11.05 Belgian Tripel - Sawdust City (Canada - Ontario - Gravenhurst) 11.1%

11.05 Belgian Tripel - Sawdust City (Canada - Ontario - Gravenhurst) 11.1%

I enjoyed this beer on tap at the new (and fabulous IMO) Bar Lupulus in Ottawa on October 25th, 2017. It was served in a stemmed glass that really brought out the strong red hue and showed off the big frothy cream coloured head. The aroma was of light blossom and a touch of white raisins. A bit of apple but not much alcohol to my surprise.

Very sweet, alcohol buzz on the tongue at the first instant then a light hops and a fruity sourness intercepts the building sweetness. Fruit flavours (a discreet white wine-esque mix of sweet apple, grape and melon) and peppery notes become clear on subsequent sips.  Beyond the first impressions, the sweetness is not a prominent feature. 11.05 drinks as a lightly tart, lively beer that hides its jacked-up ABV well (dangerously well when cool) and has an aftertaste that I think is best described as barley candy but bitter.

None of the flavours take a pronounced lead in this beer and the result is a subtle and finely balanced Belgian Tripel. The brewer notes that the cans have Brettanomyces Bruxellensis added to them which will change the beer over time which sounds like a fun reason to buy several of them.

Molson Canadian 67 Session IPA - MolsonCoors (Canada)

Molson Canadian 67 Session IPA - MolsonCoors (Canada) 3.0%

I'm dubious that this is going to be good, not because it's only 3% ABV but because it's made by MolsonCoors and they have a number of products in their portfolio that are less than desirable.

It pours nicely though! A proper head of white foam with a darker shade of amber coloured body in a glass. And... how about that? The aroma is strongly hoppy! Tropical fruit, resin and hints of something vegetal.

The flavour is also hop forward with the same mix of hop tones as in the aroma coming through clearly but without much intensity. The body is very thin (unsurprisingly, given it is a low calorie and very low alcohol beer) and it's a bit over carbonated as a result. The aftertaste is very short lived but over all this is an interesting beer. If very low alcohol and hops is something that you were looking for in a beer than I have to recommend giving this Session IPA a try. Really my only complaint is that it is over carbonated to my taste but I imagine that might appeal to some.

La Bonne Aventure - Pit Caribou Microbrasserie (Canada - Quebec - Perce)

La Bonne Aventure - Pit Caribou Microbrasserie (Canada - Quebec - Perce) 5.0%

Pours a clear, copper penny colour with a decent head of white foam. The aroma has caramel and a faint impression of light sweet molasses and crusty bread.

Solid malt flavours: grain, seeds and crusty bread. Caramel sweetness and a balancing touch of hops bitterness in the finish. La Bonne Aventure has a solid malt body and is very well balanced. A good example of the Rousse style.

If you are interested in reading more about this style this article by eatdrink.ca is worth a read.

Celeia Hop Ale - Alexander Keith's (Canada)

Celeia Hop Ale - Alexander Keith's (Canada) 5.5%

Darkish gold in a glass. Not much of a head of foam, but maybe I coddled the pour too much.

The aroma is fairly subtle, I found it pilsner-like even before I read that these are a Slovenian hop which seems close enough to the Southern Germany and the Czech Republic for me. Hints of citrus (lemon) throughout the aroma and flavour. The hops flavour is quite peppery and has a touch of wood tones but it always remains in the background mingling with the borderline caramelized malt flavours. This ale is bitter but in a way that builds as you drink rather than hitting you all at once.

I like Alexander Keith's Hop Series Ales because each beer gives me an easy way to learn about one specific type of hop and usually the beers are fairly good too, in my opinion. The Celeia hops ale is a bit of a let down in the latter regard as the hops better suit a lager/pilsner style beer and the mouthfeel leaves a bit to be desired and coats the mouth a bit too heavily.

Moonlight Porter - Waller Street Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa)

Moonlight Porter - Waller Street Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa) 6.3%

Very dark in a glass, more or less opaque with only a very fine ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass. Toasty coffee and chocolate aroma with a pine and maybe slight citrus hops touch that blends well with the dark malt bitterness.

The flavour is strong and really good. Hoppy bitterness plays throughout but with coffee and chocolate tones and plenty of dark, earthy, dried fruit tones that intermingle with the evergreen, hops leaving you with delicious chewy, fruity, malty wood flavours. This is an excellent American Porter from Waller Street Brewing.

