All posts by Taylor

magbo system
Beer, Canadian, IPA, Would Drink Again

Murasaki Dragon by Alley Kat Brewing Co.

Leave a comment

Dear @alleykatbeer, please never stop making this beer. #yegbeer #drinkagain (via Untappd)

I posted that in all seriousness. I want to support Alley Kat more than I do, but to date the only beer I’ve wanted to pursue was the extremely limited run of Fresh Hop Full Moon Pale Ale. If my appreciation for hops wasn’t apparent to you before,  it should be now.

One of my favorite beers from the last few years is Sorachi Ace from Brooklyn Brewery. That beer introduced me to the hop that Alley Kat used in Murasaki Dragon. The biggest difference between these two beers would probably be aggression. Brooklyn brewed a Saison, while Alley Kat produced a double IPA (or DIPA) with somewhere north of 75 IBU. This beer has what most of Alley Kat’s lineup is missing in my opinion, which is some teeth.

This means that in Murasaki Dragon you’ll get all the good stuff you’re looking to find in an IPA. It smells piney and lemony. The colour is gorgeous. And while the hops are obvious when it first hits your palette, you can catch up with some malt in the middle and there is enough fruity sweetness to carry it through to a nice but dry finish.

CAM02286-MOTION

Alley Kat has this listed as a limited run beer, but I’m willing to start a petition and possibly even chain a close friend to some sort of barrier in protest if they don’t find a way to continue production of this beer. I believe that it stands head and shoulders above any other beer being brewed in Edmonton currently.

After that initial post on Untapped, I made sure I would drink this again. I bought a case of it. Alley Kat, if you keep making it, I’ll keep buying it and drinking it. Again and again.

Beer, Dutch, IPA, Would Drink Again

De Molen, Lentehop

Leave a comment

Lentehop is an American style IPA, from a Dutch brouwerij (brewery) called De Molen. Like many great beers from that part of the world, it’s brewed in an old mill a mere 171 years older than Canada. Unlike many of those beers, it’s own history spans a little over a single decade. While it’s housings might give it instant credibility I’m inclined to criticize, brewers here in Canada should take note. Specifically Molson, who sold Molson House, a 50 year old fort near my house in Edmonton rather than making use of it in what would have easily been the most interesting place to drink in Alberta. But I digress.

Lentehop. It pours cloudy and golden, with a fairly substantial head. There is very little nose, just a hint of hops. I taste hops, certainly, but also some light citrus and pine. This IPA is surprisingly refreshing and fairly crisp.

I probably won’t go hunting specifically for it, but I would drink Lentehop from De Molen again.

 

Beer, Dutch, Review, Would Drink Again

De Prael’s Nick & Simon

1 Comment

De Prael draws on a long history of brewing, and grows their own hops in the yard behind the brewery. Their beer is often done in smaller batches and named for friends of the brewer, in this case, Nick & Simon. The plain brown bottle is only identified with a branded cap, and a hand written tag identifying the beer within.

Nick & Simon pours a cloudy amber, and the bubbly head disperses after a few pulls. I smelled the hops right away, and I taste them fully up front. There is a brightness through the middle I want to call citrus, but it’s pretty faint. There is a bit of a pine coating in the finish.

This drinks like a really comfortable IPA.

I would definitely drink this again, assuming Scott finds a way to get me another bottle.

Uncategorized

Brouwerij’t IJ IPA

Leave a comment

Brouwerij’t IJ produces an IPA, and just like the rest of the beers they brew it is unfiltered and unpasteurized. Unlike the rest of their beers it isn’t listed on their site, and while it’s an homage to American punk-style IPA’s it certainly has more depth and balance than I’m used to seeing out of American microbreweries.

I notice the bitter edge of the  hops, but that bitterness is cleaner than most American IPAs I’ve had. It also comes across fairly dry, which isn’t a surprise from a European brewer.

But lets get down to business. This is a good beer, however the most notable thing about it is the packaging. Being a designer I appreciate good packaging, and I’m not the only one to have appreciated the work done by Redthumb. Sites like Lovely Package and even an old favorite of mine, The Die Line, have both featured it. My smartphone photography won’t compare their professional results, but here goes nothing.

I would drink this again, and I might even keep the bottle.

This might be getting old for some of you, but thanks to Scott for the beer and delivery. <3!

Beer, Dutch, Triple, Would Drink Again

Brouwerij ’t IJ Zatte

Leave a comment

Brouwerij ’t IJ Zatte is a triple, clocking in at a very acceptable 8%. What can I say, I like effective beer. It pours a golden colour, with almost no head. I smelled citrus right off the bat, with a bit of hops behind it.

Once you get to drinking it, it’s dry but sweet. I tasted fruit, but also hops, yeast and spice. As with the previous beers I’ve had from Brouwerij’t IJ, it’s very complex, but impeccably balanced.

