May 2013
1 post
2 tags
Bellwoods Farmhouse Classic
Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: Saison bottle-conditioned with Brettanomyces ABV: 6.5% Availability: Draught at the Bellwoods brewpub; bottles at the Bellwoods retail store
Hazy golden-orange with a MASSIVE thick & puffy snow white head. Once the head dissipates a bit, some nice aromas start to come through - fruity, pineapple-ish esters; grassy and citrusy hops; mild Brett and...
April 2013
5 posts
2 tags
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....
2 tags
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,...
2 tags
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...
2 tags
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 -...
2 tags
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...
March 2013
3 posts
2 tags
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...
2 tags
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,...
2 tags
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...
February 2013
1 post
2 tags
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...
January 2013
3 posts
2 tags
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....
2 tags
Junction Grand Trunk Bitter
Brewery: Junction Craft Brewing, Toronto, ON Style: Bitter ABV: 3.4% Availability: Limited release; bottles & growlers at the Junction retail store
Hazy reddish-copper with a relatively large and rocky white head. Inviting aroma of toasted grain, subtle caramel, barley candy and twiggy hops. Elegant and well-balanced flavour with all of the notes promised by the aroma, along with a bit of...
2 tags
Beau's Koru Belgian Pale Ale
Brewery: Beau’s All Natural Brewing, Vankleek Hill, ON Style: Pale Ale ABV: 6.0% Availability: Limited release; available in bottles at the Beau’s retail store
Bright golden body that pours clear initially, before developing a bit of haze towards the end of he bottle, and capped with a big, strong, long-lasting white head. Aroma is lush and exotic, with lots of tropical fruit and...
December 2012
2 posts
4 tags
Phillips/Great Lakes Puzzler Belgian Black IPA
Brewery: Phillips Brewing, Victoria, BC & Great Lakes Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: Black IPA ABV: 9.1% Availability: Limited release; no longer available
Brewed at the Phillips facility earlier this year in collaboration with some visitors from Great Lakes, the Puzzler came and went pretty quickly when it was released a few weeks back, but those who managed to get a bottle were rewarded with a...
2 tags
Beau's ...And Boom Gose The Dynamite
Brewery: Beau’s All Natural Brewing, Vankleek Hill, ON Style: Gose ABV: 4.6% Availability: Limited release; available in bottles at the Beau’s retail store
Gose is a wheat beer variation originating in Leipzig that is typically made with coriander and salt, and slightly soured during fermentation. This version from Beau’s pours a hazy yellow-gold with a good sized white head....
November 2012
1 post
2 tags
Rickard's Oakhouse
Brewery: Rickard’s (division of Molson Coors Canada) Style: Oaked Lager ABV: 5.5% Availability: Winter seasonal; available in bottles across Canada
Clear, rich golden colour with a finger or so of snow white head. Aroma of lightly toasted oak, vanilla caramel, a bit of sweet citrus, and a suggestion of spice. Medium bodied, clean and crisp on the palate when cool, a bit fuller and creamier...
October 2012
3 posts
2 tags
Heady's Honey Citrus
Brewery: Heady Brew Co., North York, ON Style: Gluten-free ABV: 5.7% Availability: Year-round at select bars and restaurants
Bright golden with a reddish tinge and a small white head that disappears quickly. Aroma has the slightly medicinal character that I get from most sorghum-based beers, along with a mild honey sweetness and a touch of lime peel. Body is thin - again, typical of many...
2 tags
Beer Academy Vienna Lager
Brewery: Beer Academy, Toronto, ON Style: Vienna Lager ABV: 5.8% Availability: In rotation on draught and in bottles & growlers at the brewery
Lovely appearance - bright amber-hued gold with a faint haze and strong white head. Aroma holds good caramel malt with a bit of honey toast, and some solid grassy-herbal hops supporting. Flavour starts quite sweet - honey, toasted cereal, a bit of...
2 tags
Picaroons Feels Good Imperial Pilsner
Brewery: Picaroons Traditional Ales, Fredericton, NB Style: Imperial Pilsner ABV: 7.0%
My first experience with this beer was in early 2011, and it wasn’t an especially positive one - most likely because the bottle I had was around 10 months old. I took the opportunity to pick up a fresher sample during a recent stop in Moncton, and it was much more enjoyable this time around. Where my...
