Imperial Stout Tasting 1.0: The First of the Newly Cold(er) Season

I greet Winter with a mix of dread at the thoughts of bitter temperatures alongside icy/snowy commutes and joy at the promise of imperial stout season.  Bold, warming, strong, dark, full-bodied, high gravity brews cut the edge off of Winter and, I believe, have become my source of life through the otherwise lifelessness of the inhospitable climate of this most painful season here in Montreal.

Yet a great sense of guilt overcomes me as we had our first zero degree celsius days this past week following our first (mostly) imperial stout tasting of the season; perhaps the cold resulting from us perversely welcoming and inviting the season in this bizarre ritual!  To the degree we are culpable, let me take this opportunity to apologize, but also to say you're welcome for us unofficially kicking off the season thereby granting official malty tasker permission to crack your cellared delights that have been awaiting these cooler times!

As always, when the gents from beerism.ca and I crack brews, we don't fuck around.  So, without further ado, here is the lineup (the St. Ambroise's are 2011, 2012, and 2013 vintages respectively, btw):

Hill Farmstead's Twilight of the Idols (a 7.2% ABV "Winter Porter" brewed with coffee and cinnamon and aged on vanilla beans), while not an imperial stout, suited the theme well enough and began as a warm up.  Unfortunately, this unfiltered, live beer had its remaining yeast keep working and exploded upon opening in the most intense way I have ever seen - volcanically frothing forth and losing at least half of the bottle to the table, the floor, and the coasters (not to mention my hands and, with massive foaming pools forming on the table, to my mouth in my first ever table-sip as it would have been a waste to let such pools drain elsewhere!)

Upon pouring the remainder, we had limited sips - probably about 3-4 ounces each, rather than the 6-8 anticipated.  Moreover we lost much of the carbonation, which for this style is fine for me but led to a unique tasting experience that may not be representative.  Thus, my brief notes will say the following very tentatively:

This Nietzsche inspired porter was quite dark and viscous with no remaining head after exploding half of its contents in the opening geyser, though the nose wafted a some coffee and roast malt notes with a hint of something metallic.  The taste was of dry, with just a trace of vanilla.  It had a decent roasty linger, alongside a creamy feel without much effervescence (though who knows if that's to be expected!).  It was a bit boozy on the palate - in fact the booziest beer of the night despite being the lowest ABV - which I found odd and it may also be due to the explosion.  I won't rate this beer in this context as doing so would be unfair, but as with all things Hill Farmstead, it certainly intrigued enough to inspire a future second take if I get the opportunity!

Turning to the true style of the night, Imperial Stouts, we then enjoyed the Alesmith Speedway Stout (12% ABV Coffee Imperial Stout), pictured below.  This was brought to me from California by a colleague this summer (a thousand thank-yous, again, Alberto!) and looked as magnificent as imagined, building the anticipation:

See?  A nice black body capped by a thick tan head with decent staying power, despite its high gravity. Though the nose is quite nice, it's a bit milder than in many of my favourite imperial stouts.  It presents muted-but-pleasant dark chocolate bitter-sweetness with just a faint hint of alcohol and slight notes of cherry.  The taste is predominantly of bitter-sweet dark chocolate/cocoa without much coffee that is rather muted but presents mostly in a dry, well-roasted finish.  This beer is not sweet, but it has sweet elements tempered by its roasty-dry finish.  In ways, it's more balanced than I'd like in an imperial stout though I greatly admire its balanced complexity and enjoy drinking it immensely!  It was just slightly warm to the tongue, but nicely warming in the chest (as one would expect of a 12% beer) but there is no way you'd estimate its well-hidden alcohol content.  It's rich on the palate, while moderately creamy with only light carbonation in a medium body.  Though in ways this hits neither the nose, the taste imbalance, the coffee content, nor quite the body I generally seek in this style, it starts tasty and grows in pleasure with each subsequent sip!  It differs from my expectations, but is nonetheless a well-brewed marvel, a true pleasure to imbibe and a reminder of all that beer can be!  Grade: A

I have no qualms about professing my profound love of McAuslan's annual St. Ambroise Bourbon-Barrel Aged Stout Impériale Russe (9.2% ABV).  For my own tastes this, in many ways, defines the style for me personally and stands up to many of the more highly praised American competitors.  And it ages magnificently.

