Beers You Can Actually Buy: Saisons

Continuing with the success of my Beers You Can Actually Buy Series, which considers regularly available and easier to find marvels of brewing mastery, I will here delve into the increasingly trendy Saison style.  In ways this is akin to the hipster beer of beer geekdom - not quite yet as trendy as IPAs (something to have been into before they were cool) but subtly a rising star in beer circles sought out by the underground crowd.

Saisons aren't the most well known of beer styles, or perhaps even the sexiest or most flamboyant, but they have a wide diversity of characteristics insofar as they remain a quintessential Belgian/French farmhouse style of beer that didn't have to conform to the Reinheitsgebot (The so-called German Beer Purity Law).  But the Americans drive the trends today much as some solid Belgian examples remain defining of the framework.

Saisons are a highly carbonated and lightly spicy form of Belgian/French pale ale that was brewed in the cooler months for storage and to be served to farm workers in the summer, with a traditionally low ABV (3-ish%), a finely dry quenching if mild bitterness, spicy yeasty phenols, and the crisp sort of sharp carbonation that helps quench one's thirst from a day in the fields.  There was great variance in the style and that variance remains today with an evolution towards higher ABVs (6-7%) generally (and even an Imperial Saison style), alongside some spicier representatives and some brewed with wild yeast (Brettanomyces) as they were historically or with barrel-aged variants.

By nature, these are seasonal ales, and some great examples are seasonally imported by the LCBO or brewed seasonally by finer brewers (such as Quebec's Brasserie Dunham who offers many seasonal Saison delights!).  Several strong examples, however, are thankfully available year-round in both Quebec and Ontario, and are exemplary ones to try for a solid first-take or pleasant re-visitation.

Ontario

Ommegang's Hennepin Farmhouse Saison (7.7% ABV) comes in $12.95 4-packs on regular list at the LCBO.  For me, personally, this is the quintessential saison, doing nothing immensely uniquely, but everything well.  There is no need to reinvent the wheel when your saison offers a lightly fruity nose with some earthy yeast present, and tastes of a lightly sour funk with some peppery spice and bold carbonation.  Just everything I want when I desire a saison!

I am torn mentioning Goose Island's Sofie insofar as Goose Island is now owned by AB-InBev (aka. Budweiser and then some), one of the big three macro brewers.  However, they have allowed this Chicago based brewery to continue doing what they do best and, by now qualifying as domestic under ridiculous import laws since the macro takeover, it is regular list at the LCBO for $9.95 for 765 ml of this delightful 6.5% ABV saison.  Sofie is a blend of 80% the base beer coupled with 20% of the same base beer aged in wine barrels with citrus rind and the result is a marvel!  I have been quoted many times as saying, "This is a beer to convert wine drinkers," and I have done so with it.  Its complexity is magnificent with some pepper, citrus, and vanilla qualities alongside just a teasing hint of sour grape mustiness that intrigues and entices.  One of my favourite beers on the planet and it will evolve in the bottle (upright in a cool dark place) for up to 5 years.  Buy it, try it, support its continued availability... and then support your local microbrewery to keep the experimental, local scene (from which beers like Sofie arose) alive.

Quebec

Charlevoix's Dominus Vobiscum Saison (6% ABV) is, like everything brewed by Charlevoix, a pleasant treat with a signature yeast profile.  This excellent Quebec brewery has a line (of their Quad, "Hibernus," Saison, and delightful Belgian IPA, "Lupulus") that comes in gorgeous, wine-like 750ml bottles, with the saison retailing at better Quebec beer stores for around $10 plus tax and deposit.  Lemon and rind notes are more prevalent than spice, with a nice yeasty earthiness and crisp effervescence.  A classic example - like much from this brewery - that does everything well in a standard way without any wheel reinvention.

Le Trou du Diable's Saison du Tracteur (7% ABV) is another fairly representative example, where the spicy yeast is complemented by a drier earthy hoppiness than in most of the widely available options.  Though perhaps my least favourite on this list, that says little as this is still a fantastic beer (since the list is so strong!) and is perhaps the most affordable (or comparable to the Hennepin) making for a regular treat to stock in the fridge.  This standard delight comes in 341ml or 750ml bottles at finer Quebec deps and beer stores for a reasonably low price point.

Goose Island's Sofie (see Ontario above) is now also available in Quebec - so far exclusively at IGAs - but comes with the same caveat: a must buy and a must move on.  Glad its here, but not as glad as I am for Quebec's local micro marvels (such as Dieu du Ciel, Hopfenstark, Dunham, Charlevoix, Les Trois Mousquetaires, Le Trou du Diable, Le Castor, Benelux, etc).

