LOCK MONSTER ~ BEAU’S & TOOTH AND NAIL

5.7% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario 30 IBU

Lock Monster is a collaboration between Beau’s and Tooth and Nail Brewing out of Ottawa. It is the third in a series of collaborations celebrating Canada’s 150th Birthday. A portion of the proceeds of these brews support charity (this one goes to Children’s Hospitals of Eastern Ontario) The brew is a fairly traditional Extra Special Bitter. Sampled on draught the beer pours a slightly opaque coppery colour with an off-white foamy head, with some nice lacing. Citrus, apricot, caramel and biscuity malts round out the nose of this traditional brew. The flavour is nicely balanced with malt sweetness and light hop bitterness. The flavour is on the mellow side with notes of toffee, fruit and light citrus, biscuity malts, contrasting with an old world hop bitterness. Some oakiness is present in the aftertaste. The carbonation was moderate.on this medium bodied brew. Overall very drinkable and a pleasant example of this style.

INGREDIENTS: Local spring water, organic barley malts, organic hops, brewer’s yeast.
MALTS: Pale Ale, Caramel 60, Acidulated, Caraaroma (all organic)
HOPS: Organic Goldings, Organic Fuggles
YEAST: English Ale Yeast

BEAU’S ~ BLOOD SIMPLE

5.3% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario

Blood Simple is another release for Beau’s Fe’brew’ary and ‘Wild Oats’ series. It is a witbier brewed with organic California blood oranges juice and peel and organic Peruvian cacao beans. Blood Simple takes the traditional citrus and spice in Belgian witbiers to a whole new level. I could drink this all the time - it is like drinking a beer mimosa. Sampled on draught the beer pours a hazy apricot gold colour with a modest white head. The nose has lots of orange, some lemon, wheat, and a hint of cacao. Zesty blood orange juice is the first on the palette, followed by lemon citrus, a little spice, and malts. The cocao does not make an appearance until the after taste. The body was medium, carbonation was lively and mouthfeel had a creaminess to it. I really enjoyed this and returned to have a pint several times before it ran out. Delicious!

SILVER FERN ~ BEAU’S

Silver Fern is part of Beau’s Greener Futures Project and is usually only available to Beau’s beer Club members. It was a nice surprise to find it on draught at my local, thought it is a bit of a treat at $8 for 300 ml. The beer is Beau’s ‘Koru’ beer (a Belgian style pale and made using New Zealand nelson sauvin and rakau hops) aged in white wine barrels for four months. Sampled on draught the beer poured a slightly hazy dark golden colour with a dense white head. The aroma has a nice complexity to it: lemony citrus and tropical fruit mix with vinous and oaky woody notes from the barrel aging. More subtle notes of berries and nuts lie just underneath. The flavour is bright and fruity with a tart and slightly spicy peppery yeast. The mouthfeel was medium bodies, the carbonation was average and the finish was clean, refreshing and dry. The hops are nicely balanced with the brightness of the fruit and the oakiness. I really enjoyed this, it shows complexity but also restraint. I wish it were more available.
INGREDIENTS: Local spring water, organic barley malts, organic hops, brewer’s yeast.
6.3% from VanKleek Hills, Ontario

BATCH 5000 ~ BEAU’S

Batch 5000 is a limited edition celebratory brew (In their Wild Oats Series) from Beau’s marking their…you guessed it 5000th batch of beer and 10th anniversary. It is “Wild Ontario Farmhouse Ale” made with Ontario wheat, hops and wild yeast from the Escarpment yeast lab. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a slightly hazy yellow gold with a moderate white billowy head, which left great lacing. The nose contains lots of tropical fruit especially pineapple, a little bretty funk, lemony citrus, herbals, wheat malts and some wine like characteristics. The taste has lovely levels of complexity, white pepper, lemony citrus, herbal notes, Brett sourness, subtle yeast and wheat malts. The finish is drying with leafy hops, and citrus. The carbonation was fine and lively, and the body was medium-full with a creamy feel. This is one of the nicest saison I have had in a while…I just wish the draught wasn’t so expensive! Congratulations Beau’s! Bravo on the brew!

