January 16, 2026

17/4763) Home:  Piranha by Stadshaven Brouwerij of the Netherlands:  ***; 8.0%, 20 ibu Tripel;  brewed with sugar, kumquat, mango, chili pepper, pilsner malt and German hops; pours hazy; both fruits are present in the aromas as well as the chili pepper; flavours of kumquat and mango, the heat kicks in at the finish;

“a beer with bite”

18/4764) Home:  Fudgy Brownie Sundae by Whitewater Brewing Co. of Ontario:  ***1/2; 6%, 30 ibu Nitro Stout; brewed with lactose, cocoa and vanilla extract; deep dark brown with a tan head; nose of fresh baked brownies; tastes of vanilla, cocoa – doesn’t quite live up to the nose; a bit thin;

January 15, 2026

15/4761) Home:  Maple Strong and Free by Caledon Hills Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **1/2; 5%, 20 ibu brown ale; with locally sourced maple syrup; brown, translucent, thin head; malty, sweet maple nose; the maple makes this too sweet for my liking;

16/4762) Home:  Pirate Smile by Fairweather Brewing of Ontario:  ***; 6.4% West Coast Inspired IPA; clear, straw colour; floral nose with lime zest; tastes floral with notes of lime zest and a hint of tropical fruit at the finish; not quite working for me but it seemed to improve on warming;

January 14, 2026

13/4759) Home:  Big Pig by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 8.2% West Coast Double IPA; hopped with Columbus, Amarillo, Simcoe; grain bill features the addition of wheat; opaque, very nearly clear; nose of dank zest and melon; tastes of pine, melon, sweeter than expected;

 “A supersized take on our original Big Pig IPA"

14/4760) Home:  Garston Grog by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 6.6% IPA with New Zealand hops; brewed with wheat and hopped with Rakau and Motueka hops from Garston hops; cloudy, nearly murky; nose of Pez and melon with mild tropical notes; juicy with notes of melon and orange; 

Bellwoods is the first Ontario brewery to make use of Garston hops, which is the southernmost hop farm in the world.

January 13, 2026

11/4757) ShakeShack, Mississauga:  Shackmeister Ale by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario:  ****; 4.8%; clear, nose of grapefruit and pine; similar flavours, hint of malt initially; packaged 21-02-25; would have been 4.5 had it been fresher;

12/4758) Home:  Wilder by The Second Wedge Brewing Co. of Ontario:  ***1/2; 4.5%, 32 ibu Session IPA; brewed with wheat and oats; dry hopped with Enigma and Galaxy; hazy; aromas and flavours of peaches;

January 12, 2026

9/4755) Home:  Serenita by Aqua Nova Brewing Co. of Ontario:  ***; 5.2%, 22 ibu Italian pilsner; 4 ingredients; clear, golden, thin head; sweet nose; uncommonly sweet for a pilsner;

10/4756) Home:  Snow & Mirth by Collective Arts of Ontario:  ****; 8.0%, 33 ibu Winter Ale; deep, rich brown with a thin tan head; aromas of winter baking spices; warmisng Christmas cake/cookie spices; deicious;

January 10, 2026

7/4753) Home:  Thank You, Terminator by Collective Arts of Ontario:  ****1/2; 9.0% West Coast Imperial IPA brewed in collaboration with Dominion City Brewing Co., both of Ontario;  hopped with Simcoe, Cascade, Columbus Cryo and Cashmere; very nearly clear; nose of grapefruit, zest, resin; hints of tropical fruit, citrus zest, dry with a mildly bitter finish;

 “in honour of the legend of the Seattle Karaoke scene”

8/4754) Home:  Best Before Dark by Collective Arts of Ontario:  ***1/2; 4.2% nitro Stout; brown, almost black with a persistent tan head; malty nose with mocha notes; malty, roasty, dry;

January 6, 2026

6/4752) Home:  Fun Juice by Great Lakes Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 5.0%, 22 ibu New England pale ale; “like poprocks, but in beer form”; with oats and wheat; cloudy, golden; nose of mango and tangerine; mango, tangerine, peach, mixed citrus;

January 5, 2026

5/4781) Home:  Krush by Great Lakes Brewery of Ontario:  ***; 4.1%, 35 ibu hazy pale ale with oats and wheat; Krush was formerly known as HBC586; hazy; mild tropical nose; mixed tropical with odd vegetal notes;

January 4, 2026

4/4750) Home:  Extra Special Bitter by Silversmith Brewing Co. of Ontario:  ****; 5.0%, 30 ibu ESB; copper; malty with a hint of black tea; tastes malty with tannins; bitter, especially at the finish; a fine ESB;

January 3, 2026

3/4749) Home:  17 Bitter Years as Neighbours by Silversmith Brewing Co. in collaboration with Great Lakes Brewing, both of Ontario:  3.5; 8.6%, 80 ibu “Bitter IIPA”; brewed with wheat; Black Oak was recently purchased by Silversmith; Black Oak’s 10 Bitter Years was Ontario’s first IIPA and this is a return by way of a collaboration; clear, copper; bitter pine nose; bitter pine and resin flavours; delightfully Old School;

January 2, 2026

1/4747) Home:  Wishing Well 2024 by Fairweather Brewing of Ontario:  ****; 11.9% Imperial Stout with Ethiopian coffee, vanilla, maple syrup and cognac soaked pistachios; dark, no head to speak of; nose is sweet and boozy with vanilla, maple and coffee; nutty, boozy, coffee, maple, vaniila are all present in the flavours;

2/4748) Home:  Wishing Well 2025 by Fairweather Brewing of Ontario:  ***1/2; 10.5% Imperial stout conditioned on raspberries, Madagascar vanilla and fresh ginger; dark with a scant tan head; nose of raspberry and ginger with a hint of sweet vanilla; vanilla is muted, raspberry and ginger are more up front to the palate;