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Caskival 4 - August 4, 2007 back to Past Events
Dix on Beatty Street
The 4th Caskival at Dix was another huge success. There were 26 cask conditioned beers available from BC independent brewers. There was a $20 entry fee and it was $1 per 4 oz tasting. This included a 4 oz Caskival tasting glass.
The beers are reviewed in the order they were tasted by Aidan. All scores are out of 10.
Longwood IPA - Bright and refreshing, crisp hops, wonderful balance. – 8
Spinnakers Iceburg Pale Ale – Big flavour for a pale ale, well hopped, thinner than an IPA but not much so. Very Quaffable. - 8
Mission Springs Nut Brown Ale – A little thin, no nose, served too cold – 5
Old Yale Pale Ale – This tasted exactly like the Sergeant’s IPA, of which Aidan drinks a lot of! It was delicious! - 8
Dead Frog Oaked Nut Brown Ale – Almost chocolaty – tastes like a chocolate porter – 7
Spinnaker’s Scottish and Scotch – Winner - Golden Bung Award - A Scottish Ale with 18 year-old Talisker added! The Talisker was in both the nose and the taste. Very cool, very tasty. But not a session beer (i.e. one would be enough) because of the sweetness – 8
Central City IPA – Ass-kickin’ hops, almost overpowering. No balance. – 7
High Mountain Big Wolf Bitter – “This is it” Beautiful presentation, great bubble-osity, great nose – down she goes! – 9
Dix Hop Complex IPA – Six different hops were used in this one beer – wow – Love the bite, but that is all there was. No balance. – 7
Dix Simcoe IPA (6.5%) – “Seville orange marmalade” was in the description, and if Aidan could just put this on his toast in the morning…..!! It tasted exactly like seville marmalade. Overhopped but very tasty. - 7
Swan’s Extra IPA - Candy nose, too sweet. Didn’t work for Aidan. – 5
Longwood Imperial Stout – Thin for a stout, not impressive, chalky palate, didn’t work. – 5
Yaletown Brett Brown – 5% - Made without brewer’s yeast! Uses Brettomyces for the fermentation process. Very tart, almost Lambic. - 5
Central City Red Racer Pale Ale – Nicely hopped and balanced, actually more drinkable than the IPA – 8
Taylor’s Crossing Fig and Anise Pale Ale – 5% - Thin, anise in the flavour, but no sign of the figs, no body. Good concept. – 5
Dockside Black Cherry Ale – Bright red in colour, almost unnatural. First sip was too sweet, but half way through it improved. – 6
Big Ridge Candied Apricot – Best fruit beer at the caskival. Wheat beer with an apricot infusion. Nicely done. – 7
Russell White Peach Honey Blond – Big honey on the nose, peach is subtle, dominated by the honey. Flat, dead, Urgh. - 5
Yaletown Darjeeling IPA – Apricots on the nose, very enjoyable. Gritty? Perhaps end of the cask? - 7
Storm Wormwood IPA – Deep dark flavours, too much a novelty beer, but still drinkable. Grainy beer. Texture not good. End of Cask? – 7
Crannog Three fingers Cherry Ale – advertised at 5% but 7.5% according to the brewer. “Cherries, red currants and smoked mead were added to this one for complex taste” – a little tart, but thin…no where near the colour of the Dockside cherry beer. – 7
Mission Springs Stout – 5% - a past Golden Bung winner. Very good, but thin. No where near the bottled oatmeal stout. No depth for a stout, but very enjoyable. – 8
Big Ridge Honey Matcha Ginger Lemon Cream – Very refreshing and enjoyable, Very shandy-ish. A good palate cleanser. – 8
Big Ridge Mole Stout – 5% - Winner Brewmaster’s Award – “Dried peppers, chocolate, cinnamon and cloves form the flavour profile of this dark ale” – Too much a novelty beer. Urgh. - 6
Storm Ginger Ginseng Pilsner – 5% - Cask Lager. Not an easy drink. Too much earth (soil-rich flavours), not enough beer. – 4
Storm Basil Pale Ale – Same as last year. Too spicy hot. Tone it down please. Less basil. Tasted the basil first, and shouldn’t. It’s a one beer drink! – 5