Review - Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam

Its been awhile since I've posted a beer review, but during a quick trip to the Cook St. Liquor Village to buy my roommate a replacement beer after a recent party, I found myself walking out with Weizen Bam, from Jolly Pumpkin. For myself, of course.

Review - Lighthouse Uncharted Belgian IPA

If I'm going to be totally honest, the beers produced by Lighthouse haven't always been my favourite. For years they produced a basic, dependable line-up with some quality offerings such as Race Rocks and Keepers Stout. But they seemed reluctant to experiment much, as they watched breweries like Phillips grab bigger and bigger shares of the market with dependable every day beers AND experimental, exciting ones. Rumour has it it was this unwillingness to experiment that led Jason Meyer and the other Driftwood boys to split from Lighthouse and start their own brewery (although the appeal of one's own operation must have been part of the siren's song). Since then Lighthouse has made an effort to try to move in new directions through its Big Flavour Series sold in 650 ml bombers, while maintaining its mainstay beers in more traditional bottles and cans. Not all of these new products have been successful in this reviewer's opinion, particularly the atrocious Shipwrecked, a 10% Triple IPA that tasted like equal parts ethanol and paint thinner. Others have been fabulous, such as Deckhand, which remains my favourite local saison to date, and that includes the quality saisons that have been brewed by Driftwood.

Review - Driftwood Twenty Pounder

This was supposed to be a post about my return to the world of homebrewing, chronicling my newest creation, an India Brown Ale that I have been pondering for many months. Unfortunately, my time in the bush has led me to forget many important elements of normal society, and not just those relating to personal hygiene. Indeed, the fact that homebrew shops are closed on Sunday escaped me until Brewday (Sunday) was at hand, and now the India Brown will have to wait.

Review - Russian River Redemption

This could be my last post for awhile. I've just been told that I'll soon be headed to Ontario, to help fight the forest fires that have been raging there this summer. I'll be staying in a bush camp a long way from anywhere, so drinking new beer, never mind writing new posts, could prove difficult. I will be back however, and by the time my pull in the East is done, it will be time to head back to Victoria, and to return to my brewing equipment, the new beer group, and yes, this blog. But this is not a blog about my comings and goings as a wildfire fighter, so on to the beer.

Review - Russian River Damnation

I find that sometimes when I've amassed a collection of difficult to find beers, there are often one or two that tend to sit around longer than the others, waiting to be tasted. It is not that I imagine they will be inferior, rather it is their perceived quality that persuades me to wait for that perfect moment. So it has been with the beers I collected from Russian River, a brewery in Santa Rosa, California, just north of San Francisco. Many consider Russian River to be among the very best micro-breweries in the US, a brewery that creates beers of nearly mythic reputation, such as Pliny the Elder, a beer some say is the greatest IPA ever brewed. This stellar reputation has caused me to hold off on trying Damnation, but no longer, the time is at hand.

Review - Brasserie d' Achouffe McChouffe

I'm having a bit of a hard time getting excited about writing yet another review. This has nothing to do with the beer in question, but more about my eagerness to get back to some homebrewing action. One more month of firefighting to go and I'll be back in the saddle, can't wait.

Today's beer in question certainly has a fine pedigree. The Brasserie d'Achouffe produces Houblon Chouffe, a beer considered by some to be the best Belgian IPA around. McChouffe is an even more unorthodox brew than Houblon, and is described as a "Scottish Abbey Ale." Get your mind around that one.

Review - Stone Cali-Belgie IPA

A "style" of beer that has been of great interest to me lately is the Belgian-IPA. One of the most exciting things about this type of beer is that it hasn't been formalised yet into an official style with official guidelines and parameters. Because of this it is being currently defined by brewers as they continue to brew beers of this type. An interesting example of this style is Stone Brewing's Cali-Belgie IPA. It is actually the same beer as another of their offerings, the excellent Stone IPA, but fermented with a strain of Belgian yeast.

Review Green Flash Le Freak

I first cast eyes on Le Freak from San Diego's Green Flash Brewing Co. during a recent visit to the fine Cook Street Liquor Village. It looked like everything I dream of. Described as an "American Imperial IPA meets Belgian Tripel," this sounded like a beer to satisfy the hop monster inside me as well as one to quench my cravings for fruit and spice that only a Belgian beer can conjure. When the guy behind the counter sang its praises calling it an "IPA first and a Belgian second" I was stoked for the hop tsunami that would soon be unleashed on my tastebuds.

Review - Upright Brewing Seven

Over the past several months I have written a number of reviews of beers from Upright Brewing out of Portland, Oregon. Overall, I have found their beers to be interesting, unique and of high quality. The fact that their house yeast strain, Wyeast 3711, is one of my favourites, the same yeast I have used in a number of beers including Disheveled Dwarf and The Harvester, has only made me enjoy them all the more. As their beers have been such a treat in the past I was looking forward to reviewing Seven, the last of Upright's offerings I had yet to write about.

Review - Boulevard Brewing Tank 7

One of the items I brought back from my trip to Portland was Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale from Boulevard Brewing. It is so-named because when the brewery was experimenting with farmhouse beers, the right combination of ingredients came together in tank 7, a piece of equipment known for being highly tempermental.

