The Blog
Lead Dog Ale
Posted on January 08, 2007 at 11:29 PM in Our Brews
How could we survive the Yukon winters without a winter warmer? Well, I guess Yukoners have been doing it for many years before we showed up, but this Olde English Ale has to make the whole thing a little more bearable.
This brew is not for the faint of heart; it doesn’t leap out and bite you (most Lead Dogs are better trained than that), but it will most certainly sneak up and knock you for a loop if given the chance (this character might be more comparable to that of the Malamute and Husky!).
Brewed to be high test, 7% alcohol by volume, the beer nonetheless drinks very smooth; the product of a careful blend of six different malts, and 2 months of aging after fermentation. The dark chocolate appearance is reminiscent of a porter, and the slightly darkened creamy head tops the look. But the first sip lets you know that this beer can be drank, in quantity if desired (or required?), without leading to an overly full gullet.
Intricate malt flavours predominate, with a medium mouth-feel and a very light bitter. This ale promises to take the chill off after running the team in the crisp January nights.
Comments
Al Mcleod said on August 18, 2007 at 9:22 PM
You guys do make a great ale, It has no similar characteristics to the Certified Organic Nelson Brewing Company Faceplant Winter Ale..I know I’m the Sales and marketing guy for NBC.Keep up the good work brewing.
Stefan Nychka said on January 31, 2008 at 7:05 PM
This is totally out of place, but, heh. I’m trying the Yukon Red. Very good. Hoppy, some malty-caramel (chocolate maybe?) flavours (just checked the official “taste guide” ... I can’t taste any fruit, though). So very good.
My only shred of “on-topic"-ness is how good the Lead Dog Ale sounds, and hopefully I can get it way down here in Alberta. I’ve had NBC’s Faceplant, and loved it. Up there with my favourite beers. So I’m looking forward to Lead Dog.
And Al, I can’t get Faceplant over here in Edmonton ... was’up??
Stef Nychka said on May 05, 2008 at 6:17 PM
Yep. ‘tis I, again. Lead Dog’s some good stuff.
Maximilian Kelly said on July 05, 2007 at 12:09 AM
Wow, you guys have put out a great ale. It tastes almost identical to Nelson Brewery’s Winter Ale named Faceplant before they went Organic and fucked up the flavor just for a larger increase of profit from the Yuppies of BC. Cheers guys and keep it up there eh?