Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 9 (Central City) – Red Racer Summit Speakeasy Old Fashioned Extra Pale Ale

• My Rating: [C], I gave it a [2.7 / 5] on Ratebeer.com

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TL:DR – “Muddled non-cohesive cherry, malt and whisky flavours. Not great.”

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Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 9 (Central City) – Red Racer Summit Speakeasy Old Fashioned Extra Pale Ale, 6.5% ABV, 355 ml., (Surrey, BC, Canada) (*local BC Craft beer*)

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on the label:

“Olde tyme cocktail flavour inspiration infused in a classic pale ale. All you need to know is the password. Aged on orange peels and cherries with Lohin McKinnon Single Malt Whisky, the Summit Speakeasy has notes of whisky, oak, and citrus with the warmth needed after a day on the slopes.”

Ingredients: Water, malted barley, hops, orange peel, cherries, whisky, yeast.

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• Style: flavoured pale ale (orange peel, cherries, whisky)
• Taste: tangy muddled fruity malt
  
• Where I got it : BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $75 CAD – 24×341~355 ml., November 2018
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: nah
  
• What made an impression: unique flavour
  

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Visual: Pours copper orange-reddish with lots of large suspended sediment, clustered streams.

Nose: fruity sweet whisky notes, bright. (lvl-8)-pungency

Attack: light crisp dull, incoming malty

Mid-palate: tart, lvl-5-sweetness, tingly fruity malt, watery whisky notes

Finish: cherry, orange peel, bloated

Summary: Flavours are kind of there but very muddled and not cohesive.

Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 5 (Central City) – Red Racer Idiot Strings Cranberry Chili Session Ale with Orange Liqueur

• My Rating: [C+], I gave it a [2.7 / 5] on Ratebeer.com

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TL:DR – “Interesting, it has the cranberry, chili heat, and orange liqueur flavours, but weak beer malt base. I liked it, though you’ll likely find it weird.”

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Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 5 (Central City) – Red Racer Idiot Strings Cranberry Chili Session Ale with Orange Liqueur, 4.5% ABV, 355 ml., (Surrey, BC, Canada) (*local BC Craft beer*)

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on the label:

“Made with one part nostalgia, one part creativity and one part secret family recipe, the idiot Strings is a holiday dinner inspired brew that goes best alongside classic family movies from the HI-8.”

Ingredients: Water, malted barley, cranberry juice, hops, orange liqueur, chili pepper, yeast.

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• Style: Spiced Ale (cranberry juice, orange liqueur, chili)
• Taste: sour tart cranberry fruity light malt creeper heat fake orange exhale
  
• Where I got it : BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $75 CAD – 24×341~355 ml., November 2018
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: if you like it weird
  
• What made an impression: it’s got all the advertised flavours – it’s complex
  

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Visual: Pours clear cranberry light brownish with a quickly dissipating small head, fine ringed retention, spread out micro streams.

Nose: faint musky cranberry juice, a bit of chili vegginess. (lvl-3)-pungency

Attack: incoming tart-sour

Mid-palate: slightly thin mouthfeel, light fizzy, tangy, (lvl-4-sweetness), light cranberry fruity

Finish: creeper heat, jalapeno greenness, thin barley malt sweet, tart finish, cheap orange liqueur exhale

Summary: Kind of a sour beer, a bit thin in terms of depth and body, but it does have complexity. Definitely anything but your typical beer, you may like this one if you are into strange brews like I am.

Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 6 – Naked Scotsman Scotch Ale

• My Rating: [C+], I gave it a [2.8 / 5] on Ratebeer.com

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TL:DR – “a bit alcohol forward, biscuity brown sugar malt, a bit of tang. Forgettable.”

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Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 6 (Parallel 49) – Naked Scotsman Scotch Ale, 7.5% ABV, 341 ml., (Vancouver, BC, Canada) (*local BC Craft beer*)

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on the front-left label:

“If you’ve ever wondered what’s under a scotsman’s kilt… keep looking! Here you’ll find this delicious scotch ale, brewed with munich, crystal and chocolate malts to give this wee heavy notes of chocolate and roast coffee. Like his salty cousin, this naked scotsman will take you on a tour of alba you won’t soon forget.”