'Til next we drink again... cheers!

Mondial Beer Review #3: Stouts & Porters

Like many people, I used to think Guinness was what stouts were all about; it being allegedly quintessential, definitive, representative.  Then I learned otherwise and now I love stout, so I tasted 13 at this past weekend's event and have broken down the review categories into: 1) Standard Stouts and Porters; 2) Oatmeal Stouts; 3) Milk/Sweet Stouts; and 4) Imperial Stouts.  Unfortunately, Arcadia Brewing's highly regarded, whiskey-aged Shipwreck Porter was out by day 2 (as was New Holland's Oaked Russian Imperial Stout and Cervejaria Bodebrown's Imperial Stout both by day 4 of 5)!  That was just unfair, but regardless, here we go with what remained!

Standard Stouts and Porters

Personal Best of the Fest: Founders Porter (6.5% ABV) in the robust porter tradition (a preferred style) doesn't disappoint pouring midnight black with a creamy beige head of solid retention and lacing.  Sweet caramel and chocolate malts greet the nose and lure a taste!  On the flavour front, however, it is much drier, beginning with a faint caramel sweetness and drying out like fine coffee with an espresso-like lingering finish.  Full bodied and creamy, this is one delicious beer!  Grade: A


Birrificio Ticinese's Two Penny Porter (8.2% ABV), which is also a robust porter, came in second here.  It pours a near black, though with a poor head, yet I think I had a server who didn't get beer and poured it smooth down the side of the glass, so I will refrain from letting the head determine my assessment.  It smelled of semi-sweet baking chocolate with faint toasted, smoky notes behind and just a touch of dark bread and brown sugar.  With a slightly peaty taste (which was nice) and a strongly drying/lasting finish, I found it to be a touch over-dry, almost bitter (though far from astringent).  It was chewy and thick with only light carbonation, yet was a touch warming.  Excellent nose, and some very good qualities, but not out of this world good.  Grade: B+


In third place, I'd rank Cervejaria Colorado's Colorado Demoiselle (6% ABV).  This is another in the robust porter style, but which allegedly infuses its flavour with coffee, though I but vaguely sensed that so it seems slight.  That said, my bottle may have been open a while and the nose may have dissipated (and may also be where the coffee is most prevalent).  However, to me it smelled sweet and fruity, with just a hint of coffee - as if perhaps some sweet, frozen cappucino with added berries or something.  It was beautifully dark brown with a gorgeous mocha head and solid retention and lace.  Flavourwise, it was similarly (if less) sweet than to/on the nose, but the flavour seemed muted and mild, much less bold tasting than the others rated herein, with just a faint coffee bitterness in the finish that didn't even dry out the sweetness.  With a lighter body than desired and fairly heavy carbonation, this wasn't ideal to me - but I'd like to try a fresher bottle as I do so love coffee infused stouts and porters and perhaps got a long-sitting open bottle for my sample?  Grade: B- subject to change someday!

Coming in last in the category is Brasserie Artisinale de Puisaye's Puisaye la Grenouillette Stout (4% ABV) which poured a deep, dark brown, with a decent, frothy beige head with good retention and a moderate amount of lacing.  It smelled yeasty and bready, with notes of molasses and plums.  Flavourwise, it also tasted of dark bread with a dry finish, but in that dry Irish, not hoppy sort of way that I am uncertain how to describe.  It was a touch too sparkly/carbonated and too light-bodied for this taste/style if you ask me, but dry Irish stouts aren't my favourite variety to begin with.  It was decent and drinkable, but not very 'stout-like' in my opinion.  Grade: B-

Oatmeal Stouts

I do so adore the 'original' modern Oatmeal Stout from Samuel Smith, but until this event had never really been impressed with others I have tried.  Don't get me wrong: Sam Smith's still takes the cake, but there are some other good ones, for example both of those I just tried:

Personal Best of the Fest: Birrificio Grado Plato's Chocarrubica (7% ABV) pours a jet black with a creamy, thick, beige head of noteworthy retention and excellent glass-trailing lace.  It smells of sweet coffee and dark chocolate - I was unable to discern the difference between the carob that infuses this beer from the chocolate on the nose.  On the palate, however, it tasted more like fruity chocolate in that drying, unsweetened carob manner with a hint of raisins and some grainy, toasted oats hints though not prevalent.  Full-bodied, and chewy, this was a very pleasant beer to drink!  Grade: A-/A

