Allegheny Splash Tangerine Peach Float

Named in honour of baseballs hit into the river in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Splash Tangerine Peach Float is a 5% ale from the team at Left Field Brewery in Toronto. The beer comes in 355mL cans with a cute li’l drawing on the side. It’s brewed with peach and tangerine (I assume a purée) and lactose, along with wheat and oats. A.S. has a dull orange colour and pours with a thin layer of off-white head.

The Splash has a fruity aroma that has the sweetness of peach and the tang of yogurt. The flavour is a bit tart and it encompasses tangerine and peach notes, as well as a deft touch of vanilla sweetness.

This was a pretty quirky and enjoyable little brew—juicy and with big yogurt energy. I liked it quite a bit more than I expected to.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Fat Ma American Style Pilsner

 Looking like a true classic—clear and modestly carbonated under a fluffy white head—Fat Ma American Style Pilsner is a 5.8% lager from Birds Fly South Ale Project in Greenville, South Carolina. The beer comes in 473mL cans, according to which some of the proceeds “go directly to help our neighbors in need.” Cheers!

The beer has a honey sweet nose backed with an assertive grain bill and a healthy suggestion of hops (Sterling and Topaz). The flavour is initially sweet and grassy, but gradually builds to a hoppy and floral back end.

I’d have liked Fat Ma to be a bit more effervescent, but otherwise she was firing on all cylinders, delivering crisp refreshment and a flavourful bouquet.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Gakozing

So here’s a weird one. Gakozing is an IPA brewed with gummy bears. What?! The beer comes from Alexandria, Virginia’s Aslin Beer Co. It’s a 6.5% brew that comes in goofy and colourful 473mL cans. It’s a cloudy ale that looks like mango juice and pours with almost no head or carbonation.

This beer has a ridiculously sweet candy aroma—truly does have gummy bear notes, but also a dose of tartness. The flavour is full on candy, but also a bit tangy, with notes of cherry syrup. There is basically no bitterness, which doesn’t lend itself to IPA classification.

If I’m being honest, I wasn’t wild about this beer. The concept is innovative and I’m glad that I tried it, but I wouldn’t go back to the well for another, nor would I be eager to revisit it. Props to the glorious MM for hooking me up with this one.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Five Crossings Pale Ale

 From the 7 Barrel Series at Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery comes Five Crossings Pale Ale, a 4.5% beer brewed with oats and wheat. The beer comes out of a 473mL can looking hazy and dull gold, under a loose white head. According to the copy on the can, the brew was created in collaboration with Mike Shoreman, who will be traveling across each of the Great Lakes via paddle board to support mental illness programs.

Five Crossings has a gentle, fruit-driven nose. There are notes of orange and sweet wild strawberry, though these are quite mild. The beer has very little bitterness and it makes for a juicy, refreshing pint.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Summer Solstice

 During a summer cottage getaway outside of Ottawa, my party and I hit up a variety of local breweries in and around Lanark County, including Calabogie Brewing Co. out of Calabogie, Ontario. Most of the offerings from Calabogie disappeared in a blink, but I managed to secure a 473mL can of Summer Solstice to review. 

A 5% pale ale, Summer Solstice is a hazy orange-gold brew. Through the sudsy white head, the beer has a citrus aroma that has a slight metallic bent. The flavour certainly tastes more bitter than the listed 30 IBUs, with grapefruit elements; however, there is also a slightly coppery, bloody tinge that I found a bit unpalatable.

I didn’t really love Summer Solstice, though there were certainly some features that I liked. The beer was refreshing and agreeably bitter, and the citrus touches were nicely integrated. To be fair to Calabogie, several of the other brews we picked up were considerably more enjoyable, including a kölsch-style, a solid West Coast IPA, and a juicy NEIPA.

Rating: 6.0 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.

Tsumi

 At 8.5%, Godspeed’s Tsumi is a burly imperial coffee stout. The beer, born at Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery, is sold in 355mL cans. It’s a near-black ale with a frothy tan head. 

Tsumi has a robust coffee nose; bitter with a syrupy sweetness. The flavour is big and bold, with black coffee notes and ample bitterness. The booze in this brew is undeniable and it has a thick texture.

A coffee beer with some attitude, Tsumi is an enjoyable ale from a brewery more known for their elite Czech-style lagers.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.