March 30, 2026

82/4828) Home:  Home and Home Mosaic by Great Lakes Brewery:  ****; tropical and citrus nose and flavours;

March 28, 2026

81/4827) Home:  Gnome Offerings by Great Lakes Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 7.1%, 14 ibu Belgian Golden Strong Ale; clear, golden; persistent, frothy white head; sweet aromas with a hint of coriander, bananas and clove; tastes of candy sugar, cloves, mild citrus zest and coriander; 

“Drink responsibly.  Gnomes have been known to collect interest.”

March 25, 2026

80/4826) Home:  Riff IPA No. 1 by Nickel Brook of Ontario:  ****; 6.7%; with oats and wheat; hopped with Krush and Nectaron;  hazy/cloudy with globules; nose of berries, pine and tropical fruit; dry resiny flavours with mixed tropical fruit and berries;

Small Batch series

March 24, 2026

79/4825) Home:  Old Primeval Bourbon - Vino de Naranja 2026 by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****1/2; 11.5% Bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout aged for twenty one months in second fill bourbon barrels intially home to Vino de Naranja; grain bill includes rye and oats;  thin tan head, deep dark brown; nose of wine, bitter orange, dark roasted malts, oak; orange notes, wine, oak, mild bourbon; thick heavy mouth feel;

Vino De Naranja is an orange wine, a style which seems to be fashionable of late.

March 23, 2026

78/4824) Home:  Old Primeval Bourbon Red Vermouth 2026 by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****1/2; 11.5% Imperial Stout aged for sixteen months in second fill bourbon barrels that initially held red vermouth; brewed with wheat and oats; deep brown with a scant tan head; nose of oak, bourbon, vermouth and alcohol; Manhattan-like throughout, as Bellwoods suggests, dark roasted malts, raisins, vermouth, bourbon, alcohol;

Old Primeval is the nickname of a giant snapping turtle in Georgian Bay.

March 19, 2026

77/4823) Home:  Hop Gun by Aqua Nova Brewing Co. in collaboration with Shawn & Ed Brewing, both of Ontario:  ****1/2; 7%, 28 ibu NEIPA; hazy; earthy nose with citrus zest; citrua zest and earthy hop flavours;

 “a wingman beer collaboration”

March 17, 2026

76/4822) Home:  Saintly by Fairweather Brewing of Ontario:  ***1/2; 4.1%, 4 ibu Dry Irish Stout; dark with a tan head; roasty aromas; mildly sweet and roasty; uncommonly thin mouth feel; 

We are instructed to “Shake the can & pour vigorously.”

March 16, 2026

75/4821) GLB Brewpub, Toronto:  Rookie Card by Great Lakes Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 6.5%, 28 ibu Debut Pale Ale/American style pale ale with oats and wheat; pours clear; peach, white wine nose; wine is muted in the flavours;

March 15, 2026

74/4820) Home:  Double Monogamy by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 8.5% Double IPA exclusively brewed with Peacharine and Peacharine hop Kief; added oats and wheat; cloudy; strong peach aromas; mostly peach flavours with a hint of citrus; hop kief is a cryogenic dry hop product;

March 14, 2026

73/4819) Home:  Winter Dunkel by Whistler Brewing of British Columbia:  ****; 5%, 24 ibu; with wheat malts, Nugget, Challenger and Williamette hops, chocolate, orange and coriander; featuring 100% organic chocolate from Whister Chocolate Co.; orange zest and coriander added during the boil; chocolate and orange aromas; a festive beer, very much a chocolate orange style like Terry’s with chocolate with sweet orange notes;

March 13, 2026

71/4817) C'est What, Toronto:  The Day We Hit The Coast by Sawdust City of Ontario with Microbrasserie 5e Baron of Quebec:  ***1/2; 7% West Coast IPA brewed with keen euphorics, Motueka and Nectaron; hazy, golden; peaches and pine nose; dry flavours of peaches, pine, hint of citrus, lingering dry after taste;

72/4818) C'est What:  Decadence Milk Chocolate Stout - Cookies and Cream by Rorschach Brewing Comapny of Ontario:  ***1/2;   7% cookies and cream stout; “contains dairy”; pours black with little head to speak of; very sweet coffee nose; flavours of vanilla and coffee;

March 11, 2026

70/4816) Nickel Brook Etobicoke Taproom:  Peppermint Stout by Nickel Brook of Ontario:  ***1/2; 4.5%; deep rich brown; nose is toasty; peepermint mostly appears in the flavours;

March 10, 2026

69/4815)  Home:  Fruit Helmet by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario in collaboration with Evil Twin Brewring of New Yorkm U.S.A.:  ***1/2; 6.5% IPA with fruit:  gollden raspberry, peach and mango puree; also oats; yellowsih brown, swampy; nose of citrusy hops, raspberries, peach and mango; rather tart owing to the raspberries, with mango overshadowing the peaches; 

On seeing me drinking this murky one my  wife asked if I had opened the mahgo juice she had bought that day.

March 9, 2026

68/4814) Everyside, Toronto:  (Just) Twice As Easy by Everyside of Ontario:  ****; a one off West Coast IPA twist on their Easy IPA; cloudy yellow gold; nose is floral and piney; dry floral flavours with grapefruit and pine;

March 8, 2026

67/4813) Burdock, Toronto:  Bears by Burdock of Ontario:  ****1/2; 5% West Coast IPA with "new age hops"; nearly clear; piney nose;  dry pine flavours;

March 6, 2026

66/4812) Home:  Achel Tripel by De Achelse Kluis of Belgium:  ****; 8.0% Blonde Abbey Ale; referments in the bottle; hazy deep gold; yeasty, fruity, spiced aromas; mild malt flavours with spice and fruit;

March 5, 2026

65/4811) Home:  Monk's Cafe Grand Cru by Brouwerij van Steenberge of Belgium:  ***; 5.5%, 22 ibu Flemish Sour Ale; blend of aged and freshly brewed triple ales; brosn; very tart nose; dry reaspberry like tartness;

March 4, 2026

64/4810) Home:  Baptist by Brouwerij van Steenberge of Belgium:  ***;  5%, 15 ibu wit/blonde/white; with wheat and sugar; undergoes a secondary fermentation; opaque; nose of coriander and cloves; tastes malty with coriander and cloves; a good example of the style;

March 3, 2026

63/4889) Home:  Piraat Triple Hop by Brouwerij van Steenberge of Belgium:  ****; 10.5%, 35 ibu Belgian style golden ale; four different hops added, three times during the brewing process:  Saaz, Tetra and Aurora, these are added twice in the brewhouse then it is dry hopped with Cascade; clear, amber; malty, sugary nose; sweet flavours of many a Belgian golden ale;

March 2, 2026

61/4887)  Bar Volo, Toronto:  Winterseed by Third Moon Brewing Co. of Ontario:  ****; 6.5% hazy IPA; hopped wuth Mosaic, Talus and Lotus, grain bill includes oats, wheat; berry, citrus nose; as designed, earthy notes with berries and a touch of citrus;

62/4888) Bar Volo:  It's Basically Juice by Wood Brothers of Ontario:  ****; 8% hazy DIPA; hopped with Citra, Nectaron and Motueka; citrus, tropical nose; juicy, yes, mainly mango;