After a second straight evening of moules frites, this time in Ghent (and washed down with a trio of Trappist ales), I picked up a 33cL of Ypra, a 6% “Belgian hoppy blond”. The beer comes from Bellegem, where it is brewed under the name of Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste.

Ypra has a strong scent of floral perfume, with a hint of Belgian yeast. The flavour is a bit more balanced, with the floral nose manifesting as a flowery hop presence that blends modestly well with a bit of spice and some potent yeast.

Ypra wasn’t my favourite beer during my journey to Belgium—far too floral. However, the strength was nice, the branding appealed to me, and the spice elements were well executed.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Malheur 12 Belgian Dark Ale

Following a feed of moules frites in Brussels, I ordered a 330mL bottle of Malheur 12 Belgian Dark Ale (to aid with digestion or some such thing). The 12% ale poured with a fluffy off-white head and displayed a handsome burnt umber colour. Born in Buggenhout, Belgium, Malheur 12 is produced by Brewery de Landtsheer.

To my nose, the beer was malt-driven, sweet, and extremely warm, with notes of date and caramel. An extremely boozy flavour was cushioned around rich notes of dried fruit and tobacco.

A delightfully satisfying after dinner sipper, Malheur 12 was a large and bold Belgian ale with loads of depth. As it warmed, I found the flavours to expand even further, leaving me much pleased. As with many beers on the mischievous side of 10%, Malheur 12 was a bit sweeter than I’d have liked, but it sure warmed me up.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Artevelde Gentse Leute

On our first afternoon in Ghent, the Bitter Wife and I popped into Stadsbrouwerij Artevelde to rest our feet and wet our whistles. The place was stylish, with comfortable seating and Dire Straits on the stereo, so we felt instantly at ease.

I selected a Belgian blonde called Artevelde Gentse Leute. The beer, served on tap at the brewery, is a 6.2% top fermented ale. It’s a lovely orange-gold pop with a healthy crown of bright white foam.

The Gentse Leute has yeasty, fruit-forward aromatics, with notes of sweet apple and fig. The flavour has characteristic Belgian yeast, with some spice and sweetness knotted together. Very little bitterness in this one, but it had a mellow (the Bitter Wife called it “fluffy”) texture.

A decent first touch at Artevelde, Gentse Leute was a decent little ale that left me satisfied and intrigued.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Delta IPA

 When I came to Belgium, I wasn’t expecting to drink a whole lot of IPAs, and certainly not many good ones, but one of the first beers that I tucked into was a Delta IPA from the Brussels Beer Project—though it certainly put a healthy Belgian spin on it. Called a “saison IPA”, the 6% brew is made with saison yeast and a quintet of Cascade, Challenger, Citra, Mosaic, and Smaragd hops. Sold in 33cL bottles, the beer pours a dull gold colour with a fluffy white head.

Delta has a bold aroma with notes of grapefruit, lemon, and a healthy dose of wild yeast. The flavour walks a similar path, intersecting farmyard funk and dry texture with classic IPA elements—a good marriage of yeast, citrus and tropical fruits, and bitterness.

Brussels Beer Project strikes me as an incredibly cool operation. They brew innovative and sometimes unusual beers each year and allow their community to vote between four prototypes—the annual winner is added to BBP’s all star roster and becomes a permanent member of their stable. Delta was apparently the first winner back in 2013 and it clearly struck a chord because it can be found all over Brussels. I’m no stranger to hybrid “Belgian-style IPAs”, but I found Delta to have its own unique charm—rooted in its saison pedigree.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Tripel D’Anvers

After a late night meal in Brussels with new friends, the Bitter Wife and I hit up a convenience store near our hotel and I came home with a bottle of Stadsbrouwerij De Koninck’s Tripel D’Anvers. The effervescent blond ale comes from Antwerp in 330mL bottles, weighing in at 8% alcohol. 

Tripel D’Anvers is a dull golden ale with loads of carbonation. It has a warm, yeasty aroma with notes of clove and banana. The flavour, too, has over-ripe banana notes, in addition to some citrus, spice, and a rowdy yeast profile and a fizzy texture. Perhaps a touch too sweet, but otherwise satisfying.

