We regularly post tasting notes from our Friday Staff Tasting, providing you with our take on all the latest craft beer arrivals. The beginning of “barley wine season” unofficially opened with the arrival of a very impressive local beer: Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller 2015, as well as a beauty from Persephone Brewing. In addition to these new releases, we have several different other barley wines from earlier vintages that are drinking really beautifully now. These beers are perfect for sharing on a blustery winter night.
And remember, if you pick up four of any craft beer bombers, you’ll get a free bomber carrier (pictured below). Bring it back and fill it up again, and you’ll get 5% off that purchase. Keep bringing it back and filling it up and keep saving.
Lastly, don’t forget to check the #BeerInTheBack chalk board if you come into the store can’t find something we’ve written about here. It’s probably still in the back, since we always seem to have more beer than we know what to do with. A staff member would be happy to get some for you!
Phillips Scarfface Orange Cranberry Wit 5% 650ml (Victoria)
Pours a peach flesh orange colour. Aromas of fresh squeezed orange, fruit salad and tart cranberry on the nose. Very fruity. Similarly juicy and fresh tasting on the palate with a hint of witbier spice. Super fruity & refreshing.
Ninkasi Sleigh’r Double Dark Alt 7.2% 650ml (Eugene, OR)
Pours a cola brown colour. Like a big, malty doppelbock with a rather pronounced hop backbone. The ample carbonation lightens the dark chocolate, coffee and burnt toffee flavors. Two Rufus Paws Up from: Adem
Hearthstone Graham Cracker Ale 8% 4pk tall cans (N. Vancouver)
Pours a deep chestnut brown colour. Honeyed malt on the nose with a hint of grainy wort. Tasty notes of chocolate, honey and biscuity malt with a balancing bitter finish.
Hearthstone Chocolate Milk Stout 5% 4pk tall cans (N. Vancouver)
Pours a deep dark black-brown colour. Dark roasty chocolate notes on the nose. Bitter chocolate, coffee and a hint of creamy milk on the palate.
Moon Under Water Hip as Funk Farmhouse IPA 7% 650ml (Victoria)
Pours an orangey yellow colour. Big citrus fruit bowl notes on the nose with hints of barnyard funk and Belgian yeast spice. More orange and citrus on the palate, yeast spice, barnyard funk. Dry, bitter finish. Amazing.
Stone Stochasity Project Your Father Smelt of Elderberries 10.3% 650ml (San Diego)
Pours a brownish red colour. Very funky on the nose with hints of wild berries. Brash and aggressive on the palate with lots of boozy heat and spice, candied berries a swack of bitterness and a smoky finish. A wild ride, for sure.
Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller 2015 11.4% 650ml (Victoria)
Pours a rich orange-yellow colour. Very bright and clear. Ample fruit aromas of blueberries and melon, as well as fresh pine, leap out of the bottle. Incredible sweet tropical fruit notes on the palate backed with a brutally spicy bitterness. Two Rufus Paws Up from: David
Persephone Barley Wine 11.9% 650ml (Gibsons, BC)
Pours a dark chestnut red-brown colour. Enticing notes of booze, maple sugar and rum on the nose. Sweet and malty on the palate with deep dark fruit notes and a robust bitterness on the boozy finish.
Coal Harbour Blackwing Baltic Porter 7.5% 650ml (Vancouver)
Pours a deep dark black-brown colour with reddish tint. Bright fruit, coffee and chocolate on the nose. Dark fruit and dark chocolate sweetness with some bitter char on the finish.
Russell Timbertrain Coffee Stout 6.5% 650ml (Vancouver)
Pours a deep dark black-brown colour. Notes of dark roast coffee and soy sauce on the nose. Dry on the palate with notes of black coffee and dark bitter chocolate. Bitter finish.