Imperial Black Berliner Weisse - Collaboration Pit Caribou Microbrasserie & Broadway Microbrasserie (Canada - Quebec)

Imperial Black Berliner Weisse - Collaboration Pit Caribou Microbrasserie & Broadway Microbrasserie (Canada - Quebec) 7.0%

Very dark brown and cloudy in a glass with a creamy head of foam. An oatmeal touch to the aroma, chocolate and earthy touch. The taste of this collaboration Imperial Black Berliner Weisse is unique as in very sour. I'm really glad I read the label so that this didn't catch me off guard, to wit:

The sour flavour hits all upfront, and fades out to be mostly replaced with roasty chocolate and coffee flavours in the mid-mouth taste. The aftertaste is smoky with a hint of grain and chocolate. The flavours of this sour beer work nicely together and is an interesting take on a dark wheat beer.

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.

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.

Irish Potato Stout - Black Creek Historic Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Irish Potato Stout - Black Creek Historic Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 5.0%

Opaque in a glass with a thin tan coloured head. This beer pours quite flat but is carbonated well enough on the tongue. Earthy, roasty, smoky aroma with a sweet dark fruit aspect as well. Dark chocolate tones and coffee are mixed in there with a very, very faint black licorice impression.

Smooth mouthfeel, smoky yet sweet dark chocolate flavour - earthy as well with some dark fruit flavours. Stick to your ribs thick actually. I had never heard of a stout (or any beer for that matter) made with actual potatoes but you can certainly tell there is an extra ingredient here. It is not in the flavour but just based on how hearty this Black Creek ale is: I'm pretty sure I could live off a strict Irish Potato Stout diet.

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.

Smoked Oatmeal Stout - Trafalgar Ales and Meads (Canada - Ontario - Oakville)

Smoked Oatmeal Stout - Trafalgar Ales and Meads (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 5.0%

Quite flat out of the bottle but with a delectable aroma: chocolate, smoke, with a touch of grain (oatmeal) and some earthiness. Smoky dark chocolate is the theme for this beer. This stout also has roasty coffee tones and some very subtle dark fruit hints. There is also a distinctly satisfying oatmeal characteristic to both the flavour and the mouthfeel.

The mouthfeel is very smooth since, though it is not flat, this particular bottle is somewhat flatter than I think it is supposed to be. Or perhaps not, I just realized that Trafalgar's full name is Trafalgar Ales and Meads: the same people that make a fantastic Mead Braggot I had. Because of their stated "authentic methods and ingredients" used in making their mead I suppose this may be a naturally carbonated product in which case a less than typically carbonated may be the product of their methods. But I digress, this is a tasty, smoky, chocolaty, refreshing, roasty ale whatever the level of carbonation.

Loki - Celtic Knot (Canada - New Brunswick - Riverview)

Loki - Celtic Knot (Canada - New Brunswick - Riverview) 6.0%

Totally black in a glass, tan head that fads quickly but with thick lacing. Mango and payaya aroma bordering on almost soapy. Coffee and other roasty flavours with lots of hops: grapefruit, payaya, and cedar. This is one of the best examples, in my opinion, of a Black IPA because it has the hefty coffee and other dark malt notes but very strong hops tones as well.

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.

Obsidian Imperial Porter Rum Barrel - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville)

Obsidian Imperial Porter Rum Barrel - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 9.2%

This barrel aged brewed pours as dark as its namesake with a head of fine, tan (nearly brown) bubbles. The aroma is molasses, caramel, rum barrel tones, alcohol and burnt sugar. It tastes of chocolate flavours (both dark and milk chocolate) oak, dark dried fruit (like prunes and raisins) leather, black coffee, smoke, a bit of nearly maple as well as molasses tones and a somewhat spicy booziness that reveal the rum influence. Overall, Obsidian tastes like a sweet rum and chocolate fruit cake.

It may be too late to buy this beer but if my description sounds appealing keep an eye out for the next addition to Cameron's Oak Aged Series.

Edit (November 21st, 2013): I have been informed by Cameron's Brewing that Obsidian is still available at the brewery and at the LCBO.

Vanilla Porter - Mill Street (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Vanilla Porter - Mill Street (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 5.0%

Very dark in a glass, opaque even, with a large, light mocha coloured head of silky foam. You can hear a fairly violent discharge as the nitrogen capsule fires when you open the can. The foam takes quite a while to settle but that's alright since it tastes just as good as it smells. Speaking of which: Mill Street's Vanilla Porter has a delightful vanilla and milk chocolate aroma.

The mouthfeel is silky smooth, creamy and yet refreshingly watery at times. The beer tastes mostly of vanilla but with dark chocolate and coffee notes as well as a lightly smoky backdrop. On top of that it features an aftertaste that I can best describe by comparing it to coffee flavoured ice cream. This dessert porter is quite delightful and will certainly please fans of vanilla.

County Dark Ale - Wellington Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Guelph)

County Dark Ale - Wellington Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Guelph) 5.0%

A dark mahogany colour in a glass with not much of a head. Creamy, nutty (hazelnut) and coffee tones to the aroma along with some light roasty and caramelized malt tones, a little like barley candy.

A chocolate forward beer with some earthy smoke tones and some roasty malt flavours of a red. Pub appropriate, easy drinking, refreshing with a nice mix of flavours Wellington County Dark Ale isn't going to blow you away with exotic flavours but it's an excellent after work pint.

