A Howe Sound Double Header

That's sort of a beer joke right?? Head??

Ok, make your own jokes then...

Two beers tonight from the brewery in Howe Sound. They come in giant 1L bottles with the resealable flip lids. Like a Grolsh, only bigger. Very good for home brewing I hear.

First up is the 'Rail Ale Nut Brown' Which should really just be yelled, cause it sounds better that way.

Howe Sound has a thing for trains by the way...*shrugs*

The opening sniffs do in fact reveal a nutty aroma, with licorice root and earthiness. It sounds weird but it reminded me of the chocolate ice cream that comes in the neapolitan mix. Does that make sense??

It looks basically black, but if you hold it to the light you see a caramel colour. It looks like a thick beer, but once you taste it you find that it isn't at all.

The flavour does not give you much nuttiness, but there is a hint of it. Dark chocolate and licorice root round out the flavour nicety. Let it sit on your tongue to get the full flavour.

Or wait for it to get warm...

Not even kidding here, this gets better as it gets warm. The chocolate and licorice come out in force.

Not a creamy beer as expected, I know chocolate kind of says creamy, but it's not.

Our scores:

Jake 6/10 – Nothing new or remarkable, but it gets a bonus point for coming in a cool bottle

Burpie 6.5/10 – For the warm = better thing

Two Shoes 7/10 – Good stuff. Nothing uncool, lots of flavour.

We're calling this one a good bar beer if you talk more than you drink, and you let your beer get warm. Could be a good one to get mashed on, it's not too filling. Certainly not a 'sit around and enjoy the flavour' beer.

Second of the night is the 'Father Johns Winter Ale'

ok, so first off we have to say we are fucking stoked to try this. Here's why:

The label reads:

'A rich, malty seasonal ale brewed every fall for the winter months. Made with four different malts, nuggets & hallertau hops and a complex blend of ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, molasses, honey, and yellow sugar. Named for John Mitchell, Howe Sounds original brewer and one of the fathers of Canadian microbrewing. Enjoy!'

And you know what? That's the most accurate label I've ever seen on beer. All of that is in there. All of it.

First impressions went like this

'Oh Wow!'

'That smell is nuts'

'Explodes in your mouth'

'Oh Geez!...' (yes, we talk like this, shut up)

needless to say, we were pretty into this one...but then something happened...

The ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and molasses dominate. The other flavours are still there though, hinting about your tongue, looking for ways to get their flavours across...and that's where the problem comes in...

As we continue our glasses, we are starting to feel a little assaulted. This is a heavy beer, and our bellies are feeling it, and our mouths are filled with this onslaught of flavours that are in no way getting along.

Going back to the label above, it is a very complex blend...but complex does not always mean good. You can make a peanut butter and jelly sammich complex by adding ketchup, mustard and pickles to it if you want to...It's complex, sure, but fuck.

Toward the end the aroma is less of a spiced beer and more of a Glade air freshener.

Scores:

Burpie 4/10 – * Falls down some stairs *

Two Shoes 5/10 – Glad I tried it. Unique. I will remember it. * Laughs at Burpie *

Jake – 5/10 – A reluctant 5...bonus for trying. Too complex...or too muddled in it's complexity. All over the place. Pick a couple of flavours, not all of them.

This is more of a beer to share with a large group of friends. Maybe a dessert beer in a very small glass. You don;t want a full pint, it's just too much. :Letting it get warm isn't much of an option either; it just gets syrupy and sort of melted candy-ish.