Northern Logger

Here’s the scene. A beautifully, sunny Saturday afternoon in June. The grill is lit and a pork chop is sizzling merrily. Our protagonist craves refreshment. But what? An IPA? Far too early in the day. A stout? Not with this weather. A saison? Not in the mood. No, this day called for a golden ale. Enter Northern Logger, a sunny ale (real missed opportunity on the “lager” puns there, guys) from the folks at Sleeping Giant Brewing Co. in Thunder Bay, Ontario. At 4.9% and 17 IBUs, this little brew has the mild stats to greet lunchtime without too much enthusiasm. It’s a pale golden brew with lots of fizz and a fluffy mop of white head.

Northern Logger (seriously, I bought this thinking it was a lager—I even got out a pilsner glass!) has a pleasantly dry hops aroma supplemented with a helping of grainy scents. Crisp and refreshing, the beer has some macro ale attributes, but delivers a decidedly “craft” flavour. Though mild, the deft use of (I’d say German-style) hops gives the beer a bit of moxie that its macro rivals can only pretend at.

That’s not to say that Northern Logger is an incredible beer, or even an interesting one. No, it’s bright and crisp, and just the thing for an early afternoon grill session, or a post-lawn mowing refresher. It’s not really much more than that, but it is definitely enjoyable.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Liquid Art Fest IPA

Perhaps the “orangest” beer I’ve ever tried, Collective Arts Brewing’s Liquid Art Fest IPA has a milky creamsicle colour. The Hamilton, Ontario ale comes in funky 473mL cans that have some kind of rock hop monster on them. The milkshake IPA has just 5.9% alcohol and it’s brewed with lactose, mango purée, passion fruit purée, flaked oats, and vanilla.

Unsurprisingly, Liquid Art Fest has a juicy, fruit-forward nose. It has a particular emphasis on mango. The flavour kicks off with an unexpectedly tart element. Tropical fruits are ably represented and there is a whisper of vanilla sweetness that serves to mellow the sharpness of the purée.

The lactose and oats combo gives Liquid Art Fest (brewed in honour of the eponymous festival put on by Collective Arts in June) a very smooth and creamy body; something that runs a bit contrary to the tartness, but which has some unusual charm. My biggest complaint with this beer is that, for an IPA, bitterness isn’t at a premium and booze is a bit underrepresented. Still, I wouldn’t complain if the gang at Collective Arts decided to elevate this beer from a limited release to a regular offering. It’s innovative and oddball.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Wicked Awesome IPA

With a name a Bostonian can surely get behind, Wicked Awesome IPA is clearly New England-style. This 6.5% alcohol, 64 IBU brew comes from Nickel Brook Brewing Co. from Burlington, Ontario. According to the 473mL cans (festooned with a purple and teal jungle cat, BTW), this beer is the winner of the vote from NB’s first ever mystery pack competition.

Cloudy, milky, and dull orange-gold, Wicked Awesome pours with a sudsy off-white head. It packs a robust scent, built around mango and hops stank. The flavour is equally split between tropical fruit notes and sticky, resinous bitterness.

Easy-going for an IPA, but bursting with juicy flavour, it’s not hard to see how this beer is a contest winner. At 6.5%, there is a little room to up the ante, but there is ample taste to keep your taste buds’ interest piqued.

Other than their lamentable Green Apple Pilsner (I won’t let it go—it’s awful!), Nickel Brook is one of Ontario’s most consistently good, easily available breweries. Their Naughty Neighbour and Headstock IPA are almost always present in my fridge, and if Wicked Awesome remains available, I expect it will join the gang in my staple roster. It’s not groundbreaking, earthshaking, or heartbreaking, but it is a damn fine brew. Plus, with the relatively low percentage and big, tropical flavour, this is the beer you give to your pal Kevin who is convinced he doesn’t like IPAs because they’re “too bitter”. Fuck you, Kevin! It’s a big tent style.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Cinnamon Roll Imperial Ale

A seasonal offering from Lakewood, New York’s Southern Tier Brewing Co., Cinnamon Roll Imperial Ale is an 8.6% alcohol ale brewed with natural cinnamon and caramel flavour. The beer is a swampy-as-hell brown and it pours with a thin cover of eggshell head.