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• Style: Scotch Ale
• Taste: boozy biscuity light roast slight fruity tang
  
• Where I got it : BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $75 CAD – 24×341~355 ml., November 2018
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: No
  
• What made an impression: some brightness despite the heavy alcohol presence
  

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Visual: Pours clear copper brown with large bits of sediment at the bottom of the glass, no head, a cluster of micro streams in the center.

Nose: caramel, biscuity malts. (lvl-6)-pungency

Attack: malty, heaviness

Mid-palate: alcohol detection, (lvl-7)-sweetness, sweet boozy biscuity malts, a bit of fizzy bright fruity tang

Finish: mild chocolate notes

Summary: A mix of light and mildly dark notes, this one is balance but doesn’t leave a lasting impression. Above average, but nothing special.

Yorkshire Stingo – Samuel Smith (Tadcaster, England)

• My Rating: [C+],  I gave it a (2.9 of 5) on Ratebeer.com

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TL:DR – “boozy raisiny malt base, too heavy (flavour not quite right) for my liking”

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Yorkshire Stingo – Samuel Smith, 8.0% ABV, 550 ml., (Tadcaster, England)

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on the back label:

“Bottle conditioned only. Previously 8.0%. Some of the oak casks at Samuel Smith’s date back more than a century with the individual oak staves being replaced by the Old Brewery coopers over the years. Gradually the casks soak in more & more of the character of the ale fermented in stone Yorkshire squares. Yorkshire Stingo is aged for at least a year, matured in these well-used oak casks in the brewery’s underground cellars deriving fruit, raisin, treacle toffee, Christmas pudding and slight oaky flavours, before being further naturally conditioned in bottle.”

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• Style: English Strong Ale
• Taste: raisin whiskey barley malt heavy boozy
  
• Where I got it : Legacy Liquor / Vancouver
• How much: $10 CAD (after 10% off) – 550 ml., September 2012
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: not really
  
• What made an impression: it’s heavy
  

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Visual: (cellared for 7 years). Gold foil on the cap. Pours translucent copper reddish brown without a head and barely any activity. Some large bubbles at the base of the glass.

Nose: wet brown sugar maltiness, musky wood. (lvl-6)-pungency

Attack: incoming boozy

Mid-palate: sourish light whiskey barley malt base, raisin, (lvl-7-sweetness), heavy weighty boozy

Finish: cherry/birch bark, dry oak, alcoholic heat

Summary: Boozy and sweet, quite heavy with a raisiny barley malt base flavour. I can appreciate the aging and old casks used, but it drinks a bit too harsh for my liking.

White Cranberry Wine – Blue Heron Fruit Winery (Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada)

• My Rating: [B]

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TL:DR – “Very sippable fruity cranberry, with balanced mouthfeel textures. Solid.”

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White Cranberry Wine (NV) – Blue Heron Fruit Winery, 11% ABV, 750 ml., (Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada) (*local BC fruit wine*)

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on the back label:

“Owned and operated by Flynn Farms Ltd., the Blue Heron Winery is located approximately 30km east of Vancouver in scenic Pitt Meadows. The Flynn family has been growing cranberries and blueberries for over half a century. Now, through the Blue Heron Winery they bring to you a full selection of fine fruit wines. Contains sulphites.”

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• Style: (Cranberry) Fruit Wine
• Taste: fruity juicy balance tangy tart cranberry subtle cinnamon
  
• Where I got it : @Winery
• How much: $14 CAD – 750 ml., sometime in 2018
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: decent
  
• What made an impression: Balanced textures and clean flavour
  

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Visual: Pours slightly hazy dull copper orange-peach with a bubble or two along the perimeter.

Nose: tangy prickly acidic red fruit, mildly raspberry-esque. (lvl-6)-pungency

Attack: crisp, clean entry, incoming fruity

Mid-palate: fruity brightness, (lvl-3-sweetness), clean cranberry juiciness, subtle tang, light acidity

Finish: residual fruity cranberry juice, cinnamon, soft tart sticky gums

Summary: Very pleasant and enjoyable textures and taste from start to finish. The cranberry flavor is some depth but isn’t incredibly complex. Luckily, the supporting acidity and sweetness help by adding repeatable sippability. Much much better than the Fort Wine White Cranberry I had in the previous post.

