Point Break

 Point Break is both one of my pal SDF’s fave flicks and a dry-hopped lager from the folks at Toronto’s Rainhard Brewing Co. The beery Point Break is a 4.1% session-friendly lager sold in 473mL cans. This version, at least, is dry-hopped with Opal.

The beer is slightly hazy, dull gold, and covered with a loose sudsy foam. It has dry, floral aromatics, twinned with a grain and malt backbone. The flavour is grainy and supplemented with apple notes. The beer has some floral hoppiness that, in a stronger lager, might be subtle, but which in this low-octane brew is really quite robust. The beer isn’t particularly bitter, due to the dry-hopping, but it has a bit of depth.

If you’ve a hankerin’ for a low-alcohol lager that has considerable “craft” charm (whatever that means), Point Break is a good answer. It’s crisp and drinkable, but with some depth.

Rating: 8.0 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.

Tongue Tied Double Dry-Hopped IPA

 

Tongue Tied Double Dry-Hopped IPA is a cute little offering cooked up by the stalwart gang at Nickel Brook Brewing Co. The Burlington, Ontario beer comes in playful 473mL cans and clocks in at a slightly understrength 5.6%. The beer is built using Citra, Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, and Strata hops, along with both flaked and malted oats. It’s a handsomely hazy little brew, with a resplendent crown of white suds.

To my nose, Tongue Tied is primarily driven by tropical fruit—pineapple and passionfruit—but also has a dusting of floral, woodsy hops. The flavour left me engaged, but definitely not tongue-tied. It kicks off sweet and tangy; a tropical fruit salad. On the back end, the beer has a hefty hop presence, characterized by citrus and evergreen, though effective dry-hopping keeps the bitterness to a minimum.

Nickel Brook is consistently been one of my fave Ontario establishments, but I’ve found some of their more recent IPA offerings have been a bit non-descript. But I am enthused by Tongue Tied—it’s lower-octane than I’d have liked, but it also balances sweet, tart, and bitter in a manner both subtle and notable. Other than ol’ standbys Headstock and Naughty Neighbour, Tongue Tied is possibly my fave non-sour offering from NB. It’s a treat!

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Sklepník V Oceli

 

Sklepník V Oceli is a Czech-style lager from Godspeed Brewery’s Pivovar Godspeed series. The pilsner clocks in at 4.4% alcohol and according to the copy on Godspeed’s website, this “Stainless Edition” is “fermented then cold conditioned in stainless fermentation tanks for 7 weeks.” The Torontonian lager is clear, golden, and lovely to look at beneath a white foam.

Crisp and classic, the nose has a lot of grain elements, as well as a healthy measure of noble hop aromatics. The flavour is fresh and, for a low-alcohol offering, quite robust. It balances grain, metallic notes, and a floral, lightly spicy bitterness.

Godspeed is, in my opinion, Ontario’s lager master, and Slepník V Oceli is well up to my expectations. A good, clean pilsner is a great joy, and this one delivers. I’d have liked it to reach 5%, but otherwise, my complaints barely register.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Queen of Baseball

Queen of Baseball is a 6% IPA brewed at Toronto’s Left Field Brewery in honour of Lizzie “Spike” Murphy, the first woman to play baseball professionally. Sold in 355mL cans, QoB is a lightly hazy golden ale with a crown of off-white foam.

QoB is an East Coast IPA with an inviting and sticky tropical aroma, built around juicy mango notes. The beer has an extremely smooth mouthfeel, which comes off a bit on the thin side. There is no shortage of flavour, though, with a medley of tropical elements building to a grapefruit and resin finish.

Before buying this beer, I’d never heard of Lizzie Murphy, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn about a real character from baseball’s history while enjoying a pretty good IPA. I wanted this beer to have a bit more body, but otherwise, it was a satisfying little addition to Left Field’s roster.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Celebrating Sisters Rouge Pale Ale

 Celebrating Sisters Rouge Pale Ale is a red pale ale brewed in Toronto at Great Lakes Brewery as part of The Indigenous Brew Crew and Do Better. Be Better’s Celebrating Sisters initiative with $1 per 473mL can going to Indigenous organizations that support Indigenous women. The label is a gorgeous one, designed by Chief Lady Bird. The beer is a 5.1% ale. It’s copper-brown and pours with a modest off-white head.

CSRPA incorporates both wheat and oats. It has a rusty, bready, malt-driven aroma. The flavour, too, is pleasantly metallic. It’s a toasty, malty little number, with some caramel sweet and light hempen bitterness.

I had eight of these beauties, and frankly, it wasn’t enough. I love red ale hybrids, and this one was lovely. A bit more strength might have been nice, though.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

A DIPA

 A DIPA, from Toronto’s Bellwoods Brewery, is an 8.8% brute made with a quintet of hops: Galaxy, Loral, Mosaic, Motueka, and Vic Secret. The brew is almost impossibly hazy, with a milky orange colour and a modest crown of white suds. And it's a relative of An IPA.

The aromatics are less robust than I expected, with citrus and tropical notes. The flavour is sweet, juicy, and and a little dank, with orange juice and floral elements, and a resinous final note. For a strong beer, this one has an extremely smooth texture.

A DIPA is a pleasing mélange of hops and fruit. I’d have liked for there to have been a bit more bitterness, but it should be said that the hefty booziness is deviously well-cloaked.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.