Nita Beer Company "Five Fingers" Brown Ale

Medium golden brown with a solid beige head that persists well. Aromas of coffee, cocoa, caramel, and sultana raisins. A slight hop bitterness and clean taste highlighting the raisins in the aroma. Quite a nice beer, especially on a winter afternoon. This would pair very well with sandwiches on light rye with caraway seeds.

Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

A very yummy and versatile wine with a strangely storied history with me over the past few months.

I first tried Louis M. Martin Cabernet Sauvignons a few months ago at a large tasting with Natalie MacLean. I generally go through thirty or forty wines during one of these, and always remember stand-outs. At this particular even, a Louis M. Martin Cab Sauv was definitely one of them. It was amazingly good for what I thought was a $20 wine. I actually went as far as selfishly trying to hunt down a case of it before raving about how good it was before raving about it online.

It turns out that Louis M. Martin has several version of their Cab Sauv, and I'd tried the more expensive version.  Thus ended a potential "unicorn hunt" where I try to find a $20 wine that tastes like a $40 wine. It's not unheard of, but it's difficult. When I discovered my mistake I picked up a bottle of each. This review is actually for the cheaper of the two. While it's not as good as the more expensive version, it's still quite a good wine.

It's a deep ruby wine, tending towards garnet. The aromas centre around the fruit, with black cherry, plum, and cassis, but are closely followed by cocoa, dried leaves, tobacco, and tar.  Great complexity, and it does open up quite well, so decant for about an hour if you have the time.

The taste is mainly tart black cherry with a touch of plum. There's a nice level of tannins that are a touch young and might improve with a little ageing. The finish is medium tart cherry with the tannins showing nicely as well. Going from memory, the big difference between this and the more expensive version might be that this has a very slight touch of vegetal taste, but is missing a touch of mint in the aroma. Check back later when we try the upscale version.

We paired this with leftovers. Specifically, leftover roast beef done in a pressed panini, with a Jalapeno Jack cheese and "brocoslaw". It was a good pairing, but not exceptional. After dinner, we tried the remaining wine with some Costo chocolate truffles that had been hanging around since Christmas. Desite violating the general guideline that your wine should be sweeter tan your dessert, the pairing was very good. The cocoa aspect of the wine matched the dusted cocoa of the truffles, and the acidity of the wine was a perfect offset to the fattiness of the truffle. I highly recommend it.

Borsao Bole

Medium purple with rich aromas of ripe cherries and black plums, followed by a little vanilla, baking spices, and earthiness. The taste is ripe blackberry and cherry with some spice and a medium acidity. The finish is mirrors the taste but tends towards the blackberry. A well balanced wine for stews, pork, or sipping, and a great value.

$15.95 at LCBO

Clifford porter

Opaque bark brown with a very lively medium brown head. The aroma is chocolate and coffee liqueur with a touch of ash. Nice clean taste very closely following the aromas.

$2.95 at the LCBO

5.9% alcohol

Lazy Sunday Dinner - Couscous, Chicken and Wine

It was a busy day in our house so dinner was a quick toss together. It was well received.

Couscous with lemon, mushrooms and spinach and oven roasted chicken thighs, paired with a Casas Del Bosque Reserva Sauvignon Blanc (available at your local LCBO).

Wine Notes: Paper white with wonderful aromas of lime, gooseberry, canned green beans, tropical fruit, especially mango, and lemon. Zippy acidity and flavours of lime and gooseberry.  The aromas seem especially affected by temperature. As the temperature rose from our serving temperature of 8 degrees Celsius, the vegetal aromas were replaced by more of a tropical fruit aroma. All were quite wonderful, but keep this in mind when serving.




Recipe (of sorts) for the couscous:

In a medium saucepan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Toss in 1 cup medium couscous, heat a couple of minutes until it smells nutty. Then pour in 2 cups water (or broth if you prefer). Bring to boil, remove from heat and set aside.

While couscous is absorbing the water, saute half a dozen or so sliced cremini mushrooms in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Part way through the saute, add one clove garlic, finely minced or through a garlic press.  Toss in a couple of handfuls of washed, baby spinach. Cook until wilted. Season with black pepper.

Fluff the couscous with fork after water is absorbed. With a rasp, grate the zest from one lemon into the couscous. Fluff again and add to pan with sauteed mushrooms and spinach. Toss together and you are ready to serve. Slice your zested lemon into sections and serve with the couscous. A fresh squeeze of lemon juice really makes this couscous pop.

Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Happy New Year!

This year Santa once again spoiled one of us with a lovely bottle of Scotch - this time it is the Bowmore Darkest 15 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch (available at your local LCBO).

Dark, as advertised, with aromas of caramel, orange, raisins, sherry, and smoke. Very smooth on the palate with flavours of butter, chocolate, raisins, and oranges.

Le Trou du Diable "Grivoise de Noël" Strong Belgian Ale

7.5% alcohol

Dark amber with a small beige head and very Christmas-y aromas of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, yeast, and caramel, as well as a very light touch of bubble gum. The taste is crisp and has a nice spiciness to it with flavours of cinnamon and ginger.

Merry Christmas to me.

Acquired as a gift from a friend, but available in stores in Quebec.

Flying Monkeys "Chocolate Manifesto" Imperial Stout

Wow. If you like dark chocolate, this is the beer for you.  Opaque dark brown with a small medium brown head. The aromas are amazing. Dark, rich chocolate liqueur and chocolate milk, with just a hint of coffee beans. Just a touch sweet in the mouth, rich and smooth, with flavours mirroring the aromas plus just a touch of charcoal right at the end, giving it a surprisingly clean finish.

It would be hard to do a milk stout better than this. Buy a couple if you come across them as this should age quite nicely.


