SOUR ALE WITH HIBISCUS ~ LEFT FIELD 

This sour is a one-off for Left Field Brewing and their first foray into making sour ale. They have used kettle souring techniques and added lactobacillus to create the tartness. Dried Hibiscus flowers were added to the boil to impart colour and berry, lemon and floral notes. Sampled on draught at the brewery, the ale poured a gorgeous rich pinkish-red colour. The nose has much lacto tartness, with subtle florals. The beer itself is quite sour, with subtle hibiscus and wheat. The mouthfeel is effervescent and quite refreshing. Though it is not a complex brew it is quite tasty and very refreshing. I hope that Left Field will continue to experiment!

4% from East End Toronto IBU 10
Photo courtesy of Left Field Brewery

TROIS-PISTOLES ~ UNIBROUE

This Dark Strong Belgian Ale (Abbey Style Dark Ale) is yet another delicious brew from Unibroue. Sampled from a bottle. It is a seasonal beer, brewed since 1997. It poured a very dark brown with slight red undertones, with a big off white head. The head lasted quite a while and left beautiful lacing around the glass. The nose was a smorgasbord of flavours swirling around: Belgian yeasts, wheat, plums and other fruity esters, spices, molasses, caramel, raisins, roasted malts and perhaps even a touch of chocolate. The taste was a complex and as harmonious as the nose: Strong, sweet, with roasted malty molasses, fruit – like cherries and plums, rum and spices. Very little hop at the end but had a lingering pleasant aftertaste. The fines carbonation was moderate and the beer had a creamy mouth feel. Though the 9% ABV warms, it is also well hidden. A delicious winter treat!

9 % from Chambly, Quebec 16 IBU

Namesake: Trois-Pistoles is a city in Les Basques Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. The town is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.

ST-AMBROISE CREAM ALE ~MCAULSAN 

Sampled on draught with nitro. The beer poured a cloudy light copper gold (the colour of rich honey) with a lasting off white head. As the head slowly dissipated it left a good amount of lacing. Visible carbonation was low and the bubbles were fine. The aroma was light with fruity notes, citrus, malts, grains and a hint of hops. Taste was much the same, with caramel, malts, some spice and a touch of sweetness. It finished with a mild hop, and a clean malty finish. The beer had a velvety mouthfeel. This brew is most drinkable. The balance of the yeasts, hops and nitro carbonation are well balanced and give it some dimension.

Hops:  Cascade, Willamette, Golding

5% from Montreal, Quebec 35 IBU

ROASTED CHESTNUT BROWN ALE ~ OAST HOUSE

Sampled on Draught. This Brown Ale is quite mild all around. The beer poured and dark straw colour with orangey undertones. The nose is mild with malts and a touch of tropical fruit. The beer was fairly light on the palette. Lots of malts provided the backbone, but I got little chestnut in the flavour. It was sweet like an English mild, with a wee bit of hop bitterness at the end. Not bad, but I think I would have preferred it to have more guts.

5% from Niagara, Ontario

BEERS II MEN ~ SAWDUST CITY & NORTHWINDS

Beers II Men is a one-off Belgian Pale ale, brewed with peaches and Earl Grey Tea. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a light amber or dark golden colour. Both the peaches and the tea were subtle. I could taste the tannins in the tea, which lent a little astringency, but complimented the faint sweetness of the peaches. The beer has crisp bitter hoppy finish. I enjoyed this one but would have liked the peach flavour to shine through just a little bit more.

4.8% from Gravenhurst, Ontario 30 IBU

PRICKLY CONKER ~ FLYING MONKEYS

Prickly Conker is another sour surprise from the Flying Monkeys Brewery. Known for hoppy beers and stellar one-offs, this is the second sour beer this year (C2C was the first). Sampled on draught, in a keg that had been aged for a few months. The beer poured a very murky medium brown with a moderate head that has a pink hue. There is lots of dark fruit and sourness in on the nose. The first sip of this I found very sour. The more I drank, the more I liked it, and the more I noticed the nuances that this beer contains. Currants, dates, prunes, orange peel gave this beer a taste that reminded me of a boozy Christmas pudding. Church wine, tart grapes, also figured in there somewhere. After the sourness from wild yeasts, there appeared a subtle chocolate malt sweetness that lingered on in the aftertaste. Most interesting!

