Baltika #7 Premium Lager

This lil' brew hails from Petrograd aka Leningrad aka Saint Petersburg, Russia, where it's brewed by Baltika Breweries.  It's an extremely clear, pale lager that pours a nice, yellow straw colour topped with a shock of white head.  It is moderately carbonated and comes in a 500mL bottle that features a cool shape and a ring-top.  Baltika weighs in at a robust 5.4% alcohol.

It has an aroma of bitter grain. It's a mild, drinkable beer, with a slight bready sweetness and a dusting of hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is quite thin and smooth.  All in all, a very mellow brew.

 #7 has a nice flavour and a slight, short aftertaste that makes this a very approachable beer.  And the slightly elevated alcohol content is a nice touch. It's a pretty solid lager.  It won't knock your socks off, but it certainly won't let you down.  Baltika #7--a beer worth trying.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Singha

The other night, at an upscale Thai restaurant, I enjoyed a bottle of Singha, a brew that hails from Pathumthani, Thailand.  It's brewed by the Pathumthani Brewery Co. and comes in 330mL bottles.  It's a pale lager and clocks in at 5% alcohol.  The label proclaims that Singha is "the original Thai beer since 1933" and that it is "by Royal permission"--Fancy!

Singha has a very sweet, bready bouquet.  The beer has a nice, bubbly body and a flavour that consists primarily of grain.  There's also a hint of citric sourness in there somewhere.  It builds to a dry, hoppy conclusion.  It's a mild beer, but a pleasant one.
Singha makes some quality southeast Asian suds.  It's refreshing and drinkable, with a relatively robust flavour.  Worth sampling.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Creemore Springs Lager

This fiery, copper coloured lager comes from the Creemore Springs Brewery in Creemore, Ontario.  The Creemore Springs Lager comes in a 341mL bottle and contains 5% alcohol.  It's an attractive lager that pours with a thick, almost white head.

C.S.L. has a warm, inviting aroma that is both sweet and grainy.  Tastewise, it reminds me of a Vienna lager.  It's got a nice, round flavour, with a slightly metallic taste and notes of warm, sultry caramel.  There's some mild maltiness on the back end.

Creemore Springs Lager is an excellent Ontario beer.  It's relatively mild, but it has considerable character.  The flavour is nicely nuanced.  It can be appreciated by everyone from fans of light lager to aficionados. And fortunately for beer fans, it's available widely across the province in beer stores and barrooms. Definitely get some.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Żubr

Browar Dojlidy Białystok in Poznan, Poland, is the brewer of Żubr, a pale lager that clocks in at 5.6%.  It's sold in 500mL bottles featuring a big ol' bison. It's a clear, golden brew topped by all kinds of white head.  

It has an aroma that blends sweet grains with a metallic clink.  The taste moves from sweet to bitter.  The initial flavour is sweet, fruity, and quite malty.  The finish is considerably hoppy and bitter. 

Żubr has a bigger taste than most conventional European pale lagers.  I liked this one quite a bit.  I say give it a whirl.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Lobster Lovers Beer

Lobster Lovers Beer (no apostrophe) hails from Rinkuškiai, Lithuania, where it is built by the Rinkuškiai Brewery.  It's a strong, bold beer, weighing in at 9.5% alcohol.  LLB is sold in incredibly strange 500mL bottles featuring a lobster superimposed on a woman's back and the slogan "Has life ever snapped at you? Grab it by the claws!"  Will do.

 LLB is a moderately carbonated, slightly cloudy orange colour.  There isn't a lot of head.  The aroma is extremely malty and yeasty.  It has flavours of sweet fruit, possibly raisins, as well as yeast and malt.  There's a considerable boozy blast in this brew.  The yeastiness and maltiness continue through to the aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is considerably buttery.


What this brew has to do with lobster is beyond me.  As a beer, there's very little bitterness to this one.  It's very strong and very sweet.  This one is only likely to appeal to some beer fans--those who dig punchy, malt-heavy suds will like it, while others might not be wild for it.  Still, Lobster Lovers Beer is probably worth buying for the label alone.


Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Negra Modelo

Negro Model is a tasty little brew out of Mexico, where it is brewed by the Cervezeria Modelo.  The label bills this brew as "La Crema de la Cerveza".  I enjoyed a bottle at a local Tex-Mex watering hole in T.O.  The waiter got really excited when he heard that I was reviewing the beer for my blog--he ran and got me the proper glass for my brew.

N.M. is sold in distinctive 355mL bottles and clocks in at 5.3% alcohol.  It pours a rich amber colour.  There is a moderate amount of carbonation and is topped with a quickly thinning white head.  It has a sweet, malty aroma.  Negra Modelo is quite refreshing for an amber beer.  It's tasty and toasty, but mild, with notes of caramel and a hint of raisin.

