Oct. 08, 2008 - Issue #677: Pick Your Poison
Great Head: What’s in my beer?!
Sherbrooke Liquor Store
$15.99 per six pack
I have noticed a trend in recent years: breweries are becoming a lot more creative and ambitious when it comes to unique additions to their beer. I’m not just talking about adding fruit or honey to your brew, either. For example, I’m seeing beers spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices. I am seeing chili pepper beers, pomegranate beers, even beers with pine needles.
I think this is due to the growing adventurism of beer drinkers. As many of us open our palates to different kinds of beer, we become more willing to try something out of the ordinary, something that challenges our definition of beer. This is a good thing.
Maybe Edmonton can take the title of most adventurous brewing city. We have Amber’s Mountain Pepper Berry beer, and Alley Kat’s current seasonal is Pumpkin Pi, infused with pumpkin and spices. Both are courageous, strong beers.
And now we have a beer that may surpass all in terms of creativity. Sherbrooke Liquor Store (118 Ave and St Albert Trail) is considered by most as the best beer store in town. They have also been releasing proprietary beers sold only at their liquor store. Most have been high quality and adventurous (a double IPA, chocolate cherry porter, rye-aged beer). It’s brave of them to try releasing their own beer, but also cunning genius.
Their latest may take the cake in terms of creativity. They have just released Heatseeker—a robust porter infused with coconut and curry spices. The idea comes from an award-winning homebrew recipe from local homebrewer Mark Nesdoly. Sherbrooke decided to give Nesdoly’s handcrafted version a try on a bigger scale. The result is Heatseeker.
It pours a deep, rich brown with red highlights. A thick, light tan head drops to a thin, consistent cover. Emanating from the glass are chocolate and dark caramel aromas, accented by a noted coconut quality. There is only a subtle spice aroma.
The first taste impression is chocolate and curry, followed by the rich flavour of coconut. The curry fades quickly and does not offer much in the way of heat. The underlying porter is solid; chocolatey and velvety with just a touch of roast. The coconut accents the malt and also offers an angular take on the sweetness.
Heatseeker provides a strong base porter and throws in some intriguing flavours to make the beer interesting and unique. Belying the name, though, there isn’t really a spicy heat. At first this was disappointing, but as I sipped the beer, I realized the lack of heat is a good thing: a mouth-burning sensation would only serve as a distraction to the beer’s complex flavours. The curry is noted but subdued, which is as it should be.
Dear reader, you might be forgiven for approaching this beer with some skepticism, given its odd ingredients, but dare to try it, I suggest, and you may find yourself enjoying it and, pray, even seeking out other beers with odd additions. V
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