Style: Baltic Porter
ABV: 9.2%
Presentation: Single 750 ml brown bottle
Brewery: Les Trois Mousquetaires
Country: Brossard, Quebec, Canada

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

Les Trois Mousquetaires is a unique artisanal craft brewery in Quebec that for the most part tends to focus on beer styles that originated in the Bavarian and Bohemian regions of Europe. I would consider their rendition of the Baltic Porter variety as one of the flagship offerings that exhibits the skill they are capable of.

This style is a traditional one from the countries bordering the Baltic Sea, the traditional route that British merchants used to ship Russian Imperial Stout to the royal court in St. Petersburg. Although it was influenced by this bigger, bolder Stout, it was still derived from the English Porters that were still the rage at the time on the Continent. Hence the Baltic Porter is a bit of a hybrid style, no less from the fact that much of the time it was cold fermented with Lager yeast.

It must be noted that it was Napoleon’s conquest of Eastern Europe and his strategy to halt British imports to those markets (including the huge demand for Stouts and Porters) that forced the people of occupied nations to start producing their own renditions of these styles in the first place, specifically Porters. If only to keep up with the local thirst and demands for these beers, which would not be halted even by the invasion of a foreign megalomaniac and his armies.

In light of that Les Trois Mousquetaires manages to pull off a brilliant home turf version of a Baltic Porter, yet without the threat (knock on wood!) of foreign invasion and limitation of using whatever ingredients just happen to be lying around. In light of not being an authentic Continental European creation, LTM has pulled off probably one of the finest examples of the style you may ever get the chance to try. If you’re so inspired by the style I hope you get the chance to try them all, as it’ll just help to reiterate my point. This one is up there with the best of them.

If you only own basic glassware then a pint glass or a mug will serve just fine, although a large snifter or red wine glass will help accentuate the higher alcohol and layers of flavour even moreso. Since this is a malty high alcohol beer you’ll do well to let it sit 20-30 minutes to warm up before pouring. It’s a big bottle though, so if you’re working your way through it on your own chances are it’ll warm up over time regardless of how chilled it is when you start, and in the end give you the chance to see how it changes with temperature. Ideally I’d still let it warm up a fair bit all the same.

This is an intense dense opaque pitch black beer, with a fairly quick receding spongy tan head. Rich roasted malt and coffee are primary on the nose, followed by alcohol, licorice, blackstrap molasses, and hints of cocoa nibs. The flavour is rich and reveals itself in layers and waves of espresso, black licorice, blackstrap molasses, dry roasted barley, black cherry and figs, with an alcoholic and vinous finish. There’s a delivery of a smooth, almost slick mouthfeel, medium-full body, which gets sticky on the finish.

Being a rich dark ale, shellfish like oysters and mussels are a traditional pairing option that will never miss. If you’re looking for a Fatherland dish to pair with this Porter of Continental origin consider some bratwurst of wiener schnitzel, or even some wild boar if you’re into more eccentric game meat. Actually this is a bold ale that will help tame most game served on the dinner table if you’re lucky enough to serve it. For the rest of us folks consider a domestic barbecue with some ribs or grilled meat. Smoked meats go great as well. And if this beer lasts until dessert, or you go out of your way to save it for that, sip it along with some bitter chocolate for an excellent match.

The next steps in the cooler:

From This Brewery:
Doppelbock Grande Cuvée Printemps
Impériale Weizen Grande Cuvée
Série Signature Kellerbier
Série Signature Oktoberfest
Série Signature Rauchbier
Série Signature Sticke Alt

In-Style:
Half Pints Pot Hole Porter
Okanagan Springs Old English Porter

Other Porters:
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil
Anchor Porter
Fuller’s London Porter

Lateral Steps:
Péché Mortel
Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
Raasted Imperial Stout

Style: American Porter
ABV: 5.6%
Presentation: 6 packs of 355 ml brown bottles
Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company
Country: San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

The Anchor Brewing Company is a craft brewery with a fairly lengthy history, at least for a North American one. The pre-existing brewery was founded around 1871 by a German immigrant in the wake of the California Gold Rush, and had a reputation for producing the Steam Beer that was indigenous to the region.

