Belgian Cherry IPA - Mill Street Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Belgian Cherry IPA - Mill Street Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 7.0%

A Belgian candi sugar-esque sugary aroma that is beyond caramelized onto the sticky not quite roasty sweetness of a glaze. Slightly tart smelling cherry tones as well and some subtle Belgian yeast tones that are floral with a bit of earthiness.

The flavour is much the same but with more tartness from the cherry: the Belgian candi sugar and floral yeast characteristics provide a nice counterpoint to the cherry. No surprises tasting it after considering the aroma but it is a bit surprising to not detect any appreciable hop flavours in either based on the name. I guess Mill Street is aiming for a Belgian style, cherry version of an English style IPA; now that's a mouthful of a name. English IPAs have more muted hops flavours than the hoppier and better known North American IPAs.

The flavour is quite nice but I do have a bit of an issue with the name: when there is so much else going on in the name (and the flavour) why not a simpler name like Belgian Style Cherry Ale? Mill Street is more or less creating a style here so I would prefer a name that doesn't confuse the lineage even further by calling it an IPA. The cynic in me wants to ascribe the use of the IPA tag to the marketing department as a way to draw in hopheads.

All that said, if you like cherries this beer makes good use of them. Additionally calling it a Belgian style beer is certainly legitimate in my opinion as the sugary flavours and the yeast tones fit the style nicely.

Deviator Doppelbock - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 8.6%

Deviator Doppelbock - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 8.6%

Earthy, molasses, dark fruit (prunes) and sticky sweet aroma with the bourbon barrel notes coming through clearly and deliciously. Very dark but actually clearly translucent if you hold it up to a bright light which reveals a deep red hued brown colour. Some sediment towards the bottom of the bottle but very light and without a noticeable effect on the flavour.

Make sure you allow this and all Doppelbocks to warm up from refrigerator temperature before you drink them. Of course you don't have to wait for it to warm all the way up before you open it, in fact pouring it and warming it with your hands and sampling it over time allows you to pick out the temperature you prefer.

Smoky, malt flavours with chewy dark fruit undertones. Bourbon barrel flavours like oak, smoke and a little bit of spice are again quite prominent, which delights this bourbon fan. This beer is bitter with the smoky malt flavours and some subtle hop bitterness but has a molasses-like sweetness too. Something about the mix of flavours reminds me of chocolate and cherry confectionary such as a black forest chocolate cake or those chocolate orbs stuffed with a cherry and syrup that everybody's mom seems to like. This is a nice Doppelbock and the barrel aging complements the flavour excellently.

Liefmans Cuvee Brut (Belgium)

Liefmans Cuvee Brut (Belgium) 6.0%
A strong, sweet, tart cherry aroma. A cloudy red colour in a glass that is so dark it is almost brown. A sugary, darkly malty taste and a little bit of chocolate as well as the anticipated tart cherry flavour: which when you put it together is a bit like a Black Forest Cake. This is a very interesting fruit beer, there is something about the cherry flavour that is very different from other cherry beers. It perhaps tastes the way it does because the cherry sugars have had a chance to ferment with the beer rather than being added to a finished beer. It is an intriguing variation and certainly worth trying as long as you don't hate fruit flavoured beers.

Yuletide Cherry Porter - Barley Days (Canada - Ontario - Picton)

Yuletide Cherry Porter - Barley Days (Canada - Ontario - Picton) 5.5%

Dark chocolate aroma, colour with coffee, some smoke and some subtle cherry scents. Opaque and chestnut brown with a red hue in a glass. It does not have much of a head to speak of: just a thin lace of tan coloured bubbles.

Strong chocolate flavour, red cherries with a smoky finish and a velvety mouthfeel that makes me feel like I'm eating a slice of black forest cake. Not just smoky, the finish also tastes fairly strongly of cherry and the aftertaste is a delicious mix of chocolate and cherry. This is an exquisite desert beer though it is not all that sweet so it's also a tasty quaffing beer. I think this would be perfect for Christmas holiday afternoons and after-supper drinks.