September 2012
5 posts
2 tags
Cannery Blackberry Porter
Brewery: Cannery Brewing, Penticton, BC Style: Porter ABV: 6% Availability: Year-round at BC Liquor Stores and in Alberta; limited release at LCBO in Ontario
Flavoured porters and stouts can be tricky to brew, as it’s often hard to balance the added flavour(s) with the naturally robust character of those dark ale styles. Cannery manages to pull it off pretty well with this one, as the...
2 tags
Trafalgar Hop Nouveau 2012
Brewery: Trafalgar Ales & Meads, Oakville, ON Style: Pale Ale ABV: 5% Availability: Limited edition; bottles at the LCBO
This year’s edition of Trafalgar’s fresh hop ale was brewed on August 27th using hops picked that same day, and bottled on September 15th. It pours a slightly hazy and quite still tawny-gold colour with a faint wisp of a head. Aroma is pleasantly fruity, with...
3 tags
Rickard's Cardigan
Brewery: Rickard’s (division of Molson Coors Canada) Style: Spiced Lager ABV: 5.5% Availability: Autumn seasonal; available in bottles across Canada
Clear and bright golden colour with a small white head that leaves some slight lacing on the glass. Impressively punchy aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg, with more subtle notes of clove, and a supporting sweet malt base. Flavour is similarly spicy,...
2 tags
Seagram Cider
Brewery: Brick Brewery, Waterloo, ON Style: Cider ABV: 5.3% Availability: Year-round; cans at the LCBO
Clear bright yellow-gold with a slight greenish tinge. Aroma of slightly fermented apples, quite natural and inviting. Crisp body with a nice level of carbonation. Flavour is really enjoyable, tasting of fresh Macintosh and Empire apples, not too sweet & not too tart. It may not have the...
2 tags
Amsterdam Calm Before The Storm
Brewery: Amsterdam Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: Mild Ale ABV: 3.2% Availability: Limited release; bottles at the Amsterdam retail store
Deep ruby-brown with a thin tan head. Aroma of dark chocolate, freshly ground coffee, dark toffee and fresh hops. Body has a great balance of creaminess and carbonation. Flavour is dry and roasty with some bitter chocolate in the middle and a deftly hopped finish...
August 2012
7 posts
2 tags
Bellwoods Monogamy (Summit)
Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: American Pale Ale ABV: 6.4% Availability: In draught rotation at the brewpub; occasionally in bottles and growlers
The first in what I assume is going to be a series of single-hop pale ales from Bellwoods, Monogamy (Summit) pours a slightly hazy orange-gold with a big rocky white head. The aroma is big and juicy, with a whole lot of citrus (notably...
2 tags
Amsterdam Mid Summer Saison
Brewery: Amsterdam Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: Saison ABV: 6.3% Availability: Limited release; currently unavailable
Hazy golden-yellow body with a small just-off-white head. Solid and inviting aroma of lemon, chamomile and cut grass, with hints of yeast and white pepper, and a slight funkiness. Flavour of lemon and wheat, a bit of tropical fruit, mild funk, and a lingering finish of citrus peel...
2 tags
Great Lakes 25th Anniversary Robust Porter
Brewery: Great Lakes Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: Porter ABV: 7.2% Availability: One-off; no longer available
Deep ruby-brown body - verging on black - with a large and persistent custard-coloured head. Big, potent aroma with notes of deeply roasted malt, licorice, dark coffee beans, plum, semi-sweet chocolate, hazelnut, oak and pine wood. Full, creamy body that fills with mouth with turning...
2 tags
Cameron's Dark 266
Brewery: Cameron’s Brewing, Oakville, ON Style: Dark Lager ABV: 4.5% Availability: Year-round release; bottles at the LCBO and Beer Store; draught at select bars in Ontario
Dark oxblood-brown body with a thin light khaki head. Aroma of dark bread, raisin, a bit of coffee and dried leaves, and a fleeting hint of soy sauce. Fairly thin and well-carbonated body that makes it pretty obvious...
4 tags
How Do You Say Monkey In Latin? Dubbel IPA
Brewery: Black Oak Brewing, Etobicoke, ON (in collaboration with Sawdust City Brewing, Gravenhurst, ON & Microbrasserie Charlevoix, Baie-St-Paul, QC) Style: Belgian-Style Ale ABV: 6.8% Availability: Limited edition; brewed for the Canadian Brewing Awards 2012
This one-off collaborative brew was created especially for this year’s edition of the Canadian Brewing Awards which took place in...
Wellington Imperial Russian Stout
Brewery: Wellington County Brewery, Guelph, ON Style: Imperial Stout ABV: 8% Availability: Year-round release; cans at the LCBO
After spending a number of years as a sporadic seasonal that would pop up here and there in limited quantities, this old favourite from Wellington has recently been promoted to year-round status. It pours a deep ruby-black with a thin tan head that sticks around for a...
