Break of Dawn

Black Oak Brewery, of Toronto, Ontario, is responsible for Break of Dawn, a beer that was described to me by my server at an East Toronto pizza pub as a "bright" and "hopped up" American Pale Ale. A hazy, sunny gold ale, my pint arrived with a quickly thinning eggshell head. It has a jumbo fruit aroma--it's replete with grapefruit hoppiness, but also has some juicy passion fruit goodness.  The alcohol content isn't listed, but based on what my server told me, it's something south of 5%. If that's the case (and I have no reason to doubt her expertise), then Black Oak has managed to cram a lot of flavour into a sessionable pale.

Very dry, hoppy mouthfeel makes for an alluring contrast to the  semi-sweet fruity flavours that make their home in this pint. Like the aroma, there are grapefruit and passion fruit fingerprints all over this stuff.

There's a heavy hop presence from sunrise to sunset, though with a beer called Break of Dawn, an allusion to the setting sun is likely out of place.

At first, a seemingly ruckus mess of fruit, hop, and dry, there is some definite method to Break of Dawn. This is a quality member of the new school of low-alcohol, high hops APAs that are de riguer in Ontario brewing right now. Enjoyed on tap, this stuff is a real treat. I'd love to see it sold in sixers at my local liquor store.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.