The holidays are over and resolutions are for the weak. Here’s what we’re tossing down our gullets this week…
Limited Release Barrel Aged American Style Barley Wine by Main Street Brewing (10.5% ABV, 77 IBU)
If you hurry, you might be able to get your hands on a bottle Main Street’s Barrel Aged American Style Barley Wine. The Vancouver brewery released 650mL bombers of the small-batch brew last week, and word is that they are getting snatched up awfully quick.
The beer—ahem, barley wine—was brewed with English pale malt, rye, and a host of specialty malts for a complex, spicy flavour with some residual sweetness. It was then aged for a year in bourbon barrels to add vanilla and oak character, and true to the American style, it’s been blasted with Columbus and Cascade hops for a dank and piney hop profile.
Lekker by Powell Brewery (8.3% ABV)
This Friday (Jan. 12) at noon, Powell Brewery is launching its latest barrel-aged creation, Lekker, a Flemish-style golden sour. (Lekker means “tasty” in Flemish Dutch.)
The beer has spent 26 months maturing in French oak with all manner of wild yeasts and bacteria doing their thing (including Pediococcus, Brettanomyces Lambicus and Brettanomyces Claussenii).
According to Powell, Lekker features “aromas and flavours of honeydew, gooseberry, Meyer lemon and over-ripe fruit… complemented by a distinct abbey yeast character. You can expect an upfront sourness leading into a pleasantly sweet finish!”
Winter Wit by Granville Island Brewing (6.0% ABV, 18 IBU)
The latest in brewer Kevin Emms’ sublime Small Batch Series is this festive little number. Winter Wit combines winter spices like clove, nutmeg, and ginger with the traditional coriander and orange flavouring of a Belgian witbier. Sounds like the perfect distraction from our miserable winter weather of late.
