Graham Cracker Ale – Hearthstone Brewing Co. (North Vancouver, BC, Canada)

• My Rating: [B-],  I gave it a (3.2 of 5) on Ratebeer.com

Graham Cracker Ale – Hearthstone Brewing Company, 8.0% ABV – 30 IBUs, 473 ml., (North Vancouver, BC, Canada) (*local BC craft beer)

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printed on the back of the can:

“In 1829, Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham invented the graham cracker in an attempt at staving off an epidemic that was sweeping the nation – masturbation.

As a tribute to Reverend Graham, we decided to concoct a graham cracker brew with 50 kg of graham crackers in each batch, resulting in notes of honey, vanilla and all around graham cracker goodness.

So instead of knocking one out this evening, how about knocking one back with Hearthstone! Cheers!”

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• Style: (flavoured – graham cracker) American Strong Ale
• Taste: Sweetish toffee bran cookie bitter hop astringent biscuity malt
  
• Where I got it : High Point / Vancouver
• How much: $4.15 CAD – 473ml., February 2016
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: …mmm, nah.
  

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Visual: Pours medium dark brown with a smallish head, sticky lacing, a thin layer of retention, singular steady streams here and there.

Nose: sweet toasted cookie malt (lvl-5)-pungency

Attack: crisp bite

Mid-palate: creamy-crisp, (lvl-5-sweetness), bran cookie, soft transitional sour astringency, background bitter hops

Finish: vanilla, toasted biscuity toffee malt exhale.

Summary: It sounded gimmicky at first (~a la pizza beer), but actually, it’s quite drinkable with decent depth, complexity and balance. Somewhat astringently hoppy in the finish.

He’Brew Jewbelation Fifteen – Shmaltz Brewing Co. (NY, USA)

• My Rating: [B+],  I gave it a (3.7 of 5) on Ratebeer.com

Jewbelation Fifteen – Shmaltz Brewing Company, 15% ABV, 12 fl.oz., (Clifton Park, NY, USA)

“15th Anniversary Ale – Brewed with 15 malts & 15 hops”

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He’Brew 2011 Holiday Gift Pack Summary:

1. Miraculous Jewbelation 8th Anniversary Ale (American Strong Ale) – [B-]
2. Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A (IIPA) – [A-]
3. Hop Manna Test Batch #2 (IPA) – [B]
4. Genesis Ale (Amber Ale) – [C+]
5. Messiah Bold (Brown Ale) – [C+]
6. Origin Pomegranate Ale (Fruit Beer) – [B]
7. Reunion – A Beer for Hope 2011 (Spiced Ale) – [B+]
8. Jewbelation Fifteen (American Strong Ale) – [B+]

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on the front-left label:

In Jewish tradition, 15 marks major commemorations: Passover (the Exodus), Sukkot (40 years of wandering), and Tu Bishvat (the New Year for Mother Nature) all start on the 15th day of the Hebrew month. 15 suggests a certain wisdom from experience: “Old is always 15 years from now.” – Bill Cosby. “We are always more anxious to be distinguished for one talent we do not possess than 15 we do.” – Mark Twain. After Andy Warhol, does 15 forever sound profound or frivolous? “In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes.” “Fame is the thirst of youth.” – Lord Byron. “The fact that my 15 minutes of fame has been extended is somewhat surprising to me and completely baffling to my wife.” – Barack Obama. For Matt EP: Hall of Famer Bart Starr rocked #15 as MVP in the Packers’ first two Super Bowl victories. “South Park” evolved from “Jesus vs. Santa” and is now entering its 15th season. “We’re rehabbed and ready for our 15 minutes of shame.” – Marilyn Manson. Lyrics from Barry Manilow’s 2011 album, 15 Minutes, released on QVC Network: “Make me a deal, I’ll sell my guts for glory.” “Fame and power are the objects of all men. Even their partial fruition is gained by very few, and that at the expense of social pleasure, health, conscience, life.” – Benjamin Disraeli. After 1,972,350 sets of 15 minutes of Shmaltz Brewing, I’ll hoist my Jewbelation Quinceañera and sing 15 rounds of ¡Viva la Evolución de He’brew! L’Chaim!