7% From Vankleek Hills, Ontario

BUENOS DIAS ~ BEAU'S

Buenos Dias is the latest offering in Beau’s Gruit Series – though it does contain hops. It is brewed with organic lime juice, orange and lime peel, and sea salt (sounds like a gruit-gose baby to me) Sampled from a bottle the beer poured a hazy pale straw colour with a small white foamy head. The head settled quickly but lively carbonation stuck around. The gentle nose contained notes of citrus – the lime being more dominant than the orange), with subtle spice. This beer is really refreshing – the lovely lime is accented with a slight saltiness at the end – just like a margarita. There is some subtle spice and grains and malts tucked in there too. The finish is clean and dry and the mouthfeel is slightly creamy. Really enjoyed this beer – great summer refresher!!! Will pick up a few more bottles of the for sure!

4.5% from Vankleek Hill, Ontario

PATERSBIER ~ BEAU’S

Patersbier is the next instalment of Beau’s Farm table series. This series are brewed true to the original style. Patersbier (Father’s Beer) is Belgian style ale, traditionally brewed by monks. The beer was originally made by monks, and is lower in alcohol that a dubbel or tripel. Sampled from a bottle the beer poured a hazy straw colour with a dense white head, which left nice lacing. The nose is light but does contain sweet malts, florals, light grains and fruit and some phenolic spice. The taste has honeyed malts followed by peppery yeasty notes, and subtle floral hop bitterness. The finish is crisp with a little dusty dryness. The beer is quite light bodied and carbonation is soft. Quite drinkable and pleasant, but not spectacular.
Malts: Pilsner, carafoam, acidulated (all organic)
Hops: Organic magnum, organic aramis
Yeast: Abbey Ale Yeast

4.7% from Vankleek Hill, Ontario 22 IBU

FARM TABLE IPA - BEAU’S

This IPA is the latest in Beau’s farm table series. This series are brewed close to the classic style. This farm table was formerly known as Beaver River I.P. Eh? Sampled on draught the beer poured an unfiltered coppery golden with a good sized off white head. The aroma had lots of floral-piny hops, with light citrus, a grainy breadiness and a touch of caramel. The taste was fruity and bitter. It contained tropical fruit (orange and grapefruit), citrus, with biscuity malts, a wee bit of caramel and a resinous piny floral hop at the end. I found it to be hoppier than a British I.P.A. but less so then some of the aggressively hopped American I.P.A’s. (the beer was dry-hopped during brewing). This is a well-balanced beer; its assertive hops are beautifully balanced with the malt. The finish has a lingering bitterness. This beer is on the light side of medium bodied and is moderately carbonated. A very decent I.P.A.
6% from Van Kleek Hill, Ontario IBU 60

MALTS: Pale Ale, Munich, Carafoam, Caramel 20L, Caramel 60 (all organic)
HOPS: Magnum, Pacific Gem, Cascade (all organic)

ORIGINAL GRUIT ~ BEAU'S

This beer is part of Beau’s Gruit series, began in 2015. Gruits date back many years, long before the Bavarian Purity Act that declared that beer can only be brewed with four ingredients (water, yeast, malt and hops) and were popular when hops were unavailable or taxed too heavily. Gruits are brewed using a variety of herbs and plants to replace the dominant hop flavours of the beer. This gruit contains three popular historical ingredients: bog myrtle, yarrow and Labrador tea. Labrador tea is the common name for three plants in the Heath family that are used to make herbal tea. This tea is well known to the Inuit and Athabascan Peoples. Sampled from a bottle, this brew poured a clear intense gold with an apricot hue, with a small foamy off white head. The aroma had fruity and herbal notes, along with malts, herbs and spice. The flavours were a nice balance of citrus and fruit, herbal and floral notes and grainy malts. This is a much subtler gruit than their Bog water, which features myrtle much more predominantly. The finish features tannins from the teas and a slight bitterness. The mouthfeel was medium bodied and carbonation was moderate. I look forward to other herbal experiments and new versions in this series.
6.3 % From VanKleek Hills, Ontario

INGREDIENTS: Local Spring Water, Organic Malts, Wild-harvested Labrador Tea, Organic Bog Myrtle, Organic Hops, Organic Yarrow, Brewer’s Yeast.
MALTS: Pilsner, Vienna, Carahell, Carafoam, Acidulated (All organic)
HOPS: Perle (Organic)
YEAST: German Ale Yeast

STRONG PATRICK ~ BEAU’S

Strong Patrick is Beau’s amped up (6.7% ABV) interpretation of Irish Red Ale. It is Number 18 in there “Wild Oats’ series. Red Ale’s are traditionally lightly hopped, well balanced with a toasted malt character. Sampled on draught, this beer poured a rich red coppery hue with a small cap of cream coloured head. The small head left good lacing as it fell. After brewing some of this beer was aged in whiskey barrels and the remixed with the original beer, this gives some lovely nuanced on the nose. The aroma had caramel, malts, dark fruit, and a subtle vanilla and sweet whiskey imparted from the barrel aging. The taste is malt forward, much as the nose would imply, but there are also notes of toast, roasted nuts and fruit with hints of the barrel aging. I found the body to be a medium-full and the carbonation to be medium low. The finish with dry with a beautiful light floral hop. I found this to be dangerous drinkable as the Alcohol is well hidden. A very pleasant brew, I look forward to having a few more.

