Sunday 31 March 2013

Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale



Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale is a lightly carbonated, amber brown pale ale that pours with a thin layer of off-white head. Produced by Granville Island Brewing in Vancouver, British Columbia, the G.I.E.B.P.A. is sold in 341mL bottles and contains 5% alcohol. It has a nice, malty aroma, packed with notes of caramel and brown sugar. The flavour is malty, with considerable brown sugar sweetness and a faint nuttiness. The back end has some hop bitterness, though somewhat less than I expected from a pale ale.


All told, English Bay is a pleasant and tasty pale.  I'd have liked a bit more hop presence to be true to the style. That said, it's a pretty well executed brew that is mellow and likely to appeal to a wide audience.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Friday 29 March 2013

Krombacker Pils


According to the 500mL can, Krombacker Pils is the "No. 1 Premium Beer in Germany". K.P. pours a clear, golden straw colour with lusty carbonation and a cloudy white head. There are no surprises in the aroma department--classic pilsner scent of grass and cereal grain. There's no surprises in the flavour either, although the grainy, grassy taste is notably crisp and well executed and there is a slight uptick of bitterness in the finish that reminds you that Krombacher is a touch better than the average pilsner.
 

Krombacher Pils is brewed in Kreuztal, Germany, where it is produced by Krombacker Brauerai. It clocks in at 4.8% alcohol, and as usual with sub-5% brews, I'd really like a bit more punch. However, Krombacher Pils seems to have hit on a winning formula. It's a very approachable German beer that's likely to appeal to a wide range of drinkers.  I think it's noteworthy that the number one selling German beer is so much more flavourful than its North American counterparts.


Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Okocim Mocne

Apparently, "mocne" means strong in Polish, and, when compared to other Eastern European pale brews, Okicim Mocne is certainly that. Boasting an alcohol content of 7.1, Mocne comes in a 500mL can. It's brewed by Okocim Breweries in Brzesko, Poland--it's a brand of the Carlsberg Group. According to the Carlsberg Group's website, Mocne is classified as a pilsner.

It pours a clear honey-gold colour with a white head. It has a powerful grain aroma with a slight whiff of alcohol. It doesn't really taste all that much boozier than other pale lagers but there is a bit more flavour and a decent amount of warmth. It starts sweet with dominant notes of corn and grain, then moves into a bitter finish.

Mocne tastes like a traditional pilsner, but concentrated. It's an interesting twist for pilsner fans looking for a bit more bang for their buck. I probably won't be buying this bad boy on a regular basis, but I'd definitely revisit it once in a while.  For what it's worth, my partner (a big pilsner fan) says she likes it too.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Monday 25 March 2013

HogsBack Vintage Lager

Ottawa, Ontario is the home of the Hogsback Brewing Company, the maker of HogsBack Vintage Lager. HVL is sold in not tremendously attractive 473mL cans. It clocks in at a respectable 5.2% alcohol, and pours a clear honey colour with a thick white head.


HogsBack has a grassy, faintly toasty aroma. It's fairly malt-driven for a lager, and has an interesting and fulsome flavour. It moves sweet to bitter with notes of cereal, toast, and a light dusting of hops near the end.


It's not quite as rich as some Vienna lagers, but much more flavourful than a standard North American pale lager. I could definitely see myself buying this stuff again-it seems like a brew well suited to any season.


Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Saturday 23 March 2013

Commodore Perry

Commodore Perry comes from Cleveland, Ohio, where it's brewed by the Great Lakes Brewing Co. It comes in 12oz bottles emblazoned with the battle cry "Don't give up the sip!" and contains 7.5% alcohol.


An I.P.A., Commodore Perry pours a fairly clear brass colour. It's topped with an off-white head that quickly faded to a thin fog. It has a big hop aroma that features a contingent of fruit notes, particularly peach. C.P. is generously hoppy and contains some undeniable fruit notes--it manages to be both bitter and sweet in the same sip.

C.P. is very tasty stuff. It has lots of character, plus I always enjoy a beer that comes with a history lesson on the bottle. Dangerously, C.P. doesn't taste anywhere near its 7.5%.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Thursday 21 March 2013

Great Lakes Robust Porter

Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto, Ontario is the source of the Great Lakes Robust Porter. I wish that I had a suitable picture of the bottle that this formidable brute came in--a 750mL slugger topped with a red wax seal.  Very impressive.  The beer itself is impressive too--an onyx colour that allows almost no light through and features faint ruby highlights and a thick fog of tan head that you could eat with a spoon.

