Chilkoot Lead Dog Ale

Brewed by Yukon Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Whitehorse, Canada

Bottle. Pours medium brown with a reddish flash. Thick off-white/pale tan head with spotty/ropey lacing. Nose is fruit, malt, caramel, toffee, cinnamon, ginger. Palate is smooth and soft, nice sweetness. Rich and mildly spicy, plenty of stewed fruit, caramel, and nuts. Very tasty, a surprise from Yukon!

Clear dark brown with a minor red hue, poured a nice tan head that, after sitting for 10 minutes, had left a nice hilly and smooth cap that had excellent retention. Constant effervecence. Had a good warm burnt aroma with mild coffee notes, a touch of chocolate and solid hops. Good balance. Good burnt smell! I could taste the alcohol, but this was not a deterrent. I like this! It’s got lots of flavour with burnt coffee and possibly chocolate as well. I drank this at room temperature. Feels thick. Nice solid burnt and bitter aftertaste that remained after every sip. A lot better than I first thought.

An excellent strong ale. Kind of a chocholate colour, with a light brown head... tastes of caramel and malt... very smooth falvour... Yukon’s best one yet!

(Bottle from the brewery. Originally reviewed for Winter/08 issue of TAPS Magazine.) As a dog lover with an especially strong affinity for huskies, the label alone was enough to hook me on this beer. Luckily, the stuff on the inside of the bottle is pretty good as well. Mahogany-brown in colour with a large mocha head, it has a complex and appealing aroma of dry cocoa, dark malt, treacle and anise. The flavour follows with the same notes as the aroma off the top, combined with some dried dark fruit, followed by a hint of smoke and a nicely layered hoppiness that builds in the finish. They call it an English Strong Ale, but to me it brings to mind a robust and warming Porter. Whatever you choose to call it, it’s a fantastic winter treat.

<i>Bottle (341ml) shared with GregClow, HogTownHarry & garthicus -- courtesy of GregClow.</i> Pours a very deep ruby-orange with a spare diminishing off-white head. Aroma of caramel malt, dark fruit, alcohol and maybe a hint of chocolate. Flavour follows the aroma but is slightly milder and more subtle. Average bodied. A good, enjoyable Ale.

Bottle (341ml). Shared by GregClow with me, blankboy and garthicus. Clear ruby-amber pour with a quick-diminishing frothy off-white head. Aroma or maple syrup and dried out herbal hops. The taste is much more bitter than sweet, dry, almost like fall leaves. Average bodied, slick, weakly syrupy, leaving a burnt aftertaste. Too sweet - weird.

Brown bottle, 341 ml, purchased at the brewery in Whitehorse (Yukon), savoured on November 23 2008; eye: burgundy, clear, slight effervescence, beige head that turns into a tiny ring, a bit of lacing; nose: lots of caramelized malt, light roast, candied fruits; mouth: lots of caramelized malt, hops, roasted malt, candied fruits, finale in caramelized malt with a hint of hops, rather sweet and bitter, light astringency, average carbonation, medium body; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 341 ml, 7 %, achetée à la brasserie à Whitehorse (Yukon), savourée le 23 novembre 2008; œil : bourgogne, claire, très légère effervescence, mousse beige qui se transforme en un petit anneau, un peu de dentelle; nez : beaucoup de malt caramélisé, léger torréfié, fruits confits; bouche : malt caramélisé, houblon, malt torréfié, fruits confits, finale en malt caramélisé avec une pointe de houblon, plutôt sucrée et amère, légère astringence, carbonatation moyenne, corps moyen; en résumé : bien aimé

GregClows bottle: Appearance: Red/brown with a small white head. Aroma: Malt and peat with definite smoke in there too. Flavour: Sweet and creamy and mildly smoky.