Bellwoods' Jelly King and I Have an Announcement to Make: We're in Love

Sometimes lately beer bores me. I mean, not exactly, but my consumption has changed.  You see, when I first started this blog, I didn't really know a good brewery from a bad, a good American Wild from a Berliner, and I was just trying things. And there were often seeming masterpieces which shone alongside massive failures. But they'd no longer shine.

See, now I basically only drink good beer. What I mean by noting this is not some snobby claim of superiority (just experience), but rather that when most things one tastes are of a comparable standard, the differences between them actually get subtler. I often think, "This is good," and it seems I am much less frequently saying "WOW!"

But Jelly King... WOW! Thanks for exciting me again! This is easily - EASILY - the best new beer of 2016 I have had and with Motley Cru and Double Barrel Peche Mortel, that is a bold claim!

Take two

Let me start this again, in the other way I'd pondered. I really enjoy Bellwoods beers: their regular offerings are all solid and exemplary of their styles, while their barrel-aged and experimental products are world-class.

But, as much as they are all great, if Bellwoods announced they were discontinuing all production of their regular products except Jelly King (and Lost River), I wouldn't mind. I mean I know they would. I am not proposing that they do this! I am just saying... imagine, Oct 1 through Mar 31: all you can handle Lost River, April 1 through Sept 30, drowning in Jelly! My personal nirvana.

And I hear this very well priced (at $6.50 per 500ml) beer is set to be a semi-regular product. That makes me happy, well... giddy or ecstatic even!

For those who don't know Jelly King is a dry-hopped sour, massively dry-hopped with Citra for bold fruit aromatics, with a lower ABV (at 5.6%) than the earlier untitled "Dry-Hopped Sour" experiments. It is sold out at the moment, but remains on draught on site I believe.

At the pub, they told me some find it too sour and others not sour enough. I have heard some lament that it's too thin. Others simply assume sour and hops can't/shouldn't mix. What can I say... haters. They're entitled to hate and all, and I'm entitled to drink their shares.

Appearance: It pours a fairly clear yellowish to light amber with a much longer lasting, substantial, small-bubbled white foamy head than is typical for the style.

Smell: This smells so overwhelmingly fruity that it reminds me of (what I imagine it would be like to be) stuffing your face into a mixed pile of powdered tangerine and lemon-lime gatorade pre-mix. In fact, it smells almost like Gator-GUM from the 1980s. They say aroma is strongly linked to memory in the brain, and this reminds me of this delightful, long discontinued gum (that smelled great and tasted equally good, until losing it's flavour rapidly). That might not sound great to you, but it is, OH IT IS! I have heard it said, several times, that Four Winds' Nectarous is the fruitiest sour beer that isn't fruited. Nope. This is twice as fruity as Nectarous (which is also awesome, btw!) I could smell this and nothing else, eternally. It's luxurious. It is dominated, for me, by a tangerine and lemon-lime gatorade quality, but there are also some fuzzy peaches lurking in there somewhere. This beer smells like fruity candy! AMAZING!

Taste: Heavenly. It begins with a tangy tangerine quality, before drying and souring up to a quenching peach dominance. It is quite dry, and fairly sour, but for those who find this too sour: don't drink sour beer. For those who find this not sour enough: sure, it won't strip the enamel from your teeth and require either 36 Tums or a trip to the ER if you drink seven of them, but dammit... YOU CAN DRINK SEVEN OF THEM! This is totally crushable, entirely juicy, perfect for the hot summer day!

Mouthfeel: Sure, it's a touch thin, but that's one of its nice perks. It also may seem that way thanks to the spritzy effervescence that dries the palate and spreads the fruity notes. And it isn't that thin. Again, with an overused cliche: it's crushable. Ideally, perfectly, as if from some beertopia: crushable.

Overall: I don't think you'd like this beer. The eight I had have disappeared far too quickly. So if you're carrying... I'm buying. Let's talk. I'll save you from this "thin" beer that's "too sour" or "not sour enough."

#Justdoin'mypart

Traders, Tickers, and Shit-Flickers

I tick - somewhat. That is, I seek out new things to imbibe and review. When I first got into beer, ticking was life: the requirement to drink was only newness. Now, knowing more about what to expect, I am as likely to drink a beer I have had before, though ticks still come but usually only from known breweries, known styles, and trusted sources of hype.

I also trade beer. Rarely by mail (just a handful of times in a few years), but fairly regularly in person in Montreal and Toronto. Like most, these things tend to go down $4$, which is beer trader slang for "dollar-for-dollar," or of equal purchase price exchange (with an occasional bump for rarity).

But I've got this pet peeve, usually but not always with rare beer ticker-traders.

Part of this comes from a few discussions over the past few months.