2 tags
Black Creek Rifleman's Ration
Brewery: Black Creek Historic Brewery, Toronto, ON (contract brewed at Trafalgar Ales & Meads, Oakville, ON) Style: Brown Ale ABV: 5% Availability: Limited edition; bottles at the LCBO
The first in a planned series of “Historic Beers of Canada” from Black Creek, this ale also marks the bicentenary of the War of 1812, as it’s meant to emulate the type of beer that...
July 2012
16 posts
2 tags
Bellwoods Fortune Cookie Tripel
Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: Abbey Tripel ABV: 8.2% Availability: In draught rotation at the brewpub; occasionally in bottles and growlers
Hazy golden-orange with a small head that doesn’t stick around for too long, but recedes to a thin ring of foam that laces the glass nicely. Aroma is mostly right on style - sweet malt, moderate yeastiness, suggestions of spices like...
2 tags
Beer Academy Porter
Brewery: Beer Academy, Toronto, ON Style: Porter ABV: 4.3% Availability: In rotation on draught and in bottles & growlers at the brewery
Deep almost-black with a creamy beige-tan head. Aroma is quite roasty with lots of chocolate malt and a hint of tart fruit. Soft body, fairly creamy with subtle carbonation. Flavour is nice and mellow, with notes of caffe mocha and malted milk, and a slight...
2 tags
Highlander Scottish Ale
Brewery: Highlander Brewing, South River, ON Style: Scottish Ale ABV: 5.0% Availability: year-round; bottles at LCBO, draught at select locations in Ontario
This beer was originally known as Highlander Pale Ale, but a recent ownership change and relaunch saw it given the much more suitable Scottish Ale moniker. Pours a nice clear ruby-amber with honeyish tones and a small but persistent head of...
2 tags
St. Ambroise Pale Ale
Brewery: McAuslan Brewing, Montreal, QC Style: Pale Ale ABV: 5.0% Availability: Year-round; bottles & draught in Quebec and several other provinces
Bright orange-copper with a decent cap of white foam. Simple but solid aroma of caramel, dried apricot, honey on toast and floral hops. Flavour initially leans toward fruity malt with a nutty backnote, complemented by flowery and mildly citric...
2 tags
Beer Academy IPA
Brewery: Beer Academy, Toronto, ON Style: India Pale Ale ABV: 6.5% Availability: In rotation on draught and in bottles & growlers at the brewery
Slightly hazy orange-peach colour with a large white head. The info card provided by the brewery indicates quite a varied malt bill was used - eight in all, including red wheat, rye malt and Munich - and the aroma shows this off, with a fairly...
2 tags
Beau's Beaver River I.P.Eh? Barrel-Aged Blend
Brewery: Beau’s All Natural Brewing, Vankleek Hill, ON Style: India Pale Ale ABV: 5.6% Availability: Limited release; bottles at the Beau’s retail store
Barrel-aged IPAs can often end up exhibiting too much barrel and not enough IPA, resulting in a beer that is a flabby and woody mess. This rare brew from Beau’s avoids this fate via blending - i.e. a portion of a batch of Beaver River...
2 tags
King Pilsner
Brewery: King Brewery, Nobleton, ON Style: Pilsner ABV: 4.8% Availability: year-round; bottles at LCBO and Beer Store, draught at select locations in Ontario
Bright golden-yellow colour with a white head that leaves a lot of lovely lacing on the glass. Aroma is fresh and grassy with backing notes of toasted grain. Body is crisp and refreshing. Flavour holds a nice balance of moderately sweet...
2 tags
Howe Sound Pothole Filler Imperial Stout
Brewery: Howe Sound Brewing, Squamish, BC Style: Imperial Stout ABV: 9% Availability: Winter seasonal; draught and bottles in BC
Dark, dark brown - almost black, but not quite - with a big and creamy tan head. Big aroma of close-to-burnt malt, dark chocolate, mint, licorice, and a big enough hint of booze to make it clear that this beer ain’t messing around. Quite full bodied, but not thick...
2 tags
F&M StoneHammer Pilsner
Brewery: F&M Brewery, Guelph, ON Style: German Pilsner ABV: 5.0% Availability: Year-round; bottles at the LCBO and Beer Store & on draught at select locations in Ontario
Bright yellow-gold with a finger or two of brilliantly white foam on top. Restrained aroma of straw, bread crumbs and lemon-herb hops. Crisp and perky carbonation gives a nice, clean feeling on the tongue. Flavour is as...
