The Spice Principle
Beau's All Natural Brewing Company

600 mL bottle from the LCBO; dated Aug 17 2017 and served slightly chilled. Reviewed from notes.

Pours a hazy golden-blonde hue, with a generously-sized crown of puffy white foam seated atop. It's more than an inch thick at first, but over the course of the next five minutes or so it's reduced to a bubbly collar framed by a doily-patterned band of lacing. Lots of spice on the nose, though I can only discern a few of the 12 spices added to the brew - the coriander and clove for sure, and probably the cardamom too - but it's mostly just a spicy, herbal blur to my nose. The wheat also provides a nice background sweetness, akin to banana bread.

The flavours are along the same lines - bready wheat malts, light caramel sweetness and ripe banana esters prelude a wave of blended spice characteristics, with coriander and fenugreek at first, followed by shades of cumin. Spicy mustard and black peppercorns impart some heat towards the finish, as does the ginger - meanwhile, the cinnamon, clove and cardamom fade in and then out, leaving just some cayenne pepper heat and clove spiciness behind into the aftertaste. Light in body, with rather aggressive carbonation that relentlessly assaults the palate. While the crisp feel does suit its spicy heat, it still feels a little overcarbonated.

Final Grade: 3.84, a B+. It was invigorating to sip at first, but the Spice Principle still tired out my taste buds pretty quickly. This was an interesting brew with some complexity, and one which would be worth a try if you have any interest in spiced beers, but it's not something I'd pay a premium to drink again. Good stuff, but definitely an acquired taste.

600ml bottle - so, a dozen different spices were added to this Weissbier. How oh so festive, in that we didn't get this one here in Alberta until recently.

This beer pours a clear, medium golden yellow colour, with four fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and yet fizzy off-white head, which leaves a bit of sparsely strewn sudsy lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of bready and doughy wheat malt, a complex spiciness (mace, cinnamon, clove, garam masala, pepper, mustard, and ginger), a mild earthy yeastiness, overripe bananas, and some weak leafy, weedy, and herbal hop bitters. The taste is bready and crackery cereal malt, wet Wheat Thins, a still heady and damned-near overwrought seasonal spice blend (there's just too much, so we'll just say that it's the same as from the aroma), slightly phenolic yeast, banana peels, and more ethereal leafy, herbal, and floral generic hops.

The carbonation is average in its palate-supporting frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and mostly smooth, as the spices kind of cancel each other out in a weird manner here. It finishes trending dry, with those 12 days of spices really acting as the lingering talking point.

Overall - yeah, I really do believe that they went off the deep end with the spice treatment in this offering, as it comes across like my homemade Rogan Josh right after I carefully measure and add the various spices that go into it, and my kitchen essentially lights up like a non-Christian Christmas tree. Too much going on, which tires my taste buds, but hey Beau's - you do you.

This one was way outside my confort zone. spice and a Weiss required a big batch of bravery. So, here goes...
Poured into a large pilsner glass. pours golden hazy with some head but not long lasting. smell, well first off the Weiss is the dominant here so you know. After thst, hugely complex: basically fall! Grassy, piney, oakey due to a huge spice list on the bottle and blended together. This is a strength however...very rich and clever.
tastes like Weiss and it is so weird in that the smells distract but this one tastes cirtusy above all else but the beer will taste different throughout as your smell takes over and takes you on different journeys.
No way I could drink this all night but for something so out of my comfort zone, I wouldnt shy away from another. This one is worth sharing and will serve to be a conversation piece. Beau’s are so darn daring I have to say well done on this one.

 

 

 

 

600 ml bottle served cold into a weizen glass. Batch 6478 and bottled August 16, 2017. Part of the 2017 Oktoberfest pack from Beau's.

Appearance - Modertaely hazy beer, plenty of effervescence and a towering three finger white cap, enhanced by the shape of the glass. (Hefe's are always one of the best looking beers when done right). Great retention and the cap keeps it shape for a long time. Very hazy once the bottom is poured in.

Smell - Lots of banana, not so much clove, plenty of other fall spices, cardamom among them. Cinnamon and nutmeg and coriander make an appearance. It's basically like artisan banana bread in a glass. Lots of other spices listed in the ingredients but those above are most noticeable. I can imagine damp fallen leaves and pumpkins and other gourds when I smell this.

Taste - Banana, and wheat come out initially with some bready goodness, then the spices take over. Turmeric, and especially black pepper and cayenne are noticeable. Ginger also more noticeable than on the nose. I find the spices overpower the very solid base beer a little too much and provide too much heat at the end. Coriander is pretty apparent too.

Mouthfeel - Fairly light, good carbonation, tongue finishes with the ginger and pepper snap which provides a zesty finish.

Overall - The Spice Principle isn't kidding around. Take it's name seriously as this is a very well spiced beer (that may be overpowering to some), but still a pretty tasty tipple and a worthy contributor to the seasonal pack.