Every Monday we’ll be posting tasting notes on the latest craft beer arrivals. Check out what’s new!
NEW
Schilling & Co. Dry Hopped Hard Cider 6-pks 6.5% (Seattle) Pours a pale yellow colour. Ripe notes of tropical fruits, banana and apple on the nose. Taste is juicy, sweet and fruity up front with notes of ripe apple and hints of hop spice. Slight hint of bitterness on the finish. Very juicy with mild carbonation. So drinkable and tasty.
Vancouver Island Brewing Storm Watcher Winter Lager 6-pks 5.5% (Victoria) Pours an orangish brown colour. Notes of candied malt (malted milk balls) on the nose. Sweet smelling. The palate offers big notes of caramel corn and vanilla, though the beer isn’t too sweet. Good carbonation.
Lighthouse Pumpkin Ale 650ml 5.5% (Victoria) Pours a burnished orange-brown colour. The nose offers nice notes of sweet-smelling pumpkin spice. On the palate there’s a cooked pumpkin flavour with lots of warm pumpkin pie spice notes. Not too sweet and very drinkable.
Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale 650ml 5.9% (Seattle) Pours a slightly hazy orangey-brown. The smell is just like pumpkin pie. One of the most “authentic” smelling pumpkin beers. You get notes of sweet crust, creamy pumpkin filling and plenty of warm pie spice. And that’s before you’ve tasted it. It’s similarly impressive on the palate. It actually tastes like the liquid version of pumpkin pie, though without any cloying sweetness. Perfect example of the style.
Howe Sound Pumpkin Eater Imperial Pumpkin Ale 1 L 8% (Squamish) Pours a slightly hazy burnt orange colour. Subtle notes of pumpkin and pumpkin spice on the nose. Not too overpowering, but smells sweet. Taste is a bit on the sweeter side from the higher ABV, but nice pumpkin and baking spice notes shine through. Not overpowering, though. Very sippable.
Le Trou du Diable Four Surfers of the Apocalypso 650ml 6.5% (Montreal) Pours a bright, rich yellow colour. Strong notes of fresh pine, pineapple, resin and grapefruit on the nose. Big hop notes show up immediately on the palate. Bitterness and hop spice are right up front, with some pale malt notes supporting it all. Very tasty, with hints of the Belgian yeast influence.
Phillips Octofox IPA 650ml 6.5% (Victoria) Pours a super-clear orangey colour. Lovely notes of tropical fruit, spice and pine forest up front on the nose. On the palate you get aggressive notes of resin, pine and a little fruit. Nice bitterness on the finish. Very good, modern IPA.
De Molen Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout 330ml 10.4% (The Netherlands) Pours a deep, dark black-brown. This already has a couple years of bottle age on it so it is quite mellow for its high ABV. All the notes of chocolate, cocoa and malted milk on the nose are subtle and pleasant. It’s similarly mellow on the palate and very approachable. The sweet chocolate malt notes make this an easy sipper for a cool evening.
ALSO NEW
Green Leaf Serendipity Saison 650ml 4.5% (Vancouver)