Vanilla Barley Wine - Flying Monkeys (Canada - Ontario - Barrie)

Vanilla Barley Wine - Flying Monkeys (Canada - Ontario - Barrie) 11.3%

This magnificent barley wine is a dark cloudy brown in a glass (a pint glass!) on the Patio at the Arrow and Loon in Ottawa, with a creamy and resilient head of foam.

The aroma is straight vanilla at first but also toffee, caramel and sticky malt that comes to dominate. Some oaky wood tones, a bit of leather and some sweet espresso/coffee with milk added.

A creamy mouthfeel with caramel, vanilla, leather, smoke and mild wood flavours. Sweet initially with alcohol tones (though not as strong as you might expect from a beer that clocks in at a whopping 11.3% ABV) but the taste shifts (although it does so, so smoothly that it's much more like a glide) to a bitter finish and an aftertaste of barley candy. Overall, this is a really nice barley wine: sweet but balanced, malty, boozy and delicious featuring some very nice vanilla.

2 Weeks Notice (Wild Oats Series #12) - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

2 Weeks Notice (Wild Oats Series #12) - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 6.0%

Pitch black, completely opaque with a creamy off-white head of tiny bubbles that seems tan but with a touch of grey due to how black the beer is. Sediment remained at the bottom of the bottle but no way to tell how much made it into the glass, the beer is just too dark! A chocolaty, smoky and earthen aroma; black coffee and (faint licorice) with a touch leather too.

Creamy mouthfeel, milk chocolate at first and then dark chocolate as the bitterness builds when you swallow. 2 Weeks Notice is very drinkable; some light dark dried fruit (prunes) tones and the slightest touch of alcohol. Leather and earthy tones are still kicking around, grounding the lovely flavour in the realm of dark, delicious porters. A bitter, smoky aftertaste with a touch of acidity and lots of chocolate. Very nice.

Turned at a certain angle (see below) and you have to ask: how many weeks notice?

Sinha Stout - Lion Brewery Ceylon PLC (Sri Lanka)

Sinha Stout - Lion Brewery Ceylon PLC (Sri Lanka) 8.8%

Black and utterly opaque in a glass. A vigorous pour generated a inch of mocha foam that settled quickly but did not completely dissipate sticking around the edges and and left some nice lacing. The aroma is chocolate heavy with some coffee, and a touch of grape or perhaps more like raisins and prunes. There is something also a little milky, like you'd find in a milk stout in the aroma. No signs of the 8.8% alcohol in the aroma until it warms up just a little. There is an issue with the aroma though, it is a little bit musty which may be as a result of a little oxygen tagging along in the bottle during the travel time from Sri Lanka to Ontario.

Milk chocolate flavours but a bit of a thin mouthfeel with some taste of alcohol in the finish. Ah, but let it warm up a little bit and the mouthfeel is there as well as the chocolate flavour, dark fruit, some leather tones. Also the finish is more smoke and dark chocolate with some alcohol, but not much, and just a little of that musty flavour. The aftertaste is dark fruit first and then some chocolate.

Overall, Sinha Stout is actually pretty good considering it was only $2.15 and it is 8.8% ABV. It is not the best stout but the only real knock on it is that is was musty and thin at times.

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.

Imperial Stout - L'Alchimiste (Canada - Quebec - Joliette)

Imperial Stout - L'Alchimiste (Canada - Quebec - Joliette) 7.9%

Black and very much opaque in a glass with brown head of foam similar in colour to coffee with cream. Coffee, prunes, leather, chocolate and molasses make up the aroma with some slow-to-present wood tones.

Strong dark fruit flavours initially, fades to smoky wood tones with some dark red fruit esters (light hints of red apple) and into a long lingering, chewy, smoked molasses aftertaste. This is a delightful Imperial Stout with deep immersive flavours; sweet and balancedly bitter but without any bite of hops that you might expect from other Russian Imperial Stouts.

Péché Mortel - Brasserie Dieu du Ciel (Canada - Quebec - St Jerome)

Péché Mortel - Dieu du Ciel (Canada - Quebec - St Jerome) 9.5%

Opaque and black in a glass with a tan head. Strong coffee aroma as well as dark chocolate with some dark dried fruit hanging about as well, some black licorice and maybe a touch of leather.

The taste is very strongly coffee at first sip. Then dark chocolate flavours bloom along with red and dark dried fruit, a bite of alcohol, leather and wooden earth tones. I found that with subsequent sips Péché Mortel began to taste less of coffee and more of the dark and red fruit tones. There are still plenty of coffee flavours to be sure but it is nice that this beer isn't one dimensional - not that I would expect such a thing from Dieu du Ciel. The coffee flavours, which as I have said are always there, seemed to reassert themselves as the beer warmed but the interesting mix of dried fruit flavours and other dark malt flavours I have mentioned remains. In short, Péché Mortel is a very nice coffee infused Imperial Stout and quite delicious but still maintains a complex mix of flavours throughout.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout (United Kingdom)

Young's Double Chocolate Stout (United Kingdom) 5.2%


A deep black in a glass with a finger's width of tan head. Dark chocolate, smoke, and coffee all apear in the aroma as well as light fruit tones like dark cherry.

This stout uses actual dark chocolate as well as chocolate malts so it is no surprise that chocolate flavours lead the way as well as a smoky bitterness from the chocolate malt that keeps this stout from being very sweet. The smoke lends itself to some subtle wood tones that are supported by an appetizing grain flavour from the malty body. There is a little bit of fine sediment towards the bottom of the bottle probably from the added dark chocolate. It also make a really good beer cocktail (or beertail) when mixed with Fruli.

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.