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

GOLDEN ALE ~ EXCHANGE BREWERY

This beer is a real treat – I look forward to more from this brewery. This golden ale is made in the style of Belgian Ale. It is brewed with Belgian house yeast and aged in French oak barrels with . Sampled on draught the beer poured a golden yellow with a white head, which left fabulous lacing. The nose was as complex as the taste with notes of white wine, slight sourness, light fruits, and a little funk. The taste had plenty of white wine (from being aged in Chardonnay barrels), Belgian yeasts, subtle fruitiness, vanilla, oak, hay and grassy hops. Beautifully complex and nicely balanced.

Hops: Cascade and Mosaic.
7.6% from Niagara on the Lake      33 IBU

BODY DUBBEL (TANK TEN) ~ GREAT LAKES BREWERY

Sampled on draught, this Belgian Dubbel Ale poured a hazy orangey copper mahogany colour with a persistent off white head, that left great lacing. The nose contained dark fruits, plums, raisin, Belgian yeast, and brown sugar. The beer is sweet up front with notes of dark fruits (plus, figs, raisins), and spicy grains, molasses and caramel, followed by peppery phenolic yeast. The bitterness of the grassy hops if soft, the carbonation is moderate and the body is in the medium range. There is a nice dialogue between the sweetness and the malts, but the beer lacks complexity. At times it seems a little thin for a dubbel. Quite enjoyable and good, but not outstanding.

6.3% from Etobicoke Toronto, Ontario IBU 18

MAUDITE ~ UNIBROUE

Brewed since 1992, Maudite (Cursed, in English) is Strong Red ale, sometimes categorized as a Belgian dubbel. Sampled on draught, the beer poured an ever so slightly cloudy deep amber colour with red highlights. The beige head had fantastic retention before leaving rings of lacing. The nose like the taste had lots of complexity. Toasty Malts, orange peel, floral hops, honey, dark fruits and coriander and cloves, all swirl around in the nose. The taste has notes honey sweetness, caramel and bready malts, nuttiness, dark fruit, yeasts and spice. Crisp hop bitterness finishes the beer, along with warming alcohol. The body was medium heavy and syrupy, this was counterbalanced with lively fine carbonation. This is a complex ale, packed with a plethora of flavour. Very drinkable!
8% from Chambly, Quebec IBU 22

LA FIN DU MONDE ~ UNIBROUE

Brewed since 1994, La Fin Du Monde (End of the World) is a Belgian style tripel. It has won more medal and awards than any other Canadian brew to date. Sampled on draught the beer poured a slightly cloudy orangey-golden colour with a generous bone-white head. The ale retained the head for quite a while before it dissipated and left a generous amount of lasting lacing. The nose contained florals, bready malts, spicy Belgian yeast, coriander and clove, fruit (especially banana) and alcohol. The flavour was comprised of spicy Belgian yeasts and fruit, spice and bready malts. The finish was dry and smooth with a warming alcohol sensation. The carbonation was moderate with pinpoint carbonation. The body too was is the medium range. Overall this beer is a great Belgian tripel (without actually being Belgian). It has a lovely complexity to its flavours. A rich treat.

9% Chambly, Quebec IBU 19

COUSIN ABBEY’S DUBBEL ~ OAST HOUSE

Cousin Abbey’s Dubbel is a very drinkable offering from Niagara’s Oast House brewery. Sampled on draught, it poured a clear very dark amber, with an off white head that quickly disappeared. The aroma contained lots of sweet malts, caramel, toffee, with notes of spice and fruit, and a whiff of booze. The taste was similar. The beer was sweet with lots of Demerara sugar and molasses. Sweet malts, plums and other over ripe fruits, spicy and estery Belgian Yeast, and vanilla all contribute to the flavour. The beer also tastes like it may have been stored in rum barrels, which have left an earthy and boozy taste. I find it medium to full-bodied, with moderate to low carbonation. Very warming on a winter’s night.

6.9% from Niagara on the Lake, Ontario IBU 18

LIVING IN COLOUR ~ BLOCK 3 BREWING

Living in Colour is a 

Belgian Style Pale ale.  Sampled on draught.  This is the breweries third iteration of this beer, hence “Batch #3”.  Each batch has been made with different configuration of hops. In this batch Block 3 used multiple yeasts, four hops (Amarillo, Kohatu, Chinook and Columbus) and three malts (Pilsner, Vienna and Abbey).  This beer poured a light straw colour.  The nose was quite citrusy with a little spice.  The taste is quite citrusy, with lemon tartness and a mild grapefruit in there too.  This mild ale, also had bready yeasts, cereal flavours and a very subtle piny-ness too.  The finish was dry and has a very mild bitterness.  Medium mouth feel with good effervescent carbonation.

4.7%  from St. Jacob’s Ontario      15 to 20 IBU

LENOIR ~ BELL CITY

Sampled from a tin. Bell City has made Lenoir, Belgian style ale, using a classic recipe.  It pours a clear light amber/golden colour with a moderate head.   The nose was mild and contained notes of spice (clove), ripe fruit banana, peach, sweet esters of Belgian yeast, and candy sugar.  I found this beer a little sweet for my tastes, but is a very pleasant and a good example of the style.  The malts tasted quite sweet as well as the fruity esters, I was even getting a lot of bubble gum.  The brewery states they use lots of Belgian Candi Sugar, (a sugar often used in making dubbels or tripels) as their added touch.  Lenoir was the second core brand for the newish Bell City Brewery. It is names after Etienne Lenoir, the Belgian inventor of the internal combustion engine.

6.5%  from Brantford, Ontario             18 IBU