Every week we’ll be posting tasting notes from our Friday Staff Tasting, providing you with our take on all the latest craft beer arrivals. Though we don’t have tasting notes for them here, we did receive three new Powell St beers this week: WIPA, Hopdemonium and Dive Bomb. We’re also very excited to have our first Prairie Artisan Ale, all the way from Oklahoma. What and amazing beer. Lots of good new local releases, too!
Category-12 Disruption Black IPA 6.7% 650ml (Victoria)
Pours a black coffee colour. Enticing notes of dank cannabis and tropical fruit on the nose. Well-balanced on the palate with a perfect combination of fruit-laden hop notes and roasty dark malt notes. Nice bitterness on the finish.
Moon Under Water Berliner-Style Weisse 3.2% 650ml (Victoria)
Pours a slightly hazy pale yellowish orange. Fruity white wine notes on the nose. On the palate there are tart notes of lemon and unsweetened yogurt. Mild carbonation. Very refreshing and drinkable. Two Rufus paws up from: Brent and Amy
Prairie Artisan Ales Prairie Ale 8.2% 500ml (Oklahoma)
Pours a cloudy pale orange colour. On the nose you get strong, exotic notes of banana, funk and herbal sarsaparilla. Its’s equally complex on the palate with a nice bit of sweetness up front and interesting notes of licorice, fresh herbs tropical fruit. Two Rufus paws up from: Ayja, Megan and Ian
Persephone Smoked Porter 7% 650ml (Gibsons)
Pours a deep, dark reddish brown colour. Huge umami notes of smoked salmon and soy sauce on the nose. Very savoury smelling. The palate is incredibly complex with a bit of sweetness and notes of smoked salmon, meat and and seaweed minerality. Two Rufus paws up from: Glenn
Persephone Black Lager 4.5% 650ml (Gibsons)
Pours a dark chocolate colour. Strong roasty chocolate/coffee and fruit notes in the nose. On the palate the dark malts are very assertive offering notes of dark chocolate and burnt marshmallows. Strong bitter finish. Very drinkable and yet fairly light bodied.
Russell IPG’Day 6.5% 650ml (Vancouver)
Pours a clear coppery orange colour. Very floral on the nose with huge tropical fruit notes. Similarly floral and fruity on the palate. Interesting juxtaposition between these softer, lighter notes and the aggressively bitter finish.
De Molen Mout & Mocca Imperial Coffee Stout 11.6% 330ml (The Netherlands)
Pours black. On the nose you get rich, intense notes of high-cacao dark chocolate and coffee. Similarly intense on the palate with notes of coffee, dark chocolate and burnt raisin. A nice balance between savory and sweet. Incredible beer. Two Rufus paws up from: Adem and David