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Cassel Brewery
715 rue Principale | Casselman, ON | Eatablished: 2012
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Lil' Red Steamer - Meh
ABV: 5.2% I IBU'S: 25 I Style: Red ale
Cassel Lil' Red Steamer is a tough one for a beer reviewer. While it's probably better tasting and more complex than any of the mass produced "red beers" out there, it has certain aspects that detract from it's drinkability, and even though it's been around for quite a while now I would say that it still lacks a bit of refinement.
The colour is nice, as this beer presents a deep coppery red, almost brown. I had it out of a bottle and it was pretty lively, with a large amount of bubbly head getting all disobedient and crawling out of the glass and all over my countertop. Aromas are surprisingly mild considering how intense the flavour is, with a berry-like sweetness dominating the nose. It's syrupy though, and seems to cover any malt scents that may want to make an appearance. Two things are very surprising about the flavour. One, it's extremely sweet, which definitely isn't the hallmark of a true red. And two, it has a really boozy flavour as well, which is strange considering its relatively low ABV of 5.2%. The main drawback of this beer though is the lack of balance. There isn't nearly enough malt or hop presence to counter all of that sweetness. As a result the flavour profile is the same as the aroma. Strawberry licorice, dark berries, and caramel lead the way, but it's a syrupy sweetness that doesn't seem natural, and there's a metallic taste almost all the way through each sip which is why I mentioned a lack of refinement earlier. There were a couple aspects of this beer that I did like however. I found the aftertaste quite pleasant, and the mouth-feel is also good, although highly carbonated, each sip stays full and rich all the way through, which may be this beers saving grace.
So, even though this isn't one of my favourites, there is a poster that says: "beauty is in the eye of the 'beer'holder." So this one is worth a shot if you like something sweet and bubbly.
The colour is nice, as this beer presents a deep coppery red, almost brown. I had it out of a bottle and it was pretty lively, with a large amount of bubbly head getting all disobedient and crawling out of the glass and all over my countertop. Aromas are surprisingly mild considering how intense the flavour is, with a berry-like sweetness dominating the nose. It's syrupy though, and seems to cover any malt scents that may want to make an appearance. Two things are very surprising about the flavour. One, it's extremely sweet, which definitely isn't the hallmark of a true red. And two, it has a really boozy flavour as well, which is strange considering its relatively low ABV of 5.2%. The main drawback of this beer though is the lack of balance. There isn't nearly enough malt or hop presence to counter all of that sweetness. As a result the flavour profile is the same as the aroma. Strawberry licorice, dark berries, and caramel lead the way, but it's a syrupy sweetness that doesn't seem natural, and there's a metallic taste almost all the way through each sip which is why I mentioned a lack of refinement earlier. There were a couple aspects of this beer that I did like however. I found the aftertaste quite pleasant, and the mouth-feel is also good, although highly carbonated, each sip stays full and rich all the way through, which may be this beers saving grace.
So, even though this isn't one of my favourites, there is a poster that says: "beauty is in the eye of the 'beer'holder." So this one is worth a shot if you like something sweet and bubbly.
Black Express Cask Edition Coffee Stout - Great
ABV: 5.2% I IBU'S: 27 I Style: Flavoured stout
Here is a beer that you need to try before it's too late. Cassel has released small casks of this coffee stout to some bars in the Ottawa region, and if you are lucky enough to visit one of these bars, this beer is an absolute must-try. I don't throw around "great" ratings very often, but this was one of the most enjoyable drinking experiences I've had in a while.
This beer uses Cassel's permanent brew Black Express as a base and then added coffee from a local supplier, Cafe de Joel in Rockland, and is then served straight from the cask. If you've never had cask conditioned beer you are missing out on a true beer drinking experience. Cask beer is conditioned in the cask, and served right from the cask, without any nitrogen or CO2 pressure added. The result is an exceptionally smooth beer, and this one might be the smoothest we've ever had. No joke.