2 tags
Howe Sound Total Eclipse of the Hop
Brewery: Howe Sound Brewing, Squamish, BC Style: Imperial IPA ABV: 8% Availability: Spring seasonal; draught and bottles in BC
Pouring from the chunky 1 litre swing-top bottle, this brew has a striking appearance, with a slightly hazy sunset-amber body and a large and sticky white head. The aroma has a lot of citrus and pine resin hops, no doubt about that, but also a pretty big hit of toasted...
2 tags
Beer Academy Kolsch
Brewery: Beer Academy, Toronto, ON Style: Kölsch ABV: 4.8% Availability: In rotation on draught and in bottles & growlers at the brewery
One of the stated goals of the Beer Academy - a small brewery and beer education centre in downtown Toronto that was recently opened by the Six Pints craft beer division of Molson-Coors - is to teach visitors and drinkers about the history and evolution of...
2 tags
Bellwoods Lost River Baltic Porter
Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: Baltic Porter ABV: 7% Availability: In draught rotation at the brewpub; occasionally in bottles and growlers
Very, very dark garnet-brown with a cap of light tan foam. Aroma and flavour both hold all of the expected notes - chocolate, dark sugar, dark fruits (esp. cherry & plum), molasses, licorice, coffee, caramelized malt - to varying degrees....
2 tags
Black Creek Pale Ale
Brewery: Black Creek Historic Brewery, Toronto, ON (contract brewed at Trafalgar Ales & Meads, Oakville, ON) Style: English Pale Ale ABV: 5% Availability: Year-round; bottles at the LCBO
Slightly hazy reddish-peach body with a couple of fingers of white head that leaves a fair bit of lacing behind. Aroma is clean and simple, with a nice balance of light caramel malt, orange blossom hops, and...
2 tags
Tree Hop Head Black IPA
Brewery: Tree Brewing, Kelowna, BC Style: Black IPA ABV: 8.8% Availability: Seasonal; bottles in BC & limited release in Ontario
As the popularity of Black IPAs has increased, so too have poor interpretations of the still murkily defined style. Some brewers seem to think that taking heavily hopped IPA and darkening it with black malt is all that’s necessary, but thankfully, Tree...
2 tags
Bellwoods Farmhouse IPA
Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: IPA/Saison ABV: 7.5% Availability: In draught rotation at the brewpub; occasionally in bottles and growlers
From what I gather, this beer is a variation on Bellwoods Lost River IPA brewed with the same yeast as their Farmhouse Saison, resulting in a unique hybrid. Pouring a dark amber-orange with a thick and creamy beige head, it exudes an aroma that...
2 tags
Stanley Park Noble Pilsner & Stanley Park 1897...
Brewery: Stanley Park Brewing, Vancouver, BC Styles: Pilsner & Amber Ale ABV: 5% & 5.1% Availability: Year-round; bottles at liquor stores throughout BC
According to the marketing bumpf, the original Stanley Park Brewing was founded in Vancouver in 1897 by Belgian brewmaster Frank Foubert. This presumably explains why the current holders of the Stanley Park trademark consider it OK to...
June 2012
12 posts
2 tags
Tree Hefeweizen
Brewery: Tree Brewing, Kelowna, BC Style: Hefeweizen ABV: 5.0% Availability: Seasonal; bottles in BC & limited release in Ontario
For the most part, this beer is a bang-on version of a classic Hefeweizen – murky yellow-gold appearance with a big creamy head; aromas of wheat, yeast, banana and bubblegum; flavour of banana, yeast, lemon and a bit of clove. What takes it up a notch is the...
2 tags
Bellwoods Lost River IPA
Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto, ON Style: IPA ABV: 7.6% Availability: In draught rotation at the brewpub; occasionally in bottles and growlers
Poured from a bomber purchased at the recent debut of retail bottle and growler sales at Bellwoods, this American-style IPA has a beautiful sunset-amber colour with a creamy and persistent white head. The aroma pops with sticky hops - plenty of pine...
2 tags
St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale
Brewery: McAuslan Brewing, Montreal, QC Style: Fruit Beer ABV: 5.0% Availability: Year-round; bottles & draught in Quebec and several other provinces
This is the one McAuslan brand that beer geeks are most likely to avoid - or at least not admit to liking - but as far as fairly mainstream fruit beers go, it’s quite alright. It pours a nice clear orange-amber with a healthy white head,...