Thus, we pulled forth a cellared 2011, 2012, and the brand new 2013 release.  We had three glasses in front of us at once so as to be able to go back and forth between them.







Having previously had two vintages of this gem in juxtaposition, I knew that despite its fresh delights, its aged wonders simply improved the near perfection, thus I began with the 2013.  This thick, black, full-bodied, viscous delight shows a reddish-tinged mocha head of beauty and expression.  As recalled, that expressed nose is just lightly bourbon-esque with traces of vanilla and wood, but also a deeply roasted malt with some fresh earthy and piney hops that fades over time.  Don't get me wrong, it is malt-forward and yet not sweetly aromatic in more than a slight way, tempered by the hops and the roasty bitterness evoked and anticipated.  Tastewise, this beer is of dry unsweetened cocoa up front with an espresso-like dry finish of moderate length, but maximal substance.  The older (both years) versions offer increased wood and vanilla bourbon notes making me wonder if they were aged longer/in fresher barrels or if these notes express more over time.  Regardless, as great as this beer is fresh, it just gets better!  Thus, I never open too many fresh!

The feel is creamy and though I love the Speedway (which isn't sweet) it contrasts more sweetly in juxtaposition to this delight.  The 2012 wafts the most vanilla-forward nose and rounds out/smooths out the flavour from its sharp dryness, while the 2011 has the woodiest notes and the smoothest/most rounded out subtlety and complexity of the three.  In reverse chronological order, this is a tasting that starts amazingly and just gets better!  2013 Grade: A; 2012 Grade: A+; 2011 Grade: A+

Unlike the first two beers that are much more difficult to procure (at least in Eastern Canada), this last treat can be more easily procured.  Costly, at $6 per bottle, this beer is available wherever better beers are sold in Quebec and at the LCBO in Ontario.  Buy a few, store them upright in a cool, dark place, and crack them next year or the year after to experience a true delight!  Or better yet, do it each year and start your own vertical tasting tradition!  Stay tuned for next years' 4-year vertical update!

Confessions of a Hop-Head

I confess.  I am a hop-head.

I have been a malt-monster and a sour-puss for quite some time, and I have enjoyed many a hoppier product too, but this summer it truly happened.

You see, this summer I had some amazing, high IBU APAs, IPAs, and DIPAs regularly (Hill Farmstead Edward, Abner, and Ephraim, Dieu du Ciel Morality, Heady Topper, Central City Red Racer, Amsterdam Boneshaker, Left Field 6-4-3 Double IPA, Great Lakes Robohop, Stone Ruination, Firestone Walker Union Jack, etc, etc).  Yeah, I also bought and got deliveries of many an imperial stout and sour too, but they are just getting better with time while those hop-centric brews deteriorate by the day.

Thus, I spent my summer drinking these while they were best, while they were fresh.

And this is how it hit me: I have both a cupboard and a cellar full of beer (plus a few in the fridge) - seriously I have lots of beer - but I am out of IPAs and I look around and think, "Shit, I have nothing to drink!"

Sure, I could pick up Le Castor Yakima IPA easily enough (a solid enough beer) or Dieu du Ciel's Penombre (Black IPA) as what I'd deem the best of my current, not seasonal, options here, but that high end.  Oh man, that high end.  There is much in Ontario to the West of me, much in Vermont to the South, but right here, right now, it sure feels dry.

Again, I realize the extent of it with my anticipation for the pending seasonal bottle release of Dieu du Ciel's Morality.  And I realize, that though I have beers I would say I prefer overall - numerous sours and imperial stouts, and a few others - those are specialty beers.  For me, though I remain a malt-monster and a sour-puss, even the best of these beer styles need the right day, the right mood, the right temperature, but even if I'd rank some (not too many) beers higher, I could drink Morality or Edward or Union Jack or Ruination any day, any time.

