WHY SO SIRIUS? ~ SEXTANT BREWING

Sextant is a new brewery, presently contract brewing in Toronto. I am going to review the draught I had, and look for a tinned version, because I suspect the keg I had may have been infected. I glanced at several reviews of this beer and my taste experience differs from those who have sampled it out of a tin. The beer is supposed to be an easy drinking session pale ale, that has been dry hopped giving it pine and citrus on the nose and slightly bitter finish. The pour was golden yellow with lots of visible carbonation. The nose was very mild, but perhaps a bit of tartness. To me this beer was almost sour and had a funky Brett-like quality. I wasn’t get much from the hops at all. Perhaps not a fair assessment – will look for a tinned version.

ABV: 4.8% IBU: 33

FLEMISH CAP ~ FOLLY BREWPUB

Flemish Cap is billed as an 'Old World Saison', brewed with Pilsner and wheat malts and using mixed fermentation in the brewing process.  Sampled on draught, the beer poured, a very slightly hazy golden straw, with a small dense white head. The nose had lots of lemon, a hint of tartness, a touch of peppery spice, grassiness and floral hops. The taste too, has lots of citrus, especially lemon, along with a little funk, grainy, earthy and herbal notes, a little sourness, minerals, and a tiny bit of peppery spiciness. The hops at the end are mild and somewhat floral. The mouthfeel was on the thin side and the carbonation was fizzy. Good but not amazing! Flavourful and refreshing.
4.5% from Toronto, Ontario

WHITE ~ BLACK BELLOWS

Black Bellow’s is a new brewery, presently contract brewing in Ontario beer hot spot, Collingwood. White, a Belgian-style wheat beer, is their debut offering. Sampled on draught the beer pour slightly hazy, bright yellow-gold, with a thin white head. Though the head was small, it did linger and left delicate lacing when it left. Lots of citrus on the nose along with wheat, coriander, hops and light fruit. The aroma has a slight pungency. The taste is a melange of slightly sour, tart, floral hops, spice, citrus and wheat malts. The mouthfeel is crisp and medium bodied. Carbonation was lively and refreshing. This is quite unlike other wheat beers and wits that I have had, a really pleasant summer brew none the less. Hope to see more from this brewery.

5% from Collingwood, Ontario 13 IBU

Photo Courtesy: Black Bellows Instagram

PERONI NASTRO AZZURO ~ BIRRA PERONI (owned by Asahi)

Peroni Nastro Azzuro is supposed to be the breweries premium Euro-lager. Sampled from a bottle the beer poured crystal clear straw yellow with a creamy white head, which lasted a few minutes. The head left no lacing as it dissipated. Lots of visible carbonation was present. Smell is pretty much generic Euro-lager – subtle bready malt and some floral hops and lagery yeast. There was also a slight sulphur odour. No surprise herein the taste – it taste’s like a light watery Euro lager. Malty at the start followed by slight metallic taste and then floral hop, that lingers in the aftertaste. A very simple taste profile with a clean finish. The body was light, the mouthfeel was watery, and the carbonation was quite lively. A little thin for my taste, but thirst quenching.

5.1% from Roma, Italy

CATALYST 

MK II ~ WEST AVENUE CIDER

Catalyst cider is a dry-hopped (with Santium), barrel fermented with Ontario Montmorency Cherries. Sampled on draught the cider pours bright amber – pink. The nose has lots of tart green apple smell along with a kriek like notes from the cherries. The taste has some complexity to it. The cider starts quite tart, slightly sour with a touch of funk followed by a definite hop presence and cherry at the tail end and in the aftertaste. There is a lovely balance between the elements of this cider: hoppiness - sweet and tart. The cider is Semi dry with lively carbonation. Another cider win!

6.5% from Flamborough, Ontario

Photo courtesty of West Avenue Instagram

WINDFALL ~ REVEL CIDER

Another brilliant offering form Revel Cider! Windfall is a apple cider made with Ontario Blackberry, wildflower honey and maple syrup and juniper berries. Sampled on draught, the cider poured a bright reddish pink hue – it looked almost like a rosé. A beautiful melange of flavours in this – the blue berry presence is not overpowering but does lend a beautiful flavour and colour to the cider. The juniper berries were very subtle. The finish is smooth and has a subtle honey sweetness to cut the tartness. Definitely order this – if you see it on draught!

