Western Suds: Hot Pink Lemonade Sour

Hot Pink Lemonade Sour is built in Vancouver by the Spectrum Brewing Company. It’s a 5% ale that comes in stylish 355mL pink cans. The beer within is a faintly hazy orange gold with a quickly dissipating white head.

HPLS has a sharp, citrus aroma. The flavour doesn’t quite rise to the occasion—it has some of the qualities that make pink lemonade such a summer classic (tangy lemon flavour and maximum refreshment), but it is also extremely thin. Nor is it quite as sour as I’d have liked.

Thirst quenching and agreeable but a bit watery, Hot Pink Lemonade Sour is good, but it could have been great.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Western Suds: Park Life Passion Fruit Ale

Park Life Passion Fruit Ale, by Vancouver’s Bomber Brewing Company, has got to be one of the most zestfully carbonated brews I’ve ever reviewed. As a result, it was a challenge to get the 355mL can of hazy orange-gold liquid into a can without inviting a dense cloud of loose, off-white suds along for the ride.

The beer, a 4.5% alcohol number, has a very tart tropical fruit nose. This same tangy passion fruit note drives the flavour, giving the beer a sour, fruity vibe that dominates its otherwise thin body. There is little here by way of finish—the beer is just tart and fruity until it isn’t.

Given its lack of complexity and low percentage, I liked Park Life a lot more than I expected—it was a sharp little beer with a quirky flavour.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Western Suds: Raised by Wolves IPA

The most hyped beer among the nickel of brews brought to me by a pair of West Coast darlings was Raised by Wolves IPA. RbW comes from Victoria, BC, where is is coaxed into existence by Driftwood Brewery. A 7% ale sold in badass 650mL bombers, this beer is made with saccharomyces trois yeast and Equinox (now renamed Ekuanot) hops.

RbW is a hazy golden potion with a carbonation charge and a seriously durable eggshell head. The beer “howls” with juicy mango aromatics and a flavour that is “packed” (puns!) with citrus sentiment. The front end is funky, sometimes sweet, and vaguely tart, while the finish crackles with hops.

Treading a fine line between rugged bitterness and yeasty funk, with ample IBUs and fruity esters, Raised by Wolves is a beer that offers much and delivers—a truly well-made, nearly exquisite IPA. My boy JR sold this stuff hard and it didn’t disappoint one iota—its a wild beast.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

Western Suds: Broken Islands Hazy IPA

Adorned with islands, orcas, and a lighthouse, a 355mL can of Broken Islands Hazy IPA came my way via my pals KF and JR. It’s a 6% alcohol beer by Vancouver Island Brewing. A hazy brew, Broken Islands is possessed of lively carbonation, a frothy white head, and a pleasant golden hue.

Broken Islands has a zesty scent that blends tropical fruit notes with dank hops. The beer has a velvety smooth mouthfeel. Its flavour is juicy. Sweet initially, there is a hoppy, resinous finish.

This hazy IPA had a lovely aroma and a beautiful mouthfeel. It was a a bit thin on the ground in terms of flavour, though, and a bit more booze could’ve helped in to the next level.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Western Suds: Sea Maiden

According to the copy on the cute teal and pink cans of Sea Maiden, this sour watermelon ale occupies the space where “watermelon meets pink Himalayan sea salt”. The 4.5% alcohol number comes from Richmond, BC, where it’s brewed by Britannia Brewing Company.

The beer is cloudy, with a pale orange gold colour and a whole lot of carbonation. It pours with a huge amount of loose white head, though the suds weren’t around for the long haul. Sea Mermaid has a tart, briny aroma that doesn’t really scream watermelon; however, a subtle hint of pink melon is woven throughout the flavour, and is particularly evident towards the finish. Along for the finish are gose-like notes that are both salty and sour.

