Great Lakes Brewery-Pumpkin Ale

In honour of All Hallows Eve, I decided to review the seasonally appropriate Pumpkin Ale produced by Toronto's Great Lakes Brewery.  I am a huge pumpkin fan, with pumpkin pie being rivaled only by the ambrosial strawberry rhubarb pie for the title of all-time favourite.  The addition of pumpkin to beer is something that I have been seeing increasingly in recent years and it is a taste combination that I heartily endorse.

Great Lakes' Pumpkin Ale is sold in delightfully weighty 650mL bottles.  It weighs in at 5.5% alcohol and pours a slightly murky copper colour.  It is topped by a frothy white head, is considerably fizzy and leaves behind a sudsy white lace.  According to the bottle, the brewing process involves the addition of "generous amounts of pumpkin" directly to the brew.

The aroma is not surprisingly heavy on the pumpkin, but that's not all.  There is a foundational metallic scent and spicy notes of cloves.  The flavour is dominated by the classic copper taste of an English ale.  The pumpkin flavour is present, but understated.  It is a very pleasant addition to an ale that would probably be enjoyable without it.  Additionally, the brew is given an agreeable warmth by the presence of autumnal spices.  According to the label, there are "hints of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and allspice", which sounds about right to me.  While pumpkin doesn't dominate the initial flavour, it is an undeniable element of the bitter aftertaste that lingers after each sip.

Compared to small batch auburn ales, this brew probably wouldn't dominate the rankings, but in the context of flavoured ales, this one is a definite winner.   While the aroma is rich in pumpkin, the actual flavour is richer and more nuanced than expected.  This beer is a welcome addition to a crisp autumn day.

 Happy Hallowe'en from the Stout Man!

Rating: 9.0

Muskoka Brewery-Mad Tom IPA

As the weather has been turning increasingly cool and crisp, I've found myself craving a full-bodied brew.  I found that and more in Bracebridge, Ontario's Mad Tom IPA.  Brewed by the Muskoka Brewery, this robust IPA is sold in 330mL bottles and checks in at a healthsome 6.4% alcohol.  Mad Tom pours a slightly murky amber colour topped by a moderate off-white head.  When sipped, it leaves behind lots of lacy cling.

The aroma features the strong evergreen scent common to heavily-hopped ales.  This scent is accented by a hint of toffee sweetness.  The taste is robust and full, dominated by an extreme hops flavour.  Underneath the hops lies a whimper of sweet malt and a touch of citrus sourness.  The aftertaste is really bitter and seemed to follow me around my apartment long after the beer was a memory.

This brew is not for amateurs.  I wouldn't recommend it to those beer fans that seldom stray from the straight and narrow path of macro-brewed lagers.  However, for those who enjoy a fulsome ale from time to time, this is a good'un.  It's strong and full with an overpowering flavour.  However, what I like most about it is that there is more to it than just hops.  There is a lot going on in the complicated flavour of the Old Tom IPA.  I say buy it, as long as you don't mind a brew that won't go down without a fight.

Also, I enjoy the moustachioed, barrel-riding outlaw on the neck of the bottle:

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Sleeman's Original Draught

Since I've been writing this blog, I haven't had occasion to review many mass-produced domestic lagers.  This is not intentional--I fully intend to write about the entire spectrum of beers (except light beer of course).  It's just that there are so many diverse and interesting beers out there.  It's hard to bring myself to order a pint of a Canadian marcrobrew or lug home a six-pack of some generic suds I've been getting since I was in high school.  However, there's a place on this blog for all beers.  To that end, I recently purchased a mug of Sleeman's Original Draught. 

In the world of Canadian macro lagers, SOD is near the top of the class.  It is sold on tap in many bars, as well as in Sleeman's distinctive and attractive embossed clear bottles.  Sleeman's does a couple of beers that are better that this one.  It contains the standard 5% alcohol and has the standard pale gold colour.  It pours to little head and moderate lace, both of which recede quickly.  There is substantial carbonation.  There is a faint aroma of corn and bread.  There flavour is pretty good, but contains no surprises.  The taste travels from mildly sweet to mildly bitter.  Along the way, there are notes of corn and slight hoppiness.