Mill Street Barley Wine (2013) (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Mill Street Barley Wine 2013 (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 11.5%

A golden amber colour, very similar to a rich honey. Alcohol, herbal hops, caramelized malty sweetness with some clover, nectar and red fruit tones in the aroma, that I find a little reminiscent of some meads I have had, along with biscuit and honey.

A surprising chocolate flavour greeted me at first followed closely by the honeyed, sweet, caramelized roasted malt flavours. There are some red fruit (black cherry and red pear) esters and there is something about the mix of herbal hops touches, alcohol, clover and nectar that makes this barley wine taste 'meadow infused'. It is a very natural and somewhat medieval tasting ale. Chocolate never really came back as strongly as on the first sip but I taste it in there as part of the malty backing of this formidable barley wine. Mill Street's is a very nice American barley wine with a bit of a hops slant with the herbal flavour colouring things.

A few words about the ceramic bottle, the wax seal is a nice touch and more than just decoration if you want to age this beer for a few years. Also the little metal handle that is attached to the swing-top cap is a nice touch. This would make good gift for the beer geek on your Christmas list (is it too early to be giving out Christmas gift suggestions?).

Big Red Cherry Ale (cask) - Mill Street Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa) 7.0%

Big Red Cherry Ale (cask) - Mill Street Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa) 7.0%

This cask wheat ale looks a lot like tomato juice: very red with a slight brown hue and very cloudy in a glass. The aroma is slightly hoppy with cherry and a tartness mixed with some subtle wheat touches that reminds me of rhubarb.

The taste has some wheat and coriander flavours along with the cherry, which is quite moderate actually, somewhat tart with some sticky red sweetness. The high alcohol content comes across quite clearly in the finish. There are almost more yeasty flavours in this cask version than there are cherry flavours though it is still quite clearly a fruit beer.

Gaspésienne - Pit Caribou (Canada - Quebec - Percé)

Gaspésienne - Pit Caribou (Canada - Quebec - Percé) 6.2%

Huge frothy light brown head. Dark and thoroughly opaque in a glass. Milk chocolate aroma, a bit of yeast and maybe a hint of alcohol as well as some smoke and wood tones. A bit of acidity in the aroma as well as the taste. Flavours of chocolate, coffee, sweetness, a bit of brown sugar. Some of the aforementioned acidity along with a bit of red fruit (cherry). A very nice Porter.

Solstice d'Hiver - Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! (Canada - Quebec - St. Jerome) 10.2%

Solstice d'Hiver - Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! (Canada - Quebec - St. Jerome) 10.2%


A glowing reddish brown in a glass with a nice off-white head that leaves behind good lacing. There is a little bit of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. The aroma is sticky and malty with dark fruit tones, a bit of alcohol, raisins, molasses, cherries and barley candy.

There is definitely a taste of alcohol but that doesn't obscure too much of the nice flavour of dark and red fruits (particularly cherry) along with roasty, toasty and sticky malt. While sweet, Solstice d'Hiver is also just a little bit hoppy with some wood tones (pine mainly) and a quite bitter aftertaste. A nice Barley Wine, a bit more bitter than others I've had.

Wild Rose Cherry Porter (Canada - Alberta - Calgary) 6.5%

Wild Rose Cherry Porter (Canada - Alberta - Calgary) 6.5%

Black and opaque in a glass with the barest (potentially imagined) red tint. Heavy dark malty aroma of coffee, smoke, dark red fruit. Thick creamy mouthfeel with a coffee and dark dark chocolate taste explosion; a lovely dark cherry flavour and a bit of grapes actually. Just a bit of fresh cut grass hops. The dark fruit flavour is slightly tart which is a perfect counterpoint to the malt. A smoke and dark fruit aftertaste, sweet and tart, chocolate, coffee and delicious. A really special porter that has earned its place on the list of 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die.