Chmelová Brigáda

 Another entry from the Pivovar Godspeed series of Czech-style beers comes Chmelová Brigáda, a “hoppy Czech lager”. At 6.2%, this sassy pale lager has some heft. The beer comes in 355mL cans from Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery. The copy on the can is in Czech, but according to the Godspeed website, the beer is double double dry-hopped with Saaz Shine hops.

Chmelová Brigáda is strikingly clear gold and pours with a modest plume of white suds. It has aromatics that waft between citrus and floral. As for flavour, the lager is initially lemony, but takes a turn toward grittiness and floral hops through its dry and crisp finish.

This hoppy Czech lager from Godspeed (which often seems like a little enclave of Bohemia in Toronto) is exactly what its name promises: a bitter, Czech-style pale lager with ample ballast and a lovely flavour.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Muddy York's Brave Noise

 My first taste of the Brave Noise project came from Toronto’s Muddy York Brewing Co. Their Brave Noise Pale Ale is a collab with VQH Farms. It’s a 5.6% brew sold in 355mL cans that feature a QR code that links to the Toronto brewery’s code of conduct. A portion of the sales from this beer go to support the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres.

This version of Brave Noise is a strikingly clear amber beer with limited off-white head and a gorgeous pine, caramel, and grapefruit aroma. The beer has a decent amount of caramel-minded malt, but the real driver is a lovely pine bitterness.

Close to a not-so-potent West Coast IPA, Muddy York’s Brave Noise tastes big and tastes great! I’d love to see this as a year round initiative. To be clear, I don’t know if this is a standard recipe or one that can be tweaked, but what was in the can slaps, and it is in service of an improved beerscape more friendly to, and less harmful to, women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ communities. It’s a damn fined cause and a tasty product.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Border Crossing

 An international collaboration between Hamilton, ON’s Collective Arts Brewing and Buffalo, NY’s Thin Man Brewing, Border Crossing is an aptly named IPA. The beer checks in at 6% and it’s brewed with the engaging trio of Cascade, Simcoe, and Vic Secret hops. Border Crossing is a hazy bastard, with a slightly milky yellow-gold colour, white head, and loads of attractive lace. It comes in 473mL cans that feature a cool hockey illustration.

BC has a juicy, slightly floral nose built around citrus. Likewise, the flavour has a sweet and fruity nature that spotlights orange and grapefruit. And it comes with a smooth and silky texture that makes sipping a treat.

Border Crossing is a good IPA. It’s a lot like a number of others on the market and it doesn’t have much to distinguish itself, though I had few complaints. I’d have liked more booze (naturally!) and a bit more emphasis on the grapefruit side of the citrus equation. I’d definitely buy this one again.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Play Dead IPA

Port Moody, BC is the home of Yellow Dog Brewing Co., makers of Play Dead IPA. The beer, a classic West Coast IPA, comes in 473mL cans. It’s a 6.8% ale with a hearty 75 IBUs. The beer is orange-gold and nearly clear, under a creamy foam. I picked up a four-pack of these guys for social drinking, but ended up enjoying them so much I held on in reserve to review.

PD has a nose that blends citrus and pine notes. The flavour is assertively bitter, but balanced against a nice sweet element, paling around with evergreen, satsuma, and dank hemp.

Compared to past visits to BC, I did less beer drinking on my most recent trip. Of the 3-4 WCIPAs I tried, Play Dead was one of the standouts—not so much because it was innovative or unique—I just found it to be a well-made, enjoyable beer.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Slow Hand West Coast Pale Ale

Slow Hand Beer Company’s West Coast Pale Ale is made in Vancouver. The beer clocks in at 5% and comes in 473mL cans. According to the copy, the clear, pale gold ale is a “crisp, bright, & juicy dry-hopped pale ale.”

The beer has a punchy citrus aroma with a bit of supplemental pine. The flavour is a bit on the mild side, with lemon and evergreen elements and a light, resinous finish. Though the flavour is a bit weak, the texture is spot on—crisp and refreshing.

