Half Pints Little Scrapper IPA

Firstly, yes, I lied at the end of my last post. I promised Hitachino Nest Commerative Ale as my next review, but due to unforeseen "technical diffuculties" I have a flagship IPA from a small Canadian craft brewer with a very punny name. Half Pints Brewery is located in Winnepeg, Manitoba and has received minor notice or attention thus far. It wasn't until very recently that the brewing company expanded distribution beyond Manitoba. None-the-less, I feel that their products which I have sampled thus far to be quite spectacular. The brewery's flagship beer is the Little Scrapper IPA, but they also brew up seasonals such as the Weizen Heimer, Burly Wine, Pothole Porter and possibly the best Canadian Imperial IPA, the Humulus Ludicrous.

The Little Scrapper IPA is 6% ABV and 50 IBU's and pours a bright copper colour with a bountiful slightly off white head. Quite a bit of carbonation at first, but this subsides over time. Tons of huge bubbles appear in the head and the carbonation appears to die down. The aroma is full of hops, citrus, pine needles, fruits and a subtle malt finish. The taste matches well with the aroma with forceful hops overpowering the citrus and pine nuances. The malts are in perfect symphony with the strong hops. The alcohol is pretty much unnoticeable amidst the full flavoured hops. Little Scrapper is medium bodied and has a huge amount of lacing. This is certainly a very drinkable session IPA that I would like to drink more often. Fortunately for us hopheads, Little Scrapper's big brother Humulus Ludicrous is and even better offering. I find Little Scrapper to be pretty price comparative to other flagship IPA's such as Tree HopHead, Wild Rose IPA, Yukon IceFog or Lost Coast Indica. Overall, a pretty solid craft IPA.

Grade - A-

Next Review - Hitachino Nest Commerative Ale

Charlevoix La Vache Folle

I recently bought a four pack of Charlevoix La Vache Folle beers. Included in the package were two ESB's, one Imperial Milk Stout and one Amarillo Double IPA. Microbrasserie Charlevoix is a craft brewer located in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec which opened in 1998. Their flagship beers are the Dominus Vobiscum Belgian Style Ales as well as the "Mad Cow" La Vache Folle beers.

The most incredible beer was the Imperial Milk Stout which was a truly wonderful experience. A big beer with amazing coffee, chocolate, roasted malts and cream. A unique mixture of the roasted malts with creamy flavors.

The ESB was the only beer in the pack which could be considered a session beer. Hugely drinkable and very crisp, clean and has a delicious malty hops taste complex. Beautiful pour with bountiful white head.

The last of the beers I tried was the Amarillo Double IPA, which was an unusual Imperial IPA. The first taste is extremely sweet with forward hop bitterness. Floral hops, grass, lemon, lime, grapefruit with mild malts throughout are also detected. A very drinkable Imperial IPA.

Central City Brewing Red Racer IPA

Central City Brewing (http://www.centralcitybrewing.com/) is one of the craft breweries from the Vancouver area that is finally getting some distribution in Alberta. Central City Brewing Company, based in Surrey brews 7 flagship beers under the title of Red Racer. Interestingly enough, Central City uses standard 355 mL cans as opposed to glass bottles. The use of cans or bottles for storing beer has become a large debate recently, however, I find no real difference between the two. However, several brands use clear bottles instead of brown or green. The increased light entering the bottle results in a skunky beer.

Central City Red Racer IPA is a classic West Coast style IPA with huge resinous hops with sweet lemon and grapefruit floral notes. At 6.5% ABV, this is not a great session beer, but has great drink ability. Clear amber body with a finger of thick off white head and mild carbonation. The aroma is sweet grapefruit and malts intermingled with bountiful hops. The flavor is predominated by the floral hops with subtle tones of grapefruit, orange and pine needles. Overall, a wonderful IPA with huge potential to become massively popular within the Canadian craft beer community. I would place the IBU's for this beer around 50, a perfect value for a hophead's session IPA. When compared to the widely popular craft IPA's in the US such as Dogfish Head 60 minute, Lagunitas IPA, Sierra Nevada or Lost Coast Indica IPA, Central City's brew holds strong.