Hopped Whiskey (& Barley Wine)

A few nights ago we tried  'JP Wiser’s Hopped Whiskey' & 'Tribute' Barley Wine from Renaissance Brewing Company of New Zealand. 

The idea with the barley wine was that it would have enough strength to stand up to the whiskey and not just just taste like water. It also helped that we had some left in our holiday stockpile. 

 

How did they taste?

1st I'm not expert or connoisseur so keep that in mind. 





The Whiskey tasted like whiskey.  Neither of us found it terribly hoppy. It had a hint of hops & maybe a more complex flavour generally, but it didn't scream hops. It was nice whiskey  just not what a hophead expects when they are looking for something hoppy. 

 

The barley wine was quite good. Dark with toasty & caramely flavours and as I would expect with something this strong  (10.8%) you can taste the high alcohol, but it isn't overwhelming it just sort of lingers in the back.



NOTE:  I wouldn't choose Barley Wine to go with Whiskey again.  They are both full distinctive flaours  so they compete more than they compliment.  


Photo's from this post can also be seen on flickr.

Pumpkin Ale, and something a little more Sinister.

The Season has Arrived !

It's October, the leaves are changing the air is is a bit crisp at night, and Pumpkin 3.14 Ale (that's pumpkin π) has returned to Taps, Syndicate & other purveyors of fine Canadian Brew.

Many have been anticipating the arrival of the great pumpkin.
Now that its here, is it as good as we remember?

I'd say   ...    IT'S BETTER!

*everything beyond this point is subjective & personal.*

I'll be the first to say memory is fluid & it changes over time. However, the pumpkin is better than I remember. It's a bit cleaner or crisper than I remember, the spices are as good as always & the sweetness (not really sweetness)  is much more in the back ground.   I don't remember it as ever being actually 'Sweet'  but there was something that I associated with sweet.  What ever that
pseudo-sweet quality is actually called, it started in the back ground , but moved up a bit more to the front after about 3 pints.

This years seems like that might not happen.  I've only had two so far, because out of habit I've switched up after my 2nd Pumpkin. During Pumpkin season I often get mixed pints of pumpkin & something else, usually Sinister Sam Insane IPA (formerly Chuck Norris Round House IPA).
So once again I'm drinking Sinister Pumpkin.

This is really my favourite beer!

Even when getting growlers I get Pumpkin & and Sinister Sam so we can create our own Sinister Pumpkin Pints at home.  The beauty of doing it that way is that you can play with the ratios and make different tastes each pint, for different people and different stages of the night.

Just had another sip of my Sinister Pumpkin ..  
MAN THAT'S GOOD !

I`me definitely havin` another one, but should it be called  
Sinister Pumpkin or should it be called by the more verbose name of  Insane Sam's Sinister 
Pumpkin IP`ALE