6.4% from Hamilton, Ontario

Photo courtesy or Revel Cider

ABEL’S REVENGE ~ REVEL CIDER

As I have mentioned before in my posts, this seems to be a bumper year for ciders – some many creative and delicious new flavour combinations to try! Revel has released several fabulous ciders this year. Abel’s revenge is apple and pear scrumpy made with Ontario raspberries. Sampled on draught, it pours a lovely rich peachy-pink colour with visible effervescence. Lots of raspberry on the nose! There are lots of flavour happening here – at first very tart – but on second sip, some of the sweetness of the berries shines through. The Brett adds to the tartness and gives it a little funkiness. The finish is dry and tart. Very summery!

6.9% from Hamilton, Ontario

Photo Courtesy of Revel Cider

BRIMSTONE BREWING CO. ~ BELGIAN GOLDEN ALE

This is Brimstone’s 100th brew. In honour of that, they decided to let everyone around the brewery add a secret ingredient. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a deep reddish amber colour, with an off white head that left good lacing. The aroma contains, coriander, pepper, spicy/funky and fruity and floral esters. The taste is pretty boozy with lots going on – fruitiness, spice, slight tartness and sweet booziness. (I am actually going to have to revisit this one to get a clearer understanding of the flavours). The body was medium and the mouthfeel was slightly sticky. An interesting brew.
8.4% from Ridgeway, Ontario    30 IBU
Photo Courtesy of Brimstone Brewery

HEY DAY HEFEWEIZEN ~ GRANVILLE ISLAND

Sampled from a tin, this beer poured an opaque honey-amber colour with a generous white head. The head had good retention before fading into a cap and leaving some lacing. The nose was typical of a hefe with lots of clove, bready wheat and banana esters. There is also a subtle lemony citrus and peppery notes. There was not as much banana as I expected on the palette. Bready wheat, lemon and orange citrus are pronounced with sweet notes of pear and apple, clove and coriander are also present. The beer is light bodied, even a little watery at times, with average carbonation and a crisp off dry finish. Very refreshing, mild enough to have at breakfast, but nothing outstanding.

5% from Vancouver British Columbia IBU 15

SUNBURNT SAISON ~ BIG RIG

This is an interesting saison made with the addition of pink peppercorns (the mildest of the peppercorns) Sampled on draught the beer poured opaque yellow gold with cap of generous white foam. There was a subtle whiff of pepper on nose along with a little tropical fruit, apple and pear. The flavour was much as was expected - citrus, other fruits and bready grains, with a little pepper kick and light hops at the back end. The carbonation was lively, but the body was thin and watery at times. The finish was crisp and off-dry. Interesting - I would have liked more body and perhaps a little more peppery presence. 5% from Ottawa 25 IBU

BOURBON CASK DARK ALE ~ INNIS & GUNN

This beer has was brewed in small batches and then matured in oak bourbon cask for thirty days. Sampled from a bottle at room temperature, this beer poured a deep hazy chestnut brown with a small tan head. The head left wisps of lacing as it dissipated. The nose contained burned caramel malts, bourbon, treacle, vanilla, dark sweet bread, dark fruit and subtle wood tannins. The flavour has a lovely complexity with oaky bourbon, vanilla, caramel, dark fruits, sweet roasted malts, earthiness, a wisp of smoke, and subtle herbal hops. The beer is quite sweet and would be lovely with a cheese plate after dinner. The mouthfeel was smooth but slightly oily, carbonation was soft and the body was full. A lovely treat – worth hunting down.

