Yet another in my series of late reviews, although in this case I am confident the beer is still available in stores. I got the Big Rock Lumberjack Pack in November, but with Xmas and other general busy-ness I couldn’t really focus my attention until over the holidays.

For those unaware, the Lumberjack Pack is a six-pack of three new, one-time beer (2 each, for the math-impaired) designed for winter. Each has an interesting twist to it that makes it interesting. I tried one of each fairly quickly and held on to the other three, having decided they were worth a post. Then things got away on me and blah blah blah.

At any rate, here are my synopsis reviews.

First up the Spruce Goose, an amber spruce beer. The Goose pours dark copper with great clarity, building a loose offwhite head and demonstrating subdued carbonation. The aroma gives off light toffee, some dark fruit and a bit of sharp grain. Spruce is subdued – hints of an earthy, resiny spruce aroma, but in the background.

In the taste upfront toffee sweetness intermingles with a noted spruce flavour. The spruce is pungent, earthy and minty, just like eating a spruce needle. The balance is interesting. The middle draws out a bit of lemony sharpness and some hints of darker malt. I detect a touch of honey in the back. The linger offers honey, earthy spice and spruce green-ness.

On the whole it is curious and intriguing. The base beer needs more oomph, in particular a toasty character to accent the spruce. But the spruce itself is well done. Not too overbearing yet providing a clear spruce-iness (if that is a word). Overall a good effort that with some tweaking might be superb.

Next up is Hibernation, a beer with a whole lot of things in it. It includes, from the Big Rock website: “elder, juniper, wild strawberries, dandelion root, birch bark, maple sugar, rose pedals and honey”. Whoa!

It offers a light copper appearance with bright clarity and a smallish white head. In the aroma I pick up light fruit, some woody mustiness and a bit of soft caramel.

The beer starts with a sharp, biscuity malt and some light berry fruit. The middle brings out a bit of breadiness and some slight earthy spiciness. Unfortunately I am not really getting any of the additions they list. They seem to blend into a general earthy sharpness rather than add any character themselves. In particular I was hoping for more juniper character. The back end has a honey note and some maple. It is a relatively sweet finish.

I like the initial Oktoberfest malt notes, but overall this beer is a bit disappointing. I was hoping for a more forward herb and spice character. I wonder if they simply added too many things and as a result they all got lost. None could offer their unique flavour profile and as a result the beer is rather muddy and non-distinct.

Finally there is Twisted Antler, a dark porter with licorice and coffee additions. I like the look of this one, dark brown with deep mahogany highlights. Its thin tan head drops into a thin ring very quckly. A very quiet presentation. The aroma is deep and earthy with a dark fruit accent. some caramel, touches of cholcoalate and a hint of coffee. It has a woody, almost tart background. Some licorice can be found in the background.

Upon tasting, it starts sweet with caramel malt and some earthy accent. The middle develops a rather complex profile – maple syrup, fruit, earthy spice, along with a noted licorice flavour. Dark fruit accents the malt base. There is a lot going on in this beer, with no one character dominating. The finish is dark and sweet with some light coffee notes, but they are subued and balanced by other sweet malt notes.

None of the beer are world-beaters. Each has some flaw or shortcoming. That said, two of the three are actually quite enjoyable sippers. Which reminds us all that not every beer we taste has to be the best beer we have ever had. It is perfectly acceptable to offer up an interesting beer that offers enough flavour to keep you interested throughout the drinking. And while the Hibernation fell a bit short in my experience, the other two fit that bill. So, good on Big Rock. Keep experimenting. Keep pushing your boundaries.

I find, almost in spite of myself, liking this beer. It is too thin for a winter warmer, too sweet for a porter. But it has a subtle complexity I can get into. Not sure I would have more than one in row, but I appreciate its earthy, spicy edge.