Review: Fort Garry Angry Fish Pilsner

Take me out to the ball game!
Last year we saw a beer partnership between the Winnipeg Jets and Budweiser, which saw specially branded cans of Budweiser with the Jets logo on it, using Winnipeg water. This time, The Winnipeg Goldeyes and Fort Garry Brewing formed a partnership that created a new beer just for the Goldeyes called the Angry Fish Pilsner. Growing up in rural Manitoba, my dad played a lot of recreational softball (and curling) during my youth, and two things are still ingrained in my mind to this very day - snacking on Spitz sunflower seeds and all the players from both teams would meet at the club house after the game and sip on bottles of pilsner or lager. So, to me, the idea of a beer being marketed towards the baseball fans in time for summer seems right to me.

I'll be first to admit that I'm not a pilsner fan, I like a complex beer, I like something that will hit my mouth and make feel like "there's a party in my mouth, and everyone's invited!" (a la Ken Griffey Jr on The Simpsons). However, I do crave a lighter beer once in a while like just about anyone else (unless if your palate can truly only stand the best of the best).

Appearance: Pours a deep golden straw yellow, quite clear. It's quite carbonated as the head goes down near instantly. A few bubbles remain around the edges but that's about it.

Aroma: I took a whiff of the aroma from the can, and honestly - it smelled like plastic... THEN I poured the beer in the glass and it was a different story. The aroma is a sweet yet light malty aroma, a bit of straw, only a slight hoppy bitterness being noted.

Taste: This actually reminds me a bit of Steamwhistle's Pilsner, the first thing that I notice is a bit of a barley straw taste like most golden lagers or pilsners. There's a light amount of hops in this beer but more than you would get from a Labatt Blue or Molson Canadian - which is respectable because I can feel the light hoppiness linger for a brief second or two after I take the sip. Somewhat sweet, somewhat malty, lightly hopped but certainly something that could quench a thirst on a hot summer day.

Overall Thoughts: It's not my cup of tea because I'm just not a pilsner fan but I appreciate the light hoppiness and the easy drinkability of the Angry Fish. This will sell like hotcakes beers on a hot summer day! This will likely sell well at Goldeyes games and at Liquormarts in time for the peak of baseball season. The beer is reasonably affordable too as it is $2.50 for a 473mL can - It's a bit reminiscent of Steamwhistle, if you are a fan of that beer, this beer is more affordable! It's not something I would drink often, but seeing that I'll be camping in a few months, I'll be putting a few of these in the cooler. It has an ABV of 5% so about the same as most pilsners on the market.

From the description: Made with choice Canadian ingredients with an age-old European recipe. Angry Fish Pilsner is world-class. Brewed for the Winnipeg Goldeyes Baseball Club right here in Manitoba by Fort Garry Brewing Company. The taste says it all.. natural, fresh beer.

http://www.goldeyes.com
http://www.fortgarry.com

Unibroue in Manitoba

This is 100% influenced by James at Slurpees and Murder. He commented a few times recently why I made no mention of Unibroue's La Fin du Monde when I did my Great Beer available in Manitoba series (Part 1, Part 2). I left out La Fin du Monde because frankly, everyone should already know that it's a great beer! ;)

That being said, most people in Manitoba are not familiar with Unibroue as Unibroue products aren't necessarily as widely available as Molson and Labatt products. You can't go down to a Tavern United or a rural Manitoba bar and order a pint of Blanche de Chambly, but you could easily order a pint or bottle of Rickard's White, Kokanee or CLIT. 

A Step Back: My introduction to Unibroue happened back in Summer 2004 when I first started blogging about beer (on a blog that's now defunct). Upon the suggestions of several friends, I decided to try La Fin du Monde. I immediately disliked it and stated on RateBeer that the beer "reminded me of black licorice" and that it is "easy to get drunk off this beer." Oh, how my beer palate has changed..

In 2005, I had a dreadful job (better than no job!) where some evenings would have me stress out so much that I'd crave a beer afterwards. I bought a 6-pack of Blanche de Chambly and I quickly discovered that the witbier calmed my nerves and was a delicious tasting wheat ale! This was before Rickard's White ever came onto the market a year later. I started to force myself to drink Trois Pistoles, and after a few 6 packs over several months, my palate was forced to change. Now no longer did Unibroue's beer taste horrible to me, but instead - it tasted like liquid gold, as if some Québécoise angels were caressing my tongue with awesomeness!

