40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Thirteen

Beer: Hockley
Type: Stout
Region: Ontario
Rating: Novice/Intermediate

Hockley Stout, traditional Irish Stout beer. First introduced to me by my cousin Geoff, this is an incredibly delicious beverage that goes with pretty much anything, and just as good on its own.

This craft beer out of Orangeville, ON, 'pours like liquid midnight.". It has a dark molasses colour, a nice, coffee-hued frothy head that holds it own, and a slight burnt chocolate scent.

It's a very smooth, if slightly bitter beer that goes down nice and easy. At 4.2% alc, it will surprise you at how light it tastes.

Go ahead and pour yourself some liquid midnight - you deserve it!

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Twelve

Beer: Red Stripe
Type: Lager
Region: Jamaica
Rating: Novice

Had some chicken and jerk sauce lying around so I marinated that last night, threw together a nice cilantro rice dish, and topped it off with fried plantains. Yup, the makings of a delicious Caribbean meal. The only thing missing? The beer!

Now, I've never been to Jamaica, but I've heard of Red Stripe. And with it's stubby bottle, hard to miss. So, there were two ways in which I could have paired beer with my meal - lager or bock. Since I'd been doing the dark lately, I thought I'd make the whole evening 'irie', without the ganja.

Red Stripe is a very nice lager, one that could be enjoyed multiple times (and by that, I mean several in one sitting!). It has a clear, golden colour, sweet malt and slight hops, and a clean finish. It comes in at a palatable 4.7% alc.

It is brewed by Desnoes & Geddes Limited, originally a soft drink manufacturer incorporated on July 31, 1918, by Kingston, Jamaica natives Eugene Peter Desnoes and Thomas Hargreaves Geddes.

Let's be honest here - it's not going to win any awards. It's one of the fastest growing beers in the U.S., and here in Canada, it is available in the imported stubby bottle or in a taller, 16 0z can, brewed by Moosehead Breweries.

You can easily line this up against say, a Corona, which will kick it's ass. It's a refreshing summer beer that should be enjoyed while BBQing, sitting around the pool, or kicking it while washing my car (yes, that's an invitation!).

Easy, mon.

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Eleven

Beer: St Peter's English Ale
Type: Organic Ale
Region: England
Rating: Intermediate

Well, I made German fare tonight, and instead of breaking out German Beer, I went for the English Ale. Go figure. But combined, it made for a very nice meal. Homemade schnitzel, red cabbage...good eating.

Let's talk about St. Peter's, shall we? (and a thank you to Shaun Harkness for bringing me this tasty pint).

The first thing you'll notice is the flask-shaped bottle. In fact, all of their beers have this distinct shape, which makes it truly stand out amongst the rest. But it's the taste that you can't forget. In the case of this beer, it is probably the closest you'll get to a traditional English Ale.

Sharp and bitter at first, it blends quite nicely on it's own or with food, and just keeps on getting better with every sip. A cloudy straw colour, the head is a frothy white with very little odour of what it's hiding underneath, and you'll definitely enjoy the distinct citrus hop finish.

St. Peter's - not just the name of a high school around the corner from my house!

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Ten

Beer: Adnams Broadside Strong Original
Type: Strong Beer
Region: England
Rating: Expert

Ah, day ten. How time really flies by when you're enjoying malt beverages.

Okay, so I decided to pick up a pizza for dinner. I grabbed the Adnams out of the fridge and started reading the back. That's when I decided to put it BACK in the fridge and grab a Maclay's. Adnams and pizza DO NOT go together!

So now I'm trying it on its own. Maybe I should have waited well after pizza, or maybe I should have left it in the fridge, because, to be honest, it's not ranking high on my list.
Oh sure, I'll drink it, I just won't enjoy it like some of the others.

I truly enjoy most English beers, and I can certainly handle the strong beers, but this one has way too much going on at the same time.

It says that it is rich in fruit cakes aromas, almonds and conserved fruit. Very British indeed, but I also can't stand fruit cake or conserved fruit.