In one, an American* visiting here told me of bringing back Bellwoods bottles to share with Southern/Mid-Western American beer geeks. Despite assuring me that they loved them, he informed me that nobody would trade for them though because their bottle counts are too high. "Bellwoods," he insisted, "actually hurts themselves by having high bottle counts." This sounds illogical, until one realizes that what he means is, 'Bellwoods hinders my capacity to trade them for equal quality and/or price beer.' I mean, it's clearly illogical to think this brewery suffers by selling out of a higher quantity of pretty high quality product.

But, I'd maintain, it's equally illogical to lament a beer this guy admits to appreciating for its availability such that he - and distant friends - and many others get bottles of high quality beer to enjoy. I know, he means rather that it won't trade as highly as a rarer, say, 400 bottle count release and he'd appreciate the returns from such a bottle.

Yet, if Bellwoods (for instance) had smaller bottle counts increasing their trade value, he (and so many others) would be less likely to get them, AND would then require trading other equally rare bottles (that he'd be equally less likely to procure), all the while necessitating the purchase of extras of such rare bottles (perhaps with 'mules'**), thereby further consolidating the numbers of people who get either bottle to begin with!

It strikes me that such logic is counter-intuitive to everyone's capacity to acquire and drink special beers - which is the goal, is it not? Moreover, scarcity makes the beer taste NO BETTER, but simply drives up the praise to numerous implications. One of these is to somehow diminish the appreciation of great beer that is accessible to us such that even those who love a Bellwoods product find its value not in its consumption but its after-market marketability.

As I write this, Bellwoods still has half of their entire bottle release of this year's Motley Cru, which has previously sold out in hours with a massive lineup and smaller limits per person. Sure, this year it will be tougher to trade any of my extra Motley, but that's a better 'problem' to have than the one where I procure none of a sold out beer I really want to drink! Props to Bellwoods for doing this right!  Breweries that ensure regular accessibility of excellent products (with another requisite nod to Dieu du Ciel! and Le Castor) deserve our praise, not our scorn.

In another conversation, a person I met on the daily Vermont tourist beer circuit lamented the expansion of The Alchemist, saying, "It sucks because it will dilute their trade value."

I get it. I trade too and trading does level things out in that people without access to Vermont, for instance, can get their paws on cans of Heady and SoS for more local products. But if, as this guy does, you love Heady Topper, would you not also appreciate the need not to stand in line once a week at prescribed times for an allocation of it? Would it not be better for the beer afficionado to be able to drink it than to calculate their virtual bond growth?

I imagine these folks giving their favourite regular beer a lower rating for wider availability and saving a 5 out of 5 for an exaggeratedly low 2 bottle count beer of irrelevant quality, considering it the best they've ever had and wishing they could have another, but needing to trade their second bottle at an exorbitant markup.

I am not against trading beer. I am not against rarity factoring into trade values, though I am against gouging.

Bellwoods and Alchemist should be praised for these decisions, not begrudged for allowing their beer to meet wider palates. When we start making after market beer a bigger commodity than the pleasures of its consumption, I feel like we start to lose out on that which makes beer great: the beer itself.

If you disagree, get into whiskey or wine futures, but stop fucking it up for the rest of us.



*Note: I mention his citizenship here only to note that he travels to Toronto from afar and brings Bellwoods bottles back quite a distance, not that this idea belongs to people in any given country.

**"Mule" is beer geek slang for someone who joins the buyer in line, not wanting any bottles for themselves, allowing their friend to purchase double allocation when sales are set at a maximum number of bottles per person.

Brasserie Dunham: Anniversary Bottle Release Sneak Preview!

As has become an annual tradition, Quebec's highly esteemed Brasserie Dunham promises an exciting bottle release and party at their gorgeous brewery on May 21st, in celebration of their 5th Anniversary.  In just five short years, this brewery has stepped up Quebec saison, blending, and barrel-aging standards by pumping out countless delights.

With special thanks to their founder, Sébastien Gagnon, their brewmaster, Éloi Deit, and their sommelier, Simon Gaudreault, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a pre-tasting event hosted at Vices et Versa yesterday.  I thank them all not only for the opportunity to taste these at such a well-orchestrated event, but for essentially saying things twice so as to accommodate my franco-challenged limitations (though I did catch some of it as my ear gradually improves!)

Not only were media guests well fed and plied with ample tastings of their forthcoming treats, we were further treated to illuminating discussions of the beers, their process and aims, and further ideas of what to expect as Dunham keeps pushing things forward.

In this vein, Simon Gaudreault reminded us of Dunham's commitment to keeping beer events fun, such that their pre-order ticket and payment system seeks to eliminate lineups "so that people don't have to stand around in a parking lot for hours."  Even with all of Dunham's brewing success, this commitment is an idea that truly must catch on in the beer world!  Not only does it ensure the enjoyment of the day for attendees, but it further allows a model distribution where the number of purchasers can be maximized avoiding catastrophes where those who line up earliest get the highest returns.

