Three wins from the U.S.

Jeff had to go to Virginia for work before Christmas and came home with three beers, one of which he raved about.

Bell's Two Hearted Ale

He called this a "good and cheap" beer, with a six-pack retailing for just $8. He said it was hoppy, "but not super aggressive."

Bell's Brewery is in Michigan and says this beer is defined by its intense hop aroma and malt balance.

Sierre Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Jeff called this one "another good, cheap beer." It retailed for $7.50 for six. He didn't like it as much as the Bell's Two Hearted Ale, though.

The Sierre Nevada brewery, which is located in California, calls this their "hop bomb."

Stone Ruination Double IPA

This is the beer Jeff raved about when he got home.

"Ho-ly crap. That was awesome," he said when I asked him to reflect back on when he drank this one. "It's a great beer, but it's not one you can have a couple of."

It has an alcohol content of 7.7%. Jeff said this beer is all about the hops, but also has a little caramel malt. There is a floral, pine and citrus hops aroma and it's "plenty bitter."

The California-based Stone Brewing Co. calls this beer a "hop monster" and says the name comes from "the 'ruinous' effect on your palate."

Beers for the holidays

The holidays are coming to a close and my apologies for not blogging more - it's a busy time of year!

Jeff and I had a few beers over the past couple of weeks while out and about. At the Wooly in Guelph, Jeff tried the Audrey Hopburn from Great Lakes Brewing, as well as Beau's Koru BPA. Unfortunately, we didn't take notes and when I asked Jeff to comment on them now, he said it wasn't fair to "review" them now because he couldn't really remember the experience.

He also had Twice As Mad Tom Double IPA from Muskoka Brewery - a beer he has quite enjoyed. He said it's hoppy with a decent malt backbone. He'd better like it - he got some for Christmas!

As well, he had the Dray Horse Ale from Black Creek. He said the malt in this beer reminded him of whole wheat bread. He called it "very bready" and said it had pretty much no carbonation.

He also got a few beers from Winnipeg, including the Half Pints Brewing Co.'s Stirstick Stout, but we'll discuss that one in a later post (mostly because Jeff thinks he drank the last one when it wasn't warm enough, so he didn't get the coffee flavour he was expecting).

It's New Year's, so some of you might expect me to resolve to blog more. I won't do that because I'm really kind of terrible at a) keeping resolutions and b) blogging - but I will resolve that we'll continue to enjoy some good beer in 2013.

Cheers!

Best wife ever? Nah ...

Despite all odds, I was able to score my husband a brick of Westvleteren 12 for Christmas (I did not get it from waiting in line at the LCBO, but I cannot reveal my sources).

Watching him open his gift is exactly how I imagine it will be in a few years when our newborn daughter starts understanding what Christmas is - he was pretty darn excited.

The only sad part was that on its way to our house, one of the glasses smashed. But he still has one and let's face it - it's the beer that's important.

Now, to save it! Jeff plans to age it, but he did promise that the person who was able to secure this beer for him will get a chance to share the first bottle he opens.

Beau's Screaming Beaver

Jeff picked up a holiday four-pack from Beau's and one of the brews is the Screaming Beaver Double IPA.

Even before he opened it, Jeff was excited, saying, "This is gonna be good."

The beer had a good head on it and poured a nice copper red.

Knowing I'm not an IPA fan, he had me try it anyway.

I shouldn't like it. But I didn't hate it. I didn't find it insanely bitter. In fact ... it was good. I might not order it in the bar, but if Jeff had it, I'd have more than a sip.

Jeff's first impression upon tasting the beer wasn't completely glowing.

"The barrel is the dominate flavour," he said.

"I'm not really getting any of the hops," instead tasting oak, bourbon and vanilla.

"Part of the problem is that is says double IPA, but it doesn't drink like a double IPA," he said. "A label can set you up for expectations."

But as he drank, it grew on him.

"I'm liking it more now that it's warming up a bit," he said. "It's delicious."

Beau's says this beer is an "amped up version" of their Beaver River. From the website:

This monster weighs in at 9.9% alc./vol. and 99 IBUs. Screamin’ Beaver has been dry hopped and aged on oak staves. Even scarier than the stats, this beer is incredibly drinkable and nicely balanced. Be very afraid.

Les Trois Mousquetaires Oktoberfest

We went to the LCBO on the Queens Quay in Toronto, which always has beers we can't seem to find locally.

Among the several beers he picked up (including the BNL brew with Flying Monkeys, which will be a future post) he got the Oktoberfest beer from the Quebec brewery, Les Trois Mousquetaires.

"I liked it a lot, it was good," Jeff said, calling it "round and smooth."

He said there was no real hops, but it had a nice caramel taste.

"It reminded me of beers I had in Nuremburg," he added.

The beer has an overall score of 88 on Rate Beer.

Mill Street Mulled Wit

Mulled Wit from Mill St.

We went to the Christmas Market at the Distillery District in Toronto and Mill St. had Mulled Wit.

It was a nice alternative to warm cider or hot chocolate on what was a damp day.

Jeff also had an ice cream sandwich - the ice cream part was made using vanilla porter (a beer I love).

(I had a smoked turkey drumstick.)

The market itself was a tad disappointing - I was hoping to find more artisans in the booths, but it was mostly food and a few retail-type shops. Still, it was worth the drive for SOMA chocolates and some Ontario-made sake.

Augusta's Winking Judge

Just some of the taps and David, a very knowledgeable bartender.

Jeff spent a good part of his afternoon at the Hamilton, Ont., bar, Augusta's Winking Judge and all the way home he couldn't stop raving about it.

While I was doing some holiday shopping with a friend, Jeff and a friend were at this pub. They had several beers, all of which Jeff was impressed with.

He started off with Church-Key's West Coast Pale Ale. "It tasted like it was using citra hops," Jeff said.

Then he had Grand River's Judge's Darkside - a mix of the Mill Race Mild and the Galt Knife lager. "I found it had a little bit of a sour taste to it, but it was good. Like, sour in a good way," he said. This bar is the only place you can get this beer.

Sawdust City's Lonepine IPA was next. This is a new brewery in Gravenhurst, Ont. - so new, their website is still a work in progress, so you'll want to check out their blog.

"It was piney, but I really liked it," he said.

He had Niagara College's Russian Imperial stout and said it was delicious.

He finished off with Amsterdam's Boneshaker. This was his summer go-to beer (when he could get it) but had never had it on tap. He only had half a pint because we had to get going, but it was worth it. He did say it tasted almost exactly like it does in the bottle.

His friend got the Rogue Dead Guy Ale and Jeff tried some, saying it was much better than he remembered. Our friend went out to buy some at the LCBO after trying it at the bar.

"It was awesome," Kevin said of the beer on tap. "Top five."

Jeff could not stop talking about the beers and the bar on the way home and is already planning his next trip down to the Hammer.