I was away for a bit on vacation but I'm happy to be home again and I'm ready to review a few beers for you - or me depending on how you look at it. This week I'm going to discuss a dark Stout and a golden Lager. Let's check them out shall we!
Brewery: Rainhard Brewing Co
Origin: Toronto ON Canada
Style: Flavored Imperial Stout
Abv: 9.0%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: The can has a black and grey monochrome color scheme with red accents that are a nice contrasting pop of color. Grey sooty looking landscape scene with red floating hearts. It looks like there might be a story behind the design but I don't know what it would be. I'm not overly into the design but I suppose it's okay. I've never heard of this brewery either so I'm not sure what to expect from the beer.
Color: The beer poured dark with a rich mocha colored head on top. No light came through the beer or even the edges of the glass. The head died down pretty quickly. It looks very appealing to me.
Nose: Roasted aroma with notes of cocoa, fruit and coffee. Vanilla in the background as well.
Taste: Huge punch of flavor on the first sip. Mildly sweet and tangy in equal parts with a decent amount of bitterness in the finish that lingered for quite a while. It is well rounded and decently balanced. Rich bitter chocolate flavors, cocoa, coffee, and toffee. Mild vanilla flavor in the finish.
Texture: Nicely carbonated with soft small bubbles. It had a creamy texture about it and was weighty, almost chewy in the mouthfeel department. Full bodied.
Impression: This one was quite good to me. It had a lot of flavor and a great beer if you just want to drink one. It would be well suited to drink in the winter next to a warm fire. I would do this one again.
Brewery: Side Launch Brewing Co
Origin: Collingwood ON Canada
Style: North American Lager
Abv: 4.4%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Hops: CTZ and Czech Saaz
Marketing: The can is a two tone blue with white lettering. The design image on the front is just the standard brand logo and the back has imagery of people watching a ship being "side launched" into the harbor. What is a side launch? I have no idea really. A short blurb on the back tells the story of which the brewery gets its name.
There is also some additional information about the beer listed on the side including the hops varieties and the malts used during the Brewing process - always a nice feature on a can.
Color: The beer poured a crystal clear rich yellow color like that of farm hay. The head on top was big and bubbly but didn't stick around too long. In a way that can be a good sign as it means that there aren't any head stabilizers added to the beer. I do like some foam to last though.
Nose: Hoppy aroma with notes of cereals and pear not much else for me.
Taste: Very subtly sweet, not much tanginess and a decent amount of bitterness. Pleasant malty grainy taste.
Texture: Small sharp bubbles with a smooth velvety texture underneath. Light bodied.
Impression: This beer has been sitting in my fridge for quite some time now. Definitely over a month and maybe bordering on two at this point. It wasn't stale which was surprising but I feel like it was getting close to that point. Nonetheless it was decent overall. It's a lager so there wasn't a whole lot of pronounced flavor but enough to be worth while to drink beyond a buzz. I liked it and would buy again.