Notes of prune join coffee and chocolate in the nose. The flavour is replete with dark chocolate and some dark fruit. It is at times sweet, but also backed by a menacing espresso bitterness. I can't recall the alcohol content, but given the warmth associated with this brew, I've got to think that it is by no means anemic. Fans of bold dark ales will enjoy this one--I certainly did. (bolstered by a cigar at sundown.  Bliss.)

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Loyalist Lager


Loyalist Lager is brewed in Prince Edward County, Ontario, by the Barley Days Brewery. It's sold in 341mL bottles with a label that features a brief write-up on the Loyalists and their settlement of Prince Edward County. It contains 4.5% alcohol.

L.L. pours a clear, pale gold colour with zippy carbonation and a white head. It has a sweet caramel aroma. The flavour is considerably sweet--a mixture of grass and corn notes. There is just a hint of toastiness and a slightly bitter finish.

Not a bad li'l brew. I'd like a bit more alcohol, but there is a lovely flavour here that I like a fair bit.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Sunday 17 March 2013

Newcastle Brown Ale

A real favourite from my early days as a young beer enthusiast, Newcastle Brown Ale has been an occasional treat for as long as I have considered myself a beer snob.

Brewed by The John Smith Brewery in Tadcaster, England, Newcastle comes in an iconic yellow and brown 500mL cans featuring a blue star. It clocks in at 4.7% alcohol. It pours a clear, rich, reddish brown colour topped with a cream head--it's a great looking pint.

The aroma is of malt and copper. It has a relatively smooth body. The flavour is a mellow, subtle blend of caramel, brown sugar, malt, and a smidgeon of hops.  There's also a dose of copper flavour throughout. There are definitely stronger and more full-bodied brown ales out there, and more booze and more bitterness would make this a better brew on paper, but I like Newcastle Brown Ale just as it is.  It tastes comfortable.


Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Friday 15 March 2013

Bitburger Premium

Bitburger Premium is the product of Bitburger Braugruppe in Bitburg, Germany. It's sold in 500mL cans that feature a dapper gent in bowtie. It contains 4.8% alcohol. It's a clear, amply carbonated yellow-gold colour, with a cap of bright white head.

It has a sharp, grain aroma, and a crisp, snappy flavour. It has grass and grain notes, primarily, but backed with some relatively formidable bitterness. very little sweetness on the front end keeps Bitburger highly easy-drinking. It has a very short aftertaste.

With loads of flavour for a German pale lager, Bitburger s a fair choice for the discriminating drinker looking for something refreshing. However, I wouldn't mind a bit more booze. The can says that Bitburger is "Germany's Draft Beer No. 1", and I can see why.


Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Wednesday 13 March 2013

Schloss Eggenberg Doppelbock Dunkel

Schloss Eggenberg Doppelbock Dunkel is a strong beer out of Vorchdorf, Austria.  It's brewed by Castle Brewery Eggenberg, sold in 33omL bottles, and chalk full of booze to the tune of 8.5%.


This doppelbock dunkel is a deep, reddish brown colour with moderate carbonation and a thin layer of eggshell head.  It has a sweet, malty aroma with, just as the label advised, a slight coffee charge. It has an understated but purposive malty body. It's fairly rich, with some brown sugar notes.  The label prepared me for a bitter finish, but in my opinion, the flavour remains malt forward through the end. There is some considerable boozy heat, but not much alcohol taste--that makes this brew surprisingly easy-drinking.


This quality brew makes for some quality sundown sipping. It's sweet without being too sweet, unlike some other doppelbocks. A bit more of the promised bitterness would have balanced things nicely, but this is definitely a nice, dark lager.


Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Monday 11 March 2013

Lech Premium Beer

Lech Premium Beer is built by Lech Browery Wielkopolski in Poznań, Poland. It's sold in 500mL cans and contains 5.2% alcohol. I bought a couple on the advice of the dude at my local beer store. The can has the words "Finest Ingredients" emblazoned on the side.


