March 31, 2024

80/4307) Home:  Double Barrel BOYD 2023 by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****1/2; 11.9% Imperial Stout aged twelve months in Cognac barrels and 18 months in Brown Forman Rye barrels; wheat and oats; black with tan head; thick, heavy mouthfeel; nose is cognac, raisins, dried fruit, rye, oak and burnt malt; tastes of  dried fruit, rasisns, cognac, oak and rye;

March 30, 2024

79/4306) Home:  Kentucky by Nickel Brook of Ontario:  ****; 11.9% Imperial Stout aged in Kentucky Bourbon barrels for one year; brewed with flaked wheat and oats and demerara sugar; hopped with German Magnum, Centennial and Nugget; California Ale yeast; 2022 Reserve series; pours black with a tan head; nose is vanilla, roasted malt, boozy bourbon and chocolate fudge; somewhat thin mouthfeel; bourbon, alcohol, vanilla chocoalte flavours; 

Somewhere along the way, Nickel Brook seems to have lost the "Bastard".

March 28, 2024

78/4305) Home:  Wishing Well 2023 by Fairweather Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 11.9%; Imperial Stout with toasted coconut, cinnamon, vanilla, Niagara wildflower honey and bruléed Italian plums; “Early Night Delight”; pours black with a tan head; nose is plums, cinamon, vanilla and spice; plums dominate with wine notes and cinnamon; 

It would be interesting to age this one.

March 26, 2024

77/4304) Home:  Westmalle Trappist Extra by Brouwerij der Trappisten Westmalle of Belgium:  ***1/2; 4.8%, 30 ibu; with sugar; “top fermented”; bubbly mouth feel; nose is herbal with notes of pears; herbal, spiced notes, malty with mild stonefruit notes;

March 24, 2024

76/4303) Home:  Fly By Night by Grain & Grit, in collaboration with Northern Crown Brewing, both of Ontario:  ****; 4.5% stout with oats, Belgian chocolateand , Sabaro hops; stout; nose is dark coffee, roasted malt; dark, bitter roast flavours with coconut emerging at the finish;

March 22, 2024

75/4302) Home:  Cool Papa Bell by Left Field Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 6.7%, 60 ibu IPA with wheat, oats and spelt; hazy; hopped with El Dorado, Ekuanot, Nelson Sauvin and Citra; hazy; mixed tropical and citrus nose; similar flavours;

Purchased at Bottega Volo where they expect customers to tip for groceries that you select for yourself.

March 21, 2024

74/4301) Home:  Danger Pay by Fairweather Brewing of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6.1% Pineapple IPA with coconut, Oolong tea, Motueka, Sabro and El Dorado hops; murky, bright yellowy gold; nose is pineapple, tannins, mixed tropical, coconut; opens with pineapple, followed by tea and coconut at the finish;

March 19, 2024

70/4297) The 3 Brewers, Yonge Street:  The Patrick by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  ***1/2; 5%, 31 ibu; this year it is an oatmeal stout; roasted malt nose; roasty with hints of coffee and chocolate;

71/4298) C'est What:  29:  Leap Year IPA by Fine Balance Brewing of Ontario:  ****;  6.5%; dry-hopped with HBC586, Motueka and Galaxy hops; cloudy; citrus and stone fruit nose; Pez and stone fruit flavours;

I figured I should take advantage while I had the chance and I was indeed told that this one was running low.

72/4299) C'est What:  Mylarshark by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario in collaboration with Other Half Brewing of Buffalo, New York:  ****1/2; 10% Triple IPA; nose of Asian tea, tropical fruit; tastes of mildly sweet tropical fruit, faint tannins, fresh citrus;

"a mash up of our classic Witchshark, and their Mylar Bags"

73/4300) C'est What:  Xoco Xolo by Black Lab Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 5% stout with chocolate and Habanero peppers; dark as night; nose of vanilla and mild spice; vanilla, spice, chocolate, mild roast flavours;

March 18, 2024

69/4296) Home:  Barrel Shed Amber Ale by Shawn & Ed Brewing Co. of Ontario:  ***; 6.5%, 37 ibu; reddish appearance; biscuity nose with a hint of citrus zest; biscuity malt, pine, notes of caramel;

March 15, 2024

65/4292) Birreria Volo:  Sensescape by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****1/2; 8.2% DIPA;  hopped with Citra, Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin; cloudy with a thick, heavy mouthfeel; nose of candied hops and white wine; fruity and citrusy with notes of white wine and no dankness to speak of;

Today was a Badlands tap takeover at Birreria Volo.

