Sunday 21 July 2019

July 9, 2019

199/2799) Home:  Summerweiss Tropical Wheat by Muskoka Brewery of Ontario:  **; 5.3%; brewed with malted barley and wheat, passionfruit and mango; hazy; both fruits are prominent in the nose; sweet but not overly so; fruity passionfruit and mango flavours; I thought I detected a touch of orange; delicious and refreshing;


200/2800) Home:  Raspberry Radler by Waterloo Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **; 2.5%; brewed with apple juice concentrate, sugar, raspberry juice, lemon juice and "natural flavours"; strong, fresh raspberry nose; raspberry is strongest but lemon adds a tartness and apple is also prominent;

Waterloo Brewing is the new name for Brick Brewing, passed at a recent shareholders' meeting.  I voted, by proxy, against.


July 8, 2019

197/2797) Home:  Max's Big Beer by Grain & Grit Beer Co. of Ontario:  **; 5.5%, 54 ibu; a Milkshake IPA with peach and vanilla brewed in support of Max's Big Ride for MD;  mild peach nose; an interesting blend of dry hops; the sweetness from vanilla largely overshadows the peaches until the sweet peach finish;

198/2798) Home:  In The Palms by Grain & Grit Beer Co. of Ontario:  **; a 6%, 90 ibu IPA with lactose; cloudy; piney, resiny nose with a sweet edge; sharp resiny notes; a bit odd;

July 7, 2019

195/2795) Home:  Pedestal (Galaxy CY18) by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **; 6.5%; brewed with Galaxy hops from 2018, frozen; brewed to contrast with the next entry; when I was there they were taking a poll and the 2019 version had a large lead; murky as per usual; candied citrus nose; citrus flavours with dry, earthy finish;

196/2796) Home:  Pedestal (Galaxy CY19) by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.5%; murky; tropical and citrus nose; even sweeter citrus notes than the entry above with none of the dry earthiness; "candied hops" was how the individual at Badlands described it;


Wednesday 17 July 2019

July 6, 2019

193/2793) Home:  Pedestal (Idaho Gem) IPA by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.5%; another murky one; sweet citrusy nose; sweet citrus and guava notes;

The Pedestal line allows Badlands to shine the spotlight on one particular hop variety.  Idaho Gem is not to be confused with Idaho 7.

194/2794) Home:  Invisible Friend by Grain & Grit Brewing of Ontario:  *1/2; 5.1% 35 ibu American Pale Ale; Citra is added in the boil and then it is dry hopped with Simcoe, Galaxy, Mosaic and Centennial hops; mild nose of stone fruit; oddly sweet; very mild peach and citrus notes; I wanted to like this one more;


July 5, 2019

192/2792) Home:  Dora #12 IPA by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **;  6.5%; from Badlands' "exploratory series of beers"; dry hopped with Mosaic and Galaxy hops; peach and tropical fruit nose; flavours of mango and tangerine;

Part of the experiment was to modify the malt bill and water chemistry for its effect on the mouthfeel.

July 3, 2019

190/2790) Home:  Ol' Woody Alt by Sawdust City of Ontario: *1/2; 5%, 35 ibu; malty nose with a pilsner style edge; "our take on a German amber"; only mildly sweet with a dry edge;



191/2791) Home:  Glass Garden IPA by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.5%; "fermented with our secondary IPA strain"; brewed with Citra and Simcoe hops; tropical nose; pineapple, mango, flavours; mild bitterness;

Saturday 6 July 2019

July 2, 2019

188/2788) Home:  Beardmore Kölsch Style Ale by Furnace Room Brewery of Ontario:  *1/2; 4.5%, 8 ibu; clear; malty, mildly minerally nose; faintly sweet and malty with mineral edge;

George Beardmore owned what was once the largest tannery in the British Empire.


