Funky Fresh Kiwi Lime Sour

Funky Fresh Kiwi Lime Sour comes from Foresters Falls, Ontario and the Whitewater Brewing Co. The beer contains a crushable 4.6% and just 2 IBUs. Sold in 473mL cans, Funky Fresh is brewed with wheat, oats, lime purée, and kiwi purée. It’s a lightly hazy gold ale under a thin white head.

This li’l guy was a potent sweet and tart candy aroma, with (surprise, surprise) notes of kiwi and lime. For a low-alcohol brew, the flavour is massive. It weaves lime tartness and candied kiwi.

The only thing timid about this beer is the percentage, with jumbo tartness and punchy sweetness. The beer is certainly not subtle, and I found it to be a bit much, but it does deliver an intriguing flavour combo. And for a sour, it isn’t alienatingly tangy. Will I buy it again? Probably. Should you? I guess, I’m not your manager.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Passionfruit Guava Flavoured Kettle Sour

Apparently a relation of Coriolis Effect Berliner Weisse, Sawdust City Brewing Co.’s Passionfruit Guava Flavoured Kettle Sour weighs in at a mere 3.5% alcohol and 6 IBUs, but it punches well above its weight in terms of flavour.

The beer, which is sold in 473mL cans, has a straw yellow, almost pale green colour. It pours with a little bit of white head and a deep well of tart and juicy fruit aromatics. This can be explained by the presence of passionfruit juice, guava juice, and lactobacillus brevis (apparently a lactic acid—brewing science is neat).  Tart and acidic, this passionfruit guava concoction has a wild amount of fruity funk, with both tropical products represented about equally. Though low alcohol, the beer has a similar mouthfeel and essence as a glass of young white wine, and once you acclimatize to the sourness, there is a pretty high degree of juicy sweetness waiting in the wings.

 

I fairly crushed this can after coming home from a toast late July afternoon walk. It wasn’t quite as refreshing as the tall glass of water I downed first, but it was decidedly more satisfying. If you dig fruity, sour, sessionable suds, this little entry from Gravenhurst, Ontario is a winner.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Mr. Pink Hibiscus and Watermelon Pale Ale

Appropriately named, Mr. Pink Hibiscus and Watermelon Pale Ale from Toronto’s Bandit Brewery is a rose-hued beer with a thin layer of white head. The 5% alcohol supper comes in 500mL bottles branded with Bandit’s trademark raccoon—this time decked out in homage to Steve Buscemi’s memorable character in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.

Mellow watermelon characterizes the nose, and it dominates the flavour as well. Behind that, there is a slight floral bent. The beer has a thin mouthfeel that doesn’t provide much of a platform for bitterness, but it does give the ale a delightfully refreshing, summery quality.

A full-strength yet light-bodied ale, this beer is juicy and refreshing, if also a touch too sweet. The melon is none too subtle, which is great if you dig it. There isn’t actually a whole lot of underlying beer elements.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Rainbownade

One of the busier IPAs I’ve ever gotten down with, the aptly named Rainbownade features additions of grapefruit, passion fruit, mango, raspberry, and blueberry. Brewed in Boston, Massachusetts by Dorchester Brewing Company for Evil Twin Brewing. The beer is a 7% brewski. It has a sediment-heavy ruddy bronze hue, poured with a thin off-white head.

Rainbownade has a sweet, juicy nose rich in a the expected cornucopia of fruit notes. The flavour is fruitful, with a lot of berry elements. What there isn’t is a lot of classic IPA touches—other than the high percentage. There isn’t really a lot of citrus, either.

More fruit punch than IPA, Rainbownade was a tangy, juicy carnival of boozy flavour. I dug it, but not as an IPA.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

People’s Pint Pit-Stop: Serendipitous Sour

My third and final 12oz pour during my debut visit to People’s Pint in Toronto was their Serendipitous Sour, brewed with pineapple and mixed berries. The 5% beer showed up rose-hued and elegant in a stemmed chalice. It arrived with a fluffy white head, though it faded to a sudsy ring extremely quickly.

