Follow Us:

Blog

New Beer for Easter Weekend 2017

Posted on April 15, 2017

Hey there thirsty people and beer fans!
I have a pretty exciting update for you all if I do say so myself. Plenty of amazing beers is hitting the shelf this week, all hand picked by yours truly, and I’m happy with each and every one. Hop heads in particular make sure to look through because there are plenty of IPAs to be had here.
But first, for those of you may have missed the announcement the other week. I’ve recently come into possession of a few cases of Cantillon! I’m receiving 7 different kinds, and 1 case of each, and that’s it! If you’re interested in reserving a bottle or two, please email me at beerguy@kensingtonwinemarket.com for more details. These are among the most sought after beers in the world and are surely not something you want to miss out on!

Ok, now onto the new beers for the week!

New England Pale Ale by Blindman brewing: This New England style pale ale will knock your socks off with its hazy, juicy hop profile. Loaded with massive aromas of tropical fruits and citrus, and a silky murky body. Around for a very limited time! ($17.59 for a 4-pack of tall cans)

Scythe Matters Imperial Heffeweissen by Phillips brewing: "It's not the size of the scythe that matters, it's how you swing the blade". Scythe Matters is a robust imperial Heffe with big banana and clovey spice notes on a generous wheaty base. Good, grainey body with a hint of sweetness goes down easy and finished a touch on the earthy side.($10.39 for a 650mL bottle)

The Jungle Bird by The Dandy Brewing Company: The Jungle Bird is a dark ale with a bright sour kick. Great acidity balance out the dark and semi-sweet base, with nice tropical fruit notes floating throughout. A great example of what makes Dandy one of the best in the city! ($9.99 for a 650mL bottle)

IPA by Oskar Blues brewing: Brewing legends Oskar Blues finally gives us a shot of their IPA. The malty base is made all the more tasty with the addition of red wheat. They then layer hop after hop until we're left with a tropical and super fruity IPA with a good chunk of piney bitterness on the end. ($21.09 for a 6-pack of cans)



Red Velvet Nitro Stout by Ballast Point brewing: An interesting stout made to mimic the titular cake! The beer is made red by the use of beets, which also adds a touch of sweet earthiness. The earthiness compliments the chocolate notes from the stout nicely, and the nitro gives this a silky mouthfeel and brings out the light sweetness. ($4.99 for a 330mL bottle)

Tropical Torpedo by Sierra Nevada brewing: An island take on SN's classic Torpedo! Fresh tropical hop notes include mango, passion fruit, and papaya, all on a moderately malty base. Comes across crisp and finished even crisper! ($21.89 for a 6-pack of bottles)

Beer Camp Golden IPA by Sierra Nevada brewing: This year's Beer Camp brew is a Golden I...

Continue Reading →




Oregon: The New Burgundy

Posted on April 14, 2017

This tasting was the perfect opportunity to get a taste of what Oregon has to offer without having to pay for the flight. Oregon is a very new and wonderful place for some fantastic wine. Grapes were first planted in Oregon in 1847 but never really were of significance until the 1970's. In 1970 there were only 5 documented wineries. Less than 50 years later and now there are over 700. Oregon has definitely had a boom in production and they are now hailed for making some outstanding wine. The state is most well known for their Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley (Willamette is pronounced the same as 'dammit' ;), which is one of the now 18 AVA's (American Viticulture Areas) within Oregon.

The reason that they are able to make such wonderful Pinot Noirs in this state has to do with where they are located and like all things Pinot Noir: terrior. Oregon is actually on the same latitude as Burgundy, just with that alone they have fantastic potential. They also have a cooler, dry climate. At a lot of the areas, there is also a major influence of diurnal temperature: nice warm, hot temperatures during the day and quite cool at night, during the summers. This really helps to grow some fantastic grapes. One of the other good influences is the poor soil. There is lots of great soil in Oregon but where you get some awesome grapes they actually have very small amount of topsoil with very difficult subsoil, which is perfect for stressing vines and growing grapes that will lend more complexity and character to the wine.

