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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

WEISSE O’LANTERN ~ BEAU’S

Weisse O’Lantern is No. 13 in Beau’s Wild Oats Series and was part of the 2015 Oktoberfest four-pack.  It is a weisse beer, brewed with pumpkin (350 pounds of pumpkin go onto each batch), making it a new hybrid, a pumpkinweisse.  All ingredients are organic.  Sampled from a 60 mL bottle, the beer pours an orange hued gold, with a good creamy off white head.  The head lasts for a while, and leaves good amount of lacing as it dissipates.  The aroma is very typical of a weisse beer, with hints of pumpkin and citrus in the background, and in the forefront spices (clove and ginger), yeasts and bready malts.  The taste is also very typical of a weisse beer with bubble gum and banana, but also the spice (ginger, cinnamon, and clove), citrus peel and a very subtle pumpkin.  Cinnamon lingers in the aftertaste.  This is a very interesting hybrid, though if you were looking for a pumpkin beer I may start elsewhere - this tastes much more like a weisse.  Drinkable and much enjoyed, but a little steep in price.

 

5.6% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario    17 IBU

Hops: Wheat, pilsner, carafoam, caramunich

Malts: Organic Hallertau tradition

Other : orange peel, ginger, cinnamon and brewers yeast