6.7% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario 24 IBU

FARM TABLE PILS ~ BEAU’S

This farm table pils in the third beer released in for Beau’s Fe’brew’ary 2016 and is another in their series of ‘farm table’ beers. The farm table series are meant to be sessionable and brewed true to their traditional style. This pils is brewed in the North German Style. Sampled on draught, this beer pours a golden straw colour, with a durable white frothy head. As the head dissipated it left some thin webby lacing. The aroma is mild with notes of bready grains and malts, pilsner hops, grass, and a light herbal notes. The flavour follows much of what the nose suggests: bready grains, grass, light hebalness and a crisp clean finish. The moderate hop bitterness is nicely balanced with subtle malt sweetness. This pils has a medium body and carbonation; it is easy drinking and refreshing. A nice example of the style,

4.9% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario 30 IBU

ELEPHANT MONSOON ~ BEAU’S

Elephant Monsoon is Beer #4 in Beau’s Fe’brew’ary. It is #63 in their ‘Wild Oats’ series and is a Peanut butter and grape jelly porter. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a deep brown with a small beige head and some scattered lacing. The nose has chocolaty malts, grassy hops, some berry notes, very faint peanuts and coffee. I was expecting a punch of flavour, but this porter drinks more like brown ale to me, as the finish is very mild and lacks the finish I expect from a porter. The beer is full of roasted chocolaty malts, subtle nut and sweet grape in the middle and grassy hops for mild bitterness. The PB and J are very subtle; I tasted some peanut butter mid sip and then the finish had a ‘Welch’s” grape jelly like sweetness and taste. The porter is medium bodies and has a creamy mouthfeel. I found this easy to drink and quite pleasant but was hoping for more of a flavour smack.

6.7 % from Vankleek Hills, Ontario 30 IBU

KORU ~ BEAU'S 

Koru, a Belgian style Pale Ale, is the fifth and final beer is Beau’s Fe’brew’ary 2016. It was originally brewed in 2012 from Vankleek Hills Oktoberfest festivities, it now returns by popular demand. It is No. 25 in their Wild Oats Series. The ale has been made using New Zealand nelson sauvin and rakau hops, hence the name which means loop in Māori. The coiling fern frond symbolism on the beautiful label is also from a Māori symbol. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a straw colour with amber inflections and had a pillowy white head. The foamy head clung to the glass and left impressive lacing. The nose contained some grassiness, peppery Belgian yeasts, citrus and other tropical, and a note of grassiness. Bready yeasts, citrus and tropical fruit, peppery spices, a hint of honey all play on the palate, followed by a grassy herbal hop. The finish is dry and crisp. There was some very nice complexity in this beer. Compared to some other Big Belgian style beers, this one is very drinkable, almost sessionable. From start to finish – great aroma, complexity in flavour, medium body and pleasant mouthfeel, - this was a very pleasant brew. 
6% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario


6% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario

GRISETTE ~ BEAU’S

This grisette is one of Beau’s Farm Table Series, meant to be a traditional sessionable beer, brewed close to the traditional style. A grisette is the French version of a saison, a classic farm table beer meant to be enjoyed by the working class and farm hands. Triskel and strisselspalt hops are French and are typical to the Belgian style ales. Sampled on draught the beer poured a slightly cloudy light golden colour with a frothy white head. The head left a small ring of lacing around the glass, and the carbonation was effervescent and active. The nose was mild and contained what you would expect in a Belgian style farmhouse ale: grassy earthiness, bready malts, a smidgen of lemon, pepper, and florals. The taste also had a subtle pepperiness, grassiness, floral/herbal hops, and light breadiness. The beer finished dry with a pleasant bitterness. This nicely balanced beer felt crisp in my mouth and had moderate carbonation and a light mouthfeel. A decent and gentle saison.
4.9% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario 27 IBU
Ingredients: Local spring water, organic barley malts, organic hops, brewer’s yeast.
Malts: Pilsner, Vienna, carahell, acidulated (all organic)
Hops: Organic triskel, organic strisselspalt
Yeast: Belgian style saison ale yeast blend