Ghost of the Bogs White Cranberry Wine – Fort Wine Co. (Fort Langley, BC, Canada)

• My Rating: [D+]

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TL:DR – “too much tart-sourness, weak cranberry. Not recommended.”

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Ghost of the Bogs White Cranberry Wine 2007, 11.0% ABV, 750 ml., (Fort Langley, BC, Canada) (*local BC fruit wine*)

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on the back label:

“Our Estate Cranberry Farm produces some of the finest white cranberries in North America. From this harvest, our winery produces this remarkably crisp and refreshing cranberry wine. Bound to surprise, and even astonish. The Ghost of the Bogs label celebrates the colourful and creative artwork that adorned wooden fruit crates in the early 1900’s era.”

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• Style: (Cranberry) Fruit Wine
• Taste: tart tangy sour dull cranberry watery finish
  
• Where I got it : BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $14 CAD – 750 ml., sometime in 2009
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: nope
  
• What made an impression: thin cranberry flavour
  

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Visual: Pours dull mahogany with a bit of haze, a few bubbles along the perimeter.

Nose: fruity cranberry juice with tangy brightness. (lvl-8)-pungency

Attack: sour, medium tart

Mid-palate: (lvl-2-sweetness), diluted cranberry, continued tart-tangy-sour

Finish: light cranberry exhale, wine acidity, thin flavour

Summary: Lots of tangy tart sourness in this, overpowering the thin and basic cranberry flavor found in the mids and finish. Drinkable, but not recommended. It becomes less palatable as the tartness compounds with each sip.

Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 4 – P49 Frosted Tips IPA

• My Rating: [B-], I gave it a [3.4 / 5] on Ratebeer.com

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TL:DR – “bright citrus hop oils, decent body, not too bitter. Very drinkable = Good”

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Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 4 – P49 Frosted Tips IPA, 6.4% ABV, 341 ml., (Vancouver, BC, Canada) (*local BC Craft beer*)

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on the front-left label:

“RRRRRRRRRAAAWWR! Coming at you like a lynx this winter IPA is the pick of the litter. Its unique combination of herbal, spicy and fruity hops is even better than catnip. You won’t get scratche by this fierce kitty… as long as you enjoy one right meow!”

 

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• Style: India Pale Ale
• Taste: orange citrus hop oil light toffee barley malt subtle bitter hops
  
• Where I got it : BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $75 CAD – 24×341~355 ml., November 2018
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: yes
  
• What made an impression: bright citrus hop oils, bitterness not harsh
  

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Visual: Pours cloudy pale orange without a head, a spotty half layer with a ring, several slow steady spread out micro streams.

Nose: orange citrus, tangerine (lvl-6)-pungency

Attack: crisp bite, tingly

Mid-palate: tangy bright orange citrus, (lvl-4-sweetness), slight bittersweet toffee barley malt

Finish: subtle soft bitter hops, mild resiny hops, a touch of prickly spice

Summary: Plenty of drinkability and sippability in this IPA. The orange citrus keeps you in after the initial crisp bite, leaving behind a satisfying barley malt bittersweetness accented at the end by subtle not-too-bitter hops. Good stuff.

Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 3 – Red Racer Fireside Warmth

• My Rating: [C]

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TL:DR – “Messy flavours, a bit of a gag reflex. Just average.”

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Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 3 – Red Racer Fireside Warmth (Spiced Apple Honey Saison), 6% ABV, 355 ml., (Surrey, BC, Canada) (*local BC Craft beer*)

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on the back of the can:

“Inspired by a fireside spiced apple cider, warming winter spice with apple juice and a touch of heny make this a smooth and spicy take on a classic winter bevvy.”

Ingredients: Water, malted barley , oats, apple juice, honey, hops, spices, vanilla, yeast.

