February 5, 2026

38/4784) Home:  Sweater Weather by Grain and Grit Beer Co. of Ontario:  ***1/2; 4.6% Oatmeal Stout with Coconut; brewed with wheat, oats and toasted coconut flakes; dark, little head to speak of; nose of coconut against a chocolate background; coconut is especially strong in the finish, with notes of chocolate;

February 4, 2026

37/4783) Home:  Chockie Wockie by Cameron's Brewing of Ontario:  ***1/2; 5.8% 30 ibu Chocolate Milkshake Stout; brewed with East Kent Golding hops and wheat; rich, deep dark brown with a thin tan head; malty nose with chocolate notes; mildly sweet chocolate flavours; thin mouth feel;

February 3, 2026

36/4782) Home:  Light Moves by Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery of Ontario:  ***; 4% “Small IPA”; clear, yellowish; nose is citrus, especially lemon; sweet, lemony flavours; the flavours are not particularly strong;

February 2, 2026

35/4781) Home:  Ale for ALS by Colllective Arts in collaboration with Granite Brewery, both of Ontario:  ****; 6.5% Red IPA hopped with HBC522, Simcoe, Mosaic, HBC1019 and Krush hops; pours translucent red; aromas of pine; flavours of pine with hints of caramel; mildly astringent;

February 1, 2026

34/3780) Home:  Cup of Sugar by Great Lakes Brewery in collaboration with Fern Farm, both of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6.5% East Coast IPA; brewed with oats, wheat and “Dan’s yeast”; hazy; nose of melon and tropical fruit; similar flavours; 

"Back in the day, when Dan was working at a brewery down the road, he’d pop over to borrow a little yeast the way neighbours borrow a cup of sugar. For this collab, he’d (sic) returning the favour with flavour by bringing a fresh pitch of his own carefully propagated yeast."

January 30, 2026

32/4778) Amsterdam Brew House:  Double Tempest Barrel Aged Imperial Stout 2025 by Amsterdam Brewery of Ontario:  ****1/2; 11.9%, aged in Woodfor Reserve barrels; dark as night; thin wispy tan head; nose is boozy bourbon with chocolate notes, similar flavours;

33/4779) Amsterdam Brew House:  Stocke Alt by Amsterdam Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 5.7%, 30 ibu Altbier – Sticke/Latzenbier;  dark with a tan head; boozy chocolate nose; raisins, caramel chocolate and booze flavours,dry with dry hop finish;

The surprise cask was going to be Amarillo Pale but it broke, like due to being over-pressurized, and I took up the offer of this in its place.

This edition of Double Tempest is not going top be bottled which means this is the only way to try it.  In the wake of a recent change in ownership, Amsterdam seems to be backing away from events like Calm Before the Storm and one-off beers in general.  I hope this is not the last release of Barrel Aged Double Tempest.

January 29, 2026

31/4777) Home:  Robohop Double IPA by Great Lakes Brewery of Ontario:  ****1/2; 8.5%, 100 ibu Double West Coast IPA; grain bill includes oats and wheat, this one has been somewhat re-tooled snce I first listed it; translucent; nose of grapefruit and pine; similar flavours;