West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing is a bombastic 7.2% west coast IPA from the sluggers at Left Field Brewery in Toronto. Sold in 355mL cans, the beer comes out clear and gold with a thin white head.

WCS has classic west coast aromatics—grapefruit, resin, and a healthy touch of pine. The flavour is similarly configured, with citrus and evergreen notes. The back end is bitter and the beer is undeniably boozy from start to finish.

A throwback to my favourite era of IPAs, West Coast Swing is big and bold. With lots to like and little to critique, this is a strong offering from Left Field.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Transcendence West Coast IPA

 As a beer consumer, something that’ll get me every single time is the words “West Coast IPA”. So, when I saw 500mL bottles of Transcendence West Coast IPA at Toronto’s Collective Arts location, I was pretty quick to snap a couple up. The bottles have lovely labels with a birds and blooms theme and the beer inside is a slightly hazy dull gold, and pours with a fluffy white head. It’s a 6.9% ale brewed with Citra, Galaxy, and Mosaic hops.

Transcendence has a citrus peel aroma that tightropes sweet and bitter elements. The flavour is built with grapefruit in the spotlight, with a sweet streak and a brassy bitter vibe. It also has a fairly mellow texture, which made me think there might have been oats in the brew, but it wasn’t listed among the ingredients.

Like all of the bottles CA beers, Transcendence is quite pricey, but I’d buy this stuff again. It’s a delight. Good strength, too.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Play Dead IPA

Port Moody, BC is the home of Yellow Dog Brewing Co., makers of Play Dead IPA. The beer, a classic West Coast IPA, comes in 473mL cans. It’s a 6.8% ale with a hearty 75 IBUs. The beer is orange-gold and nearly clear, under a creamy foam. I picked up a four-pack of these guys for social drinking, but ended up enjoying them so much I held on in reserve to review.

PD has a nose that blends citrus and pine notes. The flavour is assertively bitter, but balanced against a nice sweet element, paling around with evergreen, satsuma, and dank hemp.

Compared to past visits to BC, I did less beer drinking on my most recent trip. Of the 3-4 WCIPAs I tried, Play Dead was one of the standouts—not so much because it was innovative or unique—I just found it to be a well-made, enjoyable beer.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Shizumu

 When I think of Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery, I typically think of expertly crafted lagers and quirky styles, but Shizumu is a straight up West Coast IPA. The 6.9% ale is clear, bronze-coloured, and pours with a thin layer of off-white foam.

Shizumu has old-school American IPA aromatics, with a crunchy blend of citrus and evergreen. The flavour treads a similar path, with pine and grapefruit notes in the starring roles, and a metallic undercurrent. The beer is quite bitter, manifested as citrus and resin at the finish.

To my mind, Shizumu is a Godspeed take on the West Coast IPA—not bombastic or obvious, but a subtle rendition that is technically sound.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Pure West

As the name would suggest, Pure West is a Weat Coast IPA. Brewed in Toronto at Rainhard Brewing, PW is a touch underpowered at 6%. It comes in simple yet stylish 355mL cans. The beer is dull gold, a bit hazy, and pours with a puff of white suds.

PW has aromatics that blend roasted malt with resin, citrus, and pine. For just 6%, the flavour is pretty substantial, with a malty, caramel opening note and a quick swing to twin bitternesses of citrus and evergreen.

For its West Coast pedigree, Pure West should be in the 7% range, a bit darker, and clear. However, I’m not about to quibble to hard with taxonomies when it comes to an enjoyable beer with a pleasantly satisfying flavour.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Obey the Rules West Coast IPA

 Obey the Rules West Coast IPA is a collab between Beer. Diversity and People’s Pint Brewing Company out of Toronto. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this 6% ale go to support the Black Health Alliance. The beer comes in 500mL bottles. It’s a hazy, dull gold grog with a thin cover of off-white suds.

Piney aromatics are accented with some resin stickiness. The flavour, too, is resinous, dank, and evergreen focused, with a detour into citrus toward the finish. There is also a hint of mulled apple cider in there somewhere, too.

For a West Coast IPA, Obey the Rules doesn’t really follow its own eponymous suggestion—it is a bit under strength and I’d have expected clarity over haze. However, the flavour is highly agreeable, and that’s the main thing.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

West Coast Classic IPA

West Coast Classic IPA appears to be a dual homage: both to a wildly popular video game and to a now-classic beer style. A true west coast IPA, WCC is a clear, copper brew with 7% alcohol and a durable, sudsy head. The beer comes from Toronto, where it’s made by Henderson Brewing Company. The beer comes in 473mL cans that are instantly recognizable to video game fans. It’s brewed with a quintet of hops: Centennial, Citra, Columbus, Magnum, and Simcoe.

The beer has powerful twin aromatic elements in evergreen and citrus. The flavour contains some caramel malt notes, but it’s pine and grapefruit that really make the wheels turn.

I enjoyed WCC quite a bit. It’s a flavourful beer in one of my all time favourite styles. The packaging is quirky and the beer itself looks perfect. The strength is good, too. The only complaint I’ve got is that the mouthfeel is a bit too creamy for a style that calls for something a bit more assertive.

 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.