It wasn’t until new owners took over in 1896 that the name of the brewery was changed to Anchor. Things didn’t run exactly smoothly for them either after their first decade in business. Both of the new owners died within a year of one another, and the brewery was completely destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco fire. The following owners of the rebuilt brewery made a successful go until Prohibition put them out of business. The owner after the Repeal had the place burn down on him again and rebuilt it in yet another location. Sales started to wane with the new rising demand for fizzy yellow mass-produced lagers, and the brewery once again shut down due to decline in sales, only to reopen the following year with yet another owner in a different location.

I’m not sure about you, but even I’m beginning to lose track of how many times this brewery has changed hands and locations within San Francisco over the years. Fortunately the story levels out a bit around this time. This last owner was about to go bankrupt in 1965 when a fan of their Steam Beer, Frederick (Fritz) Louis Maytag III the great-grandson of the Maytag appliance mogul, purchased a majority share in the brewery, and in 1969 became sole owner.

What Fritz Maytag managed to do was maintain one of the first micro-breweries in the U.S. since Prohibition, and became a leader in the craft brewing revival. He finally chose to retire and sell off the brewery in 2010 to the Griffin Group, a San Francisco based investment firm that specializes in premium alcoholic beverages.

While Anchor Steam remained the flagship beer for the Maytag years of the brewery, over the years Anchor has produced a small yet solid line-up of beers that have helped to set industry standards. One that stands out for me as the epitome of the style has to be Anchor’s Porter. If you’ve never tried a Porter before, or haven’t had much experience with the style, this is the one to compare all others with.

Anchor Porter was first brewed in 1972, and has been bottled since 1974. To this day it remains an acclaimed world-class version of this style if you don’t just want to take my opinion on it.

Unless you have a particular favourite stemmed glass, go with a mug or a pint glass to serve this Porter in. I’ve found this Porter to taste good at pretty much any temperature, but the optimum zone would be to allow it to warm 15-20 minutes before serving.

You could mistake the colour of Anchor Porter for black, but in actuality it is a very dark brown and will produce translucent ruby highlights. Expect a tall creamy off-white head on the pour that will retain for quite some time. Dry roasty malt, molasses, hints of chocolate and coffee can be found in the aroma. While the flavour is more than ample, this is one of those rare wonderful occasions when the sum is still greater than its parts, and the role of craftsmanship starts to enter the realm of alchemy. Across the palate you will encounter dry toasty and roasty malt up front, some sticky sweetness rising in the middle, and finishing with a well tempered dose of burnt malt and char. Perhaps it doesn’t sound like much, but it all works together astonishingly well. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied with low carbonation, slick at first but finishes creamy smooth.

This Porter from Anchor is as versatile as it is tasty. Some Gouda, Limburger or aged Cheddar will contrast well. Of course smoked or grilled meats will also be an ideal plan to pair with. A big bowl of dirty rice or jambalaya is a savoury compliment to the roastiness of this Porter, along with earthy bean-based Mexican dishes. Even with dessert you could pair this beer with a rich chocolate cake or brownies, pecan pie, fresh berries or a berry-focused cake or pie.

The next steps in the cooler:

From This Brewery:
Anchor Liberty Ale
Anchor Steam

In-Style:
Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
Rogue Mocha Porter
Butte Creek Organic Porter
Fuller’s London Porter
Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter
Paddock Wood London Porter
Tree Spy Porter

Lateral Steps:
Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout
St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Gulden Draak

For The Adventurous:
Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Thomas Hardy’s Ale

Style: English Porter
ABV: 5.3%
Presentation: 6 packs of 341 brown bottles
Brewery: Paddock Wood Brewing
Country: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

If you’re curious why some breweries tend to label their Porter as a London Porter it tends to be as an homage both to the birthplace of this style, as well as a nod to the standard brown version in its heyday over 200 years ago. Those were ales that utilized brown malts more than black patent, and had softer toasty notes with hints of chocolate and coffee. It was the roastier variations of Porter that eventually evolved into Stouts, along with the robust variety that Continental breweries produced in emulation.

