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!

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!

Three Quebec-Brewed Belgian Reviews: La Terrible, Dominus Vobiscum Double & Chambly Noire

Since I seem to be drinking more beer than I find time to write about, three brief(-ish) reviews follow.  What binds these beers together for this review is both that they are all Quebec-brewed versions of popular Belgian (Trappist/Abbay) styles and that I have drank them all within the past few days!

Unibroue's La Terrible, a bottle conditioned Dark Belgian Strong Style Ale which checks in at 10.5%, is a very good representative of the style from outside the Abbays, but, in my opinion, falls a bit short of the original Belgian products it draws its inspiration from.  The beer itself is dark brown in color with a quickly receding off-white to beige head that leaves a very smooth lace.  Aromas of figs, plums, port, and alcohol meet the nose.  As with the aroma, the flavor is equally sweet and malty, but also includes hints of cherries, plums, and yeasty spices that are much less present on the nose.  Full bodied, yet simultaneously creamy and warming in a lingering/fairly drying finish a bit like a nice dry wine.  It is perhaps drier than typical of the style, which is again subject to personal preference.  Grade: B+

I have heard much of the greatness of the Dominus Vobiscum Belgian-style beers brewed by Microbrasserie Charlevoix, but had yet to try one.  Their Dominus Vobiscum Double is the first of their beers for me to taste (since my preference for Dubbels always makes me try them first) and, judging by this product, these beers are almost of Trappist quality such that I anxiously await trying more!  This beer pours a beautiful ruby red in colour, with a decent tan-colored head and a good amount of lace.  Aromas are primarily of dark fruits, plums, figs, raisins and anise, and the yeasts are much less prevalent than in some Belgian style beers masked by the extreme malty primacy - which could be seen as a detraction from the style accuracy, but to me is appealing since it maximizes the fruity aromas.  Tastewise, this beer continues this malty sweetness, but the alcoholic warmth and slight dryness prevents it from being cloying.  Hints of brown sugar go along with the dark fruit and licorice.  On the tongue, this fairly full-bodied beer is a bit syrupy, yet smooth and just warming enough so as to invite further sips/swigs.  A very, very good beer! The praise is well-deserved!  Grade: A-

Returning to Unibroue, I was slightly disappointed by their Chambly Noire, which has an ABV of 6.2%.  It offers a very slight off-white head with negligible lacing and a very dark brown body. Aromas are yeasty and malty, but not particularly sweet, more bitter, spicy, and alcoholic.  On the nose, this beer is also somewhat sour, with notes of sour plums.  For its purported style, the taste is not very complex.  In fact, I was quite disappointed.  It basically offers a yeasty spiciness with a slight hint of sour fruit, but little of complex excellence and much less malty fruitiness than one would expect of the style.  Moreover, the slight sourness (in both aroma and flavour) are not indicative of the style (making me slightly wonder if I'd received a bad bottle).  Low carbonation for the style as well as a thinner body than I was anticipating are further examples of this ill-fit, in my assessment.  Not bad, per se, but far less enjoyable than I'd imagined and not very representative of the style parameters.  Grade: C+