Sea Dog and Yukon Red

stepping away from the ipas for a moment, my beer swilling at hidden the other night included a couple of amber ales.

alison went with Vancouver Island Brewery's Sea Dog, and i tried Yukon Brewing Company's Yukon Red.  i won in alcohol volume at 5.5%, alison's was close behind at 5.2%.

unfortunately for both of these fine brews, we had tried a brilliant ipa beforehand and were so wowed by it, it took us most of a glass to get into the finer points of these amber ales.

both poured with a good head and were wonderfully clear and amber coloured.  both were quite drinkable.  alison was not wowed by the sea dog (it wasn't depthy enough for her), and a bit put off by the angry red-haired man on the label (presumably a proud sailor).  i liked the northern images on my yukon red's label, and would happily have drunk more of it had i not had the amazing ipa to get back to.

sea dog's label says:  "Ready, Aye, Ready!  We're proud that our brewery's hometown is also the base of the Canadian Pacific Naval Fleet.  As a tribute to our nation's Naval heritage, and to commemorate our Canadian Naval Centennial, we've crafted a unique beer for a unique occasion.  Sea Dog is an amber coloured beer with a burst of hops and smooth malt finish.  Here's to 100 years of protecting our waters, our citizens and our sovereignty... Bravo Zulu!"

i had no idea we had enough of a navy to honour thusly.  learn something new every day.  happy anniversary!

their website says: 

Tasting Notes

Colour: 4 - Deep Amber
Malt: 4 - Crystal & Chocolate
Hops: 4 - Hallertau and Willamette
Body:   full Malt flavour and light body

Bring the Navy to Canadians

The aim of the Canadian Naval Centennial is to build and strengthen in Canadians an appreciation for their navy and to promote the role of the navy within the Canadian Forces in a maritime nation like Canada. The theme is to “Bring the Navy to Canadians” and events will be focused to honour the past, to showcase the current navy and to reinforce the requirement for the future navy.
The navy, along with several civilian naval-oriented groups, has planned for 2010 activities across the country. Major international fleet assemblies are scheduled for June 2010 in Victoria and a month later in Halifax during the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. As well, a group of naval warships will visit Toronto during the Canadian National Exhibition and an increased number of port visits are planned for both coasts and in the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes.
The Naval Reserves, with their 24 divisions in cities across Canada, are key to promoting the centennial and the navy across the country. There are several activities both local and of a national nature including “Freedom of the City” parades, open houses, a cross-country run along the Canada Trail and other projects in cooperation with their municipality and local naval service groups.
The centennial will be a momentous milestone both in our navy and nation’s history. We will honour the past, celebrate our achievements and recognize our obligation to Canada with the naval centennial slogan: Commemorate, Celebrate, Commit.
Canadians are encouraged to become involved in the centennial of our nation’s navy by joining in any of the public celebrations occurring near you.
Click here for more information and events near you."

yukon's website says:  "Yukon Brewing Company is pleased to announce that Yukon Red was recently named “Beer of the Year” at the Canadian Brewing Awards in Toronto. This year there were 26 categories of beer styles, with a gold medal winner in each. Yukon Red captured the gold in the Amber Ale category.  When the 26 gold medal winners were then compared, Yukon Red became the winner of the winners, with the highest score of the competition…and, we are told, by a significant margin.  This is not an honour to be taken lightly – for the first time in the event’s history, all of the judges were certified and the event was sanctioned by the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program).  Over 270 different beers were in the competition, up from 239 last year. Yukon Red is no stranger to awards, having won gold at the Canadian Brewing Awards and other competitions in the past. "

"When we were designing our flagship brands, we knew we would not please everybody, so we went for diversity; our Yukon Red is substantially different than our Yukon Gold. But what has surprised us most is that our local Yukoners have taken both of our flagship brands to heart (and to dinner, and to parties...) and drank almost equivalent quantities of each! This speaks volumes for the apparent consumer cravings for beers with flavour, and Yukon Red is about flavour.
The drink starts with a mug displaying a deep bronze colour, but the beer is crystal clear. The head is an abundant fine mousse (pronounced ‘moose’ for the cabin crowd), cream coloured and just spilling over the rim of the glass (if you got the good waitress, Yukon trained and all). As you raise the mug, your senses catch the fine aromas permeating from the glass, clean malty sweetness touched by spicy hop esters.
The first draw of the ale cools the parched lips and moistens the cheeks. Full malt body takes over the palate; not sweet, but bold, fruity and persistent. A snap of clean hop bitter grabs the back of the tongue and springs into the sinus cavity, blending with the caramel flavours that have wafted back with the nectar that is this ale. But the swallow goes down clean, almost dry, and leaves only a slight lingering presence of the abundant flavours that were just there, and now gone!
Many more draws on the mug, many more mouth-filling flavour experiences, and always that clean finish, saying “How about another?!!”.
Can you tell that this is the head brewers favourite? All you expect in a true ale, and as arresting as the Spell of the Yukon."

now i really wish that i hadn't had the ipa first!  i will have to give both of these beers another taste test when my palate is unsullied by other taste sensations.  yes indeed.