A Flowery Song

Background: A dark lager flavoured with chocolate mint leaves, aniseed, and vanilla. (That’s not a typo, there is actually a variety of mint called “chocolate mint”, and it’s one I’ve encountered before. It doesn’t exactly taste like chocolate; rather, it tastes like the memory of chocolate.) I picked up this beer because I love black licorice, though I have doubts about how well it will translate to beer.

Nose: Clear notes of anise on a roasty malt background with hints of dusty cocoa.

Taste: Brown sugar sweetness off the bat, with hints of chocolate and lightly herbaceous mint. Licorice starts to come through near the finish, but is quickly overpowered by a sour, clinging aftertaste. Not much trace of the 8% alcohol in the taste, but that could just be because the finish is so nasty after a while one can’t taste anything else.

Overall: Given that the word “nasty” showed up above, I doubt you’ll be surprised that I’m not a fan. It’s an interesting idea, but the execution just falls short. Accompanied by some nice noodle soup it becomes a bit better, since the clinging sensation is wiped out by the food instead of being reinforced by the beer.

Background: The third batch of this collaborative brew to be made, but only the second to be released (the one brewed in Jolly Pumpkin’s facilities is undergoing extended barrel aging, like many of their beers). See my notes on the first here. This release uses the same recipe, but was brewed and aged at Nøgne Ø in Norway.

Nose: Prominent sage, hint of hops.

Taste: Sage and spicy rye on the first sip. Juniper influence makes itself felt. Medium hop bitterness in the finish. Solid nutty malt backbone.

Overall: Comparing my notes to last year’s, it’s evident that (as would be expected) these beers are fairly similar. I don’t have a perfect memory or another bottle to compare, but I think this one is slightly heavier and sweeter, and the alcohol isn’t particularly noticeable. What I said then stands: an intriguing and drinkable special beer, but not an everyday beer.

Background: Collaborative brew between everyone’s favourite Michigan brewery, everyone’s second-favourite Norwegian brewery, and Stone. Brewed on Stone’s equipment, but the recipe was worked out via emails between the three head brewers and they all helped with the brewing. The recipe incorporates juniper berries from Italy (standing in for Norway, since they were unable to source any from there), white sage from California, and chestnuts from Michigan. In addition to the other spices, caraway seed was added as a complement to the 25% rye in the malt bill.

Nose: Green, herbal hops, followed by a touch of sage.

Taste: Lots going on. Very clear sage note, with spicy rye and juniper also quite evident. Caraway and a medium hop bitterness come through in the finish. Indistinct hop flavour; if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say an English hop variety. The 9% ABV starts to become evident after a few sips.

Overall: Very unique. Definitely not a session beer, but for an occasional taste sensation it’s quite nice. (Especially since I love sage.)

Elfin Knight
21-A Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer

Recipe and Session Notes

Background: Pale ale flavoured with yerba mate.

Appearance: Pours an intriguing apricot colour with a slight haze and an enormous sudsy white head.

Smell: Sweet and fruity-some interesting herbal elements and a citrusy hop aroma.

Taste: Well, it's interesting. Medium-low sweetness balances a mild hop influence. The mate is definitely sticking itself in the mix, contributing some additional bitterness and an earthy herbalness. Unsurprisingly, it tastes like yerba mate mixed with a light pale ale.

Mouthfeel: Light mouthfeel, medium carbonation.

Drinkability: On the whole, I think I'd rather have either beer or mate, but not both. Still, it's drinkable, and certainly worth trying if you like mate.

Background: This recreation of a traditional farmhouse ale from Norway is brewed from wood-smoked malt and spiced with juniper branches and berries.

Appearance: Opaque medium brown, foams enthusiastically and the tan head exhibits great retention.

Smell: Spicy pine scents from the juniper, subtle smoke seems to grow in intensity as you take additional sniffs. Hints of dark malt and slight dried fruit aromas.

Taste: Smoke may seem subdued in the nose, but it comes through here with a vengeance. Hefty wood smoke flavour is the first and last thing you taste. Vague fruitiness sliding into juniper comes through in the middle. A hint of meatiness is almost gamy; slight sour yeast character. Besides the smoke, the long finish also contains a resiny reminder of the juniper.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and medium-bodied, high carbonation and a tongue-coating tingly sensation from the juniper resins.

Drinkability: I love this beer. It's bold and assertive, with sufficient complexity to keep the beer geeks happy.

Rick Lyke of Lyke 2 Drink hosts this month's event, and has chosen an intriguing topic: animals. To hew purely to the rules, either the beer or the brewery should be named after an actual animal. Personally, I'm not great at rules.

The Kelpie is your standard fairy trickster. A weary traveler coming upon a young horse standing by the side of the road might not be inclined to question his good fortune, but would be wise to do so. The shape-shifting kelpie is particularly fond of that form, and if mounted will bear its rider down to a watery grave. 'Never look a gift horse in the mouth' is not a dictum to follow when dealing with this denizen of the fairy kingdom.

There's also a breed of dogs named the Kelpie, but that is not the source of today's beer's name.

Background: Brewed from malted barley, hops, and seaweed by Heather Ale Ltd. in Scotland. 4.4% ABV, 500ml brown glass bottle. Purchased as a single bottle for $3.99, best before June 2008.

Appearance: Pours a deep, dark brown (almost black) with a nice creamy tan head.

Smell: Very interesting. Malty sweetness with an earthy, salty seaweed aroma playing over the roasted malts.

Taste: Cocoa and dark chocolate from the malt, the earthy and vegetal seaweed notes add some nice depth. Sweetish, hard to detect any hop influence. The seaweed is almost lost in the porter-like base beer, but does barely manage to hold its own.

Mouthfeel: Almost full-bodied, medium carbonation. Carries you along nicely.

Drinkability: Excellent. Not (as one might expect) just a gimmicky powerfully seaweed flavoured beer, but actually a beer where all the disparate parts of the brew work together to form a harmonious whole. Givvus another, willya?

Appearance: Another cola-brown beer with a brown foamy head.

Smell: Soft berry fruitiness and hints of roasted malt.

Taste: Nicely integrated dark berry taste with malt and charred coffee in the background. Some soft tannins contribute to an astringent finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full and creamy.

Drinkability: Very drinkable; while the berry flavour is noticeable, it's not overpowering and the base beer is quite well done.

Appearance: Pours a clear, coppery gold with three fingers of white head that quickly subsides to a thin froth. Lots of carbonation evident.

Smell: Floral and sweet, with heather notes evident.

Taste: Sweet flavourful malt fading into an herbal heather middle, with honeyed citrus coming through in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, crisp taste with snappy carbonation.

Drinkability: Givvus another, willya? Extremely drinkable.

Appearance: Pours a clear reddish amber with two fingers of off-white head that quickly dissipates.

Smell: Spicy malt with a hint of pine and a lot of fruit notes.

Taste: Sweet and fruity up front, leading into a wonderful mix of malt, apples, caramel, and pine on an earthy background. Long soft finish.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and full with light carbonation.

Drinkability: An excellent strong ale with lots of depth.