Transcendence West Coast IPA

 As a beer consumer, something that’ll get me every single time is the words “West Coast IPA”. So, when I saw 500mL bottles of Transcendence West Coast IPA at Toronto’s Collective Arts location, I was pretty quick to snap a couple up. The bottles have lovely labels with a birds and blooms theme and the beer inside is a slightly hazy dull gold, and pours with a fluffy white head. It’s a 6.9% ale brewed with Citra, Galaxy, and Mosaic hops.

Transcendence has a citrus peel aroma that tightropes sweet and bitter elements. The flavour is built with grapefruit in the spotlight, with a sweet streak and a brassy bitter vibe. It also has a fairly mellow texture, which made me think there might have been oats in the brew, but it wasn’t listed among the ingredients.

Like all of the bottles CA beers, Transcendence is quite pricey, but I’d buy this stuff again. It’s a delight. Good strength, too.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Tsumi

 At 8.5%, Godspeed’s Tsumi is a burly imperial coffee stout. The beer, born at Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery, is sold in 355mL cans. It’s a near-black ale with a frothy tan head. 

Tsumi has a robust coffee nose; bitter with a syrupy sweetness. The flavour is big and bold, with black coffee notes and ample bitterness. The booze in this brew is undeniable and it has a thick texture.

A coffee beer with some attitude, Tsumi is an enjoyable ale from a brewery more known for their elite Czech-style lagers.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

De La Mimico

 Brewed as an homage to Belgian pale ales, De La Mimico comes from Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery. A 4.9% Belgian-style pale, the beer comes in 473mL cans that celebrate the Humber River. The beer is orange-gold and pours with an impressive fluff of white foam.

DLM has yeast, orange zest, and something slightly spice to the nose (coriander?). The flavour charts a similar course, with Belgian yeast and citrus esters leading the way. There is some citrus bitterness here, but it is softened by the yeastiness.

The beer is soft in texture, with refreshing witbier characteristics that make De La Mimico a nice choice for a hot afternoon. I’d have liked a bit more hoppy oomph, but I’ll live.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Cheat Code

 Born in Toronto’s Stockyards District, Cheat Code is a dry-hopped IPA from Rainhard Brewing. With a bit of heft at 6.5%, CC comes in nifty old school cans reminiscent of my earliest video game memories. The beer is brewed with a trio of hops: Citra, Galaxy, and Nelson Sauvin.

CC is hazy and gold, with a boisterous white foam. It has an agreeable citrus and berry aromatic blend and a flavour to match. Grapefruit, OJ, and strawberry form the nucleus of the flavour, with a dank and hoppy finish that follows closely.

I purchased six cans of Cheat Code on a sweltering July Friday and found them all devoured at an almost unreasonable rate. This isn’t an innovative IPA, but it’s a delightful one.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Small Fortunes

 

Small Fortunes is a session-friendly pale ale from Toronto’s outpost of Collective Arts. Brewed with Nectaron hops, the beer is just 4.5% and comes in 500mL bottles. Hazy and golden, the beer pours with a sudsy white fog.

SF has a mild but enticing fruit-forward nose. The flavour is still quite mild, but it shows a bit more depth, with notes of peach and apricot. The finish has a faint touch of bitterness.

What I really like about this beer is that it is peachy (apricot-y?) without being over-sweet. That really ups the refreshment quotient to a healthy level. The texture is a bit thin and the price point was a little steep, but otherwise a really solid li’l ale.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.