Pearl Street Double IPA

Took a great road trip in May to Buffalo, NY with Partner and another couple.  One of our best stops on the whirlwind journey was the Pearl Street Grill and Brewery.  A multi-level brewpub with good eats and a nice set of patios, the real highlight of Pearl was their brews. They had a great stock of regular beers, plus a nice array of seasonals--I had a hard time choosing.

I ordered a Lake Effect Pale Ale, because the description sounded great.  My buddy ordered himself a Double IPA.  When they arrived, it took me about two sips to realize that we'd been crossed up.  My brew was so hoppy there was no way it could be a pale ale.  Impressed, I opted to keep it.

The Double IPA was a clear copper colour with a cream coloured head. It had a beautiful hop-forward aroma that blended caramel and citrus. The flavour was forcefully hoppy, with some sweet notes of caramel. Hops was the order of the day, from the beginning through the puckeringly bitter aftertaste. A big, bold brew, the Pearl Street Double IPA is well worth looking out for.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Al's Cask Ale

Al's Cask Ale is one of the regular brews at C'est What? in Toronto, Ontario.  I had a pint on tap at the pub after a vigorous squash game, when beer was critical.  It clocks in at 4.7% alcohol and has a solid 38 IBUs. Al's is a clear, golden-copper colour topped with a thin tan head.  A true cask ale, Al's is smooth and creamy with only slight carbonation.  Al's has a very mild aroma--gentle, but balanced and pleasant. Likewise, the flavour is mild--hop forward, with a malty, caramel finish.

 Al's Cask Ale is a pretty nice beer.  It's tasty and well executed, if not a trifle mild. I'd like a bit more action, either on the hops or malt side of the equation. Still, when in T.O., get yourself down to C'est What? and see for yourself.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

CCBC-Irish Red

I spent an enjoyable early afternoon at Washington's Capitol City Brewing Company sampling a variety of beers. However, most of my drinking was sample sized glasses. Their Irish Red was the only full pint that I quaffed. I sampled this one on the advice of my bartender.

The Irish Red, not surprisingly, arrived a deep brownish red colour. It was moderately cloudy and topped with a quality cap of eggshell head. The aroma was malty with some gentle molasses sweetness. Tastewise, there were notes of molasses and a bit of brown sugar. The brew started sweet, with warm maltiness, and then gave way to some gently floral bitterness.  It was a nice, full-bodied ale, and one of the best on offer at the CCBC.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

CCBC-Steam

One of Capitol City's seasonal brews, their Steam Ale, is a good representation of a classic west coast beer style. It arrived a clear golden amber colour with a goodish layer of almost white head. The aroma is malt forward with some caramel notes. A mild brew, the Steam moves from sweet to bitter. It has good drinkability, nice malt character, and excellent sessionability. The Steam isn't a very complex ale, but it is pretty enjoyable.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

CCBC-Prohibition Porter

On the dark end of the spectrum, Capitol City Brewing Co. offers the Prohibition Porter. This ale has a deep brown colour, almost black, with a light tan head. It looks quite a lot like cola. The aroma of cacao is dominant and there is also a rich, chocolatey flavour. There is a bit of bitterness lurking near the backdoor. Prohibition Porter is a very mild, drinkable dark beer. It is accessible, and has a nice roasty quality.  I tend to prefer porters that are a touch sweeter initially, but this one works nonetheless. If you're in D.C., I think it's worth your time.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

CCBC-Cherry Blossom Ale

Washington D.C. in the springtime--cherry blossoms are everywhere.  So why not incorporate them into a brew?  The Capitol City Brewing Company did just that with its Cherry Blossom Ale. The ale was reddish, almost rose coloured. It was topped with a thin ring of eggshell head and had a very sweet, almost floral aroma. The flavour was extremely sweet, with notes of cherry pie and flowers. The mouthfeel was quite thick, almost syrupy. In my estimation, the Cherry Blossom Ale was too sweet to drink more than one. It was an interesting, fairly unique beer, but not really what I'm looking for in a pint. Still, I'm sure that there are those out there who would really dig it. Worth a try for the novelty alone.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

CCBC-Pale Rider Ale

Pale Rider, Capitol City Brewing Co.'s version of a pale ale, was a clear brassy colour. It had a fair degree of carbonation and was topped by a shock of white head. The aroma was quite mild--I could detect some toasty malt beneath a body of hops. Pale Rider is considerably hop forward, with some orange peel and piney hop flavours. It finishes almost sweetly, with a touch of caramel, balanced against a hop bouquet.  Quite a mild beer, I'd like a touch more oomph in an American-style pale ale. Still, Pale Rider was pretty tasty.

 Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

CCBC-Amber Waves Ale

The Amber Waves Ale, another offering from the Capitol City Brewing Co. was a hazy reddish brew, with a nice cover of off-white head. It had a juicy, stone fruit aroma with some floral hops. The body was a nice balance between bitterness and malty sweetness. The hop bitterness was floral, and fairly dry into the finish.  Amber Waves was a nuanced little brew--well conceived, well executed and quite tasty too.

Of the Capitol City brews that I tried, Amber Waves was the pick of the litter.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

CCBC-Capitol Kolsch

 Capitol City Brewing Co.'s Capitol Kolsch arrived a pale straw colour, clear, and topped with a thin white head. It featured a grainy aroma with just a hint of toasty malt. The flavour ran from faintly sweet to a bitter-tinged finish. Though I only had a sample-sized glass, I could tell that this was an extremely sessionable brew. It was crisp, clean, mild and easy-drinking.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10. 

