La Table Commune Series - For What Ales you

I normally would not just repost something like this but it is directly related to my previous posting. Firefly Fine Wines and Ales has posted the details for their next La Table Commune Series seminars. They are fun educational events with limited seating, so call now!  Here are the details:

 

For What Ales You - June 28, 2011

Is post-playoff season getting you down? We have the cure for what ales you. Join Lundy, our senior ales advisor, for an evening of tasting, learning and chatting about beer in a lager-free environment. She will take you from basic, light, refreshing styles to deep, dark and downright chewy - and everything in between with the eight samples she pours.

During the evening you can nibble on cheese and bread while you get to know your fellow tasters or catch up with your beer-loving friends. Lundy will be happy to answer all of your questions and she'll send you home with a new glass appropriate for enjoying ales at home. If you choose to do some shopping following the event, you'll receive a 10 per cent discount on your purchases.

Date: Tue, June 28
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Cost: $35

This seminar is limited to 12 seats and is a first come, first served basis. Please call Firefly Fine Wines and Ales at 604.875.3325 with your credit card details to purchase your ticket and reserve your seat. Alternatively, you can purchase tickets in person at the store (2857 Cambie Street, @ 12th Avenue, Vancouver)

'La Table Commune' Series - Firefly Fine Wines and Ales

The Cambie Street location of Firefly Fine Wines and Ales has been hosting monthly beer focused seminars as part of their "La Table Commune" Series.  These are posted on the Firefly events webpage as well as in the Firefly newsletters.  Lundy Dale, Firefly's Senior Beer Advisor and president of CAMRA BC, leads the seminars.  They are very informative sessions with a very casual approach.  It's a great way to meet with friends and strangers alike who all share a love of good beer and an urge to learn more about it.  I have been to three different seminars now and will not miss any to come.  

The first seminar I attended was in March and focused on "Beer with Benefits" (a.k.a. flavours/adjuncts).  Lundy selected a wide variety of flavoured beers and the group openly discussed each one and everything adjunct related.  She also managed to snag us a few bottles of an R&B Brewing Mango Wheat Ale that was made especially for  a beer dinner at Chutney Villa that week.  We were also visited  by one of the brewcrew from R&B who gave us a rundown of how the Mango Wheat Ale came to be.  Pretty great way to spend an evening.  Saw some familiar faces, learned a lot and had a blast doing it!

The selection from the "Beer with Benefits" adjunct seminar in March:
Lost Coast - Tangerine Wheat Ale
Elysian - Jasmine IPA
Phillips - Ginger Ale
Rogue - Juniper Ale
Rogue - Chipotle Ale
Cannery - Maple Stout
Swan's - Coconut Porter

The next seminar was a good grass routes "Beer 101".  It was just that.  Lundy walked us through the simple basics; ale vs. lager, the brewing process in general, basic ingredients, etc.  Basically, we touched on anything the group had questions on both simple and complex.  Of course, all through this, we sampled a selection of beers from around the world that were chosen to give us examples of the differences is some of the main styles from around the world.  Obviously, these were just examples and there are a lot more styles out there, but we covered some of the basics.  Again, good folks, good beers and a great time!

The selection from "Beer 101" seminar in April:
Ayinger Celebrator - Germany
Pilsner Urquell - Czech Republic
Schneider Weisse Hefeweizen - Germany
Propeller London Style Porter - Canada
Samuel Smith IPA - England
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - USA
Chimay Grande Reserve - Belgium

During the Beer 101 class, Lundy encouraged feedback on what sort of focus people might like the upcoming classes to have.  After discussing, the idea of now building on "Beer 101" and starting to focus on more detail as things went along seemed logical.  Well, Lundy was receptive and before long was concocting plans for the next two seminars focusing on the obvious next steps,...lagers and ales.

 The third "La Tabla Commune" beer seminar which took place on May 24 was "50 Ways to Love your Lagers".  We discussed all things about lager, from how there made, what makes them a lager and how many different styles of lager are out there.  No longer can I identify a lager vs. ale based on color.  Which is what I would have done not so long ago.  We sampled everything from the very light to the quite heavy and yup,...they were all lagers.  It was a good learning opportunity.  Lundy treated us by pulling out some North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin Imperial Stout when we we done tasting the darkest lagers.  It was a solid comparison of ale vs lager and highlighted how diverse lagers can be.

The selection from "50 Ways to Love your Lager" held in May:
Chatoe Rogue - Dirtoir Black Lager
V.I.B. - Hermannator Eisbock
Tree Brewing - Captivator Dopplebock
Rogue - Dead Guy Ale (who knew it was a lager?)
Warsteiner - Premium Dunkel
Ayinger - Oktoberfest/Marzen
Lighthouse - Overboard Imperial Pilsner
Samuel Adams - Noble Pils

So in closing, these seminars are great and limited to only 12 seats for each one.  I suggest you watch for the next one to be posted and snag a ticket or two right away.  You also get 10% off your purchase that night and a mug or glass to add to your cupboard as well.  I'm already excited for the ale focused class which I assume will be next.  Hopefully might see you there!

Cheers

Hopworks Urban Brewery - Ace of Spades IPA

Brewery: HUB

Beer: Ace of Spades IPA

ABV: 9.5%

IBUs: 100+

Where: Firefly Fine Wines and Ales

I received this beer as part of a gift.  I have been wanting to try it for sometime so was pleasantly surprised.  Before I get to what's inside the bottle; the bottle itself deserves some credit.  I love cool beer labels.  This one is indeed that.  The beer gets it's name from the band Motorhead's song and album of the same name - Ace of Spades.  Kick-ass label but still very informative as well.  I like when breweries provide details.

