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.

Grapefruit Radler - Waterloo Brewing Company (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener) 3.1%

Grapefruit Radler - Waterloo Brewing Company (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener) 3.1%

Strong grapefruit aroma, very sweet but quite nice. An inch or so of soda-like quick fading foam on top of a very pale gold body.

Sweet taste, sweeter than I expected to be honest, and very carbonated. Only a very little bit of tartness; more of a white grapefruit flavour than a pink grapefruit flavour, and more like how a pop would be flavoured rather than the actual citrus fruit.

My unsurprising conclusion is that this is more of a pop than a beer, but that's what a Radler often is. I think this one is a bit overly sweet, though that certainly does appeal to my sweet tooth, and it lacks any malt flavour. I'd drink this if I was looking for a refreshing and slightly alcoholic drink but I certainly wouldn't reach for one if I wanted a beer.

Union Mills Porter - Waterloo Brewing - Brick Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener)

Union Mills Porter - Waterloo Brewing - Brick Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener) 7.0%

A very dark but not quite opaque chestnut colour in a glass with a head of off-white foam. Coffee, milk chocolate, leather aroma, a little earthy.

Chocolate and some dark fruit (prunes and the like) with an intermingling of a bit of booze and some hops. There is a certain hearty character to this formidable porter. Union Mills Porter is a really nice strong porter, a nicely chosen winter seasonal.

Waterloo Iron Horse Bock - Brick Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener) 5.5%

Waterloo Iron Horse Bock - Brick Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Kitchener) 5.5%

Gold in a glass with a nice head of white foam with a very sweet and creamy aroma that reminds me of sugar cookies and has just a touch of something ineffably lager-esque. It's a very appetizing smell.

The taste is also sweet at first, with a touch of grain and a creamy mouthfeel but it has a bitter finish and some vegetal hops too. Waterloo Iron Horse Bock does not exactly have the typical Bock flavour I expected however they call it a Spring Bock (a variety I hadn't heard of before) and there is something appropriately like Spring in the moderate hops bitterness and the lower than typical (for a Bock) alcohol content. Keep in mind that there is more hops to this beer than there are to other Bocks and I think you'll find it quite enjoyable.

Waterloo Amber by Brick Brewing Co (Canada - Ontario - Waterloo)

This nice little number was only briefly carried by NB Liquor and at the time of publishing there are still some on the shelves of certain stores (use NB Liquor excellently useful Product Search to see which ones) but when they gone: that's it, that's all for Waterloo Amber in New Brunswick.

Waterloo Amber by Brick Brewing Co (Canada - Ontario - Waterloo) 6.8%

A red, roasty and sweet aroma with a hint of hops and more than a hint alcohol. There is a distinct alcohol warming and a bit of bitterness when drinking it after it has been out of the fridge for eight or so minutes. Best to let this warm up a bit so that the alcohol can mingle with the other flavours rather than stand out on its own. That's better: a nicely sweet and roasty body with a touch of honey and wooden edges though, with a still quite boozy finish.

For a beer with nearly seven percent alcohol by volume the flavours are on the light side, especially when compared to the darker, thicker, hoppier beers that one tends to find in that 'weight' class. Waterloo Amber is a good beer and really good for a strong beer. I think it would taste even better still if the alcohol content was slightly lower (6 or 6.2%) so it didn't mask some of the lighter flavours quite so much. A honeyed amber colour in a glass.

A Pair from Brick Brewing's Waterloo Line (Canada - Ontario - Waterloo)

Waterloo Traditional IPA - Brick Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Waterloo) 5.2%

A glowing orange, coppery colour. A light sprucy hops aroma. Somewhat sweet, sprucy with distinct roasty tones. Quite bitter as well as hoppy. A lingering bitter as well as roasty aftertaste. A really nice IPA.

Waterloo Dark - Brick Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Waterloo) 5.0%

Dark and malty but neither bitter nor roasty. Sweet but mild caramel flavour. Some oak tones are hiding in there. An interesting beer because it isn't quite what you would expect from a dark ale and also because it is very tasty.