Godspeed Goodies--Irori Peated Scotch Lager

Of the seven different beers that I ordered from Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery, the one I was most excited about was easily their Irori Peated Scotch Lager. The brew, a hefty 8% lager, is sold in 355mL cans. According to the copy, the beer was brewed in tribute to a former mentor. It’s a ruby-hued lager that pours with a thin layer of off-white head.

Irori has a surprisingly mild nose—it has a peaty, malt-driven aroma, but for a beer so strong, it isn’t overpowering. The flavour, however, is pretty dang rowdy—smoky, malty, boozy, and slightly sweet, with a bitter back end.

A peated lager is an interesting conception, and this innovative, high gravity brew worked it out compellingly. It’s a truly unusual beer and one I found extremely enjoyable.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Grenadier Premium Lager

A strong lager sold in a 473mL can festooned with cherry blossoms and a grenade, Grenadier Premium Lager is a 6% pale lager from Toronto’s Grenadier Brewing Co. The beer is clear, with a rich golden colour and a quickly thinning white head.

Grainy and slightly gritty to the nose, GPL weds cereal sweetness with dry, slightly metallic aromatics. The flavour starts sweetly, with grain and floral elements, and moves into a realm of faint bitterness. I’m a rank hypocrite to complain about a beer’s strength getting in its way because I typically opine that they should be stronger, but reaching the 6% threshold hampers GPL’s crispness and 

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t love “premium” as a qualifier for a craft beer, as I find it is basically meaningless. I won’t rehash that argument except to say that this is another beer that falls into that christening trap. Issues with the name notwithstanding, the beer deserves some plaudits and earns some admonishment. Given the volume of breweries in the province, there really aren’t that many Ontario lagers that dare to exceed 5% and GPL should be praised for going strong. But its additional ballast also caused problems—namely too much sweetness and a crispness issue. While it doesn’t crackle, the finish does offer a nice amount of bitterness.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Positive Reinforcement

Rorschach Brewing Company calls its 6% alcohol festbier Positive Reinforcement and sells it in 473mL cans. It’s a clear, deep gold lager that pours with a tuft of white suds.

The beer has a malty, slightly metallic aroma, and its flavour largely matches. The beer has sweet and malty notes in the early stages and grows into a fairly healthy bitter and dry finish. In the background, there are pleasant metallic notes and grainy elements.

Festbiers aren’t something I have a lot of experience with, but I can say that I enjoyed this punch little lager a fair bit. It was quite flavourful, yet still relatively refreshing. I wouldn’t call it particularly memorable, but it was plainly well-made.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Road Block Doppelbock

Road Block Doppelbock comes from Windsor, Ontario’s Walkerville Brewery. I picked up a 473mL can of the 7.5% stuff. It’s a clear, amber tonic that pours with almost no head—just a thin disc of white suds.

The doppel has a malty, brown sugar soaked aroma. Its flavour is malt-driven, with caramel sweetness and a fairly pronounced hoppy finish.

Road Block had great strength, and a decent flavour, but it is a bit thin-bodied and light on carbonation. All told, its alright, but not a game-changer.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

All's Welly That Ends Welly: Helles Bock

Wellington Brewery’s Helles Bock is a slightly hazy, dull gold affair. Sold in 355mL bottles, this Guelph, Ontario lager contains a punchy 6.8% alcohol and pours with a thin cover of eggshell head. It has a sweet and potent aroma that has some syrupy qualities, as well as a pungent waft of grains. Sweet and malty, particularly in the early going, the beer veers toward a distinctly German-styled hops finish that has some crisp elements, but remains quite sweet.

The Welly Helles Bock (should have been called “Welles Bock” or even “Welly Bock”) is a nice take on the classic German style, though it comes through a bit too sweet for me, instead of crisp and bready, as I’d have liked it to be. Still, it’s a nice strong lager with some sass.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Goatman Imperial India Black Lager

Goatman Imperial India Black Lager is produced in Garland, Texas by Lakewood Brewing Co. At 9.3% and 82 IBUs, this brew has major chops. According to the label, the brew is in honour of the Goatman of White Rock Lake, though there are scant details on his story. The beer is brown-black and topped with tan head.

The aroma is toasty and rich, though fairly mild. The flavour was definitely not, though, with notes of licorice, spice, and heady hops ballast.

Goatman was a damned strong and robust. It was my first go at an Imperial India Black Lager, and I liked it a lot. I didn't have a frame of reference, but I'm confident this stuff stacks up well.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Bitter Unicorn Tears

Born in Clayton, North Carolina, Bitter Unicorn Tears is an India pale lager brewed by the Deep River Brewing Company. The 16oz can features a weeping, rainbow sneezing, orange haired blue unicorn. It's listed at a punchy 7.2% alcohol.

It's a hazy, golden brew. It poured with a nice cap of white head. It has a slightly spicy, floral hops nose. The beer is quite dry and a bit yeasty. Less bitter than I expected, but still modestly hoppy, with a floral bent.