Negra Modelo is a great change of pace from the popular pale yellow Mexican brews.  It might be a touch on the sweet side, particularly near the end of a pint, but it's a good beer.  Solid, refreshing, and charming.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The Only Cafe-Winter Beer Fest

The Only Cafe is a well-loved beer bar in Toronto's east side.  It's a great place to grab a pint--they have a tremendous beer selection and it's a nice, pleasant space.  This past February, Partner and I attended their Winter Beer Fest.  The Fest had reps from a number of premier craft breweries from in and around Ontario, including Beau's, Black Oak, Flying Monkeys, Railway City, and McAuslan.  The brewers and their representatives were set up at the Only's back patio, so it was fortunate that the weather was mild.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your politics) it was incredibly crowded.  While this was encouraging--showing an increasing enthusiasm for quality brews--it was too crowded to make the experience leisurely or relaxing.  Each trip to pick up sample cups was fraught with spilling risks and it was impractical to chat with the reps in an effort to learn much about their suds.  This was fine though, since there was lots of enthusiasm and a solid beer-love vibe.  However, as someone who likes to taste beer, the biggest hurdle was the amount of cigarette smoke that pervaded the patio--this made actual reviewing very difficult.

The system was pretty simple.  For a dollar, you could purchase a ticket that entitled you to a small sample cup.  Then, you wandered around the patio, deciding whose wares were worth your valuable tickets.  There was lots to choose from, and the colours and hues of the beer rainbow were well represented.

For me, the highlights of the Winter Beer Fest were sampling brews from the Sawdust City Brewing Co., a newly-opened brewery that will eventually be located in Gravenhurst, Ontario, trying McAuslan's excellent Scotch Ale, and spending an evening with my wonderful partner.  This was a great event, particularly as it affirmed that Torontonians of many ages and backgrounds are interested in supporting great beer.  Definitely an event worth checking out in the future.

I was only able to do one review:

Wellington Brewery had a table at the Only Cafe's Winter Beer Fest.  They were offering tiny 5oz samples of an IPA that they put together for the season.  Their IPA was an orange-brown colour and had very little head or carbonation.


It had a wonderfully fruity and sweet initial taste--unexpectedly sweet for an IPA.  It had notes of berries and a cider-like consistency.  The aftertaste was hoppy and bitter.

It was really quite good.  Well worth a try, if you can find some.  I'd love to see Wellington do another batch of this.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Boddington's Pub Ale

Boddington's is a nice brownish-amber coloured ale brewed in Manchester, England.  It's very clear with a limited amount of carbonation and topped by a thick layer of white head. It contains 4.6% alcohol.  I enjoyed a pint on tap, courtesy of my parents, at a local English pub.

 Boddington's has a very mellow aroma--slightly malty with a hint of sweetness.  I want to say honey, but I might have been swayed by the bee on the glass and beermat.  There is a thin, smooth mouthfeel.  The flavour starts sweetish and builds to a moderately bitter finish. An interesting bitterness that isn't particularly hoppy.  The brew has a fairly metallic taste.

This is a pretty reliable ale.  It's a bit thin and a little low in alcohol content, but it has a subtle, intriguing flavour and a delightfully smooth consistency.  It's an attractive and approachable brew.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Holsten Maibock

Holsten Maibock comes out of Hamburg, Germany.  It's a maibock--a lighter member of the bock family.  It comes in a 500mL can and contains 7% alcohol.  The maibock pours a golden colour that's just a shade or so darker than a pale lager. It has considerable carbonation and a quickly dissipating white head.  There's a grainy, slightly metallic aroma and a surprisingly sweet, malty flavour.  A sweet, fruity initial taste gives way to a finish that tends toward the bitter.  It's oddly refreshing for a strong, malty brew.  The mouthfeel is quick thick--almost syrupy.  Warm, alcohol taste is present, but not overwhelming.

Holsten's Maibock is an excellent variation on bock.  It is definitely worth trying--tasty, oddly refreshing, and admirably punchy.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Snow Day Winter Ale

The New Belgium Brewing Co. of Fort Collins Colorado is awesome.  Apparently, the brewery is both wind powered and employee owned.  Pretty rad!  Their Winter Ale is a very dark brown--almost black--with reddish highlights and a modest amount of wispy off-white head.  It comes in 355mL bottles that are sealed with adorable winter-themed caps and contains a virile 6.2% alcohol.

Winter Ale has a strong, malt-heavy aroma that smells very rich.  There is a nice warm flavour that moves from bitter to sweet.  There are lots of roasted flavours--nuts and grains.  Then the bitter comes back for an encore in the aftertaste.  The alcohol taste is effectively masked, but there's no denying that this brew has some warmth to it.

The New Belgium Winter Ale is well worth your time.  It's warm, robust, and quite delightful.  Get yourself a pint and beat the winter blues.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Bellwoods Brewery-Witch Shark Double IPA

The last offering from the Bellwoods Brewery is easily their finest. Called Witch Shark, this double IPA is flavourful and replete with boozy bombast. Weighing in at 9% alcohol, this beer is not foolin' around.