Jeremy Cowan, proprietor

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• Style: American Strong Ale
• Taste: Heavy thick sweet sherry cherry chocolate alcoholic toffee molasses concentrated barley malt
  
• Where I got it : Brewery Creek / Vancouver
• How much: $39 CAD (after 10% off) – 8 x 12 fl.oz. + glassware, May 2012
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: yes, be prepared for some heaviness
  

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Visual: (cellared for 4 years). Pours brownish-black with a super-creamy smallish head, thick ringed retention, half-sticky lacing, varied speed scattered streams.

Nose: heavy sweet caramel barley malts. (lvl-7)-pungency

Attack: very thick viscosity, half oily-slick

Mid-palate: cherry chocolate cake, creamy CO2, background tangy-zing subdued alcohol, (lvl-8-sweetness), molasses, concentrated barley malt, sherry, woody

Finish: light roasty caramel sweet exhale

Summary: A big bomb of thick heavy flavours with a touch of tangy-zing to keep it all in check. Although at 15% it’s surprisingly sippable. It does become taxing on the palate after 10 oz.

He’Brew Miraculous Jewbelation Eighth Anniversary Ale – Shmaltz Brewing Co. (NY, USA)

• My Rating: [B-],  I gave it a (3.3 of 5) on Ratebeer.com

He’Brew Miraculous Jewbelation 8th Anniversary Ale – Shmaltz Brewing Company – Brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing, 8% ABV, 12 fl.oz., (Clifton Park, NY, USA)

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-I dug up an old Holiday Gift Pack from 2012! It includes 8 interesting beers, a rather simple commemorative glass, a box of cheap candles, and an empty bottle to boot!

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on the front-left label:

“8 is a miraculous number in Jewish life. Chanukah. Passover, and Sukkot span 8 days. 8 humans survived the deluge on Noah’s ark. Maimonides delineated 8 levels of tzedakah (charity). A bris (circumcision) comes on day 8. King Solomon completed the First Temple in the 8th month of the 8th year…. ‘Seinfeld’ ran 8 years. Dylan has 8 Grammys; Babs, 8 Golden Globes. Einstein couldn’t write until age 8. Freud, the eldest of 8 children, took 8 years to complete his medical degree. Mel Brooks stole a cap gun from Woolworths at age 8, and ‘ The Producers,’ won 8 Other Critic Circle Awards. Winona Ryder had 8 prescription medications in her purse when arrested for shoplifting. 2004 brings a most personal miracle: The 8th Anniversary of HE’BREW – The Chosen Beer! Miraculous Jewbelation celebrates all he dedicated souls with the thutzpah to rise up and to risk lighting those final precious drops of sacred oil. To the courageous and the curious, the clowns and the creators. To all the Tribe of Shmaltz… To Life! L’Chaim!”

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• Style: American Strong Ale
• Taste: Dry roasted coffee sour molasses brown sugar caramel barley malt vanilla exhale
  
• Where I got it : Brewery Creek / Vancouver
• How much: $39 CAD (after 10% off) – 8 x 12 fl.oz. + glassware, May 2012
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: 50/50, get a new bottle with more CO2
  

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Visual: (cellared for 4 years). Pours deep dark brown with a smallish dissipating head, ringed retetion w/ hazy layer, steady streams along the perimeter, suspended sediment.

Nose: thick liquid barley malts and other grains. (lvl-4)-pungency

Attack: thick viscosity, flat CO2

Mid-palate: dry roast, background coffee sour, (lvl-4-sweetness), molasses, brown sugar, thick liquid caramel barley malt

Finish: residual caramel malty sweet, roasted barley and vanilla exhale.

Summary: It drinks something like a sweeter dry Irish stout with a touch more coffee sourness and more complex roasted notes. Solid, but wished for more creaminess as it drank quite flat.

The Craft BeerAdvent 2014 Calendar Day #23 – God Advent (Norway)

The Craft BeerAdvent Calendar 2014 Day #23

• My Rating: [B+],  I gave it a (3.7 of 5) on Ratebeer.com

God Advent – Nøgne Ø, 10% ABV – 250ml., (Netherlands)

on the front label:

“Advent is a season with mixed feelings for Norwegians. For starters is is all about getting prepared for Christmas. Gorgeous! But it is also a season where it gets darker day by day. Which indeed is a challenge for every individual. This beer is supposed to balance both these emotions. Let’s call it bitter sweet.”

• Style: American Strong Ale
• Taste: Big brown sugar barley malt bomb
  
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: yes
  

Visual: Pours murky root beer brown with minimal dissipating head, thin ringed retention, steady scattered streams.

