Gigantic IPA (United States - Oregon - Portland)

Gigantic IPA (United States - Oregon - Portland) 7.3%

A cloudy bronze in a glass with a resilient head of foam. A cedar and melon aroma. The flavour is very nice, a much more mellow IPA than I expected: cedar and melon. The aftertaste is more bitter but still not a hops character that slaps you across the face - which is perfect if you've grown tired of overhopped IPAs. That isn't to say that Gigantic's IPA isn't hoppy and bitter, it is, but the flavours are put together in such a way that the malty sweetness and hops bitterness work as partners rather than the flavour just being all hops.

Wilco Tango Foxtrot - Lagunitas (USA - California - Petaluma)

Wilco Tango Foxtrot - Lagunitas (USA - California - Petaluma) 7.8%

An amazing aroma and taste to match: very hoppy (melon & cucumber), hints of peaches but also malty and roasted.  Dark and almost chocolatey tasting at times. It's not bitter at first (or maybe there is just too much going on to really notice it) but it does have a bitter finish. As far as colour, just like one of the many humourous lines to read from the label: "We're not quite in the Red, or in the Black...". It tastes like they mixed a heavily hopped beer with maybe a stout. It's really really good. Too bad it was only a limited release.

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.

River Walker Summer Ale - Lake of Bays Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Baysville)

River Walker Summer Ale - Lake of Bays Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Baysville) 6.0%

Full gold in a glass with a big, white, fluffy head. A nice ginger aroma that is sweet with hints of citrus (lemon) as well as some added melon tones, perhaps from the hops, that comes across as cantaloupe with just a hint of cucumber. But the ginger spice really is first and foremost and quite delightful.

The ginger continues in the taste but River Walker also has quite a bitter bite. There is also melon (still cantaloupe) and a grain sweetness. The ginger isn't overpowering at all but it is the main player. The citrus is fairly faint in the taste and the mouthfeel is a little creamy from the wheat but with a crisp, quite a dry finish. In the aftertaste, ginger and melon are there along side a distinctly toasted wheat taste, that builds to be quite toasty actually. The aftertaste is almost a little sticky with some resiny hops flavours presenting themselves.

The ginger and melon mixture actually reminds me of a few [pumpkin] beers I have had but is quite nice and, although it is marketed as a Summer Ale I think River Walker is better suited to late August and early September where there is just a touch of autumn in the air and you want to enjoy a summer day's warmth or savour the excitement of a late-summer night's chill.

West Coast IPA - Churchkey Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Campbellford)

West Coast IPA - Churchkey Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Campbellford) 5.0%

Gold in a glass; not much of a head. The aroma and taste are very similar: dominated by the hops character of melon and muted grapefruit with a touch of cucumber and earthiness that combine to be something much like a gourd or mild squash - not quite pumpkin because the flavour is too cool and mellow. A slightly strange kind of IPA.

Shawinigan Handshake - Le Trou du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan) 6.5%

Shawinigan Handshake - Le Trou du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan) 6.5%

A cloudy orange colour in a glass, like the colour of a peach (just like the label suggests), with a nice fluffy white head. Sweet, honey and melon aroma with citrus (orange and nectarine) as well as a resin background.

Be warned before pouring: there is some heavy duty sediment at the bottom of the bottle. While a little of it may even enhance the flavour the dregs you'll get from pouring every last drop of this otherwise delicious beer, are overly yeasty, bitter and otherwise not very nice.

The taste is bitter at first with a great hops character of pine and still some melon and nectarine tones. Yeasty banana, maybe a little apple juice, green pear, and bread flavours really come out mid-mouth. The hoppy finish that is also heavy in slightly spicy honey is followed by an aftertaste that I would describe as dry cedar while the label calls it "dry spruce" and while I feel like there is a difference there, it is very slight.

IPA - Southern Tier Brewing Company (USA - New York - Lakewood) 7.3%

IPA - Southern Tier Brewing Company (USA - New York - Lakewood) 7.3%

A full gold in a glass with a thick white head that fades but shows some resilience. Melon, pineapple and citrus hops aromas first, followed by sweetness, a bit of mint and some cedar or resin.