The fact that this low-key beauty is available at 11:30 PM at a dingy tobacconist is a truly remarkable facet of visiting Belgium.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing is a bombastic 7.2% west coast IPA from the sluggers at Left Field Brewery in Toronto. Sold in 355mL cans, the beer comes out clear and gold with a thin white head.

WCS has classic west coast aromatics—grapefruit, resin, and a healthy touch of pine. The flavour is similarly configured, with citrus and evergreen notes. The back end is bitter and the beer is undeniably boozy from start to finish.

A throwback to my favourite era of IPAs, West Coast Swing is big and bold. With lots to like and little to critique, this is a strong offering from Left Field.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Piña Power

An homage to the former Blue Jays’ slugging outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Piña Power is a pineapple IPA from Toronto’s Left Field Brewery. The 6.0% ale comes in 355mL cans and its ingredients list includes wheat, oats, and pineapple purée. The beer is hazy and orange, with a thin covering of white suds.

Piña Power has a subtle pineapple aroma, backed with a bit of citrus bitterness. The flavour is mild, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, and fruity.

The beer is a little thin for my tastes, but it’s otherwise agreeable. The deft touch on the pineapple purée is commendable, as fruited IPAs can run a little too heavy.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Allegheny Splash Tangerine Peach Float

Named in honour of baseballs hit into the river in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Splash Tangerine Peach Float is a 5% ale from the team at Left Field Brewery in Toronto. The beer comes in 355mL cans with a cute li’l drawing on the side. It’s brewed with peach and tangerine (I assume a purée) and lactose, along with wheat and oats. A.S. has a dull orange colour and pours with a thin layer of off-white head.

The Splash has a fruity aroma that has the sweetness of peach and the tang of yogurt. The flavour is a bit tart and it encompasses tangerine and peach notes, as well as a deft touch of vanilla sweetness.

This was a pretty quirky and enjoyable little brew—juicy and with big yogurt energy. I liked it quite a bit more than I expected to.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Fat Ma American Style Pilsner

 Looking like a true classic—clear and modestly carbonated under a fluffy white head—Fat Ma American Style Pilsner is a 5.8% lager from Birds Fly South Ale Project in Greenville, South Carolina. The beer comes in 473mL cans, according to which some of the proceeds “go directly to help our neighbors in need.” Cheers!

The beer has a honey sweet nose backed with an assertive grain bill and a healthy suggestion of hops (Sterling and Topaz). The flavour is initially sweet and grassy, but gradually builds to a hoppy and floral back end.

I’d have liked Fat Ma to be a bit more effervescent, but otherwise she was firing on all cylinders, delivering crisp refreshment and a flavourful bouquet.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Gakozing

So here’s a weird one. Gakozing is an IPA brewed with gummy bears. What?! The beer comes from Alexandria, Virginia’s Aslin Beer Co. It’s a 6.5% brew that comes in goofy and colourful 473mL cans. It’s a cloudy ale that looks like mango juice and pours with almost no head or carbonation.

This beer has a ridiculously sweet candy aroma—truly does have gummy bear notes, but also a dose of tartness. The flavour is full on candy, but also a bit tangy, with notes of cherry syrup. There is basically no bitterness, which doesn’t lend itself to IPA classification.

If I’m being honest, I wasn’t wild about this beer. The concept is innovative and I’m glad that I tried it, but I wouldn’t go back to the well for another, nor would I be eager to revisit it. Props to the glorious MM for hooking me up with this one.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Five Crossings Pale Ale

 From the 7 Barrel Series at Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery comes Five Crossings Pale Ale, a 4.5% beer brewed with oats and wheat. The beer comes out of a 473mL can looking hazy and dull gold, under a loose white head. According to the copy on the can, the brew was created in collaboration with Mike Shoreman, who will be traveling across each of the Great Lakes via paddle board to support mental illness programs.