7.4% from Glasgow, Scotland

RHUBARB SAISON ~ WELLINGTON

New label, old recipe. This is part of the Wellington Re-boot series. Re-boots are beers that were initially released as a one offs but enjoyed enough success to be revisited and rereleased. This rhubarb saison was initially “Farmers Market Rhubarb Saison.” It is made with over 200 pounds of locally sourced spring rhubarb. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a hazy bright apricot-amber colour with a generous white head, the left cap but no lacing as it receded. Lots of Belgian farmhouse yeast spiciness, florals, and a little rhubarb tartness on the nose. The flavour had a subtle rhubarb acidic tartness with a very weizen-like (banana and spicy yeast) background. The finish was dry and slightly tart. Delicate but refreshing.

5.1% from Guelph, Ontario

CHESHIRE VALLEY ~  ESB
(unfiltered)

My local was lucky enough to get a keg of unfiltered ESB. Sampled on draught the beer poured a hazy honey golden amber colour with sudsy bubbles, much like you find on a cask pull. The bubbles quickly receded leaving light lacing. The nose has notes of floral English hops, hint of piney hops, bready malts, caramel, touch of citrus and a subtle fruitiness. Taste much as would be expected from the nose. The toasted caramel malts are nicely balanced with floral hop bitterness. Notes of delicate fruits, spice and nuts are also present. The carbonation is soft and the body is medium. The brew is chocked full of flavour, easily quaffable and because of its ABV very sessionable too. A proper English Ale.
4.8% from Toronto, Ontario

HOPPERCAR APA ~ JUNCTION CRAFT BREWING

Hoppercar American Pale Ale is actually Junction Conductors Ale that has been dry hopped. Sampled from a tin, the beer poured a clear deep coppery orange with an off white soapy head. The head stuck around before leaving good lacing around the glass. Aroma had come caramel, bready hops, yeast, subtle fruitiness and a variety of hops – pine, grass, floral, citrus. Nicely balanced in taste with caramel malts, soft fruit, biscuit grains, subtle earthiness and an assertive bitter finish. Junction Craft brewing has used five different malts in the brew (from Canada, Germany, France, and England) and also used five different hops (German, Czech and American west Coast). Junction Craft has also come up with a system they call the “hopback” that infuses flavour into the brew between the kettle and the fermenter. Cascade and German Tetnanger are used in the hopback process. The body was medium-plus and the carbonation was on into the moderate soft range. This needs to be a little assertive in the bitterness department to make this sessionable for me, but worth a try.
5.3 % from Toronto, Ontario

JUNCTION CRAFT BREWING ~ TRACKLAYER'S KÖLSCH

Poured from a bottle Tracklayer’s Kölsch poured a clear effervescent pale straw blonde with a good sized, lingering frothy white head. As the foam receded, nice lacing lined the glass. The aroma was somewhat grassy with notes of pale cereals, light florals, light malts (German Best Maltz) and some very subtle orchard fruit (pear and apple?). The flavour had lots of bready grainy malts along with grass and a light fruitiness. The finish is crisp and dry and had a lingering hop bitterness (Tetnanger hops). The body was average and the carbonation was moderate too. This beer is a little hoppier than those found in Köln, but a very nice example of the style.

5% from Toronto 48 IBU

AMSTERDAM ~ 3 SPEED LAGER

I heard an Amsterdam company rep saying this new lager was replacing their now defunct ‘416 local lager’, because it wasn’t selling anywhere but in the 416 (It is the original Toronto area code) Sampled from a tin, the lager poured a clear light straw yellow, with a thin white head. The nose was very mild but did contain notes of grass, pale malts and hops. The taste was very mild too but clean and straightforward - Crackery grains, a little sweetness and grassy hops. The carbonation was lively and lasted throughout the drink, and the body was on the light side, with a watery mouthfeel at times. The brew is pleasant enough, but innocuous. I would still much prefer to drink this over the macros, but light lagers aren’t really my thing. Refreshing beer on a hot day, but nothing special.

4.2% from Toronto, Ontario

Hops: Hallertau
Malts: Canadian Pilsner malt

LEFT FIELD BREWERY ~ PROSPECT SINGLE HOP: MOSAIC

This is the newest offering in Left Field’s Prospect single hopped IPA series. Each incarnation is brewed to the exact recipe except it is single hopped. Sampled from a bottle the beer poured a clear orangey straw colour with a white frothy head, which left nice lacing. The nose is somewhat fruity, especially citrus, but also contains, an earthiness, pine and grassiness. The flavour is hop forward with notes of orange and grapefruit, tropical fruit, and pine. Bready malt is present and provides a good backbone for the hoppiness. The finish is medium bitter with a touch of sweetness. The carbonation was on the lively side and the body was medium. Hops are definitely present and take centre stage but don’t shred your taste-buds. A solid brew!