It pours a straw gold colour, topped with a thick white head. It's clear with little carbonation. It has a grassy aroma and standard pale lager flavours--sweet grassiness giving way to a crisp but mild bitter finish. It's a good quality lager, but nothing groundbreaking. It was exactly what I was expecting. It earns a little extra for containing 5.2% alcohol.


Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Saturday 9 March 2013

Wellington Arkell Best Bitter

Wellington Arkell Best Bitter is a 4% alcohol brew that comes from Wellington County Brewing Inc., in Guelph, Ontario.  It comes in 341mL bottles and pours a somewhat murky orange-brown colour. It has mild carbonation and it's topped with a cream coloured head.

W.A.B.B. has a mild, but complex that blends malt and toasted sugar. It has a bigger flavour than one would expect from a brew with only 4%. It walks an enjoyable line between toasty and bitter, rounded out by brown sugar.


This is tasty stuff. The low booze content hurts my rating a little bit, but it makes it very sessionable. A bit more hops presence would also go a long way.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Thursday 7 March 2013

Paddock Wood 606

Paddock Wood 606 comes from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where it's brewed by the Paddock Wood Brewing Co.  The India pale ale comes in a 355mL bottle and weighs in at 5.4% alcohol. It's a slightly cloudy brownish amber, topped with a cream coloured head.

It has a powerful, malt-heavy aroma for an IPA, backed with an earthy bitterness.  The flavour contains brown sugar notes and builds to a rich, bitter crescendo.  It's a pretty nice, complicated IPA--606 it well worth your time.

606 was my first brush with a beer from Saskatchewan.  If this is how things are done in the Prairies, I'd be interested in drinking my way to Regina.

Rating:  8.0 out of 10.

Tuesday 5 March 2013

Black Creek IPA

During my tour of the Black Creek Historic Brewery, I picked up a growler of the Black Creek IPA. This ale contains 5% alcohol and pours a cloudy, orange-brown colour with almost no head or carbonation. It has an aroma that blends citrus with a whisper of caramel. The flavour involves a considerably bitter grapefruit body and just a bit of sweetness. The near total absence of carbonation helps it go down very easily. It has a slightly bitter, dry aftertaste.

The Black Creek IPA is brewed according to 1860s methods. It's a lovely brew with a quality flavour--not overpowering as some IPAs tend to be. A bit more alcohol would definitely be a welcome addition.  Fresh from the brewery, this stuff was highly enjoyable.  The last pint in the growler contained a tonne of sediment--not super appealing.


Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Sunday 3 March 2013

Black Creek Brown Ale

I enjoyed a pint of this offering, produced by Toronto's Black Creek Historic Brewery, at the Halfway House, the pub at the Black Creek Pioneer Village. It was a not-quite-clear, reddish brown ale topped with a quickly thinning eggshell head. It features a nice, malt heavy aroma with brown sugar notes. The flavour is quite rich at the front end, with brown sugar and molasses the driving forces. There is not a lot of bitterness, and what bitterness there is is confined to the finish.

This saucy rogue marks the entrance to the men's room.
BCBA is none too shabby for an English-style brown ale. It's smooth with an interesting flavour.  I'd like a bit more oomph, but otherwise I was quite satisfied. It made a lovely compliment to the chevre-filled bison burger that I enjoyed at the Halfway House.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Friday 1 March 2013

Black Creek Historic Brewery

Black Creek Historic Brewery is located in the Halfway House Pub in Toronto's Black Creek Pioneer Village. The brews made on site and for sale there are distinct from the commercially available brews under the Black Creek name.  At the brewery, unfiltered 19th Century-style brews are interpreted by the brewmaster--a very interesting guy with an infectious enthusiasm for beers and brewing.  There are some pretty cool things about Black Creek: it might be Ontario's smallest microbrewery and it occasionally produces an Estate Ale, a "100 meter" beer, using barley and hops grown in sight of the brewery.
Hops!
Barley!

While at the brewery, I sampled a few different ales: a brown ale, an stout, and a best bitter.  Each was only mildly carbonate, cloudy, and quite delicious.


If you're in Toronto, interested in history, and dig beer, I highly recommend a trip out to the Black Creek Pioneer Village and its Black Creek Historic Brewery.