8% from Barrie, Ontario

CATHEDRAL~BLOCK 3

Cathedral is a Belgian IPA ~ a lovely melange of sweet and bitter. Sampled on draught, this brew poured a hazy golden orange amber colour with lots of off white head. As the head dissipated, it left mots of lacing around the glass. The nose contained a large juicy floral hop presence, with subtle fruitiness (lemon, grapefruit, other tropical fruit) and Belgian yeast. A little funkiness and bready malts were also discernable in the aroma. Lots of flavour followed. The brewery used their house blend yeast, Belgian saison house yeast with Brettanomyces, which lend some interesting subtleties into the brew. The beer begins with sweet Belgian yeast, with sweet lightly roasted bready malts, farmhouse funkiness and and a little fruit. The sweetness is followed by the floral hops that give it a big hit of grapefruit and pine. Great marriage of a Belgian Ale and an IPA. Really nicely balanced, chocked full of flavour, fragrant but not overpowering. Will look for this in the bottle.
6.4% from St. Jacob's, Ontario     20 IBU

Yeast: Belgian Saison, Brettanomyces
Malts: German Pale, Pilsner, Vienna, Abbey, Wheat
Hops: Mosaic, Citra

FOUS ALLIES ~ BEAU’S & MICROBRASSERIE TROU DU DIABLE

Fous Allies, meaning ‘crazy allies’ was a collaborative effort from Ontario’s Beau’s Brewing and Quebec’s Trou du Diable. Originally made as a collab 2012, it was revisited in 2015, with a higher alcohol content. Fous Allies is a mango infused saison beer, which will be included in the “Best of Beau’s” holiday sampler at the end of this year and part of their “Wild Oats” series. Sampled on draught. The beer poured a dark golden colour with a pillow white head. The nose contains some saison yeasts and a faint tropical fruit, with a hint of peppery spiciness. The taste of mango is very discreet, but it is there adding a sweetness to the brew. There is a pleasant amount of hops at the end to round out and balance this delicious saison.

6.1% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario and Shawinigan, Quebec IBU 30

Malts: Pilsner, Wheat, Acidulated, Carafoam (all organic)
Hops: Organic Nelson-Sauvin
Yeast: Saison
Other: organic mango puree

BRICKS & MORTAR COFFEE PORTER ~  LEFT FIELD BREWERY

Bricks and Mortar is a seasonal offering from Left Field. It is a collaboration with their neighbours Pilot Coffee Roasters. The name is a tribute to the area and the building the brewery is in. The brewery is located on the edge of what once was a large pit, where much of the clay for early Toronto Houses was sourced. The brewery buildings original use was part of the brick factory. 
Sampled on draught at the brewery, the beer poured a dark brown with a beige head, which left beautiful lacing. The aroma contained lots of dark coffee with roasted malts and a very subtle fruitiness. Whole freshly roasted Guatemala Gesha coffee beans are added near the end of the conditioning process using cold extraction to flavour. The taste has a bit of sweetness with coffee, roasted malts and subtle chocolate notes. There is a light fruit acidity and a little coffee bitterness found on the palette too. It is smooth and creamy with moderate carbonation and medium body. A nice winter sipper.

6% from Toronto, Ontario 40 IBU

photo courtesy of Left Field Brewing

CRAZY BEARD ~ WILD APPLE ALE

Sampled from a tin, this beverage was truly confounding. It was in the beer section of my local liquor store but was clearly not a beer. In some liquor stores it is in the cider section, but it did not taste like a cider either. Apparently it is made with barley but no hops. The printing on the tin was almost unreadable, so ingredients were near impossible to figure out - I had to go to the net to find out that it contained carbonated water and contained added sugar. Sugar was not added for bottle conditioning since it comes in a tin and the brewers have already added carbonation in the water. The beverage had a huge nose of sweet green apples- jolly rancher like green apples, and apple juice. It was clear and golden yellow with no carbonation or head. It tasted much like it smelled, an apple jolly rancher. The apple taste was artificial and the sweetness became cloying. Apparently it is supposed to contain wild apples from Northern Ontario, but I could taste no evidence of real apples. It did not taste like cider at all, but rather old apple juice. I could not taste any evidence of alcohol. The aftertaste was sweet with a little spice. It turns out this is an upstart from a few kids out of university trying to complete with mediocre fruit beers and coolers put out by the macro brewers. Personally really not to my taste.
5.2% from Oakville (Toronto)

PECULIAR ~ GRANITE BREWERY

Sampled on cask.  Peculiar is English Ale.  It poured a clear dark ruby colour with a tan head, which it retained.  Nose had lost of fruit, toffee, roasted malts and perhaps a touch of smokiness.  The taste has lots of dried fruit (raisin, prune, cherries), well done toast, roasted maltiness and caramel, with a gentle bitterness. The finish was both sweet and dry. The Granite Brewery has been opened in Toronto in 1991, and was one of the first making craft brew.  This is a very palatable winter drink.

