TERRESTRIAL INDIA BROWN ALE ~ WELLINGTON BREWERY

5.9% from Guelph, Ontario

Terrestrial Brown Ale was originally brewed as A Well One-Off, to be a bridge between trend and tradition, it has now been Re-Booted. It is billed as an India Brown Ale. Sampled on draught the beer poured a clear rich mahogany brown with an average foamy beige head, with good retention and nice lacing. The aroma had notes of roasted caramel, an earthiness, grainy malt, nuttiness, cocoa, citrus -leafy -floral- grassy hops ( a blend of five hops: Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, Sorachi Ace and Amarillo). The favour has some nice caramel malt sweetness alongside a plethora of hop flavours (leafy-citrus, floral, earthy). Notes of cereals, nuttiness, bread crusts, and subtle dark fruit, and perhaps a touch of cocoa are to be found too. A decent amount of hop bitterness is to be found on the finish. The body is average and the beer has a smooth creamy texture. Carbonation is pleasant and average. I quite liked this hoppy brown, a nice crossover.

BROWN ~ BLACK BELLOWS

Sampled on draught this Belgian brown ale poured a hazy medium brown with a minimal bone coloured head. I have seen it billed as both a dubbel and a brown ale, I would place this more in the brown ale category. It is a seasonal small batch release. The nose has lots of sweet toffee and caramel notes along with fruity esters. The taste also had lots of caramel richness along with plums, raisin, toasted malts, with hints of berry tartness and chocolate. The body was medium, the carbonation soft and the mouthfeel was creamy and smooth. Quite a pleasant quaff, worth trying.

6.5% from Collingwood, Ontario

Photo Courtesy of Black Bellows Facebook 

CHOCOHOLIC (IXCOLATE) ~ BARNSTORMER BREWING

Chocoholic AKA IXCOLATE (ex-co-la-tee) is a collaboration with a local Belgian Chocolatier. It is a brown ale brewed with Ecuadorian cocoa nibs. Sampled on draught the ale poured a very opaque deep chestnut brown, with an average beige head. The head left some nice lacing as it receded into a ring around the top. The nose contained roasted malts, chocolate, and a hint of dark fruit. The flavour followed as expected: roasted malts, caramel, coffee, nuts and berries. The flavours were mild with a slight lingering milky chocolate. The body was light and had a creamy mouthfeel, and the carbonation was soft. A nice way to finish the evening, but to rich to have several.

5.2% from Barrie, Ontario 16 IBU

RIFLEMAN’S RATION ~ BLACK CREEK BREWERY

Rifleman’s ration is advertised as a Historic Beer of Canada made by Black Creek Brewery. The beer was originally brewed to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. The beer is loosely based on a British Brown Ale that each soldier would have had daily ration for, an is brewed with local grains. The commercially available beer is not actually made at Black Creek (a pioneer village in North Toronto) but on contract with Trafalgar Ales and Meads. Sampled from a bottle, the beer poured clear reddish brown amber with a beige coloured head, that settled quickly into a ring around the glass, leaving nice lacing. The nose contained lots of roasted and toasted malts, caramel, mild leafy bitterness, maple sweetness, a hint of fruit, nuttiness, and a touch of smoke. The flavour follows as would be expected: malty, smoky, toasty, maple and brown sugar sweetness, nuts, hint of fruit and biscuits. The finish is slightly bitter with a grass English style hops. The carbonation is quite soft and still, the mouthfeel is smooth and the body is on the thin side. I think this would be very good on cask, with the warmer pour and the low carbonation. This is a quite drinkable, simple Brown Ale.

5% from Toronto, Ontario

IRISH STYLE BROWN ALE ~ TRAFALGAR ALES AND MEADS

Sampled from a bottle the beer poured beautiful reddish brown amber, with a slight cloudiness and a good-sized sudsy beige head. The head dissipated fairly quickly leaving a cap and lacing. The nose was mild but did contain a nuttiness, grains, an earthiness and caramel malts. Taste too has lots of caramel malts and biscuity grains, finishing with a mild old world hop bitterness. The body is on the thin side of mediums and was a little watery at times. The beer is smooth and has soft carbonation. The finish is bitter sweet with roasted malts and mild hops. Over all a simple approachable brown ale. I would have liked a little more body but this is decent and easy to drink.
5% from Oakville, Ontario

