Great Lakes Canuck Pale

Name: Canuck Pale Ale
Style: Pale ale
ABV: 5.2%
Serving: 650ml bottle
Brewery: Great Lakes Brewery
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Weblink: Great Lakes beer

Well now, this is more like it. A good big bottle, shared with Pyropette, nice and cold on a muggy, hot summer day. Ok, so the bottle has a touque and a pair of skis on it, so perhaps I'm a bit behind the season, but it seems to sit just as well at 25°C as -25°C. Anyways up, to the beer!

The beer pour (or was poured for me, if I'm honest!) a good, rich copper-amber colour, with a thick head of fine, off-white bubbles sitting atop. The aromas are a pleasantly subtle hoppy, floral bouquet, with a warm hint of white sugar and grapefruit lingering behind. In the mouth the flavours are dominated by strong, toasted caramel, orange and spun sugar. This slowly fades back to reveal the aromatic hop notes (with a more herbal character than was evident on the nose) riding on top of a backbone of mixed metaphors and wholemeal bread toast malt. Toward the back of the mouth the flavours dry up nicely, leaving just a yeasty-toasty-hoppy flavour and, again, that white sugar quality.

Much much more to my taste than the Stone IPA. While the Stone beat you over the head with its hop-and-nothing-else approach, this beer balances the powerful hop bitterness with a very well-judged caramel and malt structure. This surprise me somewhat, as recently I haven't had a good run of luck with Great Lakes beers. Anyway, if I can get hold of this one again in the future, I'll definitely buy a couple.

Kichesippi Natural Blonde

Name: Natural Blonde
Style: Blonde ale
ABV: 4.9%
Serving: 20oz pint
Where: Pub Italia, Ottawa
Brewery: Kichesippi Beer Co. (whoever they are...)
Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada
Weblink: Kichesippi Beer Co.

Bit of a mystery this one. It just appeared in the "Beer Bible" at Pub Italia recently, and there isn't much info out there. It is listed as being brewed "less than 5km from Pub Italia" but I can't find anything else out about the elusive Kichesippi Beer Co. And yes, they do appear to spell Kichesippi with only one "s" and an "e"; it appeared as such in both the bible and printed on the pint glass. Whether this is a beer brewed by Heritage/Scotch Irish or The Clocktower (possibly specially for the pub) or whether this is a completely new brewery isn't clear. Anyway, I'll update this when I get more details... probably tomorrow!

The beer arrived with a dense white head of small bubbles perched on top of a deep yellow-amber body, supported by almost lager-like effervescence. The aromas were mostly fruity, with a hint of hoppy florals behind it, dominated by an orange and grapefruit palette. In the mouth there is a surprising amount of body for a blonde ale, with plenty of malty goodness to be had, but cut with a fresh citrusy zing. The aftertaste was all yeast and malt, and lingered for a good long time.

All in a very impressive summer beer. Definitely on the right end of the alcohol scale for volume consumption during the summer and one I can see me enjoying on and off for many months to come. I'll be very surprised if this turns out to be a Hertiage beer as it seems like quite a departure from their usual offerings, but in the same breath it just doesn't strike me as a Clocktower brew either. Expect an update tomorrow!

Update 20/05/10: As promised, enquiries were made... Turns out I had the spelling wrong (it is even more odd than I had originally remembered) and when corrected it means that they do have a website! A completely new operation brewing using the Heritage facilities just off Carling Avenue, apparently.

Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion

Name: Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale
Style: Pale ale
ABV: 5.0%
Serving: 355ml bottle
Brewery: Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Location: Barrie, ON, Canada
Weblink: Coming soon... apparently.

So... normal service resumes after my patriotic digression (stands, hums GSTQ, salutes smartly, suppresses belch) and it's back to Ontario we go. A fairly new offering from a fairly new brewery. The Flying Monkeys outfit was formerly known as the rather more sober Robert Simpson Brewery, only changing name a couple of years ago. They are pioneering a range of experimental and very tasty beers, this one being possibly their best know. So, let's hop to it.

Hoptical Illusion pours a beautiful golden amber colour, as you'd expect from the full name it is a bit darker than your average pale ale, almost into proper amber territory. The head is a fizzy amalgam of large bubbles, but this subsides fairly quickly to the default ale light slick of fine froth. The aroma of the beer is solidly hoppy, with the distinctive medicinal resinous floral citrus mix that you'd expect from something with a name like this. There is something else there as well, but I can't quite hold on to it. Every time I get close it slips away again... I'll let you know if I ever track it down. In the mouth the first hit you get is of a refreshing lemonyness with a side order of gentle malty toffee. Then through come the flowers, and that resinous scent as well. A hint of black pine in the sun, with cool mountain air blowing through the boughs. Finally, as the beer slips past your tonsils, the hop notes slide sideways into a malty, yeasty rush that diffuses up into your nose.