SOD is extremely drinkable, but not remotely innovative.  Compared to other mass-produced Canadian lagers, it's pretty solid, though compared to a nice small-batch lager, it comes up short.  It's a good beer for watching a football game or bringing to a party--you get a dose of alcohol in an inoffensive format.  Plus, if one of your buddies swipes one, it's no big deal.

Rating:  6.5 out of 10.

My 50th Post! Duggan's Brewery-#9 IPA

Duggan's Brewery is one of Downtown Toronto's finest microbreweries.  They've had some setbacks in terms of food service, but they continue to brew some of the best beers in Ontario.  Of the Duggan's brews I've tried, the #9 IPA is my personal fave.

Served in slim but stylish 275mL bottles, the #9 IPA measures in at a healthy 6.2%.  It pours a warm looking ruddy brown with a fair amount of cream-coloured head and lots of clinging lace.  The scent is predominantly hoppy, but also contains sweet fruit aromas of plum and apricot.

The flavour begins with an initial jolt of malty, fruity sweetness.  This is soon swallowed by a hoppy bitterness that persists though the aftertaste.  The piney taste is pleasant without being overpowering.  The #9 is fairly dry.  It has a strong, complex flavour and the elevated alcohol content is not particularly discernible.  It's a bit strong to be conventionally "sessionable", but a Duggan's session would be fun.

This is an excellent IPA.  The piney taste of hops is complemented by a variety of other flavours and balanced against a delicious blast of maltintess on the front-end.  Get some!

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Wells IPA

Wells IPA is, according to the can, "brewed in the heart of England."  It hails from Bedford, measures a typical 5% and is served in an attractive red and green 500mL can--it is just about as elegant as a beer can can look.

 As for the beer itself, it pours a striking rust colour.  It is clear with ample head and lace.  The aroma, fairly strong, suggests the foresty, floral scent of hops.  The flavour begins with a gentle maltiness that is gradually overtaken by a bitter finish.  Wells IPA tastes big and bitter, but without the unfortunate over-hopped quality that many so-called West Coast IPAs are prone to.  The aftertaste is both bitter and a touch bready.

Wells IPA is a solid brew.  It is attractive, tasty and affordable.  It isn't quite an elite ale, as it lacks that one of a kind character that sets the best beers apart, but it is quite enjoyable.  Definitely worth a try.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc

I recently made the mistake of purchasing a 6-pack of Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc, a new product from the makers of the original Kronenbourg 1664, which I quite enjoy.  Born in Strasbourg, France, weighing in at 5% and sold in terribly unattractive blue 330mL bottles, the beer proved to be a big disappointment.

The first signs of trouble came as soon as I poured it.  The beer was a cloudy, milky colour that was not particularly appealing.  However, as a witbier, I was willing to overlook the colour.  The aroma was where things really started to go downhill.  It was incredibly sweet-smelling.  Peachy, but somehow artificial.  Not surprisingly, the taste was also extremely sweet.  Again, peach notes were prevalent, but also elements of citrus.  There was very little aftertaste to speak of.

The label reads "fresh and fruity" so I knew what I was getting myself into, but I was hoping for a refreshing beer.  What I got was, to my mind, barely beer at all.  There are lots of fruit flavoured or fruit infused beers that I have enjoyed very much.  The biggest problem that I had with the 1664 Blanc is that it was fruit first and beer only a distant second.  Additionally, the fruit flavour tasted artificial.  It might be possible that in the right conditions, this beer would prove more palatable.  Perhaps on a sunny afternoon, with the mercury climbing.  Certainly there is a market for this kind of beverage.  But, this beer is definitely not for me.  Now I have several left in my fridge and they may be there for a while.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10.

Miercurea Ciuc Organic Pils

Miercurea Ciuc's Organic Pils hails from Bucharest, Romania.  Sold in 500mL cans, this 5% pale lager has some attributes that set it apart from other Easter European brews and made drinking it a pretty enjoyable experience.

Ciuc was a very clear straw colour.  It is topped by a cloudy white head that dissipates quickly.  There is moderate carbonation and moderate lace.  Ciuc features an outstanding aroma of pears that is quite enjoyable.  Similarly, the taste has notes of pear that highlight the largely sweet flavour.  On the downside, the mouthfeel is thin and watery, even for a pilsner.  The aftertaste is dry and slightly bitter--not my favourite part of this brew.