This beer smells SWEET. Like, unbelievably sweet. It has a hefty cinnamon vibe and a buttload of brown sugar. The flavour is similarly situated and damnit, it does really taste like a cinnamon roll. There is a bit of bitterness toward the back door, and a load of booziness.

This beer is definitely a novelty rather than a regular sipper, but it’s really quite a nicely constructed ghoulish grog. Sweet enough to consider pouring over ice cream, and boozy as can be, this is a quirky ale with some gravitas. The Bitter Wife though it was a treat, and she’d have rocked it for breakfast, because she’s badass like that. Bottom line: I’m super glad my pal MM gave me this brew and I’m glad I tried it, but I can’t imagine that I’ll be trying it again anytime soon. This beer did exactly what it set out to do, but it’s a weird concept.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Cool as Cuke

A member of the “Moonlight Kettle Series” from Muskoka Brewery, Cool as Cuke is a pale ale brewed with cucumber juice and lemongrass. From Bracebridge, Ontario, this 4.7% alcohol ale comes in funky 473mL lunar cuke cans.

Cool as Cuke is a pale golden brew. It’s clear and pours with a short-lived white head. The beer has a veggie-rific flavour that has fresh cucumber notes aplenty. Cucumber is a notable presence in the flavour as well, though it remains sufficiently mild to avoid overkill. The pale ale side of the equation doesn’t have a lot to commend—it’s light a crisp, but clearly a cucumber vehicle. Of lemongrass, I didn’t really catch a taste.

A nice summer alternative to the hefeweizen, Cool as Cuke is refreshing and light, plus it’s a bit quirky. I liked it quite a bit.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Lunch Money

I know that I’ve opined before about the "prolific-ness" of Hamilton, Ontario’s Collective Arts Brewing, so I won’t belabor the point, except to say that these dudes make a lot of different brews and they get a huge number on the shelf of my local stores.

Lunch Money is my latest CA purchase. This ale is brewed with Centennial and German Magnum hops. It’s a pale gold number that pours clear with a bright white puff of foam. Low-powered at just 4.8%, Lunch Money comes in 474mL cans that feature a robot battle scene.

To the nose, Lunch Money is crisp, clean, and pleadingly lemony. Crispness continues into the flavour, which is good, because there isn’t really a lot of boldness here to right about: just notes of lemon and herbal tea preceding an extremely quick finish.

Lunch Money is clearly intended to be a refreshing and sessionable ale. On that front, it succeeds brilliantly. Further, the lemony quality makes for a nice change of pace. However, the beer is underwhelmingly thin and comes up a bit short on flavour. Crushable in a macro lager kind of way and a definite sunny day ale, Lunch Money has craft sensibilities, but lacks depth.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Cup & Saucer English Ale

Cup & Saucer English Ale is brought into existence in Little Current, on Ontario’s Manitoulin Island. A 5% alcohol beer sold in 473mL cans, C&S comes from the Manitoulin Brewing Co. It’s a rusty orange ale with a sudsy off-white head.

The beer has a mild aroma, built around toasty malts and a coppery streak. The flavour has a bit more heft, displaying a nicely rounded taste with brown sugar notes and lots of toasted malt presence. C&S isn’t particularly bitter, but there is a nice hops element at the back end to ensure balance.

I thought Cup & Saucer was a pretty nice take on the English-style ale. Not inventive, exactly, but nicely executed and enjoyable.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Let’s Go Exploring IPA

Waiting for a pal, I had some time to kill at Toronto’s Eastbound Brewing Co., so I bought a 16oz pour of their Let’s Go Exploring IPA. At 6.1%, LGE was a bit understrength for the style. It was a hazy orange-gold ale that turned up with a crown of sudsy white and an aroma rich in tangerine. The flavour was equally citrus-oriented, with orange elements in spades. The beer finished with a dusting of bitterness, but without the crackle I was hankering for.

