I found a couple of offerings that I hadn’t tried before from what is perhaps my personal favorite brewery, Unibroue.  Unibroue is located in Quebec, Canada, and they focuses on Belgian style ales and they have turned out some truly stunning brews.   Tonight I’m trying Trois Pistoles, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, brewed with spices. The head is beautiful and creamy and fairly rich.  The nose has cherry, sour Belgian yeasts, and some earthy notes.  The middle is rich and well rounded with berries, oak, orange, spices, and a hint of booze.  The finish is warm and spicy, with some vanilla and lingers on the tongue.  It’s got massive amounts of flavor, and I love that it’s not overly sweet, with just a hint of sugar in the middle.  Once again, I think Unibroue has produced a winner.

I’ve previously reviewed Lindemans’ famous Framboise (raspberry) Lambic, and today I’m having another one of their many lambic offerings: the Cassis, or black current lambic ale.  First off, this one was a challenge to open!  There was a standard bottle cap, underneath which was a cork, requiring a corkscrew.   Once that was removed, the beer required quicker reflexes than I anticipated as it turned out to be under the same sort of pressure you’d expect from a vigorously shaken bottle of Champagne.  So, I unfortunately immediately lost a couple of ounces to the tabletop immediately surrounding the bottle.  Once in the glass though, it’s beautiful.  It’s a darker, hazier purple than than framboise, and the coloration reminds me of pomegranate juice.  The nose has wonderful sour wild Belgian yeast notes.   The middle is extremely tart and dry and the currants remind me of cranberry or pomegranate. The finish is full and sweet, and the fruit still dominates.  It has a fairly heavy body and is richly flavorful throughout, and there’s a sweetness that makes this a drink a lovely treat most comparable to a dessert wine.

The core of this beer is the yeast, according to the collaborators for this beer: New Belgium and The Lost Abbey.  The yeast strain is brettanomyces, which gives the beer both its name and its tropical fruit flavors    The nose is floral and yeasty, and the middle is sweet with pineapple and peach flavors, fading into a sour, mildly malty finish that has some notes of orange.  The spotlight here is strictly the yeast.  This is like a wheat beer that has a very neutral base in order to highlight specific flavors.  It’s thoroughly enjoyable, but it doesn’t stand out in any particular way.

A few months back I reviewed Sierra Nevada’s Southern Hemisphere Harvest, brewed with fresh New Zealand hops, and today it’s the turn for Northern Hemisphere Harvest, a wet-hopper beer brewed with freshly picked hops from Yakima, Washington. They call it a “hop ale” and I’d say that to me the profile is somewhere between a west coast style IPA and a double IPA.  There’s a lot of citrus and some floral notes in the nose, and a heavy, chewy body with more citrus, pine, and a bit of molasses in the middle.  The finish is smooth and creamy with a bitter pine bite and a hint of caramel.   I liked Southern Hemisphere Harvest, and I like Northern Hemisphere Harvest as well.  This is a must try beer for IPA fans.

Hop Rod Rye from the Bear Republic Brewing Company, of California, is as its name suggested, a heavily hop-loaded rye ale.  Now, I love big hoppy beer, and I love rye beer, so this is a combination that puts this beer right in my wheelhouse.   It has the standard heavy sticky head of a rye ale, and the nose is sweetly floral with a bit of orange and coriander.  The middle has strong citrus flavors, orange and grapefruit with caramel and peppery spice.  The finish is chewy, and a little bit boozy with just a hint of pine and grain.  This is a stellar example of what I think a rye-based ale should be.

Molé Stout is a brilliant autumn seasonal stout brewed with peppers, cocoa, and spices from Ska Brewing.   It’s got traditional stout coloration, and is relatively uncarbonated with a head that quickly dissipates.  The nose is dominated by espresso, with a bit of cocoa around the edges.  The middle is mildly sweet with lots of chocolate and some a hint of chili oil that adds flavor, but not any discernible heat.  The finish is oily and smooth with pepper and spice.  This is an excellent complex stout, and the first beer my wife has ever proactively hunted for in our local Total Wine outlet after having a taste of mine.

Pumking is an imperial pumpkin ale from Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York.  As the “imperial” indicates, this is a bigger pumpkin ale than average.  It pours a beautiful coppery amber with a nice light head.  The scent is toasty, with lots of pumpkin, bread, and strong hazelnut.   The middle is predominantly fruity, with tons of pumpkin and spices, and is slightly bitter.   The finish is rich and buttery with lots of vanilla.  This is a rich savory beer, and would pair best with a rich sweet dessert.

I give it a 4.1 out of 5.

(This has been part 4 of a 4 part Thanksgiving weekend series.)

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale is a much lighter take on a pumpkin ale than what I usually see.   It’s a Pilsner y golden yellow, with a fluffy but relatively quickly disappearing head.  It’s a wheat ale, which gives it the very light coloration, body, and flavor profile.  The spices, (cinnamon and nutmeg) while definitely there, are subtle as well.  This reminds me of a pumpkin variation on a Saison  or on a Munich Pilsner    It’s an interesting beer, and quite well done, but probably one I would prefer in the heat of summer to late autumn.

I give it a 3.4 out of 5.

(This has been part 3 of a 4 part Thanksgiving weekend series.)

My first impression is that this beer looks gorgeous, pouring a dark reddish tinted brown.  The nose has some subdued pumpkin spices, and scents of the pumpkin itself.  The middle is rich with flavors.  The pumpkin spices in the background, and the hops and the malt in the foreground.  There’s a brown sugar or maple syrup sweetness offsetting bitter pumpkin and citrus.  The finish fades and heat from the alcohol moves to the front for the final note.   The body is heavy and this is a solid pumpkin based example of a nice sweet digestif beer.

I give it a 4 out of 5.

(This has been part 2 of a 4 part Thanksgiving weekend series.)

I give it a 2.5 out of 5. 

(This has been part 1 of a 4 part Thanksgiving weekend series.)