Dead Frog Commander Imperial Stout

Brewery: Dead Frog Brewery, Aldergrove, BC
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.5%
Availability: Limited edition release

Deep ruby-black body with a thin and quickly disappearing khaki-tan head. Strong aroma of charred wood, molasses, licorice and dark chocolate. Flavour holds all of those notes as well, along with some bourbon vanilla in the middle, and a warmly boozy and astringently bitter finish. Body is a bit thinner than expected from the style, but still full enough to support the flavour. Good, but I think 6 months or so of aging will do a lot to mellow the rough edges and make it much better.

Phillips Hop Circle IPA

Brewery: Phillips Brewing, Victoria, BC
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 6.5%
Availability: Year-round

An initially clear and bright golden body turns slightly hazy toward the end of the pour, and is crowned by a bright white and a thin cap of white foam. The aroma and flavour are both textbook west coast IPA - grapefruit peel, pine resin, lemon zest, a bit of cat pee - but unlike some in the genre, it’s not aggressively bitter. Flavourful, yes, and plenty hoppy as well - but with a good whack of malt to balance, and a restrained bitterness that doesn’t come on too strongly until the long finish. An elegant hop bomb.

Molson Canadian Wheat

Brewery: Molson Coors Brewing
Style: Wheat Lager
ABV: 4.5%
Availability: National release in cans, bottles & draught

Pours a hazy straw gold with a voluminous and foamy white head - looks a lot like a decent German hefeweizen, actually. Sure doesn’t small like one, though, but the aroma that IS there isn’t that bad - it’s nice and clean, with light grain and toasted wheat notes, along with a pleasant lemony character. Flavour is similarly clean, but also pretty unexciting, with some soft lemon and wheat notes in the finish being the only thing that differentiates it from a mainstream lager. Not a bad beer, but a bit of a confusing one, as I can’t quite understand what market niche it’s expected to fill.

Waterloo Iron Horse Bock

Brewery: Brick Brewing, Waterloo, ON
Style: Heller Bock
ABV: 5.5%
Availability: Spring seasonal; cans in the Waterloo Seasonal Collection mixed pack at the LCBO & the Brick retail store

Bright and clear golden body with a thin but persistent clean white head and lots of tiny rising bubbles. Aroma is heavy on the malt - specifically, lightly toasted cereal grains, a bit of hay, light caramel - along with a hint of fruit (apricot & sweet orange) and a quick suggestion of twiggy hops. Medium bodied, good level of carbonation, slight oily stickiness in the back of the throat. Flavour is as malt-forward as the aroma suggests, with strong grain and fruit-sugar notes, and grassy hops that come through sporadically in the quick finish.

Bellwoods Grizzly Beer

Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto, ON
Style: American Brown Ale
ABV: 6.2%
Availability: Limited release; draught at the Bellwoods brewpub; bottles at the Bellwoods retail store

Orangey-brown body with a medium-sized and dirty looking (but in a good way) beige head. Aroma kicks off with sharp and spiky hops - sticky pine, bitter citrus - over top of dry and earthy roast malt. Flavour has everything promised by the aroma - aggressive hops, chalk-dry malt - along with some dark fruit and burnt coffee bean tones, all making for a palate-punching but still enjoyable beer. I drank this while watching a documentary about the NYC No Wave music scene, and it was a perfect match to the dirty-skronky-punk-noise soundtrack.

St. Ambroise Erable

Brewery: McAuslan Brewing, Montreal, QC
Style: Maple Ale
ABV: 4.5%
Availability: Seasonal; bottles in Quebec; draught in several provinces

Clear and deep ruby-copper body with a substantial just-off-white head. Aroma of maple-walnut ice cream, a bit of toasted marshmallow and butterscotch, and a quick herbal backnote. Maple is quite dominant in the flavour, along with some toffee and earthy dried leaves. Medium bodied, with enough carbonation to temper the sweetness a bit and let some herbal hops pop through in the finish. I like maple syrup, so I like this beer. Those who don’t may feel differently.

Nickel Brook Marzenbier

Brewery: Nickel Brook Brewery, Burlington, ON
Style: Märzen
ABV: 5.5%
Availability: Seasonal; bottles at the brewery, draught at select bars in Ontario

Clear and bright copper body with a sturdy just-off-white head. Aroma is malt-forward - bread crust and a hint of barley candy - with some supporting noble hops, and an interesting hint of apple peel. Flavour starts with a good hit of Munich malt, developing some dried leaf earthiness in the middle, and finishing with fresh and herbal hops that linger on the palate. Body is full enough to have some character, but lean enough to be clean and refreshing. A solid and enjoyable lager.

Bellwoods Farmhouse Saison

Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto, ON
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.0%
Availability: In draught rotation at the brewpub; occasionally in bottles and growlers

Bright golden with a slight haze and a big snow white head that rises up and over the top of the glass like an ice cream float. Fantastic aroma that combines tropical fruit (pineapple & papaya), white wine (not enough of a wino to pinpoint a varietal, but given the inclusion of Nelson Sauvin hops, I’ll guess Sauvignon), lightly toasted grain, and a bit of peppery yeast. Flavour has a lot of fruit esters off the top, a mildly funky/yeasty middle, and a nicely bittered finish with notes of citrus peel, melon, and an intriguing flourish of sage at the back of the palate.

Junction Craft Night Train Dark Ale

Brewery: Junction Craft Brewing, Toronto, ON
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 4.8%
Availability: Limited release; bottles at the brewery

Dark copper-brown with a thick and creamy tan head that holds its own for quite some time before receding to a thin ring of foam. Aroma is roasty and nutty with a bit of slightly burnt caramel and an unexpected suggestion of hashish. (Not that I would know what that smells like… *ahem*…) Flavour starts slightly sweet and nutty, but the 53 IBUs noted on the bottle make themselves known quickly, and bring about a well-bittered and quite dry finish, with a lingering note of tobacco leaf. I’d prefer it in the hops were dialed back a titch, but otherwise, a nice, session-friendly ale.

Big Rock Helles Bock

Brewery: Big Rock Brewery, Calgary, AB
Style: Heller Bock
ABV: 6.66%
Availability: Limited release; bottles & draught in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba

Honey-copper body with a thin white head that doesn’t hang around for long. The aroma and flavour are both heavy on the malt, as expected from the style - sweet and bready with a bit of caramel and buckwheat honey. The Hellertau hops provide a subdued but welcome counterpoint, giving a mildly bitter and slightly peppery finish. I’m a bit skeptical about the claim the alcohol level just happened to come in at 6.66%, but it’s a cute enough back story, and doesn’t mar the fact that there’s quite a good beer hanging out behind the marketing bumpf.