Fast forward to now, as you can see on my Untappd profile that Unibroue is now my most preferred brand of beers with 5/6 being from Unibroue. I hope to see the Unibroue brand get more popular over time here in a province where mediocrity is celebrated when it comes to beer. I am going to list the Unibroue beer beers that are available here in Manitoba. At the time of this article, May 2012, there are only 750mL bottles of Unibroue beer available (or beer on tap at very limited locations), but in late November, Unibroue sends out a mixer pack of beer that contains generally 3-4 different beers (in 341mL bottles) as a Christmas promotion, it seems to be popular as the entire stock is usually gone by New Years Eve.  The 750mL bottles generally retail for $5.40 before tax. Unibroue beer also ages well, so you can store the beer for a few years and it will only get better with age!

1. Blanche de Chambly - If you are familiar with Belgian style witbier wheat ales, such as Rickard's White or Hoegaarden then you know what to expect. This is a nice zesty wheat ale that goes great with friends, by the barbecue, on the patio or even by the fire. Blanche de Chambly is reasonably easy to find at most urban Liquormarts in Manitoba. You can also find it at several motel vendors but depends on how stocked the vendor is. This beer is also available on tap at a few places in Manitoba, including Remington's in Brandon, and Rudy's Eat & Drink in Winnipeg.
2. Blonde de Chambly - This is a brand new permanent product at the Liquormart. Blonde de Chambly was first released in Quebec back two summers ago. The Blonde is a saison style wheat ale. While it is quite similar in taste to Blanche de Chambly, I find it's slightly more of a lemony zest compared to a orange zest in the Blanche. Like the Blanche, this is great for patios, with friends, at the barbecue or around the fire! The closest beers that I can compare this to are Half Pints' Saison de la ceinture fléchée or Urthel Saisonnière.





La Fin du Monde - THE Unibroue beer that every beer connoisseur must try at least once in their lifetime. This is a strong Belgian-style pale ale. This is not your father's pale ale like Alexander Keith's, this is much stronger than that. It is somewhat similar to Duvel from Belgium. Quite a sweet tasting beer, and light/golden in appearance but at 9% alcohol, a 750mL bottle will give you a bit of a buzz. Don't drink this if you plan on doing anything afterwards, or else share this beer with a friend or two.. well, it translates as the end of the world for a reason!
Maudite - Like La Fin du Monde, this has a high alcohol content at 8%. While La Fin du Monde  is a bit of a golden ale, Maudite is more of a darker Belgian Brune ale. Very sweet and hits the tongue hard. I don't recommend this to someone who wants a light tasting beer as this is quite strong. If you aren't a fan of darker ales, maybe this won't be your cup of tea pint of beer.
Trois Pistoles - Like Maudite, this is another strong Belgian dark ale, this time at 9%. Very sweet, like Maudite. It is a bit nutty, a bit of dark chocolate and overall a great sipping beer while sitting down watching your favourite TV show or reading a newspaper by the fireplace.
Éphémère Apple (Pomme) - To some people, flavoured beers are becoming the trend in the summertime beer industry. Before Coors Light Iced T and Bud Light Lime, there was the Éphémère line by Unibroue. Éphémère Pomme is a wheat ale that's brewed with Granny Smith Apples, it is quite carbonated compared to the rest of the Unibroue beers, but very welcoming to people who don't necessarily like beer as the apple helps mask some of the beer taste. I'm not a fan of this beer as the apple taste is a bit too sour and acidic for my liking, but to each their own.
Éphémère Black Current (Cassis) - There's a local winery here in Manitoba called Rigby Orchards that makes a Cassis ice wine. Cassis (Black Current) is a tart fruit that goes well as part of an ice wine or in this case, a fruit beer. I find that Éphémère Cassis is a great alternative to a wine for a dinner party as it's a sweet yet tasty beverage that goes well with almost any kind of dishes, but preferably as part of a dessert. Sweet, tart, a bit of a carbonated grapefruit juice appearance and easy to drink.
Raftman - This is one of the harder-to-find Unibroue beers at the moment. Raftman is brewed with a whisky malt. Not as sweet as most of the other Unibroue beers, but it does have a hint of whisky in it.

Here are some Unibroue beers that were previously available in Manitoba:

1. Don de Dieu - Translates as the Gift of God. This was part of the 2008 Unibroue Collection, released around Christmas 2007.
2. Noire de Chambly (Chambly Noire) - Was part of the 2008 Unibroue Collection and the 2011  Chambly Collection.
3. Eau Bénite - A rarity by Unibroue that hadn't been brewed since the '90s, was part of the 2012 Sommelier Collection.
4. La Terrible - Was available in Manitoba for a very brief period of time right before Christmas 2011. It sold out near immediately as it was incredibly popular with the local beer geeks. It sold for $7.50 per 750mL bottle.

