Mondial Review 2: From the American Craft Behemoth

On the best of my new-found European taste sensations, see the first Mondial review here.  And now...

South of our border lies the American craft behemoth - the country of the alleged 2000 craft breweries. But it is more than sheer number, rather it is the trend-setting top of the (new) world of beer that sets them apart.

Something Mondial de la Bière always shows, however, is how Quebec (as Canada is fairly under-represented more broadly), Brazil, and Italy especially are growing fast in their pursuit of this giant.  Moreover, and though I love Mondial, this year found a fair overlap of American breweries and beers from last year - a few so good I went back to them - but I still found many a new surprise to intrigue my taste-buds.

As with my previous Mondial review post, I will again be focusing only on the best of those that were new to me at the festival, while also simply noting that there were many other good beers that didn't quite make the cut.  This time around there is a larger list of tasted beers and stand-outs such that I will also break them down by style (very broadly speaking).

1) Sours, Saisons, and Such:

Tops for me here was Michigan brewery New Holland's Incorrigible (4.9% ABV Berliner Weisse) which offered a great tart nose of wheat and soured fruit, wafting out from a clingy lingering head atop a merely faintly cloudy amber body.  The taste was of sour apples and was quite lactic, if not at all funky, and the carbonation was bold, tingly, prickly, and basically just right for the taste allowing a tempered but fine linger.  Grade: A

Also remarkably delicious, I must note, was Oregon-based Gigantic's The City Never Sleeps (7.6% ABV Black Imperial Saison) which was an oddity in that it didn't seem to truly fit to style offering chocolate and toasted nutty notes on the nose alongside some trace spice and a fairly dry finish alongside a lighter-than-anticipated body with prickly-crisp carbonation.  It only at times and only mildly resembled its style descriptor, but it pushed the bounds in good ways also at times resembling a porter, a schwarz, and an American Black (without American hops).  I am not so stuck on styles as to lament this.  I'd gladly drink this beer just about anytime!  Grade: A-/A

2) APAs, IPAs, Black IPAs:

My clear winner was Doom (7.4% American Pale Ale) from Elysian Brewing out of Seattle, WA.  This APA, with added treacle - in a well-tempered quantity - poured an orange-tinged copper with a nice frothy white head of clingy lace.  It smelled of citrus, citrus, and more citrus enticingly and, though I sometimes feel APAs and IPAs with a great nose tease for a taste that never meets the hype, Doom does!  Though there is a hint of honey and treacle sweetness up front, it quickly gets out-fruited by dry pineapple and mango alongside some remaining citrus with a bitter-sweet linger.  Medium-bodied, perfectly crisp, and simply a delight to drink for any who like a West-Coast American IPA. Grade: A/A+

Maui Big Swell IPA (6.8% ABV India Pale Ale) keeps pace just behind with a similar citrus nose - if a bit fainter - and a similar tropical fruit/pineapple flavour.  The malt backbone seems a bit overly present and more reminiscent of a DIPA than a standard IPA, but I like that as I love my DIPAs, and the fruitiness comes through plain as day nonetheless.  The body, however, is a bit on the light side.  Grade: A-/A

Next came Smuttynose's Noonan Black IPA (5.7% ABV American Black Ale) from the Live Free or Die Drink Craft or Die state of New Hampshire, which wafts a nice hoppy-pine nose tempered by some faint roasty chocolate malts emanating from its ample off-white head of noteworthy retention and lace.  The body itself is a deep dark brown while it tastes of pine and lingering resin alongside a hint of grapefruit, while allowing a dry linger coupled with a medium body and some tingly carbonation.  Grade: A-/A

Port Townsend's Hop Diggidy IPA (another Washington state brew) and Smuttynose's Shoal's Pale Ale also deserve some praise and would get a lengthier write-up were they not paired against such strong contenders!  Both grade around an A- to me.

Gigantic's Black Friday (8.1% ABV American Black Ale) gets similarly good numbers, but as I had it late in the day, while deep in conversation with a brewer, I will say little more than I'd personally love to give it another try and recommend that you do too!