19/2789) Home:  Tree Crawler Double IPA by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **; 8%; brewed with Citra hops, oats and English yeast; murky; citrusy nose; citrus flavours with a bitter edge and finish;


July 1, 2019

187/2787) Home:  Nothing More - Smoke and Mirrors by Fairweather Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 7%; an American style Stout brewed with raspberries and organic cacao according to the website; the bottle says it is a double chocolate stout; sweet chocolate nose; mostly raspberries with chocolate in the background, particularly so in the finish;


June 27, 2019

185/2785) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Hyperbolic Time Chamber by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  *1/2; 4.9%, 13 ibu; billed as "Sour-Other"; hazy kettle sour with Summit and Mandarina hops added post-boil; aged on oak spirals; fruity but bitter nose; tart citrus, hint of vanilla in after taste; not overpoweringly tart;

186/2786) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Cakes On The Griddle by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  **; 6.3%, 25 ibu; cask; Milkshake IPA with blueberries and maple syrup; very sweet maple syrup nose, more blueberry as it warms; Justin has achieved his goal - just like blueberry pancakes swimming in syrup;

June 23, 2019

184/2784) Home:  White Picket Fence by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  *; 6.1%; "Batch 3"; a blended foeder saison, bottle conditioned ; 6 month aged beer was mixed with a small amount of fresh beer; dry hopped; bitter, sour nose; very sour with a hint of spice;


June 22, 2019

182/2782) Home:  Hurricane IPA by Spindrift Brewing Co. of  Nova Scotia:  **; 6.2%, 60 ibu; brewed with Amarillo and Comet hops; nose of pine, tannins; citrus, pine, tannins; it is all working for me;

183/2783) Home:  Tønne by Great Lakes Brewing of Ontario:  *1/2; 7.7%, 16 ibu; a Chardonnay barrel aged Kveik, brewed with barley and wheat; bottle conditioned and naturally carbonated; translucent yellow; tart nose; tart and oaky;


Thursday 4 July 2019

June 21, 2019

181/2781) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Gose Yuzu by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  *1/2; 4.4%, 12 ibu; tart, fruity nose; moderately salty throughout but tart yuzu is the most prominent flavour; Justin has made a sour and a gose tolerable to me - a near-miracle;

June 20, 2019

180/2780) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Unholy Union by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  *1/2; 5.4%, 30 ibu; cask; Milkshake IPA plus Hyperbolic Time Chamber (a dry hopped sour); opaque; fruity nose of apricots, oranges; tartness is blunted with flavours of orange and mango;

June 19, 2019

179/2779) Home:  Tetrahedron by Great Lakes Brewery of Ontario:  **; 9%, 20 ibu; a Belgian style Quadrupel conditioned for over sixty days; a 7 Barrel series entry; brewed with both barley and wheat; cloudy; spiced dark fruit nose; sweet, yeasty and fruity;

June 17, 2019

177/2777) Home:  Good Time Session IPA by Beau's All Natural Brewing of Ontario:  **; 4%; brewed with barley, wheat and oats; opaque; herbal hopped nose; mild berried fruitiness with a bitter edge;  a substantial session IPA;


178/2778) Home:  All Our Fathers' Sins by Great Lakes Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 11.5% bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout; brewed with the usual four ingredients  plus wheat, coffee and vanilla; from their 7 Barrel series; nose of alcohol, dark coffee and roasted malt; tastes of alcohol and burnt coffee; lovely;


These were Fathers' Day presents.

Tuesday 2 July 2019

June 14, 2019

176/2776) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Pour Favor by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  *1/2; 6.3%, 25 ibu; cask; their Milkshake IPA with lime, ginger, tequila and jalapenos; just short of murky; lime and ginger make themselves known from an herbal garden-like nose; ginger, lime, only a hint of the heat; like a summer salad;

June 11, 2019

174/2774) Home:  Soeur'ise Inséduisable by Brouwerij De Leite of Belgium:  **; 8%; a Triple Kriek; brewed with cherries, rice, oats, sugar and herbs; "high fermented"; aged in oak barrels and refermented in the bottle; nose of cherries; a tart bite at first, then a hint of sugar emerges from the tart cherries;  mild herbal presence at the finish;


175/2775) Home:  Banquet by Coors Brewing Company of Colorado, U.S.A.: *; 5%; brewed with 100% Rocky Mountain water since 1873; pours clear; soft fluffy head; sweet nose, sweet flavorus;

I can explain.  It was given to my son for helping someone move and he brought it home to share.


