North Coast Old Rasputin 12th Anniversary Russian Imperial Stout

In an exciting development, I am writing up this beer procured not on a trip to the United States, but rather on a trip two blocks away from my work at a local beer speciality shop. That's right, a true blue bourbon barrel aged stout has made it across the border and into our stores. I've been ranting about the beauty of wood aged beers ever since I lived down in California where such things are not strange oddities but much loved companions. If the recent shipment of this rare beer from North Coast is any indication, we may be able to begin moderate rejoicing here in British Columbia.

Not only is this a proper wood aged stout, it's an absolutely fantastic one, made using the standard Old Rasputin IRS, an outstanding 'standard' version of the style, as the base. The Old Rasputin has been available in this market for at least a year, and that was exciting enough in itself for BC beer lovers. The 12th anniversary, however, takes the joy to the next level.

This beer smells like goodness: vanilla, biscuit, nuts - all very clear bourbon notes. However, you can also smell the nice roasty elements of the malt through all this. And, unlike some beers made in this style, the Old Rasputin 12th Anniversary is balanced and does not hide the stout beneath the wood. The palate is out of this world yummy: hazlenuts, candied almonds, vanilla, biscuits, and roasted coffee and dark chocolate from the malts. While this will definitely get better with age, it's also drinking great right now and is smooth and creamy and hides its 11% booze very well. An impeccably balanced beer and one of the best barrel aged stouts I've had the fortune of tasting.

The one downside here is the price of this beer in this market which is more than double what you would pay for this in the U.S. - of course due to the high markups and taxes from our ludicrous liquor distribution and regulation system. However, even at the crazy inflated price, this beer is a must buy for any beer lover in the province. Get it for a christmas gift if you have to, but do yourself a favour and drink this beer. There is a reason I'm giving it my highest rating.

Excellent+
$26 at Viti and Brewery Creek

NB: I have to apologize for all the superlatives, but this is truly both an exciting beer and an exciting moment for the BC craft beer community. I plan to help support this movement by attending tomorrow's Winter Caskival at DIX in downtown Vancouver. I hope some of you can join me.

Driftwood Sartori "Wet Hopped" Harvest I.P.A.

Today I stopped by the 100th cask rotation at the Alibi Room here in Vancouver for a special selection of BC microbrewed beers. The place was hopping and filled with both beer geeks and beer industry, including many of the brewers themselves. There were quite a few one off beers being poured, but the one that really stood out to me was this unique "wet hopped" India Pale Ale from BC's newest brewery Driftwood.

"Wet hops" refers to the fact that this beer is brewed with fresh hops transported (while in water) directly from the hop farm to the brewery. Typically hops are dried before they are shipped and then added to the liquid product of the mash. Using fresh hops is uncommon, and adds a unique aromatic quality to the beer.

This particular I.P.A. had tons of flowers, fresh citrus and subtle forest notes. The cask made it very smooth drinking, but did not dull the punch of the hops. The hops were perfectly in balance and the IBU's present but in check. I'm not sure how to describe this beer any better, but I can say that I think this is by far the best I.P.A. I've had from British Columbia and I think it can compete with some of the best examples from the U.S. This beer is a superb accomplishment for such a young microbrewing industry, and if it is a sign of things to come, then the B.C. beer scene is about to get a heck of a lot more exciting.

Excellent
$6/pint - bottles no longer available, but hopefully will appear again next year.

Brouwerji Fonteinen Doesjel Old Lambic in Oak 2006

This Gueze Lambic is from the legendary Fonteinen of Belgium, who have become even more legendary after a warehouse fire destroyed their entire stock about a year ago. As a result, their beer prices shot up and the beers themselves became rare specialty commodities that collectors now prize highly.

Lucky for me, the last time I was in San Francisco, I stopped by Healthy Spirits, an awesome beer store in the Castro district, and found a bottle of this taunting me with its simple beauty. So yes, like any faithful beer geek I picked up a bottle.

I opened this a few months later, and found it to be one of the best Geuze style lambics I have had the fortune to taste. The nose has the classic notes of must, funk, damp cellar, oak, wood, and some dried fruits. This is very expressive aromatically and has crazy nuances that newer Geuzes just don't reveal.

The palate had citrus, dried apricot, wood, forest, and pine needles all mashed together in a very robust, and yet low alcohol, potion of goodness. The beer was smooth, slightly off-dry and had great complexity. In the end, it confirmed the legend - a rare and singular offering. If you ever see one of these beers pick it up immediately, you will not be disappointed.