Of course what comprises a traditional standard variety of Porter is also very open to much interpretation and debate. After all Porter is one of the oldest commercially brewed styles of beer still available today, which leaves a lot of room for tastes to change along with technology and techniques to advance and improve over the years. Speaking of which this style is personally responsible for many of those technological breakthroughs.

For starters Porter was the first truly mass-produced beer, giving birth to many large scale commercial breweries to help keep up with the public’s demand and thirst for it. This occurred hand in hand with the rise of the British Industrial Revolution, and in fact helped to fuel it. With the development of the national transport network within the United Kingdom, London Porters also became the first nationwide style of beer available in the world. On a global scale Porters became available in nearly every corner of the world, spanning across Europe, to India, China, the United States and the Caribbean Islands.

This particular version of London Porter from Paddock Wood is directly based on a recipe dating from 1850, when the style had already reached its apex in popularity. It even lacks the sour tinge that was normally imparted to the style by the Brettanomyces strain of yeast that would live in the nooks and crannies of the old wooden vats; by the 1850’s the particular brewery that this recipe was derived from had already made the switch to using stainless steel, thus eliminating the hospitable environment for the Brett yeast to thrive.

Be prepared for a straightforward tasty beer, a tall mug or pint glass will serve just fine. Give it about 10 minutes to warm up as well before cracking the cap open, as this will allow the malt to bloom out from behind the wall of chill-induced obscurity.

This London Porter is a deep dark brown with garnet highlights that can easily be mistaken for black if not held to any light source. Crowning it is a creamy mocha coloured head that will slowly settle. I tend to pick up notes of mild roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and chicory in the aroma, along with an underlying earthiness. The flavour follows through with toasty caramel and roasted malt, some cocoa and coffee, and a light bittersweet dry finish and aftertaste. A medium-light mouthfeel with low carbonation helps make this an ideal session beer for the malt fans out there.

Steve Cavan, the head of Paddock Wood Brewing, recommends pairing this London Porter with flame-grilled meat, as well as Mexican dishes accompanied by a good mole sauce. I would add to that list any hearty beef stews, or a good dense bowl of chili. Chocolate desserts will also have a fine dining partner with this Porter.

The next steps in the cooler:

From This Brewery:
606 IPA
Bête Noire
Czech Mate
Double Double
Black Cat Lager

In-Style:
Tree Spy Porter
Fuller’s London Porter
Samuel Smith’s Old Taddy Porter
Half Pints Pothole Porter
Anchor Porter

Lateral Steps:
Mt. Begbie Tall Timber Ale
Samuel Smith’s Nut brown Ale
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Lobkowicz Baron

For The Adventurous:
Aventinus
St. Bernardus Abt 12
North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout

Style: Smoked Porter
ABV: 7%
Presentation: 500 ml brown bottle
Brewery: Nikenjayamochi Kadoya Honten Co./Beer Warehouse
Country: Ise City, Japan

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

One surprising detail that I’ve noticed since we’ve had such a large influx of Japanese craft beers here in Alberta is that in general they produce an impressively satisfying dark beer. The one that stands out above the rest for me thus far has been the Imperial Smoked Porter from the Ise Kadoya brewery. This in itself can be something of a challenging ale, both for the brewer to pull off, and for some beer drinkers, especially if the latter is unfamiliar with the style or what to expect.

Although they tended to be somewhat ubiquitous by default a few hundred years ago and beyond, smoked beers are far from common these days (with the exception of certain pockets of Germany who kept the tradition alive). With the dawn of the craft brewing movement about three decades ago now many craft breweries have taken it upon themselves to resurrect obsolete styles from the past, or at least create their own individual interpretations of them.