Five Crossings has a gentle, fruit-driven nose. There are notes of orange and sweet wild strawberry, though these are quite mild. The beer has very little bitterness and it makes for a juicy, refreshing pint.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Summer Solstice

 During a summer cottage getaway outside of Ottawa, my party and I hit up a variety of local breweries in and around Lanark County, including Calabogie Brewing Co. out of Calabogie, Ontario. Most of the offerings from Calabogie disappeared in a blink, but I managed to secure a 473mL can of Summer Solstice to review. 

A 5% pale ale, Summer Solstice is a hazy orange-gold brew. Through the sudsy white head, the beer has a citrus aroma that has a slight metallic bent. The flavour certainly tastes more bitter than the listed 30 IBUs, with grapefruit elements; however, there is also a slightly coppery, bloody tinge that I found a bit unpalatable.

I didn’t really love Summer Solstice, though there were certainly some features that I liked. The beer was refreshing and agreeably bitter, and the citrus touches were nicely integrated. To be fair to Calabogie, several of the other brews we picked up were considerably more enjoyable, including a kölsch-style, a solid West Coast IPA, and a juicy NEIPA.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10.

Transcendence West Coast IPA

 As a beer consumer, something that’ll get me every single time is the words “West Coast IPA”. So, when I saw 500mL bottles of Transcendence West Coast IPA at Toronto’s Collective Arts location, I was pretty quick to snap a couple up. The bottles have lovely labels with a birds and blooms theme and the beer inside is a slightly hazy dull gold, and pours with a fluffy white head. It’s a 6.9% ale brewed with Citra, Galaxy, and Mosaic hops.

Transcendence has a citrus peel aroma that tightropes sweet and bitter elements. The flavour is built with grapefruit in the spotlight, with a sweet streak and a brassy bitter vibe. It also has a fairly mellow texture, which made me think there might have been oats in the brew, but it wasn’t listed among the ingredients.

Like all of the bottles CA beers, Transcendence is quite pricey, but I’d buy this stuff again. It’s a delight. Good strength, too.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Tsumi

 At 8.5%, Godspeed’s Tsumi is a burly imperial coffee stout. The beer, born at Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery, is sold in 355mL cans. It’s a near-black ale with a frothy tan head. 

Tsumi has a robust coffee nose; bitter with a syrupy sweetness. The flavour is big and bold, with black coffee notes and ample bitterness. The booze in this brew is undeniable and it has a thick texture.

A coffee beer with some attitude, Tsumi is an enjoyable ale from a brewery more known for their elite Czech-style lagers.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

De La Mimico

 Brewed as an homage to Belgian pale ales, De La Mimico comes from Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery. A 4.9% Belgian-style pale, the beer comes in 473mL cans that celebrate the Humber River. The beer is orange-gold and pours with an impressive fluff of white foam.

DLM has yeast, orange zest, and something slightly spice to the nose (coriander?). The flavour charts a similar course, with Belgian yeast and citrus esters leading the way. There is some citrus bitterness here, but it is softened by the yeastiness.

The beer is soft in texture, with refreshing witbier characteristics that make De La Mimico a nice choice for a hot afternoon. I’d have liked a bit more hoppy oomph, but I’ll live.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Cheat Code

 Born in Toronto’s Stockyards District, Cheat Code is a dry-hopped IPA from Rainhard Brewing. With a bit of heft at 6.5%, CC comes in nifty old school cans reminiscent of my earliest video game memories. The beer is brewed with a trio of hops: Citra, Galaxy, and Nelson Sauvin.

CC is hazy and gold, with a boisterous white foam. It has an agreeable citrus and berry aromatic blend and a flavour to match. Grapefruit, OJ, and strawberry form the nucleus of the flavour, with a dank and hoppy finish that follows closely.

I purchased six cans of Cheat Code on a sweltering July Friday and found them all devoured at an almost unreasonable rate. This isn’t an innovative IPA, but it’s a delightful one.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Small Fortunes

 

Small Fortunes is a session-friendly pale ale from Toronto’s outpost of Collective Arts. Brewed with Nectaron hops, the beer is just 4.5% and comes in 500mL bottles. Hazy and golden, the beer pours with a sudsy white fog.