This beer was served much less cold than your average draught beer, which was great, and it looked absolutely delicious sitting in front of me with a thick, dense head covering the jet black stout underneath. I could smell the coffee as I dove in for my first sip. And hot damn what a first sip! The flavour profile is completely dominated by coffee flavour, which is usually something I don't enjoy all that much but in this case I found that it was done just perfectly. The flavour is more of a fresh espresso bean than an actual cup of coffee, and although it dominates the senses, it isn't overdone and you don't get sick of it. Perhaps the best feature of this beer though was the ridiculously amazing velvety mouth-feel. This beer almost had the texture of melted ice cream, it was so perfectly rich, thick and smooth. Not much more I can say about that. I have to admit that I've had the regular Black Express in the past and it didn't impress me very much, but this beer was a completely different experience. She went down real easy (and really quickly) and the only thing on my mind was drinking another one. I wish that the circumstances of the day had allowed me to get drunk but alas, sometimes a man's got some shit to do later on.
This beer was the perfect winter sipper, and I can't stress enough how much I want people to try it. Go out and find it!
This beer uses Cassel's permanent brew Black Express as a base and then added coffee from a local supplier, Cafe de Joel in Rockland, and is then served straight from the cask. If you've never had cask conditioned beer you are missing out on a true beer drinking experience. Cask beer is conditioned in the cask, and served right from the cask, without any nitrogen or CO2 pressure added. The result is an exceptionally smooth beer, and this one might be the smoothest we've ever had. No joke.
This beer was served much less cold than your average draught beer, which was great, and it looked absolutely delicious sitting in front of me with a thick, dense head covering the jet black stout underneath. I could smell the coffee as I dove in for my first sip. And hot damn what a first sip! The flavour profile is completely dominated by coffee flavour, which is usually something I don't enjoy all that much but in this case I found that it was done just perfectly. The flavour is more of a fresh espresso bean than an actual cup of coffee, and although it dominates the senses, it isn't overdone and you don't get sick of it. Perhaps the best feature of this beer though was the ridiculously amazing velvety mouth-feel. This beer almost had the texture of melted ice cream, it was so perfectly rich, thick and smooth. Not much more I can say about that. I have to admit that I've had the regular Black Express in the past and it didn't impress me very much, but this beer was a completely different experience. She went down real easy (and really quickly) and the only thing on my mind was drinking another one. I wish that the circumstances of the day had allowed me to get drunk but alas, sometimes a man's got some shit to do later on.
This beer was the perfect winter sipper, and I can't stress enough how much I want people to try it. Go out and find it!
Golden Rail Honey Brown Ale - Somewhere between Good and Meh
ABV: 5.0% I IBU'S: 22 I Style: Honey brown ale
A strange thing has happened here. My usual killer instinct and trademark razor-sharp decisiveness has been compromised by this beer. The solution is to rate it somewhere in the nether region between good and meh. Golden Rail had things I liked and things that I didn't like. In the end, this is a solid and drinkable beer, but I'm just not sure that I would ever buy it again unless my options were limited.
This honey brown ale poured a cloudy copper colour with minimal head. The aroma was interesting, as it didn't really smell like beer as much as it smelled like something that I have no idea what that something smells like. Sorry. The beer itself was quite nice, a medium bodied brown ale with a hint of sweetness and almost no bitterness at all, which was nice for a change. The only downside to the flavour profile was a bit of a metallic taste at the back end. The beer was also pretty smooth despite having a strange level of carbonation that almost had a Pop Rocks feel to it. If you've never had Pop Rocks then you missed out on a complete childhood. It also seemed a bit thin going down.
So you can see here why I'm so torn on this beer. There are some unappealing qualities but in the end it was a pretty tasty and easy drinking brew. I just couldn't pull the trigger on rating it "Good" because basically I'm a large type ass-hole. Definitely worth a shot though.
This honey brown ale poured a cloudy copper colour with minimal head. The aroma was interesting, as it didn't really smell like beer as much as it smelled like something that I have no idea what that something smells like. Sorry. The beer itself was quite nice, a medium bodied brown ale with a hint of sweetness and almost no bitterness at all, which was nice for a change. The only downside to the flavour profile was a bit of a metallic taste at the back end. The beer was also pretty smooth despite having a strange level of carbonation that almost had a Pop Rocks feel to it. If you've never had Pop Rocks then you missed out on a complete childhood. It also seemed a bit thin going down.
So you can see here why I'm so torn on this beer. There are some unappealing qualities but in the end it was a pretty tasty and easy drinking brew. I just couldn't pull the trigger on rating it "Good" because basically I'm a large type ass-hole. Definitely worth a shot though.
