Cheshire Valley Irish Red Ale

Disclaimer: Damn blogger for making this appear different in publishing than it is formatted to appear in editing!  That is, it won't accept my changes!  Sorry for the odd breaks, etc - I tried to fix them!


Without boring you with particulars of how I managed to taste this before it has arrived on any taps (to my knowledge) let's just say that Paul Dickey, the brewer behind who IS Cheshire Valley Brewing, is as wonderful a human being as he is a brewer - and he's a damn good brewer!


I have truly enjoyed everything I have tasted from Cheshire Valley: the English Mild and Robust Porter are phenomenal, world-class examples of their respective styles, while the Barley Wine, Unfiltered ESB, and the Scottish Pale Ale I have tried (which nearly round out my tasted samples, regulars, and one-offs) are also all very enjoyable at the minimum and noteworthy for certain.  My notes also tell me I have tried an IPA offering - though I can't recall it nor when/where I had it, so I presumably consumed it at, ahem, a drunken social point where I wasn't taking notes as it simply has a (solid) rating (4 out of 5) in my app with no comments!


Furthermore, it is no secret that I am a big fan of a good Irish Red, so when these factors coincided, I anxiously tasted devoured this beer... and it was damn good, slightly reinterpreted from the standard style norms, but nonetheless delicious.


According to Paul, it has the following characteristics, though I will mention afterwards where my perceptions differ slightly:

Aroma:  A dry roast aroma with some caramel malt notes..

Appearance: Ruby red, white-colored head with good head retention.

Flavour: Moderate caramel malt flavor that finishes with a taste of roasted grain, which lends a characteristic dryness to the finish.  

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is medium-light to medium body. Moderately low carbonation.

Overall Impression: An easy drinking pint with a complex and flavourful roasty character.

Vital Statistics: OG:  12.3  P

IBUs:  21 FG: 2 P

SRM: 15 ABV: 5%

I received the above notes after having tasted it myself, and my thoughts echo/differ as noted here:

It indeed has a dry toasty aroma with a slight caramel malt trace, though I would add that there is also a faint nutty/cereal-malt graininess alongside a very, very faint yeasty breadiness that is expressed in an appropriate malt-dominant fashion.  It is very nice on the nose and these latter traits are much less prevalent than the very appropriate toasty-caramel notes which dominate (and are not, themselves, inappropriate!).  These additional hints I gather may simply be personal (insofar as aromas are so varied and widely linked to memory) and are, assuredly, pleasant and nonetheless style appropriate.

As to this beer's appearance, I'd agree that the head has very good head retention (of a fairly porous, thick, yet creamy-ish head), though to me the body seemed a touch browner and slightly less red than described or expected, but it isn't off by much!  Still one fine-lookin' beer!

The flavour is well described with one key difference that I noted: there seems to be a very, very slight drying piney-ness to the finish that seems faintly hoppy.  I didn't mind it, in fact I enjoyed it as it seemed a unique twist on the style (I often enjoy variation), but it seemed a touch drier than the standard style guidelines would suggest.  Perhaps, as Paul suggests, it is simply the roasted grain providing the finish, but as I was not the only one to note faint hops flavours (including others tasting with me and Chris Schryer), I think there is something to this.  It makes for a remarkable balance often lacking in this sweeter style and this is praiseworthy!  Don't get me wrong here, it is not extreme: hop-heads might not even notice it, as it remains only 21 IBU, and don't mistake me as critiquing here since this adds to the greatness of this beer for me (and did for all but one of the folks I tried it with), but if you're a stickler for the no-hops-flavour-in-the-Irish-Red rules, you might notice this slightly.  On the other hand, if you like some ingenuity to your beers, you might praise this as your favourite Irish Red ever!

My notes on the mouthfeel were basically identical to Paul's: I called it "just below medium bodied," and noted the low-ish carbonation, but also said I'd love to try it on nitro tap for that extra creaminess.  (If it shows up on any nitro taps and you see it on one, please tell me where in the comments!)

Overall, this is indeed a delicious and easy-drinking pint.  It, for me, was quite enjoyable, but was also a touch different from my expectations.  This is something I both admire (for it was still excellent and since it allows for growth in our beer culture) and which at times slightly detracts for me.  How so?  When I try a beer from a style I don't often enjoy, the variation can make me find a greater appreciation, but when I love the style (as I do an Irish Red) I come with expectations - high expectations like those I share for Cheshire Valley beers.  Despite enjoying the variation, this ever-so-slight divergence from expectations oddly both increased and decreased my appreciation at the same time (for different reasons) and it could do either for you. Thus, my pros and cons were for the same factors and negated each other, such that I arrive at a final Grade: A-

Lagged but Not Laggered: Delayed for a Reason

Yes, I have been busy and beaten down of late.  I have had far too little time to drink good beer (though not none, so life isn't bad, just hectic!)

Part of that is because I started a new job part-time, but the work hours themselves are not the reason behind my absence and semi-consumptive lack, rather it is because this job is in Montreal and until our pending move I have been commuting Mondays to Thursdays and returning only to do it again week after week.

I promise a pending review of Cheshire Valley Irish Red Ale soon and, though I won't be the first to review it, I did manage to get my hands on a pre-release swig or two so I will try to get the next Toronto blog review of this tasty beer rolling!