Billed as a watermelon sour, I’d class this beer as a gose. It’s playful and quirky, with an unusual flavour topography. The concept is quite well executed, though the beer is sufficiently tart that sour beer neophytes might be put off. Personally, I enjoyed my dance with the Sea Maiden, though I’m unlikely to be requesting a second in the near future.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Western Suds from Western Buds

I’m fortunate enough to have a boatload of great friends; really terrific people. Some of them don’t bring me interesting beer, but most of them do. Among the premier bringers of brew are KF and her beau JR. On their most recent swing to Upper Canada, my West Coast beauties brought me a quintet of suds from Canada’s westernmost province. Stay tuned for a gaggle of reviews of some (predominantly pink and prettily packaged) beers from British Columbia.

Candlepower

Brewed by Grimm at Beltway Brewing Co., Candlepower comes from Brooklyn, New York by way of Sterling, Virginia. A punchy 8% farmhouse ale, the stuff is brewed with pink peppercorns and sage, and stuffed into 1pt 8oz bottles that feature truly unique and enticing labels. The beer itself proved to be a cloudy, dull gold batch with a lusty off-white head.

Candlepower has a funky yeast-powered aroma that is spicy and beguiling. Its flavour is, initially, more subtle than I expected, with yeast and metallic sage notes evident but not overwhelming. The front end of this beer is unlike any I’ve ever had before, but for all of that, it wasn’t pushy—the sweet and savory taste remained understated. However, at the back end, the pink peppercorns do their raucous work, creating a spicy and unusual combo that left me impressed.

Yet another excellent beer sent my way by KC, one of the elite friends of the blog, Candlepower is an unusual piece of work. I enjoyed it unaccompanied, but this strong ale would definitely be bolstered by serving with a sharp firm cheese. Still, on its own, it was a quirky, funky ale with a lot to commend and little to criticize.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Seeing Double IPA

Seeing Double IPA is, as should be obvious from both the name and the twin faces that adorn the 12oz bottle, a double India pale ale. A hearty offering at 8.3% and a punishing 91 IBUs, SD comes from Winston-Salem, North Carolina's Foothills Brewing Co., and came my way via the incomparable KC.

A beer with a boozy, citrus sweet aroma, SD’s aroma also dances with an evergreen harmony. The beer tastes strong—stronger even that its 8.3%—due to a heavily sweet opening note. Fortunately, it veers hard to bitter after that, with forest flavours and citrus flavours duking it out for dominance.

Strong and flavourful, Seeing Double is a quality beer from an excellent brewery. Not as impressive, maybe, as some of Foothills other offerings (see Hoppyum and People’s Porter), but still an engaging grog with both heft and circumspection. I’d have another (though perhaps not immediately; I’m trying to be less of a lush). The beer suffers, as many DIPAs do, from over-sweetness. Not persistent as some others in the class, but SD could use a bit more balance.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

White Space Wheat

According to the text on its 473mL can, Mill Street Brewery’s White Space Wheat is brewed using coriander, camomile, and blood orange. The Torontonian wheat beer contains 5% alcohol. Slightly hazy and modestly carbonated, the beer pours with a thin white head and features an aroma that is both yeasty and floral.

White Space doesn’t have a strong flavour, although it does have some depth, with sweet citrus and herbal notes keeping things interesting, before a crisp yet timid finish.

I held onto my can of White Space for longer than I normally would a new beer. For some reason, I wasn’t all that keen to try it, though my intuition was off—it’s actually a pretty nice little brew made with a deft touch. It’s refreshing, but a bit too thin. Not special, but certainly pleasant.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Yakima I.P.A.

Microbrasserie Le Castor, out of Rigaud, Quebec, is the source of Yakima I.P.A., a 6.5%, 75 IBU hopster. Brought to me by my pal K.C., this little brew is certified organic. It’s a hazy, dull gold beer that pours with a sudsy white head.

Le Castor’s Yak has a mild, citrus and hops scent. The flavour has some evergreen notes nestled among grapefruit and juicy lemon, giving way to an agreeably gritty bitter finish.

A quality IPA out of QC, Le Castor’s Yakima is a bitter and jazzy brew that I quite enjoyed. The beer came in a 660mL and I found myself pining for more. The only real knock against it is the thin mouthfeel.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Westy Pale Ale

With its namesake van on the 473mL can, Westy Pale Ale honours the classic Westphalia van. It’s a 5.7%, 42 IBU west coast pale ale from Parsons Brewing Co. in Picton, Ontario.

