100th Meridian Organic Amber Lager

The Mill St. Brewery in Toronto gave birth to 100th Meridian Organic Amber Lager. I had an afternoon pint on tap at a generic downtown Toronto Irish pub while waiting for my wife to get her hair cut. It arrived a clear, dirty gold brew topped with a nice eggshell head. I was a bit surprised by the colour--I think "amber" is a bit of a stretch.

The aroma is mild and comfortable. There is a modest roasted malt aroma and a whiff of copper. On tap, I found this beer to have an unexpectedly creamy and velvety mouthfeel--I wonder whether the bottled version is similar in this respect. This beer has a laid back taste--malty, toasty, and a tad bready. At the finish, there is a fragile hop swing that adds a measure of crispness. According to Mill St.'s website, this stuff clocks in at a standard 5% alcohol.

All in all, I liked this beer just fine. It's not particularly flavourful for an amber lager, but it's restrained taste is certainly enjoyable. It's not big enough to bring me back, but I can definitely see how other drinkers could find this stuff engaging. Fittingly, there was a Tragically Hip song playing as I finished my review. Not "At the Hundredth Meridian", but still.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Bison Organic Honey Basil Ale

Bison Brewery in Ukiah, California makes Organic Honey Basil Ale. Just as the name suggests, this stuff is brewed with basil and honey, and it's certified organic. According to the label, if you register on Bison's website, they'll buy you a carbon offset for a case of beer.  That's some cool, innovative, and progressive stuff. It's sold in 355mL bottles and contains a pretty solid 6% alcohol.

Organic Honey Basil Ale hazy, orange-copper brew topped with a thinnish, off-white head. A sweet, honeyed aroma leans toward the malt side of the spectrum. Similarly, the flavour is characterized by a sweet, malt body and a pleasant honey taste. Beneath that, there are some warm boozy notes, gentle toastiness, and a faint metallic bent.

There's not a lot of bitterness and I'd have liked a bit more basil emphasis. This stuff is too sweet to go back to the Honey Basil well more often than once in a session, but it's pretty tasty stuff.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Samuel Smith's Organic Pale Ale

Brewed at "the Old Brewery" in Tadcaster, UK, by Samuel Smith's Brewery, Samuel Smith's Organic Pale Ale is a clear, copper coloured brew that pours underneath an ecru head. It's sold in 550mL bottles (which is a swell, if unusual size for a beer) and contains 5% alcohol. The label has a USDA organic logo.

S.S.O.P.A. has a boisterous nose with elements of maltiness, sweet grains, bitterness, and something metallic. In the flavour, toasty, bready malts kick things off, but give way to a rich, coppery bitterness. According to the label, this stuff is "fermented in stone Yorkshire squares" and this somehow "creates a full-bodied rounded palate". Don't ask me how.

If I had my way, this beer would be a touch hoppier and have a healthier alcohol content. However, it's a flavourful and well balanced ale, and one that gets cool points for being organic.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Nickel Brook Premium Organic Lager

First Lager review of 2014!

Nickel Brook Premium Organic Lager is brewed in Burlington, Ontario by the Better Bitters Brewing Company. It's sold in 473mL cans and contains 5% alcohol.

According to the can, these suds are certified organic and "[b]rewed to the strict standards of the Bavarian Purity Act of 1516". It's a clear, honey-coloured lager topped with a white head. There isn't a whole lot of carbonation to speak of. It has a nice, mild aroma that blends gentle pilsner hops with fresh grainy notes. Sweet flavour notes of grain and homey characterize the foreground, while backstage, there is a faint twist of hoppiness.

This is a very easy-drinking pale lager with a soft, refined flavour. I generally like my pale lagers to be a bit crisper that this one, but I kinda dig its laid back vibe. This is a lager better suited to spring or fall than the heat of summer. For those of you who would rather quaff a European lager than a hop monster IPA or a dark-as-sin stout, this is a nice Ontario-brewed option.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Samuel Smith's Organic Raspberry Ale

Samuel Smith's Organic Raspberry Ale is brewed with raspberry juice and has a USDA organic seal. It's brewed by Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster), in North Yorkshire, England.  S.S.O.R.A. contains 5.1% and is sold in 550mL bottles that have cool patent medicine-style labels.. It's a cloudy, rose hued brew, topped with a pinkish head. It has an aroma of raspberry bolstered by a hint of beery bitterness. A tart raspberry flavour dominates, but there are some mild ale qualities lurking in the shadows. The aftertaste is a pleasant blend of tart and bitter.

As flavoured beers go, this one has some art to it. The beer flavours are subdued, but present, serving to enhance the bold raspberry flavour. The juicy elements taste real, rather than synthetic. If you can get over drinking a pink beer with a pink head and you're a raspberry fan, this is a pretty cool pint. I wouldn't drink it all the time, but it makes for a nice treat.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.