June 10, 2019

172/2772) Home:  1772 India Pale Ale by Gahan Brewing of Prince Edward Island:  **1/2; 6.5%; nose is dry with Asian tea and floral notes; strong malt presence with pine and citrus;


173/2773) Home:  Three Seasons Saison by Quidi Vidi of Newfoundland:  *1/2; 5.6%; cloudy; malty, yeasty nose; lemony, peppery;

More purchases from Newfoundland.  The tin notes, "We've been waiting 500 years for a proper spring." and describes the beer "as refreshing as snow in June".

June 9, 2019

170/2770) Home:  Professor's Pale Ale by Great Lakes Brewery of Ontario:  **1/2; a 5.5%, 25 ibu New England Pale Ale: from GLB's 7 Barrel Series; in honour of the Prud'Homme Beer Certification course and Louis Prud'homme, Canada's first licensed brewer in 1650; nose is dry and citrusy; dry, juicy, an interesting take on the style;


171/2771) Home:  O-Pee-Chee Lager by Henderson Brewing of Ontario:  *1/2; 5%; an Ides of January 2019 feature; pours clear; a refreshing lawn mower beer; a pretty standard lager, with a touch of sweetness;

 I bought it for the tin:  there are twenty one different labels, one for each employee.

Monday 1 July 2019

June 8, 2019

169/2769) Great Lakes Brewery:  Juno Beach Lager by Great Lakes Brewery of Ontario:  *; 5%, 10 ibu; a mildly sweet, standard lager;

Brewed in support of the Queen's Own Rifles Trust.  The QOR landed at Juno Beach on D Day and reached its objective, ten miles inland, suffering the highest casualties of any Canadian unit on D Day.

All of which reminds me what poseurs we are.  Legion attendees and others who have stared down tanks and bombs do not drink craft beer - they drink lagers and well spirits.

June 7, 2019

168/2768) Home:  DIPA June 2019 by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2:  8%; brewed with Mosaic and Simcoe hops; murky; citrus and tropical nose; pineapple flavours and other tropical notes; very nice; 

Their DIPAs rotate monthly.  I will return for more.

June 6, 2019

167/2767) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Waterslides and Rainbows by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  *; 6.3%, 25 ibu; Milkshake IPA with watermelon and basil; strong fresh basil nose; melon and basil flavours; getting a touch of mint; an odd one - I am not sure I am sold;

June 5, 2019

166/2766) Home:  Elevate IPA by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2:  6.5%; brewed with Citra and Sabro hops; again, very murky; blend of peach, citrus; tropical nose and flavorus; another strong offering;

No fooling, if you like IPAs, Badlands has you covered.

June 4, 2019

While we did purchase a few beers to take home I committed one misstep.  Central City Brewing's Red Racer Across The Nation Collaboration pack is back for another year but not in Ontario.  I had forgotten this when we saw it in Newfoundland though the size of it would have been another consideration.  In previous years it had been split into two six packs to comply with the LCBO's package size limitation but this year they did not do this.

One solution would have been to allow The Beer Store to carry this but that did not happen either.

June 3, 2019

164/2764) Home:  Fox Furr IPA by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.5%; dry hopped; another murky one; peach nose; peaches with a touch of citrus;

165/2765) Home:  Puffin Ale by The Orkney Brewery of Scotland:  **1/2; a 4.5% Tawney Ale; brewed with malted barley and malted wheat; nose is sweet and malty with spices; rich sweet and spiced, with woody notes;


While it was brewed in Scotland we purchased this in Newfoundland.

June 2, 2019

162/2762) Home:  All That Remains by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.5%; purchased at the brewery's Beer Shed; bottled May 24; brewed with hops left over from other batches; in this instance:  Citra 16%, Moutere 15%, Mosaic Cryo 6%, Eureka 11%, Amarillo 14%, Huell Melon 23%, Sabro 15%; their batches are small and hops come in eleven pound bags, they vacuum seal the left overs; very murky; offbeat blend of fruit and citrus; great fun, though;

163/2763) Home:  Nelson Citra IPA by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2; 6.5%; dry hopped; another murky one; peach nose; peaches with a touch of citrus;