Serendipitous Sour had a wacky nose, rich in sweet fruit punch notes. Given the sweetness of the aroma, it was a pleasant surprise to find that Serendipitous Sour was actually. The flavour kicked off with sharp, unripened berry notes, before mellowing into a juicy pineapple finish.

Fruitier and less tart than many of its sour contemporaries, I found People’s Pint’s take to be quite engaging, in a juicy sort of way. Not as funky as I might have wanted, perhaps, but certainly agreeable.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

You’re My Boy Blue-Berry Wheat Beer

You’re My Boy Blue-Berry Wheat Beer is a 4.5% alcohol salute to the film Old School and its beloved character, Joseph “Blue” Pulaski. Sold in 650mL bottles, You’re My Boy comes from Picton, Ontario, where it is made by Prince Eddy’s Brewing Company. It’s brewed with local (Prince Edward County)  blueberries and lactose to create a hazy golden ale with a purplish hue, some berry skin sediment, and a thin layer of off-white suds.

You’re My Boy has a juicy blueberry nose. Its flavour is mild, with mellow wheat notes, a gentle yeast lilt, and a subtle berry charge. The mouthfeel is thin, but agreeably smooth.

A decent little flavoured beer, You’re My Boy is a summery wheat beer that is refreshing, but which lacks impactful flavour. A thirst quencher with just a whisper of blueberry, this beer is accessible, but not elite.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

The Blood of Cthulhu

The Blood of Cthulhu is a fractious imperial stout brewed with cherries, raspberries, and cranberries. It’s a 9.5%, 50 IBU bruiser from Gravenhurst, Ontario’s Sawdust City Brewing Co. Sold in 473mL cans that amateurs ought to consider sharing, the beer is a nearly opaque black grog that pours with a tan foam. As the can reads, Cthulhu is “as black as the blood of a malevolent demigod.”

Cthulhu has a powerfully malty nose enhanced with tart fruit and dark chocolate. The flavour has those same elements, but their prominence is staggered, with the richness of sweet raspberries and the blast of tangy cherries leading the way. Chocolate notes are well represented, too, supplementing a thick, syrupy mouthfeel.

Cthulhu is a serious imperial stout, but it’s more than boozy bombast. There are layers upon layers of flavour, making it a complex sipping ale.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Pineapple Uber Sour Beer

Pineapple Uber Sour Beer is a low alcohol, ultra low IBU effort that comes from Burlington, Ontario’s Nickel Brook Brewing Co. This berlinerweisse is flavoured with piña. It’s a 3.9% brew with just 3 IBUs that comes in 500mL bottles.

Pineapple Uber is a hazy, almost milky pale yellow brew that pours with a persistent inch of white suds. The beer has a tangy and stimulating nose built around a sour pineapple vibe. The flavour moves from sour to sweet, but lingers at the former, only getting near the latter at the absolute finish. 

For a beer so low in alcohol it’d be hard pressed to ever make me stagger, there really is a staggering amount of flavour in this little sour. If you like pineapple and you dig sour beers, this quirky little wheated brew has a lot to offer.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Shacklands Passionfruit Wit

On the penultimate day of September, I figured the time for fruit flavoured wheat beers would be done for the year. However, the day was sunny and the temperature was pretty close to hot, so I cracked myself a 650mL bottle of Shacklands Brewing Co.’s Passionfruit Wit.

The 4.9% alcohol brew poured dull gold. It was hazy under a fluffy but quickly receding cloud of white head. The beer had a yeasty nose that was motivated by floral and citrus elements. Unexpectedly, the flavour was quite tart, with juicy fruit notes competing with funky sour sass. The finish had the most evidence of passion fruit, with a profile reminiscent of Sumol—sweet and tangy.

At first, the unlooked for tartness was a bit off-putting. However, as I leaned into the beer, I found myself more amenable to its charms. Indeed Shacklands’ Passionfruit Wit proved to be a welcome companion on a summery September day.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Éphémère Fraise & Rhubarbe

My review of Éphémère Fraise & Rhubarbe definitely has to go out to my father-in-law, the rhubarb eatin-est dude I’ve ever known.

A wheat beer, brewed by Unibroue in Chambly, Québec, E.F.R. is a 5.5% alcohol, 11 IBU ale on lees. A Belgian-style wheat, this beer joins together the two flavours that combine to form my very favourite pie. Plus, it comes in mighty 750mL bottles with lovely labels. 

