My wife bought a bunch of beers for me one day. I asked her to grab a mix of various beers to try while she was the store.
Most ended up being ones that I've already had before, but that's fine. A lot were ones I liked, so all the better! There were a few new ones thrown in though, so let's review.
Nothing says fall like pumpkin spice. It's all the rage at this time of year and seems to be in everything you can think of. What better way to start a fall beer post than with a pumpkin spice beer!?!
Brewery: Lake of Bays Brewing Co
Abv: 6%
IBU: 25
Other: Partially filtered
Marketing: Monochrome color scheme. Pumpkin harvest farm scene. Old fashioned looking artwork, reminds me of an old General Store. Grandpa would approve. Somewhat boring design in my opinion. I wouldn't buy this beer based on can design. Its not intriguing. I would probably walk on by and grab something else. but I've also been fooled by cans in the past so let's try it.
Color: Copper and burnt orange color with a white foam that dissipated quickly.
Nose: Sweet aroma. Spices. Vanilla
Taste: Sort of sweet sort of dry. Indistinct taste of spices. Vanilla and some Banana.
Texture: Light carbonation. Medium bodied with a weightiness on the tongue.
Impression: Many years ago when "pumpkin spice" became a major thing I tried many many Pumpkin flavored beers. At the time I didn't really like any of them and never bothered to try them again. This was the first Pumpkin beer that I've had in probably a decade. I'm glad that I tried a Pumpkin beer after all of these years but much like then, I didn't care for it. I wouldn't buy it again or any other pumpkin spiced beer. Should have walked on by.
Brewery: Smith's Brewery
Abv: 4.7%
Marketing: Bold colorful design. Simple flag or crest style artwork. Classic brand logo style imagery.
Color: Brown as the name suggests. Translucent clear with a hefty tan colored head. I generally avoid buying this beer because the color is or used to be fake. The brown color comes from a chemical used in some beverage products (including whiskey). Caramel coloring provides a brown color and caramel taste to beverages. It's a completely unnecessary chemical additive and its actually a mild carcinogen, so I try to avoid it if possible.
That being said, the color of the beer looks different than I remember it to be. It looks more natural now. It's possible that the company might have removed the additive and I was able to find this article that basically states that it's been removed. I don't know how true it is.
Nose: Caramel aroma. Malt.
Taste: Somewhat sweet at first with strange metallic taste in the finish that I didn't care for.
Impression: I wasn't big of this beer. The metallic taste was unpleasant and even the idea of the fake color in itself turns me off. Even if the company has removed it I will still avoid it. How can you trust an online article these days? Chemical coloring is a stain on this beer that I'll never be able to look past.
Brewery: Mill Steet Brewery
Style: Pilsner
Abv: 4.2%
Marketing: Simple clip-art style imagery. Barley image, nothing more. Perhaps the simplicity is a testament to the beer being organic? Simple ingredients, nothing more.
Color: Pale yellow straw with a decent white foam.
Nose: Grass, hay some bread in the background.
Taste: Dry with a mild and quick bitter finish. Light taste. Some slight almost impreceptible skunkiness.
Texture: Lightly carbonated.
Impression: Not a whole lot going on but refreshing and easy drinking. Good if you want to drink a lot of them.
Brewery: Mackinnon Brothers Brewing Co
Abv: 5%
Style: Amber Ale
Marketing: Simple barely image brings to mind farming, which is a common theme in Canadian beers. It's either farming or lakes and cottages on nearly every can. Those are your two choices with Canadian beer marketing - are you a farmer/small town resident or a cottage goer?
Color: A rich coppery amber color with a fluffy white foam on top. The color made me excited to try the beer. I hope the color is real!?!
Nose: Malt forward, fresh hay.
Taste: Pronounced bitterness, toasted flavors. Not much going on here.
Texture: Sharp bubbles over a very smooth and velvety texture. Medium bodied.
Impression: Nothing special. Boring. Overall I didn't care for it. Would not buy again.
Brewery: Pauline Salvator
Style: Double Bock
Abv: 7.9%
Marketing: Cartoon style art work, colonial and monk imagery. Distinct European look about it.
Color: Coppery red color with a thin and flimsy head. Opaque, almost cloudy - likely unfiltered.
Nose: Sweet smell of fruit - plum and apple.
Taste: Starts sweet but immediately followed by a pronounced hit of alcohol flavor, that was overpowering and became the only taste that really came through. After a few more sips and gulps the alcohol tatse seemed to mellow a bit making it more pleasant to drink. Candied fuit notes coming through.
Texture: Soft bubbles, weighty - heavy mouthfeel.
Impression: The distinct alcohol taste was unpleasant. I would almost treat this like a wine and let it breathe a little before starting to drink it. I've had a lot of Belgium beers in Europe that were 8% ABV and I always found them to be flavorful beyond just a straight up alcohol taste. This is somewhat similar to Kwak but not as smooth and with a heavier mouthfeel.
