RHYME & REASON ~ COLLECTIVE ARTS

Rhyme and Reason is an American Pale Ale, meant to be more sessional than an American IPA, it still holds the hops in the spotlight. Sampled from a tin the beer poured a cloudy bright golden orange with a generous tight white head, that left some fabulous lacing, after lingering for a good ten minutes plus. The aroma had lots of hops - citrus, earthy resiny pine, light malt caramel, and hints of tropical fruits. The flavour is a lovely balance of caramel malt sweetness (Crystal Carafoam and Wheat Flakes) paired with hop forward flavours of pine and grapefruit, with subtle tropical fruits, grass and citrus. The bitterness is present but not overpowering. The body was medium and the mouthfeel had a creaminess, but was also slightly oily. Carbonation was moderate, and the finish was off-dry and crisp, with a little lingering bitterness. This is a more complex brew than others in this style, with layers of flavours from the hop profile. Definitely worth a try.

Bittering Hops: German magnum
Flavour Hops: Citra and Centennial
Dry Hop: Citra, Centennial, Chinook, Simcoe
Malt: Pale Ale, Crystal, Carafoam, Toasted Wheat Flakes

5.7% from Hamilton, Ontario 55 IBU

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

COOL AS A CUKE ~ MUSKOKA BREWERY

Cool as a Cuke is the latest offering in Muskoka Brewery’s ‘Moonlight Kettle’ series, that offers a new and unique beer each month. Cool as a cuke is an American Pale Ale brewed with cucumber and lemongrass. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a very light hazy yellow with a moderate white head. The head had great retention and left lovely lacing as it disappeared. The aroma contained lots of cucumber – with a touch of sweetness and a citrusy lemongrass. The taste has lots of florals, the lemongrass adds to the American hop bitterness, then is followed by clean crisp cucumber and subtle melon notes. This is quite refreshing and different – quite yummy!

4.7% from Guelph, Ontario 30 IBU

Malt: Canadian 2-Row Malt, Maris Otter, Wheat
Hops: Magnum, Cascade, Sorachi Ace

LOUIS CIFER ~ DARK HORSE COFFEE APA

Louis Cifer is a brew pub on the Danforth, which has been there now for several years. Stepping in for dinner I was surprised how full the large space was on a very cold night. The place is set up like a large US brewpub: big, loud, service oriented, with mediocre food. They have about a dozen taps of house beer and about the same of guest taps. Several of my choices were sold out, so the waitress brought over several samples, most of which were nothing special, this interesting brew was the best of the bunch. The brewers, in collaboration with Dark Horse Coffee, have created an America pale ale infused with espresso beans. An odd combination, but I think this one worked. The brewers used a single hop APA (citra hops) to highlight the rich espresso flavours. Sampled on draught the beer poured a rich golden orange colour, with a no head. There was a ton of caffeine on the nose along with citrusy notes from the hops. The taste also had massive coffee flavour with a pleasant, but not overpowering citra hop kick at the end. The combination of bold coffee flavour with a light beer was strange but successful. Reading the reviews this one seems to be the best of the bunch.

5.2% from Toronto, Ontario 35 IBU

NAUGHTY NEIGHBOUR ~ NICKEL BROOK

Sampled from a fresh tin (made with no preservatives), Naughty Neighbour is an American Style Pale Ale. The ‘neighbour’ part of the name is a reference to our neighbour to the south. The beer poured a cloudy light amber colour with a sizeable eggshell head. The head lasted a while and left some lacing as it disappeared. The beer was clearly unfiltered and left some sediment at the bottom of the glass. The nose was dominated by hops at first, leading with citrus and pine (cascade, centennial and Citra); there were also subtle fruity esters (tropical fruit) happening and a hint of grain and bread. The flavour is crisp and clean. Lots of citrus and pine in the flavour but there are also more subtle flavours in the background: tropical fruit, floral, grass, bread. This pretty juicy APA finished with a moderate hop kick and a dry finish. The carbonation was moderate (the beer is naturally carbonated) and the beer was full flavoured. Tons of flavour and a low ABV make this a great session beer. For me personally, I prefer my session beer to be a little less hoppy.

4.9 % from Burlington, Ontario 38 IBU

NAVIGATOR II ~ MILL STREET

Sampled from the cask, on draught.  This version of Navigator (an American IPA) was extra hopped in the cask and aged in oak.  It had a citrusy nose and flavour, while retaining hints of wheat.   The bitterness was moderate but not overpowering.  The hops gave it some pine/resin character.  The alcohol content was a little astringent, but an enjoyable brew.  I am sorry a multinational corporation has bought out this brewery.  Though they will still brew in the same brewery with the same recipes and care, I am sorry to see Canadian ownership slip away.

6.7% from Toronto, Ontario

GRANDSTAND ~ LEFT FIELD BREWERY

Grandstand is the newest offering from the Left Field Brewery, making its debut on August 31^st, 2015.  It is a hoppy wheat made up of 50% wheat with Simcoe, Citra and Centennial Hops.  It pours a rich cloudy gold and smells of grapefruit and other more subtle fruits.  The wheat gives it a crispness, but hops are the most dominant flavour.  I found this similar to American Pale Ale made with wheat instead of barley.  Very quaffable!

 

5.5% from (East) Toronto

MARIS* ~ LEFT FIELD BREWERY

American Pale ale.  Maris* pours a deep gold with small white head, that lingers.  Subtle malts, pine, florals and bread make up the nose.  The beer has a pleasant bitterness upfront, which is balanced with the malts.  The beer is refreshing, not super complex or over done.  A nice session beer.

Left Field is a new Toronto brewery.  It is located in a laneway in the east end of the city, located not to far from the very first baseball field in Toronto.  The beer is named after Roger Maris who beat Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1961.  The beer is also made with Maris Otter Malt.

4.5% from Toronto     IBU 30
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