In other exciting news, Dunham plans (in the near future) to have downloadable pdf spec-sheets of all of their beers, which will list things like grains, hops, yeasts, and processes as well as technical specs like gravity readings and more.  For a beer geek and home brewer, this is also welcome news.

Anyway, you all care more about the beer and what you should order (through your pre-order link here).  The lineup for us consisted of Saison Fleurs Sauvage, Ping Pong Wizard, Assemblage #1, Assemblage #1 Cru Paysan, Leo's Vin Rouge Brett, Tropicale IPA, Berliner Mango Weisse, Deze Monnik is Dronken (Chianti BA), and Stout Imperiale Russe Classique (Tokaji BA).

While chatting and listening, full notes were difficult to take, but there is one final thing worth noting before I provide a brief assessment of most: they stressed to us not to simply call everything 'good' but to critique and provide feedback where relevant, so I will do so as I see fit!

This delightful grisette (brewed in collaboration with Kevin Dwyer and Will Meyers (of Cambridge Brewing) pours a hazy dark yellow to very light amber with a slight head (at least in taster glass pours), though a top layer of thin-bubbled carbonation lasts throughout its consumption.  It wafts some lemon rind, fermenting grape-skins, and mild pear qualities and can best be characterized as offering a fruit-dominant bouquet complemented by mild tannic, musty, and lightly tart aromatics.

In the mouth, it reminds me of a mildly tart unsweetened apple quality complemented by low peppery phenols.  Though fairly light-bodied to make for easy drinking, it was a tad fuller than expected for the ABV, though I found it a bit under-carbonated for the style which may have given the illusion of greater substance.  Don't get me wrong it isn't flat, and the carbonation has been confirmed for me as being by design, but I personally feel it could be strengthened by a more bubbly effervescence that spreads the notes across the palate and dries it alongside the body-lightening illusion that would provide.

Still, I am nitpicking here: this is a solid beer and one I look forward to drinking on my patio on a hot summer day!  Grade: B+

I am strictly reviewing the Cru Paysan variant of this, assuming that most of you have tasted the original.  This extremely small-batch variant is aged in Red Wine AND Sauternes barrels, and is one of the highlights of the day for me.  They allowed us to side-by-side this with the original, and some of my notes come from that comparison.

This sexy beast pours out a very slightly darker colour than the original, with a very mildly hazy amber body, capped by a decent white head not unlike its twin.  Aromas are perhaps a bit less oaky, though are much stronger overall.  There is a deep vinous quality complemented by must, apricots, and a faint hint of tangerines.  This nose is big, bold, and AMAZING.

Tastes begin with a touch of honey-covered fruit up front, perhaps of the aforementioned apricot, before a switch to a more musty Brett/wine combo quality (that I suspect you'll know from other wine-barrel, bretted beers), and finishes with a dank and very dry swallow and linger.  This is medium bodied and carbed, and seems to work well with the vinous nature and funky components.  Though I slightly prefer the nose to the taste, this is a fine beer and one I wish the limits allowed multiple purchases of!  However, it is always better one per person and many taste it, than 4pp and hoarded by the few.  Grade: A- to A

The red-wine BA and bretted variant of this Dunham staple brought out the most varied feelings amongst those at my table, though was universally the least appreciated by all present.  I have, at times, had red wine beers that overwhelmed me amidst other tastings beforehand, which managed to shine when later imbibed on their own.  This could be one of those beers that, for some reason, seemed not to fly in the order in which it was presented.

The body presents a moderate amber, while a fair white head tops the base.  I found the nose must dominant, with a hint of booziness not present in the base beer - like that winey alcohol heat.  I rather liked the nose, but the other four at my table all hated the nose.

The taste was equally divisive, as I found it to be characterized by a stale cardboard quality reminiscent of both aged hops and stale tea, though that was complemented by a decent grape must component.  Personally, I loved the nose and was not too impressed by the taste, while the other four at my table found it tasty, but unpleasant to smell.

As noted in our small sample, this beer seems driven by excess - unless it was in bottle variance - but in its boldness brought out the boldest of opinions.  Having already placed my Dunham order, mind you, I have another coming and will report back if this stands up better when not following Cru Paysan (which very few Quebec beers are well suited to follow!) Tentative Grade: C+ to B-

As is typical in a Berliner, this pours a cloudy golden with a scant head, though it may be perhaps cloudier still for the pureed mango that makes its way into this beer.  My nose detects the fruit, but it is overpowered by that acidic lemony berliner quality coupled with a trace of floral esters.  The taste, again, brings a lemony lactic sourness complemented by moderately high mango flavours.  It is quite sour, though cleanly so, with a decently drying finish.  It has the light body and sharp effervescence that bring the style to life in your mouth.  This will be one tasty hot summer day treat, indeed! Grade: A-

This year's Deze Monnik differs in its barrel-aging (this time in Chianti barrels) and as only 1/4 of the figs were added during fermentation, with the additional 3/4 added (for the first time) in the barrels themselves.

