Tag Archives: woody

Storm 18 Year Old Lambic (Cellared 1+ more years) – Storm Brewing

by Mike

From Storm Brewing in Vancouver comes their “Storm 18 Year Old Lambic” a beer released originally in 1997.  James found more bottles he had lost and released them on Feb 2015.  I aged the bottle until November 2016 when I waited for the right time to open it.  So this beer is now 19 Years old.  The beer pours a very cloudy deep orange with basically no head.  The aroma consists of lemon, stone fruits, tartness, vinegar and just more fruit notes.  The flavour is very puckering tart up front almost like biting into a lemon with cherries, maybe currents, berries, vinegar with lots of woody notes.  There is some definite sweetness but it is by far overtaken by the tartness.  The alcohol content comes in at 7%.  While this beer has become exceedingly tart and has a big vinegar component it tastes amazing and I am happy that I was able to pick up a bottle when I did.

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Dark Saison (Red Wine Barrel) – Green Leaf Brewing Co

by Mike

From North Vancouver’s Green Leaf Brewing Co at Lonsdale Quay comes their “Dark Saison (Red Wine Barrel)”.  This beer was barrel aged for one full year in a red wine barrel.  The beer pours a black opaque colour with a brown head.  The aroma consists of huge red wine, wood, dark fruit, hint of citrus and some malts hidden in the background.  The flavour is of lots of red wine, wood, earth, some yeast notes, roasted malts, dark fruit and alcohol.  The alcohol content comes in at 9%.  This was a pretty good brew but I am not really a fan of wine so I would have liked to see notes of red wine instead of the wine being the main flavour.

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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.

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Saison Cinsaut – Woodland Empire Ale Craft

by Mike

From Woodland Empire Ale Craft out of Boise Idaho comes their “Saison Cinsaut” a sasion aged in Split Rail Cinsaut Wine barrels with local strawberries.  The beer pours a cloudy amber colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of strawberry, spices and some yeast notes and an overall sweetness.  The flavour is of malts, wine, strawberry, yeast, woody and a very mild tartness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6%.  Not being a wine fan I am always a little hesitant with wine barrel beers.  Luckily for me this beer really benefits from the wine barrels and tastes really good.

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Smouldering Smoked Porter – Moody Ales

by Mike

From Moody Ales out of Port Moody comes their “Smouldering Smoked Porter” a beer I acquired in their new 946ml crowler cans.  I poured this entire can into my brand new 56oz glass (what a great Christmas gift).  The beer poured a deep black with a big brown head with some lasting lacing.  The aroma consists of roasted malts, smoke and some caramel.  The flavour is of huge smoke, roasted malts, burnt coffee, wood, bitterness, chocolate and a mild dark fruit finish.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.9% with an IBU of 19.  I am not a huge fan of smoked beer but I thought I would give this one a chance.  It is not something I would drink every day but if you like a good smoked ale this would be a great choice.

Commercial Description:  Ever wanted to drink the char marks on your steak?  Now you can!  Our Smouldering Porter contains copious amounts of beechwood smoked malts and is fermented with a clean yeast to showcase the smoky aromas of barbecued meats and wood fire.  It is equally well suited to the summer, where it pairs well with charred red meat, and the winter, where it pairs well with the fireplace.

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