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.

Devil’s Punchbowl India Session Lager

Hamilton’s Clifford Brewing Co. makes my favourite regularly available Ontario porter. On the other end of the colour spectrum, they’re also the driving force behind Devil’s Punchbowl India Session Lager, a highly carbonated 4.8% dry-hopped brew sold in slick and stylish 473mL cans.

Devil’s Punchbowl is a straw gold lager with a slight haze and a hefty crown of vivid white suds. It has white wine and tropical fruit tendencies in the nose and a flavour that treads the same waters. The beer has a sharp initial note that is both florally hoppy and quite grainy. The back end is laced with citrus notes.

The drawback of Devil’s Punchbowl is the mouthfeel, which is a little thin and overly smooth—I was hoping for a bit more of the intersection of pale lager crispness and dry-hopped zest. However, the flavour is definitely agreeable—extremely so. I bet if I was drinking this beer on a sunny Saturday afternoon in August, I’d have a different tune than today, a dismally cold December Wednesday night. Long story short: I’ll definitely buy this stuff again and it’ll continue to be tasty.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Serenity

Serenity is a hoppy lager brewed in Toronto by Rorschach Brewing Co. It’s a sessionable 4.5% lager sold in 473mL cans. The beer within is a sunny straw colour with loads of carbonation and a thin layer of white suds.

This pale lager has a gritty, earthy hops nose, with a faint whiff of gym shoe. The flavour, too, is extremely bitter, with floral and earthy hops notes that I’d usually associate with an English IPA. The mouthfeel is crisp and crackling, making this a very refreshing lager.

This is an enjoyable lager with an odd and agreeable flavour profile. It’s session-friendly but packed with bitterness. The only drawback is that touch of feet in the nose.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Bolt Brewery Flight

After arguably making a mistake at San Diego's Bolt Brewery by ordering a strong and sweet double chocolate stout on a hot afternoon in Southern California, I opted for a flight of 4oz tasters for my next Bolt experience. The four I selected were Bolt's Hefenweizen, Loca Lemon, Hoppy Lager, and Deez Hops DIPA.

 

The hefe was a 4.2%, 13 IBU brew. It was somewhere between yellow and milky. It had a yeasty, tart nose. The flavour maintained the yeastiness, but not the tartness. It was actually a pretty mellow, mild-mannered little brew. I'd have liked a bit more oomph, but it was fine.

 

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

The Loca Lemon checked in at 5.3% and 13 IBUs. It was a pale, straw-coloured beer with little head. It had a lemon-lime soda scent--sweet and citrusy, with a slightly chemically aroma. It's flavour was along the same lines--very sweet, fizzy, and lemony. 

Way too saccharine for this guy to revisit, it was still a refreshing and interesting ale--something full strength for fans of radlers and shandies. It should be said that it was also wildly refreshing.

 

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

The third entry in my Bolt Brewery flight was their Hoppy Lager. A pale and fizzy golden brew, the HL was clear and packed a floral hops aroma. It had a thin, crisp mouthfeel and a moderately hoppy flavour. Dry through the finish.

 

Bolt's Hoppy Lager was one of the better offerings that I sampled during my visit to their satellite brewery. It was unique and innovative, although it not without its flaws. I did like the floral hops drive, though.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The final entry in my Bolt Brewery flight was their formidable Deez Hops Double IPA. At 9.2% alcohol and 83 IBUs, this was a pretty jumbo brew. It was a clear and brassy India Pale Ale, and arrived with very little head.

Deez Hops had jumbo bitterness through the nose, with resinous, slightly sweet hops properties. Boozy and sweet initially, but bitter and bold to the finish, this was definitely my favourite Bolt beer that I sampled during my hour in their establishment. It was a tad sweet, but this was balanced against a juicy bitterness that sold me hard.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.