Newfoundland Macro Brews: India Beer

Of the Newfoundland macros, India Beer was the one that I thought had the coolest look. It's sold in 341mL semi-stubby bottles with a vintage looking label that features a Newfoundland dog and the motto "Man's Best Friend". India is brewed by Molson Canada in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The following is an excerpt from my beer reviewing notebook: "Pale lager? I'll have to check, but I'd say so." and then a later addition: "Nope pale ale." Still, ale or lager, this stuff definitely tastes like a generic macro.

It's a clear, pale yellow brew topped with a fluffy white head. It has ample carbonation. The grain-heavy aroma has just the faintest waft of something a bit spicy. It's a pretty standard pale beer--thin bodied, fizzy, with grass and grain notes that give way to mild bitterness.

There's not a thing wrong with India Beer, but it isn't really all that captivating either. This is the kind of beer that you could sit down and drink all night, but it doesn't have a lot to offer beer aficionados and snobs like me.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Newfoundland Macro Brews: Jockey Club

Jockey Club is brewed in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador by the Labatt Brewing Company. It's sold in classic 341mL semi-stubby bottles and contains 5% alcohol. According to its label, Jockey Club has "True Newfoundland Character". I presume that this stuff is a pale lager. Unlike the other Newfoundland macros which I sampled in cheery St. John's barrooms, I bought myself a sixer of Jockey Club and threw it in the mini fridge in our hotel room (hence the rocks glass).

J.C. is a golden coloured brew with very little head, but a decent bill of carbonation. It has an agreeable cereal grain aroma. It has an unsurprising flavour--mild corn sweetness with a gently bitter finish. This stuff is not bad, but unremarkable. There wasn't really all that much for me to write about.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10.

Newfoundland Macro Brews: Black Horse

Black Horse is Molson Canada product, brewed in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It comes in characteristic semi-stubby bottle favoured in Newfoundland and contains 5% alcohol. "Brewed only in Newfoundland and Labrador" declares the label. I'm pretty sure that this stuff is a pale lager.

B.H. is straw gold, well carbonated, and topped with a quickly thinning white head. It's clean, grassy aroma has a bit of a corny quality. It's very light and extraordinarily easy-drinking; however, the flavour is fairly wispy and unimpressive. It's not bad, but not all that interesting. It tastes like a lot of other Canadian macro brews and has a very thin mouthfeel. Other than the N.L.-only pedigree, there isn't much else to distinguish this brew.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Newfoundland Macro Brews

When I travel, I try to drink local beers wherever possible. During my honeymoon in St. John's, Newfoundland last fall, most of the beer that I drank came from two quality microbreweries, the Quidi Vidi Brewery (reviews to follow in the near future) and the Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House (see recent reviews). However, being in St. John's, it's impossible not to notice a spate of conventional looking pale macrobrews that are available exclusively in Newfoundland and Labrador. These brews are made by Molson and Labatt. They're branded and packaged in a nod to the province's brewing history, and they're sold in great looking, slightly stubby 341m: bottles.

As far as I can tell, there are five of these brands that persist in N.L.: Jockey Club, Bennett Dominion Ale, Black Horse, Blue Star, and India Beer. I made it my business to sample each of these brews while I was on the Rock.  I wrote a review of four, but sadly I was in no condition to write an intelligible review of Blue Star, having celebrated a bit strenuously that night (not to mention being "Screeched In").

If you're interested in the history of Newfoundland brewing, I highly recommend this excellent blog that I stumbled on which takes an in depth look and features some cool old pictures and advertisements.

Stay tuned to my blog over the next few days if you're interested in my thoughts on (four of) Newfoundland's macro brews. Spoiler alert: None of them were all that exciting or memorable to me, though I really enjoyed all of their branding.

Yellowbelly St. John's Stout

My least favourite (but still quite good) offering from the excellent Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House, the St. John's Stout is a classic looking stout--dark amber (almost black) with a thick and velvety cream head. Unfortunately, I was so wrapped up in my pint that there were two things that I neglected to two: I forgot to check the alcohol percentage and I forgot to snap a photo.  Nice work, Stout Man.

S.J.S. has a relatively mild aroma that features some malty molasses notes. It has a smooth, creamy mouthfeel and an understated flavour that features notes of mocha and molasses. The thing that I liked best about this stuff was its pretty decent bitter finish.

S.J.S. has a nice flavour; however, I'd have liked there to be more of it. This stuff just wasn't as robust as I like my stouts to be. It's good stuff, just not all that memorable.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Yellowbelly Harvest Pale Ale

The Harvest Pale Ale was the Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House's seasonal offering during my honeymoon. The Yellowbelly was out of its regular pale ale when we were there, but this one, brewed using Newfoundland hops, more than made up for it. According to our server, this stuff clocks in somewhere between 5.9 and 6% alcohol.

