Big Rock Brewery Craft Pack Overall

A nice balance of flavours, from light to heavy. Gives you a nice broad look at what craft beers are sort of like.

Good price, not too expensive.

Big Rock takes a few liberties with there classifications…but we’ll forgive them that, we’ve seen worse.

We had trouble getting any head on these beers. Even a violent pour left you with a little skim that would bubble off in no time. Some folks like head, some don’t…so we’ll just point this out and leave it as is.

Two Shoe’s - 8/10 – The summer pack had a lime beer in it, this pack did not.

They deserve an extra point for taking that trash out of here.

Jake – 8/10 – No fantastic stuff happening, no terrible things either.

Overall, this could be a good intro into Craft beers. We’re talking about getting your lame ass friends who are brand whores to try something new, this might be it. If you already have friends who like beer, then it might be worth a shot, something you might not have tried.

Warthog – Big Rock Brewery

Nose – Very similar to traditional, but we finally have some body here!!

Taste – Again, similar to traditional, but more hops. Mellow though, Big Rock seemsto have a thing for mellow hops. This isn’t a bad thing at all.

After taste – A more intense, (and shorter duration) of the Traditional Ale’s hop finish. You’re left with more hops on your mouth, and the tease of sweet is still there, but much less.

It’s sort of a caramel transitioning to hops, without ever hitting sweet. A creamyness presents itself that is kind of interesting.

Jake – 6/10 – Good, but far to similar to the Traditional Ale

Two Shoe’s 7/10 - Crank Traditional’s hops up one notch, and you get Warthog.

Traditional Ale – Big Rock Brewery

 

Appearance – Another very clean and clear looking beer from Big Rock.

Nose – Mild hop with a hint of sweet. A tad strong, but not unpleasant.

Taste – This has a creamy feel in your mouth with a subtle tease of sweetness. Finishes with a mild hop. All of the flavors tease at the back of your tongue.

“The nose sets you up and the taste delivers”

Chuggability – Very good. The hops are more prominent after a good couple of swallows.

Again your mouth is left with a dryness, with the last two this wasn’t a big deal, you just drink some more. Works out quite well actually…unless you’re drinking Grasshopper…

Two Shoe’s – 8/10 - Best one out of the craft pack so far…only one left

Jake – 7/10 – Don’t know what to say, but it’s good

Gopher Lager – Big Rock Brewery

A little stage setting is needed here. Mr. Jake…well Mr. Jake hates lagers. To quote him ‘Lagers blow, so boring and plain. Sucky, like your b-ball skillz” so just to let everyone know, this review will be skewed a little bit.

Colour: Very pale, almost a straw colour.

Nose: Not a whole lot…kind of smells like beer I guess…

Taste: Throughout most of your mouth it lacks much of anything…it’s the back of your toungue that gets the brunt of the flavor, and that’s just a slight bitter hop.

Now don’t get us wrong, that’s kind of cool. You can really chug the shit out of these if you want, and end up with a bit more intenst hop, which if you know us, you know we like hops.

It may sound funny, but we’re going to give this a good score.

Two Shoes – 7/10 ‘…better than grasshopper’

Jake – 7.5/10 ‘I hate lagers and this was good…like your Mom’

A very plain, pure, clean and straight forward beer. Not a whole lot of complexity, but all in a good way. Makes Mr. Jake think twice about lager segregation.

Grasshopper - Big Rock Brewery

Hey, so we here at The Beer Nerds are actually pretty big fans of wheat beers, despite the hop fests we tend to take part in all the time.

Look: This is a very clear beer, no floaties what’s so ever. So this must be a filtered beer…which is ok…but it seems like it may effect the flavor to take out the floaties,cause…

Flavour: Ummm…a little bit…yes there is a little bit of flavor here…

It’s a very slight wheaty, with an even more slight citrus hint. Orange rind is what we’re thinking. We have to be thinking it though, cause you really don’t taste much…

Chuggability is very high, if that matters to you.

Aftertaste:…if that’s what you want to call it, is slime to none… really it only leaves your mouth dry.

Overall, most wheat beers we’ve had have a fuller body and more flavor to them. If you want to compare this to a white beer or a hefe, than Grasshopper is definitely on it’s own.

Touted as a non-commercial ‘small batch craft beer’ but in reality it’s not far off from the norms.

“Good for a sunny day, if it’s ice cold” (said in the winter, so no actual basis in fact or experience)

Two Shoes - 6/10

Jake – 6/10

Alberta Genuine Draft

“It’s cheap and I didn’t throw up after one and it’s cheap”

That’s about all we want to say about this…

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.