Granville Island Robson Street Hefeweizen

Brewery: Granville Island Brewing, Kelowna, BC
Style: Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.0%
Availability: Year-round release; bottles & draught in BC; bottles in Ontario

Muddy looking yellow-orange body with a small white head. Aroma predominated by yeast and banana with hints of lemon peel and lightly toasted wheat. Soft mouthfeel, almost creamy. Flavour follows the aroma with a fairly big hit of banana and slightly spicy yeast, with some lemon candy and an odd suggestion of vanilla. Perhaps a bit floral in the finish, but not enough to identify a particular flower. Looked in vain for the clove notes that I expect from a hefe and couldn’t find them. Ultimately a nice quaff, but a bit off kilter for the style.

Cameron’s Rye Pale Ale

Brewery: Cameron’s Brewing, Oakville, ON
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.6%
Availability: Limited release; bottles at the brewery store; draught at select bars in Ontario

Bright golden-copper body with a pure white head that lingers and laces nicely. Boisterous aroma chock full of grapefruit, pineapple, spruce tips and other great west coast hop characteristics. Flavour follows the aroma, with loads of juicy tropical fruit and bitter grapefruit notes balanced by a solid backbone of sweet and toasty malt. The rye isn’t obvious until the finish, where it brings in a peppery note that blends well with the lingering citrus bitterness from the hops. A stellar beer that rivals many of the best American-style IPAs I’ve tried, and one that Cameron’s should seriously consider upgrading from a limited release to a year-round offering ASAP.

Beau’s Patio Saison

Brewery: Beau’s All Natural Brewing, Vankleek Hill, ON
Style: Saison
ABV: 5.9%
Availability: Limited release; draught at select bars in Ontario

Golden-orange body with a moderate haze and a nice lacy white head. Fair bit of fruitiness in the aroma - pineapple, apricot, bit of orange and lemon - with background yeast and a hint of dry spiciness. Great body, nicely carbonated with a back-of-throat tingle. Flavour brings to mind an amped up witbier - curacao and coriander, lemon and wheat, fruity malt off the top, peppery yeast in the finish. Lacks the rustic feel of a top level saison, but still quite good.

Wellington County Dark Ale

Brewery: Wellington County Brewery, Guelph, ON
Style: Dark Ale
ABV: 5.0%
Availability: Year-round release; cans & bottles at LCBO and Beer Store; draught at select bars in Ontario

Plummy-brown colour with a small and quick tan head. Aroma of medium-roast malt, toasted nuts, cocoa, a bit of coffee. Flavour is right in the same ballpark as the aroma, with the addition of a bit of dark sugar mid-palate, and a moderately dry finish with notes of dried leaves and nut hulls. Nothing groundbreaking here, just a solid UK-style ale.

Canadian Beer News Dinner Series #3

After a bit of a break, posts on Canadian Beer Notes will be starting up again tomorrow (or today, depending on when you’re reading this), with new reviews to be posted on a (hopefully) semi-regular basis.

In the meantime, I wanted to mention for those who don’t follow the main Canadian Beer News website that the 3rd event in the Canadian Beer News Dinner Series will be taking place this Friday, April 27th at Splendido Restaurant in Toronto, featuring beers from import agency Roland + Russell including some very rare and exclusive offerings.

The full menu and other details are available here. Only a few seats remain, so those interested in attending should act fast!

Nickel Brook Babbling Brooke’s Root Beer

Brewery: Nickel Brook Brewery, Burlington, ON
Style: Root Beer
ABV: n/a
Availability: Year-round; bottles at the brewery store and select shops and restaurants in the GTA

Dark brown with an orange-ruby tint. Big aroma of wintergreen, cinnamon and dark sugar. Strong and remarkably complex flavour for a soda - mint and cinnamon off the top, quickly joined by vanilla and Demerara sugar, hints of clove and orange, and lingering licorice in the long finish. The best root beer I’ve ever had by a pretty wide margin.

Mill Street Stock Ale

Brewery: Mill Street Brewery, Toronto, ON
Style: Golden Ale
ABV: 5.0%
Availability: Year-round; bottles at LCBO and Beer Store in Ontario, and in several other provinces

Light golden-yellow with a tiny white head. Aroma of husky grain, bruised apple, and a very faint hint of twiggy hops. Crisp and clean mouthfeel, soft around the edges. Mild flavour of sweet cereal malt, dried grass, a bit of apple, and an odd hint of marshmallow in the quick finish. Fine for those looking for a slight improvement on a mainstream golden ale, but not one that will hold much interest for craft beer drinkers.

Granville Island Lions Winter Ale

Brewery: Granville Island Brewing, Vancouver, BC
Style: Strong Ale
ABV: 5.5%
Availability: Winter seasonal; bottles & cans at BC Liquor Stores, draught throughout BC

Dark amber-brown with a thin tan head. Aroma holds a huge kick of vanilla - specifically, vanilla caramel candy - with subtle hints of hazelnut and toasted barley cereal in behind. Flavour is also heavy on the vanilla, along with some honey and cheap caramel, and an odd suggestion of wintergreen in the finish. It’s sort of  reminiscent of a lightly sweetened cream soda with a bit of root beer mixed in. Odd - and oddly interesting as well.

Brick Waterloo Amber

Brewery: Brick Brewing, Waterloo, ON
Style: Amber Lager
ABV: 6.8%
Availability: Fall/winter seasonal; cans at the LCBO and the Brick retail store

Orange-amber body with a very faint haze and a large light beige head that doesn’t stick around for long. Aroma is intriguing - caramel malt plays a big part, along with peppery notes from the rye malt, some nondescript fruitiness, something earthy and mineral-like, and some hints of wood and smoke. The flavour has a promising start with notes of caramel, orange candy, and some dried apricot sweetness. The woodiness from the barrel-aging comes through in the middle, and is also quite pleasant. But the finish is a letdown, as it becomes a muddy mess of soapy-tasting hops and astringent alcohol.

Black Creek Porter

Brewery: Black Creek Historic Brewery, Toronto, ON (contract brewed at Trafalgar Ales & Meads, Oakville, ON)
Style: Porter
ABV: 5%
Availability: Year-round; bottles at the LCBO

Dark mahogany-brown colour with wispy tan head. Aroma of a malted chocolate milkshake with additional notes of dark toasted cereal, dried leaves, and a bit of coffee. Body is a bit thin for what we’d expect from a modern porter, but suitable for the throwback this beer is supposed to be. Flavour starts nice and toasty, with some roasted nuts and coffee beans, a bit of hazelnut and chocolate, and slight lactic sourness, and nice bitter note to finish off.