ARROGANT BASTARD ALE ~ ARROGANT BASTARD BREWING (STONE)

This was another really delicious brew from the RED, WHITE & BREW event at the Only Cafe in Toronto. Sampled on draught, this beer poured a reddish chestnut dark brown with a foamy beige head, which lasted. As the head receded, it left some spidery lacing. The bouquet was intense. Lots of hops were evident on the nose along with a dark caramel, chocolate, and subtler dark and tropical fruits, and a hop-earthiness. The taste is similar to the smell. This is beautifully balanced with the strong caramel malts playing off grapefruit citrus, floral hops. The finish long with bitter hops being followed by burnt sugar and caramel. The carbonation was moderate, the beer was on the full-bodied side of medium and the mouthfeel was a bit oily, and slick. This beer had a nice complexity and balance to it. Smooth and very tasty, I totally would buy this if spotted at the liquor store.
7.2 % Escondido, California

CHIMAY BLUE (aka GRANDE RESERVE) ~ CHIMAY

This dark Belgian treat was sampled from a small 330 mL bottle. Once brewed as Christmas Ale, this is the strongest beer that Chimay makes. At 9% this beer is easily cellared. The beer poured an opaque tawny brown colour, with a finger of cream coloured foam. The head lingered for a while before leaving a decent film and some specks of lacing. The aromas were a melange of chocolate, caramel, sweet malts, spice (clove and nutmeg), Belgian Yeast, dark fruits (plum, raisin, and sweet bread. There is tons of taste in this brew: dark fruit, yeasty and bready notes, caramel, big malts, Christmas spices, chocolate, subtle floral hops, and an earthiness. The booziness leaves a pleasant sense of warmth. The rich beer has a lovely complexity to its well-balanced flavours. The body was medium and the carbonation was soft and fine. This one was quite a little treat!
9% from Chimay, Belgium