 

The beer is cloudy and highly carbonated, with a thick cloud of suds on its noggin. There is a sweet and agreeable strawberry aroma backed against a fortification of slightly funky yeast. The rhubarb elements are understated and don’t really come to the fore until the beer hits the tongue. Even then, juicy strawberry is the dominant note and rhubarb is present only in a supporting role. The back end is characterized by wheat and yeast.

This beer is primarily sweet, which gives it a pleasant, after dinner vibe reminiscent of the pie. However, it should be said that I was pulling for a bit more of that classic rhubarb tartness to give it a bit more balance. Still and all, it was a nice tasting ale with some effervescence and a playful vibe. I’d gladly have another sometime soon. It’s a dandy autumn ale.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Western Suds: Hot Pink Lemonade Sour

Hot Pink Lemonade Sour is built in Vancouver by the Spectrum Brewing Company. It’s a 5% ale that comes in stylish 355mL pink cans. The beer within is a faintly hazy orange gold with a quickly dissipating white head.

HPLS has a sharp, citrus aroma. The flavour doesn’t quite rise to the occasion—it has some of the qualities that make pink lemonade such a summer classic (tangy lemon flavour and maximum refreshment), but it is also extremely thin. Nor is it quite as sour as I’d have liked.

Thirst quenching and agreeable but a bit watery, Hot Pink Lemonade Sour is good, but it could have been great.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Western Suds: Park Life Passion Fruit Ale

Park Life Passion Fruit Ale, by Vancouver’s Bomber Brewing Company, has got to be one of the most zestfully carbonated brews I’ve ever reviewed. As a result, it was a challenge to get the 355mL can of hazy orange-gold liquid into a can without inviting a dense cloud of loose, off-white suds along for the ride.

The beer, a 4.5% alcohol number, has a very tart tropical fruit nose. This same tangy passion fruit note drives the flavour, giving the beer a sour, fruity vibe that dominates its otherwise thin body. There is little here by way of finish—the beer is just tart and fruity until it isn’t.

Given its lack of complexity and low percentage, I liked Park Life a lot more than I expected—it was a sharp little beer with a quirky flavour.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Cavalier Bleu Blueberry I.P.A.

In what was perhaps a foolish gesture, I cracked open a 600mL bottle of Cavalier Bleu Blueberry I.P.A. while actively rooting against the Cleveland Cavaliers in their match-up against the Indiana Pacers. Almost immediately after uncapping the 6% alcohol ale, the Cavs extended their fourth quarter lead and I regretted my decision. At least the beer was good.

A member of the Wild Oats Series from Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Cavalier Bleu is a certified organic ale brewed with blueberry juice. As a result, the beer has an unusual fuchsia hue and pours with a sudsy pink head. The beer packs a quirky aroma that is bitter, fruity, and metallic. It has a fairly bitter taste, supplemented with a winey edge. The addition of blueberry juice makes a subtle contribution—something I found extremely surprising, given the funky hue it gave the suds—a nice little tart berry burst.

An unusual ale, Cavalier Bleu is an enjoyable little tonic. It doesn’t seamlessly blend bitter and fruity flavours in the way that more citrusy IPAs tend to, but the resulting combo is interesting. It is a bit too tart, perhaps, and it could definitely be a few ticks stronger, but it’s a nice beer  with some distinction in an IPA genre that is sometimes plagued with carbon copies.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Sweet Disposition Plum IPA

On what might well have been the first glorious spring day of 2018, I poured myself a 500mL bottle of Sweet Disposition Plum IPA from Toronto’s Rorschach Brewing Co. My glass of beer a dark gold with a cute pinky hue, although it was a considerably sediment-heavy ale. According to the bottle, the stuff was bottled on December 20, 2017 (the day after my 33rd), so it wasn’t as fresh as it could have been, but all of the floaties gave me pause all the same. At just 5.5%, the stuff was a touch under-strength for an India, but not jarringly so.