Sorry 'bout the photo.  It was dark.

A clear copper ale with a thinning head of off-white and moderate carbonation, Harvest Pale Ale has a pleasant hop aroma that tends toward evergreen. It's a robustly bitter pale ale with an IBU count that must be approaching India Pale Ale levels. This is a well constructed brew with more than just hops. Harvest has a lovely flavour with some nice caramel notes. The aftertaste is hoppy, dry, and brief. A fine brew, and kudos to Yellowbelly for using local hops.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Yellowbelly Wexford Wheat

Another offering from St. John's' Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House, Wexford Wheat is a pretty tasty wheat ale. I had a pint of the 5% alcohol brew at the pub. It's a cloudy, golden hued beer topped with a resilient foam of cream head.

Yellowbelly Wexford Wheat has a mild aroma reminiscent of a tart cider. It's a crisp and refreshing wheat ale. The flavour is pleasant, if understated. Notes of citrus fruit are present and accounted for, and the finish is short and dry.

Some of the elements of W.W. remind me of a saison. The mouthfeel is light and effervescent. It's a touch thin perhaps, but a nice brew all the same. And my wife liked it too, which is a plus.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Yellowbelly: Fighting Irish Red Ale

I had a pint of Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House's Fighting Irish Red Ale fresh from the source. Weighing in at 5.5% alcohol, it was a deep amber hued ale topped with a silky cream head. Its sweet, malty aroma had a brown sugar and copper accompaniment. There is a pleasant, smooth front end with some bitter crunch at the backdoor. Some brown sugar and molasses notes provide a bit of sweetness and the finish was hoppier than I expected. Additionally, there were some coppery notes.

The Fighting Irish Red Ale is a well rounded beer that moves from malty to bitter. A fine first taste of Yellowbelly's wares, this stuff ensured that I'd come back another day to try some more of their lineup.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House

My wife and I chose to visit St. John's, Newfoundland for our honeymoon.  Kind of a weird choice for October, I know, but we had an incredible time. One of the unexpected and delightful perks was that our hotel was about a block away from the unassuming and excellent Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House. During our time on the Rock, we found ourselves in the Yellowbelly a handful of times and were never disappointed.

Housed in a beautiful historic building with lots of lovely brickwork, the Yellowbelly brews four regular beers (an Irish red, a stout, a wheat, and a pale ale) as well as one seasonal (while we were there, it was a harvest pale ale). On top of the suds, the food was pretty tasty and the pub was wife-approved.

Beer lovers visiting Newfoundland would do well to stop in to Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House for a pint and some good cheer.

Stay tuned to the Bitter World this week and you'll get to read my thoughts on a number of Yellowbelly brews (though I didn't get to try their pale ale).

Gahan 1772

Gahan 1772 hails from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It's lovingly crafted by the Gahan Brewery, sold in 500mL bottles, and contains a stalwart 6.5% alcohol. It pours a hazy, reddish orange, capped with a lingering hat of off-white head. It leaves behind some pretty remarkable lace with each sip.

There is a muscly hop aroma which features some grapefruit notes. The nice, warm flavour is largely bitter, but also features a gentle caramel sweetness. There is a great hoppy body and a fairly dry finish.

This is a great I.P.A out of P.E.I. Definitely worth a try, this quality ale has all of the requisite elements of a good India Pale--it's hoppy, decently strong, and delicious.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Smuttynose IPA

This tasty IPA was brought to my bachelor party by an awesome buddy. It's made by the Smuttynose Brewing Co., in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It features possibly my all-time favourite beer label--displaying two old codgers in lawn chairs holding beers above the legend "India Pale Ale" Finestkind". They look so happy! The effect is A. Maze. Ing.

"India Pale Ale"

"Finestkind"

Smuttynose IPA comes in a 12oz. bottle.  No alcohol percentage is listed. It pours a hazy golden orange, topped with an extremely durable off-white head. It has an aroma that combines mild fruit sweetness with an agreeable bitterness. The flavour has notes of candied peaches nestled within a hoppy stronghold. I suspect that rates pretty high on the ol' IBU scale. The info on the bottleneck informs the drinker that the beer is both dry hopped and unfiltered.

This is a very enticing and altogether enjoyable I.P.A. There's ample bitterness to please hop heads, but with some nuance too. Have I mentioned that I really, REALLY love the label?