At just a shade behind comes Elysian Brewing's Dragonstooth Stout (6.2% ABV) which - as I tasted my friend's on my second visit after having tried my own on the first day - verified how different beers can taste to you depending upon other consumption.  At first I sort of liked it and the second time I loved it, so I will temper my review to the mid-point.  Black as midnight, this beer offers a thin, but appealing mocha head that diminishes quickly but never entirely.  Lacing is negligible - or quick lasting at best - but present.  On the nose, it is a bit piney for the style, but toasted oats and whispy cereal/grainy notes are certainly enticing at the same time.  On the first taste, I found this beer to taste a bit piney and drying for the style, yet on my second try I was more able to discern the French toast/mocha sweetness that comes first and isn't completely dried out by the American-hoppiness of this interpretation of the oatmeal stout style.  On the tongue, it was creamy, though a bit light bodied (somewhat medium) than imagined with moderate carbonation.  Grade: A-

Milk/Sweet Stouts

Personal Best of the Fest: Malédiction (5% ABV) from Le Saint-Bock Brasserie Artisinale was delicious and sublime!  It poured deep, dark black with an excellent creamy mocha head with fair retention and creamy lacing.  Aromas were primarily of sweet milk chocolate and caramel malt, while it tasted similarly with sweet chocolate dominating upfront before a slight coffee bitterness finishes it off.  There is just enough drying in the finish to keep this from being cloyingly sweet - that is, it is not quite like a cloying dessert stout, but almost (and still a dessert beer) and it is damn good!  Medium bodied and carbonated, though creamy to the tongue.  Just delicious!  Grade: A/A+

Microbrasserie Charlevoix's La Vache Folle Imperial Milk Stout (9%) was also remarkably pleasant and fell in just behind the 'winner,' bringing the best of the imperial style to the dessert tastes of the milk stout.  Though pouring a deep, dark brown, I wondered if it could or should have been black, but it still offered a gorgeous, mountainous, frothy, mocha head with superb retention and thick, frothy lacing.  Milk chocolate is the strongest note on the nose, but it is complemented by caramel and coffee.  Tastewise, it is drier and (slightly) less dessert-like than Malédiction, and brings more of the imperial stout finish.  It begins with chocolate sweetness, before a touch of semi-sweet cherry notes, and finishes with a coffee lingering dryness supplemented by just enough drying piney hops.  With a medium-to-full body and light-to-medium carbonation, this is a fine creamy treat on the tongue!  Grade: A

Imperial Stouts

If you know me, you know I have a weakness for a good imperial stout and, though I tasted four good ones (and one not so good), a few I had hoped to taste were sold out and none blew me away as Lava, St. Ambroise, and Péché Mortel have in the past.  Yet, I'd gladly drink them over many other beers, so don't get too discouraged!  The Charlevoix La Vache Folle Imperial Milk Stout would win the category had I not ranked it as a Milk/Sweet Stout, since it is technically both and exposes the arbitrariness not just of my own categorizations, but of style categorizations entirely!

Anyway, as the categories stand, for my Personal Best of the Fest I select Bierland Imperial Stout (7%) from Brazil's Cervejaria Bierland which takes the nod despite its relatively low ABV (for the style - another Brazilian imperial stout, Bodebrown's, though sold out before I got there and highly rated comes in at a whopping 14.5%!)  Bierland's offering pours a nearly midnight black with a thick creamy mocha head, though its retention and lacing are just fair.  The aroma is originally simply mocha, but upon closer inspection it is chocolate up front and fresh-brewing coffee in the finish.  At first, it struck me as too sweet with a sweet mocha primacy without any coffee bitterness, but the complexity is noteworthy as, like with the nose, it evolves through sips and later tastes dry further with deeper coffee notes and a touch of licorice.  Despite being a bit lighter bodied than many imperials and despite a fair carbonation, it remains creamy and smooth.  There are some unique style choices here and at times I wondered if it all worked, but I enjoyed it and the nose and flavour offered noteworthy complexity such that it deserves a Grade: A-

Not far behind is Arcadia's Imperial Stout (9.5% ABV) which pours a jet black with a frothy, rocky tan head of fair retention and lacing.  Cocoa and molasses/grainy malt notes are most present on the nose, with a hint of smoke.  True to the American style, it is quite well-hopped, but this appears more in the flavour that is quite drying in a smoky sort of bitterness.  Medium-full bodied and chewy as desired, it felt great to the tongue.  As it is bottle-conditioned and meant for aging, I would like to taste it after some mellowing time, but for a 'green' tasting, it is still quite pleasant.  (Early) Grade: A-