6.1 % From Toronto 60 IBU

Picture Courtesy of Left Field Brewery

BEER 400!

Here are the beers reviewed #301 to #400

1. Hennepin Saison~ Ommegang ~ Cooperstown, New York
2. Hazelnut Brown Nectar ~ Rogue ~ Newport, Oregon
3. Heineken ~ Heineken ~ Zoeterwoude, Holland Netherlands
4. Stella Artois ~ N.V. Interbrew ~ Leuven, Belgium
5. Vanilla Java Porter ~ Atwater ~ Detroit, Michigan
6. Brooklyn Lager ~ Brooklyn Brewery ~ Utica, New York
7. Arrogant Bastard ~ Stone Brewing ~ Escondido, California
8. Toasted Lager ~ Blue Point Brewing (owned by AB)~ Patchogue, New York
9. Audible Ale ~ Redhook Brewing ~ Portsmouth, New Hamshire
10. Stone IPA ~ Stone Brewing ~ Escondido, California
11. Big wave Golden Ale ~ Kona Brewing Company ~ Kailua, Kona, Hawaii
12. Lagunitas IPA ~ Lagunitas ~ Petaluna, California
13. Spaten München ~ Spaten-Franziskaner Bräu ~ Munich, Germany
14. St. Bernardus Abt 12 ~ Brouwerji St. bernardus ~ Watou, Belgium
15. Berliner Weisse ~ Royal City~ Guelph, Ontario
16. Farm Table IPA ~ Beau’s ~ Vankleek Hill, Ontario
17. Revivale Kölsch ~ Lost Craft ~ Toronto, Ontario
18. Waterloo 1815 ~ Innocente ~ Waterloo, Ontario
19. Odyssey Rustic Lager ~ Steam Whistle Pilot System ~ Toronto, Ontario
20. Saison ~ Collingwood Brewery ~ Collingwood, Ontario
21. Farmhouse Cider ~ Pommies ~ Caledon, Ontario
22. Lavender Pear Cider ~ Spirit Tree ~ Caledon, Ontario
23. Malus-Humulus ~ Great Lakes Brewery & West Avenue Cider ~ Toronto, Ontario
24. Bord Du Lac ~ Amsterdam Brewery ~ Toronto, Ontario
25. Malevolent ~ Nickel Brook ~ Burlington, Ontario
26. Smoked Honey ~ Royal City ~ Guelph, Ontario
27. Patersbier ~ Beau’s ~ Vankleek Hill, Ontario
28. Dry Apple Cider ~ Pommies ~ Caledon, Ontario
29. Black Lager ~ Silversmith ~ Virgil, Ontario
30. ESP ~ County Durham Brewing ~ Pickering, Ontario
31. Canadian Pale Ale ~ Old Tomorrow Brewing ~ Toronto, Ontario
32. Cinco de Habernero ~ Big Rig ~ Ottawa, Ontario
33. Gose ‘round ~ Muskoka ~ Bracebridge, Ontario
34. Cassis Wit ~ Mill Street ~ Toronto, Ontario
35. Body Dubbel (Tank 10) ~ Great Lakes Brewery ~ Toronto, Ontario
36. Dos Equis Lager ~ Heineken ~ Monterrey, Nuevo León Mexico
37. Unfiltered Steam Whistle ~ Steam Whistle ~ Toronto, Ontario
38. Dark Matter Black IPA ~ Junction Craft ~ Toronto, Ontario
39. Frambozen ~ Mill Street ~ Toronto, Ontario
40. Dram in the Park ~ Side Launch ~ Collingwood, Ontario
41. West Toronto Weizen ~ Junction Craft Brewing ~ Toronto, Ontario
42. Barnyard Belgian IPA ~ Indie Ale House ~ Toronto, Ontario
43. Dunkelbach ~ Side Launch ~ Collingwood, Ontario
44. Saison Du Parc ~ Dieu de Ciel! ~ Montreal, Quebec
45. Le Paysan Saison ~ Nickel Brook ~ Burlington, Ontario
46. Ephemere Bluet ~ Unibroue ~ Chamby , Quebec
47. Your Brewhouse or Mine? ~Muskoka & Barrelhouse Brewing ~ Bracebridge, Ontario
48. Party all the Time ~ Block 3 ~ St. Jacob’s, Ontario
49. Salted Pineapple Cider ~ Pommies ~ Caledon, Ontario
50. Dolcis Succubus ~ Le Trou de Diable ~ Shawinigan, Quebec