Drink Less, Drink Better, mes amis!

Review: Unibroue La Gaillarde (Belgian Pale Ale)

Unless if you live in Quebec or drank Unibroue beer regularly back in the 1990s, you likely have never tried this beer before. La Gaillarde is a Belgian style pale ale that was a staple of Unibroue's lineup until the end of the 1990s, then, like Eau Bénite, made a temporary return as part of a collection.

Other than my friend Dallas, I may be the biggest Unibroue fan from Manitoba, I love everything that Unibroue brings out, aside from Éphémère Pomme. So when I got the chance to try a brand new (old) Unibroue beer, you can bet I was as excited as a child on Christmas morning!

Appearance: La Gaillarde pours a hazy banana-orange colour, very hazy and similar to a Blonde or Blanche de Chambly. Very snow white head, there's a bit but it slowly dies down. Thankfully this isn't a beer that foams over like Unibroue's beer around last Christmas. Looks like a nice patio beer to me.

Aroma: Honestly, this seems like a Blonde de Chambly to me. It has a slightly sweet, slightly citrusy aroma with a bit of lemon, coriander, wheat and bubble gum. It's an inviting aroma.

Taste: As I said before, Blonde de Chambly. It's slightly sweet, but not much going on there. It's actually quite carbonated on the tongue, I can feel lots of bubbling action on the palate. It has a bit of a lemony citrus, a bit wheaty and of course, Unibroue's famous yeast. As for aftertaste, I notice a bit of bitterness that lingers around, as well as a bit of lemon.

Overall Thoughts: For a Unibroue beer, La Gaillarde is not their best beer, but that said, looking at the thermometer right now, it is currently 32C outside so this beer is helping take the edge off the heat. The beer has 5.0% ABV so you can't expect a beer to smash you in flavour. It's a lightly citrused Belgian Pale Ale, with a bit of carbonation, wheaty, and I could swear it's actually a Blonde de Chambly. This is something I would drink regularly if it came to Manitoba because this is a great beer to drink outside in 32C weather! This isn't something that will scare off finicky drinkers so if your friends like a Rickard's White, they will surely enjoy this bière Québécoise!

Another thing, Unibroue seems to be doing a slight re-branding of their products, the Unibroue logo on the metal top of their corks has a slightly different logo than before. As well, as you can see in this photo, the cap on this beer is no longer the silver cap with the piece of wheat, but instead, the Unibroue logo. I very much remember the silver cap with the wheat symbol since my first tasting of Unibroue in 2004, kind of sad to see it go (especially as a farm boy), but it happens!

On the label: La Gaillarde est une bière sur lie, refermentée en bouteille, issue d'un heureux mélange de céréales et d'aromates. Elle est brassée dans le plus grand respect d'une recette médiévale comme savaient le faire ces femmes gaillardes du Moyan Âge. La Gaillarde est une bière blonde douce, legèrement épicée possédant un nez malté.
--
La Gaillarde is a beer on lees, bottle fermented, resulting from the happy marriage of cereals and aromatics. It is brewed according to an ancient medieval recipe dveloped by the hardy women of the Middle Ages.

Gaillarde is a mild and slightly spicy golden ale with a malty nose.

Santé!

Review: Big Rock Rye & Ginger Ale

Another Big Rock specialty beer has made it to the Manitoba market. This time? Big Rock Rye and Ginger Ale. A combination of two classic prairie drinks, a rye whisky with ginger ale and BEER! Mix these two together and you prairie it up with the Rye & Ginger Ale beer. Better idea than the Bud Light Chelada, which is another prairie tradition (beer + clamato juice + seasoning on top of glass).

This combination is something that I can see being a bit popular in the warm spring and summer patio evenings.

Appearance: Pours a slightly orangey amber ale colour, quite usual from a Big Rock beer. The head is minimal (if at all), a bit of white foam, but it's not going anywhere.

Aroma: A bit of the usual "Big Rock Beer" aroma that you get in EVERY Big Rock Beer. There's a slight scent of ginger in there, but really - not much at all. Very simple.