But before I get to punching that out upon the keyboard, I am seeking some advice from anyone out there who may know...

Good beer bars/(English)blogs/deps(beer stores)/etc in Montreal.

Yes, Dieu du Ciel and McAuslan's summer terrace will become my staple haunts.  Yes, Rahman Le Paradis du Biere and Depanneur AS will become my likely normal shopping hubs, but I have just pretty much exposed the entire extent of my Montreal beer scene knowledge and will need to expand my repertoire.  I NEED YOUR HELP!!!  Send me tips in the comments!

I do promise to continue keeping up on the Ontario beer scene (as I will visit frequently and hope visitors keep me stocked with non-Belgian style Ontario beers since, by my best estimate, about 99.8% of beers available in Quebec are Belgian-esque or crap - and there is admittedly less crap than elsewhere, but it is nonetheless still a category!)  (Don't get me wrong, btw, I do love a good Dubbel, a fine Quad, and a super Saison, or even a Triple, Blonde, Gueuze, or Lambic from time to time, but I will just miss so many other beer styles that either aren't made or aren't imported here!)

Help me out!

Sunday Afternoon Beers at the Brewery Market

Yesterday I attended my first Brewery Market event at Wychwood Barns (at St. Clair and Christie in Toronto's central-west-end) and I will provide my thoughts here on the space, the event, the atmosphere, the music, the food, and - of course - the beer!

The Brewery Market takes place at The Stop Community Food Centre (in their Green Barn) as a semi-regular Sunday afternoon event, offers only Ontario craft brewery beers (one or two breweries per event), allows tastings of new and/or one-off specially-brewed beers just for the event, and raises funds for the "The Stop’s many healthy food initiatives, which include community kitchens and gardens programs, community advocacy, urban agriculture projects, sustainable food systems education and peri-natal care programs."

The space itself is an excellent one - if admittedly better for summer weather than yesterday's pleasantly wind-free, but still minus 10 winter chill.  The indoor area is quite small with only two tables and a few benches.  Though sufficient for The Stop's food offerings and the beer serving bar, it got a bit tight since more people were crammed into the smaller indoor space than the larger outdoor one.  Outside, a fire served to keep attendees warm, while both indoors and out provided an excellent atmosphere, reminiscent of a visit to a sugar shack - with excellent beer - and felt like an excellent afternoon outing for the family.  Many kids, of all ages, were present too (including my 12-week-old) who enjoyed the atmosphere and food while their parents had a much needed drink alongside a pleasant weekend excursion.

The food/non-alcoholic drink on offer consisted of vegetarian chili, chili dogs, hot chocolate and marshmallows for the fire (or your hot chocolate).  The dogs themselves were excellent high quality all-beef and the chili was quite good, while both could be supplemented by a home-made chipotle sauce that fired things up a bit.  While the food was good, I had two slight complaints: the portions were rather small for the price and, since my breastfeeding wife cannot eat beans which make the baby too gassy, there should have been a cheaper rate for the dog-sans chili which cost us the full price.  All-in-all, though, these critiques are minor and this makes for an excellent afternoon snack.

Two solo musicians (guitarist/singers) entertained the indoor crowd, though with only acoustic guitars and unamplified vocals, they could really only be well heard before the crowd built throughout the afternoon.  The artists, Adale Dahli and Amy Nostbakken both brought excellent voices, songs, and spirit (in the singer-songwriter vein) that added to the event while advertising the Big Smoke Music Festival of which they are a part, and which seems like another great one to attend (does it have craft beer, though?).

Beer-wise, everything was good, if strong and I won't be offering elaborate reviews (both since they were all one-offs and since I was too busy socializing to take detailed notes).

Cheshire Valley Brewing offered an English Barleywine (at 9% ABV) and a Strong Scottish Pale Ale (at 8.5% ABV).  In brief, the Barleywine was a very good representative of the style that was remarkably balanced and was, to me, the better of their two offerings, though the Scottish Pale was nice too - smoky, and sweetly malty, though it was the lightest beer on offer at the event and the alcohol was most discernible which to me detracted slightly from the 'strengths' of this otherwise fine beer.

Great Lakes Brewery brought a wider variety of beers: Apocalypse Later (a black imperial IPA at 10.2% and 98 IBU), Dude Where's My Czar? (a vanilla-bean-infused Russian Imperial Stout with 11% ABV and 100 IBU), A Waste of Men (a 12% Old Ale), and an American-style Barleywine with a whopping 140 IBU.  The barleywine, for me, boasted far too much imbalance and indiscernible hoppy bitterness for my tastes, though the Apocalypse Later had a more nuanced bitterness with strong notes of grapefruit in the nose and tongue.  The Waste of Men old ale was quite good and reflective of the style, if way beyond in ABV, and the Dude Where's My Czar was clearly the winner of the day: a favourite of all 6 in my party and the first beer to sell out at the event on the whole.  It was very well balanced - extremely malty, and extremely hoppy, yet neither excessively egregious, both matched by the strengths of the other.  Smoky cereal and faint vanilla notes smoothed out the grassy hops and the alcohol was virtually undetectable.  An excellent beer - brew it again!

That's all for now, but keep in mind that the next Brewery Market event will be held on March 18 with details to come.  Hope to see you then, for it promises to be a wonderful way to spend a Sunday once again!