These have become, for me, everyday beers.  Beers I wish I could always have on hand - fresh - for that beer on a Saturday night at home... for any Saturday night at home.

DDC: make Morality a regular product, or even, Dunham make your hoppy Pils a regular product.  Either of these could eternally tide a fella over in these hard times!  I mean, I may still love my maltiness and acidity, but truly, I am a confessed hop-head in withdrawal.  Donations gladly accepted! ;)

The Vermont Loop: Beer Run and Review for Hill Farmstead

As we are currently staying at a cottage about 30 km North of the Vermont border, we had planned on a trip to Hill Farmstead (and a hopeful family picnic at a state park).  When the weather became rain, rain, rain, snow, and rain respectively for the 5 days we'd be here, we gave up on the picnic and my wonderful wife said, "why not drive while the little guy sleeps and make the loop you'd originally planned on and buy some Heady Topper too?"  (I know, she's pretty awesome!)

Vermont currently hosts the world's top brewery, according to ratebeer, and the best beer according to beeradvocate.  Thus, my motivation and a 3 hour-drive loop isn't too bad for the chance to procure them all - though the lonesome bored border staff at an empty crossing likely spelled "D-U-T-Y" upon my return even if I saved money on gas.

So we arrived in Morristown around 11:15 am.  The place we stopped, the Green Top Market which deserves a shout-out for their EXCELLENT food and super-friendly staff, assured me that their Friday delivery of Heady would be there anytime between 10am and 4pm but without any more specific predictability.

Thus, we headed South to Stowe, and I found myself picking up a four-pack (and some other niceties to be reviewed and consumed at some point in the not too distant future) under a strict "One-four-pack-per-person" policy at the State Liquor Store there.  I pondered trying another nearby retailer or stopping back into the Green Top Market, but decided I had better get in line at Hill Farmstead, still a good 45 minute drive North-East of my then present location.

Originally we had planned to be at Hill Farmstead by noon as I understand one can expect to wait in line for 1 to 1.5 hours to get their growlers filled if they arrive after the noon open.  With the prospect of procuring Heady, I figured "well, we'll line up for 1.5 hours and it'll be fine."

Had I known when I arrived and was told that it would be a 2 hour wait that it actually would have been nearly four hours before I'd get out with filled beers, I'd actually have gone home and come back in the summer, but upon waiting for 1.5 hours before getting samples and still thinking it would be faster, the samples and I-have-been-here-this-long-already feeling sustained me through to the painfully long finish.  Yes, my wife and child stuck it out (I know, she's pretty awesome!)

Alas, I tried 4 different HF brews and purchased three of them.  I won't say much about "What is Enlightenment?" since I only had the taste and found the Simcoe notes a bit overwhelming, but as I purchased the others I tried, I can say a bit more.

For those who don't know, Hill Farmstead is praised for having successes at everything they brew, while they focus on and specialize in unfiltered, dry-hopped, naturally-carbonated pale ale and IPA.  While there, they had four current beers continuing this trend: two pale ales and two DIPAs.

Edward (5.2% ABV, 85 IBUs American Pale Ale) is the brewery's flagship brand brewed in honour of Edward Hill, head brewer/genius Shaun Hill's grandfather.  It should probably be called an IPA and presents what I called upon my first taste "a million dollar nose" of citrus and sweet mango and papaya drifting out from a cloudy yellowish-orange body capped by a creamy white head of fair retention.  The taste presents orange, rind, and peach with a dry yet delectable finish and faint linger, while the mouth is fairly full yet nicely creamy due to the natural carbonation.  Grade: A