The taste is not as hoppy as I expected, don't get me wrong it is still hoppy and bitter, but the malt flavours are very nicely blended and intricate with touches of grain, sweet toasted bread and a not-quite-caramel flavour that latches onto the sweeter more melon-like hops flavour and melts it over you palate. The finish is sweet and somewhat bitter with the aforementioned fruity and floral hops but some cedar and resin reveal themselves in the late finish and aftertaste leaving you with a pleasantly hoppy glow. Speaking of glow, there is no way to tell that this beer has such a high alcohol content. It is very easy drinking and smooth as well as being 7.3%: all this translates into Southern Tier's IPA being deliciously troublesome, try one.

Naughty Neighbour - Nickel Brook Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Burlington) 4.9%

 Naughty Neighbour - Nickel Brook Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Burlington) 4.9%

Gold in a glass with a fizzy white head. A nice aroma of cedar, pine and the faintest bit of resin as well as some toasted bread malt aromas. Hops continue to lead in the taste as well with further pine, floral almost melon hop notes and a bit of citrus (lemon and orange) as well. Naughty Neighbour is bitter but still light and refreshing with just enough of a sweet malty flavour for balance. The finish has hops (especially melon and pine) and a bit of grain, while the aftertaste is a pleasant pine and cedar buzz. A great American Pale Ale that is very sessionable at only 4.9%.

The Legendary Muskoka Spring Oddity

The Legendary Muskoka Spring Oddity 2012 (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 8.0%

Hint of melon in the hops, some banana. Sweet malt. Quite sweet and quite bitter - hops and distinctly gin-like with the juniper berries. A orange peel flavour rather than the sweetness of orange flesh. A bit of alcohol warming, toasted bread bordering on caramel in the malt. Full gold in a glass, no sediment in the glass or the bottle. A bit spicy maybe a bit of honey finish. The juniper, orange peel and malt form a really nice mix that puts me in mind of nectar though the mouthfeel is not thick, though not quite watery. As it warms and loses carbonation (it is well carbonated by the way) it tastes more and more like honey.

I wonder how this beer would age, if it were bottled on lees? It seems like the flavour could go from good to great however it's not bottled on lees so it would only grow musty and stale; it even has an expiry date. It also has great artwork on the label and an interesting story you can read in the image below.

Hoppelganer Double IPA - Rockbottom Brewpub (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax)

Hoppelganer Double IPA - Rockbottom Brewpub (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 8.0%

The powerfully hoppy aroma is strongly citrus, floral (maybe even apricot) with pine and some melon that, in combination, have some touches of pineapple. Apricot-orange and cloudy in a glass. The taste is very bitter and pumped full of pine. Malty sweetness tries to get through but gets deliciously stomped on by spicy hops loaded with citrus tones. An awesome Double IPA from my favourite brewpub in Halifax.

Double Chocolate Stout - Rockbottom Brewpub (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 5.5%

Double Chocolate Stout - Rockbottom Brewpub (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 5.5%

This Double Chocolate Stout pours a very dark brown in a glass. The aroma has a surprising amount of melon hops in it along with milk chocolate and a bit of something like Earl Grey Tea. The mouthfeel is creamy just like a stout should be. The taste is again surprisingly hoppy, though mellow melon rather than cedar or pine tones; sweet milk chocolate flavours with some yummy caramel. Quite an interesting stout, not quite as chocolatey as I expected but it has a very nice. Only available until the end of February so go, go out and get some.

India Pale Ale - Big Rock (Canada - Alberta - Calgary) 5.5%

India Pale Ale - Big Rock (Canada - Alberta - Calgary) 5.5%

Earthy, malty aroma with some honeyed sweetness and a green hops touch that reminds me of fresh celery. Moderately bitter with some melon (cantaloupe) tones, sweet and slightly musty. A slightly amber colour in a glass with a decent head and lacing. Not a bad beer at all, very sessionable, but not quite the taste I expect from an IPA, the hops character is just a little more subdued than some other IPAs.

Comet One Hop IPA - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax)

Comet One Hop IPA - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 6.5%

A full gold/amber colour in a glass, just the colour of sap, with a nice off-white head. An aroma chock full of melon, a little celery and fresh cut grass, as well as some resin. Much more of the resin in the flavour as well as some citrus but still lots of melon. A hearty and sweet malt body balances this bitter and delightful hops forward beer. There is some grounding earthiness to the taste as well which is quite nice.

I first enjoyed and reviewed Comet IPA at the Seaport Beerfest in Halifax in August, 2012. The version there was billed as a Double IPA and did taste a little different and had a higher ABV. Plus it was delicious then so I thought a separate review of the bottled product was definitely worth it.

