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.

Bríó - Borg Brugghús (Iceland - Reykjavik)

Bríó - Borg Brugghús (Iceland - Reykjavik) 4.8%

Gold in a glass with a robust head of white creamy foam. Underneath that foam is a pretty spectacular pilsner. The aroma is lightly malty with a dry hoppiness.

To the taste Bríó has a light malty flavour but the main feature of this beer is a crisp, bitter hops flavour with a bit of citrus fruit, like an orange peel. This flavour doesn't stick around to the point where it seems out of place but it makes this pilsner standout in terms of flavour dimension as well as in terms of crispness. Not a surprise that this beer has taken home awards.

Duvel Tripel Hop (2014) (Belgium)

 Duvel Tripel Hop (2014) (Belgium) 9.5%

Grassy, unripened mango, passionfruit hop laden aroma also with sweetness and a herbal hint typical of a less hoppy Tripel. A pale, cloudy gold in a glass with a frothy and resilient head of white foam.

Hoppy, bitter flavour at first, pine, sweet tangerine (got that from the Untappd description), something between the green (aka unripened) mango and passionfruit I got in the aroma but with a sweet herbal, floral finish of a Tripel. Interesting hops character and a flavour that is otherwise true to the Tripel style. Nice beer.

Rhyme & Reason - Collective Arts Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Burlington)

Rhyme & Reason - Collective Arts Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Burlington) 5.7%

Brilliant gold in a glass with a big fluffy white head of foam. Very citrusy hops aroma of grapefruit as well as peach and mango tones with cedar and resin as well.

Fairly bitter hoppy flavour: pine, cedar and other woods tones as well as citrus flavours reminiscent of grapefruit peel and oranges. Quite bitter, still very drinkable as long as you like bitter beers. There is a toasty, biscuit malty body that, in combination with citrus hops character, reminds of range marmalade on scones.

Collective Arts Brewing does something interesting with their labels, there are different ones on nearly every bottle. There seem to be upward of 60 different labels in at least 2 serieses. It makes the completionist in me want to buy far too many bottles of beer but at least the contents are also enjoyable.

California Sunshine APA - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville)

California Sunshine APA - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 5.2%

Gold with a big head of resilient white foam. A nice resiny, cedar aroma with plenty of sap and citrus touches (orange and grapefruit) and mango.

The hops flavour is actually more of a dry herbal character than the sticky, resiny citrus tones that the aroma featured - not much sweetness comes through from the malty body so while there some woodlike hops flavours they are more like the way lumber would smell than the scent of trees or freshly cut wood with sap ooze from it.

This is a very pleasant and refreshing American Pale Ale, it is nice to find an APA that is genuinely bitter with a bunch of sugar or caramel in the flavour. This type of bitter beer would pair well with lots of food but is just dandy all on its own.

4 x 4 - Stack Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Sudbury)

4 x 4 - Stack Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Sudbury) 5.2%

This a nicely, subtly hopped lager with a nice amount of bitterness as well as a malty body that is a bit complicated but without any flavours that don't belong there. Very tasty.

Dinner Jacket O'Red IPA - Arch Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Guelph)

Dinner Jacket O'Red IPA - Arch Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Guelph) 6.3%

A red hued gold in a glass with a big head of off-white foam. Cedar and resin aroma, with a scent of some sticky caramelized sugars you would expect from a Red Ale.

Very bitter, hops forward flavour at first and a very bitter aftertaste - a little metallic even. Honestly, Dinner Jacket seemed too bitter at first but I got accustomed to it quite quickly and more of the flavours came out rather than solely bitterness. Resin, cedar, pine and other faint wood tones form the hops character while crusty bread, and some nearly sticky candied fruit tones in the malty body. As promised on the label and by the use of oats, Dinner Jacket O'Red IPA does have a creamy mouthfeel.

In the end, the malt body of a Red Ale is what distinguishes this from other IPAs and a bit more of those Red Ale malt flavours as well as a bit less of the bitterness would make this beer a real standout.

Sargon - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 6.0%

Sargon - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 6.0%

Cloudy gold in a glass with a huge head of highly resilient off-white foam. Strongly ginger aroma with orange with some sugar cookie touches and, celery?