66/4293) Birreria Volo:  March DIPA (2024) by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 8.2% with Galaxy, Talus and Riwaka hops; murky; nose of citrus and stone fruit; tastes mildly sweet with peaches and hints of citrus and dankness;

67/4294) Birreria Volo:  Fly by Badlands Brewing in collaboration with Volo, both of Ontario:  ****;  6.5% IPA hopped with Riwaka and Nelson Sauvin; cloudy; nose is dank, herbal with hints of white wine; robust wine flavours;

68/4295) Birreria Volo:  Inky (December 2023) by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 11% Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout; bottle pour; jet black, thick mouth feel; nose of oak, campfire smoke; flavours of roasted malt, sweet boozy bourbon, oak, raisins, little presence of the vanilla;

March 14, 2024

64/4291) Home:  CABC No. 22 (Caramel Macchiato Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout) by Collective Arts of Ontario: ***1/2; 11.9%; with wheat, oats and lactose; deep, dark brown with a thin, wispy tan head; sweet caramel nearly overshadows bourbon in nose; very sweet Starbucks like flavours with bourbon emerging towards the finish and lingering through the after taste; caramel is prominent throughout; perhaps a bit too sweet;

For ℼ Day.

March 12, 2024

63/4290) Home:  Rolling Thunder by Collective Arts of Ontario:  ****; 8.5%, 65 ibu New England Double IPA with Strata and Zappa hops; also wheat and oats; “small batch”; hazy; nose of oranges and orange zest; tastes of oranges and melon with a mild dankness at the finish; 

Operation Rolling Thunder was an arial bombardment campaign during the Viet Nam war which took place from March 1965 to November of 1968.

Rolling Thunder Review was Bob Dylan’s 1975-6 concert tour, one of his many comebacks.  It was committed to film and widely bootlegged.

March 9, 2024

62/4289) Home:  Toronto Circus Riot by Henderson Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 9%; Imperial Old Ale; with flaked oats; reminds me just a little bit of the GLB effort of years ago; deep ruby; nose is malty with raisins; malty, mild spice, raisins, dark fruit, hint of cherries;

As with many of their efforts, there is a story behind this one:  Toronto Circus Riot

March 8, 2024

61/4288) Home:  Clothing Hoptional by New Ontario Brewing Company of Ontario:  ***1/2; 5.1%, 38 ibu Session IPA; translucent; flat; nose is mildly dank; malty, resin notes; unusually malty for an IPA, with dank, resiny notes;

March 6, 2024

60/4287) Home:  Chunk (Marzipan) by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 10.0% Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with cacao, vanilla and almond extract; boiled 18 hours; aged in Bourbon barrels for 20 months; “heavily inspired by chocolate confections”; also with wheat and oats; dark, thick and syrupy – it even pours slowly; heavy, viscous mouthfeel; nose of cocoa powder, alcohol, vanilla, almonds and cherries; tastes a lot like marzipan;

March 5, 2024

59/4286) Home:  Chimay Brown Ale by S. A. Bieres de Chimay N. V. of Belgium:  ***1/2; 7% Belgian Trappist beer with sugar, wheat starch and spices; hopped with German Hallertau and American Galina; deep chestnut; fermented in the bottle; nose is malty and toasty with mild spice; toasted malt, spice, mild toffee flavours

From the Christmas pack purchased at the LCBO.

March 4, 2024

58/4285) Home:  IPA No. 27 Peak To Peak by Collective Arts of Ontario:  ****1/2; 7.0% West Coast IPA hopped with Simcoe, Vic Secret, Centennial and Chinkook; grain bill includes wheat; clear, straw colour; nose of grapefruit and zest; tastes of grapefruit, citrus zest and resin;

March 1, 2024

57/4284) Home:  The Original XX by Innis & Gunn of Scotland:  ****; 7.7%, 30 ibu; matured for three months in twenty year old Speyside single malt casks; special edition of the original on their 20th anniversary; clear, copper-golden; nose of caramel, toffee, malt and mild spice; flavours are toffee and spice with hints of alcohol and sweet scotch;

