Aleyards Collaboration IPA

Aleyards Collaboration IPA is ... you guessed it ... a collaboration! It's a project worked up between the three breweries that make up Toronto's Aleyards Brewing District": Junction Craft Brewing, Shacklands Brewing Company, and Rainhard Brewing Company. The three nearby breweries (in the case of Shacklands and Rainhard, they're actually contiguous) on Symes Road combined to brew a 6.8% India pale ale in honour of the 2017 iteration of Toronto Beer Week.

The Aleyards Collab is a lightly carbonated and considerably hazy ale with a brushed gold hue and a fog of loose, white head. It has a resinous, citrus/evergreen scent and a flavour that feels comfortably balanced. There are some caramel malt notes and a finish meanders between sweet  tangerine and sticky hops.

Aleyards Collaboration Ale is definitely good beer--decent strength, nice flavour--nothing to complain about. It's not all that remarkable or memorable, except as a reminder that brewing, when done right, should be collaborative and community-based. My favourite brewers are the ones that enjoy and recommend ales from their "rivals" and support their "competitors" with advice and feedback as they are sought. The whole industry wins when micros offer a better product and sway drinkers from the macro dross, and a strong local community like the one in the Aleyards is to be commended.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.