Friday 2 November 2012

Irish Times, Victoria, BC, Canada



It has been crazy busy around here lately, hence the lack of posts.  Here's a new one from Canada, then we'll soon get onto the beers I tried while my ship was repositioning - keep your eyes peeled!!

Irish Times is an Irish themed pub in Victoria.  It has a wide selection of draft beers from Canada and the local breweries and also from Ireland.  I tried the Taste Of Ireland sampler while I was there and here are my results:

Harp Lager
Pale yellow with a low head this lager smells very solventy with a hint of citrus and apples.  It has a very crisp taste with a hoppy background.

Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale
Orange amber with a creamy white head this ale has a sweet, solventy aroma with some maltiness in the background.  It is very smooth on the pallet; malty with a touch of sweetness and a creamy aftertaste.  As with most cream ales I found it a bit lacking in flavour, but the creaminess was definitely there.

Smithwicks
This Irish red lives up to it’s name being a red amber in colour with a low head.  It’s aroma has a malty depth with a sweet background.  It is bitter to begin followed by a malty body.  I enjoyed this combination.

Guinness Irish Stout
If you are trying Irish beers then obviously you have to include Guinness!  Almost black with red highlights and a good creamy tan head, Guinness has a roasty burnt quality to it that is very pleasing.  I enjoyed the creamy, almost coffee background to the taste.  I think I have only ever had Guinness out of a bottle or can before so the draft version was much more satisfying to the tastebuds!

I also tried Caffrey’s Irish Ale (bitter with a smooth, sweet creaminess) and a Scottish Ale brewed just for this pub called Service 1904 by Phillips Brewery, which is local to Victoria.  I was very surprised by Service 1904.  It is billed as a Stone Fired Ale so I expected it to have a smoky quality.  Quite to the contrary it was fruity with a creamy sweetness and a full mouth feel.  I’m quite sad that I am no longer in Victoria to enjoy more of it!

Next post I will give a quick Canadian beer round-up, then on to my repositioning beer adventures, which are long overdue reporting!

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