EMBITTERMINT ~ BEAU'S

Embittermint is the second beer created for Fe’brew’ary, which features a different beer each week. It is an IPA brewed with lemon grass and peppermint and spearmint, and uses floral hops for a more delicate finish. It is Number 62 in Beau’s Wild Oats series. I was quite curious about this beer, and upon entering my local, I asked, How bizarre is this one? I was pleased when both the manager and bartender both sung its praises. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a hazy light golden colour with a white cap. Orange, florals, lemon, and mashed mint danced on the nose. The 70 IBU was really well hidden and the beer didn’t have all that much bitterness. The beer starts with lots of citrus, both lemon and orange, this turns into beautiful floral hops at the end, along with the sensation of cooling mint. This odd pair is remarkably smooth and refreshing. I will go back and have another; I just hope it lasts until the end of the week.

Malts: Pale ale, carahell, carafoam, acidulated (all organic)
Hops Organic crystal, organic WGV (Whitbread-Golding Variety)
Yeast: Dry British ale
Other: Local spring water, organic lemon balm, organic spearmint, organic peppermint.
6.7% from Vankleek Hills 60 IBU

THE TOM GREEN BEER ~ BEAU’S

The Tim Green Beer is a collab between comedian Tom Green and Beau’s Brewing. It is a milk stout. Sampled from the bottle the beers poured very dark brown with coppery highlights and a beige head that really stuck around, and left nice lacing. The nose was predominantly coffee and chocolate. The flavour was dominated by coffee and chocolate too, with notes if roasted malts, and hints of caramel. There was a nice touch of sourness from the lactose. The end had a nice bitterness, which balanced out the subtle sweetness of the beer. I found the mouthfeel to be creamy, pleasantly carbonated but a little thin for a stout, it was more like a porter. Overall I really enjoyed this highly sessionable stout. BTW apparently Milk stouts were patented in 1907. The “milk” was supposed to make the beer more appealing due to its nourishing ingredients.

5% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario

TYRANNOSAURUS GRUIT ~ BEAU’S 

In honour of Gruit day (February 1st) Beau’s has created this most interesting Gruit. Gruits are beers that date back before the Bavarian Purity acts that declared the only ingredients a beer could have was barley, hops, yeast and water. In a gruit herbs, spice and other botanicals are used as bittering agents and flavour. Gruits have many many flavour combinations depending on the foliage (terrior) that grows around the brewery.
This beer has been brewed once and is on a seasonal and limited release. Sampled on draught this beer poured an intense bright red (much like cranberry juice) with little head. The red come from the beets that this gruit was brewed with, along with hibiscus flowers. The nose is very light and contains beets and subtle floral notes. Beets dominated the initial taste of this beer, both lending their sweetness and their earthiness. I found the beet a little cloying at first, but getting beyond their initial flavour the subtle flavours of the hibiscus emerged. Though this beer contained spruce tips and juniper berries, I could not easily identify them. The brew was mild with a light mouth feel. Very different, not for everyone, but worth a taste.

5.8% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario IBU 17

Malts: Pale ale, Vienna, CaraRed, acidulated (all organic)
Hops: Organic magnum
Yeast: German ale
Other: Local spring water, organic beet powder, organic spruce tips, organic juniper berries, organic hibiscus flowers.

SCREAMING BEAVER ~ BEAU’S

Sampled on draught…by surprise! At my local I ordered Mango Saison…the keg had been changed but not the tap label. Taking a big swig out of this one was a bit of a surprise for unsuspecting taste buds. Screamin’ Beaver #3 in Beau’s ‘Wild Oats’ series and is also a featured bottle in their best of Beau’s 2015 collection. It is an oak-aged Double IPA. It is influenced by both American and English IPA's; it is aggressively hopped like an American IPA, but still contains a malty sweetness at its centre like an English IPA. It weighs in at 9.9% ABV and 99 IBUs. The beer has been dry hopped and aged on oak staves. The beer poured medium amber with reddish hues (coppery colour) with a small amount of off white head, that stayed for quite a while and then left lovely lacing. The nose and the flavour of this beer had a nice complexity. The nose contained oak, grapefruit, brown sugar caramel, ripe tree fruit and cracker-like grains. The flavour also had grapefruit and orange rind, an earthy oakiness, caramel, and ripe fruit. Near the end a sweet complexity picked up along with hop bitterness. This beer did not taste like 99 IBUs nor did it taste like it was almost 10% alcohol. The beer had a medium- full-bodied mouthfeel, moderate carbonation and a creamy texture. Over all, complex, well balanced, but a sipper for sure.