It makes for a different beer, but I think a better one!

A decent thin-bubbled white head rests atop a medium brown base.  From this head wafts a moderate amount of sweetened figs, as if the fruits were topped by substantial amount of brown sugar, perhaps even lightly charred brown sugar or burnt caramel.  There is just a scant trace of the Chianti.

In the mouth, it starts sweetly, as with the previous incarnation, with a middle characterized by the fruit (though a touch less present than before), and ends with a drier finish than in the past, with a touch of the wine and oak at this point making for what I would call a more complex, rounded, and balanced product.  When quads are done right, the feel offers a creaminess despite (in apparent contradiction) sharp carbonation.  This nails that!  It is heavily effervescent, but not sharply so as the creamy texture rounds it out in ways that blend rhythmically with the flavours. Grade: A- to A

As with the Sauternes barrels used for Cru Paysan, this variant of their classic Stout Imperiale Russe comes aged from a barrel containing a noble-rot infected wine.  Tokaji, a Hungarian dessert wine, however seems much sweeter than Sauternes - from descriptions, as I am no sommelier.  I am, however, a big fan of Sauternes-aged beers, so the options here excite me!

As expected, this pours a deep, dark brown with a scant white head (again, at least in these tasting pours).  The bouquet is brilliant!  I am blasted by something resembling a booze filled chocolate, where the booze is out of my price-range and the cacao is like 85%.  There is a fruity vinous quality, but it is mild and complements rather than overwhelming the stellar scents, and there is, underneath of course, a roasty quality but again, it takes a backseat to the booze-filled chocolate.

It starts in the mouth with sweeter chocolate notes, before a mildly astringent roastiness, and completes with a dry finish of greater complexity than in the base beer.  Don't get me wrong: I love the base beer.  Here, however, rather than a hopped-dryness, there is one complemented by oak and a style of wine I have never tasted but can now slightly imagine.

Perhaps moreso than in other variants of this stout, there is some heat in the linger, but the body remains nicely chewy and full-bodied, with fairly low carbonation discernible.  Grade: A- to A

Saison Fleurs Sauvage and Tropicale IPA have both hit stores recently and are not listed on the pre-order sheet, so I will avoid an in-depth review here, except to add that both are solid.  I am most impressed by the mild funk qualities of Saison Fleurs Sauvage being achieved without Brettanomyces, while Tropicale IPA has more (both quantity and types) of fruit than batch one and is a far better product!  Both are worth your pursuit and hard-earned dollars.

In closing, I'll simply add that there are many more excellent sounding beers than these at this release, so I encourage you to get your order in!  And if, for some sick reason, you don't want your allotted Cru Paysan (or RIS 6-pack), well... you know where to find me!

Brasserie Harricana: Damning Styles, Changing Trends

This past November, Alexandre (from the great beer blog Le Malte Incarne) and I had the opportunity to sample the selection at Brasserie Harricana while kicking back with and picking the brains of head brewer, Mathieu Garceau-Tremblay. Harricana made some waves upon their opening for their multi-temperature draught system (which has 4 degree, 8 degree, and 12 degree Celsius settings as the norm).  It took me nearly a year after opening to get there - being a family man and all - but the first experience ensures it won't be my last visit!

The first thing that impressed me about Mathieu, aside from his much appreciated willingness to communicate in English for my linguistically-challenged shortcomings, was his resistance to style norms. Beer styles serve their purposes and there is something to be said for building from a solid base, but being bound by them likewise curtails ingenuity. In that vein, the best beer of my nine-sample tasting was the biggest transgressor of these guidelines and was a resounding success! More on that shortly.

Perhaps unfortunately, however, one of my largest critiques would also be the divergence from expectations: I had a weisse that tasted like a Berliner weisse, a Berliner weisse that tasted like a hefeweizen, a gruit "saison," and a "Red Hop Bomb" that the brewmaster himself calls a "session barley wine." Now, that doesn't mean these were terrible - in fact some were great and all were decent - but they did stretch the bounds of expectation.

Another apparent strength - though I was dumb enough to have eaten before arrival - were the exquisite aromas wafting from the plates of other patrons. I was drooling on several occasions; whenever any dish arrived at tables even some distance from ours, the aromas were dominant and intoxicating. I WILL be back to eat... maybe until I explode. ("It's just wafer thin!")

Aside from food and beer, the menu also includes hop soda derived from freshly derived hop serum. The specific hops used changes every week or so and allows you to experience their nuances in a sweet soda delight.