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Hop Nouveau 2012 Wet Hopped Pale Ale

I feel like I've been reviewing a lot of beers from Oakville, Ontario's Trafalgar Ales & Meads lately.  Typically, I try to spread my custom around, sampling the wares of a number of different brewers, but Trafalgar has been releasing a lot of interesting looking beers which keep bringing me back to the well for more.

Hop Nouveau 2012 Wet Hopped Pale Ale is, according to its packaging, made using Ontario grown hops and malts. Awesomely, the label provides data about where the hops used were harvested (Straffordville, Ontario), as well as brewed on and bottled on dates--very cool to see that kind of info.

Hop Nouveau poured a swampy golden colour topped with a fairly thin layer of off-white head. The aroma is fairly hoppy but also has a strong honey character. It moves from sweet to bitter. The front end has some honey and caramel sweetness, although I found it to be a touch thin. The finish is well rounded and nicely hopped.

Hop Nouveau 2012 Wet Hopped Pale Ale comes in a 650mL bottle and contains 5% alcohol. I was going to try to rate this stuff a 7.0, but I love the use and promotion of Ontario ingredients, so it gets a bonus tick. A little more front end oomph would've been nice.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Nasty Habit India Pale Ale

In Revelstoke, British Columbia, the Mt. Begbie Brewing Company brews Nasty Habit India Pale Ale. NHIPA is a clear, copper coloured I.P.A. helmeted with an eggshell head. It contains 6% alcohol and comes in 650mL bottles with pretty wild labels.

Nasty Habit has a warm evergreen aroma, blended with some caramel notes. In the flavour, there's great balance between sweet caramel maltiness and bitter hop bombast. It's a little bit thin at the front end, but it picks up steam near the finish. The mouthfeel is an odd combination of smoothness and bitter grit. There is a pine tree hops flavour that hits a great note.

This beer is pretty tasty, handsome, and multi-faceted. It's a fine IPA.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Shipyard XXXX IPA

A part of "Pugsley's Signature Series", Shipyard XXXX IPA is produced in Portland, Maine, by the Shipyard Brewing Co. Its sold in 625mL bottles topped with gold foil and contains a pretty badass 9.3% alcohol.  The brassy, orange coloured ale is cloudy and topped with an unyielding cream head.

Shipyard XXXX IPA has an aroma that speaks of citrus hoppiness. The flavour has that same citrus hops presence, but balanced against a boozy malt-splosion that encompasses caramel and brown sugar. It has considerable boozy warmth and a fairly hoppy finish.

I know that Porland, Oregon is a big brewing hub in the United States--it's cool to see Porland, Maine asserting itself as well. This is not a beer for the meek. It's pretty formidable, with a well-heeled, nuanced flavour and alcohol to spare. Clear your schedule and settle in with a bottle of this stuff for a lovely evening.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier

Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier is a clear, pale golden brew.  It had lots of carbonation and a bright white head. It comes from the Staatliches Hefbräuhaus in Munich, Germany. It's sold in 500mL bottles that feature an old time-y label and contains 6.3% alcohol. It has a grainy aroma that encompasses both sweet and bitter elements quite nicely. H.O. features a crisp, well balanced flavour.  It tastes like a pilsner, only bolder--more like a concentrated pale lager.

This was a tasty brew that put me in an autumn mood. Sweet on the front end and bitter on the back, it had no real surprises, but it was refreshing and quite delicious. I haven't got much else to say about this one.  If you like robust, crisp lagers, you'll probably like Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Stiegl Radler Grapefruit

Stiegl Radler Grapefruit immediately caught my eye when I walked into the liquor store on a hot June day. I think it was a combination of its snazzy 500mL Gingham-patterned can and its grapefruit focus that drew me in.  I had to have it immediately.

The product of Stieglbrauerei Zu Salzburg, Stiegl Radler Grapefruit hails from Salzburg, Austria. It's a mix of 50% beer (presumably Stiegl's popular pale lager) and 50% fruit juice. It's very, VERY mild, clocking in at a liver-gladdening 2.5% alcohol. It pours a cloudy pale yellow colour, topped with a white head that fades quickly.

There is a tart grapefruit aroma with only a faint whisper of beer to it. It tastes very much like a grapefruit soda--it's fizzy and has that same blend of tartness and sugariness. The pale lager base is way in the background. It's really only a juice platform and an alcohol delivery device. I wouldn't complain if there was a bit more lager heft to this stuff.

The Grapefruit Radler is compellingly refreshing. It's alcoholicly anemic (which is a bit of a complaint), but it has a great fruit flavour. It would probably be really nice over ice. After a hot day in the sun, this stuff will really hit the spot, plus it should appeal to people who don't normally drink beer. This stuff was certainly a big hit with the wife.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.