Benelux Verdun and Beau's Vankleek Hill - Both Kinda Like Home!

Sure, it's a cliché, but just like home these two places have good beer and good company!  This past Thursday I found myself at Beau's All-Natural Brewing and Saturday at Benelux Verdun.  And I will start with the beer before touching on the company.

Though Benelux has yet to amp up towards their 24 draught capacity and has yet to crack a cask, they are up to six beers and have a few gems (in process) on their hands.  Head brewer, Tico, tells me they are all being tweaked, adjusted, altered, and aren't definitive as is, but as they stand three stood out for some noteworthy thoughts:

Vélo (a 5.5% ABV American Pale Ale) is pretty marvellous!  It is dry-hopped with Centennial at the moment, though I am told this may frequently change to a different hops variety in every offering.  Regardless, every hop-head loves to hear the words "dry-hopped" as it adds to the excellent aromas and this beer brings that with a solid citrus and rind nose, with some tasted resins and a touch spicyness.  Some people may ask what is desirable about dryness in beer, and this expresses it well: it is not bitter but simply sufficiently perfectly dry so as to erase the sweetness and cleanse the palate enough to invite a second sip... er, third sip... er... you get the picture!  Grade: A

Victor (a 5% ABV Oatmeal Stout), is the first rated of the trend to name after local streets.  Yes, I am a sucker for a good stout, but few seem to get the oatmeal style right.  Those who do, seem to do it perfectly, yet the gap to the rest is normally huge.  Not in this case, which falls well towards the high end.  Here, the oats show well on the malty sweet nose, while there is a faint smokiness I discern on the tongue.  My one critical thought concerns an assessment of the body as lighter than anticipated - especially as oatmeal is supposed to fill the body - but this beer is nonetheless tasty for it.  Grade: B+/A-

Regina (a 5.1% Hefeweizen) brings out something different in me: I typically don't enjoy hefeweizens despite liking cloves and pepper since I hate - I mean hate - bananas.  This beer minimizes that (and the cloves) as it presents a mild yeasty funk, with some sweet citrus notes in presenting an easy summer drinker, but a solid one!  Usually I rate to style and, per style norms, this beer slightly neglects to conform to them, but for me it benefits from circumventing the standard banana and so it may be unfair of me to offer a grade.  What I will say is try one and let me know!

Beau's impresses as always, particularly of course with their Greener Futures project of barrel-aged alterations of their other brews as a fundraiser for energy self-sufficiency.  Of particular note was the Greener Futures Soured blend of Strong Patrick Irish Red Ale and Festivale which was only mildly tart amidst the woody bourbon notes, but was sour enough to intrigue me and make me long for the membership I cannot currently afford!

What both of these places have most in common, however, and one of the things that pushes them over the top is super-friendly staff who seem more interested in kindness and talking beer than up-selling you.  They know their products speak for themselves.  As a result, their kindness stands apart from those places where you become simply another sale, another person sold the image of craft beer.  I can accept illusions, but illusions of kindness go much farther than the reality of a bottom-line all-too-frequently hidden under the guise of perceived quality.

Santé!

Beau's Oktoberfest: A Fine Celebration of Beer

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be able to put in a few good hours at Beau's annual Oktoberfest. The event seemed, to me, to be a resounding success.

It is held outdoors, with many a tent for the serving areas and tables, on the Vankleek Hill Fairgrounds where your entrance fee of $18 allows you a "free" beer and pretzel.  (The pretzel being a nice toss in, but it was mediocre especially compared to the beer!)

Many food vendors offer excellent-smelling, and stylistically-appropriate food and Beau's, of course, has a merch/swag booth that has the additional treat of selling engravable event-specific steins for the price of $10.

Competitions, such as the Keg Toss, Malt Sack Races, Sausage Eating Contest, Stein Holding Struggle, and the Spouse Carrying Race excite the crowd (but might benefit from an emcee livening things up), while two stages of music (one with a dance area for professionals out front) offer both traditional German folk (of the liederhosen and stein-chugging variety) and more contemporary Western folk such as Plants & Animals, Elliott Brood, and Ron Hawkins.

Yet, to readers here - and to me - most of this provides simply the mostly superficial, environmental context for what really matters: the beer and its consumption.