So, now to the beer itself.  I personally thought it was great.  It poured into a dark yellow/golden with mild cloudiness.  The head was average in size, yellow-white with a light rocky texture.  Great lacing with this beer.  Aromas of citrus, flowers and herbs balanced by a toffee/butter/woody tone.  The mouthfeel was lively and the texture seemed oily or slick.  It went down quite nicely and faster than I expected.

This beer currently rings in an impressive A- with Beer Advocate for 46 reviews.  It's trophy shelf currently holds the Gold Medal for IPAs at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival.

This is a great beer with a pretty strong hop presence, but still levelled by a nice malt balance.  Only available until late May, so grab them now!

Cheers

Tree Brewing Company - Captivator Doppelbock

Brewer: Tree Brewing Company

Beer: Captivator Doppelbock

Alc%: 8%

Where: Firefly Wines and Ales

Tree Brewing Company currently has three "Occasional Rarities", one of which is their Captivator Doppelbock.  I grabbed it off the shelf not yet having the chance to hear anything about it, let alone knowing what to expect.

The beer poured into a clear dark ruby colour with a very short maple coloured head that diminished fairly quickly.  The head provided very little lacing as well.  The first aromas to hit the nose were caramel, toffee and nuts.  There wasn't much of a hop presence.  If any, it was an underlying note of perfume and herbaceous characters.  The overall nose was sweetness,...more of a baking sweetness than a sugary one.

Upon the first taste, I got a pretty confectioned sweetness, almost bubble gummy.  That quickly led into a deep raisin/fig sweetness accompanied by brown sugar (cooking) and toffee.

The mouthfeel was very slick.  Not quite oily but one step past creamy.  I found the acidity to be lite aside from the 8% alcohol.  The flavour lasted but not notably long.

This beer has wrangled in some titles:

Silver Medal - 2010 North American Brewery Awards

Gold Medalist - 2010 Canadian Brewing Awards

Voted best Beer - Fest of Ale

It currently rings in an A- with Beer Advocate from 21 reviews.

Overall, it's a little more sweeter than I normally like, but I can see this fitting well with some hot summer patio afternoons this summer.

Cheers

Phillips Beer - Surly Blonde Big Belgium Triple

Not yet having developed any sort of craving for Belgium beers after having tried a few different ones, I decided I need to expose myself a little more to them.  Being in a current "stout stage", any strong fruit flavours have taken me off guard.  This week, when grabbing a few Phillips Beer as I often do, their Surly Blonde found it's way into my cart.

I'll start by noting that I am aware the pilsner glass may not be the best glass for tasting this beer.  The beer had a clear and sparkly appearance with an amber hue.  I expected it to be more murky.  The head was not very big, but seemed to last at that level and was off-white and fizzy.  The beer did not produce much lacing.

The first aroma to hit the nose was a bready/grainy note.  The hop scent seemed medium to mild with hints of flowers, perfume and a tart resin note.  It had an underlying sweet yeasty smell.  Secondary notes were of subtle banana, bubble gum and butterscotch.

The body seemed medium with a soft oily texture.  The flavour was long and moderate to heavy in sweetness.  The acidity was higher than I expected as well, but not too heavy and the bitterness was mild.

The 650 ml bottle has an impression 9.1% alc and rings in an overall (B-) on Beer Advocate from 23 reviews.

All in all, I really enjoyed tasting this beer and the result was what I wanted.  I'll definitely be trying to samples more of the Belgium styles and am open for suggestions.

Cheers

R&B Brewing Co. - Dark Star Oatmeal Stout

I'll make this one quick.  I friggin love this beer! R&B Brewing Company hit the nail on the head for me with this one.  I like my heavy knock-down stouts, but it is nice to find one that is a little quicker in the mouth and doesn't have that weigh-you-down feel.

A soothing dark, muddy body that's almost black.  It has an average head that is off-white (latte like) and creamy smooth.  The nose gives a heavy roasted, nutty, coffee and almost straw-like malt note.  The bitterness is strange.  It is definitely there but oddly subtle at the same time; rather herby. The palate gives a woody, charcoal, chocolate and tobacco mix.  The drinking texture is thick and pleasantly oily with a lively and fine carbonation.  The acidity is light and the flavour leaves a minerally/metallic hint which pleasantly last for a while.  I don't usually like using "metallic" as a descriptor as it can turn some people off.  In this case, I mean it in all the good ways,...the good metals!  It rings in at 4.6% alcohol with 18 IBUs.  It brought home a gold in the Canadian Brewing Awards in 2010.  

Did I mention I love this beer!

The Pelican Pub and Brewery - Tsunami Stout

Pulled a bottle of Tsunami Stout by The Pelican Pub and Brewery out of the fridge last night.  First time trying it and was pleased with the beer overall.  The appearance is a nice very dark, almost black hue.  The head was a dark tan, frothy and lasting.  The body had a mild/lite carbonation and felt creamy in the mouth.  Notes of cask wood, toffee, vanilla and maybe even some cola.  Felt slick going down with a lasting flavor.  Beer advocate has this one currently sitting at an (A-).  I must concur; a very enjoyable stout.  Listed at 7% alc.