October 17, 2026

170/4916) Birreria Volo:  Des Cèdres by Microbrasserie 5e Baron of Quebec:  ****;  7.0% West Coast IPA; their Ten Falls with an adjusted hop balance:  50% Cashmere, 30% Centennial, 20 % Chinook; last two souirced locally in Quebec; clear; pine and peach nose; resiny pine flavours with a hint of stonefruit;

Translates as cedars.

This event was Off-Cask Days:  Mellön & Friends.  I did not attend Cask Days.  It is expensive and I had great beer here without paying to enter, as always.

171/4917) Birreria Volo:  Quelqu’un M’a Dit Que Tu M’amais Encore by Mellön Brasserie of Quebec:  ****; 7.0%, 40 ibu West Coast IPA; pale, clear; blend of pine and peaches with mild nerbal notes; 

Translates as “Someone told me that you still loved me.”

The joint is pretty quiet for 4PM.

172/4918) Birreria Volo:  Intuition Riwaka by Brasserie Ayawan of Quebec:  ****; 6.2% IPA; murky;  stonefruit nose; stone fruit with a hint of tropical flavours; mildly sweet;

The barmaid said this is the most popular of the lot last night.

173/4919) Birreria Volo:  Morte de Trouille STRM Turbo by Messorem of Quebec:  ****; 6.5% IPA; hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Citra, Citra Dynaboost, Motueka and Motueka hop kief; swampy; nose is a blend of tropical, stonefruit and white wine; stone fruit up front in flavours with tropical notes;

This translates as scared to death.

October 16, 2026

169/4915) Home:  Plasma Lounge by Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery of Ontario:  ***; 8.0% "Tangerade Citrus Double IPA" with malted barley, wheat malt, oat malt, “sugars (pineapple puree, tangerine puree)” and lemon peel; hopped with Tangier, Motueka, HBC682 and Vic Secret; clear; nose of tangerine, lemon and pineapple; tastes of lemon, tangerine with a touch of pineapple; improves on sitting; odd, dry, nearly bitter after taste;

October 15, 2026

168/4914) Home:  Roses Among Thorns by Willibald Farm Distillery & Brewery of Ontario:  ***; 5.0% Pale Ale; grain bill is barley and wheat; hopped with Southern Cross, Simcoe and Amarillo; hazy, yellowy gold; nose of mild citrus; mild citrus flavours, a bit bland;

October 13, 2026

166/4912) Home:  Ducktown by Burdock in collaboration with Beertown, both of Ontario:  **1/2; 4% West Coast Session IPA; fermented cool, like a lager; dry hopped with Amarillo, Chinook, Simcoe, and El Dorado; lager yeast is used; translucent, nearly clear; citrus and melon nose; washed out melon and citrus with mild resin; uninspiring;

167/4913) Home:  Horses by Burdock of Ontario:  ****; 7.1% “West Coast Style India Pale Ale”; wheat is added to the grain bill; hopped with Mosaic, Simcoe, Amarillo and Comet; clear, copper; nose of citrus and melon; dry pine edge, melon and citrus;

October 10, 2026

164/4910) Home:  Tout Au Four IPA by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario in collaboration with Messorem of Quebec:  ****; 7.5% IPA hopped with Riwaka, Southern Cross and El Dorado CGX; grain bill is barley, wheat and oats; hazy; nose of strawberry and melon; tastes of melon, strawberry with a dry pineapple edge; 

Tout au Four translates as “everything in the oven”.  This was part of a set of four collaborations with Quebec brewers.

165/4911) Home:  Tout Au Four TIPA by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario in collaboration with Wills of Quebec:  ****; 10% Triple IPA with barley, wheat and oats; hopped with Citra, Loral, Southern Cross and Superdelic; murky; nose of candied mango and strawberry; tastes of mango, berries and grapes;

October 8, 2026

163/4909) Home:  Collaborative Experimental IPA #003 by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario in collaboration with Superflux Beer Company of British Columbia:  ****; 6.5%; Grain bill includes barley and oats; with Motueka, Nelson Sauvin and Riwaka hops plus Riwaka and Rhapzody Amplifire Oil; cloudy; aromas of pineapple and berries; pineapple and strawberry flavours; Amplifire is a liquid hop product specific to New Zealand hops;

October 7, 2026

162/4908) Home:  Bine Hunter (2026) by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 7% wet hop IPA; grain bill includes barley and oats; hopped with Cascade; employs a specific yeast to unlock bound thiols for fruity flavours; translucent; aromas of cedar and peaches; herbal cedar and fresh peach flavours; a bit sweet for my liking;

October 6, 2026

155/4901) House of McGrath, Toronto:  Wheat Beer by House of McGrath of Ontario:  ***; 5.1%; this one and the next four are from their Ale Flight; aromas of cloves with strong clove flavours;

This is the newest occupant of the location on Victoria Street that used to house Growlers, Duggan's, The Beer Academy and Batch.  Here's hoping someone can make a go of it.

156/4902) House of McGrath:  British Ale by House of McGrath of Ontario:  ***1/2; 4.5% malty with dry herbal flavours; 

On the screens behind the bar they were playing clips from silent films, Buster Keaton in particular.

157/4903) House of McGrath:  Pilsner by House of McGrath of Ontario:  ***1/2; 4.8%; mildly sweet with strong, dry herbal flavours;

They were out of the dark ale component of the Ale Flight and this was swapped in for it. 