For a final (pre-beer-review) accolade, I'd also like to note not only the cleanliness of the establishment, but moreso that of the brewery, cold rooms, and barrel-area. The organization was impeccable and this, coming from our pre-tasting brewery tour, gave a strong first-impression of a well-organized operation.

I find it an odd choice that their beers are only available in (reasonably priced) five ounce sample formats or eight ounce glasses mind you.  Though I often appreciate the sample format, a few glasses to equal that pint just seems odd, but hey... I know a few things about beer and nothing about being a brew-pub restauranteur, so who am I to say whether this works better or not!

Alright, without further ado, some beer thoughts below the barrel pic that follows.

Though I won't exhaust your readership by reviewing all nine beers in depth, I'll share some brief notes on a few and offer a final overall assessment afterwards.

Aprikotenweisse (3.4% ABV, served at 4 degrees Celsius) is a weisse brewed with Galaxy hops, and kettle-soured with house bacteria and lactobacillus (breaking from expectations).  It isn't at all as expected, but it works expressing a thin head atop a cloudy yellow base. The nose is a bit dusty and mildly sweaty which was not what I was anticipating, but it was inviting to one who loves the funk! A bolder dry-hop could only have added to it, mind you, but the taste was likewise delectable with moderate apricot fruitiness up front (that was absent on the nose) before mildly tart finish. The spritzy-sharp effervescence and light body made this a quenching summer day dream-like and crushable beer.

Dry Stout (4% ABV, served at 12 degrees) is normally served on nitro, but they had run out of nitro and we had to try the regular CO2 keg. This brew wafts brilliant coffee aromas, with mild biscuits and roasted qualities, while the taste was more biscuity with a touch of earthy hops and mild cacao. Though I rather enjoyed this, I did find it a bit thin and watery, but not so much as to stray from the standards.

Red Hop Bomb (7.5% ABV, served at 8 degrees) is, as aforementioned, lovingly considered to be a session barley wine (!). Well-hopped with Galaxy, Topaz, and Dr. Rudi, this beer had evolved since having been brewed seven months before my trial, and few hops remained. Yet, despite the 'lower' ABV, this beer had held up presenting a bouquet dominated by caramel complemented by raisins and plums. It smelled like a standard English barley wine. In the mouth, tea-like flavours blended with a low fruitiness and an earthy dry finish supported by a decently full body. It was a bit sticky to the lips and a touch oily, but was intriguing enough despite its age clearly demonstrating some brewing prowess.

Saison des Allergies (5.4% ABV, served at 12 degrees) is an oddity indeed! Technically, I am not sure how this can be called a saison: it isn't brewed with any standard saison yeast, it is a gruit (a beer without hops), it has carrots steeped in the mash, it is brewed with golden-rod, and is barrel-aged in Chardonnay barrels. And yet... this was the treat of the night! It pours a hazy yellow with an immediately dissipating thin white head. The nose is musty in both senses of the word: both stale (in that Brett-y kind of inviting way!) and of grape must. Completing the nose are aromas of faint wood and dust. On the tongue, I note an initial fruity Brett quality, reminiscent of peaches, with a transition to a substantial tartness, with a dusty, dank, and equally dry finish. My only real criticisms here are on the feel, where it is a bit oily and under-carbed (though many BA beers are). This drinks like a fairly complex sour and is easily the best beer I have had at this rising establishment.

In conclusion, this is worth checking out! With the best beer, by far, being a BA one, and a growing barrel-program, coupled with playful experimentation and a food menu that smells like heaven (and presumably tastes just as good), I will return and I hope you do too!

Benelux Chronique de Mars: Delicious!

Benelux Brasserie Artisanale boasts two excellent brewpubs - in Verdun and downtown - alongside another brewing/kegging/rarely bottling facility called Brasserie du Canal.  They make some solid beers, but rarely release bottles for distribution.

As far as I know, they have only ever released different vintages of their Grande Armada barrel-aged imperial brown ale, but news broke this week that they'd be dropping Chronique de Mars: a barrel-aged blend of a sour saison and a pale ale with Brettanomyces, and dry-hopped with Galaxy.  Note that while the bottle advertises this, I am told by one of the brewers from Benelux that it is a blend of three saisons: a standard/classic saison, one with secondary Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, and one sour saison (that comprised only 8% of the total blend).  The Bretted version apparently spent 10 months in barrels.

If you know me, you know words like "sour saison," and "blend" peak my interest, and they flat out excite me when coupled with "Galaxy hops" and "Barrel-aged."

So, I immediately swung by Maltéhops where my dealer superhero, Patrick, informed me that it would arrive on shelves today.   Being a committed beer geek, I returned again today... twice.

The first time brought the trial, the second for the stash.  And you want a stash.  Trust me.

The cap pops loudly with bold carbonation pushing forth a quick, if not explosive, rising head necessitating a fast pour.  The glass fills with a hazy light copper capped by a thick, foamy white head of solid retention with minimal lacing.