Taste: All I can think about this is that "this is a Big Rock Beer", if I didn't know what the label was, I would just assume it was an amber ale by Big Rock. A bit of a sweet caramelly maltiness, that you see in lots of Big Rock's beers, as well as a ever-so-minimal amount of ginger. The only ginger I've been noticing is when it hits the roof of my mouth. The more I drink this Rye & Ginger Ale, the aftertaste of ginger ale actually does start to linger around the palate.

Overall Thoughts: I was expecting two things: 1) Rye and 2) Ginger. Aside from the hint of caramel coming from the malts, there was NOTHING close to rye whisky in this beer at all. On the other hand, the Ginger is there but mostly as n aftertaste. I was hoping more flavour/oomph from Big Rock for this beer, but when this beer has an ABV of only 5%, they can't really do much. How about next time do a Rye and Ginger Ale that's actually stronger?

All that being said, I really did enjoy drinking this beer. It's nice and sweet, and something that you can drink on the patio very easily on a hot summer day. It costs $2.06 for a 341mL bottle and has an abv of 5%



A few new beers coming to Manitoba (or just came here) in the next few weeks include: Tree Character Pack which includes 2 beers available here, and two not available here (Madcap Belgian White - I was hoping for a Hop Head). Two beers from Muskoka including Mad Tom IPA (which I've heard is quite splendid) and Spring Oddity, which I have no clue what to expect.. hopefully it's great! Lastly, a few beers from Brick Brewing, a Dark which I am assuming is the Waterloo Dark, an Amber. It may turn out to be the Seasonal Collection but I guess we'll wait and see. Cheers!

Cranky Friday Links - May 11

Today's Cranky Friday Links is dedicated to sharing the blogs and websites of some of my kickass friends. Check out some of these kickass beer fans! I'm also including their Twitter addresses (if applicable).

Josh & Aaron's Adventures in Alcohol / (Twitter)

Jean-Sébastien's Le rouge et le boire (Français) / (Twitter)

The Pint Jockey / (Twitter)

Dan's True Brew / (Twitter)

Frank's Freaky Whisky (Français) / (Twitter)

Pierre's Braü's Back in Town (Twitter)

42 Bières (Français) / (Twitter)

Blogue de Bières (Français) / (Twitter)

Dave's Thirsty Writin' Scoundrels / (Twitter)

Michael's Beer Bits / (Twitter)

Ça Brasse (Français) / (Twitter)

Rhums et Bières (Français) / (Twitter)

Ale Heads / (Twitter)

The Good Beer Guy / (Twitter)

Chris' Newfoundland Beer History / (Twitter)

The Beer Wrangler / (Twitter)

Vanessa's Fun with Beer / (Twitter)

Efengüdbier / (Twitter)

Double Review: Half Pints' Humulus Ludicrous 2010 vs 2011

As a beer hoarder, I'm pretty naïve when it comes to hoarding.. I'll hoard anything - bad beer, good beer, Belgian beer and yes, even hoppy beer. I didn't realize that India Pale Ales and especially Double IPAs don't age well. D'oh!

Well lesson now learned, I'm doing a double review - Half Pints' Humulus Ludicrous from 2010 versus Humulus Ludicrous from 2011. The 2010 bottle came out right before they changed their packaging and logos, also they still sold all their seasonals in standard 341mL bottles. THe 2011 edition had the new label, as well now came in a pry-off 650mL bottle. Since the top is a pry-off, it no longer required for the top to be waxed (as a tamper-proof measure). Both beers are 8% ABV and have 100 IBU, so this will be a bitter Double IPA. The 2010 edition sold for $4.50 for the 341mL bottle while the 2011 edition sold for just under $10 for the 650mL bottle.

2010 Edition:
Appearance: Pours an orangy amber. There is some carbonation and head going on here, considering this beer is over a 1.5 years old. The head is minimal and a bit beige, but it's going absolutely nowhere for the moment. At the very bottom of the bottle, there's a thick amount of sediment, very large sediment - that's a first for me!

Aroma: Citrusy hops, a bit of lemon, a bit of caramel, slightly bitter. Not as hoppy as a fresh batch would be, of course.

Taste: Still incredibly hoppy for being quite an old batch. Much hoppier than a standard Little Scrapper India Pale Ale. A bit of lemony citrus, as well as a bit of sweetness of caramel coming from the malt. The bitterness of the hops lingers around my palate for quite a while after I sip on it. I am very surprised it's as hoppy as it is. Somewhat creamy to the palate.

