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Caskival 3 - August 12, 2006 at Dix Return to Past Events Reviewed
Aidan was the only Dipsophilia representative at this event, and did a splendid job reviewing the beers, even if his notes got tougher to read after the 20th beer....!. Don joined Aidan near the end of the afternoon to ensure Aidan made it home safely.
Central City Empire IPA
6 % India Pale Ale, double dry hopped
Aidan - A citrus bite, strong on the yeast, cloudy and a little "flat". Presentation: 6; Nose: 8; Taste:7 ; Overall: 7
Taylor's Crossing French Oak IPA
5% India Pale Ale, aged on French Oak
Aidan - More natural carbonation than the Central City IPA. Cool temperature, very pleasant, creamy, a little vinous, medium hop. "Fresh". Presentation: 8; Nose: 8; Taste:7 ; Overall: 7.5
Mission Springs IPA
6% India Pale Ale, last year's Golden Bung award winner
Aidan - Rich, creamy head, very lively, darker in colour. Beautiful balance of hops, a little nutty. Extreme drinkability. Presentation: 9; Nose: 8; Taste:9 ; Overall: 9
Dix Gillian IPA
6.3% - Intense - "The beer is the epitome of hoppy goodness combining grapefruity Columbus and orangey Simcoe hops"
Aidan - A little flat, very citrusy, grapefruit dominates the flavours. Not a session beer, but interesting IPA variant illustrating the power of hops. Presentation: 6; Nose: 6; Taste:6 ; Overall: 6
Yaletown Darjeeling IPA
5% IPA with Indian Tea
Aidan - Very pleasant creamy head. Muted hoppy aroma - not as sharp as the others. Very cloudy. Tea is readily apparent on the palate - aromatic flavours of darjeeling. Surprisingly good combination! Texture is dense with tea dust. Presentation: 8; Nose: 6; Taste:7 ; Overall: 7
Storm Basil IPA
6.5% India Pale Ale with fresh basil added
Aidan - Good presentation, very basily, grassy aroma, summery fresh nose. Taste is too grassy, very much a novelty beer. Has a chili type "heat" to it as well. The first one that will be a struggle to coif. Presentation: 8; Nose: 7; Taste:4 ; Overall: 4
Tree Hophead IPA
5.8% - A cask conditioned ale based on popular bottle beer produced by this Kelowna brewery.
Aidan - hand pumped from the keg - Hop Explosion! This what a hop head should taste like - WOW! If this was only available on draft regularily! Dry hopped, sucks the moisture from your mouth...and leaves a bouquet of hoppy fruitiness. Necked! Presentation: 8; Nose: 9; Taste:9 ; Overall: 9
Longwood ESB
6.5% - Nanaimo's take on a classic UK ale
Aidan - Sweet floral bouquet, nice presentation, rich chocolaty IPA. Creamy, high swigability. Presentation: 8; Nose: 7; Taste:8 ; Overall: 8
Philips Blue Truck Ale
?% - A medium bodied ale with hoppy undertones brewed especially for the Victoria Folk Music Festival 2006
Aidan - Presentation - flat. Aroma - less than enticing. Taste - thin and gassy. Too commercial and malty. Presentation: 5; Nose: 5; Taste:6 ; Overall: 5.5
R&B Red Devil
5% Popular Pale Ale powered by Satan
Aidan - Slow pour, weak head, too caramelly, weak taste, no improvement over regular draft. Presentation: 6; Nose: 6; Taste:6 ; Overall: 6
Russell Lychee Peach Wheat
5% - Fruity beyond description
Aidan - Good presentation, light colour, weak nose and palate. Spicy, not your average wheat ale. No banana. Pleasant but again high on the novelty scale. Presentation: 7; Nose: 6; Taste:6; Overall: 6
Dix Orange Stout
5% - Dix Stout with Bitter Orange added
Aidan - Very popular 1/2 keg. Running low. Nice presentation, good depth. Light orangey aroma, heavy coffee tastes....what happened to the orange? More citrusy on second gulp. Needs to be brought forward. Presentation: 9; Nose: 9; Taste:7 ; Overall: 8
Dead Frog Nut Brown Ale
5% - "The valley's most popular beer". Dead Frog is the new name for the Backwoods Brewery.
Aidan - Top notch presentation. Beautiful mahogany colour, nice head, not overly done. Delicious nutty aroma, sweet hazelnuts. Presentation:8; Nose: 8; Taste:8 ; Overall: 8
Dix Mango Hefeweizen
5% - Bananas, cloves and mangoes
Aidan - A little flat, a girly drink, bananas - urgh! Not a real hefe. Presentation: 6; Nose: 6; Taste:6 ; Overall: 6
High Mountain Raspberry Brown Ale
6.3% - Full of Raspberry Goodness
Aidan - good presentation, rich citrusy, creamy head. Certainly a raspberry nose, very sweet. Another girly beer. Presentation: 8; Nose: 7; Taste:6 ; Overall: 7
Dix Stout
5% - coffee, chocolate and caramel
Aidan - Thin head, weak nose, better taste but disappointing. Too thin. Presentation: 5; Nose:5; Taste:7 ; Overall: 6
Old Yale Stout
5% - Canada's most outstanding Stout. Dry hopped.
Aidan - Good head, fresh appearance, chocolate aroma. Hoppy nose, spectacularly smooth, chocolaty hoppy stout. Presentation: 8; Nose: 8; Taste:9 ; Overall: 8.5
Yaletown Porter
5% - Big and chocolaty, dry hopped.
Aidan - Beautiful presentation - copper coloured with creamy head. Settled quickly. Delicious hopped nose, almost a nut brown. Not much of a porter, more of an IPA, but a really good drink! Presentation: 9; Nose: 9; Taste:9 ; Overall: 9
Russell Espresso Demerrara Cream
5%
Aidan - Beautiful presentation, nice copper tone. Very rich coffee nose, explosion of coffee taste. Extremely smooth finish = cream, extraordinarily drinkable! Presentation: 9; Nose: 9; Taste:9 ; Overall: 9
Don - Don's ultimate favourite!
Storm Stiff Breeze
?% - Stimulants - Ginseng, guarana. Capillary Dilator - Damiana Leaf. Strengthener/muscle - sarsaparilla, licorice root. Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitor (orgasma) - yohimbe
Aidan - medicinal nose, flat with heavy dark body. Not a beer - more of a tonic - Buckley's gone bad!
Presentation: 5; Nose: 3; Taste:2 ; Overall: 2