At first, fairly cold, the funk is massive!  The nose wafts a dank dustiness that brings reminiscent thoughts of Brasserie Dunham's delightful Saison Réserve.  Though some wood notes are present, they are buried underneath the bold Brett-dominated aromatics.  As it opens up, the Galaxy qualities of pineapple and mango come through a bit more complementing the Bretty cobwebs, but this smells marvelous indeed!  It is obvious that this is massively Bretted, and that can either turn you off or on.  Me?  I've got more than a semi.

Tastewise, this is complex and highly drinkable.  It is ever so faintly sour, with just a notch below standard saison ph levels.  It begins with a bit of that tartness and some mild fruitiness, mixed with a grape must and highly funky, slightly leathery finish.  The carbonation is quite aggressive, which works well with the style in general and with the notes of this beer specifically.  The sharp and spritzy effervescence spreads the flavours, cleans them off the palate, and allows the dryness to complete each sip, thereby inviting the next.

This may be my favourite Benelux beer to date, and with Grande Armada, several solid IPAs, Black Beatty, Troy Spèciale, and other such treats, that is high praise indeed!

In fact, the blending, the Brett, the hops, and the carbonation are so well executed that it reminds me of the strengths of Crooked Stave beers (perhaps blended with the aforementioned Dunham Saison Réserve).  And, for all of this, it is well-priced at a mere $10 (plus tax and deposit) for a 650ml, barrel aged blend.  My only, and it is mild, criticism would be that the Galaxy hopping (and dry-hopping?) could be amped up a little to better complement the massive funk.

I lied.  I have two further criticisms: it won't always be available and I can't afford to buy several cases.  So get yours now, before I get a mortgage to buy the rest.

Spilling Secrets: Marché du Village and the New Série Impériale Barley Wine

No matter your hobby, you periodically discover a surprise supplier and try to keep it secret.  For beer geeks, whether that's your 'loon link or whatever, we somehow feel as if we need to keep things hushed so that more remains for us when we need it.  Sure, some know about it, but maybe not everyone...

And yet, here I am telling you all about the not-so-well-kept-secret (since it opened in 1967 and all!) that is Marché du Village in Ange-Gardien.

What's to love about this place?  Man, the list is extensive...

1. Being situated off-island, they often have rare bottles last longer than the requisite 9 minutes
2. They are basically halfway to my in-laws cottage and make for a crucial stop beforehand, making the visit more tolerable
3. They are located about 1/4 of the way from Montreal to Hill Farmstead - a regular stop for any dedicated Montreal beer geek (but remember to stop on your way back!)
4. Due to friendships and proximity, they get full stock of special Dunham releases... Mmmmmm, Dunham
5. They have an excellent selection of Quebec beers including the majority of breweries and special releases, and...
6. ... as a special SAQ authorized retailer, they also stock other nice brews as well.
7. They are located in a 24-hour high-end supermarket/cafe/gas station perfect for your travelling needs
8. They have two temperature, light, and humidity controlled cellars; one for long-term aging and one that brings out the latest from the former for sales at varied intervals.
9. To see the sale cellar, you must ask the incredibly friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, bilingual staff for assistance, but never has a request for assistance felt so invited
10. They periodically brew/contract brew/have brewed special release beers that are barrel-aged and intended to be suitable for long term aging!

It is the second of these beers that prompts this post.  The first in the series, Série Impériale Scotch Ale Impériale, was brewed at Brasseurs Illimités and aged in several diverse barrels.  It was a treat: not too sweet with an excellent barrel character making for a delightful winter sipper.

This winter, Marché du Village and Brasseurs Illimités have combined forces again and released the second in the series: Série Impériale Barley Wine.  This English Barley Wine is well hopped with Nugget and Fuggles, before being barrel-aged in Whiskey, Brandy, and Rum barrels. It retails for $19.99 for a 750ml bottle, and when you consider the quality, the size, the 11.9% ABV, and the aging potential, this is a fair price indeed.

It pours out a reddish copper with a thick tan head.  Large bubbles make up the cap, which has fair retention for the high ABV, and even a circle remains throughout, while lacing is fairly thick and uneven.

It is quite aromatically enticing.  The bouquet is rich with a well-blended complexity of diverse notes with none overpowering.  The most dominant notes are wet wood, mild sherry-like qualities, low ethanol, some earthy and mildly tea-like hops, moderate caramel, and a hint of baking bread.  There is a mild peaty quality with a touch of fruity plum-like esters, but no overwhelming barrel component of either whiskey, rhum, or brandy.  This isn't a limitation, rather it attests to the nuance added that blends so wonderfully.  There's a hint of what smells almost like spiced whiskey and rum very faintly.  This is a very complex and balanced nose.

