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The best beers of December
Winter ales, light lagers, and cookies make the list
Joseph Lavoie
January 03, 2023
Good morning!
We're delighted to be back in your inbox and hope you had a restful festive season with plenty of delicious BC craft beer. We had the tough job of sifting through our tasting notes from December to compile our monthly list of favourite beers.
While we enjoyed plenty of festive beers, some of which made it on this list, we also enjoyed a couple lagers to keep things light. Hopefully you can get your hands on some of these and enjoy them while supplies last!
We've also got a fresh list of events to check out this month, with trivia nights, comedy sessions, and board games all making the cut. Lots of excuses to get out in January!
—Joseph Lavoie
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Twin City - Nocturne Belgian-Style Quad
This is the ideal beer for a night of celebration, or for a dark and stormy night. Avoid serving it too cold so that you can enjoy the complex rich-sweet malty aromas that deserve their full expression.
Once you take a sip, you'll find a beer that is incredibly sweet on the tongue with dark fruit, brown sugar, dark raisin and prune notes that keep their intensity for the whole session. For a strong beer, the alcohol is nicely camouflaged — you won't get hot alcohols. With a moderately sweet finish, this beer showcases incredible craftsmanship.
Rusted Rake - Rosa the Rebel
This Mexican lager pours crystal clear with a beautiful straw yellow colour. The aromas are muted in a way you'd expect from a light lager, but a hint of sweet light malt occasionally catches your nose. The flavours are reminiscent of light sweet malt, with a tough-to-describe pleasant light green apple note. This beer has a super clean fermentation profile, with a crispy finish perfect for breaking up the darker stronger beers of the season.
Superflux - Cookies and Cream
There was no shortage of imperial stouts to taste this month, but this one caught our eye, having been brewed with 5,000 Oreos. We enjoyed it at the brewery with an absolutely decadent pour. Incredibly sweet chocolate and roasted malt aromas set the tone for the tasting. Super boozy flavours from the get-go underpin an incredibly sweet and indulgent beer. It's literally like drinking an Oreo chocolate cake. It's perfect for your pastry stout lovers.
Dageraad - Irresolution
This biotransformed IPA is an incredible treat. You get loads of tropical aromas that burst out of the glass in a refreshing way. The experience continues with the tasting. We got intense and immediate flavours of ripe pineapple and ripe tropical fruit. Incredibly smooth and balanced, this is a fine IPA.
Vancouver Island - Hermannator Ice Bock
We were inspired to have this beer after having it recommended to us on Reddit, and we were not disappointed. Beautifully dark brown with ruby highlights, this beer screams winter when it comes out of the can. Your nose will get treated to rich and intense malt aromas. You'll have no doubt of this beer's ABV, as the experience is very boozy. Rich, sweet, toasted notes with some caramel, this full-bodied beer is smooth and delicious.
Moody Ales - Amber Lager
This Vienna Lager pours brilliantly clear with a light reddish amber colour. The colours foreshadow what you can expect in the nose: toasty and malty rich aromas that are punctuated with a light floral hop spice. Soft, complex, and very enjoyable malt flavours drive the forefront. The balance of the flavours are toasty without verging into caramel notes. With a medium-dry finish, this is a great treatment of the style.
Strange Fellows - Krampus
This Belgian Dubbel sports a dark red/light brown colour with Belgian candy and dark raisin aromas that feature hints of apple and spice. Deep and sweet malt flavours dominate the initial wave of flavours. As the beer warms, flavours open up to reveal brown sugar and run. A dry, peppery finish caught us by surprise given the sweet start.
Moody Ales - Cold IPA
Moody Ales makes a second appearance on this month's list with this exceptionally clear and light golden IPA. We picked up a lot of guava in the nose with additional bright tropical fruit notes you'd except from New World hops. With a minimal malt profile, this IPA is super crisp, super clean, and a great version of the style.
✨ More of our favourite beers
Upcoming Events
🧠 Farm Country resumes its weekly Trivia night tonight at 630pm.
🎸 Smuggler's Trail is kicking off Sunday Fundays on January 5 with live music and $1 off beers.
🍽️ Old Yale's Dine in the Cellar series continues this week, with events scheduled for January 7, 14, 21, and 28. $50 tickets.
🧠 Trivia night returns to Smuggler's Trail on January 9th for 7 rounds of pop culture and music.
🎤 It's comedy night at Container Brewing on January 10, January 24, February 7, and February 21. Tickets here.
🧠 You can then keep your trivia streak going on January 10th at Old Yale Brewing.
🎨 It's Paint Nite at Deep Cove on January 9. Get tickets.
♟️ Container Brewing is hosting a regular games night, with the next sessions taking place on January 17 and then the first and third Tuesday of every month. Seating limited, so you'll need to get a ticket.
🧘 Patina Brewing is hosting a mindful beer tasting yoga class monthly on Saturdays. The next sessions are on January 28, February 18, and March 11.
🧘Container Brewing is also offering Beer Yoga sessions on January 15 and February 25.
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