Rickard's Dark English Style Porter

Ehhh I hate the new blogger! Yeah so I'm drinking dark beer because its dark and raining and cold... depressing can't wait for the nice weather, got all wet going to work on my bike today and ran a 5k afterwards in the rain once again, the motivation is low and the time is quite normal 24min. 43 sec. I had tasted it a few times before and had brainstormed on it during march madness with my friends associating it with Louisville the dark horse getting to the final four. Unbelievable the are still selling the Movember marketed cans in April but it seems to have kept well.  This 4.8% beer is not too bitter for my taste. It has a reddish brown colour when you look at it in the light. A little "stoutty" aftertaste can be figured out. It has a smokey sweet taste. Its very enjoyable and its interesting that its brewed with maple syrup from Quebec. It is not too sweet like other maple beers. Delicious dark beer even for the ones who are not big fans of dark beer. Not very creamy either! I would go for it again anytime...

2.50$ for a 473ml in Quebec

8.6/10

Sapporo

Just came back from 34 laps or swimming, damn I ain't no fish... my technique is terrible and due to exactly that boy is it a workout. Here is a little beer to reward myself and relax on this nice spring Thursday night.Had to do this taste test a few more times than for other beers because once it was hot from the bottles @ Poody's birthday and the next time it had a sweet skunky taste out of a can. This Japanese beer is brewed in Guelph for residents on Québec. I would probably prefer it if enjoyed in Sapporo, Asahikawa or Shinhidaka, but as high as my expectations where as much I was deceived, overall is a good beer but the hype around it is way to high. High points are the colour and its life, there is constant action in your glass till its empty. For this can size I have to say the poring is way better in the tallboy format than in this nice but ineffective format. I have to say this is probably not the last time I will have an encounter with this beer because of its popularity but my impressions are mixed emotions. For a premium beer they should make sure it is always kept cold and never put in direct sunlight but I guess that is very hard to regulate. At least put a production date or an expiration or best before on the can for me to decide if its a good bet to buy or not! What are your comments on this one? 5% alc./vol.

4.99$ for a 650ml in Québec

6.9/10

Last day of the season means the beginning of the next

Woke up early this Saturday morning, decided to go fishing and try out my newly fixed bike, drank half a coffee witch I rarely do but it was cold out. About 1 degree but it quickly got up to 7. Nice and sunny on the fifth cast I got this nice yellow walleye probably the biggest I caught up to now I would say about 18 inches maybe more. Tomorrow the new season starts and the only species we can fish for more than a month will be Carp and Shad bohhooo... I will have to find a new spot and figure out new techniques. Hope the subsistence fisherman don't continue to keep their catches.

Rickard's White

I tasted and commented on it last weekend with a few of my friends after an afternoon of touch-football and soccer. Coming back from work today on my bike my chain broke and I had to walk to the repair shop. The repairs who set me back 100$ left me with an hour to kill. On this beautiful sunny but chilly Friday afternoon I decided to walk in to a convenience store a get myself a nice beer to pass the time. Brewed with orange peels and coriander, this 5.4% beer is very perfumed both to the taste and smell. The orange taste is very light but the coriander is very flavorful. You can even see tiny pieces of it in the beer. The collar falls extremely quickly witch says a lot about the texture. The big punch comes with the aftertaste that ends with a little bit of sweet citrus. Ideal to be enjoyed between breakfast and lunch or brunch as we call it!

2.50$ for a 473ml in Québec

G: 8/10

Q: 7.7/10

M: 6.9/10

Smithwick's draught 5%

Montréal hosts the longest running St-Patrick's day parade in Canada and controversy roams around witch city between Boston and New York holds the title in North America or even the world. Always great fun, I put this celebration up with Christmas and the Superbowl to be my favorites! I've been attending for the last 5 years. Tons of stories and memories are made on the Sunday following St-Patrick's day. In the morning I enjoy a few beers, special coffee and sometimes an Irish Car Bomb. Smithwick's is an Irish ale, reddish brown in color, this particular batch was brewed in Dublin in July 2011(we are now in march). The importation process seem to be very unkind for these European beers because the ones I have tasted in London where better by far. I can taste these red beers close to my scapulas and my spine. I don't know if its the enthusiasm around this festivity or the fact that I’m drinking beer in the morning but I really enjoyed this beer in its category. Not too bitter and a short tasty aftertaste comes following a light bitterness.

2.25$ for a 500ml in Québec

7.6/10

Harp's Lager 5%

This morning while at the grocery store I picked up a few packs of Irish beer recently arrived and marketed for St-Patrick's day. After a Jameson coffee I walked with my brother to some middle eastern butcher shop in order to buy lamb for an Irish stew. I am now ready to enjoy. This is a nice lager from the makers of Guiness. Its brewed in Dundalk Ireland so it can be considered a genuine import. Sometime the imports we get here are brewed here following the recipe. Tasted like the actual beer you can drink at a real brew pub. Nothing really overwhelms you while tasting it witch is good but also makes it hard to comment on. You either like it or you don't! Its a generic lager from a country that doesn't brew alot of lagers. Seems harder at first than it actually is. Goes down like a charm. There is a light bitterness to it at the end that can be quite enjoyable. Nice yellowish color. Coppery?

2.25$ for a 500ml in Québec

7.8/10

Navigator of Holland

Since 1275 strong 8.4% beer. 1275, that's a really long time ago, the first documented time they cited Amsterdam instead of Amstelland. Beers are often better when packaged in a can. This strong beer is typical, a smooth beginning bitter in the middle with a sweet flavorful citrus like ending that doesn't linger. It seems to have a feminine side to it. Light,fresh smelling with a syrupy texture and golden color. Not very carbonated obviously therefore the collar quickly goes down. Excellent match with my spicy chili con carne. Sort of, rather than specially, recommended for strong beer ''connaisseurs'' might scare away a few Coors Light aficionados. Looks good, cool can but easy to bash, because you gotta be in the mood to enjoy fully! In its category I would give it a 6/10. At least it doesn't smell like sewer water and tastes like skunk ass! I remember seeing it in 10% also, I wonder if they still make it.

500ml for 2.69$ in Québec