Not a beer that I’d be likely to revisit, but decent enough all the same.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Coastality Pale Ale

I enjoyed a flight of beer at Victoria’s Whistle Buoy Brewing Company with my father-in-law and came home with a couple of cans of my faves, including a 473mL can of Coastality Pale Ale. The 5% brew comes in at a modest 33 IBUs and pours with a bright copper colour.

The beer has a nice pine and citrus melange on the nose and through the flavour, with a solid, effervescent texture. My complaint with the beer on tap was that was a touch thin, but the canned version had considerably more oomph.

Not a tremendously memorable pale ale, but it’s a well-made and enjoyable one.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Gladstone Czech Dark Lager

During a long weekend trip to Victoria, I purchased a smattering of local/British Columbia beers—mostly west coast IPAs, but I also came home with a 473mL can of Gladstone Brewing Company’s Czech Dark Lager. At 6% and somewhere around 24 IBUs, the beer has some heft. It’s a handsome brown lager with ruby highlights and it pours with a thin layer of cream head.

Gladstone’s CDL has a lush roasted malt aroma with a lightly metallic sweetness. The flavour is similarly constituted, though a bit less sweet, with a roasted malt foundation and an agreeable ferric element. Bitterness manifests as mild, dark chocolate and a touch of coffee. The beer has a soft and smooth mouthfeel that wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for when I purchased the beer but which really worked quite well.

From Courtenay, BC, Gladstone’s Czech Dark Lager was a welcome breath of fresh, mellow air in a weekend filled with piney citrus-heavy IPAs.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Retronym I.P.A.

A retronym is defined as “a term coined in modification of an original term that was used alone (as acoustic guitar instead of guitar) to distinguish it from a term referring to a later development (as electric guitar). Other examples of retronyms are snail mail and analog watch.” It’s also the name of an IPA from the team at Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery. Note: I write an “IPA” and not an “English IPA”—In the copy on the 473mL cans, GLB adamantly opposes that name (at least as far as this beer is concerned) and so I’ll try to avoid it too.

Retronym I.P.A. is a 6% beer brewed with oats. It’s a cloudy copper ale that pours with a generous off-white foam. The beer offers mild aromatics, with lots of malt, some caramel, and a suggestion of floral hops. The flavour is malt-forward, with a streak of brown sugar sweetness. The back end is floral and bitter, with some pleasant metallic elements.

While my favourite IPAs tend to be the West Coast hop gobblers, I have a soft spot in my heart (my liver?) for this style—a “classic” IPA—and GLB’s take is really quite nicely executed. I had eight of these delivered and I’m thrilled I did, because one has yet to prove enough.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Trellis Pilsner

A pilsner? From Toronto? How simply delightful! Trellis Pilsner comes from Amsterdam Brewery. It’s a 5.3% pale lager brewed with Mandarina Bavaria hops that comes in 473mL cans with a slightly unfortunate font. The beer is an entry in Amsterdam’s Adventure Brews series.

Trellis is a crystal clear beer—highly carbonated with a fluffy white head and a nice golden colour. The pilsner has a dry, floral aroma with a slight orange subtext. The flavour is crisp, dry, and agreeable, with  a considerable bitterness and just a touch of citrus.

Trellis would be a delight at the end of a hot summer’s day, but it’s not too shabby on a wintery Saturday afternoon either.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Brick Maker Common

Brick Maker Common is a Toronto take on the California common/steam beer style. A 5% 35 IBU lager from Muddy York Brewing Co., the beer comes in 355mL cans. It’s a sparkling clear golden brew with an off white foam.

Brick Maker has a crisp, metallic and floral aroma. The flavour kicks off sweetly with lots of grain. The back end picks up a bit of metallic momentum and builds to a nice, floral hoppiness.

This is a rad little common—crisp and flavourful, with a healthy hops quotient. I enjoyed this in February, but it’d be a bad mother in hottest July.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Travel Envy

A hazy double IPA from Toronto, Travel Envy is an 8.5% ale from Amsterdam Brewery. It comes in 473mL cans with really excellent labels. According to the copy, the beer is brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops. It’s a hazy gold-orange beer and with pours with a layer of fluffy suds.

For an eight-plus percenter, this beer has a really mild aroma, with some agreeable fruit notes. The flavour is considerably more assertive, with big tropical fruit notes and a slightly resinous finish.

