Beau's Strong Patrick

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:17 pm

This looks great, but man oh man are the flavours subtle. Maybe my taste buds are a bit burnt out from some of the bolder offerings coming on line now, but I've always enjoyed reds and I'm not sure I could pick this out of a lineup of Rickard's and Smithwick's.

It's not bad, I'd love it on cask for a session, but it's lacking the deep malt flavours I need for the style. What is there is pretty much all laid-back oak and a bit of booze.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:33 pm

600ml bottle from the lcbo. more beaus trickery, very poor example of an irish ale. no rich maltiness, very bland in both aroma and flavour. no sign of the 1/8th barrel aging. deep orange, not even red. pretty much just all around lies. oh and $8 for the bottle. why did i buy this? the beer itself doesnt taste bad and really doesnt have any brewing flaws, its just not to style and the description on the bottle doesnt match the beer inside it. overall this is a bland 6.7% english strong, drinkable for the weight but dissapointing overall.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:31 am

You wouldn't know it from the 7 ratings over on BA, including one from Todd (not that his reviews mean much).

I will post my thoughts when I open my bottle. Probably next week some time.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:38 am

TheSevenDuffs wrote:You wouldn't know it from the 7 ratings over on BA, including one from Todd (not that his reviews mean much).

I will post my thoughts when I open my bottle. Probably next week some time.

BA 9 reviews, score 4.1
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/15435/79444

RB 28 reviews, score 3.18
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/beaus-stro ... le/167492/

they must have made 2 different version and only given the good stuff to the BA crowd

PeenSteen · Post by **PeenSteen** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 1:42 pm

It's one of the better offerings from Beau's I have had in quite sometime

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 2:18 pm

matt7215 wrote: BA 9 reviews, score 4.1
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/15435/79444

RB 28 reviews, score 3.18
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/beaus-stro ... le/167492/

That is a huge discrepency. Then again the BA average is a very small sample size. It will be interesting to see how this changes in the coming weeks as people pick this up at the LCBO and review it.

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 2:21 pm

Matt, I am intrigued by your statement about "more Beaus trickery". Please elaborate!

I missed this beer unfortunately, and The Ship has bottles, but they are pricey....I was disappointed with The Mutineer though.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 2:40 pm

SteelbackGuy wrote:Matt, I am intrigued by your statement about "more Beaus trickery". Please elaborate!

I missed this beer unfortunately, and The Ship has bottles, but they are pricey....I was disappointed with The Mutineer though.

Beaus Weisse O'Lantern - 600ml bottle from the LCBO. clear golden with a small white head. ginger and wheat malt nose. medium bodied, nicely spiced though not very pumpkin beer like. does not drink like a hefe at all, much more like a saison. great beer if you can get over that its nothing like it says it will be.

Beaus Screamin Beaver - 600ml bottle from the best of beaus 4 pack. deep orange, tan head. big oaky nose, vanilla, soft fruit. flavour is balanced, tons of oak. a little green, and not an IIPA. currently drinking like a young american barley wine.

Beaus Patio Saison - 600ml bottle from the best of beaus 4 pack. super hazy golden, white head. aroma of wheat malt, hair salon and lemon. flavour is like a dry german hefe. not a saison, not very good.

Beaus tends to not put in the bottle what the label says is going to be in the bottle, see examples above in bold

Whats Beaus says - What it tastes like

Beaus Strong Patrick Irish Red Ale - flabby english strong ale
Beaus Weisse O'Lantern (pumpkin weisse) - spiced saison
Beaus Screamin Beaver (IIPA) - barley wine
Beaus Patio Saison - german weisse

particularily interesting is that there pumpkin weisse tasted more like a saison then their saison and their saison tastes more like a german weisse then their pumpkin weisse

basically the bottle told me i bought an Irish Red but it turns out that wasnt what was in the bottle

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 3:16 pm

matt7215 wrote:... (Beau's) pumpkin weisse tasted more like a saison then their saison and their saison tastes more like a german weisse then their pumpkin weisse.

Style identity crisis is not a real plus for brewers, making me shy to try. I completely agree that beer in Ontario is now way beyond Saisons or Weissbiers etc. that are pointlessly way off the mark. It's just not credible.

But their products look really jazzy. The branding is great, and I hope people like 'em (well somebody's buying it!)

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 3:40 pm

Heh, I was a bit curious about Matt's remark too, but those descriptions are all spot on. That said, I enjoyed all of those beers aside from the Strong Patrick.

They actually do some really good stuff, I wouldn't say those four are representative of their offerings... though being on-style might not be their strong point. The brews I have enjoyed from them in the past couple months (Dubbel Koyt -fantastic-, Winterbrewed, and Burnt Rock) were all very tasty but not traditional and/or common styles.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 7:21 pm

Bytowner wrote:Heh, I was a bit curious about Matt's remark too, but those descriptions are all spot on.

They are. most of my reviews of Beau's beers echo Matt's comments.

heebes · Post by **heebes** » Fri Mar 15, 2013 8:57 pm

all have for me as well...only difference is ive quit buying their beer

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 5:55 pm

Maybe it comes from not being a ticker, but I couldn't give a rat's ass if the beer coincides with my pre-conceived notion of what the style "should" taste like. If I like the beer, then I like the beer. Who cares if Screaming Beaver is a barley wine? It is good.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:03 pm

midlife crisis wrote:Maybe it comes from not being a ticker, but I couldn't give a rat's ass if the beer coincides with my pre-conceived notion of what the style "should" taste like. If I like the beer, then I like the beer. Who cares if Screaming Beaver is a barley wine? It is good.

if you went out for dinner and ordered steak would you care if they served you chicken?

or would it be ok because at this particular restaurant they put steak on the menu but just serve people chicken even though they ordered steak?

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:13 pm

That is a silly analogy. I guess my frustration is with the notion that there is a clear and unmistakable difference between IIPA and barley wine, like there is between steak and chicken. The differences between IIPA and barley wine can be subtle, at least on the margins, as they exist on a continuum. Sure, if they said Screaming Beaver was a pilsner I would be pissed off. But these much more fine distinctions don't bother me at all.