Unibroue's Blance de Chambly -- Three Beers

Another belgian white from Unibroue.  This one, though, is much more purely sweet, when compared with [... whatever the other white Unibroue in this craft pack was].  It's so sweet, in fact, that with the extensive carbonation, it almost tastes a little like root beer.  Makes you wonder what the beer was like back when they invented root beer.

A rapid, thin carbonation reminscent of champagne, plus a cloudy look, a sweet taste that's low on fruit but high on sugar, and almost no hops, add up to a beer that's good, refreshing, and drinkable, but still not one of my fav's.  It might, to some, stand out from other whites--but, just not to me.

Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde -- Three Beers

Unfiltered.  So, you know, good.  But unlike most unfiltered beers that just end tasting only like fruit, this managed to maintain the generic fruit taste, on top of a mild yeast-based sweetness, on top of another sweetness.  I'm not sure if it was malt, or somehow more of the yeast taste itself instead of whatever yeast-leavings/fruit-based-additions most other unfiltered beers had, but, it had something else.

The only thing is, it still didn't wow me.  I enjoy an unfiltered, but, I don't find there to be as much range of taste as there is in other genres.  To me, they seem to come off just like light beers that actually taste good, instead of somehow within the panoply of delicious, strong, alt-beers.  Otherwise, it would be a 4.

Also, the head was enjoyably stable (more like an espresso crema than a swath of bubbles), and the body was a little thicker than most of its style.  But still.  A head and a body don't make up for a seeming genericness.

Below are the labels.  I had to edit the back label a bunch to get it even close to readable.  If you can, great.  If you can't... go buy one.
Front label
Back label

Rickard's Red -- 3 Beers

Fairly standard ale taste, and nothing particularly red about it. But, that's because we're in Canada here. You see, in Canada, a "beer" is a light beer, and a "dark beer" is a red, or a Guinness if you happen to be in a bar with chairs. It's a shame that this is the second darkest beer I've found in Canada. 'Course, in my great country's defense, I'm in Saskatchewan, and there's not a whole lot of anything metropolitan here. Quebec does have the Unibroue brewery...



 3 beers--for all my winging about how it's not great, it's not horrible. I'm just annoyed at the context of the beer.

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.

Pike Seattle Brewing Co.'s Scotch Style Kilt Lifter Ruby Ale -- Three Beers

A pleasant scotch ale. For those who aren't "in the know," a scotch ale is one where the malt used for the beer is the same as that which would be used to make scotch (simple? obvious? tasty? yes). This particular scotchale is medium-bodied, very lightly carbonated, and more importantly, malty but not too malty. And malty like nothing but a scotch ale could be. My favourite part of the maltiness is that it's dark and spicy, without making the beer overly thick or overly malty. No sickly-sweet caramel malts here; just a hearty, well-balanced-yet-unique beer. While it might not be my favourite beer overall, it's a pleasant beer to come home to after the Coors Lights I'd been drinking as a guest in someone else's home. I can't speak to the price, 'cause I'm still a guest in this home (I'm on the road as I write this), but I'll give it some credit for having a funny name. Three it is!

Paddockwood's Bock -- Three Beers

Another Paddockwood tonight. I can't say too much about this beer, because I haven't had too many bocks--though, after this one, I'll keep an eye out. As the text on the label says, it's definitely very malty, but what I liked about it was that it didn't get thick in texture, like a stout or a porter does, nor did it get sort of, sickly sweet like I think some do. The maltiness was thoroughly toasty and not at all syrupy, and the beer remained a liquid instead of a meal in a glass. But, maybe, that's just something I like about all bocks over stouts/porters. (Don't get me wrong, I like stouts and porters, but there's only so much black froth I can drink in a night.) Oh, and, the 7% alc/vol is a nice bonus. Like the Rye IPA, though, when I bought it, it was a bit pricey per bottle ($3-something). I'm pretty sure, though, from buying at the microbrewery itself, that it would probably be cheaper by the sixpack, straight form the source. One star off for price, one star off 'cause I don't know how else a bock's supposed to be.