I thank Scott for the beer, and I would happily drink this again. Preferably with Scott. In the brewery.

 

Beer, Dutch, Review, Would Drink Again

Brouwerij ’t IJ Columbus

Leave a comment

Brouwerij ’t IJ hails from Amsterdam, and brews many types of beer. All of them are top fermented, and a few of them, including the Columbus, is 100% organic. If you ever get a chance to visit Amsterdam, you would do well to stop in at this brewery, not only for fine beer, but to view the impressive windmill that houses Brouwerij ’t IJ.

Columbus, aside from being 100% organic, hits your glass at 9%, pours golden and cloudy. I smell a bit of sourness and hops, as well as some spice. The flavour is complex, but it drinks much brighter than I expected based on the smell. I don’t taste much alcohol for the high percentage. There is a creaminess that balances the sourness of the hops.

I don’t think I could session this beer, but I’ll definitely drink it again whenever I get the chance!

Thanks again to Scott for the recommendation, the bottle of beer, and delivery!

Beer, German, Review, Witbier, Would Drink Again

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

Leave a comment

Weihenstephaner. The worlds oldest brewery. It started as a monastery brewery of the benedictine monks, and thankfully for all of us, it’s still brewing today as the Royal Bavarian State Brewery. I’ll cut the history lesson short.

If you like weiss bier, or wheat beer, you owe it to yourself to pick some of this up. Their class, not mass approach results in a very refreshing beer. As you might expect, it pours golden and cloudy. What sets it apart from other weiss bier for me is the incredible balance. You can probably smell or taste citrus, banana, cloves, wheat and some yeast. I also pick up a bit of coriander, as you’ll tasted in some other notable weiss bier. However, none of the others you’ll have tasted will balance it nearly as well as Weihenstephaner.

I will certainly be drinking this again, rather than my typical Hoegaarden.

Thanks for Scott for both the history lesson and the introduction to this great beer!

Austrian, Beer, Review, Witbier, Would Drink Again

Rieder Helle Weisse

Leave a comment

It’s summer. It’s hot. And so we put away our stouts and whisky cask aged beers, and raise a glass of beer that light will almost certainly pass through.

One of the standout types of summer beer for me has long been wheat beer, which is broken down into weissbier, witbier, and the sour varieties, such as lambic, Berliner Weisse and gose. The basic translation from German or Dutch (still the unrivaled masters of this top-fermented beer) is white beer. You might also have noticed hefeweizen, which is simply an unfiltered white beer which will appear cloudy when poured.

The selection tonight is Rieder Helle Weisse, out of Austria.

It pours nicely with minimal head and decent aroma. It’s a bit cloudy, and a brilliant golden wheat colour. The flavour is smooth, with a hint of citrus and banana, and a very clean finish. Not an astounding wheat beer, but certainly a very good one.

I’ll be drinking it again!

Ale, Beer, Review, Would Drink Again

Trappist Westvleteren 8

Leave a comment

I have long wanted to get my hands on a Trappist Westvleteren beer. Westvleteren, located in West Flanders Belgium,  is the smallest and most secretive of the Trappist brewers. Not only is their beer itself scarce because of the small production, but anyone wishing to purchase beer can only buy it in limited amounts, and even then, only from the monks themselves. They sell only to individual customers who agree not to resell the beer. People have been caught and prosecuted for doing so.

Trappist Westvleteren beer bottle
A nondescript bottle holds the most unique beer I've ever tasted

I’ve long had my eye on this beer, and long worried that I’d never see it, let alone have a chance to drink it. But I have great friends, and through them my proverbial ship came in this past Christmas. Impossibly huge thanks goes out to Kevin & Cath!

I stress at this time that this beer was a gift. I didn’t buy it or sell it. I did, however, share it.

Trappist Westvleteren beer cap
The only identification of Westvleteren beer is the cap

The first thing to note is the bottle. Simple. Brown. No label. The only identification is the cap.

The beer pours nicely, with beautiful colour. It’s fairly cloudy. The first big surprise was the smell. As is often the case with good beer and especially Trappist beer, the smell and the taste don’t always match up. I smelled fruit, predominantly cherry, and spice.

Trappist Westvleteren beer in a glass
Note the rich brown and red colour of the beer

Tasting Westvleteren 8 was an absolute pleasure. It was so well balanced. The cherry and spice that I smelled came through, but I also picked up hints of caramel and toasted malt. There was certainly more, but I’ll admit that in the face of the Westvleteren 8 my palette is probably out of it’s depth. This beer drinks a bit sweet, but finishes dry.

I’m not sure when I’ll have my hands on another bottle of this rare and incredible beer, but you can bet that some time in the future I will drink Westvleteren 8 again. Even if it means hunting for seat sales.