158/4904) House of McGrath:  Stout by House of McGrath of Ontario:  ****; 4.1%; rich and malty; a very fine, unadorned stout;

This one is a favourite of both of the bartenders.  Given my memories of this location I asked and learned that they currently have a Bock aging;

159/4905) House of Mc Grath:  IPA by House of McGrath of Ontario:  ****; 7.4% clear; piney, resiny  and floral; the dryness lasts into the finish and after taste;

This is quite the posh place, I regretted leaving the tie at home.  As such, I don't think it is going to be the replacement for the students who used to frequent the Imperial Pub.  Mind, the bartenders are regular fellows.  I will dress a bit better next visit.

From right to left.

160/4906) Craft Beer Market, Toronto:  Sitting Pretty by Black Lab of Ontario:  ***1/2; 4.5%, 30 ibu American Pale Ale with rye malt; hopped with Moasic, Citra, and Denali; foggy; citrus nose; fresh, mildly sweet citrus with Sunny D like flavours;

I dedcided a full glass was in order and, what's more, I still had a gift e-card from Christmas.

161/4907) Craft Beer Market:  Good Trip by Cameron's Brewing of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6.5%, 35 ibu IPA hopped with Mosaic, Citra, Galaxy and Azacca; clear; mild pineapple nose; sweet pineapple flavours;

October 5, 2026

154/4900) Home:  Bells by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario in collaboration with Wills of Quebec:  ****; 8% DIPA; with oats and hopped with Loral, Rakau, Southern Cross and Freestyle Tropical Fusion hop kief; yellow, murky; milidly tropical fruit blend to the nose; similar flavours; 

October 4, 2026

153/4899) Home:  An IPA For ALS (Simcoe, Citra, Ekuanot and Columbus) by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 7.3% IPA with the 2026 Ales for ALS hop blend; grain bill includes oats; hazy, golden; juicy grapefruit nose; Bellwoods promises flavours of Sunny D and I get that – also pineapple with a hint of peaches;

Fifty cents per can and one dollar per pint goes to the Ales for ALS charity.

October 3, 2026

152/4898) Home:  Daze by Lightcaster Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6.2%, 32 ibu hazy IPA; hopped with Superdelic and Citra; grain bill is barley, oats and wheat; yellowy gold, hazy; mostly citrus aromas; lemony citrus flavours with a snap of candied Pez-like sweetness;

October 2, 2026

151/4897) Home:  A Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Stout by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 4.5%; featuring San james Coffee Bar; brewed with barley, oats and wheat as well as classic pumpkin spices from East India Company:  cinnamon, ginger,  cardamon, allspice, clove, nutmeg and vanilla – they have all spice as two words; deep brown with a thin, wispy tan head; spiced nose; tastes of spices, cola, mild chocolate but no pumpkin flavours;

September 28, 2026

149/4895) Wvrst, Union Station, Toronto:  Chill Serum by Rorschach Brewing Company of Ontario:  ****1/2; 7.4% West Coast IPA; with pilsner malt; hopped with Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe; pours clear; fruity nose with resin notes; resin is more pronounced in flavours with resiny after taste;

Regretably, this was a part pour as the tap had run out.

150/4896) Wvrst, Toronto:  Rodeo by Matron of Ontario:  ***; 6.6% IPA; hazy; after the above it is a bit bland; juicy nose, mixed fruit flavours;

September 21, 2026

148/4894) Home:  Guiness Smooth by Kenay Breweries Limited of Kenya:  ***1/2; 4.5%; with malted barley, barley and corn starch; dark as night with a foamy tan head; malty nose with mild roastiness; sweeter than I was expecting; beyond that it has the roasty malt flavours one associates with Guinness but in this case, off set by the sweetness;

My wife brought this home from a health care mission to Kenya she went on.

September 18, 2026

147/4893) Craft Beer Market, Toronto:  Mind Flay by Chroncile Brewing of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6%, 67 ibu West Coast IPA; amber, opaque, nose is mildly dank with notes of toasted malt and citrus zest; flavours of citrus zest;

Septermber 17, 2026

146/4892) Home:  Oracle by Rorschach Brewing Company of Ontario:  ****; 6% Double Dry-hopped IPA; grain bill features oats and wheat; single hop Citra; hazy neon orange green; stonefruit and melon nose; mild dankness with grapefruit, melon and peaches;

September 16, 2026

145/4891) Fran's, College Street in Toronto:  Umbra by Brasserie du Bas-Canada of Quebec:  **1/2; 4.3% New Zealand Pilsner; brewed with traditional German Pilsner malt and Riwaka hops; alternately billed as an India Pale Lager; grainy nose and flavours;

This was a bit of a let-down as it took the place of Amsterdam's Boneshaker but the menu had not been updated.

Fran's has been open in Toronto since 1940 and they boast that they invented the Banquet Burger at this time.  It is a very old school diner.

September 12, 2026

144/4890) Badlands Badio:  September DIPA (2026) by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 8.2% DIPA hopped with Peacharine, Nelson and HBC1184; murky; nose and flavours of nectarine, gooseberries and citrus with hints of white wine;

September 9, 2026

143/4889) Home Martens by Brouwerij Martens of Belgium:  ***; 10% Extra Stong Beer (lager) with sugar and hop extract; clear, golden with a frothy white head; sweet honeyed malt aromas; considering the abv. there is only the mildest touch of alcohol to the palate; very malty; aftertastes of sweet alcohol; rather an odd one; one reviewer discredits himself to my mind for suggesting Faxe Extra Strong as an alternative - one of the worst bees I have tried;

“Brewing the future since 1758”

September 5, 2026

142/4888) Home:  West of the Moon by Bellwoods Brewery in collaboration with Dominion City Brewing Co., both of Ontario:  ****; 6.5% West Coast IPA brewed with oats, wheat and same hops but different water profiles, yeast and hopping schedules as the second of this conceptual duo; here California Ale yeast and hard water are used with bittering hops; clear, copper; resiny pine aromas; malt is much more prominent in this variant:  it is on equal footing with the pine and resin;