As I sit here at The Only Cafe, awaiting the completion of a slow installation of MS Office on my Ubuntu system (don't ask - work need), I feel somewhat separated from the necessary work I need to do - even though this installation is step one of the process.
Yet, I am (not) entirely in the dark, as I enjoy not only another glass of Railway City's excellent Black Coal Stout, but as I finally get my hands on Sawdust City's Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus Imperial Stout.
I am both excited and upset by the fact that the offering is on cask/real ale. Why? Well, critics be damned, I don't always love casks (dry-hopped, as they often are, to the point of excess, while the flatness doesn't suit most excessively hopped styles in my opinion), but the creaminess for the stout style (rather than the oft-casked IPA) should be suiting.
That said, this is a very, very good, very, very bitter beer. I have had beers in the 100+ IBU range that taste less bitter insofar as they are more balanced, but this offering (at 85 IBU, 8.5% ABV, and "2.57 billion SRM") hits you hard with a very fine, very pleasureable bitterness that draws you back in for more!
It pours a slick, thick, oily black with an excellent creamy, thick, brown/tan head which has the best retention and lacing I have ever seen. Piney hops aromas mixed with notes of coffee, and slight traces of chocolate and vanilla meet the nose, while it offers a semi-(bitter)sweet chocolatey taste up front followed quickly by a remarkably dry lingering hop bitterness, again in a piney sense. It is creamy due to the lack of carbonation offered by the cask. The flavour makes me wonder if it is dry-hopped, though I can't find any evidence of this on the web. Not malty enough for me, and remarkably bitter/dry, yet at the same time probably the most enjoyable and creamy of bitter beers I have ever had. On the tongue it is smooth and creamy. Though I have only had about a half-dozen, this is the best cask offering I have ever had since the negligible carbonation benefits the style so well in my opinion, though I'd like a slightly thicker body and a bit more maltiness ideally, but still a very good beer I'd love to try on Nitro tap. Grade: A-
Yes, I am biased insofar as I love imperial stouts, but I also tend to dislike excessive hop bitterness, so that I still enjoy this unbalanced beer is high praise, yet, like I said, I'd love to see the different sort of creaminess a nitrogen tap offers and hope this great beer appears on one at The Only's Winter Beer Fest!
Showing posts with label Black Coal Stout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Coal Stout. Show all posts
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Thursday, 12 January 2012
The Highs and Woes of the Ontario Craft Beer Industry: Beer News in Review
In a story from today's Toronto Star, the Ontario Craft Brewers Opportunity Fund (which provided $8 million annually to Ontario's craft breweries in order to help them compete with the multinational macro-brewing behemoths) has been cut entirely as the government attempts to rein in its deficit.
Now, I understand fiscal responsibility, but $8 million is negligible compared to the Ontario coffers and we certainly don't need more of the very macro-lager-monopolizing that this move will help stimulate by diminishing interesting, local, craft competitors.
Sure, maybe in tough times our governments need not prioritize beer, but what about local small businesses? Corporate tax cuts for the macro-multinationals presumably amount to far more than $8 million to begin with - though I admit to not having researched any figures.
What I know for sure is that ideas like this one in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which would allow beer gardens to open in public parks in order to generate revenue for the government sounds like a great one to me, and one that would more than recoup this cost in order to not only support small businesses (and quality beer) but which would also provide more incentive to go to the park.
I am, of course, kidding slightly, but only slightly, though fears of rampant craft brewery closures in these hard economic times does depress me, as would the resulting unemployment of those who are currently employed by local Ontario businesses. And to those who would respond that they should then get new jobs at, say, Molson-Coors, aren't you the very same people who have "Buy Canadian" bumper stickers? What is more 'Canadian' than a locally-owned and sourced business?
I need a beer.
In other, more uplifting beer news, Railway City has released more of their Black Coal Stout, which sold out promptly after its first release and it should have! I had the opportunity to taste it last night at The Only Cafe and, it is simply delicious! Full of bitter coffee notes on the tongue alongside some dark chocolate and a chewy-creaminess that makes a beer fan want more! That said, at 48 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) it is not for the faint of heart, nor those whose idea of coffee is a double-double or who think milk chocolate equals high quality. It is bold, but damn is it good! Grade: A-
Now, I understand fiscal responsibility, but $8 million is negligible compared to the Ontario coffers and we certainly don't need more of the very macro-lager-monopolizing that this move will help stimulate by diminishing interesting, local, craft competitors.
Sure, maybe in tough times our governments need not prioritize beer, but what about local small businesses? Corporate tax cuts for the macro-multinationals presumably amount to far more than $8 million to begin with - though I admit to not having researched any figures.
What I know for sure is that ideas like this one in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which would allow beer gardens to open in public parks in order to generate revenue for the government sounds like a great one to me, and one that would more than recoup this cost in order to not only support small businesses (and quality beer) but which would also provide more incentive to go to the park.
I am, of course, kidding slightly, but only slightly, though fears of rampant craft brewery closures in these hard economic times does depress me, as would the resulting unemployment of those who are currently employed by local Ontario businesses. And to those who would respond that they should then get new jobs at, say, Molson-Coors, aren't you the very same people who have "Buy Canadian" bumper stickers? What is more 'Canadian' than a locally-owned and sourced business?
I need a beer.
In other, more uplifting beer news, Railway City has released more of their Black Coal Stout, which sold out promptly after its first release and it should have! I had the opportunity to taste it last night at The Only Cafe and, it is simply delicious! Full of bitter coffee notes on the tongue alongside some dark chocolate and a chewy-creaminess that makes a beer fan want more! That said, at 48 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) it is not for the faint of heart, nor those whose idea of coffee is a double-double or who think milk chocolate equals high quality. It is bold, but damn is it good! Grade: A-
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