Very tangy, almost sour flavour at first that fades to very bitter. A very peppery ginger flavour with lots of citrus. Some of the peppery flavour in the finish and aftertaste is very reminiscent of spiced rum. Obviously this should be attributed to the aging in rum barrels.

This is a very summery beer, what with all the ginger and citrus. At first I found the flavour was so strong at times that it is almost harsh, however, it was much improved after I put it back in the fridge. Chilling it and letting the sediment settle a bit (it was resealed but inevitably some carbonation was released too) really improved the beer: the flavours were more mellow and Sargon became an ideal strong summer beer. Also more of the malt flavours come out. Actually Sargon ends up tasting quite a bit like crusty toast with orange and ginger marmalade but with a bit of a bitter hops bite, some floral yeast flavours and a spiced rum finish.

Rye Bock - Cameron's Brewing Company (Canada - Ontario - Oakville)

Rye Bock - Cameron's Brewing Company (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 6.3%

It pours a slightly deep (slightly orange) gold in a glass with a finger of off-white foam. The aroma contains a touch of dry euro hops (fuggles?) that give it a fresh greenness and just a hint of the fruitiness rye malt brings as well as some biscuit tones.

The flavour is strongly characterised by rye malt: grain but with a red fruity berry touch, crusty bread, toast, and just a bit more smoky than barley. Cameron's Rye Bock has a tangy bitter finish and a very appetizing aftertaste of rye flavours, some lingering bitterness and umami. This Maibock variant has a bit more hops than you'd expect from a sweeter or darker winter Bock but the hop bitterness is really quite perfect for the style. Specifically the hops character stops short of being resiny: the flavour remains dry and earthy, as well as a mix of herbal and grassy. I think the flavour is perfect for a Maibock, or springtime Bock, and I like this beer quite a bit.

Portage Ale - Mill St (Canada - Ontario - Toronto|Ottawa)

Portage Ale - Mill St (Canada - Ontario - Toronto|Ottawa) 5.0%

A mild creamed corn aroma with a hint of hops, something oddly lager-like (turns out it is aged with lager yeast - pretty cool) and a touch of almost tart bitterness.

A toasted bread taste with some bitterness, this carries on in the aftertaste as well, it's nice and quite an appetizing flavour. At times I pick up faint nearly smoky roasty flavours. Overall this is a refreshing beer and a highly quaffable ale perfect for the canoe trips the name implies and afternoons on patios (you know, when the weather finally warms up).

Doc's Feet Dubbel - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Doc's Feet Dubbel - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 7.6%

Reddish, dark brown colour in a glass with a large off-white head. It gets cloudier as the bottle goes, and darker too: the first pour was only somewhat brown, not nearly as cloudy and the head of foam was fairly fast fading. Sweet, honeyed, nectary, herbal aroma (bordering on floral) with a roasted malt and lightly spicy background.

Strongly herbal flavour, sweetly caramelized, bordering on roasty, but with a moderate hops character that is drily bitter with faint hints of cedar and resin. The hops flavours are a pleasant surprise and work well with the other flavours. A mild alcohol taste comes through at times but not as much as one might expect from a beer with 7.6% ABV. The aftertaste is quite roasty, a bit chocolate like and also with echos of the yeast flavour. This is an interesting Belgian Dubbel; quite tasty.

Red Racer India Pale Ale - Central City Brewers (Canada - British Columbia - Surrey)

Red Racer India Pale Ale - Central City Brewers (Canada - British Columbia - Surrey) 6.5%

A slightly red full gold colour in a glass with a big head of white frothy foam. Resin, cedar, citrus (grapefruit) and mango hops aroma. Strongly hoppy flavour, with grapefruit, papaya, cedar, pine and sticky resin. Quite bitter but with some sweetness from the malty mixed in. A bitter hops (especially grapefruit) and slightly metallic aftertaste. This is a solid IPA that would go well with stirfry and one that I would drink regularly if it was local, that's no knock against Red Racer I just prefer my locally produced beers for environmental reasons.