As a guy who'd rather taste many and drink a few, that all beers were $5=1 token=1 glass, with no smaller options available meant sharing with friends to get through a few (especially since I won't make it to cask days).  That, coupled with the quantity served meant little in the way of individual beer notes, but I will offer what did stand out, but first the offerings:

Aside from their flagship Lug Tread and their seasonal Night Märzen Oktoberfest Lager, Beau's offered seven beers from the Wild Oats Series.  I will shortly comment on each in turn, but first I should also mention that 48 cask conditioned ales from 20 different breweries were on offer, as was Thornbury Cider.

In brief, and all-around: the beer was excellent and too many wonderful offerings (in full sizes for 1x$5 token or two smaller (6-ounce?) samples of the cask offerings per token) made any attempt to get through them without a full-weekend pass merely an idea of folly!  Coupled with a publicly judged homebrew competition, there were options for all and excellent ones at that (though I should note that for the homebrew competition they simply ask which you prefer between two radically disparate styles: I got a rye beer and a robust porter!).  More specifically, and from best to wurst (noting that everything from Beau's was regular draught and everything else was cask conditioned):

Surprise, surprise: Dieu du Ciel's Peché Mortel is even better and creamier on cask than on draught (than on bottle).  I will say no more except to drink this in such a manner if/when you ever can.  Mmmm coffee and (naturally carbonated) imperial stout... together!  Grade: A/A+

Great Lakes Dude, Where's My Czar (Russian Imperial Stout) is a success on cask with its great chocolate nose and bitter cacao taste/creamy-feeling mouth.  Grade: A

Indie Alehouse Breakfast Porter is my kind of breakfast!  Apparently in the robust style, this offers an excellent coffee aroma, with a finish that is roasty, yet of piney dry hops.  Grade A-/A

Beau's Dark Helmüt (7.3% ABV "Imperious Schwarzbier") was delicious, with excellent aromas and tastes of darkly roasted malts that presented in a nearly smoky way.  Grade: A-/A

Nickel Brook Bolshevik Bastard (yes, another Russian Imperial Stout - my tastes are obvious!) is another gem on cask, where its bold, dry, roasty notes are allowed to shine with the creamy smoothness of the natural carbonation.  Grade: A-/A

Beau's Koru (6 % ABV Belgian Pale Ale) was quite enjoyable, with a nice floral hops on the nose and tongue, alongside a characteristic pear semblance.  Grade: A-

Dunham Dry-Hopped Harvest Ale was quite good offering a fairly balanced dryness up front before a nice piney finish.  Grade: B+/A-

Flying Monkeys Rose-Hopped Hibiscus Hoptical Illusion did quite well with the extra infusion of floral actual flower notes!  Grade: B+/A-

Dieu du Ciel's Voyageur des Brumes also shows well on cask, with its characteristic up-front boldness, and quite dry (yet tempered in contrast) finish matched by the smoother feeling of real ale. Grade: B+/A-

Nickel Brook Underground Pale Ale was good... I think... though I think I better try it again!  Grade: TBD, but I guess it fits in around here!

Beau's Night Märzen Oktoberfest Lager (5.5% ABV) was good and drinkable offering an up-front sweetness with a lingering dry finish that tempered its mildness somewhat.  Grade: B/B+

Beau's Octobock (7% ABV Bock) impressed as well, though consumed later in the day, I won't say too much here that I may regret! Grade: B/B+

Flying Monkey's Red Basil Smashbomb Atomic IPA was nearly indistinguishable from the regular offering to me (perhaps unless consumed side-by-side).  I love basil - had I observed it, I may be singing this beer's praises, instead I say I enjoyed it!  Grade B/B+

Beau's And Boom Gose the Dynamite (4.6% ABV Gose) was good, if not remarkable to me.  Some citrus on the nose with a slight tartness, but it was altogether mild across the board.  I never got much of the spice or salt, and even the tartness was faint.  I'd rather at least one of these possibly strong notes offered a bit more, than all tried to balance so smoothly, yet that too is praise in that it came out as more 'drinkable' (for the average drinker, presumably) than had it expressed the salt, or coriander, or sourness, more profoundly.  Grade: B