Let’s Go Exploring was a decent IPA—nice flavour, but limited boozy ballast and a surfeit of hops. Closer to a pale ale than an IPA, had this beer been classed differently, I might have been more generous.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Space Invader IPA

I found my eyes instantly drawn to a retro-looking, 8-bit-style can in my local beer vendor the other day and wound up coming home with a handful of 473mL aluminum sleeves of Space Invader IPA.

A 6% alcohol brew from Amsterdam Brewery in Toronto, Space Invader is a hazy golden India pale. It pours with a lacy white head and a light burst of carbonation. The beer as a sticky, fruity scent that, while bitter. has tropical leanings. Unlike Amsterdam’s excellent Boneshaker IPA, Space Invader eschews potent grapefruit notes in favour of juicy tropical notes. It has some sweetness mingled with a slightly floral tone, leading toward a modestly bitter finish.

Not early as bitter or boisterous as Boneshaker, in my opinion, Space Invader isn’t as good either. However, I’ve met lots of reasonable people who find Boney to be too sharp and hoppy—I suspect in Space Invaders Amsterdam has found a recipe less likely to be divisive among casual beer drinkers who are wary of big IBU numbers. As a fan of IPAs that can strip the enamel off your teeth while punishing your liver, I’d definitely have preferred this beer to be stronger and more bitter, but the smart folks at Amsterdam clearly didn’t set out to create Boney II. The result was an IPA with good drinkability, an agreeable flavour, and a summery vibe.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Inn O’Sláinte

An Irish red ale from Waterloo, Ontario, Inn O’Sláinte is built by Innocente Brewing Company. It’s a 5.2% alcohol, 18 IBU brew sold in 473mL cans.

Inn O’Sláinte is a coppery ale that pours with a hearty cream-coloured head. Its tinny aroma has brown sugar and caramel notes on a bready base. The flavour has a metallic crackle, surrounded by rich caramel and nicely toasted malts. The beer closes out with a modestly bitter and considerably coppery finish.

For an Irish-style red ale from Waterloo, Inn O’Sláinte has some pretty fair chops. It has adequate strength, considerable flavour, and a sassy look. I’d definitely buy this little ale again.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

The Answer Helles Lager

Toronto, Ontario is the birthplace of The Answer Helles Lager. It’s a pale lager that contains 5% alcohol, packs a light 18 IBUs, and comes in 473mL cans. It’s a sunny golden lager, highly carbonated, under a bright white head.

The Answer has a punchy grain and noble hops aroma. The flavour is grassy and crisp, with some cereal sweetness and a quick, dry finish. It comes from Pint Pursuits Brewing Brewing Co. (makers of the highly enjoyable Lord of Lupulin).

A lovely summery brew, The Answer isn’t complicated or obtuse, but it is refreshing and crisp. I prefer my pale lagers to have a bit more bitterness to close the door and a bit less sweetness. Still, it’s refreshing and chill, and I’d buy it again.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Road Block Doppelbock

Road Block Doppelbock comes from Windsor, Ontario’s Walkerville Brewery. I picked up a 473mL can of the 7.5% stuff. It’s a clear, amber tonic that pours with almost no head—just a thin disc of white suds.

The doppel has a malty, brown sugar soaked aroma. Its flavour is malt-driven, with caramel sweetness and a fairly pronounced hoppy finish.

Road Block had great strength, and a decent flavour, but it is a bit thin-bodied and light on carbonation. All told, its alright, but not a game-changer.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Woodrunner Barrel Aged Stout

Imaginatively, the Kingsville Brewery is located in Kingsville, Ontario—a place that I totally knew existed before I bought a 473mL can of Woodrunner Barrel Aged Stout. Emblazoned with the motto “Pour ceux qui errent” ("for those who wander"), the brew is a 6.7% alcohol job.

Woodrunner has a hefty nose that tends toward molasses, with malt and a boozy/woody notes. The beer is sweet, initially, with some sugary coffee notes. Complimenting these are oaky notes and a finish that has bit of espresso bitterness.

