 Oakes (8114), gone rambling, Cambodia
| 3.4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 6/10 | 3/5 | 14/20 |
Apr 20, 2006 Dark brown. Chocolatey, slighlty roasty aroma with a hint of dark fruit. Soft body with a somewhat harsh black patent note. The milk chocolate is still there, but more in the background. I’m not entirely sure what to make of it, but I could see drinking it.
Rastacouere (5561), Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 5/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 14/20 |
Mar 23, 2006 Updated: Apr 9, 2006Clear mahogany beer that grows a model of an off-white head in my St-Ambroise glass. Lasting 1-inch cover of mostly regular bubbles that leaves a souvenir on the glass sides with every sip. Well extracted malts bring forth gentle hazelnut aromas. Honest roastiness contributes soft chocolate nuances that borders coffee. Toasted bread and strong leafy aromatic hops pair along to create a balanced quaffer. Warmed up, a siding minty/fluoride note grows up in the nose as well as a dry version of pistachios ice cream, adding some depth to this unpretentious offering. Well supporting carbonation, medium bodied, almost airy texture. Well well well, if I rated strictly to style, this would be a stunningly successful brown ale, hoppy and lively with a long bittersweet (nuts, chocolate, floral hops) finish. It grows quite bitter after a few sips, definitely quite dry and keeps hinting at an astringency that doesn’t reach dramatic proportions. Rating for strict pleasure, it is still an achievement.
MartinT (5068), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 |
Mar 28, 2006 Updated: Jul 3, 2006Any first impressions?
-A healthy head recedes over the attractive, velvety brown.
-A rich, smoky, nutty caramel contains either lots of butterscotchy components, or a good dose of controlled diacetyl.
-An ingenious cohesion of roasted malt and resinous hop bitterness gathers other flavors in their purpose.
-A well-nourished yet drinkable body is maybe showered too hard by the effervescent yet fitting carbonation.
What if you dig deeper?
-An important lingering bitterness is mostly comprised of wooden hoppiness, but the roasted malts participate as well.
-Citrusy hop undertones are tasted within the toasted bread crumbs.
-There is enough caramel maltiness to support the multi-directional bitterness.
-A very successful brown ale for bitterheads.
Bottle; early 2006 release.
Lubiere (4549), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 14/20 |
Mar 28, 2006 Dark reddish brown ale with a thin dissipating light lacing moka head. Pleasant butter nuts in aroma, actually quite pleasant and classy. In mouth, crisp metallic hops, with good nutty malt, roasted coffee beans, very sustained and rich. The more I Taste, the more I like it! A prize winner for sure. Bought at Joanettes, March 2006.
muzzlehatch (4427), Burlington, Vermont, USA
| 3.4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 14/20 |
Jun 9, 2006 341 ml bottle from Metro Joanette in Verdun, Quebec (May 2006) sampled at cellar temperature from a St. Ambroise glass. A billowy off-white, creamy head half-fills the glass and leaves thick spidery lacing; beneath it lies a very dark but clear chestnut liquid....aromatic herbs and light unripe nuts struggle to overcome a mild soapiness in the nose; caramel malts, a touch of vanilla and a whiff of licorice arrive soon to help....the body is surprisingly sharp, bitter and even a bit acidic, I’d say it leans more towards a robust if somewhat light-bodied porter....burnt sugars, tarry malts and acrid nuts offer a potent taste sensation and the bitterness continues on to a long, rather harsh finish...slightly low carbonation but it prickles with the bitterness....very very interesting example of this style, very original though rather hard to drink, the combination of dryness, a rather light body and harsh burnt/bitter qualities isn’t my cup of hop-tea. More fascinating than good, but fascinating enough that I’d recommend it.
tiggmtl (4311), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| 3.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 14/20 |
Apr 20, 2006 Sweet chocolate, coffee liquer and hazelnut greet the nose with plenty of caramel. Clear but almost opaque dark borwn body with ruby highlights is crowned by a dense and lasting tan head that recedes eventually to cover with some patchwork lacing. Thick chewy malts are joined by plenty of dark malt bitterness. Espresso overtones and chocolatey sweetness abound. The aftertaste is a lasting bittersweet chocolate along with some hazelnut. Bitterness is quite bold and seems as much from the malts as from the hops. Medium body is silky smooth with a soft-textured, lively effervescence that enlivens the mouthfeel. Interesting in that the transition from home brew to commercial brew appears to have radically changed the character of this this beer as the hops were far more apparent in what I remember from judging best of show last year, but that being said, this is also a very interesting offering. Tulip glass. Cellar temperature. Bottle (gift from the brewer).
Sammy (4049), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| 3.4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 4/5 | 6/10 | 3/5 | 15/20 |
Aug 17, 2006 I do not expect much from brown beers so am usually not disapointed. This is about average for the style, above average carbonation and licorice. Country brown colour with good amount of foam. Drinkable with stir fry.
HogTownHarry (4020), Toronto (Harbourfront), Ontario, Canada
| 3.3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 6/10 | 2/5 | 13/20 |
Apr 11, 2006 Bottle (341ml). via trade with Lubiere. Poured deep ruby brown with a smallish beige head. Very dry roasty caramel/butterscotch malt aroma, with bitter chocolate and coffee grounds, dry floral hops on warming - more like a traditional porter but I’m not complaining, this smells great. Taste is very bitter and herbal, with a long celery, earthy finish and aftertaste - very odd. Mouthfeel is somewhat watery, very astringent, only mildly carbonated - very unbalanced, but certainly unique - I wish the roastiness in the aroma had translated to the flavour.
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