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.

Paper Salesman Pale Ale

 During an impromptu visit to Canada’s capital city, I insisted on a first-ever visit to Dominion City Brewing Co., a brewery that I have ordered from several times but never set foot inside. After a couple of IPAs and a tasty BLT from Almanac Bakery, I went into DCBC’s “Corner Store” and dropped some dough. One of the beers that left with me was Paper Salesman Pale Ale. The 5.6% brew came in office-themed 473mL cans. The beer inside proved to be hazy orange with a fairly thin layer of eggshell foam.

Paper Salesman has big tropical aromatics and a flavour to match. Both were built around a mango-heavy fruit salad; a bit on the sweet end, but certainly enjoyable. The fruit juiciness carried on from start to finish, with just a faint dip into citrus bitterness.

A couple of the hazy IPAs that I bought from DCBC on this run were a bit heavy on the sediment; however, Paper Salesman kept is hazy right where it belonged. Really a nice little pick-me-up that brought me all the way back after a short afternoon hike in Orleans. A bit less sweetness is all I’d ask of this tasty ale.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Electric Circus New England Tropical Pale Ale

Cool fact about Electric Circus New England Tropical Pale Ale: according to the Great Lakes Brewery website, the cowboy depicted on the 473mL can is Kenrick Pompey, the father of former Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey. Apparently, Kenrick was a stalwart of MuchMusic’s Electric Circus!

Electric Circus the beer is a 5.5% hazy pale ale brewed with mango, oats, pineapple, and wheat. A part of GLB’s 7 Barrel Series, the beer is a milky golden ale with a sudsy white head. EC has a mammoth mango smell, with a bit of pineapple juiciness, too. 

This is basically a modestly high-alcohol mimosa. It’s so juicy, with an agreeably smooth carbonation and only a touch of beery flavours. But that’s not to say it isn’t agreeable: it’s a delightful little fruit juice delivery system. I’d have liked a bit more “beer” and a bit more bitterness, but on the whole, this stuff is fun.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.