3) Stouts & Porters

There was a clear winner in this category for me: once again from Michigan's New Holland comes the Dragon's Milk (a 10% ABV Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout).  With a oak and vanilla-forward bourbon-nose smoothed out by roasty chocolatey malt, this beer tastes similarly complex with a depth of sweetness from vanilla and milk chocolate notes that are dried out by the bourbon-warmth that follows. A slight bit boozy and a slight bit sweet, but excellent for what it is!  Grade: A

The first oatmeal stout I ever had was the quintessential one brewed by Samuel Smith's and, for my good fortune at this, I have been chasing the dragon ever since.  Though I have found some to be drinkable, only Rogue's Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout (6.1% ABV )even came close to the Sam Smith's legend.  This brew exudes a great nose of nutty/roasty chocolate and biscuits from a gorgeous mocha head, while it tastes lightly toasty and earthy with a nicely dried finish.  It has a nice full body and thick chewiness that is topped only by the best in my books.  Grade: A-/A (closer to A)

Gigantic hits the list again with The Time Traveller (a 5.8% American Porter) which presents a solid nose of lightly roasted coffee and baking chocolate chip cookies.  The taste is sweet - in a malty rich porter sense, not a milk stout way - with dark Belgian chocolate and lightly toasted notes dominating the mouth which feels a touch light which might be my only complaint of substance here.  Still a greatly enjoyable beer.  Grade: A-

4) Barleywines

I truly enjoyed two solid American barleywines at the fest, and though it was hard to distinguish a clear winner and though both were very good, neither rocked my world as a few beers here did.

Tops by a hair here is Stone's Old Guardian (an 11% ABV American Barleywine).  Despite some malty, peat-like sweetness and a trace of earthy hops, the nose is overly boozy.  Visually it displays a gorgeous reddish-orange cloudy body, while tastewise I noticed a plum dominance alongside hints of smoke and a fair earthy dryness.  A solid linger and a full body complement this sold brew.  Now I must try a barrel-aged version.  Grade: A-

Finally, I come to the almost evenly-matched French Oak-Aged Old Man Barleywine (a 10.5% ABV American Barleywine) from Port Townsend.  It pours an amber-red body with nice sticky lace, while expressing a nose dominated by oak and its signature caramel and vanilla which, while nice, aren't so fitting for the style, but it is nonetheless enticing!  The taste is likewise dominated by oak sweetness, but it likewise balances out with a substantial pine-dominated hoppy finish.  Despite a solidly full body, the mouth is a bit tingly for the style and I found myself wishing it were naturally carbonated, but it is still quite enjoyable!  Grade: A-

With some extra shout-outs for Dogfish Head's Midas Touch, Elysian's Savant IPA, and Ommegang's Abbey Ale that didn't quite make the review cut, that's all for now.  Review post three soon!

Mondial Review 1: The Best of the Europeans

Insofar as three days at this year's 20th Mondial de la Bière led me to 88 NEW tastings/reviews (if I count the single off-Mondial event I made it to) not counting another 10 with guests at home during the event and a handful I re-tried, I cannot possibly write reviews of all.

Moreover, though I was very responsible (with vitamins, water, pacing myself, etc) it is a lot to even offer substantial reviews of any though I did arrive with clipboard and prepared spreadsheet that returns full of the notes becoming these posts here.

Thus, my plan is not to even attempt full reviews (in number or depth) but rather to lend my praise to those stand-outs.  I had MANY solid beers that won't even be mentioned, and MANY I would grade a B/B+/A- though I will focus on those here I would give an A or A+ (and the occasional otherwise notable A-) which is generally above a 45 on the 50-point BJCP grading schema - an excellent grade in the ranks of stellar beers.  In this sense, I will simply gesture to the strengths of the best of the best, which this global festival provides, and in breaking them down by region rather than simply style, one can use this as a (very minimal) token travel purchase suggestion!

This is the first of a planned five posts to appear over the next week or so which will wrap up my Mondial experience:

1. This post of the Belgian/French/Italian stand-outs;
2. The next post of the (new-to-me) American standouts;
3. The third post covering the Quebec marvels;
4. The fourth post addressing the discovered gems from Brazil's booming craft beer scene;
5. The final post noting the best in styles (that I tasted) and considering the single off-site event I imbibed at.

Standing out most prominently for me from Italy were the following, in particular:

Birra del Borgo's Equilibrista (a 10.9% Wild/Sour Ale) delights me in a style one either tends to love or hate.  It pours a clear red body with strongly evident bubbly carbonation presenting a nose that (following this video) I delightfully and jokingly call hideously infected!  More precisely, though it lacks the funk of some wilds, the tartness almost prickles he nose hair, while it tastes of sour tart cherries and fermenting grapes, but not at all in a wine-like fashion.  A nice full body and a tingly carbonation round out this solid sour I'd gladly seek out again, and which well hides its alcohol in flavour and feel.  Grade: A/A+