SF has a mild but enticing fruit-forward nose. The flavour is still quite mild, but it shows a bit more depth, with notes of peach and apricot. The finish has a faint touch of bitterness.

What I really like about this beer is that it is peachy (apricot-y?) without being over-sweet. That really ups the refreshment quotient to a healthy level. The texture is a bit thin and the price point was a little steep, but otherwise a really solid li’l ale.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Lemon Raspberry Wizard of Gose

 When eating gelato, my firm belief is that the top flavour combo is lemon and raspberry. It’s tart, fruity, refreshing, and perfect. So, when I saw that Bandit Brewery had a version of Wizard of Gose with lemon and raspberry, I was pretty jazzed. The 4.2% sour beer from Toronto comes in 355mL cans that feature a formal raccoon with red/yellow heterochromia.

This edition of WofG has a rose gold colour. It’s a hazy brew that pours with a sprinkling of white head. The beer has a briny aroma with a nice lemony note. The flavour is tart, with lots of lemon and a little tickle of raspberry.

If I’m being honest, I’d have liked this beer to have a bit more emphasis on raspberry, but that said, the flavour is nice and it definitely doesn’t taste artificial. Not a bad little gose.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Joe

Simply called Joe, this DIPA from Toronto’s Bandit Brewery is brewed with Citra, Mosaic, and Strata hops. The beer comes in 355mL cans that appear to feature a chain gang motif with a hammer and a ball and chain. Joe is a milky pale gold with a fluffy and durable white foam.

Joe has sweet and sticky aromatics, with tropical fruit notes and a tang of resin stank. The flavour is juicy, fruity, and dank, with passionfruit and bitter citrus. The beer tastes punchy, but nowhere near as strong as the actual 8.2% listed on the can.

Bandit Brewery has become a bit of an IPA/DIPA factory, pumping out a series of very similar double dry-hopped offerings. While some of these can be indistinguishable, Joe is one of the standouts, with a nice, sharp flavour, big strength, and a great look.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Hop Damn American IPA

 During a short return visit to my birth province of New Brunswick, I picked up a handful of local lagers and ales to keep me feeling social. One such was Hop Damn American IPA. Brewed in Grand Falls, NB, Hop Dam is a 6.5% ale sold in rather minimalist 473mL cans. 

The beer is brewed by Grand Falls Brewing Co. It’s a hazy golden ale that pours with a lush white head that deflated rather speedily. Hop Dam has a punchy nose that screams hemp and citrus. The flavour is resinous and grapefruit leaning.

While this little guy looks like a NEIPA, the flavour profile is more West Coast: sticky and citrusy. Like the can, the beer is a wee bit understated, but I certainly enjoyed it.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Chain Link Lager

 It’s been a minute since I last tasted something new from Hamilton’s Clifford Brewing Co., so Chain Link Lager practically flew into my cart at the LCBO. The offering is a 5% Vienna lager sold in textured 473mL cans. The beer inside is a fiery copper colour with a pretty healthy layer of off-white head.

Chain Link has a complicated nose, with notes of roasted malt, sweet berries, caramel, bread, and a metallic tinkle. The flavour is sweet, malty, and sticky, with a little bit of fruitiness manifested as apples and berries.

For an Ontario lager, Clifford’s Chain Link is a complex and captivating little offering. The sweetness is muted, the flavour is engaging, and the texture is on point.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Layback

When I picked up a duo of 473mL cans of Layback from Wellington Brewery in Guelph, Ontario, I didn’t realize that the 5.5% brew was made with guava and coconut flavour. I might not have bought ‘em had I known, but when I opened the fridge later that night, my curiosity got the better of me. The bright golden ale is brewed with Sabro hops, which are a critical darling, but probably my least favourite out there, as well as oats, and it contains a respectable 45 IBUs.

Through its bright white head, the beer has extremely sweet coconut aromatics—something akin to a drinkable sunscreen. The flavour has a tropical, piña colada kind of energy, with ample coconut and a less assertive fruitiness. The beer has a particularly agreeable smooth and juicy texture.