51. Batch 4 Cherry Saison ~ Innocente ~ Waterloo, Ontario
52. Grolsch ~ Grosch bierbrouwerji ~ Enschede, Netherlands
53. Forgottten Lake Blueberry Ale ~ Lake of the Woods Brewing ~ Kenora, Ontario
54. Cool as a Cuke ~ Muskoka Brewery ~ Bracebridge, Ontario
55. Golden Ale ~ Exchange Brewery ~ Niagara on the Lake, Ontario
56. Stone Hammer Dark ~ Stonehammer ~ Guelph, Ontario
57. Dark Lager ~ Side Launch ~ Collingwood, Ontario
58. Germanic Boch ~ Side Launch ~ Collingwood, Ontario
59. West Coast Session Lager ~ Local 7 ~ Toronto, Ontario
60. Schöfferhofer Weizen ~ Binding Brauerei ~ Frankfurt, Germany
61. Hacker Pschorr Hefe Weisse ~ Paulaner Gruppe ~ Munich, Germany
62. Ambear ~ Cameron’s ~ Oakville, Ontario
63. 12 Minutes to Destiny ~ Flying Monkeys ~ Barrie, Ontario
64. Lucy in the Sky ~ Revel Cider ~ Hamilton, Ontario
65. Muskoka Equinox Cherry Vanilla ~ Muskoka ~ Bracebridge, Ontario
66. Hacker Pschorr Munchener Kellerbeir ~ Paulaner Gruppe ~ Munich, Germany
67. Cross Border Citrus Porter ~ Muskoka & Elliotcottville ~ Bracebridge, Ontario
68. Irish Style Brown Ale ~ Trafalgar ~ Oakville, Ontario
69. Muddy York Porter ~ Muddy York Brewing ~ Toronto, Ontario
70. Oud Bruin ~ Exchange Brewery ~ Niagara on the Lake, Ontario
71. Queen of Tarts ~ Junction Craft Brewing ~ Toronto, Ontario
72. Rye-it Punch ~ Big Rig ~ Ottawa, Ontario
73. Beire de Mars Sweet’n’sowr ~ Oast House ~ Niagara, Ontario
74. Last Ride Loganberry Saison ~ Brimstone ~ Ridgeway, Ontario
75. Shiny Peach ~ Small Talk Cidery
76. Cardinal ~ Revel Cider ~ Hamilton, Ontario
77. Black Sow’r stout ~ Oast House ~ Niagara on the Lake,,Ontario
78. Distillery Root Beer ~ Mill Street ~Toronto, Ontario
79. Buenos Dias ~ Beau’s ~ Vankleek Hill, Ontario
80. Guinness Stout ~ Guinness ~ Dublin, Ireland
81. Niagara Peach Mead ~ Trafalgar meads and ales ~ Oakville, Ontario
82. All Natural Blonde ~ Amsterdam ~ Toronto
83. Brett Saison ~ Le Trois Mousquetaires Brewery ~ Brossard Quebec
84. Catalyst ~ West Ave Cider ~ Flamborough, Ontario
85. Thursty Pike ~ Ganaoque Brewery ~ Gananoque, Ontario
86. Creemore Springs ~ Kolsch ~ Creemore, Ontario
87. Gordon Hill Hefeweizen ~ Royal City ~ Guelph, Ontario
88. Rockwell Pilsner ~ Collingwood Brewery ~ Collingwood, Ontario
89. Root Down ~ Wellington Brewery ~ Guelph, Ontario
90. Hefe ~ Collective Arts ~ Hamilton, Ontario
91. Ceres Cucumber lime Gose ~ Wellington ~ Guelph, Ontario
92. Gramma’s Strawberry Rhubarb Ale ~ Oast House ~ Niagara on the lake, Ontario
93. Heller Highwater ~ Kichesippi Beer Co ~ Ottawa Ontario
94. Against the Currant ~ Wellington ~ Guelph, Ontrio
95. North Country Kellerbier ~ Boshkung Brewing Co ~ Minden Ontario
96. Class V ~ Whitewater Brewing ~ Forresters Falls, Ontario
97. Whistling Paddler ~ Whitewater Brewing ~ Forresters Falls, Ontario
98. No. 14 The Sour ~ Duggan’s ~ Toronto, Ontario
99. Olympia Looping ~ Junction Craft Brewing ~ Toronto, Ontario
100. Danforth Brewing ~ Viaduct IPA ~ Toronto, Ontario

