My heart wept.
I haven't been drinking very much beer, lately, and what I have consumed has been mostly non-alcoholic. I don't know why that is.
I mean, yeah, I haven't made many visits to our friendly neighbourhood LCBO since before our vacation (actually, I've only made one trip, when I picked up only two cans) and I haven't stopped by the beer section in our grocery store, except for that one time when I saw some non-alcoholic beer on a shelf and picked up two cans.
Until this week, I hadn't even placed any online beer orders. As I said, I don't know why that is.
Even on St. Patrick's Day, when DW, my parents, and I headed to an Irish pub in the ByWard Market (when did we start capitalizing the W?), I limited myself to one Guinness while we listened to live music. I was considering having an Irish whiskey but in the end, decided to call it quits after the one pint.
Drinking stout on St. Paddy's Day is something that I rarely pass up. Drinking a stout whenever one is available is something I'm hard-pressed to say no to. So when I saw that one of my favourite Ottawa breweries had released a new stout, I had to get my hands on some.
This is getting to where my heart wept.
On the day that my beer arrived on my doorstep, I was excited. I had ordered six cans of this limited-release stout, six cans of another new release (which I may review next week), and six cans of their NEIPA, which is one of my favourite of their standard brews.
I carried the box to our basement, where I keep a small beer fridge. Before this order, there were only three cans of beer taking up scant space. The 18 new cans weren't going to fill the fridge but they would come close.
As I took the cans from the delivery box to the fridge, I accidentally knocked the box from a table that's next to the fridge onto the concrete basement floor. Four cans landed on the ground.
There was no sound of gas or liquid exiting a can, no spray or puddle. All four cans seemed intact, though badly dented, and I thanked my lucky stars as I picked them off the floor and put them in place in the refrigerator.
That evening, I decided that I would have one of the cans of beer and returned to the basement to grab a can. When I opened the fridge, I immediately saw a small puddle of brown liquid beneath two cans of stout. These cans were on a shelf immediately under the cans that did not fall from the table.
Yes, this was when my heart wept.
I picked up the two dented cans of stout, wiped up the mess, and then put one of them back, another on a tray on the door of the fridge. I grabbed a different beer (one that I'd had in the fridge for a couple of months), and decided to have that one instead.
Later, I returned to the beer fridge to see which of the two cans was leaking—I was really hoping that it wasn't both. It was the can that I returned to the lower shelf, so I brought it upstairs, saddened at the loss.
I cracked the can open and took a sip. There was no pssst from the can as I popped it open. I took a sip.
It was tasty, with flavours of coffee and a bit of spice, and slightly sweet, but flat. I took a couple more sips before dumping the contents. What a waste.
Yesterday, I opened one of the first cans that I had transferred to the fridge, one that hadn't been dropped. And that's the one I'm reviewing (finally, we get to the review!).
Broadhead Brewing Company
Orleans (Ottawa), ON
Appearance: this can also didn't make much noise as I opened it. The stout pours a deep brown with a thin, fizzy taupe head that disappears into a fine lace and then vanishes altogether, with some bubbles that gather at the top like a cola.
Nose: there's an abundance of coffee and minute traces of chocolate, but there's a sweetness that reminds me of buckwheat honey.
Palate: hmm... this stout almost tastes flat. There's very little effervescence in the mouth. If the previous night's can hadn't leaked, I might have thought that this was the can that had been damaged. I checked the label to see if I was supposed to have shaken the can before opening it, but that wasn't the case.
I've had old bottles of Imperial stout, where the fizz had long left the liquid, and that didn't detract from the enjoyment of that vintage brew. So while the lack of bubbles caught me off-guard, it was no slight against this stout.
Back to flavour: the coffee is lighter on the palate than on the nostrils, so this is definitely not a beer that is specifically a coffee stout. It's a breakfast stout, which means there's more to it than java. There's a slight spiciness to it, which I later learned is cinnamon. There's also some maple syrup in the mix, though I don't specifically detect it in my mouth. I got more sweetness from the aromas, rather than the bouquet. But there is definitely a faint sweetness in the finish.
This is a light to medium-bodied stout that has good flavour with a watery, clean finish.
Overall impression: Broadhead makes some damned-impressive stouts and this is a good addition, but I have to say that it's not among the top of their lineup. Yes, I'll drink it again and enjoy my remaining cans (with fingers crossed for the other dented can that didn't leak). But I prefer their oatmeal stout and absolutely adore their coffee-chocolate-vanilla porter.
Maybe this stout is truly meant to be consumed with a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, with pancakes, where the brew is meant to complement the meal but not be the star attraction? Perhaps I'll try that on the weekend and let you know.
Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺
In the meantime, you can find this stout at the brewery or you can order it, online, for free delivery in Ottawa or for a nominal charge throughout the rest of Ontario. As it's a limited release, you'll want to get it soon.
Just handle it with care when you're putting it in your fridge.
Cheers!
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