Town Brewery Trove--Witzig

A hefeweizen from Whitby, Ontario, Witzig comes from Town Brewery and it contains 5.2% alcohol. Witzig is sold in 473mL cans. It’s a hazy golden wheat beer that pours with considerable carbonation and a surprisingly thin layer of white head.

Witzig has a scent that sure ain’t bashful. It packs a real wallop of clove backed with some substantial banana esters. The flavour plays like the aroma, but slightly miniaturized. It has a classic banana and clove profile, and it turns gently toward bitterness at the finish. The beer possesses a mellow and smooth texture.

An agreeable, summery sipper, Witzig is a good take on the hefe style that doesn’t steer far from the traditional blueprint. It’s a well made little brew, though I wouldn’t have minded if the flavour were as aggressive as the nose.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Town Brewery Trove--Close Talker Double IPA

Close Talker Double IPA comes from Whitby, Ontario and the team at Town Brewery. Sold in flashy 473mL cans, the beer is a fairly robust 8.1% alcohol ale. It’s an extremely hazy yellow-gold ale with a thin, yet fluffy white head.

CTDIPA has citrus-heavy aroma with both tart and sweet elements. The flavour has an orange juice vibe, with a sweet to bitter transition and a faint tanginess. The back end is citrusy and really quite mild.

At 8.1%, this isn’t the world’s strongest DIPA, but I really appreciate that it isn’t overly sweet and the booziness is admirably subtle. I found it to be a quality offering, though I’d have liked it to be a bit more overtly bitter.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Town Brewery Trove

One of my most anticipated beer deliveries of the Great 2020 Quarantine came from Whitby, Ontario's Town Brewery. I had only ever tried their Square Wheels IPA going in, but I had enjoyed it quite a bit. Plus, the art on the 473mL Town cans is spectacular, so I was keen to give 'em a whirl.

Stay tuned to the Bitter World for my thoughts on a pale ale, a hefe, and a big ol' DIPA. Turns out I didn't bother reviewing Square Wheels, because I assumed I'd done it already, but trust me that it's a solid one--really excellent. Shit.

Metalhead Double IPA

Burlington’s Nickel Brook Brewing Co. makes some of Ontario’s premier IPAs—Wicked Awesome IPA lives pretty close to its brazen moniker and Headstock IPA is truly a gem (not to mention the excellent Naughty Neighbour APA, which is a Stout Man fridge staple)—so when I saw 473mL cans of Metalhead Double IPA, I couldn’t get it into my cart fast enough. Brewed with a trio of hops—Citra, Eukanot, and Simcoe—the beer contains a punishing 9% alcohol and 85 IBUs. The beer, made with flaked wheat, has a hazy dull-orange colour and pours with a fairly thin off-white head.

Metalhead has a bold citrus nose, with a sweet and boozy tropical subtext. The beer kicks off with a snare crack of West Coast-style grapefruit. Behind that, there is a sweet and sassy fruit medley, and a driving boozy bassline.

If I wanted to be picky, I’d suggest that Metalhead is a bit too sweet and I’d allege that the bitterness could be a bit more assertive. But that’s it for complaints, because otherwise, this is a pretty slammin’ double IPA. Big and loud, with great strength and compelling flavours, this is a damn fine ale that’ll knock your ass down if you let it.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Junction Craft Pilsner

Junction Craft Pilsner is a pale lager born of Toronto’s Junction Craft Brewery. It’s a 4.6% brew sold in unremarkable 473mL cans. The beer is not-quite-clear straw yellow with a short-lived white head and a decent amount of carbonation.

 

JCB’s JCP has a sweet, grainy nose with an agreeable noble hop subtext. The flavour follows the same trail, but the ratios are inverted. The beer kicks off with a sweet cereal note, and it culminates in a rowdy bitter finish. The only issue for me is the sweetness is a bit too prominent.

Dry and crisp, JCP is a low-alcohol offering with a remarkably full-flavour. I’d have liked it to be a bit more effervescent, and there is a sweet streak running through it that doesn’t totally work. On the whole, I thought this was a pretty solid German-style pilsner, and I’d be glad to have another any time.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Born This Way Nano IPA

A Pride Month offering from Muskoka Brewery, Born This Way Nano IPA is a 3.8% light beer. Sold in 473mL cans, the beer, a member of Muskoka’s Moonlight Kettle Series, comes from Bracebridge, Ontario. A portion of the proceeds from each can sold for to The Get REAL Movement.

Born This Way is a yellow-gold ale. It pours with a fluffy white head and has an aroma that walks a line between citrus and floral. For such a low alcohol offering, the flavour is pretty robust, but you’d never mistake it for a full-strength IPA. It has a taste profile that moves from faintly sweet to faintly bitter, with passion-fruit and orange notes. The back end is bitter, but only just. The finish is crackling dry though, and that really works.

Born This Way is a nice little IPA. It’d be extremely session-friendly, but flavourful enough to hold interest. Really, it delivers on almost exactly what It set out to do. I might ask for the flavour to be a bit more interesting, but if you’re looking for a low-octane ale with some verve, this might just be the ticket.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Keefe’s Irish Stout

Keefe’s Irish Stout comes from Toronto’s Granite Brewery & Tied House. It’s a 4.5% brew sold in generic 473mL cans. The beer is an attractive dark ale with caramel highlights under a fluff of tan head.