The flavour begins with a bready/caramel/doughy quality that quickly transitions to tea and bits of barrel, before a quite dry and fairly hot finish with an earthy and resinous bitterness.  Though nicely bitter, there is a fair bit of residual sugar on the palate.  It has a medium length bitter linger.  There is a bit of ethanol here as well, but what do you want - it's 11.9%!  As it warms, it becomes a bit less bitter, with greater raisin notes and caramel notes in the finish.

It is fairly full-bodied with moderate carbonation.  The tongue picks up a slight oiliness, and it is a touch sharper than I'd like, but not at all sticky (and for the residual sugar and ABV that is a big plus!) There is, as expected, a moderate warming as it downs.

Overall, this is a very nice second coming, and one I will seek out another bottle of for aging.  Yes, it's a touch sweet, but also nicely bitter and dry, and it is, after all, an ENGLISH barley wine; though one well complemented by well-blended barrel-aging.

Moreover, Marché du Village has some of their own glasses and had one made for this Series.  The glass is a gold-rimmed teku, seen in the pictures.  It is a nice hefty teku, much like the Dunham/Jester King release from the Autumn, with the same height, shape, and weight with the odd extra bulbous base beyond the standard teku. It is thick but not as excessively so as the weight implies.  Overall, the printed design is nice, but not fantastic as it is a bit simplistic, but it is a fine teku for a Quebec beer scene that is overloaded with tulips but under-represented by this trendy tulip-esque alternate design.

In a nutshell, I'd stop by this place.  Get their new beer, get some aged ones, get some standards, grab a branded spiegelau IPA glass, and a teku, and move on the Eastern Townships prepared to survive the tribulations of your in-laws... or maybe that's just me.

Cheers!

Homegrown Hops: Tasting Some Beers from Une Biere Deux Coups

Keeping up on the booming craft beer scene can be tough.  Breweries seem to open constantly (with few closures). In and directly around Montreal, mind you, with new brewpub exceptions like Harricana and Isle de Garde, most breweries have been established for at least a few years, with new breweries popping up further afield (Au Val, Sutton, l'Hermite, Hopera). Homebrewers, Brasserie Une Bière Deux Coups, hope to change this and open a Montreal brewery/tasting room in the near(-ish) future. Work on funding plans, the need for permits and space, and other practical exigencies mean this isn't around the corner, but the project is moving forward and, after tasting their beers, I hope we see this come to fruition sooner rather than later!

A joint brewing partnership between Dan Deeds and Eric Dion masterminds the project, which is both grounded in tested, well-liked staples and also experimenting for future delights.

I met up with Dan at his (hop garden backyard) home where he graciously provided me with some review bottles, beginning with their popular Session IPA, and this should assuredly be a staple in their future production. Session IPAs are quite the rage these days, offering the nose (and sometimes the full flavour) of a bold American India Pale Ale without the excess alcohol (or calories) making them a delightful, easy drink for a hot summer afternoon. Indeed, such were the conditions for my consumption, and this fit the bill perfectly!

Since this meeting, Dan has provided me with a few more samples, and I have been building a database of reviews, but note merely a few herein.

Summer Session IPA (3.8% ABV, 45 IBU) pours a quite hazy orange-reddish tinged deep copper in colour, with a decent (1.5-finger) soft white head. The head has pretty solid retention, and small rings of lace circle the glass briefly. Though still firmly within the pale ale camp, this was much darker than anticipated, which is fine either way!

It may seem odd to use vibrant and dank in the same description, but the nose truly wafts vibrantly in expressions of dank earthiness, with a distinctive resinous pine quality, and some tropical fruits, like mango and passion fruit in the background. There is little in the way of citrus - my favourite in IPAs usually - though some traces of rind are present, as are slight floral hints, but buried deeply beyond the fresh, dank resins. A very solid nose, nonetheless!

Upon sipping, there is a touch of a cereal grain and somewhat nondescript resinous quality that kicks things off, before a solid, moderately bitter pine-dominant linger that spreads well thanks to the carbonation.

Most Session IPAs truly lack the body to support the hops present making them aroma forward, but watery otherwise. This, I am pleased to say, is one of those beers that has no business having the body it does - and yet thank science it does! It isn't super thick, but is thicker than some 6% IPAs at medium-bodied and it comes bolstered by a pretty soft feeling spritz, even with moderate carbonation. It feels a bit resinous as well, adding to the flavour and complementing it nicely.

Overall, this is a super solid beer!  I'd buy this regularly if available as such. I think it is nearly as good as Le Castor's Session Houblon. The nose is just as strong - in a style of aroma that isn't usually my preference - and it competes on the body front (at 0.5% less ABV even!) while probably paling a bit on the taste front for my personal interests. But, and this is crucial: to enter that discussion means, to me, this is better than most of the other (non-Brett) session IPAs in Quebec. Bravo!

