Beer of the Week
Click here to view previous beers. We feature a new beer every week - This week's beer:
Fat Cat Brewing Black & Tan - Fat Cat Brewing, Nanaimo, B.C.
Price: $4.72 - For 1 x 650 ml bottle*
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Best Feature: unique, complex and smooth
Fat Cat Brewery is located in Nanaimo, BC. Vancouver Island has a very long history of brewing and continues to be the 'capital' of the brewing industry in BC. There are excellent breweries and brewpubs scattered throughout the island. Fat Cat Black & Tan (aka Bunny's Black & Tan) is the result of mixing two beers, in this case a porter and an ale. The result is a beer that has several distinct characteristics, encompassing the porter and ale styles of beer. This beer has a very unique colour and the pour is very exquisite. The aroma is booth malty, sweet and hoppy - very complex. When the beer is held up to the light and agitated you can see almost see the two beers mixing right before your eyes. This beer is a great beer for a novice beer drinker to understand the different stages and tastes a beer goes through in the mouth. The initial taste is sweet, moving to a burnt chocolate taste and finishing with a bitter hoppy aftertaste. This beer is unique and delicious - sweet but not too sweet. Try Fat Cat Black & Tan as a special treat, with a pot roast or cajun spices.
Beer Fact: There are many variations involving a stout or porter and another lighter coloured beer, either lager or ale. A Black & Tan is created after the beers have matured and are often mixed right into the bottle, can or keg. |
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Best Feature: gentle malt sweetness
The Fat Cat Black and Tan is sold in a 650 ml long neck brown bottle with a label that would definitely catch your eye. The mascot reminds me of the Cheetos Cat. When poured, this beer has a beautiful cascading head with fairly compact light brown bubbles. The colouration was dark amber with some cloudiness in the middle of the glass. The nose is predominantly hoppy with a hint of malt. I found the carbonation to be above average. The flavour is very unique: the start is a nice gentle malt sweetness followed by a touch of smokiness and chased with a mildly bitter finish. I really enjoyed this beer and would probably have this one a cold winter night.
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*Unless otherwise stated, this is the BC Government Liquor Store price quoted.
*Our rating scale is based on a five point system (1 being least enjoyable, 5 being excellent) We rate the beer using the following criteria; overall taste, appearance, mouthfeel, freshness, body, aroma, finish, availability, and price.
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