Baltika #7 Premium Lager

This lil' brew hails from Petrograd aka Leningrad aka Saint Petersburg, Russia, where it's brewed by Baltika Breweries.  It's an extremely clear, pale lager that pours a nice, yellow straw colour topped with a shock of white head.  It is moderately carbonated and comes in a 500mL bottle that features a cool shape and a ring-top.  Baltika weighs in at a robust 5.4% alcohol.

It has an aroma of bitter grain. It's a mild, drinkable beer, with a slight bready sweetness and a dusting of hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is quite thin and smooth.  All in all, a very mellow brew.

 #7 has a nice flavour and a slight, short aftertaste that makes this a very approachable beer.  And the slightly elevated alcohol content is a nice touch. It's a pretty solid lager.  It won't knock your socks off, but it certainly won't let you down.  Baltika #7--a beer worth trying.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Singha

The other night, at an upscale Thai restaurant, I enjoyed a bottle of Singha, a brew that hails from Pathumthani, Thailand.  It's brewed by the Pathumthani Brewery Co. and comes in 330mL bottles.  It's a pale lager and clocks in at 5% alcohol.  The label proclaims that Singha is "the original Thai beer since 1933" and that it is "by Royal permission"--Fancy!

Singha has a very sweet, bready bouquet.  The beer has a nice, bubbly body and a flavour that consists primarily of grain.  There's also a hint of citric sourness in there somewhere.  It builds to a dry, hoppy conclusion.  It's a mild beer, but a pleasant one.
Singha makes some quality southeast Asian suds.  It's refreshing and drinkable, with a relatively robust flavour.  Worth sampling.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Creemore Springs Lager

This fiery, copper coloured lager comes from the Creemore Springs Brewery in Creemore, Ontario.  The Creemore Springs Lager comes in a 341mL bottle and contains 5% alcohol.  It's an attractive lager that pours with a thick, almost white head.

C.S.L. has a warm, inviting aroma that is both sweet and grainy.  Tastewise, it reminds me of a Vienna lager.  It's got a nice, round flavour, with a slightly metallic taste and notes of warm, sultry caramel.  There's some mild maltiness on the back end.

Creemore Springs Lager is an excellent Ontario beer.  It's relatively mild, but it has considerable character.  The flavour is nicely nuanced.  It can be appreciated by everyone from fans of light lager to aficionados. And fortunately for beer fans, it's available widely across the province in beer stores and barrooms. Definitely get some.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Żubr

Browar Dojlidy Białystok in Poznan, Poland, is the brewer of Żubr, a pale lager that clocks in at 5.6%.  It's sold in 500mL bottles featuring a big ol' bison. It's a clear, golden brew topped by all kinds of white head.  

It has an aroma that blends sweet grains with a metallic clink.  The taste moves from sweet to bitter.  The initial flavour is sweet, fruity, and quite malty.  The finish is considerably hoppy and bitter. 

Żubr has a bigger taste than most conventional European pale lagers.  I liked this one quite a bit.  I say give it a whirl.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Lobster Lovers Beer

Lobster Lovers Beer (no apostrophe) hails from Rinkuškiai, Lithuania, where it is built by the Rinkuškiai Brewery.  It's a strong, bold beer, weighing in at 9.5% alcohol.  LLB is sold in incredibly strange 500mL bottles featuring a lobster superimposed on a woman's back and the slogan "Has life ever snapped at you? Grab it by the claws!"  Will do.

 LLB is a moderately carbonated, slightly cloudy orange colour.  There isn't a lot of head.  The aroma is extremely malty and yeasty.  It has flavours of sweet fruit, possibly raisins, as well as yeast and malt.  There's a considerable boozy blast in this brew.  The yeastiness and maltiness continue through to the aftertaste.  The mouthfeel is considerably buttery.


What this brew has to do with lobster is beyond me.  As a beer, there's very little bitterness to this one.  It's very strong and very sweet.  This one is only likely to appeal to some beer fans--those who dig punchy, malt-heavy suds will like it, while others might not be wild for it.  Still, Lobster Lovers Beer is probably worth buying for the label alone.


Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Negra Modelo

Negro Model is a tasty little brew out of Mexico, where it is brewed by the Cervezeria Modelo.  The label bills this brew as "La Crema de la Cerveza".  I enjoyed a bottle at a local Tex-Mex watering hole in T.O.  The waiter got really excited when he heard that I was reviewing the beer for my blog--he ran and got me the proper glass for my brew.

N.M. is sold in distinctive 355mL bottles and clocks in at 5.3% alcohol.  It pours a rich amber colour.  There is a moderate amount of carbonation and is topped with a quickly thinning white head.  It has a sweet, malty aroma.  Negra Modelo is quite refreshing for an amber beer.  It's tasty and toasty, but mild, with notes of caramel and a hint of raisin.

Negra Modelo is a great change of pace from the popular pale yellow Mexican brews.  It might be a touch on the sweet side, particularly near the end of a pint, but it's a good beer.  Solid, refreshing, and charming.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The Only Cafe-Winter Beer Fest

The Only Cafe is a well-loved beer bar in Toronto's east side.  It's a great place to grab a pint--they have a tremendous beer selection and it's a nice, pleasant space.  This past February, Partner and I attended their Winter Beer Fest.  The Fest had reps from a number of premier craft breweries from in and around Ontario, including Beau's, Black Oak, Flying Monkeys, Railway City, and McAuslan.  The brewers and their representatives were set up at the Only's back patio, so it was fortunate that the weather was mild.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your politics) it was incredibly crowded.  While this was encouraging--showing an increasing enthusiasm for quality brews--it was too crowded to make the experience leisurely or relaxing.  Each trip to pick up sample cups was fraught with spilling risks and it was impractical to chat with the reps in an effort to learn much about their suds.  This was fine though, since there was lots of enthusiasm and a solid beer-love vibe.  However, as someone who likes to taste beer, the biggest hurdle was the amount of cigarette smoke that pervaded the patio--this made actual reviewing very difficult.

The system was pretty simple.  For a dollar, you could purchase a ticket that entitled you to a small sample cup.  Then, you wandered around the patio, deciding whose wares were worth your valuable tickets.  There was lots to choose from, and the colours and hues of the beer rainbow were well represented.

For me, the highlights of the Winter Beer Fest were sampling brews from the Sawdust City Brewing Co., a newly-opened brewery that will eventually be located in Gravenhurst, Ontario, trying McAuslan's excellent Scotch Ale, and spending an evening with my wonderful partner.  This was a great event, particularly as it affirmed that Torontonians of many ages and backgrounds are interested in supporting great beer.  Definitely an event worth checking out in the future.

I was only able to do one review:

Wellington Brewery had a table at the Only Cafe's Winter Beer Fest.  They were offering tiny 5oz samples of an IPA that they put together for the season.  Their IPA was an orange-brown colour and had very little head or carbonation.


It had a wonderfully fruity and sweet initial taste--unexpectedly sweet for an IPA.  It had notes of berries and a cider-like consistency.  The aftertaste was hoppy and bitter.

It was really quite good.  Well worth a try, if you can find some.  I'd love to see Wellington do another batch of this.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.