It's not common for the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. to have sales that are actually worthwhile, but when they do, it's possible to get some decent beer on the cheap. A quick trip to the Mic Mac Mall NSLC yesterday turned up a few different beer I've never tried before, all at a decent discount. As I can think of no better way to spend this afternoon, I'll just have to drink them and write down my thoughts.
Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA - Usually I would think of a thistle as a pink spiky thing that I wouldn't want to put anywhere near my mouth, but as this beer looks spike free I'll give it a go. Weighing in at 6.1% ABV, this Scottish IPA pours true amber with a small white head. With a nose of bright citrus (predominately lemon) and honey, the taste is predominately hoppy with a lingering bitter finish. While not as crazy as North American IPAs seem to be getting these days, it's one of the better European offerings I've tried. At $2.09 for 500 ml, it's a steal.
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| Official beer of Twisted Sister's 'Spiky Tour.' |
Greene King IPA - Pours auburn, with a quickly disappearing head. It has a nose of malty sweetness with some stone fruit. It tastes almost exactly like you'd expect from the nose; it's sweet, there are hints of cherry and only a slight bitterness on an otherwise clean finish. Overall, it seems more like a pub ale than an IPA, as it isn't hoppy at all. Not something I'd be keen on getting again, but it was worth a try for under $3.
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| The fern really makes the greene pop. |
Spitfire Kentish Ale - It pours a nice dark amber (almost a red), with good head composition. Smelling like a standard pub ale, there is also some citrus on the nose, and thankfully no hint of skunkiness. The body is fairly light, and it has a good balance of malty sweetness and hoppy bitterness, with a clean finish. All in all, this beer went down very easily, and at less than $3 for 500 ml, was definitely worth the cost of admission.
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| Fact: Twisted Sister was once signed to Spitfire Records. Coincidence? Probably. |
Unfortunately, the reason they are on sale is because the store is going to stop carrying them. As a result, supplies probably won't last long, so if you want to get in on the deal, I'd head over to Mic Mac soon!
Love the fern and UFC backdrop. You sure know how to stage discount beer :)
ReplyDeleteThe Greene King IPA always confuses me... the BJCP lists it as an example of a Standard/Ordinary Bitter. If that's the actual "classification" of that beer, it would help explain while it really isn't that "bitter".
ReplyDelete@Braden - Thanks man! I really wanted to fancy up the pictures a bit and thought the fern really did the trick. If I can keep the thing alive, look for it in future photo shoots.
ReplyDelete@Shawn - That would make more sense, as it really doesn't come across as an IPA. That said, I'd wager that the current malty sweet base would be a great foundation if dry hopped for a while... like what would have happened with a traditional IPA. With European beers that are supposedly hundreds of years old, you have to wonder if they forgot to keep doing what actually made it an IPA in the first place.
Thanks for the comments, guys!