9.9% from Vankleek Hills 99 IBU
Malts: Pale Ale, Munich, Caraform, Caramunich ( all organic)
Hops: Cascade, Pacific Gem, Challenger, Centennial (All Organic)
Yeast: : Dry English Ale
Other: Organic cane sugar, local spring water

BLACK FOREST IPA ~ BEAU'S

I am lucky enough to have several local bars & cafes that have rotating taps. My 'regular' has a live draught list on line of their 25 microbrewery taps, and I often peruse it before going out. I was so excited about tasting this beer. I am fond of almost everything this brewery does, but this one stumped me. I tried to like it; I suffered through a pint, but was disappointed by this brew. I have read others reviews and didn’t quite taste what they had tasted; since this was sampled on draught, I hope it wasn’t an off-keg. Black Forest IPA is a dark IPA, and is No.49 in Beau’s Wild Oats series. The black IPA is a newer beer style, originating in the West coast of the US. The name is a nod to Black forest cake, a German sweet with cherries and chocolate, chocolate is somewhere buried in this beer, and cherries are yet to be found.   
The beer poured a dark unfiltered brown, with deep coppery highlights. There was a little beige head, which left some lacing. The first thing that I found off-putting was the smell of this beer. I found there to be a VERY odd smell, a mixture of wet cardboard, slightly burnt rubber bike tire, lots of hops and trash. I should have just asked for something new, but thought if I could get over the nose it may grow on me. My first impression of this beer is ashes, and bitterness. I have tried other Black IPA’s with much higher IBU’s and did not find the same level of bitter dryness that I did with this beer. I found the ashy bitterness overpowering; the cascade and Simcoe hops were bitter, the roasted dark German malts seemed bitter and the dried sweet cherries were nowhere to be found. There was also an earthy peatiness, unsweetened cocoa powder and floral hops. I could not find the any sort of sweetness to balance this beer until I detected a subtle sweetness in the aftertaste.

I will not be venturing another sip of this, sorry Beau’s.

7% from Vankleek Hills. Ontario 50 IBU

Ingredients: Local spring water, organic barley malts, organic cherries, organic hops, brewer’s yeast.
Malts: Vienna, cararoma, acidulated, chocolate (all organic)
Hops: Opal, simcoe, pacific gem (all organic)
Yeast: German Ale

FARM TABLE 80 SHILLING ~ BEAU’S

80 Shilling is the most recent instalment of Beau’s Farm Table Series. The series tries to stay true to the style of brewing and ingredients utilized in the production of traditional beers. 80 Shilling is Scottish ale. In the 1800’s beers in Scotland were classified on a ‘shilling scale’ 60/ was light and 90/ was a wee heavy. 80/ was considered an export, averaging around 5% ABV. Long after the currency was decimalized and the shilling long disappeared, it still makes an appearance in reference to some Scottish beers. Sampled from a 600 mL bottle this beer poured clear penny coloured amber, with a short lived cream head. Lots of malt on the nose with an earthiness, toast and a buried caramel. The taste was a bit of a surprize, I was expecting a maltier, sweeter brew. The taste was quite earthy, more bitter than malty. Roasted malts were evident mid palette especially as the beer warmed and the finish was an earthy-grassy hop bitterness. I found the finish quite dry. The carbonation was average to low and the mouthfeel was a little watery. Good but not great.

4.7% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario

ONE PING ONLY ~ BEAU’S

One Ping Only is a Baltic Porter, and is No. 56 of Beau’s Wild Oats series. Baltic Porters began in the Baltic states (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania) and also Finland, Russia and Poland in the seventeen hundreds. The English porters that had been introduced and the Russian Imperial Stouts with dark malts and a higher alcohol influenced it. This type of beer was mainly forgotten until the fall of the iron curtain in the late 1980’s when craft brewers found the style and reintroduced it.
Sampled on draught the beer poured almost black with mahogany hues with a beige head and nice lacing. The nose contained chocolate, caramel, dark malts, dried fruit and coffee. Taste was also rich in roasted malts (it is made with nine different ones), chocolate, coffee, molasses, dried fruit and caramel. The booziness was pleasantly warming.
7.8% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario 30 IBU

Name Sake: reference to “The Hunt for Red October” movie
Hops: Marynka, WGV (all organic)
Malts: Munich, caraaroma, caramunich, carafa, pale ale, pilsner, rye, smoked barley, oats (all organic)
Yeast: German ale & German lager