Layback isn’t really the kind of beer for me. In fact, it doesn’t really taste much like a beer at all, and certainly less like an IPA. But, it is undeniably refreshing, kinda fun, and rather beachy.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Sky Bison American Pale Ale

From Toronto, Sky Bison American Pale Ale is, apparently, the first beer brewed on Longslice Brewery’s bricks and mortar system. The 5% ale comes in cool 473mL cans. It’s a dull gold colour with a thinnish white head.

This little ale demonstrated a trio of notes: caramel, pine, and citrus. The flavour takes a similar tack, though without much evergreen, though in a slightly more restrained fashion. The beer isn’t particularly bitter nor is it overpoweringly flavourful, but that’s not to say the brew ain’t enjoyable. Rather, the caramel and grapefruit/lemon notes are expressed gently, mellowly.

Truthfully, I like my APAs to be a bit more crisp and bitter, but I liked the rounded edges of this little beer all the same. I feel confident that I’ll continue picking up cans here or there as long as it’s available—it’s a nice alternative to Naughty Neighbour and Cruiser.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Neon Wasteland

Neon Wasteland, from Toronto’s Rainhard Brewing, is billed as a Belgian pale ale. Sold in cool 473mL cans, the beer tips the scale at 5.1%. It’s a swampy, dark brown ale that pours with a thick layer of of off-white foam.

NW has a pretty complex nose, with big yeast notes, some raisin, and just a touch of bubblegum. That bubblegum element is even more apparent in the flavour, where it blends with an earthy yeastiness and a touch of clove. The finish continues to be yeasty and sweet, but it also possesses a little spice.

While I found it a bit too sweet, on the whole I was pretty impressed with Rainhard’s take on the Belgian pale ale. Neon Wasteland had a lot of character, an interesting flavour profile, and a lovely dark hue.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Funky Fresh Kiwi Lime Sour

Funky Fresh Kiwi Lime Sour comes from Foresters Falls, Ontario and the Whitewater Brewing Co. The beer contains a crushable 4.6% and just 2 IBUs. Sold in 473mL cans, Funky Fresh is brewed with wheat, oats, lime purée, and kiwi purée. It’s a lightly hazy gold ale under a thin white head.

This li’l guy was a potent sweet and tart candy aroma, with (surprise, surprise) notes of kiwi and lime. For a low-alcohol brew, the flavour is massive. It weaves lime tartness and candied kiwi.

The only thing timid about this beer is the percentage, with jumbo tartness and punchy sweetness. The beer is certainly not subtle, and I found it to be a bit much, but it does deliver an intriguing flavour combo. And for a sour, it isn’t alienatingly tangy. Will I buy it again? Probably. Should you? I guess, I’m not your manager.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Folly Rice Lager

Been a while since I’ve seen something new from Folly Brewing in my local liquor store, but I spotted their Rice Lager the other day and needed to bring a 473mL can home with me. The cans that house the 5% brew pay homage to the rice lager’s roots in Japan. The Torontonian beer is pale gold, clear, well-carbonated, and topped with a thin white head.

Folly’s Rice Lager has a slightly sweet, grainy aroma, with a little touch of perfume. The beer is light, but decently flavourful, with a sweet to bitter progression and faint floral and citrus notes that really come out at the finish.

This is a pretty interesting little lager—crisp and refreshing; flavourful, yet subtle. This’d be a great post-chore beer for a summer afternoon.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Fracture Hazy Imperial IPA

A new spin on an Ontario classic, Fracture Hazy Imperial IPA takes the original Fracture and gives it the New England-style treatment. According to the copy in on the teal 473mL cans, there are even more hops in the hazy version than the original, though I’d have to guess that the extra hops are added late in the process. The beer checks in at a boisterous 8.5% and it comes from Toronto’s Amsterdam Brewery.