The colour is glorious however - dark but clear. That's the plus.
However, it's a beer that may be best served with chocolate, and I'm not kidding. See, many beers (some say all beers) should or deserve to be paired up with food, and in this case, I couldn't agree more!

On its own, it tastes like ass. But accompanied with my kids leftover Easter chocolate, and this is a gem.

So, on it's own, take a pass, but for dessert, pass the sweets and a cold mug of Adnams!

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Nine

Beer: Doppel-Hirsch
Type: Doppelbock
Region: Germany
Rating: Expert

Doppelbock or double bock is a Bavarian speciality beer that was first brewed by the Minims, an order of monks founded by St. Francis of Paula. Alcohol content ranges from 6% to over 10% by volume. Historic versions had lower alcohol content and higher sweetness, and were considered "liquid bread" by the monks. Ah, those Bavarian monks! I call it, liquid gold!

Poured from a 500ml bottle with a hinged pop top, it is a slightly hazed medium-brown colour with a thin tan head.

The smell is of strong caramel, with an earthy, slightly fruity undertone.

The taste is of caramel. Sweet, yet not too...Balanced by an earthy bitterness, and a clean finish. This is an authentic Bavarian Doppelbock.

Overall, this is easy to drink if you are familiar with a bock type beer. Otherwise, one may find it too sweet or too caramelly. And at 7.2% alc, a few of these and you'd be feeling no pain until the morning. But this is not a beer to get your hammer on. It is best enjoyed with venison or lamb, or a nice hearty stew.

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Eight

Beer: Hogs Back Brewery T.E.A (Traditional English Ale)
Region: U.K.
Type: English Ale
Rating: Novice/Intermediate

This is a full flavoured, smooth ale that was voted "Best Bitter" in Britain at the Great British Beer Festival 2000.

It has a slightly cloudy amber colour, and a nice, balanced flavour.

Hogs Back is an independent brewery that has won numerous awards, mostly because their beer contains that one secret ingredient - love.

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Seven

Beer: Kozel
Region: Czech
Type: Lager
Rating: Novice

It's a nice, sunny Saturday afternoon. BBQ, watch the kids play, need a beer. Go grab yourself a nice, cold Kozel.

"Kozel Premium Lager has a smooth, subtly bitter taste, a soft malt and hops scent and sparkles perfectly. This highly malted beer with an alcohol volume content of 5% is considered to be an excellent lager both at home and abroad."
Get Kozie with Kozel.

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Six

Beer: Grolsch Blond
Region: Holland
Type: Light Beer
Rating: Novice

Tonight I'm going out with my wife and parents to celebrate my 40th and my mom's 60+ birthday with a dinner at the Big Easy restaurant. To have a nice Friday night/before dinner beverage, I'm enjoying an extremely refreshing light beer, Grolsch Blond

This summery beer has a slight citrusy flavor with a pale golden color.

Cheers to 40 years!

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Five

Beer: Duchy Originals Organic Ale
Region: Great Britain
Type: Ale
Rating: Intermediate

The first time I had this beer was out in Vancouver while working at the Olympics. The bus stop I took daily coincidentally stopped in front of a B.C. Liquor Store, and that's where I first stumbled upon this fantastic ale.

So it's Earth Day, and this beer is organic. I guess I've done my part :)

Pour it into a nice tall glass, and you'll first notice the incredible amber/bronze colour. Bring it towards you and take a deep breath - a warm aroma of caramel and peat, subtle and disarming.

The taste is refreshing, with a slight hop bitterness, and a light lingering finish.

So go ahead and grab yourself this fine English Ale, and feel free to pass this Duchy by the left AND right hand side ;)

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Four

Okay, today I'm going to introduce some little 'enhancements' to my beer journey. I will rate the beer as either novice, intermediate, or expert. I base it on my beer experience. Therefore, if you are one to only drink Canadian, Corona or Blue, and rarely venture outside of those, perhaps you think that Bud Lime was the best thing since online porn, then a Novice beer is good for you.

After a few, you should move on to Intermediate.