Not only is the taste enjoyable but it's the concept behind this limited release that I am most excited about. In my opinion, Garrison Brewing is practically providing a public service to the craft beer community by making a series of One Hop IPAs (this is the first). By using only one kind of hops drinkers can gain a familiarity with exactly how each varietal expresses itself. I, for one, am looking forward to the next one in this series. Stay tuned as I intend to review them all as they are released.

Hoperation Tripel Cross - Phillips Brewing Company (Canada - BC - Victoria) 7.3%

Hoperation Tripel Cross - Phillips Brewing Company (Canada - BC - Victoria) 7.3%

A slightly cloudy full gold in a glass. A crazily hoppy aroma of melon, fresh-cut grass but also some nectar and floral touches from the yeast and a high alcohol smell. Very bitter flavour and aftertaste: bordering on the alkaline taste from accidentally chewing a non-chewable pill. The high alcohol comes through a bit at first mixing with the hops taste to taste a bit like a solvent (floor polish or something) but mellows and mixes with the Tripel flavours. The melon hops with a pine chaser dominates the flavour with only touches of the floral yeast tones coming through in dribs and drabs. The mouthfeel is a bitter thin for a tripel which I expect to be thicker than most beers. This Belgian IPA is a tad overhopped to my taste, if they backed off on the hops just a bit some of the malt and yeast flavour might come through just a little better. All that being said, Hoperation Tripel Cross is probably pretty appealing to hops fanatics even though it isn't the best Belgian IPA I've had or the best Phillips Brewing Company product I have had.

Electric Unicorn White IPA - Phillips Brewing Company (Canada - BC - Victoria) 6.5%

Electric Unicorn White IPA - Phillips Brewing Company (Canada - BC - Victoria) 6.5%

It pours a cloudy gold in a glass with a frothy head that fades quickly but leaves nice lacing. Lots of melon (honeydew), unripened mango, passionfruit, some fresh cut grass and a touch of something astringent. Very bitter taste with a pine hops character that didn't stand out in the aroma. A smorgasbord of fruit flavours (orange, mango and passionfruit) come out in the unique blend of hops and wheat beer spice (coriander and cloves) even though the ingredients list only includes coriander and orange peel on top of barley, wheat, hops, water and yeast. A bitter and very appetizing finish with an aftertaste of toast and umami.

Electric Unicorn is great beer with a fun label and bottle cap. This tasty White IPA has a hilarious description /back story on the bottle (see below).

La Gaboteuse - Acadie-Broue and Big Tide (Canada - New Brunswick)

La Gaboteuse - Acadie-Broue and Big Tide (Canada - New Brunswick - Moncton and Saint John) 7.0%

Sprucy and resiny aroma, pineapple, melon and touches of citrus. What a bouquet! Cloudy gold in a galss with a nice head and good lacing. The hops character that dominates the taste of this lovely Belgian IPA is along the same lines as the spectacular aroma, quite bitter but with balancing sweetness, a little nectar and a hint of yeast in the bitter finish. La Gaboteuse is super nice if you are lucky enough to get some either at Marky's Laundromat in Moncton or Big Tide Brewing in Saint John before it sells out.

A Pair From Sierra Nevada (USA - California - Chico)

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (USA - California - Chico) 5.6%

Deep gold. Quite hoppy but also malty and sweet. Nicely balanced. With a quite bitter aftertaste of sprucy hops - leaves tones of the forest lingering for some time afterwards. Aroma of caramel and hops. A great American Pale Ale.

Sierra Nevada Summerfest 2011 (USA - California - Chico) 5.0%

Tastes quite hoppy: bitter with pronounced melon tones. A nice malty sweetness rounds out the body followed by a somewhat spicy finish. Quite an interesting beer, it looks and smells like just another yellow and fizzy beer but has a unique and enjoyable flavour.

Two IPAs and a hoppy American Pale Ale from Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax)

Imperial IPA -Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 7.0%

This unfiltered strong ale has a hop smell so strong and bitter it's almost metallic. It's a glowing reddish orange colour in a glass and is cloudy with some light sediment. The beer itself, quite unsurprisingly, tastes strongly of hops but with a caramel malt backing that prevents the beer from being one dimensional. However, even with this backdrop of sweetness, if you don't like hops this beer is not for you. If you DO like hops, this Imperial IPA has a hoppy bite that mellows as the glass empties and an interesting malt character making it an authentic and tasty IPA.