February 28, 2024

55/4282) Home:  Festbier by Stockyards Brewing of Ontario:  ***; 5.5%, 15 ibu; brewed with four ingredients; "Traditional Bavarian Style” brewed with pilsner malt, Bavarian grown Hallertau Mittfrüh hops; golden, translucent; nose is malty; tastes malty with dry herbal bitterness, especially at the finish;

56/4283) Home:  Double Ghost Orchid by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 8.5% Double IPA with Phantasm; also oats; Phantasm is a thiol enriched powder; cloudy; very aromatic; white wine; mildly sweet white wine flavours;

February 27, 2024

53/4280) Home:  Ratclops by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 6.0% IPA with oats; hopped with Citra, Loral and Simcoe; cloudy; nose of oranges and pineapple; pineapple forward, only mild bite;

54/4281) Home:  Quadruple Ratclops by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 11.5%, 80 ibu; Quadruple IPA with oats; not quite so cloudy as the above, rather merely hazy; nose is lime and pineapple; flavours of lime with a mild alcohol burn;

February 26, 2024

52/4279) Home:  Monogamy Rakau by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****1/2; 6.4%; from Bellwoods' New Zealand Hop Series; with oats; murky; nose has a hint of dankness with orange, apricot and citrus zest; tastes of orange pulp and apricot; another winner from Bellwoods;

February 25, 2024

51/4278) Home:  Green Velvet IPA by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****1/2; 7%, 70 ibu; with oats; carbonated with reclaimed CO2; murky; nose is mostly grapefruit with pineapple and grapefruit flavours;

February 23, 2024

50/4277) Home:  An APA Brewed with Idaho 7, NZ Cascade & Motueka by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ***; 5.6%; with oats; murky; nose is grapefruit and sweet citrus; flavours seem a bit washed out or maybe this is old stock; mostly mild pine and grapefruit;

February 21, 2024

48/4275) Home:  Crash by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****1/2; 6.5%; with Riwaka, Superdelic and Peacharine (New Zealand hops); cloudy; gooseberry, peaches to nose; no dankness, not particularly sweet, gooseberry, peach and tropical fruit flavours;

49/4276) Home:  Exactly by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 6.5%; “An IPA that tastes exactly the way we want it to”; hopped with Citra, Nelson and Motueka; cloudy; candied hop nose of old with citrus; citrus notes and white wine;

February 18, 2024

47/4274) Home:  February DIPA (2024) by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****1/2; 8.2%; with Mosaic, Idaho 7 and Galaxy hops; the dry hopping rate was increased by 30% for this edition; murky; grapefruit and pineapple nose; on standing vegetal notes to nose and palate diminish; mostly pineapple and grapefruit which are as close to dankness as this one gets;

February 17, 2024

45/4272) Old Flane Brewing Co., in Toronto's Distillery District:  Shelly's Graveyard by Old Flame Brewing Co. of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6.66% Cascadian Dark IPA; pours jet black; nose of pine and chocolate; pine and cocoa flavours;

46/7273) Mill Street Brewpub:  Vista by Mill Street Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6% IPA; pours clear; citrus nose; mild citrus flavours;

We were in the Distillery District to take in the play, "Harvey".  It was very well done.

February 13, 2024

43/4270) C'est What:  Dankster Tyrant by Rouge River Brewing Company of Ontario:  ****; 10% Triple New England IPA hopped with Citra and New Zealand Riwaka; murky; stone fruit and citrus nose; mild but pleasant dankness, flavours of citrus zest and pulp;

44/4271) C'est What:  Twix Roller by Counterpart Brewing of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6% Oatmeal Stout with lactose added to the kettle then conditioned on cacao, shortbread, caramel and vanilla; sweet, somewhat artificial vanilla nose; tastes of vanilla and caramel with shortbread notes and a bit of toffee; rather like a Twix at that;

February 10, 2024

41/4268) Badlands Beer Garden:  Dora 66 by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****; murky yellow gold; I am getting notes of peach on the nose and in the flavours, no dankness, just mild herbal notes;

42/4269) Badlands Beer Garden:  Times They Have Changed by Badlands Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 6.5% IPA; yellowy gold and murky; stone fruit and herbal nose and flavours;

February 8, 2024

40/4267) Home:  Oktoberfest Lager by Stonehooker Brewing Company of Ontario:  ***; 6.3%, 21 ibu; brewed with four ingredients only;a traditional Märzen; pours clear; bready nose; bready, malty;