5.6% from Toronto, Ontario

OL’ WOODY ~ SAWDUST CITY

Ol’ Woody is an Altbier, it was sampled on draught. According to the wiki, Altbier (German for 'old beer') is a style of beer originating in Germany. It was first brewed in the historical region of Westphalia and is a speciality of the city of Düsseldorf. Its name comes from its production using the technique of top fermentation, an older method than bottom fermentation characteristic of other lager styles of beer.”
The beer pours a deep copper mahogany red with a thin off white head. The nose contained lots of sweet toasted bready malts and caramel, with some herbal/floral hops notes. The taste was much the same, caramel, roasted malts, bread, a touch of earthiness and a hop bitterness to balance. The carbonation was moderate and the finish was crisp. I really enjoyed this beer, the taste was big and the finale was a nicely restrained and balanced.

5.3% from Gravenhurst, Ontario 35 IBU

SUMMER WEISSE ~ MUSKOKA 

Muskoka’s Summerweisse is an unfiltered weisse beer available seasonally. It has no preservative an a relatively short shelf life, we sampled this from a tin, one week after the best before date. The beer poured a hazy yellow golden colour with a great white head and good retention. The aroma contained the classic hefe aromas: clove, banana, cloves, coriander, yeasty bread and a slight hint of bubble gum. The taste had lots of wheat, malt with a touch of orange and lemon citrus. Banana and clove were subtler but there. Subtle hops finished the beer. The carbonation was active and moderate. A refreshing summer drinking beer. A solid example of the style, but nothing fancy.

5% from Bracebridge, Ontario

SAWDUST CITY ~ LONE PINE

Lone Pine is a West Coast IPA. Sampled on draught. The beer poured a hazy golden straw colour with a good off white head and good retention. The nose had lots of pine and citrus from the aggressively hopped beer. Other citrus fruit and malts were in the distant background. The brew was packed with hoppy flavours. Plenty of hops lend a strong grapefruit and piney resin taste with a little sweetness from shy malts. The finish is crisp and dry with a lingering resiny bitter aftertaste. The carbonation was lively. A hoppy, but not overdone IPA. Quite enjoyable!

6.5% from Gravenhurst, Ontario  65 IBU

AUTUMN SPICED HARVEST ALE ~ WELLINGTON

Sampled on cask. Autumn Spiced Ale, is a Welly one-off. It poured a murky coppery orange colour with a frothy off- white head. Nose had spices with sweet malts and a touch of the woods. The taste was much the same, lots of cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg, with sweet lightly roasted malts, subtle citrus and an earthy note. It had medium carbonation and body. Very pleasant.

5.3% from Guelph, Ontario

#8 ~ SAWDUST CITY 

#8 is an Imperial Schwartzbier. It is a Sawdust City one-off and was sampled on draught at the Sawdust City tap takeover at the Only Café in Toronto. The beer poured very dark brown. There was lots of dark roasted malt sweetness, as well as hints of chocolate. The finish had a hint of smoke. Nicely balanced and very drinkable.

8% from Gravenhurst, Ontario

VERJUS SOUR ~ OAST HOUSE 

Verjus (or verjuice) is the acidic juice made by pressing unripe grapes, crab-apples or other unripe sour fruit. It dates to the middle ages where is was used as a condiment. This beer is brewed with Niagara Pinot Noir grape verjus (from Lepp farms), lending its sour notes. This is a naturally sour beer, created by the verjus, no lactobacillus was added. The brewery also used a specially propagated by Oast house. Sampled on draught this beer pour a hazy light yellow with a small bone coloured head. The nose has lots of sour notes, with some grains, and grapes and other tart fruits. The flavour is similar, pleasantly sour and tart with subtle grape and grains. The sourness is not overpowering but more like a gueze. The brew is smooth, with soft carbonation. I really liked this one and look forward to tasting some of the brew that has been set aside to age in wine barrels.