Along with having these fantastic building blocks for making great grapes, Oregon is also doing an amazing job on the production of wine as well through both modern and traditional methods. Oregon is one of the leaders in the world for sustainable wine methods. Over half of all wineries in the state are certified sustainable with a lot of them working organically, bio-dynamically and now even working towards becoming B-Corps.

If you have ever thought about trying some different wines that are comparable to some of the best in the world, Oregon should definitely be your next stop!

In this tasting we went through 8 different wines, the majority of them were Pinot Noir and the majority were also from the some of the sub-regions within the Willamette Valley area. Just because we mainly tried Pinot Noir doesn't mean that Oregon doesn't make fantastic wines from other varieties, they do. I just really love Pinot Noir and wanted to get a taste for the difference between the varying regions and thought that everyone else would appreciate it as well. I will go through the wines in the same order that we tried them at the tasting:



Argyle Brut, 2011, $44.99 (sold out)
This was our first wine of the night, mostly because I love bubbles and think any reunion should start with bubbles. This sparkling wine is made with a blend of the traditional Champagne grapes, Pi...

Continue Reading →




Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada April 2017 Outturn

Posted on April 11, 2017

On Wednesday and Friday of last week, we held our monthly Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada Outturn tastings here at Kensington Wine Market. These three sold out tastings feature seven new SMWS Canada bottlings - all tasted blind.



The April Outturn was an interesting mix featuring two things I have not seen happen often in my short time running these tastings. Both have to do with the lineup itself.

First off - We tasted a total of seven society bottles. Not unusual on its own but what is unusual is that six of the bottles are all from Speyside. The seventh is from a Highland Island - it hails from one of my current personal favourite distilleries. This means that there are no Islay distilleries featured in the April 2017 Outturn. This has not happened often in my time running Society tastings here at KWM.

The other unusual thing is that we had a repeat distillery - meaning two of the Speyside bottles we tasted are actually both from the same distillery. It was fun to taste both of these side by side, especially since they were both quite different in age as well as overall style.

Enough of my rambling though. Without further ado, I give you the April 2017 SMWS Canada Outturn.

Cheers,
Evan

[caption id="attachment_5258" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="SMWS Canada April 2017 Outturn"][/caption]

6.118 - CAVORTING IN FLOWER MEADOWS - $139
This 12 year old Speysider is 59.9% after maturing in a 1st fill barrel
Flavour profile: Sweet, fruity & mellow
Outturn: 162 bottles

Panel's tasting note: "The nose was attractive and aromatic – we were playfully cavorting in flower meadows, enjoying childish pleasures of strawberry marshmallows, fruit salad, vanilla ice-cream, candy necklaces and Jelly Tots – one panellist wouldn’t play and sat aside, huffily sipping dessert wine. The palate’s main theme was fruit – exotic fruits, lemony citrus and tropical punch – but we also found toffee sweetness, warming wood and ginger spice. The reduced nose had more of the exotic fruits (papaya, honeydew melon, peach melba) and enough flowers to excite bee colonies. The palate became fruity and creamy – a Creamsicle, with a surprisingly spicy stick at the end."
Drinking tip: "Close your eyes and imagine flower meadows - or even palm trees"

48.82 - VIVACIOUS, ZESTY AND PENETRATING - $132
This 12 year old Speysider comes in at 57.5% after maturing in a 1st fill barrel
Flavour profile: Sweet, fruity & mellow
Outturn: 192 bottles

Panel's tasting note: "A fresh, lively nose, with white pepper, sanded wood, tinned fruit cocktail, stewed rhubarb and vanilla custard slice – lemon shows up later (lemon balm, lemon meringue pie). The palate is vivacious, zesty, juicy and penetrating – gra...