February 7, 2024

39/4266) Home:  Imperial Coffee Stout by Great Lakes Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 8%, 50 ibu; with wheat and Pilot Monument espresso; nitro charged; standard cold brew coffee nose; tastes of cold brewed espresso with dark roasted malt;

February 5, 2024

38/4265) Home:  Eau Bénite by Unibroue of Quebec:  ***1/2; 7.7%, 18 ibu Tripel; translates as “holy water”; low abv for a Tripel; yeasty, sugary nose; yeasty with warming spice flavours; sweet;

February 4, 2024

37/4264) Home:  La Goletta by Stonehooker Brewing Company of Ontario:  ***; 5%, 33 ibu Italian Pilsner; dry hopped; goletta is Italian for schooner; clear; bready, grainy, mildly sharp edged nose; typical pilsner, a little Saaz edge, a bit more floral;

February 2, 2024

34/4261) C'est What:  Mojo by Rorschach Brewing Company of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6% American IPA; cloudy, opaque; citrusy nose and flavours;

35/4262) C'est What:  Surf Rock by Town Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6.4% America IPA; clear; citrusy nose with a hint of grapefruit; muted flavours, hints of citrus and Pez;

36/4263) C'est What:  Mr. Pretty by Blood Brothers in collaboration with Badlands Brewing, both of Ontario:  ****; 6.5% West Coast IPA hopped with Mosaic 702, Cryo Mosaic and Citra; clear; citrusy nose with herbal notes; herbal notes fade while the glass sits; herbal citrus flavours with grapefruit notes;

February 1, 2024

33/4260) Home:  Das Boot Bier by Furnace Room Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 5.5%; new recipe and abv.; Oktoberfest Marzen lager; 4 ingredients; grainy nose, mildly bitter hop edge; malty, bready, spiced hop notes; Fall-like;

January 31, 2024

32/4259) Home:  Solace by Common Good Brewing Company of Ontario:  ****1/2; 6.7%, 30 ibu; dry hopped with Bru-1 and Galaxy; grain bill includes oats and wheat; golden yellow with frothy head; nose is fresh and cirusy; flavours of stone fruit, hint of grapefruit, not bitter not sweet; I want another;

January 29, 2024

30/4257) Home:  Shumei by Blood Brothers of Ontario:  ***1/2; 7%, 70 ibu India Pale Ale; malt bill includes wheat; features both West Coast and Ease Coast hops and is an effort to blend the styles; pours hazy; nose of tropical fruit, especially mango; mostly East Coast, I am not getting much West Coast – tropical, true, it is lacking in oats, hence the West Coast mouth feel but otherwise...; still, it is very nice;

31/4258) Home:  Home:  Juicy J by Mascot Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6%; Juicy IPA; dry hopped with Citra, Cryo Citra and Motueka; only 4 ingredients; hazy; nose of orange juice and mixed citrus; flavours of orange, pink grapefruit, zest at the finish; somewhat muted compared to many;

January 27, 2024

29/4256) Home:  Vintage Ale 2023 by Fuller's on England:  ****; 8.5%, 40 ibu; uses modern English hops:  Opus, Archer, CF185; No. 03817; bottle conditioned; added invert sugar; nose is peach and marlmelade; a bit grainier than earlier editions; expected notes of marmelade alongside hints of peach; unexpected hints of alcohol at the finish;

I bought a second bottle to age.

January 24, 2024

28/4255) Home:  Goud Cream Ale by Furnace Room Brewery of Ontario:  ***; 5.1%; brewed with barley malt and wheat malt; translucent; grainy, minerally nose; minerally with a lager-like fruitiness;

January 21, 2024

26/4253)  Home:  Listener Land by Town Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6.4%; West Coast IPA; hopped with Columbus, Azacca, Citra, Zappa and Comet; translucent; bitter lemon nose; notes of lemon, lime, citrus zest; 

Not quite a throw back but still an alternative to today’s NEIPAs.

27/4254) Home:  M31 Nembus by Wellington Brewery of Ontario:  ***1/2; 10.9%, 60 ibu; Bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout with blueberry and lemon; also wheat and oats; sort of a mildly lemony bourbon, vanilla and alcohol nose; alcohol throughout, lemon and blueberry are oddly muted, oak, bourbon and vanilla; 

My wife found this, “interesting”; which is always a red flag but nonetheless it is warming and flavourful.  From the M31 gift pack.