MOROCCAN BROWN ~ SPEARHEAD

Sampled on draught, Moroccan Brown is an American-Style Brown Ale. It is inspired by the flavours of the Maghreb region of Morocco and is brewed with cinnamon, dates, raisins and figs. The beer poured a hazy dark brown colour with coppery highlights and a creamy off white head that left some good lacing after lingering for quite a while. Dried fruit, dark tree fruit, caramel and Demerara sugar, and dark malts make up the nose. The taste is similar to the nose with dark malts, fruit, Demerara sugar spice and a mild hop bitterness, which gives the brew a dry finish. The beer has a medium carbonation and body and is very nicely balanced. I enjoyed this brew and would love to sip on it while sampling from a cheese plate.

6% from Toronto, Ontario

BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER CHAI ~ COVERED BRIDGE BREWING

This beer, sampled on draught, is spiced brown ale. The beer had a clear rich reddish brown pour with a small off-white head. The nose is swirling with spices (especially ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom), chai and notes of the nutty brown ale. The nose reminds me of gingerbread with notes of cardamom, sweet tea and cinnamon. The taste was very similar to the nose with lots of spice and tasty fruity malt. The beer has low hop bitterness and lots of spices on a dry finish. The carbonation was on the low side of moderate and the body was medium – thin. This beer is unique and not to everyone’s taste, but I really enjoyed this.

5.1 % from Stittsville, Ontario

DOGBOLTER ~ AMSTERDAM

Sampled on draught, DogBolter is an American Brown Ale. It is only available at their Brew House, retail shops, and select bars. The beer was one of the first to be brewed at the original Amsterdam and Rotterdam Brew Houses in downtown Toronto in the 1990’s. The beer poured a dark Mahogany brown with ruby highlights with a medium sized creamy beige head. Dark roasted malts, molasses, piny hops, earth and cocoa make up a complex nose. The beer had a strong malty backbone, with notes of cocoa, earthiness, sweet dark roasted malts, and a touch of fruit and citrus. The finish was dry with a pleasant piny hop bitterness. The body was medium and the carbonation was moderate. I really liked the balance of the sweet and hoppy. Will look for this again.

6.2% from Toronto, Ontario 50 IBU

ROASTED CHESTNUT BROWN ALE ~ OAST HOUSE

Sampled on Draught. This Brown Ale is quite mild all around. The beer poured and dark straw colour with orangey undertones. The nose is mild with malts and a touch of tropical fruit. The beer was fairly light on the palette. Lots of malts provided the backbone, but I got little chestnut in the flavour. It was sweet like an English mild, with a wee bit of hop bitterness at the end. Not bad, but I think I would have preferred it to have more guts.

5% from Niagara, Ontario

DEEP TRACKS ~ FLYING MONKEYS

Sampled on draft, Deep Tracks is an American Brown Ale.  It pours a dark mahogany brown, with a reddish hue and a good off-white head.  The nose has lots of nutty notes, as well as a touch of chocolate, caramel and herbals.  The beer itself is fairly full flavoured.  In the beginning the taste is much like the nose, with the nuttiness shining through.  Centennial hops give the beer a bitter citrusy and piny kick.  I think I would have preferred a subtler finish to this otherwise palatable beer.

6.2%  from Barrie, Ontario      

25 IBU

~EEPHUS OATMEAL BROWN ALE ~ 

LEFT FIELD BREWERY

Eephus is a satisfying creamy fall beer. It pours a dark brown with a light brown head. It has a rich nose filled with caramel malts, burnt sugar, toasted oats and nuts.  Flavour is full with toasted oats, caramel, burnt sugar, and roasted malts.  The brew finished with a slightly dry hoppy finish, a perfect compliment to the sweetness of the ale.  Well done.

All of Left Field’s names are baseball related as the brewery is located not far from the historic Sunlight Park in Toronto (read more here More on Sunlight Park.   An eephus pitch (also spelled Ephus) is a low speed and high arching pitch, meant to catch the batter off guard.  The invention of the pitch is credited to Rip Sewell of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1940’s

5.5% from Toronto (East End), Ontario     35 IBU