It was the Alaskan Brewing Company based in the city of Juneau that is credited for reviving the Smoked Porter style back in 1988, which helped pave the way for some other great versions, and some ambitious yet not so palatable attempts. The trick with all smoked beers, including Porters, is to walk a fine line by not overdoing things, otherwise the final product tends to taste a lot like a full ashtray. I don’t know about you, but to me that’s a total turn-off.

The method that brewers and malters use to produce smoked malt is to dry their malt over an open flame, or to toast already processed malt over a certain type of smouldering wood in order to impart those characteristics into the grains. Once this is complete the big challenge is to calculate just the right amount of this smoked malt to add to the brewing mash in order to provide the precise amount of smoke within the flavour so that it adds to and accentuates the other dark malts, but doesn’t overwhelm the flavour and taste like inhaling the ashes of a fresh campfire.

Ise Kadoya manages to nail this balance nicely and not overwhelm. Since this is a sipping beer, you can serve it chilled straight out of the fridge (I’d still let it sit about 10 minutes before opening) and explore how the flavour evolves as it warms. A pint glass or mug will suffice, but if you have one I’d recommend treating yourself to this Smoked Porter out of an oversized brandy snifter.

You’ll encounter the aroma of burnt smoky malts, with a slight acidity. Roasted and toasted malts rest underneath. The appearance is an impressive opaque black crowned with a tall spongy tan head. There is a refinement within the flavour, with roasted and chocolate malts at first, a sweet yet mild acidity in the middle, dry, roasted finish, with faint earthy, woody, smoky notes in the aftertaste. As it warms cherry wood and dark dried fruits start to appear. The mouthfeel is full-bodied without being thick, with a smooth, velvety texture and mild carbonation on the finish.

You’ve probably come to this conclusion on your own in assuming that this Imperial Smoked Porter is perfect to serve with barbecue. Practically anything grilled will be complimented and highlighted. On the other end of the spectrum is a date with some oysters, or smoked salmon if you’re not into shellfish. Sausage, bacon-based dishes, really, practically any pork centered cuisine will serve as great options for food pairings. If your fancy is cheese then go with old or sharp cheeses, although even some soft cheese will offer some pleasant contrast.

The next steps in the cooler:

From This Brewery:
Ise Kadoya Brown Ale
Ise Kadoya Genmai Ale
Ise Kadoya IPA
Ise Kadoya Imperial IPA
Ise Kadoya Stout
Ise Kadoya Triple Hop Ale

Other Porters:
Sherbrooke Chocolate Cherry Ostiarius
Rogue Mocha Porter
Mill St. Coffee Porter
Fuller’s London Porter
Samuel Smith’s Old Taddy Porter
Paddock Wood London Porter

Lateral Steps:
St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Half Pints Stir Stick Stout
Yukon Brewing Midnight Sun Espresso Stout
Paddock Wood Bête Noire

For The Adventurous:
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Aventinus
Alley Kat Olde Deuteronomy

Style: Robust Porter
ABV: 5.6%
Presentation: 6 packs of 341 ml brown bottles
Brewery: Alley Kat Brewing Co. exclusive for Sherbrooke Liquor
Country: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

It’s that time again when Sherbrooke annually releases another recipe by the winner of the Homebrewer of the Year title from the Aurora Brewing Challenge, hosted by the Edmonton Homebrewers Guild. Commercially produced by the talented folks at the Alley Kat Brewery of course.

The winners this year were the local powerhouse homebrewing duo of Ray Duperron and Patrick Doyle, who also brought home the national award of Canadian Homebrewer of the Year, and apparently won by a pretty wide margin.

It will then come as no surprise that Ochsner’s 1905 Alberta Porter, based on one of their recipes, is a phenomenal beer; it’s honestly been a while since a beer has impressed me this much, let alone a Porter. This was brewed as a Robust Porter under the BJCP guidelines. The Beer Judge Certification Program is the governing institution that oversees homebrewing competitions such as the Aurora Brewing Challenge.