This is not a bad pilsner by any stretch of the imagination.  The subtle pear flavours give Ciuc an almost cider-like quality, one that is only accentuated by the dry finish.  It is a bit on the thin side, but still, worth a try.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

St.-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

McAuslan's wonderful Oatmeal Stout hails from Montreal, Quebec.  It is sold in 341mL bottles and measures 5% on the alcohol scale.  Friends,  I am an enthusiastic beer drinker, but I am not prone to hyperbole, so read these words accordingly:  this is the finest stout I have ever tried.

The Oatmeal Stout is black as night and pours with a crest of dense brown head.  The beer is opaque, but it doesn't completely conceal the considerable carbonation that lives in this brute.  The brew smells strongly of molasses and oats.

These suds are incredibly full-bodied.  There are notes of coffee, chocolate and licorice nestled beneath the molasses that threatens to dominate .  The mouthfeel is extremely thick--you could almost eat it with a spoon.  There is a big finish that is bitter with a hint of porridge.

This beer is not for the faint of heart.  It's big, bold and badass.  Stout fans--run, don't walk, to your nearest beer dispensery.  The St.-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout should be in your fridge.

Rating: 10.0 out of 10.

Laško Zlatorog

I've been really enjoying Eastern European lagers over the last few months.  They tend to be crisp and refreshing, if a little predictable.  From this camp comes Laško Zlatorog, a Slovenian brew that hails from the city of Laško.

I picked this brew from a handful of similar lagers offered at the LCBO for two non-beer reasons: the outstanding image of the goat that adorns the can and the adorableslogan "Traditionally Brewed with Love Since 1825."

The beer is sold in 500mL cans and weighs in at 4.9%.  It is a clear yellow-gold colour with a thin head and a moderate amount of lace.  The beer is not terribly carbonated for a pale lager, but it's still pretty fizzy.  Zlatorog has an ordinary lager smell; wheaty, tinny and slightly bitter.  The flavour is wheat first, with some corn thrown in.  The mouthfeel is thin and watery.  The aftertaste is bitter, but only mildly so, and extremely brief.

This is an easy drinking beer, but there is very little to set it apart from the scores of similar pale lagers on the market.  There is no real character.  That said, if you like pilsners and Germanic lagers, this is the brew for you.  For those readers who enjoy a pale lager on occasion, give this one a try--just don't expect any surprises.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Mill Street Tankhouse Ale

Toronto's Mill Street Brewery has created a roster of tasty and interesting beers (and their less impressive Lemon Tea beer, but that's a subject for another day).  However, the undisputed king of the Mill Street family is its Tankhouse Ale.

Tankhouse is sold in stylish and shapely 341mL bottles.  It contains 5.2% alcohol and pours a nice-looking deep red with a full head that dissipates quickly.  It's extremely clear and considerably carbonated.

Tankhouse features a pungent aroma that is both spicy and yeasty.  The taste is complex.  It is at once hoppy and spicy.  Nestled somewhere within the peppery body lurks some malt sweetness and a faint blast of citrus. The aftertaste is bitter, but balanced with a gentle maltiness.

People, lemmetellya, this is a seriously class beer!  It is almost exactly what I am looking for when I reach for a craft ale.  It looks beautiful,  has a big flavour with lots of subtlety, tastes great and is highly sessionable.  There is definitely a reason that Mill Street's Tankhouse Ale is one of the top-selling craft beers in Canada.  It is both interesting enough for the serious beer enthusiast and approachable to appeal to average drinkers.  It should be a staple in every beer-lover's fridge.

Rating: 10.0 out of 10.

Indie Alehouse-Breakfast Porter

The Indie Alehouse is a newly-opened Toronto brewery located in the Junction, an up-and-coming west-end neighbourhood.  I recently had occasion to sample their Breakfast Porter on tap at a local restaurant.  The BP contains a robust 6.7% alcohol.  Unlike conventional porters, it is not opaque.  Rather, the BP is a very dark brown that allows some light.  The beer is topped by a moderate cloud of tan head.  There is some lace, but not tons.