I thought this was a really enjoyable ale—punchy, flavourful, and not too sweet. Really great packaging, too.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

The Bridge Is Over

The Bridge Is Over is billed as a Bandit/Laylow Production—brewed by Bandit Brewery and Laylow Brewing in Toronto. The beer, a double dry-hopped Belgian New England IPA, is a 6.8% number sold in 355mL cans. The beer is a hazy orange-gold colour and it pours with a thick layer of white foam.

The Bridge Is Over has a yeasty, tart fruit nose. For just 6.8%, the beer tastes surprisingly potent, with a bit of funk, some floral elements, and a touch of tangy apple. The back end has a floral hoppiness, but it is quite mild and short.

A quirky little ale with a big flavour, The Bridge Is Over is a pretty enjoyable collab with some character.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Tasti

Watching the 2021/22 AFC Championship on a chilly Sunday afternoon (this seemingly endless backlog is wild! It's week 4 of the 2022 season as I post this!), I wanted something crisp and low-octane, so I opted for a 355mL can of Tasti, a kölsch-style beer from Toronto’s Eastbound Brewing Co. Tasti clocks in at just 4.5%. It’s a straw gold brew with a layer of white suds.

Tasti has a floral aroma with cracker and toast elements and just a hint of grain sweetness. The flavour is understated, but agreeable, with lots of grain, some sweetness, and a quick, dry finish.

Nice, refreshing, and light brewski.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Life Sentence

A burly ass collab from two Toronto heavyweights, Life Sentence is an 11% triple IPA. The beer is brewed by Amsterdam Brewery and Great Lakes Brewery. Sold in great-looking 473mL cans, Life Sentence is brewed with Centennial hops. Less hazy than I expected, it’s a dull gold ale with a fluffy off-white head. 

Aromatically, the beer has loads of citrus, some sweetness, and a healthy measure of booze. The flavour is boozy, sweet, and dank, with citrus and tropical notes.

Strong and resinous, Life Sentence is an assertive take on the triple IPA. Not for the faint of heart, this beer will bruise your liver. Best thing about it? Sweet, but not too sweet, which is the plight of most triple IPAs that I’ve sampled.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Neon Haze

Neon Haze is, shockingly, a hazy IPA from the team at Amsterdam Brewery in Toronto. A bit under-proof at just 5.7%, the Ontario ale is sold in 473mL cans. It’s a hazy, dull-orange beer with a short-lived off-white head.

NH has an inviting citrus nose, with OJ and sugary citrus at the pole and a little something tropical lurking in the wings. The flavour tracks that pretty consistently, though less sweetly, with juicy fruit notes and a mild, yet agreeable vibe. The back end has a touch of grapefruit bitterness, but it is restrained.

When I caught my first whiff of this beer, my concern was that it’d be too sweet, but I was pleasantly surprised: there is some fruity sweetness, certainly—as there should be—but there is a nice balance with a bit of hops and a crisp, refreshing texture. The beer could be stronger, but it tastes great.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Hibernator 2021

Hibernator 2021 is a 10% bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout blend that includes cherries, ginger, orange peel, and vanilla beans. This bruiser comes from Toronto and the gang at Bandit Brewery. It’s sold in 750mL bottles which probably shouldn’t be consumed alone before dinner, but what are you, my mom? Back off! Sheesh.

The 2021 edition of Hibernator is a darkest black, with a dark brown head. The beer has a gargantuan aroma, built around sweet, wood, and booze. The fragrance is sorta like a boozy chocolate orange, supplemented with bourbon-y vanilla. The flavour is extremely sweet, with notes of orange, chocolate, and molasses. The barrel-aging gives the the beer a woody depth and some big bourbon heat. The vanilla comes through well, but I wasn’t able to really pick up much in the way of ginger and some cherry tartness might have taken some of the edge off.

I think I missed out on H:2020, but I definitely liked H:2021 better than H:2019, which I found to be too coconut-driven. Here, there was a bit better integration of the flavour elements, particularly the orange peel. In truth, though, I still found the 2021 iteration to be way too sweet.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.