Trafalgar Oak-Aged Rye

Had this on tap at the 2008 Pepperwood Bistro Beer Festival. Distinguished flavour present. This was one of my preferred beers from the festival.

[537-20070818] Sample @ BeerBistro (Golden Taps, Toronto, ON, called "Oak Villain"). Sweet toffee Irish cream coffee aroma with muted floral notes. Clear, amber orange body with a quick off-white head. More Irish cream in the flavour yeilds to a grainy toffee malt. Smooth medium body. Very nice blending.

Draught sample at the 2007 GTAs. Golden colour with a reddish tinge and a small white head. Nice aroma of vanilla, bourbon and oak. Thinnish body. Flavour is somewhat one-dimensional, but still pleasant, with notes of wood and vanilla working well with the fairly light base beer. I’ve been disappointed by some of Trafalgar’s off-centre beers in the past - they should deal with their quality control and infection issues rather than cranking out so many different styles of beer, IMO - but this is an interesting and enjoyable beer.

2007 Golden Tap Awards. Labeled "Oak Villain" on the tasting list, but described as Oak-Aged Rye by the pourers. Golden amber body with a small off white head. Nice aroma of vanilla blended with lightly alcoholic grains and something unidentified. (7+) Flavour has more of the vanilla notes, lots of grainy notes to the malt (perhaps enhanced by the wood notes?) and light floral notes, moderate bitterness throughout. Vanilla lingers into the finish. Average palate. I actually found this quite drinkable, but the strength of the vanilla might become a bit much in larger portions. An interesting experiment.

Bottle from the LCBO- Decants a clear amber with a beige froth that is short lived. Nose is hops with lots of wood, perfume, candy, floral botanicals. This tastes pretty damn good. Very, very fresh hops, leafy greens, wood, and vanilla with caramel and candy. This is bitter as all get out in the finish. Very dry and a hop infused finish. My god, this is nice. Well done Trafalgar. This is the best beer from the brewery to date. I’m going to buy more tomorrow, and I’ve never said that about a Trafalgar beer.

Bomber chilled in fridge 1 day. Oak lends a hint of vanilla charm to a Best Bitter-like offering. Open and fresh with some good hops presence. No serious flaws that I can detect - this time. Alongside the Celtic Irish Ale a very acceptable session beer from Trafalgar.

Draught at 2007 Golden Tap Awards, beerbistro. Called "Trafalgar Oak Villain". Pours a clear orange-amber with an average size diminishing white head. Aroma of vanilla, light oak, fruit and sweet malt. Sweet flavour of vanilla, caramel malt, light oak, some fruit and grain. Medium bodied. I must say, I’m quite surprised that I liked this, well done Trafalgar.

650 ml bottle from the LCBO. Deep amber colour with a thick beige head. Arom ais a bit grainy and fruity. A kiss of light berryish sweetness. As it warms I get a bit of cherry and a light graininess. Lightly citrusy with a little bit of grassy character. I do get some rye spiciness in here, although I don’t get any oak to speak of. It’s quite a decent brew, but not a great one.