Bobcaygeon Brewing Company Firestarter Saison

Bobcaygeon is a small town in the stunning cottage country northeast  of Toronto in Canada. It's also the title of a popular song by Canada's hometown band The Tragically Hip. So a Canadian microbrewery sporting such a loaded name might be accused of resting on the novelty of the name alone. This example of the brewers offerings though lays waste to that idea.

Saison style beers are traditionally lower on the booze count than this is at 6.8%. The early origins of saison beers being the farms south of Brussels; the history of the style is marked with broad inconsistencies in flavour and appearance. Being Belgian though,  you can count on Saison style beers being both entertaining and satisfying.

The brewers at Bobcaygeon have executed pretty well on a saison in a can. It's golden, happily effervescent and presents the spicy, fruity palate of aroma and flavours found in the saison portfolio.

Not a beer many might want to chain-quaff under most circumstances. Expect clovey, ginger vanilla and candied fruit. Tossing a handful of Firestarters in the cooler to mix things up is a perfect way to mix things up for your next get together.

70/100

Old Tomorrow Monty's Aged Ryed Ale

Monty's Aged Ryed Ale is one of these   products that combines everyone's favourite beverage, beer, with a stay of some duration in an oak barrel whose last occupant was a spirit distillation.  In  Monty's case it is "oak infused with 100% Canadian Rye Whiskey".

Whoa there friend! Colour me surprised! I was expecting a rich, nearly sickly sweet concoction with powerful vanilla notes, but nay! The flavour is very nice. Silky smooth, mildly sweet. By some miracle of fermentation and aging Monty's manages to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable drink. I am reminded immediately of a fine tapioca pudding. Cool, creamy, vanilla and tapioca. I have to say this is entirely unexpected and really very nice.

While the nose is woody and the front of the mouth makes no mistake that this is in fact beer, the back palate is cleverly and friendly tapioca pudding.

If there is anything not to like, I think that the nose can be a bit volatile with genuine oak essence. 

Nonetheless I think that this is the type of experience that a lot of today's beer aficionados are happy to happen upon.

Cheers to Monty's!

81/100

Abbaye St-Remy Trappistes Rochefort 10

This beer has been on my mind for about as long as I have been maintaining this blog (6 years if anyone is curious). It has tempted me for years with it's Trappistes nature and tantalizing 11.4% alcohol by volume. I am not a religious person but I do appreciate the efforts of the devoted brewers of Belgium. I have really been looking forward to this.

The ale is quite dark,  chestnut brown with errant flecks of yeast sediment and a frothy tan head. Spectacular aroma of peerless Belgium Trappist Ale. Unmistakable. Deeply malted. The scent alone is enough to make the mouth water.

Astonishingly smooth and rich. An overall sense experience more in line with ungodly hedonistic luxury than the spartan hallmarks of existence you are likely to expect from a monastery. No linen robes and woolen undergarments here. This is finest Italian leather, fly-in fishing, Lightning Ridge opals, Tahitian surf, Australian vintage Shiraz and Sheffield steel. I may never get to drive an Aston Martin DB9 from Krössenbach to Mörtschach but this beer seems to make that sad reality markedly easier to bear.

I love Belgian beer. I love Abbaye St-Remy Trappistes Rochefort 10 wholeheartedly.

100+/100

Lake of Bays Switchback Pilsner

This post is being forced. It is a nice Friday, early evening and to be honest I would sooner just drink it than think and about it write.

Pilsner. What can one hope to say about a pilsner? It's probably the most standardised style of beer across the world. This one hails from northern Ontario, in Canada. The delightful, wild cottage country of the Greater Toronto Area. Lake of Bays is nestled among probably millions of lakes with bays whose shores are dotted with the "cottages" of Ontario's weekend getaway set. Truly a beautiful place. Let's see how they do with cooking up a pilsner.

Brassy yellow and ever so slightly hazy. It looks every bit a pilsner. Snappy hop bitterness. Marvellous bready fermented grain aromatics.
Do I detect a dash of sweetness? This, dear beer enthusiasts, I will offer is a truly wonderful North American example of a great pilsner.

I would shortlist this for the pilsner I use to stock my own home refrigerator with if I was predisposed to such imprudence.

85/100

Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Classic

Do you like bold statements? I find them intriguing. This particular beer, presented in a nondescript brown bottle with a brown and chrome label delivers a mix of subtlety and swagger.

14% alcohol is not a subtle thing.

The fine print is as subtle as Trump's twitter account.

"The World's Most Extraordinary Beverage".

I shit you not.

The perforated neck gaiter is a classy touch.

Brewed only once a year on December 6th before being aged for 10 months before bottling. This kind of storytelling never fails to reel me in...

Delightful. I cannot begin to imagine the dose of malts. Quadruple? Quintuple? Is hextuple a thing? Towering alcohol and enough apparent residual sugar to stand a spoon in it. I don't generally go for sweet drinks but the symphony of hops and hop extract with the astonishing malts is, well... extraordinary.

Give it a try. You can't say you don't like it if you don't try it.

I like it. Once a year.