Brasserie McAuslan's St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout -- Three Beers

This oatmeal stout is a stout for stout lovers. It's fairly thick, with a "mocha-coloured" head. I found it tasty, but not at all oaty -- much more coffee and chocolate to the malt, which the label describes accurately. The thing is, that that's just not my style. It's like drinking cold espresso, or since it's actually pretty sweet for something packed so full of beer, like drinking molasses. That's not to say I didn't like this one, though, just that I don't really like stouts. If I wanted one, I would gladly choose this beer. But be prepared for a real sweet malt if you're going to try it.

Rickard's Honey Brown -- Three Beers

Like its cousin the White Ale, the Honey Brown is fairly standard. There isn't even any honey to it. I guess they mean that the brown is honey, not that the beer is a brown with honey to it? I always liked JW Dundee's Original Honey Brown, 'cause there was an aftertaste of honey, a little bit of sweetness that didn't overpower the rest of the brown. But nope, not here. Just a tasty, toasty malt, low on carbonation and on hops. There is a mellowness that's honey-like, and for not having a lot of hops it's still fairly balanced. But it's nothing fantastic. Mostly just a good alternative within the Rickard's series.

Rickard's White Ale -- Four Beers

Rickard's White is a "Belgian-style, wheat ale"--and by Belgian they mean unfiltered. To me, this means that the beer is pleasantly fruity. To some, this means it's sweet. And it's true, it does have a bit on the sweet side, but I never really find beer to be exactly dry, not compared with almost any other alcoholic beverage. But back to the beer. I find it fairly standard for an unfiltered beer. It doesn't go out of its way to taste like much of anything except a beer with its yeast still in it, though there are some specifically citrus undertones to the fruit--probably because, in its standardness, it's "supposed" to be garnished with orange. (Personal note: don't really like orange garnish.) Its carbonation is probably the one way that this beer stands out from other unfiltereds. It's got a fairly effervescent quality, probably, what with being so sweet, why my uncle said it's like drinking pop--but I heartily disagree. Drinking it in Spring is like getting ready for Summer. I think it would be perfect for a drink on a patio. Overall, though, it's good, but only because the style is good. I'm also glad it's from a major distributor, bringing a wider variety of beers to the uneducated, Canadian masses.




Of note: As far as I know, there are two specific styles of unfiltered beer: Belgian, and Hefeweizen (German?). With a hefeweizen, to pour it, you're supposed to swirl the bottle before and half-way through pouring, to kick up the settled yeast so that it is poured into the glass. With a Belgian, while I would still swirl it to kick up the yeast, I've also heard tell that you're not supposed to drink the yeast that has settled and clotted at the bottom, that it's actually not good for you. I haven't died or anything, and as you can see in the picture, it's definitely in there. But what's the difference, between a hefeweizen (and I've swirled the real ones imported from Germany) and a Belgian? What's the difference between the yeasts, that some of it clots and some of it doesn't? Is it top and bottom yeast? If anyone ever reads this, and happens to know, lemme know?