While the best thing about Bitter Unicorn Tears was its name and packaging, it was a pretty decent little offering. Nice flavour and strength, but a little thin.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Brygg Måstarens Swedish Premium Gold

I haven't had all that much experience with Swedish beers, so when I spotted cans of Brygg Måstarens Swedish Premium Gold, I hastened to pick one up. The clear bright gold lager comes Vimmerby, Sweden, where it's brewed by Åbro Brewery. At 5.9%, I'm grudgingly willing to call this a strong lager. It pours from its 500mL can with lots of carbonation and a layer of fluffy white head.

Brygg Måstatens has a reasonably potent aroma that is rich with sweet grass, grain, and a few metallic notes.  The mouthfeel isn't exactly crisp--rather, it's a bit think and slow for a lager. The flavour is quite grassy and very sweet. Toward the finish, the beer starts to turn toward bitterness, but, in my opinion, there aren't enough hops to satisfactorily close the door on this one.

While I found this lager to be a bit on the sweet site and a bit lacking in crispness, I don't want to give the idea that I didn't like it or wouldn't buy it again. Really, it was a decent, satisfying "starköl".

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

#46 Parkdale Bomber

In the mood for something local and different, I jumped into a rad little place call Lipstick & Dynamite and ordered myself a pint of #46 Parkdale Bomber on tap. The Bomber is a clear and sprightly golden lager made by Toronto's Duggan's Brewery. My pint arrived looking fizzy and topped with a cloudy white head. Strong for a lager, the Bomber blasts livers at 7% alcohol.

Malty and fruity, the Bomber has notes of melon on the nose, as well some classic grain. It's almost crisp, but too strong to really fit that adjective. The flavour is sweet, grassy, and a touch fruity, again with melon leanings.

I quite enjoyed this stuff. I found it bouncy, bubbly and quite pleasant. It could have been a bit fuller-bodied, but it ended up being a virile lager with a lot in its favour.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Warka Strong

Warka Strong is a strong lager from Warka, Poland. It contains a hearty 6.5% alcohol and comes in a 500mL bottle. The label refers to "Excellent Composition with Roasted Malt". So there.

Warka Strong is a clear brew that is reasonably well carbonated and has an almost white head. It has a lovely golden amber colour. The aroma is malt focused, grainy, and a bit boozy. It's a very sweet, malty brew. There's a bit of honey flavour as well as some unapologetic boozy warmth. Warka has an almost syrupy mouthfeel that wasn't my favourite.

There are interesting elements to this strong lager, but overall, it's not my cup of tea.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Les Trois Mousquetaires Oktoberfest Lager Cuivrée

My wife and I received a bottle of Les Trois Mousquetaires Oktoberfest Lager Cuivrée as a wedding gift from a lovely couple of wonderful friends. Thanks guys! While we got married in September 2012, I didn't actually enjoy this stuff until Christmas 2013. It was probably a bit older than it should have been enjoyed, but I went for it anyway.

It's a copper lager from Les Trois Mousquetaires Microbrasseurs out of Brossard, Quebec. It comes in a corked 750mL bottle. It contains 6% alcohol and contains 20 IBUs. It's a cloudy, brownish red lager. It pours with a very thick, light tan head. The aroma is sweet, yeasty, malt focused, and vaguely metallic. It has a malt forward flavour with notes of raisin. It is sweet initially, but moves to a short, bitter finish. It is faintly smokey with some coppery notes.

There is a somewhat Belgian feel to this Quebecois brew. It is a big, flavourful lager. Pretty enjoyable stuff.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

L'Alchimiste Bock de Joliette

L'Alchimiste Bock de Joliette is a strong beer from L'Alchimiste Micro Brasserie, out of Joliette, Quebec. The label features a portrait of L'Honorable Barthélemy Joliette, with no further explanation.  The beer clocks in at 6.1% and is sold in 341mL bottles.

The Bock has a hazy orange-amber colour, topped with a short lived cream head. Its aroma is malty and gently spiced. The flavour is malt dominated with a whisper of clove. Some faint hop bitterness brings up the rear.

This is a pretty enjoyable bock--not as flavourful as some of its Teutonic cousins, but certainly not timid. A fine beer to warm you up on a cool night.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10. 

Dog Bite High Gravity Lager

Dog Bite High Gravity Lager comes in jumbo 24oz cans that feature a fearsome three-headed dog and an equally fearsome 10% alcohol. It hails from Rochester, New York. It's brewed by the Rock Wall Brewing Company.

Dog Bite pours an ever-so-slightly hazy, bright gold colour with an off-white head. It has quite a faint aroma, with some fruit notes and some boozy warmth. There are sweet fruit flavours of apple and pear, backed against a warm, boozy base. Though it's potent for a lager, it doesn't taste overly strong. It makes for a dangerous drink, since it'll go to your head without going to your taste buds. A bit more hop body might be nice, but I'm not inclined to mess with a lager this strong.

A potent brew with some subtlety, Dog Bite is a good'un. If you happen across it, you should give it a try, particularly if you've got a clear schedule. I'm also a big fan of the huge can.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.