If Edward has a million dollar nose, Abner (8% ABV, 170 "Theoretical" IBUs Double IPA) wafts a cool billion!  It pours a cloudy orangish-amber with a bubbly white head that exudes these heavenly aromas of citrus through and through, dominated by sweet tangerine and orange, while the taste is similar but milder with some resin and a longer linger than Edward.  Again creamy and medium bodied, and just a wonderful DIPA for those with a sense of adventure in an IPA!  Grade: A

Ephraim (9.8% ABV, 280 "Theoretical" IBUs Imperial IPA) pours a similar appearance to Edward while the nose is more subdued with some piney grass and rind.  The taste, however, is stronger with that lingering Simcoe hops bitterness bordering on my personal astringency.  I still like it, in fact I would gladly drink it just about anytime, but it stands a shade below the others for me personally though many a true hophead may dream fondly of it.  One other slight criticism: this has the lightest body of the bunch and could truly be beefed up a bit.  Grade: A-

For some general comments on Hill Farmstead - without having tasted anything aside from these and a cask collaboration IPA with DDC that rocked my world - I would like to add the following:

• It is noteworthy that by cloudy, I truly don't describe any of these unfiltered, hop-heavy beers as chunky.  Unlike Heady Topper, there is NO particulate here, just a haze.
• Though I really enjoy every beer they make, I could name dozens I love more, but they are very consistently impressive; never receiving poor reviews for anything, brewing very balanced (or delectably imbalanced!) yet complex and crisp beers.
• The focus on natural carbonation coupled with water from a local well dug by Edward Hill - the brewer's grandfather - is remarkable and fits well with the unfiltered, dry-hopped mastery he has nurtured.
• Just what are their so-called theoretical IBUs?  Is this simply a statement of exaggeration (since human palates cannot discern this extreme) or are these calculated or measured numbers were this degree possible on the IBU scale?  Since they consistently use the phrase they should explain it!
• Likewise, what is this distinction between Imperial IPA and Double IPA they make?  Everyone else simply chooses one term or the other for the same thing!  It seems semantic and pedantic to do otherwise, unless you are making a distinction, but if so it won't catch on in the beer world unless you clarify that too.
• Finally, they need to speed up this process!  Primary suggestion (and I have many I won't get into): have filled 750s and growlers that can be exchanged for top-up-cash and empty HF bottles for those arriving with them.  Really, this is good beer, but I would never wait this long for it again.  If there is a next time, I will be there at five to twelve and if the line-up goes outside the building, I will leave!

And on my way back, I was asked one question on contents by the border guard, "Are you bringing back any tobacco?"  I was easily able to honestly say "No," and figured I should have brought twice the beer had I known I'd get that response!  I guess she didn't care if I brought back beer... or maybe she'd procured her daily quota of booze duty from those in front of me in the Hill Farmstead line.

Vices & Versa and Then Some: A Day of Delicious Treats

Having just had one of the best beer days of my life (yesterday), I thought I'd share the charms with you all!

I began writing this while sitting on the terrasse of one of Montreal's premier beer pubs, Vices & Versa, savouring what was easily the best flight I have ever had and then had another with some overlap due to the overwhelming success of the first!

Individual beer reviews follow, but first the establishment: this place is gorgeous, with a clean wooden, homey interior and a fine, secluded back patio/terrasse that is mostly empty this fine afternoon.  32 draft offerings fill a unique Quebec-only craft menu that is remarkable in selection and worthy of the trip alone.  This place is certainly deserved of its accrued praise and is perhaps more hospitable than many a beloved beer bar (at least on a pleasant summer afternoon!).  The flights offer 6 five-ounce samples for $14.  For essentially two pints of such quality rare draught beer, this is not bad in the least.  The staff is courteous and friendly, despite my insufficient French, and welcomes me along with that extra bit of suggestion that is always most appreciated.