Excellent strength, with a pretty nice if over-sweet flavour, and a nice finish, Woodrunner is a very decent beer, but more than good enough to have me interested in Kingsville Brewery’s offerings. Also, I’m kinda pumped to see a barrel aged stout as the first commercially available beer for a local brewery—take that pale ale!

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Barn Owl No. 13

Looks to me like the last batch of Bellwood’s Brewery’s Barn Owl that I reviewed was No. 3, which I reviewed with me mudder-in-law. Two plus spins around the sun later, Barn Owl No. 13 came into my life. This iteration was a bit stronger (6.7% compared to No. 3’s 6.5%) and it looked completely different. This version had a hazy pink tone, owing to it being a “sour ale with raspberries and cranberries barrel aged 18 months”. The beer in the 500mL bottle poured with a nice pinkish white head that didn’t have a lot of staying power.

No. 13 had a pungent aroma that walked the line between assertive and pushy, with big notes of tart raspberries and tangy cran. The sourness in this ale packed a pretty nifty punch, with funky yeast working hard, but it was the duo of sharp red berries that really amped things up. The 1.5 years spent aging in a barrel stuffed with sour fruit clearly made quite an impact, though I didn’t find a surfeit of the woody, oaken qualities I’ve come to expect from wood-aged ales. That said, some barrel was in evidence in the short and tart finish.

This beer had a lot of the same qualities of a Belgian kriek, which means it will appeal to some and alienate many—not a beer for everyone. But if you dig sours and you dig ‘em fruity, this is a fine brew for you.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Das Spritzhaus Hefeweizen

A brewery that seems to be picking up steam in Southern Ontario is the Abe Erb Brewing Company, an outfit out of Kitchener. In recent months, a variety of their ales have found brief lodging in my refrigerator, before finding their way into my gullet and then into the pages of this blog. And so far, they’ve delivered the goods.

 

On a glorious Friday afternoon (half day off from work!) I decided to kick off my weekend with a 473mL can of their Das Spritzhaus Hefeweizen. Low in booze (4.7%) but big in yeasty aromatics and fruit esters, Das Spritz is a hazy, verging in cloudy, golden ale with a sunny colour and a vibrant cover of brilliant white suds.

Like a classic European wheat beer, Das Spritz has a flavour that blends banana, citrus, and spice. It has a largely mellow mouthfeel that has a bit more carbonation than I expected.

Sweet but not stifling, and light but not watery, Abe Erb’s take on the hefe style is a quality beer, particularly if you are faced with the daunting prospect of a beautiful summer afternoon with no responsibilities until dinner time. If I had to pick something to complain about (not an easy task when enjoying a free Friday afternoon), a bit less fizz and a touch more alcohol—just up it to 5!—would have pumped the score up another half-point or so.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Love Fuzz

According to the copy on the 473mL can of Love Fuzz, a red pale ale from Toronto’s Black Oak Brewing Co., the brew is a triple-hopped number, that uses Legacy, Simcoe, and Galaxy hops. The beer clocks in at a healthy 6.2%. It pours with a gnarly walnut-red hue and a hefty dose of durable sudsy cream head.

Love Fuzz has a nose that blends metallic, malty, and fruit-focused notes. Its flavour has classic red ale notes of copper and malt, but features hoppy pine and spruce clanging alongside some fruity notes, and the faintest hint of light roast coffee and a whisper of rye spice. The can told me to expect blueberry, which I might not have noticed without some guidance, but the citrus notes described were an easy flavour to pick up.

The can claims that Love Fuzz was a gold medal winner at the Canadian Brewing Awards, and one can tell why. This weird hybrid style is executed with a precision that makes you wonder why it isn’t more prevalent. Robustly flavourful, with the best of many worlds, I found Love Fuzz to be a breath of fresh air and a bang-up brewski. My biggest concern is that it won’t be regularly available at the shops maintained by my government-run beer barons. Black Oak—please keep this one coming!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.