Nose: wet/dank barley malt. (lvl-3)-pungency

Attack: crisp, slick-thick, incoming malts

Mid-palate: (lvl-8)-sweetness, (MAIN) caramel, thick barley malt, tangy-soft sour, brown sugar, fig

Finish: residual malty sweet, alcohol heaviness.

Summary: Big brown sugar barley malt bomb – heavy flavour yet still very drinkable.

Arrogant Bastard Ale – Stone Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA, USA)

• My Rating: [B+],  I gave it a (3.8 of 5) on Ratebeer.com

Arrogant Bastard Ale – Stone Brewing Co., 7.2% ABV, 1 pt. 6 fl.oz., (San Diego, California, USA)

• Style: American Strong Ale
• Taste: Full bitter pine grassy hopped creamy smooth toffee malt again bitter finish
  
• Where I got it : BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $9.50 – 1 pt. 6 fl.oz., April 2015
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: yes, enjoy the bitter-smoothess
  

Visual: Pours deep translucent reddish-brown with a gorgeous super frothy lasting head, very sticky thick lacing, 2mm retention, barely any activity – a bubble here and there.

Nose: light toasted caramel malts, a touch of booze, citrusy hop cones. (lvl-3)-pungency

Attack: immediate biting bitter hops, silky-micro bubbly feel

Mid-palate: metallic, (lvl-4)-sweetness, (MAIN) toffee malts, brown sugar, pine hops

Finish: bold hoppy bitter dryness, grass, bitter finish.

Summary: Full-bodied, great texture, bold bitter hops, sweet malty mids = overall great balance and complexity to keeps you sipping and flavour searching. Could be a little less aggressively bitter at the finish.

XS Dead Guy Ale – Rogue Ales (Newport, OR, USA)

• My Rating: [B-],  I gave it a (3.5 of 5) on Ratebeer.com

XS Dead Guy Ale 2013 vintage (aka Double Dead Guy Ale) – Rogue Ales, 9% ABV, 1 pt. 9.4 fl.oz., (Newport, Oregon, USA)

printed on the back:

• Style: American Strong Ale
  
• Taste: Alcoholic toasted sweet caramel malt citrus hop
  
• Where I got it: Liquor Barn (Hastings/Burnaby)
• How much: $15 (after 10% off) – 1 pt 9.4 fl.oz., February 2015
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: yes
  

Visual: Cellared for 2 years (2013), gorgeous painted black ceramic bottle with a black bailer-top. Pours translucent ruby red with barely any head, a thin hazy micro layer, a few micro tightly knit micro streams here and there.

Nose: malty sweet caramel, lightly toasted, hints of bourbon, banana bread. (lvl-6)-pungency

Attack: slick-thick creamy, dense maltiness, background hoppy bitter, bourbon notes

Mid-palate: full-bodied, (lvl-5)-sweetness, alcohol detection, (main) medium roast barley malt, toasted caramel, orange citrus

Finish: bitter generic citrus hopped, off-dry malty finish.

Summary: Love the ceramic bottle. Big body with lots of toasted caramel malt and a citrus hop to balance it out. Kind of straightforward after a glass, but enjoyable.

Equinox Ale – Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma, CA, USA)

• My Rating: [C+],  I gave it a (3 of 5) on Ratebeer.com

Equinox Ale – Lagunitas Brewing Co., 8% ABV, 1 pt. 6 fl.oz., (Petaluma, California, USA)

• Style: (Oat) American Strong Ale
  
• Taste: Biting bitter hoppy forest
  
• Where I got it: BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $6 – 1 pt 6 fl.oz., June 2015
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: hopheads only, still a bit unbalanced
  

Visual: pours deep copper orange with a smallish super creamy head, 2mm retention, streams upon streams of steady bubbles, a bit of lacing.

Nose: resin-spruce hops, soap undertones. (lvl-4)-pungency

Attack: crisp-creamy, immediate pine-hop biting bitterness,

Mid-palate: (lvl-3)-sweetness, (MAIN) pine-spruce forestiness, toffee-caramel malts.

Finish: barley malt, spruce, biting lingering bitter hop finish.

Summary: Initially quite good, decent fullness to the body, very biting hops that compound sip after sip. Lots of green foresty flavours in this, gave me a mild headache halfway through. Super sharp hops.

