Shinny Pants Session Stout

Shinny Pants Session Stout is a low-octane 4.3%, 8 IBU stout from Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery—a member of GLB’s Tank Ten Series. Sold in 473mL cans, the beer is a near-black ale topped with a thin cover of khaki head.

Sweet and malty, with chocolate notes, SPSS has a warm and full-bodied aroma. The flavour is surprisingly rich for a low-booze effort, with roasted malt, some slight smokiness, and a sweet-to-bitter progression. The finish is low IBU, but well-roasted and significant.

For a low alcohol stout, SPSS is a flavourful and fun ale. It packs brown sugar, chocolate, wee smoke, and roasted malt into a sessionable package.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Frankenstout

Block 3 Brewing Company does their crafting in St. Jacobs, Ontario. That's the venue where they brew Frankenstout, their 5% alcohol "session stout." When tipped out of the 500mL bottle, I found the ale to possess a handsome black coffee colour and it poured with a thick sheet of tan head. Very attractive.

The nose, while mild, had some depth, and featured roasted malt notes and a hint of something chocolatey. Mellow and creamy to sip, this beer was very smooth. It was a little thin in the flavour department, though the tastes represented were all lovely: tobacco, mocha, and, above all, well-roasted malts. The finish shifted into a casual bitterness that I quite enjoyed.

While 5% isn't quite what I'd call "sessionable," I did find Block 3's Frankenstout to be easy-drinking and approachable. While I might have asked for the flavour to be amplified a bit, they did make for a pleasing combination. This beer tasted really well made and convinced me that the folks at Block 3 know their stuff. I'll be checking out their other offerings for sure.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Half Bastard Stout

Waiting, as I often do, for my over-taxed spouse to get off work so that date night could begin, I sucked into The Wren, an east Toronto taproom and restaurant, for a pint or two. The first I selected was Half Bastard Stout. Half Bastard is brewed up nice by Nickel Brook Brewing Co., which operates out of Burlington, Ontario. HB is a junior sibling to two of Nickel Brook's more substantial stout offerings: Bolshevik Bastard, a Russian Imperial Stout, and Kentucky Bastard, its bourbon-laden counterpart.

Compared to its high octane relations, Half Bastard has a relatively low alcohol content: just 4.5% according to the tap list at The Wren. I had a pint on tap. It showed up looking stoutly--that is to say, nearly opaque black. As for head, there was disappointingly little, manifesting as a thin, sudsy ring. Through that, a nice, stalwart aroma wafted up: bitter, with notes of coffee, leather, and roasted malts. For a low-alcohol ale, the level of flavour packed into this stuff is quite remarkable. There are robust French roast coffee elements, layered over a well-roasted malt frame. These precede a decently hoppy finish. 

On the down side of the ledger, the mouthfeel proved to be a little flimsy--not surprising given the low percentage, but mildly regrettable nonetheless. Really, though, that was one of the only things holding Half Bastard back from excellent beer status. It'll have to settle for very good. If you're in the mood for a sessionable stout, and you're not feeling a Guinness-style dry stout, give Half Bastard a chance. I'm confident that you'll dig it.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.