Black IPA - Big Rig Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa)

Black IPA - Big Rig Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa) 6.2%

The first things I check when I have been served or pour a Black IPA are the obvious ones: is it dark and is it hoppy. Big Rig's Black IPA meets both those criteria. It is a very dark (and damn near opaque) mahogany colour (or maybe even darker than that) with a thick and creamy mocha coloured head of foam. It also has a very nice resiny hop aroma with loads of tropical fruit tones. To the taste the first thing I noticed was a earthy, toasted, nutty, slightly coffee-like malt flavour followed closely by a strong hops flavour of cedar and resin with a strongly bitter finish. This is a really nice Black IPA and, to top it all off, the design on the can is super cool.

Chocolate Manifesto - Flying Monkeys (Canada - Ontario - Barrie)

Chocolate Manifesto - Flying Monkeys (Canada - Ontario - Barrie) 10.5%

I was amazed by the intensity of the aroma, dark chocolate and milk chocolate primarily but with hints of tobacco, espresso and the slightest hint of dark fruit.

The flavour is of the same forceful character. Strongly chocolatey as designed but also dark fruit, some hints of dark cherry and other dark fruit, as well as a certain nuttiness. There is a cool, creamy, freshness to the flavour and though there is a long chocolate aftertaste and the beer is very sweet I don't find Chocolate Manifesto to be cloying or particularly heavy.

This is an exceptional beer, the kind that makes me happy to be a beer geek and to try new and innovative beers. There are lots of chocolate infused beers out there, I really like this one.

Blue Buck - Phillips Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Victoria)

Blue Buck - Phillips Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Victoria) 5.0%

Full gold in a glass with a resilient if not overly large head of foam. Nice caramel touch to the slightly raw malt flavour that reminds me of a malthouse. The hops are subtle but lend balancing hints of cedar and forest tones to the flavour. This beer delivers as promised as a tasty session ale, one that features more malt than hops character.

Abandoned Abbey - Big Rock Brewery (Canada - Alberta - Calgary)

Abandoned Abbey - Big Rock Brewery (Canada - Alberta - Calgary) 9.2%

A strongly yeasty, herbal aroma; cloves and banana. Very dark in a glass without much of a head of foam.

The taste is also strongly yeasty: banana, herbs, cloves. Lightly spicy, the faintest bit of licorice. Sweet with some dark, dried fruit flavours. A bit of chocolate comes out in the finish, and dark crusty bread out in the aftertaste. These same flavours are there in the main body but overshadowed by the Belgian yeasty tones. A well constructed Belgian Style Dark Ale that conceals it's hefty alcohol content dangerously well.

Brunette - Village Brewery (Canada - Alberta - Calgary)

Brunette - Village Brewery (Canada - Alberta - Calgary) 5.0%

Dark brown in a glass, slightly cloudy as one would expect after the slight roll before opening the label directed. A sweet toasted crusty bread, and slightly light molasses-like aroma. The taste is sweet, brown sugar, crusty bread, and biscuit. The aftertaste is umami and lightly bitter. This is a nice tasting Brown Ale.

Saint of Circumstance - Collective Arts Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Burlington)

Saint of Circumstance - Collective Arts Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Burlington) 4.7%

A slightly cloudy gold in a glass with a thin but resilient head of foam. The aroma one is of citrus and sweetness in a way that reminds me of lemon sugar cookies. It is also herbal with faint touches of peach, clover and field flowers. There is also a hint of some something vaguely spicy like ginger or cinnamon.

The flavour is herbal and zesty from the, well, orange and lemon zest. It is also complemented nicely by the biscuit-like flavour of malty body and the subtle accent of piney hops. A very pleasant beer, nice use of citrus.

Alexander Keith's Saphir Hop Ale (Canada)

Alexander Keith's Saphir Hop Ale (Canada) 5.5%

Full gold with a finger of foam that settled fairly quickly. Herbal, floral, slightly citrusy (orange/tangerine) marmalade and sweet aroma. The taste is bitter but with continued citrus (more tangerine now), marmalade like sweetness. There is also some resin and a floral flavour that reminds me of some blossom, maybe honeysuckle? The aftertaste is drily, lightly bitter with more malt than hops flavour.

I am a fan of these One Hop beers because I like the opportunity to learn about one specific type of hops. This beer is also highly drinkable and pretty tasty.

Iron Duke - Wellington Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Guelph)

Iron Duke - Wellington Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Guelph) 6.5%

A deep yet red hued brown colour in a glass with a tan head of foam and a sweet, sticky malty aroma.

This malty beauty has a sweet, toasty, chewy dark fruit, molasses and lightly caramel flavour with some light smoky wood tones. There are some hops detectable, especially with the first few sips (hop aromatics and flavours come from more volatile compounds than sugars so they tend to be most noticeable at first especially in the head on the beer), but this is a malt forward beer for sure. This strong ale reminds me a little of a Wee Heavy and is just plain good.