Westy is a brassy and gassy beer that pours with a fluffy layer of white foam. It has a sweetly citric aroma and a flavour that blends grapefruit with resinous hops.

 

The three way intersection of drinkability, strength, and flavour isn’t always an easy one to navigate, but Westy seems to have found the proper bearing. It’s crisp enough that it’d be sessionable, but for the 5.7% ballast. And with its engaging flavour, there wasn’t much to dislike about this little pale ale.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

YY*>PMI

A member of Bandit Brewery’s YY* Series of milkshake pale ales, YY*>PMI is flavoured with cantaloupe. A 6.2% alcohol ale from Toronto, the beer comes in 500mL bottles with a chilled out surfer raccoon hanging ten on the label.

The beer itself is a hazy golden brew that pours with an exacting amount of off-white head. Sure enough, PMI has a nose that alludes to cantaloupe, with sweet and fresh aromatics draping a veil across light hops sensibilities. The initial flavour is all melon and sweetness, with lots of fruity goodness. However, as the beer starts to warm, that sweetness becomes a touch cloying. My recommendation is to drink this beer cold and quickly—perhaps it’s best shared. The back end is slightly bitter, but not hopped quite enough to balance out the sweet front end. The milkshake-y nature of this beer certainly does provide a nice texture though.

The novelty (at least for me) is a cantaloupe beer makes this one worth trying, and I thought it was executed reasonably well. After all, that particular melon has a pretty bashful flavour compared to some other fruits, and this beer managed to get it to sing. Sadly, is sang a bit too loudly in the sweetness department. 

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Ruckus IPA

Brewed and bottled in Rothsay, New Brunswick, Ruckus IPA is a 7%, 60 IBU ale from the team at Long Bay Brewery. The 355mL bottle features a demonic scooter rider on the label—certainly drew me in.

Ruckus is a hazy golden New England-style IPA. It pours with only a thin layer of head, and even that diminishes quickly to almost nothing in a matter of moments. The beer smells strongly, with a potent blend of tropical fruit and stanky hops. It has a similar flavour, with notes of passion fruit and citrus, and a healthy clatter of resinous hops.

One of the better IPAs I sampled during a recent trip to NB, Ruckus has a bunch of the hallmarks of a quality India pale—good strength, well-executed flavour, and a respectable IBU count. The only thing that hurt this beer is its underwhelming carbonation level—some more fizz would really make this stuff pop.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Obscure Monk

Obscure Monk is a Belgian-style pale ale from Shacklands Brewing Co., one of Toronto’s better kept beer secrets. It’s a 5.2% ale sold in 650mL bombers, and also a crystal clear blonde-hued beer with a sudsy white foam and a bit of sediment.

It has a dry and yeasty nose that is enlivened by notes of autumnal fruits. To the palate, the beer is light and crisp, with some apple crunch up front and a yeasty, short, and dry finish.

Compared to some of the stronger and more engaging offerings from Shacklands, Obscure Monk is a bit on the unimpressive side—it isn’t as flavourful as I’d have liked and the finish, while pleasantly dry, is also a bit thin. Good, but not great.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Capt. Craig

Capt. Craig is a brown ale out of Petit-Paquetville, New Brunswick. This 5.5% alcohol 28 IBU beer comes from Distillerie Fils du Roy. It’s sold, corked and caged, in 750mL bottles that feature a brief story about the titular pirate and his ship that, cursed, became known as the Phantom Ship.

The beer is lovely hue between gold and amber. It pours with an eggshell head that fades speedily to leave a patchy disc of bubbles. Malt and molasses are the dominant aromatics, while the flavour combines those notes with some caramel and a hint of dark rum sweetness. The back end struggles a bit due to a lack of significant bitterness.

This Captain was pretty good, but had too much emphasis on sweet and not enough on hops. A bit more carbonation might also have made a difference, as it felt a bit syrupy. Still, it has a great nose and the front end tastes excellent.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.