Sweet to the nose, with an indisputable fruity proclivity, S.D. had a slightly candied aroma. The plum came through nicely in the flavour, though it was accompanied with a clout of bitter brashness—more hoppy, in fact, than I initially expected, given the sugary scent. Acerbic, but sweet, the flavour combo was unusual. I might not have gleaned that it was a plum tint had I not been tipped off, but there it was.

A neophyte to plum IPAs, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Sweet Disposition. I felt the name was fitting, although it belied the depth of bitterness packed into the finish. The fruity front end was a dream, although, as longtime readers of the Bitter World will surmise, I chafed a bit at the 5.5% listing, and could have done with a bit more sabre-rattling gravitas. I’m no stranger to sediment-y beer, but this one was very nearly too far down the garden path, four months of aging or not. On flavour alone the rating’d have been higher, but sediment and low octane’ll getcha. I might has filtered this one ever so slightly...

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Low Boy

Low Boy is a 4.3% alcohol session ale. It’s billed as a New England-style pale ale brewed with apricot purée. Sold in 650mL bottles, the beer is an extremely milky orange soup that pours with a thin cover of white head. It comes from Toronto, and the Kensington Brewing Co.

A bitter, fruit-focused aroma greets the nose. Low Boy has a fresh and juicy flavour built atop a faintly tart citrus tingle. Apricot and orange notes are the flavour drivers, leading to a nicely hopped finish.

This beer was, compared to many of Ontario’s sessionable pale ales, fairly innovative and unique. The judicious use of apricot purée gave the body a bit of thickness. Additionally, it might be the milkiest looking beer I’ve ever downed. The only gripe I have with Low Boy is a slightly off note in the finish—something a bit earthy and murky that, while maybe great in another beer, fell a bit flat in this otherwise fruity and fresh ale.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Fruit Helmet

I’m pretty late to the game, but Milkshake IPAs and pale ales are a big deal now. I’ve tried a couple, but Bellwoods Brewery and Evil Twin’s Fruit Helmet is my first review of the style. Milkshake Ales are a recent trend, brewed with fruit and lactose sugar. Evil Twin/Bellwoods’ Torontonian take, Fruit Helmet, features guava, passion fruit, and raspberry, and clocks in at 5.6% alcohol.

Sold in stylish 500mL bottles, Fruit Helmet is a rosy-hued, juicy, and milky ale. It’s opaque and pours with a thin layer of white head. The nose is dynamically fruity—sweet, with notes of grapefruit and tart raspberry. The flavour is equally fruity, though the notes are a bit different—primarily tropical, but with a rowdy berry tartness. The finish continues the fruity trend, but also packs a murky, bitter taste.

I understand that milkshake IPAs and APAs are an established style, but Fruit Helmet tastes to me like an innovative and inventive grog. It was juicy, thick, and altogether unfamiliar, but in a way that left me thirsty for more. A bit more booze could have helped the effort, but this stuff was already solid, with ample bitterness and big flavour. Bitter, yet tart, yet juicy, but still smooth—this is one of the finest Ontario ales I’ve tried in 2017.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

Death & Taxes Raspberry Radler

Happy fifth anniversary to my wonderful spouse! You challenge me, impress me, and inspire me everyday.

When I spotted the cool 473mL cans of Death & Taxes Raspberry Radler on the shelf at my local store, I immediately bought two--one for myself, because I love raspberries, and one for the Bitter Wife, because she's the Radler Queen.

Brewed in Gravenhurst, Ontario, by Sawdust City Brewing Co., this 4.3% alcohol brew is made raspberry purée and a very light ale. The beer has a hazy pinkish gold hue and pours with a fluffy off-white head.

Bitter Wife: Smells like beer--not as juicy as expected, and with only a faint raspberry note. The flavour tastes as though there are real berries in it--like raspberry juice. Like they've taken a lager and poured raspberry juice into it--but the tastes don't blend very well. It tastes as though there are two separate components. Drinkable, but it could use some additional boldness, crispness, and tartness. They're not really taking full advantage of raspberry. It's not a radler for people who like radlers craft beer. It's not flavour-focused. If you think of it as a beer, there is an appealing fruity edge, like a bear wearing a funny hat, but pointless as a radler.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10.

