Tripel Exultation (Eel River)

Tripel Exultation = 8/10
Ratebeer 3.59 96th percentile
Beer Advocate 85%

Order up! Today's special is vinous, figs and caramel in a glass. It comes with a side order of slick and warming sherry notes but not too burning. You can upgrade to a thin sherry with prunes, herbal and floral hops. For Dessert: extra alcohol vapours are on the house. A little thin for a big ABV.

Taste +3
Aftertaste +2
Alcohol Content +1 9.7%
Value  +1 barely
Appearance +1 full label and organic!

Old Boardhead Barley Wine (Full Sail)

Old Boardhead = 8/10
Ratebeer 3.8 99th  percentile
Beer Advocate 87%

This glass emitted a fear inducing odour of alcohol soaked cherries, earth and wood. These scents can either be from a fresh grave or a barley wine; luckily it was the latter. Thin alcoholic malts gave more warmth than expected. The real shock came from copious amounts of caramel, brandy, minerals and earthly, resinous hops. Flavours still resonated long after the glass was empty.


Taste +4
Aftertaste +2
Alcohol Content +1 9%
Value +1
Appearance 0

Other barley wine reviews
GreenFlash Barley Wine
Old Bad Cat (Fat Cat)
Battle of the Victoria Barley Wines 2010

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken Ale

There are some beers that are soooo hyped up that you wonder if they are any good. Fat Tire and Dead Guy come to mind.Yes, this beer is all that....

Sierra Nevada Fritz and Ken = 10/10

Ratebeer 3.95 100th  percentile
Beer Advocate 93%

This beer pours as black as my first wife's lawyers heart! Even smells like him too: bittersweet chocolate, pungent vanilla, some char but not a lot of wood. At first, the full mouthfeel gives a little burn but soon it all turns velvety, thick and creamy. The chocolate malts hide a hint of vanilla and espresso. I shouldn't forget to mention the nail polish and juicy bits. Long was the memories of bitter chocolate and vanilla milkshakes. WOW

Taste +5
Aftertaste +2
Alcohol Content +1 9.2%
Value +1
Appearance +1

There is no comparison

Devil's Dream IPA (Hoyne)

I have said it before and I will say it again: brewing an IPA in the PNW is like walking down the street naked. It had better be good and big, because everyone in judging your junk. How does Hoyne measure up?

Devil's Dream IPA (Hoyne) = 6/10

This is a good IPA - not stellar - but pretty good. It has all the things the hopheads want. A bountiful waft of floral, tangerine and grassy hops backed up with just enough bread and sweet grains to be fair. You can't go wrong with a medium mouthful of peaches, mild key limes and thinly sliced whole wheat bread. The slick and slightly astringent ending just seems a tad empty. I have tried many an IPA; this one falls right in the middle. Worth a repeat buy.

Taste +3
Aftertaste +2
Alcohol Content 0 6%
Value +1
Appearance +1 (nice artwork with fir description of beer)

Other IPA Reviews
Paddywack IPA
Propeller IPA
90min IPA (Dogfish Head)

Stone Smoked Porter

No preamble here; gotta get through these notebooks.

Stone Smoked Porter = 8/10

Ratebeer 3.8/5 99th percentile
Beer Advocate 91%

Even the Boy Scouts could not make a campfire that smells this good. Voluminous amounts of ash, campfire, bittersweet chocolate, coffee and Girl Guide aromas are released by the bottle opener. Every sip is like a burnt s'more: bacon, rich chocolate, coffee, vanilla and cocoa powder. The more you drink, the more you taste. This stuff never ends; the slick, powdery finish talks of a hot chocolate chaser. STELLAR BEER.

Taste +4
Aftertaste +2
Alcohol Content 0 5.9%
Value +1
Appearance +1 (it is always fun to read the silkscreened story on the back)

Other Porter Reviews
Black Boss Porter
Black Death Porter (Russell)
Double Mocha Porter (Rogue)

Hoyner Pilsner (Hoyne)

I hate doing reviews like this. They equate me to some basement dwelling beer hater. Well.. I am in a basement but I do not hate this beer. However, I have had a few brews and a full dose of Battlefield Field 3 video game adrenaline rush: here it goes.
This beer lacks focus. It has too much flavour to be an American Pilsner. It was too sweet and unattenuated to be a German Pils. It is more in the Bohemian range. Perhaps it is just my West Coast palate crying out for more hops. There is a Victory Prima Pils in my fridge calling my name; perhaps the greatest beer I have ever tasted. My soul was crying for a local Prima Pils that could be obtained by the growler full. Forevermore contentment would fill my heart- and stomach. However I am being unfair; this is a tasty beer.

Hoyner Pilsner (Hoyne) = 4/10

This beer was sampled twice; in growler and bottle. Did I mention that I got growler #8? The aroma came across as faint with straw with some honey and a little lettuce (not DMS). Chewiness is not something I look for in a Pils, but the Hoyner had some. Each sip was a little on the honey/sweet side. There was enough honey, lettuce, spices and herbal goodness to keep the palate active. Normally Pils end like a door slam; this one lingered with a honey and straw slickness. Not unpleasant - just unexpected. People will like this beer, perhaps one of the best Pilsner styles produced in BC. Beer geeks might say: dry it out, add more late edition spicy hops and then call me.


Taste +2
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0
Value +1 (it is OK)
Appearance 0

Other Pilsner style reviews
Stanly Park Pilsner (chuck this beer at the wind mill)
Czech Mate (Paddock Wood)
Pilsner Urquell

Mass Extinction (Phillips)

This is an ice barley wine. I have never heard of this style of beer. There are ice bocks (ie. eisbocks) and yours truly once brewed an eisdunkle. Everyone's favourite Hermannator is an eisbock. To brew an eis-anything you take the finished beer, freeze it and use the unfrozen liquid. The fancy term is called freeze distillation. When you freeze the beer, only the water forms into ice. The remaining liquid is higher in alcohol - and usually - higher in flavour.
I have a few reservations about this beer. The first is that it is only 12%ABV. A barley wine runs about 10-12 ABV% already. Old Cellar Dweller is 12% ABV and Phillips Trainwreck is 10% ABV. If it was freeze distilled three times - as the label claims - where is the big jump in ABV? Everyone's favourite gimmicky brewers - BrewDog -have done frozen beers before. The Tactical Nuclear Penguin was frozen twice? and it hit 32% ABV. Sink the Bismark was frozen four times and it hit 41%ABV. So why did a thrice frozen beer increase so little in ABV?
The second reservation is a minor one. It comes in a twist off bottle? Not very suitable for aging.

Mass Extinction (Phillips) = 3/10

Admittedly I started drinking this beer a little too cold. It smelled faint of jet fuel, dark fruit and rum. The sip started off with an alcohol and bitter hop burn. This then morphed into an overtly sweet mix of caramel, fruit rum pot and Nin Jiom cough syrup. It reminded me of a watered down Swedish bitters. Yes, I used a wee dram of Swedish bitter for comparison. At the end of the sip you were left with a long burning of alcohol, rum sweetness and herbal hop bitterness. It was very hard to discern any distinguishable flavours. The flavours changed once the beer warmed up and vented off some of the alcohol vapours. More tastes of caramel, citrus, herbs and molasses could be noticed. Would I recommend this beer to a casual-beer drinking friend - no. I might suggest it to the beer geek who has tried everything

Taste +0
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content +1 12%
Value 0
Appearance +1 (fun label and good description of the beer)

Other frozen beer reviews

Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock (Dang this beer is good)
Yankee Jim Ice Bock (I hope Yankee Jim gets hit by a bus)
Hermannator (A local and Canadian favourite)