Beaver River I.P.Eh? - Greener Futures - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Beaver River I.P.Eh? - Greener Futures - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 6.0%

Punchy fruity tones stem from the hops and ginger combination, citrusy, almost like the peel of an orange - that characterizes the hops character. There are also distinct rum tones to be enjoyed, floating above the other flavour these alcohol, spice and wood tones give this version of Beaver River I.P.Eh? a heady and indulgent boozy aspect despite the fact that it is only 6% ABV. Beaver River I.P.Eh? is quite bitter but with some malty sweetness. This is a fun version of an IPA, the ginger and the rum barrels play well with the other flavours. I'd pick it up again if they were to make it again.

Dominus Vobiscum Double - Microbrasserie Charlevoix (Canada - Quebec - Baie-Saint-Paul) 8.0%

Dominus Vobiscum Double - Microbrasserie Charlevoix (Canada - Quebec - Baie-Saint-Paul) 8.0%

A cloudy beer with a creamy tan head of foam. It is a deep brown colour with a deep amber hue very much like the colour of mahogany (like the label says).

A strong and unique aroma: there are apple juice tones, which is a bit weird but the other aspects balance it; there is grape, raisin, biscuit and molasses; finally, barley candy with subtle leather and an underlying earthiness. Makes for a heady, intriguing and delicious aroma.

The flavour is strongly malty with molasses and barley candy sweetness and lots of dark, dried fruit flavours like raisin, dates and prunes. There is a floral aspect to the overall flavour that is likely contributed by the yeast present in this bottle-conditioned beer. Dominus Vobiscum Double is neither overly sweet or bitter but just very flavourful and interesting. A really lovely beer full of character.

Zizanie - Tête d’Allumette (Canada - Quebec - St-André de Kamouraska)

Zizanie - Tête d’Allumette (Canada - Quebec - St-André de Kamouraska) 3.9%

A barely cloudy gold in a glass without much of a head. The aroma is sweet, light, with white fleshed fruits tones like pear or white grape juice. The flavour is light but not as light as you might expect from the low alcohol content,  a delicious mix of mild crusty roll or giant pretzel tones from the malt, floral tones that bring to mind wide fields in August and a light hop bitterness with an umami finish that means the glass spends as much time at my lips as it does resting on the bar. Yum!

A quick note about the venue where I came across this rare beauty. Gainsbourg is a fine brewpub in its own right (reviews of their beers upcoming) but they also serve a great selection of Quebecois beers including this one.

City and Colour - Flying Monkeys Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Barrie)

City and Colour - Flying Monkeys Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Barrie) 11.5%


Cloudy and the colour of maple syrup, not very carbonated but not flat despite having been aged for so long. In fact, the second glass I poured (into a red wine glass, for the record) had just under a finger's width of creamy, toffee coloured foam.

The aroma is strongly maple syrup and barleywine: malty with lots of prunes and other sticky dark fruit tones. Very sweet with maple but also barley candy and dark fruit tones. It has a bit of a syrupy mouthfeel but not more than you'd expect from a barley wine, which is a little less than you might expect considering this is an Imperial Maple Wheat. There is also some alcohol warmth, again as you would expect. This is a very sweet beer but the sweetness really works and City and Colour ends up being a magnificent barleywine-esque, strong maple ale.

Vanilla Porter - Waterloo Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener)

Vanilla Porter - Waterloo Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener) 6.0%

A strongly delicious, strongly vanilla aroma. Chocolate, sweetness, caramel and so much vanilla!

The vanilla flavour is strong but lessens with progressive sips. Along with the vanilla there are strong caramel and coffee/espresso flavours as well as nice dark chocolate flavours with a touch of black olives. If you have ever had a vanilla beer, porter or otherwise, and thought, "There's some vanilla, but I would like more" then this Vanilla Porter is for you. No one is going to say Waterloo Vanilla Porter is lacking in vanilla, that's for dang sure.

Tante Blanche - Petit Sault Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Edmundston)

Tante Blanche - Petit Sault Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Edmundston) 4.7%

A brilliant, full gold in a glass; slightly cloudy with a thin white head of foam. The aroma is of nectar and field flowers, some hints of citrus and spices like a mix of the coriander or seeds of paradise that many Whites feature. The flavour has citrus (orange) and is spiced along the same lines. The wheat flavour and texture come through and Tante Blanche reminds me of a golden ale flavoured with wheat and wheat spices. All in all, it's well balanced and very tasty. Cool label with an amusing picture and a good story.

Rauchbier - Mill Street (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa)

Rauchbier - Mill Street (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa)

A red hued brown in a glass (aka huge stein) with a smoke and spice forward aroma backed with malt flavours.

The flavour is also strongly smoked with a light mouthfeel and a fairly light malt character but with earthy tones and a very faint flavour that reminds me of dark cherries. The finish is also predictably smoky but in it more malt tones also come out with toasted bread and subtle molasses aspect.