Just as a quick refresher, for the past 3 years now Sherbrooke has carried an exclusive batch of beer made by the local Alley Kat Brewery based on a recipe chosen by whoever ends up winning Edmonton’s Homebrewer of the Year award through the ABC competition. It’s a way of providing some recognition and support to amateur brewers, and frankly is a pretty darn good incentive to get homebrewers from across the country to enter this locally organized competition.

This year’s release was timed to coincide with and commemorate the province of Alberta’s 105th anniversary. The surname on the label of this beer is an homage to German immigrant Robert Ochsner and his wife Elizabeth, who opened what could be argued as the first brewery here in Edmonton back in 1894. Although not much is known about the Ochsners, it’s recorded that Robert took care of the business end of operations. It was Elizabeth who did all the brewing as head Brewmistress, the first female brewer in the province, and eventually earned some small local recognition with the designation of the Bohemian Maid. While the brewery changed hands and names over the years it did end up being called The Bohemian Maid in the late 1950’s. Elizabeth is credited with brewing 5 different styles of beer, including a Porter of some repute.

Which brings us back to our Porter in question. It’s my opinion that we don’t have a large enough selection of decent Porters here in Alberta, and as a result it’s an often confused and misunderstood style that tends to get overlooked. Hopefully this Porter will receive enough of a warm reception to be put into regular production after this inaugural batch.

Glassware is pretty much your choice on this one, it’s robust enough to be the one calling the shots regardless of shape or size. So grab your favourite glass. There’s also going to be a lot of flavour present even when it’s just been pulled out of the fridge, so once again I’ll leave the serving temperature up to your personal preference. Of course as it warms new facets within the aroma and flavour will be released. As this isn’t the type of style that you chug down in a few gulps, you’ll most likely get the chance to experience this.

Even though it’s not opaque (yet it certainly gives off that impression), this Porter is still a dense black, and will exhibit a brilliant ruby nimbus around the extremities if held up to direct light. Be prepared for a couple possible attempts to fill up your glass as well, as there is a massive frothy beige head from the pour. Lots of dark aromas will be received on the nose, layers of burnt malt, some toasted malt, wood, slight acidity, and when it warms up starts to reveal some espresso and cocoa. Things continue along these lines within the flavour, starting with some roasted malt with wood and earthy notes, some soft coffee and chocolate in the middle along with bittersweet acidity, then finishing with a sharp dry burnt malt character. As would be expected the mouthfeel is full, with a surprising amount of refined carbonation which scrubs the palate with each sip, keeping the more intense flavours in check between sips. A very well put together beer, credit must be given to Ray and Patrick for coming up with such a solid recipe, along with the crew at Alley Kat for replicating it to a commercial sized batch.

If exploring this Porter works up an appetite in you then grilled dishes would make a large varied option to serve alongside. Be it steak, pork or chicken, the smoke and char will match well. Another good option would be a plate of sausage and sauerkraut, as the acidity in the Porter and the sauerkraut will play off one another nicely. For something a little more exotic the complex flavours within a good mole sauce will accentuate the layers of dark flavour within this beer. And if you’re partial to more gamey meats they’ll be tamed by the robust characteristics that this Porter has to offer.

The next steps in the cooler:

Other Beers From Sherbrooke:
Sherbrooke Shamrock
Bad Hare Day
Aaiieeeeeeeeee Caramba!
Van Helsing’s All Natural Mouthwash
Chocolate Cherry Ostiarius
Neapolean

Other Beers From Alley Kat:
Alley Kat Amber
Alley Kat Aprikat
Full Moon Pale Ale
Charlie Flint’s Original Lager
Pumpkin Pi Spiced Ale
Olde Deuteronomy

In-Style:
Rogue Mocha Porter
Mill St. Coffee Porter
Fuller’s London Porter
Samuel Smith’s Old Taddy Porter
Paddock Wood London Porter

Lateral Steps:
Lost Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout
DDC Peche Mortel
St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Half Pints Stir Stick Stout
Yukon Brewing Midnight Sun Espresso Stout
Paddock Wood Bête Noire