Continue Reading →




Caveman's Penicillin

Posted on April 8, 2017



Caveman's Penicillin

A more brutish and brooding version of a modern classic cocktail originally created in 2005 by New York bartender Sam Ross. This was created by Evan as a feature at a recent tasting held at Phil and Sebastian Coffee in Marda Loop.

Featuring Ardbeg Dark Cove - 46.5% ABV - $135

Ardbeg's 2016 special release, was launched at Ardbeg Night celebrations around the world on May 28th, 2016. It is exclusive to Ardbeg Embassies for the first few weeks and will then be opened to select other stores.

Ardbeg Dark Cove is being billed as the Darkest Ardbeg Ever. Partially matured in rare Dark Sherry Casks and married with whisky matured in American oak.

3/4 oz Ardbeg Dark Cove
1/4 tsp Elderflower syrup (from our neighbor's Peasant Cheese)
10 drops of Dillon's Lemon Bitters
5 drops Dillon's Ginger Bitters
Stir.
Add ice to the concoction.
Stir.
Add Lemon Garnish.
Serve.

-Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool
Instagram: one part of @kwmwhisky
 ...

Continue Reading →




New Beers for the Weeks of March 22nd and March 29th

Posted on March 31, 2017

Hey everyone!

Time for a slightly overdue update! I say “slightly overdue” because I only missed one week… you can’t miss me THAT much I hope. Either way, I’ve got a lot of new beers to update you on, plus a really fun announcement that I’m sure you’ll be interested in.

First I want to mention that I have a freshly tapped keg on the Ol’Growler Bar for those hop lovers out there. Pouring now is the Apparition west coast white ale (White IPA) from Four Winds. Soft and frothy, with aromas of banana, clove, and orchard fruits, followed by a more tropical hop profile on the palate and a soft wheat forward base. Absolutely delicious and only here for a short time!

Ok, here’s the new beers from the past two weeks:

Bears Hump Nut Brown by Coulee brewing: One of two new additions to Coulee’s already broad lineup. Bears Hump Nut Brown is a medium bodied brown ale with a generous roasted character and semi-creamy feel. Notes of toffee and bread, along with dried fruits and a touch of hazelnuts and peanut skins round out the palate and lead to a clean finish with soft and mellow bitterness. ($16.69 for a 6-pack of cans)

Range Road Cream Ale by Coulee brewing: Malt and grain are at the forefront of this beer. Big malty aromas prepare you for the rich sensations (but light profile) of a complex grain bill consisting of oats, wheat and Alberta barley. The beer comes across soft and silky with a little sweetness, and a balancing bitterness bringing up the rear. ($16.69 for a 6-pack of cans)

Pengo Pally by Bush Pilot: Pengo Pally is an arctic style Saison with a moderate abv (%6.5), and is flavoured with arctic herbs picked in Nunavik. Cloudy and grainy, with floral tones, along with a melange of hard to discern herbaceousness hidden behind crabapple sauce on stone ground crackers. Mildly sweet and spicy, with a grainy, lightly bitter finish. ($9.99 for a 750mL bottle)

Norseman by Bush Pilot: Norseman is aged in Armagnac barrels, and comes across with plenty of brown sugar notes, along with dried fruit, plenty of sweetness, and a touch of grape spirit. Rich and enjoyable are the two words I'd use to describe the raw essence of this beer. ($9.99 for a 750mL bottle)

Cognac Barrel by La Debauche: A big, rich classic style is made all the richer when put into Cognac barrels. Tons of dried fruit notes on the sweet malty base. The barrel provides a vinous quality that shows off both the grape spirit and the oak. Sip it slow, as the alcohol gives off a little heat on this one! ($4.99 for a 330mL bottle)

Deep Space by Fabryka Piwa: This foreign extra stout is fairly easy to drink, with only 6.5% abv, and low carbonation. It's silky and slightly sweet with big notes of roasted barley, and lighter notes of chocolate, herbs and grass. Hints of coffee pop out throughout and di...

Continue Reading →




Newer Posts →

← Older Posts

Recent Posts
Archives

Categories