Comet Double IPA - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 7.0%

Had the chance to try this one out of a cask at the Seaport Beerfest. Quite good. Incredibly foamy. The aroma was very much watermelon and melon hops. Tastes extremely bitter, more along the lines of a sprucy hops but still with some melon tones balancing it out but overall less melon than there is in the aroma. Certainly sweet and had malt flavours but deliciously dominated by the hops.

Hop Yard Pale Ale - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 5.3%

This dry-hopped pale ale is just on the lighter side of medium amber in a glass and it pours a slightly cloudy gold with a nice fluffy head and good lacing. An aroma strongly of resin and sweet nectary hops. A very bitter very floral hops taste, citrus, melon and lots of cedar. Quite sweet with some toasted bread malt tones as well which grounds the high-flying hops taste which still dominates this lovely example of an American Pale Ale.

Depending on the sip this beer is sweet, malty, with fruity melon tones and very hoppy. If you love hops this beer is great: complicated and delicious. If you hate hops do not mess with this beer or really any other dry-hopped beer for that matter. If you are in between on whether or not you like hops give this one a try, and it may just make you a believer.

Two Limited Edition Brews from Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax)

Tilford's Nit-Wit - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 4.8%

The winner of Garrison's Ultimate Brew-Off was designed by Scott Tilford and then scaled up by the folks at Garrison, and the result is a cool beer indeed. Gold in a glass with an awesome floral aroma of spice and yeast. Quite bitter and tart as well as yeasty and spicy with a mix of citrus flavours. Not a small amount of hops flavour in there too. I recommend drinking this one warmer than fridge temperature in order to fully appreciate the impressive mix of flavours.



Garrison 15th Mango and Ginger (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 9.0%

A very hoppy aromawith melonesque mango tones; sweet and sticky with a bitter edge. A touch of ginger - the way it smells cooked not raw. Noticeably high in alcohol, very bitter. Gingery, spicy, hoppy (cedar) flavours as well as mango and melon with a hint of citrus. A lingering very bitter finish. Caramel sweetness throughout. Cool label with the fifteen types of hops used.

Orangey gold in a glass. Some light sediment towards the end that adds to the taste: fruitier with more depth in the hops. I also found it tasted better as it warmed even though it had been already been out of the fridge ten or more minutes before I poured.

Gahan House Tasting (Canada - PEI - Charlottetown)

Gahan House Tasting (Canada - PEI - Charlottetown)


In historic downtown Charlottetown, Gahan House is a great restaurant with an even better brewery attached to it. A nice pub style restaurant by day, the Gahan House turns into a boisterous pub by night. A favourite watering hole for plenty of professionals in the after-work crowd and a perfect spot for a lunch or a pint while in the city. Their taster tray is a delight and was a pleasure to review.


Harvest Gold Pale Ale

A light sweet malty body. Slightly bitter hop finish.

Sir John A's Honey Wheat Ale 4.5%

An interesting beer: tastes of grain and bread. It slightly sweet, slightly skunky, malty, barely bitter. A hardy tasting beer that still manages to be very refreshing.

Gahan House White

Smells citrusy. A bit of a silky sort of soapy mouthfeel tastes very much of lemon.

Honey Brown (Mix of Sir John A's Honey Wheat Ale & Ironhorse Brown)

Tastes like a sweet thin brown. Somewhat roasty and some faint coffee tones.

Island Red 5.3%

Late onset of flavour, it is sweet and really quite bitter for a red. Roasty and a little caramel.

Ironhorse Brown

Roasty, some coffee flavours. A little tangy. A very pleasant brown ale one of the highlights of the sample tray.

1772 IPA 7.0%

Smells like hops and alcohol. Tastes strongly of hops with a melon character but also with a cedar/sprucy hops aspect. Quite sweet and caramely too. A nicely balanced IPA that people who don't normally like IPA might enjoy because it is quite sweet and, although it has a strong hop flavour as the type demands, it has a mix of hops characteristics and is not overly bitter. Definitely high alcohol: has a bit of a burn.

Sydney Street Stout

Smells very smoky and roasty. Tastes very strongly of dark chocolate/cocoa, roast. Barely carbonated. A great stout, very much in the tradition. Would work as a dessert beer and reminds me of Norwegian Yule beers.