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• Style: (spices, apple juice, honey, vanilla) Flavoured Saison
• Taste: messy spiced rough palate slightly sour barley malt
  
• Where I got it : BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $75 CAD – 24×341~355 ml., November 2018
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: no
  
• What made an impression: prominent spices
  

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Visual: Pours clear light copper orange with no head, slow steady micro streams.

Nose: mulled spices, honey malt (lvl-6)-pungency

Attack: dull tingly crisp

Mid-palate: clove/cinnamon, honey, background mild sour, rough spiced barley malt, (lvl-4-sweetness)

Finish: rough palate, browned apple

Summary: Spices are definitely there but there is no cohesion among all the ingredients. Quite messy, experimental for sure. No way does this taste like a classic spiced apple cider. At least the nose is good.

Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 2 – P49 Pils (Dryhopped Pilsner)

• My Rating: [C+]

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TL:DR – “subtle bitter easy drinking pils. Grainy, lightly sweet, but a bit metallic. Meal beer.”

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Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 2 – P49 Pils (Dryhopped Pilsner), 5.0% ABV, 341 ml., (Vancouver, BC, Canada) (*local BC Craft beer*)

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on the front-left label:

“A beer worthy of defending the realm over! We’ve taken our pilsner to new heights by dry hopping it to bring out even more spicy and herbal noble hop aromas. Grab your squire and trusty steed to protect this fine brew from any who would seek to deny you from enjoying it.”

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• Style: Pilsner
• Taste: soft grainy straw malt light sweet subtle hop bitter metallic
  
• Where I got it : BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $75 CAD – 24×341~355 ml., November 2018
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: not really
  
• What made an impression: balanced easy drinking
  

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Visual: Cool art, smooth sticker label. Pours mildly hazy light golden orange with minimal head, a thin layer of micro retention, some lacing, lots of active singular micro bubble streams.

Nose: bright tangerine citrusy sweet malt, slight farty (lvl-7)-pungency

Attack: crisp bite, soft creamy

Mid-palate: (lvl-2-sweetness), grainy-hay/straw malt

Finish: bright citrusy hop-slightly green, subtle bitter, slight metallic grain

Summary: A balanced and easy-drinking malty-light citrus-subtle bitter hopped pils. A good meal beer, decent as a sipper but light-medium depth = refreshing but doesn’t satisfy a curious palate.

Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 1 – Red Racer No Friends (on a powder day) Vanilla Stout

• My Rating: [B]

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TL:DR – “tastes delicious but flat mouthfeel. Good.”

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Central City / Parallel 49 – 2018 Calendar Alpine Adventure Pack Day 1 – Red Racer No Friends (on a powder day) Vanilla Stout, 5% ABV, 355 ml., (Surrey, BC, Canada) (*local BC Craft beer*)

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on the back of the can:

“When fresh powder lines the slopes, no friend is worth waiting for. Same goes with this smooth, vanilla infused stout. Get rolling on this year’s 24 beers in style with the No Friends on a Powder Day.”

Ingredients: Water, malted barley, oats, hops, lactose, vanilla, yeast.

also here’s a look at the 24-pack. Love the box.

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• Style: (vanilla, lactose) Flavoured Stout
• Taste: sweet roast chocolate nutty vanilla roasted barley
  
• Where I got it : BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $75 CAD – 24×341~355 ml., November 2018
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: No
• Recommended: yes
  
• What made an impression: enticing nose, easy drinking
  

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Visual: plastic wrapped label on a can. Pours dark brown with a smallish dissipating head, no retention, a few micro bubbles on the surface, no activity. Uneventful.

Nose: caramel, vanilla, nutty roast barley. Very inviting. (lvl-9)-pungency

Attack: sweet roast

Mid-palate: chocolate malt, light milky, (lvl-5-sweetness), soft vanilla

Finish: roasted caramelized barley malt, nutty, subtle lingering roast bitterness.

Summary: Super easy vanilla roasty barley malt stout with some chocolaty notes. All that’s missing is a thick velvety creamy mouthfeel. This one is rather flat but at least it drinks good. A good start and hopefully the rest of the 23 days of brews will only get better.