Overall Thoughts: Even at 1.5 years old, it still retained a majority of the hoppiness. Quite a bitter IPA compared to their Little Scrapper, but quite enjoyable none-the-less. This is one of my favourite Double IPAs for a reason - beaucoup des houblons! I love hoppy beers. The caramel hint is nice, as well as the standard citrusy zest as expected.

2011 Edition:
Appearance: This is a younger batch (6 months old) so it will obviously have some differences. First off, the head - It's quite thick and creamy, a beigey creaminess. Similar in appearance to the 2010 batch as it's fairly orangey and amber, however slightly darker than the 2010, more caramel in appearance.

Aroma: Quite hoppy as expected. A lemony citrus zing with a rich hop bitterness. There's a hint of "paint" in the aroma, which is quite weird. Also, I seem to notice a bit of a peppery spiciness somewhere in the beer, reminiscent to Dieu du Ciel's Route des Épices.

Taste: Wow, much more bitter than I expected, an incredibly bitter DIPA. Not much citrus there but some lemon does show up, but only so slightly. A bit of caramel eventually hits the palate after I drink a bit of it. Bit of a floral taste to it from the hops that quickly diminishes. Slightly acidic and watery (light) to the palate.

Overall Thoughts: The head is not going down any. This is an incredibly bitter DIPA, not as sweet as I remember, but that doesn't bother me. The more hops, the better.


Differences: The 2010 edition, while it's not a fresh batch, still was able to retain quite a bit of the hoppy goodness you expect in a Double IPA, it had a great amount of citrus and caramel sweetness that complimented the beer quite a bit. The 2011 edition was much more of a bitter hoppiness with not as much citrus or caramel sweetness to balance it off. The 2011 edition is more of a floral hoppiness while 2010 is more citrusy. The 2010 has more of a creamy mouthfeel while the 2011 has more of a watery/acidic mouthfeel but some creaminess.

Even with the batch being 1.5 and .5 years old respectively, they still taste pretty damned drinkable - lots of hops remain! Half Pints' Humulus Ludicrous is my favourite DIPA on the market, although it's pricier than the alternatives such as Tree's Hop Head DIPA ($6/650mL) or dare I say... Minhas' Imperial Jack? ($3.75/650mL)- actually just STAY AWAY from the Minhas if you know what's best for you! All in all, Humulus Ludicrous may be the best DIPA in Canada, even at $10/650mL bottle.

www.halfpintsbrewing.com/

Review: Bushwakkers' Regina Pale Ale

Whenever anyone talks about Half Pints out of Winnipeg, Bushwakker Brewpub out of Regina, Saskatchewan always ends up being a topic of conversation. Dave, the brewmaster at Half Pints used to work at Bushwakkers way back when, pre-Half Pints. As we all know, that knowledge ended up influencing a change in the Manitoba beer industry.

My hockey loving, tornado chasing friend Dallas came to Brandon for St Patrick's day. He brought an entire suitcase of beer to share with his friends. One of the beers he brought was Bushwakker Brewpub's Regina Pale Ale. I find pale ales quite a wide variety, first you see pale ales that are similar to golden lagers (Alexander Keith's, Labatt 50), then you see pale ales that are so hoppy that they could pass as India Pale Ales.

Appearance: The Regina Pale Ale pours a very amber-caramelly orangey-brown colour, you can't see through it but it's not hazy. The foam is quite thick and lustrous - a beige-cream head that's not moving a bit as I write this review. Lots of bubbling action going on throughout the beer.

Aroma: I can't really seem to describe the aroma. It has a somewhat weird aroma to it. Michaelbelieves the strange aroma could be from Regina's water supply. It has a bit of a caramel sweetness from the malt, a bit of a breadiness, a bit fruity. There's not much there for the hops, but a bit floral from what I do notice.

Taste: Somewhat bitter, somewhat sweet. There's a bit of butterscotch and fruity sweetness, as well as bit of a light hop bitterness (almost toasty) that lingers on the tongue long after I've taken a sip. There's not much going on here unfortunately. Slightly malty.

Overall Thoughts: Pretty average. Not exciting but not bland. It has a bit of caramel and butterscotch sweetness. The aroma is a bit off, but that may be from the water supply. Stronger flavour than a Keith's, but no where near being as strong as my favourite Pale Ales out there (ie Great Lakes 666). It has an ABV of 4.5% and comes in a 650mL bottle.

I've tried a few other beers/meads from Bushwakker's before, and they're pretty damned good. That alone makes me wish there was a DAMNED BREWPUB in Manitoba already! It's 2012!