Hazy Fracture has aromatics that tiptoe between sweet stone fruit and bitter citrus. The flavour is powerfully sweet and big on fruit notes. The can said to expect peach purée, mango, and citrus, and I think that is fairly apt; there is a definite intersection of mango and grapefruit. Compared to Fracture Classic, the hazy version is a lot less assertively bitter and boozy. The alcohol is subtle, but belied by the candied sweetness.

The Hazy edition of Amsterdam’s Fracture is an interesting adaptation. What I really like about the original is it’s brashness. The hazy iteration is sweeter, juicier, and more mellow. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I personally miss the unapologetic grapefruit rind bitterness. Good strength and an interesting flavour combo, though a bit too sweet—I’ll definitely buy this again, but I won’t seek it out.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Smarch Weather

On thing that the Stout Man will always buy is a rye IPA. Every time. So, when I caught wind of Smarch Weather from Toronto’s Rainhard Brewing, I snapped up six of the 7.2% beauties post haste. Sold in 473mL cans, the beer’s name plays homage to a quality Simpsons bit. The beer, itself, is bright copper in colour and pours with a thin covering of off-white suds.

Smarch Weather has a lovely aroma that blends malty caramel notes with sticky pine and a dose of grapefruit rind. The flavour has a sweet, malty base, but it is the hoppy, citrus and evergreen elements that really drive things. Throw in a little bit of spicy rye and you’ve got something cooking.

Smarch Weather is a wee bit sweeter than I’d like, but it’s otherwise delightful. Great strength, bold flavour, and a 90s TV reference? Sign me up! Make it year round.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Beerly Deloved

Beerly Deloved is a big beer with a great name sold in gorgeous cans. It’s a 10% triple IPA from Toronto’s Bellwoods Brewery. The beer comes in 473mL vessels that feature a hop brooch and what looks like old-timey wallpaper. What emerges is a hazy dull-orange liquid under a modest off-white foam.

For such a large ale, BD has an unexpectedly mild aroma—notes of citrus and the suggestion of boozy warmth, but not much else. The flavour is considerably more robust, with notes of pineapple, peach, and orange peel atop a mountain of spirited heat—the booze in this big guy is unsubtle. The back end is sweet with some citrus hoppiness.

Love the art design, love the name, but the actual beer is just fine. At least in my opinion, a beer this strong should have a significantly more complex flavour. This one tastes like an unremarkable New England IPA, brewed stronger.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10.

On Mute

Toronto’s Collective Arts outpost is the brains behind On Mute, a DIPA brewed with El Dorado and Strata hops. Sold in 500mL bottles, On Mute is a substantial 8.6% bruiser made with oats and wheat. The beer is hazy, orange-gold, and blanketed by a sudsy white head.

To my schnoz, O.M. Has massive fruit aromatics, specifically white grapefruit, orange, and a touch of lime. The flavour is equally citrusy, with OJ and grapefruit in the fore and an undercurrent of booziness throughout. The beer has a mellow, New England-style texture and a back end that is only slightly bitter, manifesting as citrus zest and light resin.

This brew was recommended to me highly by the dude at the Collective Arts bottle shop and I can see why. Might be a little strong for pre-dinner on a Wednesday, but it started off my evening with a bang. My only beef is that I’d have liked a bit more depth to the texture—this one manages to be a little to smooth and milky for me.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Armed ‘N Citra w/Blackberry Dry Hopped Pale Ale

Another variant of Rainhard Brewing Co.’s Armed ‘N Citra is Armed ‘N Citra w/Blackberry Dry Hopped Pale Ale. The 5.2% beer from Toronto really leans into the blackberry look—it’s a purple ale with a pinkish white head. The beer comes in 473mL cans.

This blackberry beauty has a whiff of berry sweetness and just a touch of tartness to the nose. The flavour has really pleasant mora elements—tangy and juicy—but the underlying pale ale doesn’t really come through. The mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side, too, although it does finish nicely.

What this is, though, is a tasty, summery beer. Refreshing and fruity with a lovely plum colour, Armed ‘N Citra w/Blackberry is great for warm weather sipping.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Chocolate Orange Blackburne Imperial Stout

Left Field Brewery in Toronto makes a chocolate orange version of their burly Blackburne Imperial Stout. This version tips the scales at a beefy 9.7% and it’s made with cocoa nibs and orange zest. Mercifully, the beer comes in 355mL cans, as opposed to a larger format. The beer is tarry, with a loose tan head.

