207. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde

Before Christmas, I had to clear the beer out of the fridge to make space and because I have family members that don't drink and don't approve of drinking and I essentially had to hide my goods.  No big deal, these particular family members only come over once or twice a year anyway, and since I keep no more than 4 beers in the fridge, it doesn't pain me to make it happen.  Nothing like a little extra motivation to drink beer!

La Fin Du Monde is a belgian tripel and it's been a while since I've had one.  I know the reputation behind this beer.  It was poured into a stemless brandy class.  It didn't pour as light as the picture that I have shown, it was a darker, copper like color to it.  Two fingers of off-white head, average retention that leaves rings of lacing.  I detect aromas of fresh baked bread, banana, clove, allspice, steel, and bubble gum.  Interesting combination here.

I could taste many of the same elements that I could smell.  The banana and malt are dominant, the spices also come through.  It comes off a little sweet, just slightly cloying.  The alcohol is well hidden, but I suspect that it shows itself a little more as this beer warms.   It has a great mouthfeel, medium to full bodied with a creaminess to it that comes from low carbonation.  

I don't drink a lot of tripels so I know that this one is hard to gauge, especially when compared to my personal preferences and my likes and dislikes.  That said, as a beer drinking fan, I found no problem drinking this brew.  It was pretty good.  I know it gets a lot of high praise, so I came off being slightly disappointed.  Still, I would gladly have again if it's available.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $2.75 (12 oz bottle)

148. Mill Street Tankhouse Ale

Different airport, different beer.  In this case, I didn't want to have to get one, but I kinda screwed myself.  When I landed in Toronto, I thought my carry-on (I couldn't bring my bag with me because the compartments were tiny) would be in an area inside the terminal that wasn't baggage claim.  I was supposed to pick it up off of the baggage lot when I got off the plane, but didn't know (and all the other people that went off with me skipped it too).  I thought they knew what they were doing.  By the time I got back, my bag was sent to baggage claim.  To get there, I had to go through customs, get the bag, then go back to Departures, and check back in through security.  When it was all said and done, I missed my flight.  I was lucky enough to find another flight, but in the meantime, after all that stress and frustration, I needed another beer..and dinner too.

Within the airport here in Toronto, they have a Mill Street Brewery restaurant (http://www.millstreetbrewery.com) and I figured I'd try a local Canadian beer for a change.  Ended up ordering some fish and chips to go with it and then went with the Farmhouse Ale.  It was presented in an extra fat standard pint, with a finger of light creamy head.  It had solid retention, leaving sheets of lacing along the sides of the glass.  I picked up aromas of citrus, caramel, malt and other grains.  

The beer itself had a light hop taste, followed by some spice and malt.  Moderate to high carbonation makes this beer pretty lively and pretty good.  It's a pretty good beer, but not groundbreaking.  Too bad you can't find this stuff in my part of the states.  Maybe I'll get back to Canada soon so I can try more of their selection.  

Grade: B-

Price Paid: $9.00 (20 oz draught) (More high priced airport love)

108. Luk Hard Apple Cider

After the beers that were consumed over the previous two days, I found my stomach to be a little sensitive to more beer.  The "vacation" part of the trip was effectively over, but I still had work and business in the area and my brother lives close by, so I spent the day with him, watching more basketball, catching up, doing that sort of thing.  I shared the Luk with him, since I knew I'd be more than content just drinking half the contents, especially the way my stomach was feeling.

I had never heard of Luk before, so maybe they're new to the hard cider game.  Apparently they're based out of Canada (http://www.lukeluk.com), in the Quebec area, so the website is in French.  I don't know if Luk means anything in French, and I'm too lazy to look it up.  That said, the cider poured into the glass much like a sauvignon blanc wine.  More yellow green than golden colored, there was no lacing since it's a cider.  Aromas of, you guessed it, apple, and not much else.

The cider comes off as tart instead of sweet, and is definitely on the dry side.  My brother didn't like it, but I have more appreciation for the drier ciders, and I thought it was just fine.  Highly carbonated, I took my time with this one and could still see the bubbles coming up, even an hour later.  Reminded me of champagne.  This cider is definitely a palate cleanser, and I'd definitely have another.  The price point is a little high for my liking, but maybe I'll save some for more special occasions.  

Grade: B

Price Paid: $3.49 (11 oz bottle)  

66. Unibroue Ephemere

I've heard a lot of good things about Unibroue.  I didn't know any of those things until after I had picked up a bottle from the store in Nashville a while back.  Its been sitting for a while and I finally got around to cracking this baby open.  

The beer poured a hazy straw color with about a finger and a half of head into a snifter glass.  Light retention, no lacing aside from some film at the bottom.  Fizzled out like a soda.  The major aroma out of this beer is green apple.  There's some lingering sourness that I can't quite pin, but it smells like a hard cider, with some subtle changes.

Now does it taste like a hard cider?  No.  The green apple taste shines through, but provides a wheat-like, bitter, and peppery finish at the end.  Sounds like a pretty good combination, right..?  I guess the theory sounds better than the execution.  There was a dry finish to this and I was looking to get a little more malt balance.  I also think that I'd rather not have the wheat taste in the beer.  Overall, I had a hard time getting myself to finish this, primarily because it didn't do a good job of wowing me.  Oh well, I'll keep trying some of Unibroue's offerings and chalk this one up as an aberration.

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $2.99 (12 oz bottle)

43. St Ambroise Citrouille

I cracked open this one last night, as I felt that it would be a good pairing with my grilled shrimp.  This pumpkin ale comes courtesy from Canada!  I tend to think well of some of the macrobrews that come out of Canada (Molson, Labatt), so I hoped for some good things with this one.  I remember getting this particular brew from The Beer Dispensary in Apex..can't quite remember what I paid for it though, but I'm sure I can get a decent estimate out there.

The brew poured a deep copper color with little head, little retention, no lace.  It almost felt like I was pouring a cider, gave me the impression I might come across some unexpected sweetness.  I picked up the typical aromas consistent with pumpkin ales: pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove.  It also seemed to be heavy on the malts as well.  

How'd it taste?  Not bad.  High carbonation, very similar to a soda.  It gave it a spicy finish in it's own little way, which was pleasant.  The malt taste lingers afterward.  It feels sweet, but finishes a little on the dry side, which isn't a bad combination (in my eyes).  It's not a particularly heavy beer, and I didn't exactly love it.  When I finish dinner before I finish the beer, that's not a good thing.  When I'm pining for some spiked egg nog before I finish my beer, that's also not a good thing.  To me, it was your run-of-the-mill pumpkin ale.  I could certainly have another, but I'd opt to try other brewer's versions before coming back to this one.

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $2.59 (12 oz bottle)