Though I have yet to try a regular IPA from 1B2C, I also got my hands on their Tempo Double IPA (9%
ABV, 110 IBU), and though solid as well, it wasn't as big of a hit for me personally.  It is darker than anticipated, presenting a hazy brownish, with a decent white head of fair retention. The nose is fruity in the mango and pineapple forward vein more than the citrus aspect.  Some candied sugar from the malt base and a hint of pine and booze also wafts.  Taste-wise it is good through and through, but to be a bit critical it is a touch sweet in the beginning, but the middle and finish come in with an increasingly resinous bitter bite.  It offers quite the lengthy and bitter linger as well, with a fairly full body and carbonation that feels lighter than it appears, offering a bit of oiliness.  A touch more effervescence might show well with the bitter bite.  Overall, the malt base seems a touch bold, such that the bitter bite seems a way to overcompensate in the finish.  However, that is a common enough presentation in DIPAs, so this critique is more personal preference than stylistic error on their part and I note it as this may fulfill your own DIPA criteria, though for me this has a strong nose but gets a bit bland in the somewhat nondescript bitterness that lacks the fruity or floral qualities one expects in the lengthy linger.  It comes off a bit (quickly sweet, then rapidly) 'bitter-for-bitters-sake,' but this is a very traditional DIPA quality.  Those in love with Vermont DIPAs may want a touch more fruit and flowers, while those in love with more West Coast styles may appreciate this for its strengths.  Take, though, my criticism with a grain of salt, for it is still better than many commercial DIPAs in Quebec (with exceptions like Isle de Garde, DDC Immoralite, LTM DIPA, and Route 138, I presume)

Gose Buster (3.5% ABV, 18 IBU), which I somehow forgot to photograph, is another hit in my personal opinion (though the summer batch was a touch better than the recent offering, and brewer Dan agrees, as we both wonder if there was a difference in the purchased grains from the same suppliers).  It pours a hazy yellow with a thick, super creamy white head that sticks around and clings to the glass.  It's aromatically inviting with offerings of lemon, sea breeze, and a muted hint of coriander.  In the mouth, it starts with a mild doughy quality, before a lightly tart, lightly salted, sharp feeling refreshing finish as if of a delightful (mild lemon) spritzer.  The bold effervescence serves to well spread the flavours across the palate, before assisting as it dries out nicely with a mild lemon linger.  Though gose fans who want a sour blast, a wheat-bomb, ocean-level saltiness, or forward-coriander may be disappointed, I rather find that this is an example where none of these components take center stage since all are well balanced in a super-drinkable, highly refreshing treat.  This would be the best in Quebec on a shelf if dropped in stores today.

Zeddemore Schwarzgose (4% ABV, 20 IBU) blends a dark malt backbone with salty sourness. However, while I could provide more elaborate notes for any interested, I will keep this brief, since this beer seems to fall short for two reasons.  First, the roast and lemon qualities just don't blend seamlessly.  Second, despite Dan's assertion that it contains the same amount of salt as the Gose Buster, it tastes saltier throwing the balance out of whack.  It seems odd that this somehow brings the salt more forward as it must compete with roastier malts and a slightly higher IBU.  Regardless, I mention this beer despite its misses because it portends a forward-thinking attempt to bridge styles in unique ways.  And I always appreciate the experiments that facilitate innovation.

Pony Boy Bitter (4% ABV, 40 IBU) comes from a tradition I have moved beyond.  That is, while English styles brought me to beer initially, I now find myself rather sensitive to their frequent (and frequently acceptable) diacetyl notes of buttered popcorn and bored by their traditional hops.  And yet, I can appreciate a well done example of the styles, and this is well done!

It pours a hazy, reddish-dark amber capped by a moderate white head of some retention.  That head wafts an inviting bouquet that fits the style norms but brings complexity of notes rather than unidimensional qualities.  In combination with the fresh-baked bread-like malt and yeast character, there are complementary notes of tea-like hops and some lemon balm.  It smells a bit like an Earl Grey/lemon tea hybrid, while someone bakes a whole wheat loaf in the oven behind.

The flavour begins with that similar yeasty bakery quality, before transitioning to a dry, lightly earthy, and black-tea dominant finish.  There is, also, a lowly discernible diacetyl quality, but that is both acceptable in the style and muted enough by other notes so as to not offend my diacetyl-sensitive palate.  The linger is fairly slight, while the notes are complemented by a fairly light body and just shy of moderate carbonation.  Together, these make for an easy drinking, stylistically sound brew.  A solid hit, even in a style I'd rarely procure!

To get your hands on some of these evolving products, to get a leg up on the evolving Montreal beer scene, and to support what may be our next local brewery, check them out on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LaPico1B2C?fref=ts  Also, they are doing a survey as part of their business plan.  Please help them out by doing both parts: Part One AND Part Two.  Thanks!