Birra del Borgo makes the cut again with their solid, if not quite legendary, Hoppy Cat (a 5.8% ABV Cascadian Dark Ale or Black IPA) which presents some light particulate chunkiness in its dark body, while offering enticing aromas of pine and resin followed by a faint toastiness.  The taste is similar with a malty toast flavour at first, but one that is rapidly dried by a fairly bitter-and-yet-balancing resinous drying finish that has a substantial linger, despite an overly light and slightly watery body. Grade: A-

Finally, I come to Baladin's Wayan (a 5.8% ABV Saison) which is certainly unique, blended with many herbs and adjuncts and less hops than a traditional saison.  Lightly cloudy amber in colour, its nose is somewhat akin to the fruitier of saisons and blends it with the blonde ale faintness, with no hint of any barnyard funk.  Despite these style-atypical aroma weaknesses, the beer offers some unique fruity-spicy notes of lychee coupled with an indescribable funk somewhat between a barnyard essence and something near indescribable (for me) akin to floral  fermentation notes.  The crisp carbonation seems perfect for the quite dry finish (especially for a low-hopped beer) while the finish doesn't linger either appealingly or otherwise.  Grade: A-/A

France's token tasted offering showed strongly as well in Lancelot's XI.I (an 11.1% ABV Quadrupel).  This annual and limited production beer looks the part of a Belgian strong dark, while likewise presenting a plums and fig-centric nose with a hint of brown sugar.  Tastewise, malty-sweet raisins dominate, alongside a delectable full body with a creamy thick warmth and a dry (more Trappist than Abt) finish despite its sweet character.  A very solid offering here, if no Rochefort!  Grade: A-/A

I didn't try too many Belgian brews at this festival, even if I had a few in Belgian styles, yet I did try an epic one I had yet to buy.  Tops for me was that long-pondered (but usually more expensive than it should be - at least here) St. Bernardus Tripel (an 8% ABV Tripel).  Though not my favourite tripel ever, it exudes notes of fermenting apples which are also present to the taste alongside a drying floral addition coupled with spicy yeast.  The alcoholic bite is a bit more present here than in many 8%ers, but it is quite balanced and enticing nonetheless, coupled with its tingly-strong carbonation.  Grade: A-

Finally, I'd add in La Binchoise's XO (a 12% ABV Armagnac Barrel-Aged Belgian Strong Pale Ale) that presents a reddish body with noteworthy clingy lacing.  Woody notes and vanilla dominate the nose, while some mildly tart cherries greet the tongue in a complex manner evolving from a tempered sweetness to a spicy-dry yeasty finish, hoisted by a full body and present warmth.  Grade: A-

Next up... the brewers of the (not so) New World starting with the American craft behemoths!  Stay tuned.

May Means One Main Thing: Mondial de la Biere!

It may be somewhat new for me, but May is an exciting time since my semester draws to a close allowing for some necessary family time, Steelhead fishing allows for my annual up-the-creek reprieve weekend, and Mondial de la Biere offers the best of the beer festivals!

This Montreal celebration of a worldwide selection of brews runs from Wednesday May 29 to Sunday June 2 this year, and promises a likely selection of 550 or so beers and special one-offs popping up at after-party events around the city's finer beer establishments.

Just what is so special about Mondial, itself?

Well, it truly offers a global selection of beers complete with excellent and unique oddities from around the planet - including Italian and Brazilian gems alongside the big-guns from the good'ol US of A.

Sure, the atmosphere gets partisome on Friday and Saturday, while the best brews are often gone by Sunday, but the diversity of excellent offerings, the early appeal, the rarity of the selection (often otherwise unavailable in Canada), and more make this an event not to be missed.

There are judged competitions here as well, judged by the qualified, not the drunk and most beers cost from $1-6 for a supposedly 4oz (but often 8+ oz) sample.

Yes, that can be cheap or pricey depending on the beer but with the possibility to taste excellent products one may never otherwise find here (or for a much cheaper price than they would cost with bar markup) make this a worthwhile endeavour indeed!

This year, I hope to make it to Benelux for the Vermont Brewers Association event multi-brewer cask event and hopefully also to Dieu du Ciel when they crack that Cantillon keg!

I should also cross my 1000th rated beer mark this year.

However, with such a selection, I highly recommend a plan!  Shortly, the exhibitor and beer list will be available.  One could quickly devolve into the drunken lout behaviour of the masses without getting to the prized gems if not for following a plan.  Going in blind is a sure path to becoming overwhelmed.

It is, perhaps, Mondial's best kept secret that Wednesday and Thursday at open are the best times to visit, with a nice sobering dinner before after-partys to avoid the rowdy insanity.  Unless that's what you're there for!

Sante!