Somewhere soon on here (I hope) you'll get a review of Beau's new I.P.Eh? beer. That one is a hop monster, and I think the name of this beer might lull people into thinking you'd be in for more of the same. However, that's all part of the illusion. If all you could do was smell the beer then you might be expecting a mouth puckering IPA, but what you end up with is a very nicely balanced, drinkable ale. Well done Monkeys, I hope they are paying you enough peanuts.

Heritage Blackcurrant Rye

Name: Blackcurrant Rye
Style: Dark lager with fruit
ABV: 4.5%
Serving: 650ml bottle
Brewery: Heritage Brewing Limited
Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada
Weblink: Heritage Brewing seasonal beer

Yet another of the winter leftovers, but this time we're bringin' it on home! Pyropette and myself bought a couple of bottles of this directly from the brewery right here in Ottawa. Well, it is only a bus ride from work and a bus ride from home. We've had a few glasses of their regular Premium Lager and, on tap, it is very pleasant. Their dark lager however... well, not so keen. A bit sour and with a very odd set of overly subdued flavours. Perhaps I'll review that at some point in the future, but let's stick with the blackcurrant for now, brewed in November using local blackcurrants.

The beer pours very thin, and even with a fair amount of abuse produces no head to speak of, just a few fine bubbles at the periphery. The beer has almost no effervescence, just a slight pétillance at the edges of the tongue. This is a common failing of Heritage's bottled beers, I find, and might be related to the softness of Ottawa's water supply. The nose is quite sour, with a slightly unpleasant sulphurous and burnt toast hint. However, underlying this is a solidly dense blackcurranty fruityness. The first sips follow the same pattern, with most initial taste dominated by the sour rye malts, slightly over-toasted I feel, with blackcurrant only coming through very late. Gradually, as you drink through a glassful, however, these sour grain flavours disappear and all you are left with is a slightly tart but very richly blackcurranty and refreshing beer. There is still some lingering sour mash flavour, but it doesn't detract too much. The aftertaste, unfortunately, reverts to the slightly vegetal sour scents, with a hint of toasted grains. All in, when it was fresh this beer was a pleasant, if unimpressive, fruity dark lager. It is let down by the sour notes which don't help it, and it hasn't aged gracefully over the last five months. This suggests that it should be drunk young, but it feels like it would be a much better summer beer. However, I suppose when you are brewing with fresh local ingredients you have to take them when they are in season.

Amsterdam Big Wheel

Name: Big Wheel Deluxe Amber
Style: Amber ale
ABV: 5.0%
Serving: 341ml bottle
Brewery: Amsterdam Brewing Co. Limited
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Weblink: Amsterdam Beer

Just spotted this in the delightful confines of the Beer Store. Not always a propitious location for an ad hoc beer purchase (for non-Ontarians, this place is one of only two major chains that sell beer here, and tends to major in bulk purchases of cheap swill) but I've been meaning to pick up an Amsterdam beer for a while, and their newest offering seemed like a reasonable start. Besides, I had, ooh, at least four bucks burning a hole in my pocket from bottle returns.

Oop... opening the boxed six pack reveals pale green glass bottles and a distinctly funky, summer and yoof orientated branding. Light green glass, such as you might find for a white wine bottle, is not something I'm accustomed to see outside of the lager shelves. Not that I'm complaining, you understand, in fact I'm a cyclist so anything with a bike on gets my vote. However, it does point toward this being Amsterdam's attempt at a populist beer. Continuing with visual impressions, the beer pours quite nicely, with a dense, thick, off-white head sitting on top of a crisply clear, deep copper-orange body. The head lingers for a fair old while too, taking at least half the glass to disappear.

In terms of flavour, well yes, this is definitely the beer that Amsterdam is hoping will turn a few of the lager-drinking summer terasse/patio crowd on to something darker. There isn't much of anything going on; some bitterness, but not a lot, some maltiness, but not a lot, and some floral hoppy character, but not a lot. Underlying all this is a lingering, softening sweetness, with a backnote hint of wheaty caramel. I think the correct damning-with-faint-praise oneophile term is "approachable". Not that this is always a bad thing, just make sure that it is what you are looking for in your beer. This would indeed be a great beer to consume in quantity (although, as so often unfortunately, the strength of this beer militates against that somewhat) say on a terasse with friends on a long, balmy summer's evening.

Barley Days Cherry Porter

Name: Yuletide Cherry Porter
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.5%
Serving: 341ml bottle
Brewery: Barley Days Brewery
Location: Prince Edward County, ON, Canada
Weblink: Barley Days

So, a few leftovers from Christmas indulgence. Got to get these drunk before we stock up on the summer brews! So Sunday afternoon, Pyropette concocting her delicious ribs and working up to superb, cheesy cornbread. Ah... what could be nicer with that than sipping at some more of Ontario's craft brewers' fine product?

