Tag Archives: Vankleek Hill

Strong Patrick – Beau’s All Natural Brewing

by Mike

From Beau’s All Natural Brewing in Vankleek Hill Ontario comes their “Strong Patrick” an Irish-style Red Ale.  The beer pours a deep copper colour with a beige head.  The aroma consists of mild roasted malts, caramel, hint of chocolate and sweetness.  The flavour is of chocolate, caramel, earth, mild roasted malts, hint of oak and whiskey and sweetness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.7% with an IBU of 24.  Not all Irish-style Red Ales are made the same but this one is definitely a really enjoyable sipper.

Commercial Description:  Strong Patrick is a bold rendition of an Irish-style red ale. Brewed stronger than most, it is luscious and malty, with toasty caramel and coffee. A portion of the ale has been aged in Jameson® Irish Whiskey casks, then reintroduced to add a rich accent of wood and warmth to this year’s blend.

Food Pairing as per brewery:  Traditional style lamb stew, shepherd’s pie, firm goat cheese, warm corned beef with steamed root vegetables, gingerbread with applesauce, shortbread.

Cabalier Blue Blueberry IPA – Beau’s All Natural Brewing

by Mike

From Beau’s All Natural Brewing in Vankleek Hill Ontario comes their “Cabalier Blue” Blueberry IPA. The beer pours very red with some floaties and a light reddish head. The aroma consists of Blueberries, herbal and grassy hops and some grain.  The flavour is of blueberries, mild tropical fruits, some bready malts, herbal and grassy hops with some hops bitterness in the finish.  The alcohol content comes in at 6%  with an IBU of 50.  Leave it to Beau’s All Natural Brewing to come up with a really interesting blend of flavours!

Commercial Description:  Built on the foundation of a generously hopped I.P.A., Cavalier Bleu blends the citrusy aromas of organic New Zealand hop varieties with the fruity flavours found in American Azacca and German Mandarina Bavaria hops. Topping it off is an infusion of organic blueberry juice made from wild Québec blueberries.

Food pairing as per brewery:  Venison steak with a blueberry reduction, blueberry cheesecake, beemster cheese.

The Bottle Imp – Beau’s All Natural Brewing

by Mike

From Beau’s All Natural Brewing in Vankleek Hill Ontario comes their “The Bottle Imp” Russian Imperial Coffee Stout.  This brew is the 9th beer in Beau’s pro-am series.  The beer pours an opaque black colour with a brown head.  The aroma consists of coffee, ash, roasted malts and dark chocolate.  The flavour is of bitter coffee, hops bitterness, earth, burnt malts, dark chocolate, hint of vanilla, ash with resin in the finish.  The alcohol content comes in at 9% with an IBU of 81.  If you enjoy a good bitter Russian Imperial Stout with a big coffee hit this one is definitely for you.

Commercial Description:  The Bottle Imp is a strong, dark, roasty and rich creation. This rendition of a Russian Imperial Stout is also infused with a blend of Nicaraguan and Guatemalan fair-trade organic coffee. Complex and contemplative, and with well-integrated alcohol warmth, The Bottle Imp is best served in a snifter, sipped slowly and savoured.  eau’s first brewed The Bottle Imp in 2013 as part of its Pro-Am Series. The recipe was co-created with David Thompson, who won the Toronto Beer Week Homebrew Contest and the prize of coming to Beau’s for a day to brew a beer. In 2014 The Bottle Imp took Bronze at the Canadian Brewing Awards, as well as first place at the National Organic Craft Beer Competition in California.  The Russian Imperial Stout is brewed to weigh in high on alcohol, with the roasted, malty character typical of a stout. These imperial stouts were first brewed in England in the 18th century, and exported to Russia for the pleasure of Czarina Catherine II and her court.  And the name? The Bottle Imp is a haunting turn-of-the-century tale by Robert Louis Stevenson about risking eternal damnation of the soul to have everything on earth one’s heart desires. We suggest pairing the beer and the story on a cold night by a crackling fire.

Food pairing as per the brewery:  Pumpernickel bread, trifle, dark chocolate fondue, coffee cake, grilled steak, truffle-oil-infused mashed potatoes, & sharp cheddar or stilton.

Wag the Wolf Hopfenweisse – Beau’s All Natural Brewing

by Mike

From Beau’s All Natural Brewing in Vankleek Hill Ontario comes their “Wag the Wolf Hopfenweisse”.  The beer pours a cloudy orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of citrus, citrus rind, tropical fruit, wheat, yeast and a floral hops.  The flavour is of banana, grapefruit, tropical fruit, lemon, citrus rind, wheat, yeast, malt, pine and bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.8%.  I enjoyed this wheat beer with a good bitterness bite.

Commercial Description:  Wag the Wolf is a weissbier (wheat beer) that has been generously “late-addition” hopped with organic New Zealand varieties to provide abundant aromas of citrus and tropical fruit. Fermented with a traditional Hefeweizen yeast, expect pleasant fruit and spice flavours with a restrained bitterness on the finish.

Infinity Mirror Brett IPA – Halcyon Barrel House

by Mike

From Halcyon Barrel House in Vankleek Hill, Ontario part of the Beau’s All Natural Brewing family comes their “Infinity Mirror Brett IPA” the very first release from the brewery.  This is a brett fermented barrel aged beer that was then bottle conditioned.  The beer pours a cloudy orange with a white head.  The aroma consists of tropical fruits, barnyard funk and some floral hops.  The flavour is of tropical fruits such as pineapple, citrus, citrus rind, brettanomyces funk, red wine, oak, earth and some bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.2% with an IBU of 10.  To say this beer was good is a massive understatement.  This is an amazing Brett IPA and I hope to have the chance to try more from the Halcyon Barrel House in the future!