Gakozing

So here’s a weird one. Gakozing is an IPA brewed with gummy bears. What?! The beer comes from Alexandria, Virginia’s Aslin Beer Co. It’s a 6.5% brew that comes in goofy and colourful 473mL cans. It’s a cloudy ale that looks like mango juice and pours with almost no head or carbonation.

This beer has a ridiculously sweet candy aroma—truly does have gummy bear notes, but also a dose of tartness. The flavour is full on candy, but also a bit tangy, with notes of cherry syrup. There is basically no bitterness, which doesn’t lend itself to IPA classification.

If I’m being honest, I wasn’t wild about this beer. The concept is innovative and I’m glad that I tried it, but I wouldn’t go back to the well for another, nor would I be eager to revisit it. Props to the glorious MM for hooking me up with this one.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Five Crossings Pale Ale

 From the 7 Barrel Series at Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery comes Five Crossings Pale Ale, a 4.5% beer brewed with oats and wheat. The beer comes out of a 473mL can looking hazy and dull gold, under a loose white head. According to the copy on the can, the brew was created in collaboration with Mike Shoreman, who will be traveling across each of the Great Lakes via paddle board to support mental illness programs.

Five Crossings has a gentle, fruit-driven nose. There are notes of orange and sweet wild strawberry, though these are quite mild. The beer has very little bitterness and it makes for a juicy, refreshing pint.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Summer Solstice

 During a summer cottage getaway outside of Ottawa, my party and I hit up a variety of local breweries in and around Lanark County, including Calabogie Brewing Co. out of Calabogie, Ontario. Most of the offerings from Calabogie disappeared in a blink, but I managed to secure a 473mL can of Summer Solstice to review. 

A 5% pale ale, Summer Solstice is a hazy orange-gold brew. Through the sudsy white head, the beer has a citrus aroma that has a slight metallic bent. The flavour certainly tastes more bitter than the listed 30 IBUs, with grapefruit elements; however, there is also a slightly coppery, bloody tinge that I found a bit unpalatable.

I didn’t really love Summer Solstice, though there were certainly some features that I liked. The beer was refreshing and agreeably bitter, and the citrus touches were nicely integrated. To be fair to Calabogie, several of the other brews we picked up were considerably more enjoyable, including a kölsch-style, a solid West Coast IPA, and a juicy NEIPA.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10.