The beer pours very dark, with only a hint of oaky brown at the edges, topped with a dense head of fine creamy-beige bubbles. The aroma is a pleasant, if slightly odd, combination of toasty, marmitey malt and maraschino cherry. The over-toasted malt bitterness (not a hop bitterness) carries through into the first sip, but rapidly gives way to a more coffee-tobacco feel. After this the cherry starts to make its presence felt, with a sharply sour red cherry taste coming through as the beer hits the back of your mouth. After swallowing the cherry slowly dissipates and is replaces by a wet oak and musty leather aftertaste. Now that, that I could live without. Up until this point I had been enjoying this beer. The sour fruit notes I'd usually associate with a lambic transplanted into a dark bitter, curious and very tasty. But that lingering hint of water-damaged library that finishes the drink isn't so pleasant. The solution? Keep sipping!

UPDATE: Feb. 6, 2011. Ok, so I know it has been a while since I wrote this, but I have finally managed to try this beer on tap... and what a revelation. Much, much, much better than the bottled variety, and it really does make me wonder about the abilities of the LCBO where it comes to beer sales. The beer was full-flavoured and sprightly. It still has the toasted malt tones, but these hedge more to the tobacco end of the scale. The cherry comes through smooth and powerful, with a mouth-filling sweet and sour cascade of red cherry goodness. And the finish? Pure cherry with a hint of coffee, no bookishness to be had anywhere...

Dylan's Killer Red

Name: Dylan's Killer Red
Style: Irish ale
ABV: 5.0%
Serving: 20oz pint
Where: Pub Italia, Ottawa
Brewery: Church-Key Brewers
Location: Campbellford, ON, Canada
Weblink: Pub Italia

So, back once again to Pub Italia on a Friday afternoon. Well... it's just so close to work that going further afield for worse beer, just for a change of scene, seems like a waste of time. Besides, I like it there! So, this is the house ale at Pub Italia. It is brewed on their behalf by Church-Key down at Cambellford and Pub Italia claims exclusivity. However, the brewery also distributes the same beer to a couple of other pubs and restaurants in Ontario, albeit under different names.

The beer arrived at the table with a centimetre of open, frothy, yeasty foam riding on top of the obligatory deep red-brown ale. The beer is very much in the traditional Irish or northern England "best" bitter style, with a very caramel malt and bread yeast dominated aroma, perhaps with a slight hint of apple at the back. The head dies away fairly quickly, leaving a pint with only moderate effervescence. The flavours are again very much of the type. There is a still a very smooth malty palette, perhaps sweeter than most, overlain by unbaked bread flavours. To the middle of the mouth a slightly sour malt tone, with a return of a slightly green apple tang. The aftertaste returns once again to a lingering toasty biscuityness once the sour notes have faded. The mouth feel is fairly thin throughout, and the beer, when cold, has a pleasingly refreshing feel. However, when it warms it starts to be dominated by the sour tones. This is a beer to be drunk fast and in quantity. Therefore it is a shame that it rates up at 5% ABV. Were this beer a percentage point or two lower in alcohol it would make a very handy session ale for a warm summer evening. Unfortunately with 5% it is too strong for that, and if you are forced to sip then there are plenty of other, better, beers available that fill that niche.

Trafalgar Oak Aged Rye

Name: Oak Aged Rye Premium Ale
Style: Bitter ale (Roggenbier)
ABV: 5.0%
Serving: 650ml bottle
Brewery: Trafalgar Ales & Meads
Location: Oakville, ON, Canada
Weblink: Trafalgar Ales & Meads

An off-the-cuff LCBO purchase, this one. A hefty bottle with a distinctive green label. I'll admit that I hadn't heard of the brewery, let alone the beer, before I picked this one up, but always willing to try something new I stuffed one into an already heaving basket. So...

The beer is very low in effervescence, and pours with almost no head despite fairly brutal treatment. The colour is a very pleasing, burnished copper, with a very slight sediment haze. The beer's nose has a promising blend of appley-citrus notes and a subdued caramel backbone, overlain by a rye-sour tang. At this point I'm hopeful. But... (you could see the 'but' coming there, couldn't you?) where'd that all go in the mouth? Ok, so there is dry florality, but that disappears pretty darn fast, and a softly lingering toasty vanilla (the oak, I assume) is all you are left with. All in all this is pretty disappointing and thin. The brewery was apparently set up in 1993, so you'd think that they would know how to put together a cracking beer with the combination of interesting grains and expensive oak aging, but frankly I've had more interesting homebrew than this. Drat.