4.8% from Niagara 7 IBU

SPEARHEAD ~ JAMAICAN FIRE

Holy smokes this stout is packed with flavour! Sampled on draft, this beer is brewed with coffee, mangos and scotch bonnet peppers. The beer poured a nice dark brown, with a large cream coffee brown head and lace. The nose has lots of very dark roasty malts, and coffee with hints of spice. The taste is packed with explosive flavour. Tons of full bodied coffee and roasted malts start the beer. Then the spice kicks in with a warming heat. The peppers are not overpowering but do give a wee kick! The subtle heat lingers. Enjoyed the half pint I had, but couldn’t commit to any more. A bold and very tasty brew.

Malts: Pale malt, Maris Otter, Carabohemian, Black Prinz, Roasted Barley
Hops: Northern Brewer, Goldings,
Yeast: California Ale
Other : mango, Scotch Bonnet Peppers and coffee

7% from Ontario     IBU 35

GOLDEN BEACH ~ SAWDUST CITY 

Sampled on draught this beer pours sunshine yellow with a little cloudiness due to the fact it is unfiltered. The frothy head lasted and left some nice lacing. The beer is made from 50% wheat and appeared somewhat like a wit beer, but had more opacity. The nose was full of fruity hoppiness, with tropical fruit and citrus and pine in the back. The taste contains lots of fruitiness, with citrus and citrus peel, mild malt in the middle and resiny pine hoppiness at the end. This hopped up wheat beer left a crisp bitterness, but retained a little of the wheat sweetness. An excellent beer, with lots of complexity from the hops, very drinkable, I will be returning to this one!
4.5% from Gravenhurst, Ontario 25 IBU
Barley: Canadian 2 row barley, wheat
Hops: galaxy, mosaic, sorachi ace, summit
Yeast : California Ale

HIGH TEA IN EXILE ~ NICKEL BROOK

Sampled on cask. It is an English Mild style beer, brewed with the addition of Earl Grey tea and lemons. It poured a dark golden colour, with a little cloudiness. It is very pleasant. The flavours of tea and lemon are there but not overpowering in the least. The beer contained some lemon and floral notes on the nose. The tea complimented the light malts and the lemon takes the edge of the tannins of the tea. A very nice blend. Unfortunately this was a one-off brew.

5% from Burlington, Ontario

SAWDUST CITY ~ SEARCHING FOR LOMEZ BRAGGOT

Searching for Lomez Braggot is a one off braggot/mead brewed by James Benson. Sampled on draught, it poured a golden yellow. The beer clung to the sides of the glass. Honey was dominant on the nose, but there was also a lime citrus too. The taste was sour, like a Berliner, which was in sharp contrast to the nose. I believe the beer component of this mead was a wild ale or wild saison. The aftertaste was honey, with no trace of bitterness. The beverage was quite warming, but the alcohol seemed to be well hidden.
Braggot is a very old drink; it mentioned in the Canterbury Tales in the late 14th Century, even earlier records exist. Braggot is made by blending spices and herbs with mead (alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey and water) and beer. The braggot was created either at taverns or by the brewers.

8.5% from Gravenhurst, Ontario

KING STREET SAISON ~ BLOCK 3

King Street Saison is Block 3’s flagship beer.  Sampled on draught, it has a opaque  amber-straw colour with a lively frothy white head.  The aroma contained notes of grains, lemon citrus and a hints of black peppercorn and coriander seed.  The flavour contains lots of grain with lemon citrus and sweet malts. It has a clean crisp  dry peppery finish.  Very pleasant beer for hot summer days and cool fall evenings. 

 4.6% from St. Jacobs, Ontario     IBU: 16

Yeast: Belgian Saison

Malts: Pilsner, Munich II, Wheat

Hops: Styrian Golding, Magnum

photo by Mark Homer.

SOUTHERN JUSTICE ~ INNOCENTE

Southern Justice is a limited edition one-off.  The brewery made 600 bottles that were sold only at the brewery store, which sold out very quickly.  Select bars were lucky enough to get a cask.  The beer is a saison that has been aged in Jack Daniels Bourbon casks for 6 months with Ontario peaches (from Herrles farm).  Sampled on draught, the beer poured a translucent honey amber with a small white head.  Peaches and whisky are all over the nose.   This beer is incredible, beautifully made and balanced.  The whiskey makes a smoky appearance but does not overpower the delicate flavours of the saison.  Sweet peaches also make an appearance, but compliment rather than compete with the whisky.  The beer does not taste as boozy as it is, not knowing what the alcohol content was, I would have guessed around 6%.  This one is a sipper for sure.  An exquisitely balanced brew. 

 

10.5% from Waterloo, Ontario