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Driftwood Sartori Wet Hopped Harvest I.P.A. – Cask

December 3, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

sartoriToday 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.

Filed Under: $20 and under, Canadian Beer, Excellent, India Pale Ale

Dieu du Ciel: 3 Beers From Above

January 8, 2009 By Shea 2 Comments


It is unfortunate but true that American micro-brews have far surpassed Canada in variety and quality. It seems our antiquated shipping laws have played a part, and perhaps the lack of variety helps to supress the demand for, well, more demanding beer (palate-wise). Dieu du Ciel, however, break from the pattern of boring Canadian micro-brews and bring us some serious sass from Montreal. They only very recently started bottling. I tried three of their many beers.

Beer #1: Péché Mortel
For those who don’t speak French – this beer can be translated as “mortal sin”, and is a very rich and intense coffee stout with heavily roasted malts. Very robust on the palate, with chocolate and dark roasted coffee, this was very smooth and lingered pleasantly in the mouth. Not too bitter or too sweet, this surpasses many Imperial style stouts by its better balance. A great winter warmer.

Excellent
$5 at Brewery Creek

Beer #2: Rosée d’Hisbicus
A pink semi-sour beer brewed with Hibiscus. Sour, floral and nutty I found the malts to be a bit weird. Up front it is a pretty decent beer and drinks easily. Furthermore, it has a nice acidity and drinks somewhat like a white wine (I recommend sour beers for Sauvignon Blanc lovers) However, the finish was all disjointed and, honestly, boring. Nice try, but not so much.

Good+
$5 at Brewery Creek

Beer #3: Route des épices
Spice route – an awesome spiced beer. Pepper for sure, but also cloves, nutmeg and other exotic spices in a medium-dark ale. Medium bodied, but packs a brilliant spicey and layered punch in the mid-palate. A fantastic spiced beer – perhaps the best in the style I have tasted.

Excellent
$5 at Brewery Creek

Two out of three ain’t bad. If you are in Canada, and especially Montreal, seek these guys out – it is well worth the effort. And, it’s nice to proudly support Canadian beer for once!

Filed Under: Canadian Beer

Unibroue Trois Pistole

July 20, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

Belgian beer, Sturm und Drang.
A highly carbonated fruit forward almost candy-like beer. I think this is done pretty well and is a good standard Belgian style dubbel.
Very Good+
$6 at BCLDB
Filed Under: Canadian Beer, Very Good

Unibroue 17

April 11, 2008 By Shea 7 Comments

I have lost my taste for Canadian beer as of late. Once getting my hands on quality American and Belgian microbrews, it became difficult to appreciate their usually lesser-made Canadian cousins. This beer, however, is an exception. Made in a style similar to a Belgian Quadrupel, this 10% abv dark belgian-style ale is brought to us by Unibroue on the occasion of its 17th Birthday.

I tasted sweet foral and root notes on this, much like many Belgian-style dark beers. However, the complexity of the flavours was deeper than usual and the beer much better balanced than many. The alcohol level also did not detract from the subtlety of the flavours, was not readily apparent, but was also not just masked by sweetness. I had this with a wonderful mango curry lamb sausage: a fantastic combination.

Very Good+
$8 at BCLDB Signature stores

Note: I didn’t have time to get a proper picture of the bottle, so I stole one from the public domain of the previous vintage. The bottle looks the same, just increase the number by one!

Filed Under: Canadian Beer, Very Good