8th Sin - Hop City (Canada - Ontario - Brampton)

8th Sin - Hop City (Canada - Ontario - Brampton) 5.0%

Very dark, nearly opaque, with an off-white head which is lighter than I expected for a beer with such a dark body. Milk chocolate aroma, with a subtle earthiness, a bit of coffee, a tiny bit of grain. Chocolatey flavour with a bit of dark, dried fruit tones and a grounding earthiness as well as the taste of the crust of dark bread. The mouthfeel is a bit surprisingly (and pleasantly) light while still being creamy. The aftertaste is more strongly earthy with light prune and raisin flavours to match the chocolate.

This is a really tasty beer, I can honestly say I have never had a Black Lager that had this depth and breadth of dark malt flavours. The is something to it that I am finding hard to put into words that seems more like a lager than an ale but I think I would be bluffing if I asserted that, in a blind taste test, I'd be able to tell the difference between this and an equally tasty dark ale with a similar light mouthfeel.

India Pale Ale - Sleeman Breweries [Sapporo Brewery] (Canada)

India Pale Ale - Sleeman Breweries [Sapporo Brewery] (Canada) 5.3%

Aroma of honey and bread, the faintest bit of dry european hops somewhat toasty.

Malty with some rye bread flavour actually, subtle fruit flavours with a hint of roast like very light chocolate. Sleeman IPA has a bitter finish but not any overly strong hop characteristics though there is some resin and slightly herbal flavours.

This is definitely much more of an English IPA than an American IPA. Don't expect a hopbomb, that's the wrong side of the Pond, but this is a quite good English IPA.

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.

La Pitoune - Le Trou Du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan)

La Pitoune - Le Trou Du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan) 5.0%

Gold in a glass with a big white head of foam and that gradually collapsed into a large iceberg of very resilient foam in the middle of the glass. There is some very fine sediment and it makes the beer a little bit cloudy. A dry european hops aroma that is herbal and has a bit of yeast too.

The taste is drily bitter with a floral, herbal and lightly spicy touch. The herbal flavours sometimes comes across as the slightest bit of banana while the malty body has tones of grain and loads (or loaves?) of toasted bread flavours. It is refreshing and quite nice even though this style doesn't give the brewers at Le Trou Du Diable a chance to show off some of their exceptional flavours like their other beers do. La Pitoune is a nice Pilsner on the bitter side of the average Pilsner and also with more of a herbal taste.

Antigravity Light Ale - Flying Monkeys (Canada - Ontario - Barrie)

Antigravity Light Ale - Flying Monkeys (Canada - Ontario - Barrie) 4.0%

A light ale that promises to have flavour. We shall see.

A slightly pale gold in a glass. A sweet malty aroma with a touch of green hops and a fruit hint. A nicely light malty toasted dinner roll flavour with just a touch of hops that gives some nice, albeit light, balancing bitterness. Not a boatload of flavour but nice flavour indeed. Antigravity Light Ale lives up to its billing.