Review - Driftwood Belle Royale

After spending the past month wading through swamps and being devoured by horseflies the size of hummingbirds its nice to be back in Victoria. Upon my return I was happy to see that Driftwood has again brought out their Belgian cherry ale, Belle Royale. Last year I missed its release so I was pretty excited to pick up a bottle on my first evening back on the good ol' Island. Similar to the fantastic Spring Rite that Driftwood recently released, it's difficult to categorise Belle Royale. Driftwood describes it as a "strong Belgian-inspired ale" that is made with sour Morello cherries. Reviews I read of it from last year were impressive, so I definitely had some expectations as I popped the top and poured my first glass.

Review - Rochefort 10

Building on my last review of the abbey-style Guldenberg, I recently was able to sample and review Rochefort 10, from the Trappist brewery of the same name in Southern Belgian. Rochefort is one of the eight official Trappist monastery breweries and has been brewing beer since the end of the 16th century. They produce three beers: 6, 8, and 10. The alcoholic strength of these beers roughly corresponds to the numbers, a holdover from the days before highly accurate alcohol calculation.

Review - De Ranke Guldenberg

With the biggest Canucks game in nearly two decades looming, I find myself in the unlikely location of Fort McMurray, fighting one of the biggest wildfires in Canadian history. It's a funny world sometimes. Unfortunately for me, the rig camp I'm staying in that houses 6000 workers is completely dry on penalty of expulsion. Fortunately for the reader I have a couple of reviews saved up for such an occasion.

Review - Driftwood Spring Rite

I apologise for the long delay since my last post, but all my attentions for the past couple of weeks have been focused on fighting the Slave Lake fire in Northern Alberta. I've finally got a few days off now and I'm back on the good ol' Island for a bit of r and r. One of the bonuses of getting down here is finally being able to try Driftwood's new concoction I've been hearing so much about, Spring Rite.

Review - Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale 4.5% abv

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales is one of an increasing number of breweries in America focusing on old world styles and old world methods with an American twist. Similar to US breweries such as Russian River, Upright, and Ommegang, Jolly Pumpkin uses brewing techniques that were almost unheard of on this side of the Atlantic not so long ago. Among these methods are open fermentation, allowing for the potential for wild yeasts to alter the character of the beer, long maturation in oak casks as opposed to stainless steel tanks to create complexity of flavour, and natural carbonation in the bottle.

Review - Upright Brewing Six 6.7%abv

Time for my first review from the bush. Before I get started I should probably mention there may be some limitations to my reviews now that my existence consists of working as a wildfire fighter and living in a van. It's entirely possible, for instance, that my glassware may not be as clean as would be ideal, so if I mention a beer's quickly collapsing head, take it with a grain of salt. If I start to talk about overpowering aromas of diesel fuel and wood smoke, well... it's probably not the beer's fault. With that being said, let's get onto the review.

Review - Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout

Southern Tier Brewing is not known for their mellow beers. They are purveyors of numerous "Imperial" beers, meaning usually more malt, more alcohol and more hops. Perhaps their most famous brew is their Unearthly Imperial India Pale Ale, a beer that is incredibly drinkable considering its staggering alcohol percentage. Continuing in this tradition is the Imperial Choklat Stout, made with actual bittersweet Belgian chocolate.

Review - Elysian Bete Blanche Tripel - 7.5%abv

If I owned a brewery, I'd probably want it to be a lot like Elysian Brewing. Based in Seattle, Elysian has been turning out amazing beer since 1996. The Wise ESB and The Immortal IPA are favourites of mine, and their unusual Avatar Jasmine IPA, made with actual jasmine flowers, is definitely worth a try. Not only do I love Elysian's beer, but their marketing is awesome too. Their branding revolves around mythology, the brewery's name itself referring to the Elysian Fields, an ancient Greek afterlife reserved for the heroic. Most of their beer names follow this trend, but not so with their Spring seasonal tripel, Bete Blanche. This beer's name seems to be a twist on the French expresion bete noir, meaning something dangerous or fearful.

Review - Upright Brewing Four 4.5%abv

The more I read about Upright Brewing, the more I like them. Its not just that they specialise in one of my favourite styles, the saison, but it certainly helps. It also helps that many of their beers are made using (home brew geek warning) Wyeast's 3711 French Saison yeast, a strain that I love, and that I've been using a lot lately. Most of all, these guys seem to be the perfect fusion of the production of the commercial brewer and the innovation and freedom of the home brewer. Their four year-round beers are all unique and hard to define. Their 8 seasonal beers feature an oyster stout made with real oysters, an obscure German wheat beer made with salt and two different bacteria-soured versions of their beer Four, one made with cherries and the other with chili peppers. If I ever was to work in a brewery, I think I would want it to be just like this one. Upright's brewpub will be a definite stop on my upcoming trip to Portland, but enough about that, onto the beer.

Guest Reviewer - Beer in BC rates Pretty Things Jack D'Or

I'd like to introduce a guest reviewer today, Dave from Beer in BC, another local blogger who writes about our burgeoning craft beer scene. When I think of a beer blogger, I imagine a self-righteous prick, who likes nothing better than sticking his nose in the air and the sound of his own voice. (maybe I'm just imagining myself?) Whatever the case Dave doesn't fit this mold. A man of few words who spends much of his days demolishing buildings, the first time I met Dave he told me a can of beer is just as good as a bottle. Definitely not your typical beer geek. He was kind enough to put together the following review of Pretty Things Jack D'Or, and if you want to read my review of this unusual beer, you can read it on Beer in BC. All your's Dave.