Style: Flavoured Porter
ABV: 6.5%
Presentation: 6 packs of 341 ml brown bottles
Brewery: Alley Kat Brewing Co. exclusive for Sherbrooke Liquor
Country: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

DI!  ECCE HORA!  UXOR MEA ME NECABIT! Found on the label of this porter, which translates from Latin as “God, look at the time!  My wife will kill me!”  Lucky for you guys out there that this beer comes with its own built-in failsafe measure.  What’s that, you ask?  Well my friend, this happens to be a chocolate cherry Porter, blended and produced so well by the talented folks at the Alley Kat Brewery that this is practically black forest cake in a bottle.  The perfect cure for getting anyone out of the hot seat with their significant other.  Or if required, to help assist in wooing a potential significant other, this is certainly a mood-enhancing libation that’s well worthy of sharing.  For those worthy of sharing with that is…it’s so good you’re going to want to keep it all for yourself otherwise.

For those of you still wondering, “Ostiarius” stand for “Porter” in Latin as well, keeping with the loose theme.  First produced exclusively for Sherbrooke Liquor by Alley Kat in 2007, a third batch is in the works now for early 2010.  Although there isn’t a significant change in the recipes between batches, or “vintages”, Chocolate Cherry Ostiarius is constantly being fine-tuned from year to year, so if you have the intestinal fortitude and self-control to put a bottle or two away for a few years a lateral tasting can be performed to see how each batch has aged and improved from year to year.

Your favourite mug or pint glass will do the trick to serve this savoury Ostiarius, however if you’re sharing and feeling romantic a pair of red wine glasses will help assist setting the mood.  The balanced additions of chocolate and cherry are robust enough that they’ll still be apparent if the bottle is consumed straight out of the fridge and still quite chilled, although be aware that this porter can be consumed even at room temperature without detracting from the experience, so consider yourself informed of your options.  As you know by now the warmer a beer like this gets the more intense and open the inherent flavours become to your nose and your tongue.

Once transferred to your chosen drinking vessel you’ll see a dark black opaque beer, yet when held to light it will illuminate a bright reddish cola-like hue.  The head will be fairly short, beige in colour, that will settle somewhat quickly.  Forget trying to find any distinct aspects of a porter in the aroma, all you’ll get is indulgent rich potent chocolate and cocoa, and the unmistakable smell of cherry extract, although none of it seems artificial in nature.  The flavour is a big hit of milky chocolate, with sweet cherry appearing close to the finish. The finish is actually a dry sweet hit of cocoa, which blends with the cherry again on the aftertaste.  Yet no fork or spoon are required for this porter, the mouthfeel is only a manageable medium body, and on the lighter end of that to boot.  Deceptively quaffable.  Like I said before, almost literally black forest cake in a bottle.

In fact forget pairing Chocolate Cherry Ostiarius with anything, serve it as dessert on its own instead.  Whether in a mug or wine glass, give it a liberal topping of whipped cream, add powdered chocolate or sprinkles, and for flourish top it with a maraschino cherry, except all bets are off how long it lasts there before it settles to the bottom of the glass.   If that sounds like too much effort you can pour it over a scoop or two of ice cream, be it vanilla, chocolate, or some sort of chocolate cherry fudge concoction.  Even the strawberry in Neapolitan will accentuate the cherry.  Options, options!  If you still feel the urge to serve this alongside something, then stick with dessert, it’ll add some healthy companionship to chocolate or berry based sweets, baking and pastries.  If someone is insistent on serving this beer with an entree then make it a chocolate fondue!