Conflux Series No.1 – Deschutes & Hair of the Dog Collaboration (Bend, Oregon, USA)

• My Rating: C
  

Conflux Series No.1 – Deschutes & Hair of the Dog Collaboration, 11.6% ABV – 12 fl.oz., (Bend, Oregon, USA)

on the front-side label:

“Deschutes Brewery and Hair of the Dog Brewing join forces to weave The Dissident and The Stoic and Fred and Adam into an artistic collage of cask-aging alchemy. Damn. Beer is fun!

Conflux No. 1 – Malt beverage aged in distilled spirit and wine oak barrels.”

• Style: (barrel-aged) American Strong Ale
• Taste: Red wine sweet/acidic brown sugar malt beer
• Where I got it : Brewery Creek
• How much: $12 (after 10% off) – 12 fl.oz., December 2012
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: not quite
  

Visual: Pours cloudy pale beer bottle brown with almost no head, thin ringed retention, several very slow streams.

Nose: Soy sauced malts with some fishiness. (lvl-5)-pungency

Attack: dense tangy-sour malts

Mid-palate: (lvl-8)-dense sweetness, medium sour/tangy, (MAIN) sweet malts, brown sugar/candi sugar, mild soy sauce, red wine grapiness + acidity

Finish: oaked malts, soft bitter sweet malted hopped finish.

Summary: Hmm.. normally I love barrel-aged beers but I’m not quite sold on this one. The acidity/sourness doesn’t quite balance out nicely with the brown sugar malts. I must say the high ABV is well hidden though. Brewdog does a better job with their similar style Abstrakt AB:10 (A).

Lagunitas Lucky 13. alt

Lagunitas Lucky 13 .alt, 8.8% ABV – 1 pt 6 fl.oz., (Petaluma, CA, USA)

On the front label:

“From the first day of the first mash of the first recipe in the first brewhouse in the first space to this oasis 13 years on the road; We have worked hard to walk in the footsteps of our hero brewers- The Noble Brewer of the planet’s only legal Steam Beer, and Oregon’s Rebel Brewer from Newport. Thirteen years down the road, we have found our own voice as brewers but our admiration for the Great Ones has not dimmed one bit. If we walked well down the hero’s path ourselves, perhaps we too have been an inspiration for others. Beer is a Bronze Age business and we feel honored to have left our footprints on it’s path into history, at the same time leaving our flavors on your buds. Thanks for your trust over the years and we hope you enjoy this specialty brewed Hi-Gravity Auburn offering.”

• Style: (American) Strong Ale
• My Rating: B
  
• Taste Profile: Fruity grapefruit bitterness -> medium bitter hops/mango/pine -> sharp bittery hoppy off-dry finish.
• Where I got it: BC Liquor Stores
• How much: $6, October 2012
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: yes
  

Tasting notes: pours golden clear copper orange, smallish foamy head, good retention, sticky lacing, lots of active streams. Strong citrus aromas and an IPA hoppy nose. Drinks with a nice fruity 7/10-sweetness, medium-soft bitter orange peel bitterness up front, sharp-soft hops, creamy-light fizz mouthfeel, grapefruit, tangerine, mango, pine, malts, finishing sharp bittery hoppy. Medium complexity, medium depth, good transitions, good carry, decent drinkability. After many sips this one weighs on the palate.

Pike Tandem Double Ale – The Pike Brewing (Seattle, WA, USA)

Pike Tandem Double Ale – The Pike Brewing Co., 7.0% ABV – 1pt 6fl.oz., (Seattle, WA, USA)

Ingredients: Water, Malt, Hops, Coriander, Organic Sugar, Yeast.

• Style: American Strong Ale
• My Rating: B-
  
• Why I like it: well-balanced and drinkable medium dark ale
• Where I got it: W.16th
• How much: $6 (after 10%), 12/2011
• Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
  
• Would I recommend this to beer aficionados: yes

Tasting notes: pours almost black yet brown, small head, smallish micro CO2, some visible slow-moving CO2 streams. Sweet medium caramel malts on the nose. Bright fizziness up front, followed by a medium sweet (5/10) malted caramel mid, coriander in the background, creamy fizzy mouthfeel, light chocolate, finishes with mild hops, light oak, and a medium soft and lingering bitter finish (6/10). Medium complexity, medium depth, good transitions, good carry, nice drinkability. Solid though nothing exceptional.