Ale Architect Brewing Ltd. Lil’ Crispy – Helles Lager at 5% ABV (C$4.20 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 23-Nov-2020, acquired 26-Mar-2021, reviewed 1-Apr-2021)
Appearance: clear straw with one finger of short-lived white head, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: mild, cereal grains, grass, herbs. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry short duration crisp finish. (4/5)
Pretty much what it says on the label: light, clean, and crisp. Leaves very little trace of its passing, including on the completely lace-free glass. No challenges here, just a straight-up refreshing Helles. (15/20)
Blindman Brewing Barrel-Aged Brett 24-2 Stock Ale – English Strong Ale at 8.1% ABV | 23 IBU (C$14.76 at Collective, 500 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 26-Mar-2021, reviewed 31-Mar-2021)
Appearance: clear amber-brown with one finger of dense light tan head, excellent retention and minimal soapy lacing. (5/5) Aroma: complex, red berries, oak, leather, vanilla, dark fruit, bourbon. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, moderate carbonation, drying slightly tart finish. (4/5)
This one was aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels that previously held their Imperial Stout, giving some great complexity and depth of flavour. There’s a lot going on here, between the name (the farm where the Newdale malt barley was grown), the artwork (the Percheron drafts used during planting and the previously-referred roses), and the local malting (Red Shed), all topped off with some custom Escarpment Brett. Interestingly, the Brett seems to be present not as the typical funky horse blanket notes one often encounters, but more as tart red berries. (Not a criticism of horse blankets by any means, just an observation.) This is a big, complex sipper that encourages settin’ and thinkin’ – or maybe just settin’. (17/20)
O.T. Brewing Company Crash Pad Pale Ale – American Pale Ale at 5.6% ABV | 52 IBU (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 26-Mar-2021, reviewed 31-Mar-2021)
Appearance: clear pale gold with three fingers of fluffy white head, good retention and minimal soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, melon, pale malt, tropical & stone fruit, herbal/floral. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)
Brewer notes say this is dry-hopped with Cascade, Amarillo, and Motueka. I’m getting pretty much the standard profile you’d expect from those hops, but also with a little herbal or floral in the end. Decent, but not very exciting. (14/20)
Bruery Terreux Just A Kiss – Saison at 5.3% ABV (C$5.53 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 9-Feb-2021, acquired 26-Mar-2021, reviewed 30-Mar-2021)
Appearance: clear straw with one fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: vinous oak, horseblankety funk, floral, honey. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly tart slightly astringent finish. (3/5)
Dunno if I’d know an orange blossom to save my life, but it’s certainly floral in addition to the oak and funk. Pleasant, but not particularly memorable. (14/20)
New Level Brewing Saisons In The Abyss Born of Fire #2 – Saison at 6.5% ABV (C$5.35 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 21-Sep-2020, acquired 26-Mar-2021, reviewed 28-Mar-2021)
Appearance: slightly hazy pale gold with one finger of loose white head, good retention and minimal spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: complex, vinous oak, pineapple, horse blanket, lemon zest, stone fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter, light tart. (8/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, drying funky lightly tart finish. (4/5)
Not gonna lie: I’m probably more impressed with the Bob’s Burgers punniness of the name than anything else, except maybe the Slayer reference itself, because, come on, motherfucking Slayer. That aside, this is interesting, with a lot (maybe a little too much?) going on, with distinct contributions from the oak, Brett, and adjunct fruits. (15/20)
Shoreline Brewing Co. Smoke Show Hazy IPA – American IPA at 6% ABV | 40 IBU (C$5.00 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 26-Mar-2021, reviewed 27-Mar-2021)
Appearance: hazy straw with a massive fluffy loose white head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, cereal grains, citrus. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)
A perfectly serviceable example of the style, without any real negatives, aside from a slightly muddy appearance and unwieldy head. It’s also missing any particular positives, except perhaps for the way the lingering tropical fruit note becomes almost exactly pineapple. Damned with faint praise? Perhaps, but in all honesty not one that I’m likely to remember or seek out in future. By the same token, though, I’m not about to boycott the brewer, so we’ll see if any other offerings are more impressive. (12/20)
Île Sauvage Brewing Nordique – Rye IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$5.08 at Collective, 473 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 26-Mar-2021)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with a massive fluffy loose pale ivory head, good retention and moderate soapy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: spicy rye, juniper, caramel. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter, moderate peppery spice. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter spicy finish. (3/5)
The brewer’s notes indicate this is their version of a Finnish Sahti, 30% Rye malt, fermented with Kveik Voss, and dry-hopped with Simcoe and Juniper berries. Hard to say how authentic it is, since by my notes I’ve had only one “actual” (supposed) Sahti and that one was from Ontario, so it might or might not have itself been a reasonable representation of the style. Guess I’m gonna have to make it to Finland at some point to be sure. However, this one certainly has more gin-like juniper character, so, maybe? Not bad overall, and I certainly don’t dislike it, but the combination of rye and juniper certainly makes it a little edgy, bordering on harsh. (14/20)
Offshoot Beer Co. Visions – American IPA at 6.9% ABV (C$5.80 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 29-Jan-2021, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 25-Mar-2021)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with two fat fingers of loose pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin ring, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, tropical fruit, resiny pine, oats, melon, herbal. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-soft carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (4/5)
Brewer notes indicate it’s hopped with, well, everything: Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo, Centennial, Cashmere, El Dorado, and Simcoe. (What, nobody’s come up with a “Kitchen Sink” hop yet?) There’s also three malts: 2-Row, Flaked Oats, Carafoam. With all that, I’m a little surprised they limited themselves to just the single London III yeast! Not that I’m complaining: this little number is quite the juice bomb, and other than being a little bit fugly, pretty much nails the spec with big aroma, restrained and balanced sweet and bitter, and pleasant drinkability. As usual, The Bruery doesn’t disappoint. (Well, Offshoot doesn’t, anyway – I’ve had four of that cadet branch’s efforts so far, all solid eights, but I’ve known the mother brewery to have some pretty spectacular failures. On the other hand, they’ve also had some of my highest rated examples ever, so, risk big win big lose big I guess.) (16/20)
Campio Brewing Co. Tropical Pyramid – American IPA at 7.0% ABV (C$4.50 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 4-Mar-2021, acquired 17-Mar-2021, reviewed 25-Mar-2021)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with one fat finger of fine pale ivory head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, resiny pine, cereal grains. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (7/10) Palate: smooth medium-full body, moderate-soft carbonation, sweetish building bitter slightly astringent finish. (3/5)
“Bringing the beach to the City of Champions”… uhhh… yeah. Didn’t they take that off the signs quite some time ago? And when was the last serious championship run, let alone win? Not that I can say much given the Flames’ behaviour lately… though the Stamps did win in Edmonton in 2018, so I guess technically there were champions there then! Anyway, the beer’s not bad, even if it is from The City of Mushrooms (Champignons, geddit?). It’s a bit too sweet and thick for my preference in the style, but generally drinkable despite the building bitterness and slight astringency in the finish. (14/20)
