CUVÉE ~ NICKEL BROOK

Cuvee is an auburn ale, brewed with both North American and European malts, Caribbean demerara, fruits (figs, orange peel, raisin), herbs and spice (cinnamon, all spice, black pepper, cardamom and vanilla beans) and then aged in bourbon barrels. Good fresh and great for cellaring. Sampled on draught, the brew poured a very murky brown, with a finger’s height of puffy frothy beige head, which left some leggy lacing. The aroma contained spices, white wine, dried fruit, dark fruit, herbal notes, sugar, roasted grains, citrus and subtle oak, bourbon and vanilla - wonderfully complex. The flavour was just as complex, with flavours of spice, fruit, Christmas cake, wine, caramel-sugar sweetness, orange peel with a tart finish and notes of pepper, vanilla and oaky bourbon. The beer had a medium to full body, lots of active carbonation, and a slightly drying finish. A delicious and complex beer, I would love to know what an aged bottle tastes like. Expensive but worth it!
8% from Burlington, Ontario

BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE ~ WEST AVENUE CIDER

West Avenue has no shortage of interesting and innovative ciders, along with some very good traditional ones. Bizarre Love Triangle was created using molasses, wintery spices and muscovado sugar and aged for a year in bourbon barrels. Sampled on draught the cider poured a slightly opaque rich golden amber. The flapper and the nose had complexity. The nose contained spices (cinnamon, cloves, etc) as well an a rich fruitiness along with the apples. The spice and the sweetness is cut by the tartness of the apples. A lovely woody nuttiness is evident from barrel aging. The cider is not heavily carbonated and has a lovely boozy warmth. A lovely winter bevvie!

7.2% from Flamborough, Ontario

Photo Courtesy of West Avenue Instagram

FIEBRE DE CALABAZA ~ SAWDUST CITY 

Fiebre De Calabaza is one crazy brew! It is a sour Bourbon barrel fermented oatmeal stout with Mexican spices and pumpkin on nitro. Sampled on draught at Sawdust City’s Annual tap takeover, this stout poured a deep mahogany brown-black with a generous pillowy beige head. The nose contains a plethora of smells: sour, spice, smoke, pumpkin, fruit, roasted malts, chocolate…. The taste is as complex. The beer’s first impression is that of a sour stout, with vinous dark fruit. This is followed by roasted malts, chocolate and cocoa and woody notes from the barrel aging and then finishes with heat from the Mexican spices and habanero at the back of your throat. The body is medium and the carbonation was average to light. There is a lot going on here, this is definitely a beer for the adventurous. Interesting but I could not have more than one.
6.5% from Gravenhurst, Ontario 35 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

DRAM IN THE DARK ~ SIDE LAUNCH

Dram in the Dark seems to be a special edition made by Side Launch for a ‘tap-takeover’ for several bars in Toronto. The beer is a dark lager that has been aged in Jack Daniels casks. Sampled on draught, the beer poured dark brown with a modest tan head. The nose was woody and earthy with notes of caramel, a buried dark fruits. The beer was rich, sweet and slightly boozy. Notes of dark fruit and roasted malts were evident. The caramel sweetens as the beer warms. I have tried this several times; the first is when the small cask was tapped and then several days later. Interestingly the beer several days later had much more noticeable smoky and woody characteristics. This would be a lovely end of the night sipper. Really delicious, quite a treat - almost a dessert beer. 

6% from Collingwood, Ontario