DANFORTH BREWING ~ VIADUCT IPA

My 400th beer goes to Danforth Brewing’s premier offering. Well done guys this is a beautiful beer. Sampled from a tin, the beer poured an orangey amber colour with a generous frothy white head. The nose had lovely caramel malts as well as a complex array of hoppy nots. On the palette the malt backbone is beautifully balanced with piny, grapefruit and spicy hops. Subtle fruitiness can be found mid sip as well. The bitterness is there but does not overpower and highlights the complexity of flavours. The beer is brewed with four types of hops (Chinook, Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe) each added at different stages of the brewing process (brewing, flameout and dry-hopped) imparting the brew with some complexity. The body was medium and the carbonation was moderate. IPA’s are not my favourite style of beer (sorry hop-heads) but it is beer like these that are bringing me around and making me a fan. This is a beautifully crafted beer – look for it at the LCBO and at a few select Toronto Bars.
Viaduct IPA was named after the Prince Edward Viaduct built almost 100 years ago (AKA Bloor Viaduct). The viaduct stimulated growth and development along the Danforth and Toronto’s east end.

6% from Toronto, Ontario 60 IBU

JUNCTION CRAFT BREWING ~ OLYMPIA LOOPING RED WHEAT ALE

Sampled from a bottle, Olympia Looping is a red wheat ale made with Red X malt (known for producing red fiery coloured brews). The beer poured a hazy deep amber-red-rust colour with a generous off white sudsy foam, which left a nice cap and some lacing. The nose is mild with some bubble gum, banana, mild spice and orchard and stone fruits. Tastes much like you would expect from a wheat beer, with a pleasant dry slightly bitter finish. The brew contained lots of off sweet tangy fruity flavours as well, making this quite a refreshing summer sipper. The beer was on the medium side of light in body and the carbonation was slightly soft. A decent sessionable summer drink. BTW “Olympia Looping” is the name of the largest portable steel roller coaster in the world, complete with five loops.

5.2 % from Toronto, Ontario IBU 18

NO. 14 THE SOUR ~ DUGGAN’S BREWERY

Sampled from a tin. The beer poured a cloudy golden amber with a think white head. The head stuck around before leaving a cap and some beautiful lacing. The nose contained lots of grains with a lactic tartness and some subtle citrus fruit. This is less sour than some other Berliner Weisse I have had. The soft sourness makes it quite refreshing without being lip puckering. A straightforward sour ale. 

