Hamilton Haul--Early Bird Oak-Aged Sour with Cherries

The label of 473mL cans of Early Bird Oak-Aged Sour with Cherries are lovely, with a bird carrying off a sprig of cherries. The 5.8%, 13 IBU sour is from Hamilton, Ontario’s Grain & Grit Small Batch Beer.

Early Bird has a sediment rich bright pink colour. It’s a hazy beer that poured with almost no head. The beer packs a lot into its aroma: cherry notes, tartness, and a woody warmth. The flavour is sour, cherry-focused, and features an oaky essence. The woodiness is potent, and also a little unusual—it provides an odd funk that I found enjoyable.

Good strength, ample sour, and a woodiness that I thought was strangely agreeable made this a pretty decent sour ale, but not one I’d reach for routinely.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Letra Late Harvest Wild Grape

As is typically my practice when spending an afternoon at a brewery or craft beer bar, for my third glass, I asked the opinion of the person behind the bar. The dude at the Letraria Craft Beer Garden wasted no time in recommending the Late Harvest Wild Grape from the Letra on Oak series of barrel aged beers. A 7% ale, the beer is French oak-aged with 20% late-harvested Fernão Pires grapes. The 370mL bottle arrived corked and caged. Once freed, the hazy golden ale exuded a singular sweet and funky white wine aroma. Though it poured with a modest white head, this faded almost immediately, leaving only some loose, sudsy tectonics.

The beer had a tart, yeasty flavour. Not sour, exactly, but certainly funky in the way of a wild saison or a particularly tangy Belgian ale. The winy nose persisted into the flavour, though it was joined by notes of sour cherry and wacky yeast.

I always love to ask staff what I should be sampling. In this instance, I ended up with a quirky, barrel-aged, grape infused beer I’d never have ordered myself. And the result was really quite excellent—unique flavour, lots of booze, and a nice opportunity to talk beer with a dude who knew his stuff. I also seldom get to see an “enjoy by” date that extends to 2030.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

The Patriarchy-The Legend

Last up in my trio of reviews of Devil’s Right Hand Stouts is The Legend—a barrel aged version of The Elder (that one was sold out when I visited Parsons Brewing Company)—the 10% 45 IBU ale is aged in barrels that once housed Wild Oak Whiskey from Kinsip House of Fine Spirits. Sold in 650mL bombers, this stuff is a recipe for a nap if you drink it on an empty stomach on a sunny Sunday afternoon (this I know from experience).

The Legend is a dark beer with amber highlights. It pours with a think and unyielding tan foam and has a nose that is sweet, woody, and chocolatey. Flavour is sweet, particularly in the early going, with treacle and chocolate elevating a malty opening salvo. The finish is fairly bitter, though a bit more generous hopping might have made for better balance.

Thick and sticky, The Legend is an apparently dour ale with a playful side. It has nice wood aging elements, sweetness that is plentiful without overpowering, and a reasonable bitter finish. It’s strength is great, too. As mentioned earlier, another portion of dank hops might have made this beer a bit more appealing to me, but otherwise, it did a nifty job of holding my attention. After reviewing, I paired the second half of my beer with a maduro cigar, and the result was pleasing.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Monty's Aged Ryed Ale

Monty's Aged Ryed Ale is named in honour of Jon Montgomery, the Canadian skeleton racer who won a gold medal and celebrated by chugging beer in a scene of patriotic glory. The beer, constructed by the Old Tomorrow Ltd., comes from Toronto, Ontario. According to the 473mL can, this 6.2% Ale is aged with oak that has been infused with rye whisky (100% Canadian of course--though it doesn't divulge which one).

Monty's is a swampy dull orange grog. It pours with a surprisingly bright white head and has a extremely sweet aroma--woody, with some vanilla notes. The flavour is also quite sweet, with clover elements and a fairly woody body. There is little bitterness to this ale, which makes it a good after dinner candidate, but also leaves it a bit unbalanced. There is a touch of whisky at the tail end that was warm and wily.

I thought that Monty's was a pretty innovative little brew. The oaked rye aging process made for an interesting taste profile, though I maintain that the beer was too sweet and could have benefited from a few more handfuls of hops. Still, I liked it and I'll buy it again.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

St.-Ambroise Oak Aged Pale Ale

The 25th anniversary of McAuslan Brewery, one of Canada's premier beer businesses, is cause to celebrate. They chose to mark the occasion by releasing St.-Ambroise Oak Aged Pale Ale. This beer hails from Montreal, Quebec. It's sold in 341mL bottles and features a heady 6% alcohol. It's a hazy, ruddy gold brew that pours with a creamy head.

Owing to its oak aging, the beer has an extremely sweet aroma--it's woody, with honey and vanilla notes. That sweetness carries through into the flavour, with bourbon and vanilla character, which is buttressed by some nice roasted malt elements. Not a lot of bitterness here, which is a knock against the stuff, but not a substantial one.

This anniversary ale was enjoyable, though too honeyed and sweet to be a frequent purchase. As with all McAuslan beers I've sampled, this stuff is well made. However, I prefer their darker, more substantial brews. Maybe for their 30th, they'll knock out an extra special imperial stout or something along those lines.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.