Dark amber, fast fading head.Metallic plum nose. Thin sweet malt, lightly acetic, nearly flat, boring

The second of the Zeliv beers to hit BC (this time @ Brewery Creek). They are top-fermented Czech ales, all to pre-1842 styles (which were all rendered extinct in the decades following the debut of Pilsner). I wasn’t keen on the braggot Castulus but let’s see where Gottschalk takes us.

Dull amber colour, no head and very little in the way of visible carbonation. Aroma has a somewhat heavy maltiness (hints at caramel, date sugar, that unpleasant white sugar note) with plenty of esters (plum, pear, nopales). Flavour is sweet, body flat. It has a very honeyish character, with hints of caramel. Again, I’m getting a sort of white sugar off-note in there as well. Sticky, chewy, mild datey, plummy notes. I had this Chinese drink once, it was basically a smoked plum juice. That’s in there, too. Finish is a bit watery and still very sweet, but with a light Saaz note. These brews, while of tremendous historical interest, unfortunately do not tickle the tastebuds they way I’d hoped they would.

Cloudy amber, small beige head.Sweet salty nose.Mild sweet palate, tastes like sugar water. Not much here

8th & Cambie
Flat, hazy, dull amber. No head. Looks like shit. Sugary aroma is caramelly, grahamcrackery in accent. Smells like a Soviet brew without the sewage. Very sweet flavour...more graham cracker, cheapo honey and caramel taste. Very little nuance...like the cheapest of the above you can find. Bland, unimpressive...too bad since the bottle and price make this a potential dark horse and it just doesn’t capitalize.