Stout Man: Unlike the missus, I found Death & Taxes to have a fairly assertive, sweet raspberry jam nose. There is a very thin mouthfeel that is not nearly as crisp and fizzy as I wanted and expected. The taste is mild, but has a nice, slight tinge of berry sweetness. Bitterness is nearly non-existent in this one, and there isn't abundant tartness either.

For me, D&T was a bit of a flop. It had some nice elements, including a refreshing quality, great strength for a radler, and a very pleasant scent, but overall it was too thin to hold my interest. It has a vitamin water quality that underwhelmed. I might have felt differently if it were 30 degrees out and I was sitting on a patio, but in my living room in early September, it didn't make a lot of waves.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10.

Burlington Funk: Nickel Brook Raspberry Über Berliner-Style Weisse

Nickel Brook Raspberry Über Berliner-Style Weisse is a 3.8% alcohol ale in the German style from Burlington, Ontario's Nickel Brook Brewing Co. The ale poured a surprisingly pink and hazy hue, topped with a short-lived light pink head. According to the label of the 375mL bottle, this pink concoction clocks a mere 3 IBUs.

Über has a punchy raspberry aroma that straddles between tart berry and cool-aid sweetness. The flavour is far leas sweet than the aroma, built around a tart raspberry vibe. Über has a tight, short taste, with a fraction of sweetness dwarfed by seriously fruity sourness. It is effervescent, but fairly thin on the mouthfeel.

Once one battles through its lurid pinkness, NB's Raspberry Über Berliner-Style Weisse has an engrossing cordial quality that makes it quite enjoyable. I'd have liked a bit more body from this wheat beer, but it tasted pretty nice all the same. The real beef for me was that the raspberry flavour really dominated the beery elements of this little ale.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Collective Project: Papaya Saison

My first foray into the Collective Project Sixer was the Papaya Saison. Brewed in Hamilton, Ontario by Collective Arts Brewing Limited, this 6% alcohol farmhouse ale lists papaya among its ingredients--not papaya extract or papaya purée or papaya concentrate. So that's something. Sold in 355mL bottles, Papaya Saison pours fizzy and clear, with a pale golden hue and thin white head that could easily be mistaken for an American-style lager.

Less belligerently fruity than I expected, the nose is more of an earthy, yeasty job, with an overlay of tropical notes. Ditto the flavour, which is doubtlessly fruity, but more so yeast-driven. The dry mouthfeel is very true to style, and the finish is just faintly bitter.

If it weren't for the mention of papaya in the name and ingredients list, I'd have merely called this a saison with a hint of fruity character. The subtle nature the papaya was incorporated shows impressive restraint in a style that could easily have gone awry with a heavy hand. I am really quite impressed with this little brew--a lovely, light-tasting summer ale, with a faint booze bite.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Illiterate Librarian Grapefruit IPA

Under a fluffy cloud of white head, Illiterate Librarian Grapefruit IPA is a hazy gold-orange ale. Hailing from Sarnia, Ontario and the Refined Fool Brewing Co., this 70 IBU number comes in 650mL bottles with a heinous pink and brown colour scheme on the label. At 5.7%, we're dealing with a slightly understrength India pale ale.

I was less than shocked to discover the nose of this grapefruit IPA was rich in both hops and citrus. However, my first impression was that I was not all that blown away by the depth of grapefruit in the flavour of this ale--it has a definite grapefruit note that I'd have identified, but not much more than a plethora of I.P.A.s on the market that don't feature "grapefruit" in their names. It is worth noting, though, that the finish packs a hearty element of citrus rind and tartness that grew on me. Otherwise, I was dealing with a beer that was reasonably bitter, deficiently boozy, but with a well-rounded flavour. Not a customary India pale, but not a noteworthy one either.

 

At 70 IBUs, this stuff is extremely bitter for a low-booze IPA. Despite my initial misgivings, my final assessment on this one was quite favourable. Like a nice ruby red grapefruit, sweetness, tartness, and bitterness are all present. While I didn't get the up-front citrus pop I was expecting, the cumulative impact was pretty decent. Would I buy it again? Definitely. Would I buy it again tomorrow? Not likely. Was it as good as Refined Fool's standout Short Pier, Long Walk Double IPA? Not a chance.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.