The next steps in the cooler:

From This Brewery:
Alley Kat Amber
Alley Kat Aprikat
Full Moon Pale Ale
Charlie Flint’s Original Lager
Pumpkin Pi Spiced Ale
Olde Deuteronomy

Also From Sherbrooke:
Sherbrooke Shamrock
Bad Hare Day
Pi Jiu
Aaiieeeeeeeeee Caramba!
Van Helsing’s All Natural Mouthwash

Other Porters:
Rogue Mocha Porter
Mill St. Coffee Porter
Fuller’s London Porter
Samuel Smith’s Old Taddy Porter

For The Adventurous:
Mort Subite Kriek
Trois Pistoles - Unibroue
Brooklyn Monster Ale

Style: Fruit Porter
ABV: 6.5%
Presentation: 650 ml brown bottle
Brewery: Cannery Brewing Company
Country: Penticton, British Columbia, Canada

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

For some beer purists the thought of serving your beer with a fruit garnish is appalling enough, yet to actually brew with any variety of “nature’s candy” is an absolute abomination.  They should perhaps chill out a bit.  From beyond recorded history humanity has been adding a diversity of ingredients into the fermentation process to provide an extra element to their malty euphoria, and I can think of a long list of less appealing things than fruit, believe you me.

However to play devil’s advocate dancing on the flipside of the coin, many brewers out there today are using fruit in their creations to try and boost what already starts out as a mediocre beer.  The further result can stem from a poor use of extracts where they overdo it, sometimes giving an artificial or overwhelming character that can be more akin to cough syrup than natural fruit, or skimp on the real deal and advertise an extra ingredient that can’t even be recognized in the flavour, least of all the aroma.  I think it’s these types of fruit beers that gives the whole concept of it all a bad name and turns people off, well apart from their initial bias of a fruit addition to begin with.

Of course it would be a bit foolish for any brewery in the heart of the fruit belt of B.C. to not dabble with such a combination and still be able to maintain their credibility.  On top of that Cannery Brewing gets its namesake from setting up shop in an old fruit and vegetable cannery in Penticton.  With their Blackberry Porter they manage to get just the right balance between the roasted malts and the robust juice from the blackberries, mingling, marrying and complimenting one another.  Really, the only prerequisite for checking this porter out is an affinity for dark roasty ales, as this fruit beer is worthy of you.

Grab your favourite mug for this one, or your trusty pint glass.  Let the bottle sit 5-10 minutes out of the fridge to warm up enough to release the malt and fruit characteristics, although a bit of chill on it is still desirable.  Once poured you’ll discover a dark mahogany porter capped by a tight creamy beige head.  Sweet berry notes up front in the aroma, blending with roasted, coffee and cocoa from the malt.  There’s roasted malt in the beginning of the flavour, melding in with reserved amounts of dark juicy blackberry, dry cocoa, finishing with hints of coffee notes.  You’ll notice that the berries, although noticeable and present, take a backseat to the whole experience.  Carrying the whole show is a smooth, creamy dry mouthfeel, on the lighter side of many porters, making it more approachable and quaffable for the uninitiated-no thick molasses or motor oil stereotypes can be applied here with any serious clout.

Grilled red meat is what you’re going to want to pair this Blackberry Porter up with, the sweetness of it will balance out any char put against it.  Smoked meats should be added to the list too for some succinct contrast.  This is also a great ale to accompany your favourite dressed burger.  Then again, if you can hold out or have saved yourself for dessert, this porter will really shine with baked chocolate goods, or along with artisanal chocolates on their own.  The berry sweetness along with the dark malt will also blend impressively with fruit-focused desserts, bringing out the best of all worlds.  Or to help set the mood for a romantic evening keep a stash of this conservatively sweet porter to share with your sweet baby.

The next steps in the cooler:

From This Brewery:
Naramata Nut Brown Ale
Indian Rock IPA
Apricot Wheat Ale
Anarchist Amber Ale
Maple Stout
Wildfire Dark IPA

Other Porters:
Samuel Smith Taddy Porter
Fullers London Porter
Tree Spy Porter
Tree Raspberry Porter
Mill St. Coffee Porter
Rogue Mocha Porter
Okanagan Old English Porter
Paddock Wood London Porter

Lateral Steps:
Stir Stick Stout - Half Pints
St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

For The Adventurous:
Rogue Shakespeare Stout
Aventinus
Brooklyn Monster Ale