The Breakfast Porter sports only a very mild scent.  There is a slight nutmeg smell that, while seemingly out of place, is quite enjoyable.  The flavour has a nuttiness that augments the typical the typical porter molasses taste.  There is a relatively thin mouthfeel.  The aftertaste is also nutty and surprisingly brief.

While this beer is styled a porter, it tasted to me more like a hybrid: a mix between porter and bitter.  It wasn't my favourite beer ever, but I've got to hand it to the Indie Alehouse for producing an innovative and unconventional brew.  The Breakfast Porter is unlike any dark beer I have ever sampled, and that is worth something.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Kensington Brewing Co.-Augusta Ale

My Pops was in town recently and offered to treat myself, my partner and my brother to a meal.  When he asked where we'd to eat, I thought with my liver and suggested a burger joint that I knew served Augusta Ale, the flagship suds of a new local T.O. brewery, the Kensington Brewing Co.  Born in Kensington Market, Toronto's breeding ground for hippies and hipsters, I fully expected a free-wheelin' and innovative brew.  While the Augusta Ale did not turn out to be particularly outrageous, it was a relatively enjoyable pint.

My companions and I divvied up a pitcher of the Augusta Ale.  It poured a slightly cloudy, pleasant reddish gold colour topped by a fair amount of fluffy white head.  The aroma is extremely mild, with only the faintest of sweet fruit notes.  The flavour progresses from sweet to bitter, beginning with notes of peach and apricot and slipping gradually into a hoppy finish.

 The beer is a bit milder than I would like.  It is also a touch on the thin side.  Still, Augusta Ale is a good first effort from a young brewery.  It is eminently drinkable, looks nice and has some character that sets it apart from generic, mass-produced ales.  Worth investigating.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Hop Head India Pale Ale

I recently sampled the Hop Head IPA from Kelowna, British Columbia's Tree Brewing Company.  Sold in cool 330mL bottles that are not cluttered with too much labelling, the Hop Head contains 5.6% alcohol.  HH pours a slightly cloudy amber colour.  It displays moderate carbonation and lace as well as a thin but persistent head.

Hop Head has a rich, sweet aroma.  It smells of caramel.  The taste is briefly malty and toasty before making an abrupt left turn toward sharp bitterness.  After the initial jolt of malt, this brew is all hops all the time.  Likewise, the aftertaste is extremely bitter.

This is a pretty good beer, as West Coast IPAs go.  However, as with most beers in the West Coast style, there is simply too much emphasis on hops, at the expense of a more complex and compelling flavour.  The brew is enjoyable, but a little more character would be welcome.

Rating:  7.5 out of 10.

Propeller-Extra Special Bitter

I always get a bit excited when I find an East Coast beer on the shelf at the Liquor Store here in Upper Canada.  Makes me feel a bit closer to home.  And when I find an East Coast beer, you'd better believe I'm going to buy it.

Propeller hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia.  They have a delicious line-up of beers, but my favourite is definitely the Extra Special Bitter.  The ESB is sold in 341mL bottles and weighs in at 5% alcohol.

I enjoyed this brew at my good buddy Matt's place.  Unfortunately, Matty does not possess any beer steins, so I drank my suds out of the lid of a blender.  If anybody is wondering what to get Matt for his birthday, beer steins might be a solid choice.

The ESB pours a dark brown.  According to Matt, it is a "root beer brown."  It is quite carbonated for a bitter, but there is almost no head.  The aroma is very malty, with notes of molasses.  Likewise, the taste has a molasses quality.  The beer is full-bodied.  It is well balanced, moving from malty to bitter.  Pleasantly, the initial taste is malty without being sweet.  The aftertaste is nice and hoppy.

According to Matt, the beer tastes of molasses.  The ESB is bitter but not heavy, having a medium body and mouthfeel.  Finally, he observed that the ESB possesses a "saltwater-esque" quality that reminded him of saltwater taffy.

