Monday Beer Club – Meeting #6

You have probably noticed that the items on today’s agenda all look similar. This was intentional. The idea is to keep you from jumping to conclusions based on colour, and instead focus on the nose and taste. We were instructed to look for esters (characteristic of ales), hops (indicates dry hopping), and alcohol (how strong

Monday Beer Club – Meeting # 5

The agenda for today’s meeting was unanimously approved. The topic is … beer. Number 1: (far left) This beer is straw coloured (SRM 3-4) with a light haze. The nose is subtle with hints of lemon and pineapple. The taste is light with minimal hop bitterness that is only apparent in the back of the

Monday Beer Club – Meeting # 4

The proposed agenda for today’s meeting was approved, without modification. The theme for today’s meeting was … beer. Number 1: (far right) This beer was the colour of pale straw (SRM 2) with a light haze. the nose showed definite notes of citrus … grapefruit and lemon. The taste was light, smooth, and refreshing. Jane’s

Monday Beer Club – Meeting #3

At Monday Beer Club, the focus is on the beer, as it should be. We had a simple request today. Pour a flight that will help us understand the difference between an ale and a lager. This is what we got. Beer # 1 (first on the right): This beer was fairly clear, and the

Monday Beer Club – Meeting #1

Stu West perfectly captured the Monday Beer Club (MBC) motto: I know what I like, and one of the things I like is beer. I’m in. The rules are simple. We go to a local brew pub (Brew Revolution) at 4:00 PM on Monday (Duh) and order a flight of locally brewed beer. Our input

Name That Beer

I confess that I’m a beer geek. I enjoy beer tastings structured around a theme, like IPAs or ESBs. But sometimes, when you know what is in the glass, you taste … what you know you’re supposed to taste. So lately, I’ve started thinking about blind tastings where you have no idea what you’re tasting.

Extra Special Bitter (ESB)

You probably already suspected that the beer style “English bitter” originated in England. However, some people are surprised to discover that Bitters aren’t particularly … bitter. Certainly not when compared to the West Coast IPAs we tasted last time. This style is all about balance and drinkability. And the ESB – or Extra Special Bitter

West Coast IPA

The India Pale Ale (IPA) beer style is a child of the British Empire, or so the story goes. Traditional British ales couldn’t hold up under the stress of a long ocean voyage to India in the days before refrigeration. To keep them from spoiling, brewers added more hops and increased the alcohol, since both

Vienna Lager

The mind can play tricks on you. If you know what you’re “supposed to taste”, then that’s probably what you’ll taste. It’s what makes a blind tasting so interesting – you really need to focus because you simply don’t know what you’re tasting until after you’re on the record. Brew Revolution’s Vienna Lager reminds me

Aging Beer: Part 1

Most people think that wine is meant to be aged, while beer should always be consumed fresh.  It isn’t quite that simple. It’s true that many wines will improve with age, but others should be drunk as soon as possible.  And while most beer is at its peak the day it’s bottled, there are age-worthy