Hennepin - Brewery Ommegang (USA - New York - Cooperstown)

Hennepin - Brewery Ommegang (USA - New York - Cooperstown) 7.7%

A big foamy white head with a gold and cloudy body. A lovely and intriguing aroma mix. It taste firstly of citrus, light herbal and honey tones with some nectar. Most of these (though not really the citrus) would fit in a Belgian Golden Ale but there is also an earthy character with spiced aspect (I gather that is the ginger) and a hint of hops. This second grouping of aromas makes it quite clear that this is a Saison not a Belgian Golden Ale.

Hennepin has a strong yeast character as well: herbal and there is a flavour that is close but not quite banana along with some drying hops touches. It is quite bitter actually, nearly tart at times too, and very refreshing as a result. It's also quite carbonated and that would be, I suppose, the "champagne-like effervescence" from the label and it is an apt comparison. The malty body comes out in the finish, lightly roasty, toasty and with biscuit touches. It has a somewhat bitter aftertaste with traces of the nectar, herbal, hops mix that makes me like Hennepin so much.

This would definitely be a good aperitif beer and I think Hennepin would also go well with pasta dishes, barbecue and stir-fry.

Mr. Hyde - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Mr. Hyde - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 7.0%

A polished copper colour in a glass with a bubbly, big, off-white head that faded rather quickly to a creamy but thin layer of foam over the beer.

A sweet, nearly caramelized aroma with cereal some subtle wood and earth tones, and a hint of red fruit. A bit like a bock. While it is true that everything is reminding me of autumn, since we're on the verge of full blown autumn here in Ottawa and it happens to be my favourite season, the aroma as I've described it really seems to be perfect for an autumn beer.

Unmistakable rye flavour, just like the bread: a bit of a darker grain flavour, earthy, rich and bordering on nutty but not nutty, with a bit of red fruit that lends a note that is barely tart to the beer. Quite a bitter aftertaste with a lingering roasted grain flavour. For a beer that is 7% ABV, the flavour is mild while also being multi-layered and certainly doesn't taste much of alcohol so, while Mr. Hyde is a beer deserving of slow consideration, it is also dangerously quaffable especially when it is cold. As regular readers know, I prefer my beers a bit warmer than most but Mr. Hyde especially needs to be given a chance to warm up from refrigerator temperature so that you can enjoy the full spectrum of flavours that may otherwise be missed. I don't believe I've had a Roggenbier before but if Beau's Mr. Hyde is typical of the style I will definitely keep my eye out for another: delicious!

Oktobock (Wild Oats Series #24) - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Oktobock (Wild Oats Series #24) - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 7.0%

A deep gold in a glass, crystal clear with a head of white foam. The aroma is sweet, lightly malty with a distinctly lager yeast touch as well as that dry, lightly spicy hoppiness of Czech or German hops.

Drily bitter and spicy hops continue in the taste but are rounded out beautifully by a robust malty body and also have a slight herbal touch. Touches of caramel, a roast glaze and grain are highlights of a malt character that suits the style perfectly to my taste. Ocktobock's has a bitter finish (again, entirely appropriate) and a malty, roasty aftertaste.

Oktobock is just about exactly what I expect when I drink a Bock: that ineffable lager taste, drily bitter and barely spicy European hops, malty sweetness (an emphasis on roasty, sugary or caramel tasting malt as the brewmaster chooses), a refreshing feel even though the mouthfeel is thicker than a lager and marginally syrupy.

In a way my expectations are a little coloured by the travel time it takes for German bocks to arrive in Canada which can cause the hops to become a bit attenuated. With a beer brewed just outside of Ottawa the blush isn't off the rose, so to speak: the beer is fresh and the hops flavours have more depth and variety. Also since Oktobock is a Maibock interpretation, it is expected to be somewhat more bitter than a Bock or a Helles Bock.

Tatra (Poland)

Tatra (Poland) 5.5%

Pale gold in a glass with a fast fading head. The aroma is honey with an ever so slightly burnt, nearly acrid touch and faint pilsner-like dry Czech hops. Honey continues in the flavour as does the bitterness - in fact it has quite a bitter aftertaste. Tatra is a sweet pilsner with honey and biscuit flavours at first then followed by a bitter, slightly acrid, finish. Despite being slightly acrid it is not terrible but it's not great; however, considering how cheap it is, it is better than I expected. There is just something about the bitter finish that is a bit off to my taste.

Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel - Brasserie D'Achouffe (Belgium)

Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel - Brasserie D'Achouffe (Belgium) 9.0%

Gold, slightly cloudy in a glass with a big head of white and very light foam. A yeasty, nectar and herbal aroma with hints of mint and flowers. There is a bitterness of hops lingering in the background. The sediment at the bottom of the bottle is very fine but it does add to yeasty characteristic of this fine Belgian ale.

Bitter taste but also sweet and yeasty. Pine hops flavour without any sticky resin flavour; more like a dry bitterness that has flashes of pineapple to my taste. The pineapple may be as a result of mixing with some of the nectar and floral flavours of the yeast. The flavour is just what I expect from a Tripel: herbal yeast notes with floral hints while being sweet with some honey tones except it also has strong hops flavours and is not heavy on the tongue. In fact, many Belgian Golden Ales, Dubbels and Tripels are often a little syrupy (though in a good way) but I think Chouffe Houblon high alcohol content thins this beer a little so it plays lighter and thinner on the tongue, even though it is quite deliciously sweet. The bitterness of the hops also cleans out any very sweet highs. This is a really nice Belgian IPA or Double IPA if that's what they are calling it.

Baldwin Fish-Eye - Kensington Brewing Company (Canada - Ontario - Toronto/Guelph)

Baldwin Fish-Eye - Kensington Brewing Company (Canada - Ontario - Toronto/Guelph) 6.5%

An amber orange in a glass with a frothy white head with impressive staying power. Seriously this head last and lasts, it may contribute to the flavour being more bitter since the foam often contains the more volatile hop oils. An aroma like a pine and cedar forest but with some citrus (orange) and a perfumy floral touch too. I could contentedly just sit and smell this beer for quite a while.

Hoppy cedar and resin taste along with nice toasted bread and grain flavours. Pleasant orange flavours and malt sweetness balance some of the hops.  Quite a grain heavy finish. Late onset of a robustly bitter aftertaste. A nice IPA, more orange flavour with a more bitter aftertaste than the average IPA (if the term 'average IPA' means anything). If you like really bitter beers and the citrus character of hops this one is a riot and would go well with just about any strong flavoured food.

Boneshaker Unfiltered IPA - Amsterdam Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Boneshaker Unfiltered IPA - Amsterdam Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 7.1%

A deep, slightly orange and nearly glowing amber in a glass with an off-white head that fades fairly quickly but leaves pleasant lacing. Grapefruit, mango and passionfruit dominated hops aroma at first, but then it mellows into an aroma featuring more melon and resin tones. A swirl of the glass with bring back a finger of foam as well as the hoppy tropical highlights of mango and passionfruit for a moment. The taste is of resin and cedar mellowed with some melon and mango tones; strong hops bitterness and a sweet malty body that is caramelized and a little sticky like a Red Ale. The finish reveals some very nice caramel tones and the aftertaste is very much bitter for the most part but eventually fades into a nice grain flavour with lingering notes of pine. No alcohol taste that I detected but there is enough in this fine ale to set your tongue tingling at times.

Boneshaker is a very nice India Pale Ale and, seeing as how it tips the scales at 7.1%, it could even be considered to be a very nice Imperial IPA. Lots more tropical fruit flavours than other IPAs but that's part of the reason why IPAs are fun: sure they are almost all very hoppy but they can be hoppy in dramatically different ways. One final note about the hops-borne tropical fruit flavours, they come out even more so as the beer warms a little which decreases the extent of the bitterness.

Le Sang D'Encre - Le Trou Du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan)

Le Sang D'Encre - Le Trou Du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan) 5.5%

As is to be expected from a beer with a name such as this one (translated to The Blood of Ink), Le Sang D'Encre is pitch black, completely opaque and also features a solid head of off-white to light brown (or mocha if you prefer) foam that leaves nice lacing.

The aroma is darkly malty, light wood tones, coffee, some hints of molasses and smoke. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy though the beer is well carbonated. Coffee first and foremost, malt and some dry hops; chocolate, smoky wood tones and the lightest hints of caramel. The aftertaste is rather bitter and smoky but very pleasant.