Keefe’s has mild, malty aromatics. It has a nose that displays sweet chocolate elements and more than a hint of coffee. The flavour is a bit more bitter, with coffee notes and well-roasted malt vibes preceding a modest, bitter finish.

A low-ish alcohol dry Irish stout, Keefe’s is a tasty and vigorously flavourful offering that steers true to style, with ample Old World character. It has a mild but agreeable flavour profile and a nice mouthfeel that exudes mellowness with an uptick of earthy, slightly metallic bitterness at the back end that suggests a slightly higher APV. Other than a faint presence in the front end, there is little sweetness—rather the beer is relatively dry and modestly bitter, with the faintest hint of smoke. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Junction Stout

Junction Stout is a low ABV stout from the team at Toronto’s Junction Craft Brewery. The 4.3% ale comes in Junction’s nondescript 473mL cans that always make me think of a ballot. The beer inside is near black and almost opaque, under a slim layer of off-white foam. According to the copy on the JCB website, the beer is a “Nitro Dry Irish stout”.

J.S. has an opulent aroma, built around notes of roasted malt, chocolate, and good quality diner coffee. The mouthfeel is thin, but smooth, though not as creamy as the best dry Irish stouts tend to be—given the nitro delivery, I’d have expected a more gentle effervescence and a correspondingly velvety texture. The flavour profile begins with rich malt and progresses to a surprisingly robust bitter finish that pairs coffee elements with a hint of cocoa.

I dig Junction Stout. I think it is a pretty good interpretation of a classic style, and I’ll gladly buy it again. I’d have liked a creamier, fuller texture, but I think the flavour profile is spot on, and substantial for such a low-octane ale.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Brand New Day NEIPA w/Galaxy, El Dorado & Mosaic

A beer from the FVX Series from Toronto’s Granite Brewery, Brand New Day NEIPA w/Galaxy, El Dorado & Mosaic is a 6.3% ale. Sold in 473mL cans, Brand New Day is a super swampy, hazy ale with a dull orange colour and a layer of creamy off-white head.

BND has a substantial fruit nose with notes of grapefruit and strawberry, and a boozy pineapple energy. Tropical fruit sweetness is front facing and continues through the whole experience, and the back end picks up a bit of bitter momentum—I’d have sworn it was higher than the listed 28 IBUs, but there you go.

As NEIPAs go, I thought that Granite’s Brand New Day was a winner. I liked the fruity medley of flavours, the slightly above style bitterness, and cloudy as hell dull colour. It also had a pleasantly mellow mouthfeel. As with most NEIPAs, I’d have liked the booze quotient to be a bit higher, but that’s my beef with the style rather than the fault of this one. The beer isn’t elite, but it’s certainly enjoyable as heck.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Autre Chose IPA à la Pêche

A new, canned offering from Chambly, Quebec’s Unibroue, Autre Chose IPA à la Pêche is a 6% ale, dry-hopped, and brewed with Cascade, Citra, Galaxy, and Lemondrop hops. The 50 IBU beer comes in a 473mL can with a slightly confusing image. Obviously, it’s really a demonic dude in a trilby mixing up a cauldron full of potion, but I can’t really look at it without seeing a demented Muppet-style monster with eyes where the horns should be. A real puzzler.

The beer is a hazy golden orange with a durable, sudsy white head. This peachy IPA doesn’t actually list peaches in the ingredients list, but the aromatics scream fuzzy fruit roundies, buttressed by significant yeastiness. The flavour is yeasty, bitter, and a little dank, but peachiness is definitely the dominant note.

 

I didn't rate this beer when I actually drank it, so in lieu of affixing an artificial one, I am just going to say that I recall enjoying the beer and would definitely buy it again.

Paradise Found Tropical Dark Ale

Paradise Found Tropical Dark Ale comes from Toronto’s Saulter Street Brewery—a place that I think has been flying beneath the radar for too long. Brewed using Demerara sugar, the beer contains 5.8% alcohol and is comes in 473mL cans that have a winter to summer beach look. The beer has a stout-like appearance, but didn’t pour with a whole lot of head—just a wisp of off-white head.

Paradise Found has an elegant aromatic profile, with considerably brown sugar sweetness, a whiff of coffee, and some dark chocolate. The beer has a creamy and entirely agreeable mouthfeel that supports a flavour rich in java and a golden rummy sweetness. The back end is bitter, with chocolate and coffee grit, and that provides excellent balance. There is also a very slight smokiness.

While I’d have liked to see a bit more suds atop mount Paradise Found, there isn’t all that much else to critique. It’s a really lovely, balanced and interesting little brew that walks a line between classic English ale flavours and some quirky new world elements. The strength to flavour ratio is good, and the total result is positive.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Four on the Floor Pilsner

Four on the Floor Pilsner is a pale lager from the team at Toronto’s Rainhard Brewing. It’s a 4.9% grog with a slightly hazy yellow-gold colour and a thin cover of white foam. Perhaps my favourite thing about this beer is the last line of the copy on the 355mL cans, which cautions: “Please crush responsibly.”

