INKHORN ~ FOLLY BREWING

According the the brewery this beer is a Belgian-dubbel inspired ale with a Brettanomyces Lambicus fermentation. Sampled on draught this brew pours a reddish brown with an average beige head. The nose is quite fruity with notes of fig, raisin, vinous grapes, tart fruit, sour cherry, earthiness, spice, caramel and bready malts. The taste follows the nose - beautiful sourness, chocolate, ripe dark fruit, spice, figs, bread malts, pepper, and some vinous notes. This has a beautiful complexity with lots of flavour swirling around, but the body still remains on the light side. The toasted malts give way to a slightly lingering tartness making this a remarkably refreshing beer. The carbonation was soft. I would say this brew is not a dubbel, but much more of a Flanders Red. I really enjoyed this one, flavours marry nicely.
HOPS: German Magnum, German Tradition
YEAST: Our House "George Blend”

MALT: Pilsner, Caramunich I, Melanoidin, Special W

6.5% from Toronto, Ontario

ROYAL CITY ~ BELGIAN BROWN

Well done Royal City!  This is difficult to compare to their Belgian counterparts, because usually the Belgian Oud Bruin, has been aged and in the bottle for quite a while at the time of consumption.  It would be interesting to see what this lovely brew does when aged.  Sampled on draught the beer pours slightly hazy reddish brown with a modest cream head that quickly dissipated into thin cap.  The nose contained some vinous notes, dark fruit and ripe berries, and light vinegar sourness.  The flavour has a plethora of flavours, beginning with a little sour vinous/balsamic vinegar notes, with lots of fruit, dark fruitcake, a touch of molasses and toasty sweet malts.  The beer was full flavoured, medium in body and soft in carbonation.  I quite enjoyed this one – good job Royal City!

7.5% from Guelph, Ontario

photo courtesy of Royal City Twitter

OUD BRUIN ~ EXCHANGE BREWERY

I think this new Brewery from Niagara on the Lake may be one to watch out for. I have really enjoyed both Belgian style offerings I have had thus far. The Oud Bruin is a Flanders style Brown ale, aged in red wine barrels. Sampled on draught it poured an opaque rich mahogany colour with a thin cream head. The nose had lots of red wine with black currants, balsamic vinegar, barrel oakiness, rich malts and sourness. The taste fills your mouth with complex flavours: red wine and touch of sweet balsamic, dark fruits, sherry, and rich sourness. The sourness is not overpowering and lends some complexity to the brew. The beer was made with Chilean malts and fermented in pearl Morrisette red wine barrels for five months with Brett and lactobacillus. The carbonation is quite soft and the body is on the cusp of medium and full. An impressive first sour from this brewery, in fact one of the best domestic examples of this style. Bravo Exchange.

6.5% from Niagara on the Lake 27 IBU