Intermediate is for those that like to experiment once in a while, favourite beer may be a Heineken, the darkest beer you've ever tried is Guinness, and you know that Stella is not the be all and end all of Belgian beers. There are a lot of intermediate beers that I'll be commenting on, and I'll try to vary them as much as I can, so that you may move into - Expert. Now, my expert and your expert will differ greatly. True and trained beer connoisseurs may disagree, which is fine, but the beauty of beer is that, much like art and music, it is a very personal and subjective thing. My expert rating is to introduce to you those beers that may well fall out of your natural comfort zone (porter, lambic), completely bizarre concoctions (lemon, orange peel, chocolate), or ones that are either hard to come by or deserve to stand on their own merits.

So, here we go with Day Four.

Beer: Erdinger Weissbier
Region: Germany
Type: Wheat Beer
Rating: Intermediate

On my way home from work, I decided I needed to make a trip to the LCBO to stock up for the week. The store in Orleans (Innes Rd) has a pretty good selection, from international to local Ontario craft beers.

As I carried my basket around, I noticed a few old favourites as well as new, seasonal beers. With the intent of only grabbing two or three, I ended up with a bakers' dozen! As I was checking out, John, the cashier, nodded approvingly, saying "that's a real nice collection of beers", to which I responded "thanks. it's part of a project I'm doing."

In any case, tonight I am enjoying one of mine and Lisa's favourite wheat beers, Erdinger.

Apparently, it is the world's most popular wheat beer, but seeing as how I haven't travelled the entire world seeking Erdinger, I guess we'll just have to take the German's word for it.

Erdinger Weissbier is bottom fermented, like champagne, which gives it a nice, effervescent taste. It has a cloudy, orange hue, with a soft, frothy head, and is excellent on it's own or paired with a nice schnitzel or other pork dish.

PROST!

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Three

This evening brings me to a beer right next door - the Scotch Irish Brewing company, made right here in Ottawa. They were one of my favourites at this year's Wine & Food show.

I'm enjoying the now out-of-stock Black Irish Plain Porter. This dry ale is dark, and by dark, I mean black! Hold it up to the light and you'd be hard pressed to see your dinner on the other side of the glass. It has strong notes of chocolate and coffee, and is very present the first time you take that sip.

Appearing heavy, it's actually much lighter than a bock-type beer, and at 4.5% alc, it'll satisfy even the most calorie-wise Jenny.

There's even a recipe for a Black Irish Porter Cake, although I'm quite happy to enjoy it with homemade soup and grill cheese sandwich.

My favourite part of this brew? It comes in a stubby bottle, reminding me of my days as a 13-year-old getting the bottom sludge of my old man's Molson Extra.

Cheers.
Black Irish Plain Porter - good beer, bad dog.

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day Two

Monday, first day back at work, and I'm drinking a fitting beer whilst BBQ'ing German Sausages.

It's Ontario Craft Brewery Great Lakes Brewery's cleverly marketed "Devil's Pale Ale 666".

It has 666 Kilograms of malt
6.66 Kilograms of hops
66.6 minutes of boiling
6% alc
6.6.06 Date of conception (debatable)

This ale is robust and flavourful, but is a tad bitter and pretty hoppy. However, if this is the type of ale that appeals to you, then it is one of the few things out of Toronto worth liking.

The body has a dark bronze hue, with a coppery head.

As the tag line states - The Devil Made Me Brew It!

40 Beers to Celebrate 40 Years! Day One.

Now that I am back in Canada after spending my birthday in Cuba, I am starting a little project which I intended to do on the 10th of April - to drink one different beer a day in celebration of my 40 years. I love beer, but most importantly, I love various kinds.

Today is April 18th. I am starting my little project with Keith's newest selection, Keith's Dark Ale.
It is 'crafted using roasted specialty malts to create a dark mahogany coloured Ale with distinctive notes of chocolate and coffee."

It looks like a Guinness, but it is a smooth tasting Dark Ale that is easy on the palate with a clean finish.