10% alcohol.
$12.95 at LCBO

Pisano Cisplatino Pequeña Reserva Tannat Merlot 2012

Deep purple with loads of smokey blackberry, plum, blueberry, as well as a touch of earthiness and mint. The taste is big and well structured thanks to the Tannat, and has flavours of blackberry, plum, and cherry. Great value in this wine. Pair it with rare red meats or hard cheeses.

We need to see both more Tannat wines, and more from Uruguay.

$15.95 @ LCBO

Pouch Envy - Advent Calendar Day 24

It's the final day of this year's beer advent calendar!

Today's beer is from Refined Fool Brewing. It's their "Pouch Envy" Australian Pale Ale

5% alcohol, 20 IBU

Hazy pale yellow amber, and very lively with a big light head. The aromas are lemon, orange rind, oats, and tropical  fruits. The taste is smooth  and crisp, with the lemon and tropical fruit coming to the foreground. Clean finish.

Stinger - Advent Calendar Day 23

Trafalgar Ales "Stinger" Dry-Hopped IPA

7% alcohol, 78 IBU

A clear, very solid amber with a firm off-white head and subtle aromas, including orange, funky mango, and a touch of pine and oatmeal. Very smooth and rounded in the mouth with some caramel and toffee coming through as well as a touch of copper-iness. Despite the roundness, it is quite carbonated and comes off like a good quality ginger-ale.

Gateway Kölsch - Advent Calendar Day 22

For Day 22 we have the Gateway Kölsch from Sawdust City Brewing Company


5% alcohol, 20 IBUs


Pale gold, light aromas of lemon and lightly roasted malt. The taste follows with a touch of ginger as well. This is a much lighter beer than my usual style, but is quite nice. As an added bonus, this is the first actual Kölsch-style beer that I've had in my Kölsch glasses.  I love these glasses; 1/5 of a litre (6.8 fl oz), and just the right size for finishing before they get too warm.

Boneshaker - Advent Calendar Day 21

We're definitely into the home stretch of this year's beer advent calendar.

Day 21 is the Amsterdam Brewery "Boneshaker" Unfiltered India Pale Ale

7.1% alcohol, 80 IBU

A nice hazy orange amber with a small head and aromas of blood orange, toffee, and white flowers. The taste is clean and crisp with pine, blood orange, and grapefruit. A very nice IPA.

Black Coal Stout - Advent Calendar Day 20

Day 20 of the beer advent calendar brings us the Railway City Brewing "Black Coal Stout"

6% alcohol, 46 IBU

Opaque black with a thick, creamy medium brown head.

Aromas of coffee, chocolate, malt, and actual charcoal make this quite interesting. The taste is what you'd expect, mirroring the aromas nicely.  It has a nice creaminess and a surprisingly clean finish for such an extreme taste. Perhaps a nice pairing for this would be smoked cheddar cheese, or something harder, or dishes with a bit of chipotle.

La Formidable - Advent Calendar Day 19

For Day 19 of this year's beer advent calendar we have from
Gigantic Brewing Company "La Formidable" American-Belgo IPA

6.9% alcohol, 60 IBU

A hazy pale gold with soft aromas of mango, orange, pine, white pepper, and lemon. The taste is orange with a little tartness and honey with a little hop bitterness that hangs around in the finish.  A nice herbed roast chicken beer.

This is another of "Beau's B-Sides", made by a guest brewer on their premises.

Saint of Circumstance - Advent Calendar Day 18

Day 18 and it's another one from Collective Arts Brewing. This time it is their "Saint of Circumstance" Citrus Blonde Ale

4.7% alcohol, 19 IBU

Slightly hazy pale amber with a thin white head. The aromas are grapefruit, Mandarin orange, and light toffee and mango.

The taste follows nicely, and there's a crisp, clean finish that leaves just a trace of fruitiness. It reminds me a lot of their "State of Mind" Session IPA without the hops. This is a good, solid light ale that would pair well with fish, light pasta dishes, or hot weather.

And because the artwork is always so interesting, here's another photo.

Hopbot IPA - Advent Calendar Day 17

Day 17 of this year's Beer Advent Calendar features the
Hop City Brewing Company "Hopbot IPA"

7.1%ABV, 70 IBUs

Clear amber with a good head, with aromas of funky mango, buckwheat, caramel, orange, and a touch of burnt brown sugar. The taste is clean with medium darker malt and a little hoppiness showing and the brown sugar coming through.

Fairly well balanced as I didn't notice that the alcohol was at 7.1% until after I'd tasted it.

Goose Island Beer Company "Sofie" Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale

6.5% alcohol, 25 IBU

Hazy pale yellow in colour with a thin white head. The aromas include "Thrills gum", white flowers, lemon, and a touch of honey. There's also a little wild yeast-like sourness. The taste is similar, with the lemon coming to the front a little more.

Sawdust City Brewing Company "Lone Pine IPA" - Advent Calendar Day 16

Sawdust City Brewing Company "Lone Pine IPA"

6.5% alcohol, 65 IBU

Cloudy light yellow gold with visible sediment and a thin white head.  Aromas of toffee, grapefruit, orange, and pine. Crisp, clean taste perfectly mirroring the aromas with a little bitterness coming through in the finish. I'm a little biased as this is my favourite style of beer, but I really like this one. I'd pair this with just about anything.

Hockley Dark Traditional English Ale - Advent Calendar Day 15

Day 15 of this year's beer advent calendar is Hockley Valley Brewing "Hockley Dark" Traditional English Ale - quite a departure from the beers which have been featured so far in the calendar.


5% alcohol, 18 IBU


A clear medium brown with a small beige head. The aromas are oats, brown sugar, and buckwheat honey. The taste is smooth, with a little cola, burnt coffee, and orange.