McAuslan RIS in town

[mr x]

Lots in stock at Premiere, and a case left at C&L in Bedford. $5.99.

New tube colors (beige instead of red). Maybe they plan to change them every year.

[chalmers]

Awesome. It's actually $1 cheaper than when I bought it in Montreal last month.

[mr x]

Harvest has it for $8.25...

[mr x]

This beer needs a good year at least IMHO.

[NASH]

This beer needs a good year at least IMHO.

Bingo!

[mr x]

From Jordan St. John.
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/11/25/wi ... rial-stout" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You may have noticed, possibly after walking into a lamppost, that the sun is setting earlier. Winter is setting in.

I don’t know whether it’s the cold or the darkness, but I find myself growing reticent to leave areas with central heating to venture outside, and this is not a bad thing. For one, it saves wear and tear on my winter boots. Also, no one looks cool in a tuque.

Even if you’ve found a fireplace to curl up in front of, you’re going to want a beer that’s slightly higher in alcohol; something that will provide a warming sensation. I have just the thing for you: Imperial Stouts.

The name is derived from the fact the English began brewing Imperial Stout during the late 18th century for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia. For this reason, they’re also known as Russian Imperial Stouts. They typically weigh in near 10% alcohol, and as such, they’re exactly the beer you want kicking around in case you find yourself in the middle of a blizzard in a remote dacha.

The winter nights may be dark, but they’ve got nothing on Imperial Stout, which contain huge amounts of dark malt. A good Imperial Stout is completely opaque, with a coal black body and a mocha colored head. They typically contain flavours ranging from dark fruit to notes of sherry and port, and these are backed up by significant underlying roast character with chocolate and coffee. Even a touch of burnt character isn’t out of place. Of course, they range in complexity depending on what the brewer is trying to achieve.

In some cases, brewers like to highlight some of the specific malt flavours that are possible by bringing them to the forefront: Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Chocolate Stout (currently available in Alberta and BC) does exactly what it says on the label, bringing forth dark chocolate on the palate, with a hint of sweetness that seems to come from raisins or dried cherries. Quebec’s Dieu Du Ciel offers their Peche Mortel, a beer whose massive espresso aroma can con you into thinking it will keep you awake all night. At 9.5% alcohol, I can guarantee you this is a misapprehension. It couldn’t hurt to keep a pillow handy if you’re going to enjoy either of these beers.

The significant quantities of roasted malt needed to produce the colour in an Imperial Stout also lend themselves to robust smoky flavours and two of these are part of the LCBO’s Winter Warmers lineup. McAuslan’s Russian Imperial Stout has some coffee bitterness, but succeeds in playing off a roasted, practically burnt smoky character with a hint of whisky. Amazingly, it does this without ever becoming overly assertive.

On the other hand, if overly assertive is your thing, Olvisholt Brugghus’s Lava is returning to the LCBO. Named for the fact the brewery is within trembling distance of an active volcano, Lava captures smoky character extraordinarily well. While there are notes of licorice and chocolate present, the thing it reminded me most of is the layer of bark you might find on really high quality barbecue. Despite the prevalence of the smoke, it somehow works; truly worth experiencing.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Alberta and BC are lucky enough to have North Coast’s Old Rasputin. It’s an exemplary iteration of the style (easily one of the best in the world) and it’s priced incredibly reasonably. It manages to balance roast, coffee, chocolate and caramel and remain drinkable. We’re all really jealous here in Ontario, let me tell you.

So go and try an Imperial Stout and remember, the darkness isn’t so bad as long as it’s in a snifter.

Jordan St.John writes about beer in all of its many guises on his blog Saintjohnswort.ca.

[Nighthawk]

Nice summary for the uninitiated, though it failed to mention the North American versions that have a strong hop presence. Case in point, the Growler of Revolution I had the other week had a very bright, sweet citrus hop flavour running throughout. Hoppier than previous years, or am I just used to bottles that have mellowed?