FotF is brewed using Saaz and Saphir hops. It has a grassy, slightly metallic aroma with a faint banana note. The mouthfeel is both sparkling and a bit thin, which doesn’t give it quite the level of crispness that I was hoping for. It has a clean, pleasant flavour, though, with a grain to hops progression.

FotF is a pretty decent pilsner. It’d be better if it was a bit more crisp and a bit more assertive, but I enjoyed it and am glad to have a few more in the fridge.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Calm Sea Ontario Pale Ale

Born in Toronto’s East Side, Calm Sea Ontario Pale Ale comes from Avling Brewing. It’s a 5% alcohol ale sold in 355mL cans brewed using Ontario wheat, malt, barley, and hops. It’s a hazy golden ale that pours with a sudsy white head.

Calm Sea has a surprisingly yeasty nose, with banana and clove notes—honestly, if I hadn’t seen a label, I’d have called it a hefeweizen for sure. The beer’s flavour has a similar profile—bananas, spice, and hearty yeast. Not a lot of conventional pale ale hops or bitterness, though.

Calm Sea is an unusual pale ale—it hits a lot of wheat beer style elements, and it lacks the bitterness that typically characterizes the pale ale style. Not my cup, but it could absolutely be yours.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Salieri Vienna Lager

Salieri Vienna Lager is a 5% copper lager from Toronto’s Avling. Sold in 355mL cans, Salieri is a very attractive lager with a layer of cream coloured suds to top it off.

The beer has a malty and metallic aroma accented with a hint of caramel sweetness. Salieri is a sweet and smooth brew—perhaps a little too sweet. The flavour contains brown sugar and caramel elements, as well as roasted malt and just a touch of bitterness.

Vienna Lagers aren’t exactly over-represented in Ontario’s craft beer scene, so I was pretty excited to see Avling’s version available for mail order. And it proved to be a decent take—very attractive with a nice, if slightly too sweet flavour.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Eastern Promises Vermont Pale Ale

Eastern Promises Vermont Pale Ale is a 6.7% hazer from the gang at Bowmanville, Ontario’s Manantler Craft Brewing Company. Sold in 500mL bottles, the beer within is a cloudy orange grog that looks lovely, but for its very thin head. I’d like to have seen a bit more foam on this one—not sure how fresh the bottle I got was. But if sediment in the bottom of my glass, but nothing that troubled me one iota.

EP has a lovely orange blossom and creamsicle aroma. It’s got a delicate and enjoyable flavour—lots of orange notes, considerable sweetness deftly handled, and very little bitterness.

This stuff was quite enjoyable to me. A solid Vermont-style pale ale with great strength, little bitterness, and juiciness and sweetness in good balance. I’d have liked it to be a bit foamier on the pour, but it did deliver a smooth and inviting mouthfeel.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Fugg Life

Manantler Craft Brewing Co. makes an extra special bitter using Maris Otter malt and Fuggle hops that gives it a classic English feel. Fugg Life is a 4.6% ale from Bowmanville, Ontario. Sold in 500mL bottles with Manantler’s generic labels, the beer itself is a handsome, clear copper ale that pours with a modest layer of off-white suds.

Zevon doesn't usually express interest in brews, but she liked the vibe of this one.

Fugg Life has a sweet, malty aroma with rich brown sugar and sticky toffee notes. The flavour mimics the aroma, but amplified: it’s malt-driven, with caramel/toffee, and brown sugar, as well as a some orange pekoe tea notes. Based on this description, one might expect that Fugg Life is too sweet, but the beer is actually quite balanced—the Fuggle hops don’t generate overpowering bitterness, but they definitely offset the malty sweetness of the front end expertly.

Fugg Life is a beautiful beer with a dumb name. A great example of the ESB style from an under-the-radar Ontario brewery (Manantler deserves way more attention, at least based on my limited experience with their offerings), Fugg Life is a very satisfying brew. Low-ish alcohol, but full-flavoured, this beer is well-constructed and I highly recommend it.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Dark Prince Black IPA

Cooking up some din for the Bitter Wife and myself, listening to a podcast, we found ourselves with 12 minutes to spare, so I decided I had enough time to review Dark Prince Black IPA. This 6% Cascadian dark ale, made by the team at Manantler Craft Brewing Co., is literally the main reason that I decided on a beer mail order from this Bowmanville establishment—I love a black IPA and the art on the 500mL bottle is dark as hell. Had to have it.

Dark Prince has a dark colour, ruby highlights, and a sudsy cream head. It packs evergreen aromatics, floral bitterness, a whiff of spice, and roasted malts into a busy nose. The flavour is spicy and heartily piney. There are some understated sweet notes and roasted malt elements, but the bitter back half is the real story of this ale.

I thought this was a damned fine ale. I’d have liked it to be stronger—7% would have  changed the game and taken it to the next level. But otherwise, the beer ticked all of my black IPA boxes. The roasted caramel introduction sets the table, but doesn’t clutter the atmosphere and hang around too long. The back end is elite. This is good beer.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.