Hop City Barking Squirrel

Name: Barking Squirrel Lager
Style: Heller bock
ABV: 5.0%
Serving: 20oz shaker
Where: Pub Italia, Ottawa
Brewery: Hop City
Location: Brampton, ON, Canada
Weblink: Barking Squirrel Lager

So, another lager. How unlike me... is must be the time of year I guess. Anyway, this review is culled from a posting the I made at a beer rating site. Why am I repeating it here? Well, for completeness for one, but also as the other reviews I have read on said rating site seemed very skewed. I know that we all like to tell ourselves that we drink 'good' beer because we simply like it more, but there does seem to be a slightly classier than thou pretension in some quarters too. It seems that the harder a beer is to find and the smaller the brewery the more certain people seem to like the beer; the reverse is also true. So ok Hop City isn't really a microbrewer, being part of the considerably larger (and commercially-orientated) Moosehead concern, but I tend to take things as I find them. Moosehead also own 50% of Montreal's superb McAuslan Brewery, so they clearly know how to give their subsidiaries enough freedom to be distinctive. I've had plenty of crappy beer brewed by microbreweries and brewpubs, and some really classy offerings from big operations.

For a start, some have accused this beer of only pouring with a "thin, browny head"; that’s your barman’s fault. Go to a pub where they know how to pull pints and keep their lines clean. Every time I have been handed a pint of Barking Squirrel it has had 1-2cm of fine, light foam, sat jauntily atop a pleasingly deep orange/amber body, with moderate effervescence. While pretty hoppy for a dark lager, it isn’t a hop monster in the currently fashionable ilk. There is a burnt caramel/toffee sweetness here that is nicely balanced (balance being the keyword...) by a gently bittering, citrusy florality to the back of the mouth and in the aftertaste. However, this isn’t one of the trendy, mouth-puckeringly bitter, overhopped "macho" IPAs that are cropping up all over the place, and with a brewery name like this I think some people were expecting more. Hops are great. I’ve loved hops for many years, but just because that isn’t all you can taste doesn’t mean that it fails. In fact, its balance is a mark distinctly in its favour. Another dark mark seems to be that its appearance is goading people into believing that this is a bitter and are judging it in that context. Yes it is pretty approachable, possibly even commercial, for a (pseudo-)craft beer, and it may not be a world-beater, but levelling dull, repetitious, unthinking comments at it is far more "meh" than this perfectly good dark lager.

Creemore Springs Traditional Pilsner

Name: Traditional Pilsner
Style: Pilsner
ABV: 5.3%
Serving: 341ml bottle
Brewery: Creemore Springs
Location: Creemore, ON, Canada
Weblink: Creemore Springs Traditional Pilsner

Soo... how to get to grips with this beer (b)log? Do I want to make it cool and clinical, or a bit more chatty. It is only supposed to be an aide memoir so I guess the beer review will form a large chunk of it. Hmm, thinking out loud in text, is that healthy? Who knows...

Anyway, Creemore Pilsner. I have to admit that I haven't been overly impressed by the Creemore beers that I have tried in the past; they just seem a little lacking in class. The fact that they seem to have fallen for the current LCBO con that "great beers come in cans" might be something to do with it. Sadly, we in Ontario are being told, by people who should know better, that cans are a good way to package craft beers. I guess the LCBO's taste buds are so shot from years of drinking Coors that they can't taste the can taint any more. They are wrong. Easy to handle, easy to transport, and offering mix-and-match at the store seem to be their prime motivations, not preserving the beer's taste. Still, this has been sufficient to put me off Creemore before now. However, after trying a Creemore on draught (big shout to the increasing number of Ottawa pubs carrying craft beer on draught!) a couple of weeks back and being mildly impressed, I thought I'd invest in 12 bottles of their Traditional Pilsner, to see if they changed my mind.

So, the beer pours well, with a light, open head. It has a rich, amber colour and is vigorously effervescent. As far as it goes, this is a very straight pilsner. Disappointingly the aromas are a bit flat, with only a slightly hoppy bitterness being noticeable. However, I'd point out here that my usual tastes are for much darker beers than this, and so my viewpoint is slightly skewed! As far as flavour goes, the beer starts slightly - but only slightly - sweet, with a pale malt tone, but very rapidly switches to a robust, hoppy, almost metallic bitterness. The finish is biscuity, with some remianing malt and hop aromatics swirling up my nose. As it says on the label, this is a traditional, classy pilsner. I'm not really in a position to judge the absolute quality of this particular pilsner as, frankly, I don't drink that much of the stuff. But from what I have tasted so far, this is likely to be one of the better options for a cool summer sip. If I'm honest, I actually prefer the beer's aftertaste to its actual taste. It is definitely a beer that I could see myself nursing a pint of on a terrasse; just sipping every now and again to top up the lingering malty-yeasty aftertastes. Unfortunately, I can see that leading to a nasty, warm half-pint. We'll see. For now, one to enjoy on the hot days.