Chocolate Orange Blackburne has a punchy orange peel aroma with substantial sweetness and heavy boozy warmth. The flavour is extremely sweet and it delivers exactly what it promises: notes of orange zest and chocolate. The beer has cocoa bitterness at the back end and an undercurrent of strong booziness. The underlying stout powers through, with a malt focus and thick texture.

Orange flavour in beer is one I’m typically resistant to, but this configuration manages to pass muster. I still don’t love the orange zest flavour, but pairing it with cocoa is a fairly effective combo.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Hacker-Pschorr Kellerbier

Hacker-Pschorr Kellerbier is exactly that, a kellerbier from Munich, Germany’s Hacker-Pschorr Bräu. The 5.5% “cellar beer” comes in 500mL cans. It’s a slightly cloudy unfiltered lager with a nice golden hue and a modest layer of white suds.

H-P’s kellerbier has a grainy, malt-focused nose, with a dusting of yeasty aromatics. The flavour is semi-sweet and malt-forward, with nice bready notes. The finish has just a quaver of floral, noble hop bitterness.

My kellerbier frame of reference is pretty narrow, but I’ll say that I enjoyed H-P’s take on the style. I found it refreshing, pleasantly flavoured, and easy-drinking.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Greetings from Belgium

Greetings from Belgium is a collab between Muskoka Brewery from Bracebridge, Ontario and Het Nest Brouwerij, a brewery from Turnhout, near Antwerp, Belgium. The beer is a Belgian-style golden strong ale—a member of Muskoka’s “Big World Small Batch” series—apparently the series’ inaugural release. It’s a 7.8% ale that comes in 473mL cans. The beer is gold in colour, largely clear, and pours with a thin white head.

GfB has aromatics that of describe is yeasty, spicy, and sweet, with baked apple notes. The beer is sweet from tape to tape, with apple and clove notes. I’d hazard that the beer actually manages to taste even stronger than its 7.8%—the booze manifests as a pretty substantial warm streak.

Honestly, this Belgian-style brew from Ontario’s cottage country does a fair approximation of a Belgian golden ale. It might not be as complex as the style calls for, but the flavour is pretty interesting, approachable, and not so strong as might turn off drinkers unfamiliar with the style.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Vertical Dreams

Another IPA from the Toronto foothold of Collective Arts Brewing, Vertical Dreams is made with Azacca, Citra, and Nelson hops, along with some wheat. The beer comes in 500mL bottles with fun labels that feature what looks like a business pigeon and a queer party gator. The beer inside is a little more muted, with a dull golden colour and a bit of haze.

Through a modest white foam, the ale has a soft citrus aroma—lime particularly. The flavour is fairly mild and inclined toward fruity sweetness. The sweetness continues through the finish, though there is also a turn toward some resin bitterness.

At 7%, this beer has some ballast, but I found myself wishing for a little less sweetness and a little more character. Still, a pretty nice little IPA from CA’s Toronto location.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Czechvar Dark Lager

Maybe everybody already knows about this one, but it’s new to me: Czechvar Dark Lager? Sure, I’ll take a swing on that! Brewed by the folks at Czechvar in České Budējovice, Czech Republic, this dark lager is sold in 500mL cans that feature a pair of signatures and fingerprints, signifying which brewers had their mitts all over this little 4.7%, 24 IBU offering. CDL is dark brown in colour, with attractive amber highlights. It pours with a dense and durable cream foam.

CDL has aromatics that are malt forward, with notes of rye toast, brown sugar, and grain. The flavour is initially both metallic and malty, with a mellow, toasty finish. The beer’s not overpowering, but there is some definite depth of flavour, touching on sweet grains, nuttiness and a hint of floral noble hop bitterness.

CDL is unlikely to top Chechvar’s classic recipe on many ballots, but it’s a nice, dark lager that’s far from simple.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.