For my first flight, I sampled the following:

Broadway Pub Célébration Ambrée (6% ABV) is simply marvellous, pouring a thin white head of fair retention and lacing atop an amber body.  Aromas of yeast are slightly present alongside a predominant biscuity/nutty malt with traces of caramel.  The biscuits remain present on the tongue alongside a (still malty imbalanced) drying finish that is slightly herbaceous.  It is very smooth and light up front before the sweetness kicks in and dries out just enough to invite the second sip.  It is but lightly carbonated, yet somewhat crisp.  As my first offering from the Shawinigan brewpub, I am most intrigued!  Grade: A


Brasserie Dunham Brown Ale (5% ABV) continues my rate of chosen successes at this Mile End pub!  Pouring an excellent creamy white head of noteworthy retention and smooth lacing atop a dark brown body, this fine brew offers strong aromas of coffee alongside some chocolate, biscuit, and caramel notes.  Just a phenomenal nose!  Despite no hops on the nose, this beer offers a decently drying finish to similar up-front sweetness in a US style.  It is quite creamy with moderate carbonation and body and is remarkably drinkable!  Grade: A+


Microbrasserie du Lievre's Cervoise (5% ABV) is an apparently undefinable border-style Belgian beer somewhere between a saison and a Flanders red that pours a cloudy light amber with a fair white head of moderate lace and retention. Or at least that was my guess on style until I asked my server. It is apparently an otherwise extinct unstyled herbed beer without hops (hence my uncertainty) though the herbs and yeast provide the pleasant dryness.  Slightly sweaty yeast and a very attractive sweet-and-sour pear greet the nose.  It tastes marvellous, offering a pleasing sweetly sour cherry note with a drying, yeasty-herby finish.  Very, very nice indeed!  Grade: A+


Next came Brasserie Dunham's Pale Ale Américaine (6.5% ABV) which I had had before, but in a tiny sample.  This fine beer presents a gorgeous white head of excellent retention and lacing atop a lightly amber body.  Aromas of grapefruit and orange citrus with some floral notes greet the nose alongside a slight grainy/cereal-like malt.  Very dry grapefruit notes finish an only slightly-malty sweet beginning, while the body is fair and lightly carbonated resulting in a very creamy and drinkable dry beer that is much like an amped-up Black Oak Pale Ale.  Grade: A-


Continuing my pleasant Dunham tastings, I then had their IPA Anglaise (5% ABV) which showed a nice smooth white head of fair retention and lace with an amber body.  It had a very mild nose of only faint malt sweetness and light piney hops, though tasted malty sweet up front with a nuanced, fairly drying, yet indescribably mildly-bitter and herbaceous finish.  Fairly thin in carbonation and medium bodied, this is a highly drinkable IPA, but as good as it is, it simply pales beside the others in this superb flight!  Grade: B+


 Finally, I come to Dunham's Black IPA (5.7% ABV), another tasted previously in just a tiny sample, which rests an excellent creamy beige head of phenomenal retention and simply unparalleled creamy lace atop a dark brown body.  This is the best looking head I have ever seen!  Moderate aromas of sweet chocolate, caramel and cereal grains come first before the more substantial and complex grapefruit, herbs, and spice of the hops characteristics that follow and develop as it is consumed.  On the nose and appearance, this is - hands down - the best black IPA I have yet encountered and the taste is still great if a bit less so than these first qualities though still deliciously complex.  Here it is briefly 'caramelly' up front before an even more bittering, spicy, herby and piney drying finish with a touch of citrus.  This is an excellent beer I would give an A+ if I could drink more than one, but the dryness (bordering on astringency) is a touch too much for me if style appropriate (though intense).  Hop-heads are sure to love it, and even moderate hop-fans will praise their one pint limit!  Grade: A/A+

My next flight included an additional Cervoise and Dunham Brown since they were so good, but also included the following:

Bilboquet Métaver Rousse (5% ABV) started it off with a nice white head with some lace and fair retention alongside a deep amber body.  The nose was met with a slightly nutty caranel malt that was almost peaty in its richness.  Tastewise, it was fairly dry and piney with little of the sweet notes though wasn't strongly bitter and it offered a medium carbonation with a lighter body than anticipated.  It was fine and enjoyable, but not remarkable.  Grade: B

