Charlevoix Tomahawk Triple IPA

Sampled on tap at le Saint-Bock. Clear golden color with a thin white head that had a good retention. Solid aroma of fruity hops, pine needles with some belgian character provided by the yeast. Superb flavor of fruity hops with pine needles and a very present belgian yeast, it finishes with bitterness. The body is light to medium with a liquorous texture and moderate carbonation. I like that the high alcohol content is not felt at all, all in all this is a solid achievement.

Draught glass at Saint Bock, Montreal, June 15 2007 after MartinT’s birthday party. Someone else’s glass, actually (Glouglouburp’s?) as it was un-finishable to that individual. Lucky me. Hazy-to-opaque (hard to tell in the atmosphere) amber-copper with some lasting head....hugely fruity nose, tropical fruits and some sharp piney-citric hops, pleasant enough but already over-sweet....and then on the tongue, the sugar really whallops you; as Clark notes, it also has sort of a dirty, unclean texture and flavor as well, like something old died in there with the overripe peaches and apricots that dominate the mouth; I don’t mean to suggest it’s undrinkable or horrid, but it just has an unpleasantness about it, and a strong metallic/alcoholic bit at the finish, that really makes it tough for me to finish the glass....and I only do because I’ve decided this is going to be a serious-drinking night....syrupy, thick, cloying and carbonation is just not enough to support this thickness. Not for me, thanks.

On tap at Le Saint Bock, Montreal. Deep orange amber,cream-coloured head with moderate retention and decent lace. Beautiful aromas of tropical fruit, peaches, and toffee. All of this is generously repeated on the palate, creamy mouthfeel, sweet with a well-balanced bitter finish. I had to confirm with the bartender that I had the right beer, because I could detect none of the 11% alcohol-- it is that good!

A dark golden ale with a thin creamy white head. A strange aroma of pinhey hops and Vicks vaporub menthol, IPA, a sweet marraschino cherry with a good malt base, light cinnamon, and good hops. A complex and unsettling brew. On tap at Vices versa, Jan. 2007.

On tap at Vices & Versa. The color is a nice amber with a beige head. The flavor is a sweet citruscy one with just a bit of caramel on the side. The alcohol % is not overpowering. let us not forget the hops they are very present.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 1     Golden(1)->Dark brown(5) : 2     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 2
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 2   White(1)->Tan(5) : 1   Lasting: 1   Lacing : 1
Aroma:
Intensity : 2  
Yeast : 3   Bread : 2   Tropical Fruits : 3   Soap : XX   Diacetyl : XX Sulfur : XX   Fusel : 4  
Malt : 3   Biscuity : 3   Hay : XX   Toasty : XX   Caramel : 2   Fruity : 4   Nutty : XX   Honey : 3   Maple : XX   Molasses : XX   Cereals : 2   Grainy : XX
Hops : 3   Noble(1)->American(5) : 4   Leafy : XX   Spicy : XX   Floral : XX   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : 2 Orange : 3   Herbal : XX   Grassy : 2   Pine/Spruce/Resin : 3  
Notes :   Peach/Apricot : 3   Earth : XX   Mint : XX   Butterscotch : XX   Smoke : XX   Dates : XX   Bourbon : XX   Bubblegum : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 5   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 5   Sourness : 2   Bitterness : 3   Complex : 2   Length : 3
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 4   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 3   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : 4   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : 5   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Surprisingly crystal clear, rather syrupy smell, indeed very sweet and not very sharp yeast aromatics while the hops are rather timid amidst the strong alcoholic sweetness. I appreciate the effort, but it doesn’t seem, in my opinion, to focus on the best points of the beer it tries to take its inspiration from (delicate yeastiness, sharp and mostly aromatic hops rather than syrupy sweetness, strong filtration, straight alcohol and hops that lack confidence or brightness)

Draught tulip at Le St. Bock on 1/27/07
Fluffy white head perched atop a clear, lemon-yellow body with strong golden hues. The head fades steadily to partial cover, leaving light lacing behind. Light carbonation in the liquid.
Moderate amounts of hops in the nose are quickly joined by honey and caramel and a strong yeastiness. Lemons, oranges and a dry, but light white grapefruit note are the aromas given off by the hops. Warm honey-dough and light, earthy caramel give a strong malt backing, but it still seems a touch too bare behind the hops. Furthermore, on the finish, mixed in with light Belgian yeast esters is a strong dirtiness. Dirty carpet, wet wool, not exactly sure, but it’s definitely noticeable. Hops try their best to drive it out, but the aroma isnt overly strong or lasting, and seems to thin out heavily as it warms/breathes. Alcohol well-concealed.
The flavor begins with juicy citrus and strong grassiness. Round and lively it sits atop lightly sweet pale malts, with a touch of light caramel/toastiness. However, a pervasive dirtiness sets in quickly and completely ruins the beer. I’m not sure the cause, but it’s been my biggest problem in homebrewing thus far. I’ve narrowed it down to either A) bacterial infection from dry-hopping or B) bacterial infection from too high a lag time. I’ve got to imagine that commercial breweries don’t have problems with lag times, so it seems to me that it’s some type of complication with dry-hopping (both beers that I’ve dry-hopped have had this exact dirtiness). It’s strange too because this beer is filtered, so you would have thought all the hop debris would have been filtered off. Anyways, if I put this side-by-side with my homebrew, you’d be amazed at the similarity.
Unfortunately, it dosent translate in to such a good beer. Try as I may, I couldnt choke down my tulip. Odd that no one else reports this...but I’ve got Olivier to corroborate my story...

On tap at Vices & Versa, kind of expensive at over 6$ a glass, but you don’t see Beers like this every day in this province, or even this country!

Beautiful amber ale, it was sort of like a well varnished redwood color. A quarter inch of compact, creamy head lasted the whole way down.
Hops were definately fresh, minty and fruity, but somehow didn’t quite hit me the way I thought they were. It could have used a little more dry-hopping to give it an extra zing.
Excellent mix of warm alcohol, resinous hops that just coat your tongue and doesn’t let go, however this isn’t a palate scorcher, it went down surprisingly well. The bready, belgian-style yeast does show up in the middle somewhere, giving it sort of a Houblon Dobbelen thing going on, which was really interesting. My hat is off once again to this brewery who has the balls to go extreme in a market that might not be ready for it yet.