Hoptical Illusion - Flying monekys craft brewery.

Here it is  my favorite  IPA/APA beer.  Hoptical Illusion by flying monkeys out of barie ontario canada earth the milky way the universe infinity.   5% abv

Appearance:  dark amber with a orangish head  that sticks around and laces well.

Smell: Pine and grapefruit hops over a sweet amber malt.

Taste: bitter citrus hops over top a sweet bready malt.

Mouthfeel: medium body with high carbonation.  drinks fairly well.  i'd give it a 35-40 IBU rating myself.

Thoughts:  a near perfect balance of hops and malts  and an approachable IBU level.  a good beer to get people into the "IPA" style of beers    4.75/5

Russian Earl Grey - Steepedtea

Previously in my backwater little town there was no loose tea available.  period.   After hearing about a physiotherapy clinic that opened up in town was apparently selling tea  I decided to pop in and have a look around.  Well their stock consisted of  products from the Ontario company "Steepedtea" which apparently got started due to a tv show called "Dragons Den"   a show that potential entrapenures pitch their idea's to a panel of wealthy investors  to see if they can get their product/idea off the ground..   Anyways  its a company that 90% of their products are of the "flavored" verity     I have expressed my intent on trying the "iron goddess"  whenever she brings it in.  But lets get on to the point of this review  the tea I have chosen.

Russian Earl Grey.   A earl grey that is flavored with Orange Lemon Grass,  Cornflower petals  and "natural flavors"   

Opening the bag results in a blast of  Floral Orange and Lemon.  with a hint of fruit loops.  really pungent aroma.  

Looking at the  tea you can see Blue petals  and small whole leaves with moderately sized lemon grass stalks and medium sized orange rind pieces.  The look of the tea is more like Dikom or Keemun in size and processing.

Setup:  5g in dayi gaiwan 95c 

First infusion:  30s 

Light black tea flavor with a bitter Florals  lemon and an orange rind finish.  medium dry finish. 

Second Infusion: 1m

lighter flavor  without the bitterness  Floral with classic black tea notes  that finish off with dry citrus.  

Third infusion: 2m 

flavor consists of weak citrus and a dry mouthfeel  

 
Thoughts.  this might make a good ice tea without having to add lemon to it.  i can tell the tea is of fairly good quality but the flavorings are a bit over the top.  tea may present nicer in a western brewing style.  i may experiment with this tea at a later date. 

Farmery brewing premium lager

This has been creating some buzz locally here in Manitoba  apparently this beer will soon be brewed in Nepawa MB from locally grown ingredients.  its said to become a estate beer where most of the ingredients are grown in the area or on premise  but as it stands its brewed elsewhere a relatively young brewery  of 2008    this beer is bottled at 5%abv

Pour: Golden straw with a 1/2 finger white head that dissipates quickly.

aroma: sweet golden malts  with some floral hops

taste: sweet malt arrival with a tangy citrus like hop note that finishes in a sweet lager style finish

Mouthfeel:  medium carbonation  easy drinking smooth  could easily be a session beer.

thoughts:  for a lager  this is a good beer  4/5 lager score  true beer score: 3.5/5  i cant wait for what they can branch out towards once they have their main brewery set up.