Next came another from the Broadway Pub: La Sein d'Esprit Dunkelweizen (5% ABV) which was quite yeasty and sweaty to the nose with some pepper and coriander notes faintly hidden beneath.  It appeared with a darkly cloudy amber body that was lighter in colour than anticipated.  It was peppery and spicy in the mough with an almost candy-apple like sweetness preceding that but which was all overshadowed by a spicy/nearly salty dry finish that was a bit excessive for me (not IPA dry, but too much for a dunkel for me).  It was quite carbonated, as expected, and medium bodied.  Though enjoyable on its own terms it missed the boat a bit for my personal tastes since it was more weizen and less dunkel - the opposite of my tastes in a dunkelweizen!  Grade: B-/B

Broadway Pub made the cut again with their La Tchucke Tripel (7% ABV) which was surprisingly clear and golden while topped by a nice white head of solid retention and quickly-receding lace.  Spicy yeast aromas of fermenting pear dominated, while the tongue was met with sweet fermenting pears up front and a spicy-dry finish.  The carbonation was well-hidden and under-discernible alongside a lighter-than-anticipated body which made for a quite drinkable, if unremarkable, tripel.  Grade: B+

Finally, I came to Bilboquet's MacKroken Scotch Ale (10.8% ABV) that showed a fine off-white head of fair retention and silky-smooth lacing capping a light brown body.  Boozy scotch-like peaty aromas were dominant alongside remnants of some sweet cereal malt.  It was very sweet and honey/mead-like up front with a strongly warming and boozy finish that almost dried the sweetness.  It tasted very licquer-like and very nearly like a complex scotch, yet was worryingly warm to the tongue, throat, chest and brain! More like scotch, and more like mead, than any beer I have ever consumed!  Grade: A

I realize this is getting long, but so was my marvellous beer day!  After taking a break for dinner and hanging out with an old friend I returned to turn my day into a night with a few more.  Cam, being a superstar and all, bought me a long-neglected, but much needed Unibroue saison and it is there that things continue...

Blonde de Chambly (5% ABV) pours a nice gold cloudy body with a tremendous frothy white head of fair retention, but no lace to speak of.  Aromas are of earthy yeast with a bit of citrus rind and slight pear.  Flavorwise, it is much the same but milder with a touch of spice and a bit of a sweet pear beginning before a lightly drying yeasty/earthy finish.  Well-carbonated and lightly bodied, this beer is quite drinkable and more moderate than anticipated considering Unibroue yeast strains and saison funk.  Grade: B+/A-

Then, on my way home, two things came to mind: first, that I had now rated 649 beers and, second, that I would pass Dieu du Ciel on the way home so I stopped in for number 650 (and 651!) and what a 650 it was!!!

Rated beer number 650 was the single best cask beer, let alone cask IPA, I have ever tasted and it was a one-off collaboration beer by DDC and Hill Farmstead called Friendship and Farewell (6% ABV).  It offered an excellent frothy white head of solid retention and some lacing over a very pale body of deep golden colour that was cloudier than expected.  Aromas were of citrus and citrus rind predominantly with a trace of herbaceous notes, while the flavour was likewise very pleasant with a mild sweetness up front followed by a finely drying citrus finished tempered by mango notes.  It was creamy-smooth as expected on cask and just showed so very well in this offering!  Grade: A/A+

I figured, since I had yet to try it, a half-pint of DDC's Mild End (at a mere 3.9% ABV) couldn't hurt to finish things off!  Thus, I observed a observed a light brown body with fair off-white head and retention alongside some clingy sporadic lace.  Aromas of caramel and biscuits were enticing, though flavourwise it was less sweet with just hints of biscuits up front ahead of a more bittersweet finish.  It was fairly creamy and chewy with light, crisp carbonation and was quite drinkable/sessionable if not eniriely memorable.  Grade: B+

'Til next time... Santé!