Dmitrij Fong Red IPA

 From Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery, in collaboration with Hungry Brew Hops Public House & Eatery in Newmarket, Ontario, comes Dmitrij Fong Red IPA. The beer is sold in 473mL cans and it’s brewed with oats and wheat. It’s an entry in GLB’s 7 Barrel Series and it clocks in at a burly 7%.

Dmitrij Fong is a swampy, copper grog with a sudsy cream head. There is a bready, malty, and metallic aromatic profile. The flavour moves sweet to bitter, and incorporates toast, a bit of iron, and some floral hops.

This is a pretty well-executed red IPA, which, to me, is a grand and under-represented style. With good strength and balanced flavour, Dmitrij Fong is a beer I’d eagerly revisit from a brewery that consistently kicks my butt.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.