We both agreed that the Propeller Extra Special Bitter is an excellent ale.  It has a large, complicated flavour without being overpowering.  If you see it on the shelf or on tap, give it a try.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Banks Caribbean Lager

Banks Caribbean Lager hails from St. Micheal, Barbados, where it is brewed by Banks Breweries Ltd.  It is sold in 355mL bottles and checks in at a slightly substandard 4.7% alcohol.  It is a pale honey coloured lager.  It pours a slender bright white head and displays almost no lace.  The aroma displays very little character.  In short, it smells like a generic lager.

Based on looks and aroma, I was pretty much ready to dismiss this beer as a waste of a few bucks.  I'm glad that I didn't.  I don't meet to suggest that Banks is an excellent beer, but it does have an interesting flavour that sets it apart from other mass produced pale lagers.  The initial flavour is pretty standard lager taste: slightly bitter, but relatively mild.  The mouthfeel is quite thin.  However, Banks has an enticing finish that tastes slightly of ginger.  This aftertaste is what made me glad I picked it up.

Relatively ordinary lager, with a hint of character at the end.  Give this one a try on a hot day, particularly if you're going to be near the water.  It has a faint but unmistakable island charm.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Unibroue-Trois Pistoles

Chambly, Quebec's Unibroue has built its reputation brewing big, robust, yeasty brews.  Of their entire roster (at least of the brews I've tried), I'm inclined to say that their Trois Pistoles dark ale is my favorite.  Trois Pistoles' mystique begins with its badass packaging.  Like all Unibrue products, it features a foil cap.  The label is adorned with a spooky gothic font and the image of a winged horse flying above a church.  Cool stuff.

I opted for a six-pack of 341mL bottles, though this ale is also available in gargantuan 750ml vats.  Trois Pistoles is a strong beer, clocking in at a virile 9% alcohol.  It pours an incredibly dark brown colour with ruby highlights.  It is almost entirely opaque, which makes it hard to detect the carbonation, but trust me, it is there.  When poured, la biere yields a persistent off white head that will be with you until your pint is done.  However, for all of the persistence of the head, there isn't a lot of lace.  I suspect the beer is too heavy to waste its time clinging to a glass.

The aroma suggests a very malty and sweet beer.  There are notes of cherry.  Similarly, the taste is sweet and malty.  The cherry flavour is present, as are notes of red grape.   The mouthfeel is not as thick and creamy as I expected; more of a medium body.  The aftertaste is rich, but doesn't linger.  There is a slight bitterness, but I can't call this beer well-balanced: it is definitely a malty beast.I read some reviews that suggest the alcohol taste is cleverly masked.  I call bullshit.  This beer tastes strong, particularly at the finish.  If you sip it, you know how much alcohol you're consuming.

This is a BIG beer.  I wouldn't recommend trying to take on more than one or two in a sitting.  However, I definitely recommend picking up a six-pack.  If you're anything like me, it'll languish in your fridge.  You'll haul one out every week or so, enjoy it, and then leave the rest.  It is reminiscent of an abbey beer: strong, yeasty, meaty ales from Belgium.  When I think about Trois Pistoles, the adjective that immediately springs to mind is warm.  This beer will thaw you out on a cold night.  It has huge character and big flavour.  My only complaint is that it lacks drinkability.  If you bring six to a party, you're coming home with four...

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Flying Monkeys-Amber Ale

Flying Monkeys Amber Ale is a great-looking brownish-red ale brewed by Guelph, Ontario's Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery.  It is sold in outrageous 355mL bottles (outrageous by most standards, but fairly conservative for the Flying Monkeys) and weighs in at 5% alcohol.  It has a fair head and a moderate amount of lace.  It is only mildly carbonated. 

The Amber Ale features a slightly hoppy smell balanced with the sweet aroma of roasted marshmallows.  The taste is primarily malty and sweet, but it's quite a bit more complex than that.  There is also a slight bready taste and some smokiness.  The best thing about the amber ale is the aftertaste-delightfully bitter without being overpowering.  In fact, without the bitter hop finish, this beer would have been rated considerably lower.  The aftertaste saves it from being too sweet.

Flying Monkeys has a roster of unique and robust beers.  Of the lot of them, the Amber Ale is definitely the most conventional.  It is a fine ale, nicely balanced and chewy.  Give it a try.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.