FIEBRE DE CALABAZA ~ SAWDUST CITY 

Fiebre De Calabaza is one crazy brew! It is a sour Bourbon barrel fermented oatmeal stout with Mexican spices and pumpkin on nitro. Sampled on draught at Sawdust City’s Annual tap takeover, this stout poured a deep mahogany brown-black with a generous pillowy beige head. The nose contains a plethora of smells: sour, spice, smoke, pumpkin, fruit, roasted malts, chocolate…. The taste is as complex. The beer’s first impression is that of a sour stout, with vinous dark fruit. This is followed by roasted malts, chocolate and cocoa and woody notes from the barrel aging and then finishes with heat from the Mexican spices and habanero at the back of your throat. The body is medium and the carbonation was average to light. There is a lot going on here, this is definitely a beer for the adventurous. Interesting but I could not have more than one.
6.5% from Gravenhurst, Ontario 35 IBU

NOX AETERNA ~ BLACK OAK

STOUT WEEK - Nox Aeterna, which is Latin for ‘eternal light’, is a Smoked Oatmeal-breakfast stout. (though I know few who could 7% for breakfast) It is a limited release. Sampled on draught, the beer poured almost black. It let very little light through, and had only the slightest of ruby highlights. It had a moderate tan head., with good retention. A ring of foam lasted throughout the drink, leaving lacing down the glass. Carbonation was very hard to see due to the darkness of the brew. The bold aroma has smoke, coffee, roasted malts and chocolate notes. The stout was smooth and flavourful: coffee (hand roasted beans from Sense Appeal were used), smoke (from smoked malts), and chocolate played the dominant roles. The finish was dry with a little hop bitterness. The carbonation was moderate and the flavour was full bodied. Nicely balanced, quite delicious.

7.2% from Toronto (Etobicoke), Ontario

MIDNIGHT MASS CHICORY OATMEAL STOUT ~ BRIMSTONE 

STOUT WEEK - Brimstone is a small brewery in the Niagara region of Ontario and has done some pretty good beer in the past year. The brewery is in a church that had long lost its congregation; hence many of the beer names have a religious overtone. Sampled on draught this beer poured almost black with a deep khaki/dark tan head. The nose was dark roasted malts, fresh hops, and oatmeal, with hints of coffee, dried fruit and dark chocolate. The stout is quite full flavoured: coffee/chicory, chocolate, smoke all play their parts. The beer had a creamy texture and finished with a bitter dryness.

6.6% from Ridgeway, Ontario 35 IBU