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.