Brown Ale and Coffee Porter
Another #Beersaturday and a new batch of beers to review. This week I'll be discussing two more Ontario Canada craft beers, a brown ale from Silversmith and a coffee porter from Left Field Brewery. Let's see how they faired, shall we!?
Nut Brown Ale
Brewery: Silversmith Brewing Co
Origin: Etobicoke ON Canada
Style: Brown Ale
Abv: 5.0%
IBU: 24
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: The can was a monochromatic brown color with the brewery's signature stained glass window imagery.
Bold white lettering anounce the style of beer and a short blurb on the back provides some additional info.
Its okay Marketing overall but its very consistent with the other beer cans that the brewery produces. You can definitely recognize the beer as being from Silversmith brewery when you see the can in the shelf. In that way, its a smart design.
Color: Just as the blurb on the back of the can suggests, the beer poured a rich mahogany color with a nice amount of tan colored head on top. The liquid was clear and looked filtered to me, though you can't tell from the photos.
Nose: Malty sweet aroma with notes of biscuits and some subtle caramel.
Taste: Malty and sweet upfront, much like the nose, with a good amount of bitterness in the finish to balance it out. The finish was long and lingered in the mouth for quite some time after swallowing. I got notes of burnt sugar, caramel and biscuits and a pleasant nuttiness.
Texture: Normal, standard carbonation with a smooth mouthfeel beneath.
Impression: I like all of the Beers by Silversmith Brewery including this one. It was fresh tasting and very flavorful. I liked the maltiness of the beer and the balance between sweet and bitter. A nice brown ale that I will buy again periodically.
Bricks and Mortar Coffee Porter
Brewery: Left Field Brewery
Origin: Toronto ON Canada
Style: Coffee Porter
Abv: 6.0%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: The can had a simple design with a red, white and baby blue color scheme.
No real design image other than the brewery's logo.
Apparently this brewery supports a local shelter and has raised over $49,000 since 2015.
Color: The beer poured a rich black with a frothy head of mocha colored foam. The beer was opaque with almost no light coming through around the edges.
Nose: The aroma of the beer was actually pretty mild, with subtle roasted notes, cocoa and coffee.
Taste: The taste was predominantly bitter that hit like a punch in the face upon first sip. Not a lot of sweetness in my opinion, the beer was almost dry. There was a little tanginess but then the bitterness kicked in and took over. I got some bitter cocoa, dark chocolate and roasted coffee flavors but all were mild and in the background.
Texture: Tiny sharp bubbles over a weighty silky texture beneath. Full bodied.
Impression: I typically really like porters but I wasn't a huge fan of this one. I found it to be too bitter with not a lot of flavor otherwise. I won't be buying this one again myself.
You know, I normally am unimpressed with silversmith and a big fan of Leftfield! I do enjoy my hops a little too much so that might be it.
We just brewed a Blonde Coffee Stout that is just getting carbed with nitro right now. Can’t wait to taste it !
Yeah, I like all of the Silversmith beers that I've tried. Maybe they are more on the malty side than hoppy? I like malty beers generally. This is my first with anything by leftfield. I'll have to try another of their beers when I come across them.
Interesting. What makes it a "blond" stout? How does that work?
It is like a golden ale with stout hops, coffee beans and cacao nibs and served with nitrogen instead of CO2. Looks light but tastes like a coffee stout. When I sample it, I will take a shot and share it.
Okay that sounds really interesting.
Sounds like some English/Irish pub beers like Tetley's, Boddingtons or Kilkenny. You don't see them in the LCBO very often anymore
Yes smooth like those but tasting like a coffee stout. Can't wait to sample this batch.
Enjoy!
Those look fantastic. Especially the first one. When I was in high school our band went to Ontario and we played a concert for the students at Etobicoke school. It was a lot of fun.
I preferred the first one also.
Okay, that's cool. Was that a competition or something?
No, it was just a trip. We got to go to play a little concert for that school, then we hung out for a bit and we went to see The Phantom of the Opera. Then we came back to Michigan. I think it was only a one or two night trip.
Okay I see.
Seems like a random city to go to from Michigan. I wonder why it was chosen 🤔
Sounds like a fun trip though! Class trips were usually a good time
We were mainly in Toronto, so I am guessing it had to do with that.
That makes sense