Capitol City Brewing Company

The first time I visited Washington D.C., I stumbled upon the Capitol City Brewing Co. (stumbled upon it and then stumbled out). I was reasonably impressed with their wares, so, on a recent return visit to the American capital, returning to the CCBC and reviewing their beers was a top priority.  However, it wasn't as easy as I'd imagined. I dragged my poor father to the site of the brew pub I'd visited a few years earlier, only to find it a brew pub no more.  All wasn't lost--we found a quality Irish pub in the vicinity, where we were able to watch a hockey game and take shelter from the rain--but I was determined to get back to the CCBC.  Next day, I tracked down another location and made my way there solo.

What I found was a decent bar atmosphere--not exactly warm and cozy, but adequate, bustling and supplemented by a pretty good menu.  They had a handful of brews on tap, spanning the colours of the brewing rainbow.  I did my best to review them all, but I'm just one man.  I had a sample flight of five small portions, a full pint of their Irish red and, for good measure, another sample for the road, all washed down with a plate of beef sliders.

Apart from the location I visited in downtown D.C., the Capitol City Brewing Co. has another location in Arlington, Virginia.  That's where the actual brewing is done. They have a main roster of four signature beers that are available year-round: a kölsch, an amber ale, a pale ale, and a porter. Additionally, they have a variety of seasonal brews.

Stay tuned--over the next few days, I'll be posting reviews of each of the brews I tried.

Train Wreck Ale

Train Wreck Ale is a ballsy IPA brewed by the Gananoque Brewing Company. It's a punchy little number, weighing in at 6.7% alcohol. I had a pint on tap at a popular Toronto beer-drinking establishment.  It arrived with a positive recommendation from my server, a nice, lively golden orange colour. It was slightly cloudy, full of carbonation, and topped with a thick off-white head.

T.W.A. has a powerful hop aroma with notes of pine and a whisper of citrus rind. The mouthfeel is considerably dry and the flavour, like the aroma, is hoppy and bitter. There are notes of pine and and citrus. It is hop forward, but there is a bit of caramel sweetness hiding in there to round out the body. The aftertaste continues to be pretty hoppy. I'd be interested to know what the IBU count is in this beast, because it tastes hoppy as all get out.  Also, the alcohol content is cleverly masked--it doesn't taste like a 6.7% beer.

The T.W.A. is a saucy brew that is a pretty fair impression of a West Coast IPA. I definitely recommend it, and will be keeping my eyes out for other brews by Gananoque.  If you see Train Wreck Ale on tap, I say give it a try.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Cornerstone Copper

Washington D.C.'s Chocolate City Beer's Cornerstone Copper Ale checks in at a nice 27 IBUs. I had a breakfast pint on tap at a cafe near my hotel (What? I was on vacation.) It arrived a hazy, burnt orange coloour, topped with a thin white head. The aroma was slightly malty with a dose of apple cider. The flavour had that same malt notes with a whisper of cinnamon and some autumn fruit sweetness.

If you're in Washington, this is an ale worth tracking down. It's got great drinkability and it's plenty refreshing. I suspect it'd be particularly great in the fall.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Yeungling Traditional Lager

Yeungling!  I have lots of great memories of drinking this beer when I was staying in North Carolina. This was one of my go-to brews, and one that lots of my Charlotte friends seemed to agree on. It is brewed by the Yeungling Beer Company of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It's only available in handful of states, so I was pretty thrilled when I found it on tap in an Irish pub during a recent trip to Washington, D.C.

Yeungling is a cheery clear amber coloured brew topped with a dusting of off-white head. It has a toasty malt aroma. It's fairly full-bodied for a lager, with considerable malt volume. It's initially sweet and the builds to a comfortable hop finish.

If you're in the Eastern U.S., keep your eyes out for Yeungling. It's a well crafted brew--nice and toasty.  I'd love to be able to get it in Toronto.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales out of Milton, Deleware, makes some top quality brews, typically very hoppy ones. Their 60 Minute IPA is no exception. I had a pint on tap at a DC Irish Pub. According to their website, 60 Minute contains 6% alcohol and has 60 IBUs.

This badass India Pale Ale arrived a clear, brass colour. It had a powerful hop aroma that was both floral and piney. The flavour is all hops all the time. It's bitter with woodsy notes and a boozy body. 60 Minute has a considerably dry mouthfeel.

Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA is a robust and interesting beer. However, it really isn't all that drinkable--I can't picture myself drinking more that a couple in a session.  That said, definitely worth a try for all hop heads.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Kapuziner

Kapuziner is billed as a Bavarian Schwarz-Weizen, a black wheat ale.  Sold in 500mL bottles, and clocking in at 5.4%, it poured an almost black colour with reddish highlights and a very thick off-white head. It's built by the Kulmbacher Brauerei in Kulmbach, Germany. This is a brew that I got at a quality beer establishment in Washington, D.C.--they offered a $3 mystery beer, and this was the one that came out of the cooler.

Kapuziner had a malty aroma with some smokiness. The flavour was smokey with a hint of liquorice and peat. Also fairly yeasty. Pretty full-flavoured for a wheat beer, Kapuziner is a tasty brew with a lot to offer. I'd say it's worth a try.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Stillwater Debutante

Stillwater Artisanal Ales come from Baltimore, Maryland. I found one of their offerings, the Debutante Farmhouse Ale, on tap at a DC beer bar. This saison, poured on tap into a 10oz glass, arrived a cloudy orange-gold colour topped with a thin white head.  According to the bar list, the brew contains 6.4% alcohol.

Debutante had a crisp, malty aroma and a flavour that was moderately tart, and featured some notes of yeast and citrus. The mouthfeel was notably dry. I had no idea at the time, but after checking out the brewer's blog, I learned that the brew was made with spelt and rye, and contains various other plants and herbs. The beer was very refreshing and quite intriguing.

A very interesting beer, Debutante made me realize how much I have to learn about saisons as a style, and that's fine by me.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.