Beau's Weiss O'Lantern (Pumpkin Weiss at 5.6%) offered too little in the way of flavour for me as the pumpkin seemed indistinguishable from the wheaty notes, though it was otherwise fine.  Grade: C+/B-

Church Key Grains of Wrath (Double IPA) neglected to impress with a terrible aftertaste that none in my party enjoyed despite it being made up of 50% professed Hop-Heads.  It wasn't hops - it was funky - and it wasn't good.  Grade: C-

Beau's Vassar (6.7% ABV Heirloom Ale) attempted to recreate an extinct recipe from the Hudson Valley dating back two centuries - and in that it may have succeeded remarkably - but insofar as I hate banana which kicks in my gag reflex, I could barely desire to taste this beer after smelling its overpowering banana notes and in taste it was little different.  I won't offer a grade on this since it may simply have not agreed with me stylistically, but I do think - speaking stylistically - that it may even border on being a fruit/hybrid or at least it truly presents that way to me (and those with me).

Cheers, til next year's!

Mondial de la Bière 2012 in Review: The Event Before the Brews

Montreal's Mondial de la Bière may not quite be over - with today as the final day for the 19th annual event, but it is for me, so I will begin to offer my extensive thoughts now with beer reviews pending (in multiple posts by broad style categories) as I encourage many of you to check out its final day!

The event itself is simply excellent.  The beer selection (in quantity and quality - including rare gems from around the globe and a total of 637 offerings including a few meads and ciders) is unparalleled at any event I have as yet attended.  There is super food on site (including solid and kangaroo sausages, massive prawns in a chili-blackpepper-garlic-coriander sauce that was remarkable, fondue, churros, and much, much more!).

A special note of praise for the media handling of the event (Thanks, Katia and staff!), to the excellent barstaff in the Mezzanine, and to those brewers/brewer reps/brewery staff who know how to brighten a mood while filling a glass and sharing information in a welcoming way.  I am thinking specifically of:

Microbrasserie Charlevoix (esp. Luc Van Steene)
Beau's All Natural Brewing (esp. Laura)
The Vermont Brewers Association
The barkeeps at Le Petit Pub Oktoberfest

Those who go that extra mile deserve that special mention, and though I can't definitively say that my reviews won't be subconsciously twinged by their kindness (find me one without acknowledged bias, and I'll point out the most biased amongst us!) I promise to try to limit this.  That said, I can assure you that, kindness or not, Beau's and Charlevoix already had well-deserved special places in my heart on my palate and their remarkable people are an additional credit to these fine breweries that, through a personal touch, only add to the joys of phenomenal craft beer.

As always, there were a few slight cons to the event: the food was way too pricey, many great beers cost 5-6 tickets ($5-6 dollars) for a third of a bottle (yet the rarity of the offering made up for most of that), the venue (Place Bonaventure) has no windows for outside light, is made of drab grey concrete, echoes horrifically, and is generally a bit less than desireable if plenty spacious, and many, many great beers on my MUST TRY list were sold out by the evening of the second day (and perhaps sooner).  For a five day event, this was fairly sad and by Saturday, many of the 'pubs' had but 35-50% of their advertised selection (fortunately I went on Day 2 and Day 4!)  Perhaps some better planning in this regard would be great.  Hell, it's not like leftover beer would go to waste and could find it's way into a store or perhaps the day after could have a regular price (or even jacked up) sale of unsold stock to the public?  (I know it may not conform to import laws, but if they can serve them, why not and if not legal, that seems like a fair law change to me!)

Regardless, the event was a resounding success and next year, I hope to come for more!  Stay tuned as the beer reviews arrive over the coming day(s)!

Briefs on Beer

As I am a bit swamped at the moment, but also wanted to share these promptly, I offer the following quick links:

BeerSmith offers a fantastic introduction to Noble Hops for brewers and sommeliers alike.

Beau's is releasing a very interesting sounding beer, Mates with Dates, that I really hope finds its way into my mouth somehow (since Beau's availability in the GTA is not superb and, though from an Ontario brewery, it doesn't exactly represent the 'local').

And finally, Beer for Boobs Toronto announces an event at Volo on March 25 with all female-brewed one-off beers as a fundraiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.