 Witch Shark arrived a slightly hazy golden colour topped with a white head. It has a colossal hop aroma that is very citrus-y. The flavour starts sweet and then veers sharply toward bitter. It opens with a lovely sweet fruit note--nectarine or maybe apricot. Witch Shark is extremely bitter--a hop monster to be sure, but one with some style. The beer has a very warm feel, owing to its substantial percentage and quite a dry finish.

At this early iteration of the Bellwoods Brewery, the Witch Shark Double IPA is clearly the class offering. This is definitely the one that I wanted to take home.  Get down there and get some.  You can thank me later.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Bellwoods Brewery-Toil and Trouble

Toil and Trouble is the Bellwoods Brewery's rendition of a Belgian dubbel. It's a very robust beer with a wallop of booze at 8.7%. It's a dark, reddish brown colour topped with a whisper of creamy head. The aroma is malt-heavy and has considerable yeastiness and a dose of dark fruit. The flavour is malt-forward with some fruit sweetness. Possibly plum? Also, there's just a hint of chocolate at the back end.

Toil and Trouble is definitely a slow sipping beer. It's very satisfying and extremely rich. A pretty fair Toronto version of dubbel. One well worth trying.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Bellwoods Brewery-Farmhouse Ale

Next up from Bellwoods Brewery is their Farmhouse Ale, a cheeky little saison that weighs in at 6% alcohol. It arrived a cheery looking cloudy straw yellow colour, topped with a fluffy white head. Farmhouse Ale had a sour, yeasty aroma with a dose of citrus. The mouthfeel was noticeably dry and quite crisp. There is a slightly sour flavour with some considerable yeasty notes.

The Farmhouse Ale is excellent. It's tasty, refreshing, eminently drinkable and has an interesting flavour. Definitely a beer built for summer quaffing. Plus I love the idea of a quality saison coming out of Ontario. If you're at the Bellwoods Brewery and you're thirsty, you can't go wrong with the Farmhouse Ale.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Bellwoods Brewery-Common Pale Ale

The first brew that I tried at the Bellwoods Brewery was their Common Pale Ale. Apparently it clocks in at 5% alcohol. The Common arrived an almost clear amber-orange colour. It had a good amount of carbonation, but very little head.

Common had a slightly sweet fruit aroma blended with a generous measure of hops. Flavour-wise, this beer didn't have a ton of body. There were some foresty notes and a touch of citrus. However, the dominant flavour is clearly hop bitterness. The finish was quite bitter, but short.

Of the four Bellwoods beers that I sampled, this was easily the weakest.  That said, it was still pretty enjoyable. If I were in charge, Common would have a tad more sweetness on the front end to round it out, perhaps with notes of caramel or toffee more like a classic British pale.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Bellwoods Brewery

A new brewpub is opening up!  Right around the corner from my house!  This is a seriously exciting development. It's called the Bellwoods Brewery and it is supposed to open at the end of this week or early next week. I managed to secure an invite to a pre-opening tasting event.

 It sounds like Bellwoods Brewery is going to be working on a really ambitious roster of beers. There was talk of Berliner Weiss, a Baltic Porter and lots more. At the tasting, they provided us with four: a pale ale, a saison, a dubbel, and a double IPA. Stay tuned to the blog over the next few days for reviews of each of them. In addition, they supplied the tasters with some tasty meaty snacks and some great grainy breads in between samples.

 The brewpub, when it opens, is going to seat 40 people inside and there will eventually be another 40 outdoor patio seats. They do their brewing on site, and have an open kitchen that will have a rotating menu. The atmosphere is pretty industrial and the brewery is visible in the back. The plan is also to open a retail store next door where they'll sell bottles and growlers.  This might be the part that has me most excited. A bottle shop in the neighbourhood sounds like a great idea.

The tasting event was lots of fun. I would estimate that there were approximately 30 or 40 people in total. I sat with two charming table mates.  They were interesting folks, and both really knew their brews, which contributed to my enjoyment. The brewers circulated from table to table during the tasting, answering questions and spreading good will.  It was really apparent that these dudes love beer. They got very excited talking about the hops that they've been using and the plans for future brews.

This place is going to be great.  As you'll see from my next few posts, they have some interesting and challenging beers underway and it sounds like there'll be more to come.  When Bellwoods Brewery opens, make sure to check it out.  You'll probably see me there, hoisting a pint.

Bellwoods Brewery is located at 124 Ossington Avenue in Toronto.

Tusker Lager

Tusker is a product of the East Africa Breweries Group.  It hails from Nairobi, Kenya and is sold in classic 500mL bottles--great shape and cool style.  It contains a rather anemic 4.2% alcohol.  Tusker is a clear, straw coloured pint with little head or carbonation.

With an aroma heavy in grains and a very mild flavour, Tusker is an extremely drinkable brew.  It has a blend of breadiness and a faint citrus zest.  There is a slight sweetness at the back end.

Tusker is a fine pale lager--not a great one.  It is highly drinkable, but not overly compelling.  It's definitely better than most macro-brewed pale lagers, and probably worth a try.  Still, I'd prefer more alcohol and more carbonation.  I like my lagers to fizz a it more.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.