Trappist ale owes its balanced flavour and woody aroma to the aging on wooden barrels. The taste varies from batch to batch and depends on the type of barrel in which the ale has been matured.  This beer can be stored for many years, continues to ferment after bottling and is a real treat for the true beer lover.  Several different types of barriques are used for the oak-aging process, both new and used ones. New barrels impart the tannins that give the beer a flavour that is reminiscent of vanilla and almond. The use of different kinds of barrels leads to surprisingly interesting flavour combinations. These flavours depend on what drink these barriques contained before, such as port, whiskey, wine, cognac, or bourbon. And the type of oak also comes into it. This beer’s final taste therefore varies from one batch to another.

BATCH 21 (blended on 24 september 2015) was distributed as follows:

Cognac 80%
New Oak High Toast 10%
New Oak Medium Toast 5%
Acacia wood 5%

The Oak Aged Batch 21 has a dark brown mahogany colour and a beige brown head. The soft aroma immediately reminds you of walnuts. Accompanied by a slightly smoky aroma, you can detect oak, caramel malt, alcohol, vanilla and, of course, French brandy. The flavour, although balanced, is not particularly mellow. The brandy barrels have clearly left a lot of wood influences, which manifest themselves in vanilla and almond. Additionally, the Quadrupel has a caramel-like, slightly sweet flavour with a good, full body. The flavour ends with a slightly burnt tone and a hint of wood tannin. Due to the light tingling of the carbonic acid, combined with the wood flavour and sweetness of the beer, the sensation in the mouth is full and pleasant.

IMG_20160308_1839379

Wobbly Bob English Strong Ale – Red Collar Brewing

by Mike

From Red Collar Brewing in Kamloops in the Okanagan comes their “Wobbly Bob English Strong Ale”.  The beer pours a copper colour with a beige head.  The aroma consists of biscuit, mild fruit, floral hops and sweetness.  The flavour is of biscuit, plums, toffee, brown sugar, bitterness, earth and sweetness.  The alcohol content comes in at 10.6% with an IBU of 66.  Not quite like other English Strong Ales I have had but I would not hesitate to drink more of this if I found more.

Commercial Description:  A New World take on a classic English style.  A trifecta of Pacific Northwest Hops, Centennial, Comet and Cascade, are combined with rich biscuit and malt flavours.  Balance is key to this golden brew through one should heed our warning; this ale packs a wallop!

IMG_20160216_2133580

Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter – Last Best Brewing & Distilling

by Mike

From Last Best Brewing & Distilling in Calgary Alberta comes their first ever bottled beer the “Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter” the first of their Lineage Series.  This beer was barrel aged in rum barrels for 7 months.  The beer pours a black opaque colour with a brown head.  The aroma consists of roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla, plums and sweetness.  The flavour is of plums, dark fruits, chocolate, vanilla, sugar, toffee, rum, wood and alcohol.  The alcohol content comes in at 10.5% with an IBU of 30.  I look forward to trading for more Lineage Series beers in the future as this one was very tasty!

Commercial Description:  We want every bottled beer to get better with time.  This is restrictive, but important. It means the beers we bottle will be big. Like the 10.5% of this porter big. Alcohol preserves beer and is involved in a variety of chemical reactions that develop complex flavours over time. We’ve aged it in ex-rum barrels for 7 months until the tannins started to leach from the wood, giving it structure akin to a well-oaked red wine. It’s a touch rough right now, but will smooth out in time. This beer is already full of intense dark fruit, chocolate and raisin notes, and we expect these to only get better.

IMG_20160102_2146059~01