5.4% from Toronto, Ontario

CLASS V ~ WHITEWATER BREWING

Class V is an IPA from Ottawa Valley brewery, Whitewater Brewing. Sampled fro a tin, from the brewery, the beer poured an ever so slightly hazy deep golden amber, capped with a frothy off white head, which struck around for a few minutes before disappearing, into a small collar and a few patchy bits of lace. The aroma is on the light side and contains subtle notes of bread, caramel malts, a tiny bit of fruitiness and citrusy hop notes. The beer itself was more malt forward than many other IPA’s, and did not taste anywhere close to the 72 IBU’s it advertises. The beer begins with bready malts, a little caramel, a touch of stone fruit and piecrust, followed by lots of grapefruit and a touch of pine from the hops. The bitterness outlasts the malty sweetness in the aftertaste. I actually really liked the balance of the malty sweetness and the hops – I have friends who generally avoid hoppy IPA’s but would gladly drink this. The mouthfeel was smooth, medium-light and somewhat dry. The carbonation was on the soft side. I would even classify this as an English IPA instead of a North American one. A very pleasant brew, worth a try. BTW Whitewater Brewing is located in the Ottawa Valley along the Ottawa River, well known for its rapids. Rapids have a classification system with a ‘Class V’ rapids being the most challenging. 5.5 % from Forrester’s Falls, Ontario 72 IBU
Hops: Cascade and Centennial

WHISTLING PADDLER ~ WHITEWATER BREWING

 

Whistling Paddler is marketed as an English bitter but I think it may be closer to English Pale Ale. Sampled from a growler, the beer poured a clearish copper amber colour with an off white head. The head reduced to a cap leaving some patchy lacing. The nose contained toasty, a nuttiness, caramel, stone fruits, and some earthy-grassy hops. Taste followed the nose with toasty-bready malts, caramel, mild fruits and a mild grassy hop – nicely balanced. The beer had average carbonation and a medium-light mouthfeel. A smooth and uncomplicated easily drinkable beer.

4.5 % from Forresters Falls, Ontario 36 IBU

BOSHKUNG BREWING COMPANY ~ NORTH COUNTRY

North Country is a Keller bier (unfiltered lager) from cottage country. Sampled on draught the beer poured a slightly hazy orange amber colour with a very minimal head that dissipated quickly. The nose was straightforward and simple containing caramel, cereal malts, biscuit, very subtle fruits and an earthy grassiness. The taste is malty upfront, with a touch of fruitiness, a touch of sweetness, bread dough, and an herbal grassy hop finish. The finish was moderately clean and off dry. The body was medium light and the carbonation was moderate too. A decent enough Keller bier, especially if one is sitting on the dock on a hot summers day.

5.0% from Minden, Ontario    23 IBU

Gold Medal Winner Canadian Brewing Awards.

Picture Courtesy : Boshkung Brewing Twitter

AGAINST THE CURRANT ~ WELLINGTON 

“Against the Currant” is a Kettle sour with local Ontario black currants. It was made in collaboration with “Escarpment Laboratories,” with whom Wellington shares their facilities with; they provide many local brewers with a local yeast source. Kettle souring uses lactobacillus to lower the pH of the beer in the kettle, which produces lactic acid. When the desired sourness is achieved, the kettle is then boiled to kill remaining lactobacillus. Sampled on draught the beer poured a moderately clear slightly pinkish colour with a thin white head, which receded quickly. The nose contains black currants and some grassiness and grains. The beer was sour without being puckering. The currants give it a little sweetness but don’t impede on the tartness – a few notes of lemon are also apparent. The carbonation was moderate-soft and the body was light. I really enjoyed this, I found it very refreshing, and the tart and sweet were well balanced. This summer has been super hot with heat warnings for weeks on end, this one hits the spot.

5.5 % from Guelph, Ontario

HELLER HIGHWATER ~ 

KICHESIPPI BEER CO.

What a cleaver name for a Helles lager! Sampled on draught, this Bavarian style lager poured a fairly clear golden amber colour with a sudsy white head that receded, and left a sheet at the top, and some lacing. The nose contained lots of earthy-bready-grains, honey-caramel malts, with floral and grassy hop notes. The taste too was very grain forward, with honey sweetness, bready malts, a slight pepperiness and a touch of lemon citrus. The grassy/floral hops at the end impart a slight bitterness and a crisp dryness. The body is medium and smooth, and the carbonation is on the soft side. I found this a very pleasant lager, but perhaps not a session beer, as the honey sweetness becomes a little cloying after the second pint.
Hops: German noble hops
Yeast: genuine Munich yeast

4.8% from Ottawa, Ontario IBUs: 19