Lagunitas makes its appearance on all three review posts so far (as has Charlevoix) with its Bourbon-aged (for one year) Cappuccino Stout (Fest said 7.9% ABV, their website says 9.2% and beeradvocate says 8.25% so your guess is as good as mine and it may vary by year).  Great in black colour with the requisite foamy tan head and solid retention as is characteristic of the style.  The nose is fairly sweet as the cappuccino infusion is obvious, but so too is the booziness and a piney-citrusy hoppiness, though sweet malts remains the order of the day with a boozy brown sugar breadiness lingering.  There are hints of the chocolate, cappuccino, coffee, and even some hoppy esters on the palate, but predominantly it is the booze and bourbon that comes out on the tongue.  It doesn't taste bad, but is overwhelming in a unique way somewhat different from your standard imperial.  Full bodied and nicely creamy/chewy, though you can't hide this warmth and it strikes me that a year in bourbon barrels may be a bit too long (and that the ABV is under dispute since it tastes like liquor).  Grade: B/B+

French brewer La Brasserie de Fleurac's Grains de Folie Impérial Stout au Café (9% ABV) has a fine, foamy, porous beige head atop a black body, while the head has fair retention but negligible lacing.  Sweet mocha aromas predominate amidst some brown sugary maltiness.  Unlike the sweeter aroma, the coffee flavour is more drying in the mouth leading to a greater balance than anticipated.  Medium in body with virtually no carbonation, it would be finely creamy to the mouth were it not for the present warmth.  Good, and enjoyable, but not a must find.  Grade: B/B+

Last, but not least, is Italian brewery, Birrificio Civale's offering, Imperiosa (10% ABV) which looks the part with an opaque black body, and a fine beige head of solid retention (though with no lacing at all).  It smells primarily of sweet chocolate and tastes similar with sugary sweet malts and chocolate notes present, but with no balance and without the complexity of flavour to taste like dessert.  Though creamy, it remains quite thin bodied and is fairly boozy.  Better than a Guinness, but one of the least impressive beers I have had in what is probably my favourite style.  Grade: C+

Well, that's all for now!  With a hectic weekend it might be a handful of days before I return for the last 3 posts in this series, which (as a reminder) will cover:

1) Wheat beers and Lagers
2) Unique Oddities
3) A final recap and some concluding thoughts

I feel like Mondial is still going on, btw, and rethink my tastings in each write-up from my notes as if tasting them again!  I hope you are (back) there with me in your readings!  Let me know in the comments what you think/have thought of these beers if you have had them!  Cheers!

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)!

Lists: RateBeer's Bests of the Year and Pending LCBO Arrivals

I am a few days behind on both of these, but wanted to comment slightly upon each and had to find a moment.

RateBeer has published their annual 'best-of' lists based on public ratings made by an often well-informed crowd-source.  Looking over these lists makes me reflect on a few things:

1) We are extremely fortunate to have barVolo in Toronto.  There are a few others here that I, personally, think should make the list too (more when I, eventually, get to beer bar reviews), but Volo truly is in a class by itself.  World class and deserved of the praise.

2) On the note of praiseworthy: Dieu du Ciel also deserves its ranking as 18th best brewery in the world (and on the Brewpub list), as do Microbrasserie Charlevoix and Unibroue, though I think there are a few other Canadian breweries that are about as good as Unibroue, but that don't make as many Belgian style beers and get a bit less credit (McAuslan for one!).

3) Readers of Malty Tasker are extremely fortunate I am extremely fortunate to have rated three of the top 50 overall beers on this list for you in my short two months here (numbers 5, 43, & 45), yet we are extremely hindered by the LCBO regulations (love them or hate them) insofar as the only other one on the list I have ever even seen for sale here is #40 (though I admit to possibly having missed seasonal releases of some when not looking).  To see what those numbers are, check the lists or the links!

4) I fare a little bit better on the Canadian list having either had/rated or have awaiting a taste in the cellar 22 of the top 50, including 9 of the top 11, though there are some distant (Quebec) seasonals and limited/brewery only beers there that I will have to put in the effort to procure sooner or later!

Tell me in the comments, which you think are the excellent and neglected choices by the ratebeer community...

And in the one other (delayed) news link, the LCBO's Spring 2012 Seasonal Release List looks quite promising, with at least a handful of excellent beers I anxiously await tasting/reviewing and others I will probably enjoy too despite my current ignorance of them!

Cheers!