Excellent
$15 / 375ml at Healthy Spirits

Brooklyn Brewing Black Chocolate Stout 06-07

I'm not sure that I've ever written up what is perhaps not only my favourite go to stout, but also one of the best balanced and most ageable stouts out there. Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout is actually not brewed with chocolate, but rather with copious amounts of chocolate malts. One can certainly taste and smell all levels of dark chocolate in this wonderfully made beer. Further, as part of an ongoing debate on twitter about chocolate and wine, I want to come out on my blog to say that in my opinion no alcohol pairs better with chocolate than stouts. The huge range of stouts is versatile and able to pair with the huge range of chocolate styles, which is precisely what I did with this amazing stout that I aged for 3 years before consuming.

The nose on the stout has vanilla, caramel, loads of chocolate and heavy roasted coffee. The palate is ridiculously smooth after 3 years in the bottle, and tasted like cigar, caramel, sugar, wood, dark roasted coffee and bitter cacao. These high alcohol stouts really only show their full potential when stored away for at least a year, many improving well beyond that. For me, big imperial stouts are the perfect dessert drink, much more so than sweet wines. 10% ABV.

Excellent
$2.75/375ml at BCLDB (for the current release 08-09)

Brasserie d'Ecaussinnes La Penneffoise

British Columbia has recently begun to improve its selection of craft beers, which is nice to see. However, most of them are merely solid but not overly exciting examples of a particular style. Perhaps I was spoiled by spending 5 months embroiled in California's thriving micro-brew culture, but my exposure to fine beers in the U.S. changed my perception of what is truly great.

This is all the more reason why I think this Belgian 'prune' beer is super. It has a level of complexity and experimentation that you rarely find in the BC market, and, well, it's just really darn tasty. Being a fruit beer, some might expect this to be based on a weisse style or on the lambic style. It's not really either of those - instead being a hybrid between a belgian strong ale and a wild ale.The nose on this is fantastic: similar to a geueze lambic or a beer made with brettanomyces yeast, this also has a nice wet forest/cellar smell while pushing subtle belgian fruit esters forward. The prune aromas is subtle but present.

Best of all, this beer is not made with added sugar or in a sickly fruity sweet style. You can still taste the prune and the fruit, but the beer actually finishes dry and wonderful. There is a degree of complex malting going on here that is similar to what Allagash or Lost Abbey do with their beers and something you don't taste very much in BC. This is very full and robust while being light and creamy in the mouth. The 8% ABV is completely unnoticeable. I'm sipping on this right now and thinking "I love this beer". If you want to taste a real beer in Vancouver, do not pass this by.

Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$15 / 750ml at Viti

Shmaltz Brewing Coney Island Human Blockhead

I've written about the diversity of lager before, and the unfortunate dominance of mass market beer in the lager department. Shmaltz Brewing is taking the challenge, though, with their Coney Island line of lagers in a myriad of styles. Unfortunately, this particular iteration did not work for me and felt quite unbalanced compared to the basic Coney Island Lager or the Albino Python.

This poured a very dark cloudy reddish-brown with a big 1.5" head: not at all reminiscent of your standard macro-lager. The nose was perhaps a bit too malty, though, and that sweetness persisted on the palate with cherries, banana, rootbeer, brown sugar and spice. This beer is like an overly-happy person who seems great at first glance but begins to wear on you at an exponential rate. The beer is pretty tasty on the first sip, but loses its charm with a few more. It's too bad, but I still highly recommend Shmaltz' other lager offerings.

Fair
$9/22oz @ Brewery Creek

Southern Tier Hopsun Summer Wheat Ale

It's somewhat ironic that this review finally made it up on the site one day after Vancouver's first major rain storm of the fall/winter doldrums. So, if you'll excuse my seasonal anachronism I'll tell you that I was expecting a lot more from this wheat beer from New York.

The nose on this hybrid style was big and hoppy with notes of Belgian fruit esters, and unfortunately a weird cardboard edge. The dry hops continued on the palate, with hints of pine needles. But, the hops really make this beer unbalanced for some reason and the cardboard taste persisted over two bottles, making me wonder if the entire shipment to Vancouver was off. This is simple but not really that summery - which perhaps is appropriate for this tardy review.

Good+
$4/333ml @ Brewery Creek