Benson's Strong Ale
Black Creek Historic Brewery

 

Look: pours a deep brownish-orange colour. Very little head, which is a brownish colour, which after 30 seconds reduces to a thin lace which then lasts for most of the drink. Low carbonation. Little lacing on the side of the glass.

Smell - molasses, caramel, cinnamon, bitter orange, vanilla, dark fruit, licorice.

Taste - same as smell - cinnamon, molasses, bittter orange, vanilla, licorice. Also cayenne. Wonderful herbal aroma. Sweetness at first, but counter-balanced by bitterness afterwards. The "hotness" of the cayenne is not too noticeable at first, but builds quickly after each sip. Eventually, the throat buzzes with the hotness of the cayenne.

Feel - nice balance, smooth, medium bodied, not overly bitter. Very low carbonation, which is common for the time it was originally brewed (based on 1827-1837 recipe). The hotness of the cayenne is increasingly noticeable with each sip.

Overall - an incredible experience that I'm glad not to have missed! It's definitely worth a try if you like to experience what beers were like in the early 1800's and if you enjoy spicy beers with a bit of "hot" character. Looking forward to trying another.

Look: Dark, ruby colour. Next to no head. Dark, though a decent amount of light does get through.

Smell: Fairly sweet. I'm getting toffee, dark fruit, cherries, very slight chocolate notes. Slight notes of pepper presented themselves as the beer sat. Very inviting aroma.

Taste: This one is very sweet, and reminds me slightly of a doopelbock. Apples, cherries, toffee, with a slightly spicy, yet pleasant finish. Somewhat bitter on the back end as well.

Feel: Medium body, extremely low carbonation. sits heavy on the palate.

Overall: A very interesting offering by black creek, which almost betrays the style (though not in a bad way). This one somewhat reminds me of a doppelbock with rich notes of dark fruit and toffee. If you see this one, pick it up. It's definitely worth a try.

Pours a ruby cola colour, thin layer of head with little retention and no lacing. Nose is loaded with licorice, caramel and leafy green hops. Flavours are much the same with the odd herbal and spicing dominating. Not the flavours I was expecting. If this were marketed as a spiced ale, then it would've scored slightly higher.

Very good product, the cayenne - if it isn't that, something similar is used - makes a telling appearance.

Rich malty tone with good hops and again the spicy cayenne, leaves a slight burn in the throat.

I like it but if I was brewing it, I'd reduce the amount of the chile. I'd like to assume that early 1800s cayenne available in Canada had been long shipped and lost a good part of its heat. I'd adjust recipe to account for that.

By the way except for the extra hops and cayenne, this reminded me of Newcastle Brown Ale back in the 70's.

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before April 2016 and served just below cellar temperature.

Pours a hazy, deep-hued brick red colour, generating approximately one cm of loose, soapy, yellow-tinged head. Retention is abysmal; it is gone in thirty seconds or so, leaving behind no more than a narrow, bubbly collar. Looks a bit flat, but given that this is a traditionally-brewed beer based on a 180 year-old recipe, I'll cut it some slack on this point. Licorice/herbal anise is probably the most potent part of the aroma, but hints of cinnamon and root beer provide additional complexity. Other than that, the vibe is generally sweet and malty, largely due to the presence of nutty malt, brown sugar and some fig-pudding fruitiness. An intriguing bouquet, to say the least.

Nice dark malt flavour; molasses and caramelized sugar sweetness are a primary feature, with notes of toasted biscuits, raisin and figgy dark fruit mixed in there as well. Herbal, spicy flavours of licorice root and cinnamon become the central focus by the end, with the profile ending on a note of lingering cayenne pepper spiciness in the aftertaste. The heat builds up a bit with each sip, but all in all it's much less piquanté than most chile beers. Medium in body, with low levels of natural carbonation that gently massage the palate, synergizing nicely with the cayenne. It does feel a bit flat/watery, but I am again inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt, since this is probably the sort of mouthfeel that a strong ale from the 1830s would have actually had.

Final Grade: 3.92, a solid B+. Black Creek has been very quiet this year when it comes to new beer releases, but Benson's Strong Ale goes a long way towards making up for that. This spiced ale is an impressive, unique offering that beautifully blends an enjoyable malt-forward backbone with herbal licorice root, earthy cinnamon and spicy cayenne pepper heat. It's one of the best beers that this brewer has released to date, and the discoverer of the recipe deserves serious props.

 

500 ml bottle purchased for under $5 CDN. Appears to be a new offering in the Canadian historic beers. Advertised as a strong ale, but this actually seems like an amped up brown ale upon review. Served cold into a historic Upper Canada Brewing pint glass.

Appearance - pours a somewhat cloudy brown hued beer with some ruby highlights. Very little head is poured and what is created dissipates very quickly. Carbonation also appears light.

Smell - interesting notes here, treacle, some dark fruit, a hint of liquorice and molasses. Heavy on the malts. Smells extremely malt heavy with doppelbock like aromas.

Taste - similar to the nose, hugely malt forward, treacle, molasses and liquorice again, with very mild bitterness. Supposedly the original receipt has traces of cinnamon and cayenne pepper. I get a little of both after a few sips, there's a burst of spice on the tongue and that descends into a warm finish with cayenne so kicking in supposedly. Again reminds me of a lot of doppelbock flavours which makes for a delicious brown ale.

Mouthfeel - decent body although carbonation is quite sparse. Body isn't chewy but has a thick silky feel, minus the lingering effects usually found with those beers with their mouth coating ways.

Overall - one of the most interesting and enjoyable beers I've ever had from Black Creek, I recommend it to all BA's in the area to give it a shot while it's on shelves.