Kissmeyer Nordic Pale Ale - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Kissmeyer Nordic Pale Ale - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 5.6%

Full gold in a glass, cloudy too. It totes a resilient heady of creamy white foam. A berrylike (gooseberry?) touch to the hoppy floral, herbal, pine and citrus (tangerine) aroma.


The taste is floral, spicy, herbal, resiny, sweet but perfectly bitter with a delightful berry flavour throughout that is a little tropical and never seems out of place or inappropriate. A very tasty beer. Overall the impressive ingredient list (rose hips!) and the delightful flavour combine for a spectacular beer.

Alohog Pale Ale - Hogs Back Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa)

Alohog Pale Ale - Hogs Back Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa) 5.2%

This coconut flavoured beer pours a barely cloudy orange-ish amber gold colour in a glass. The aroma is suitably full of coconut with a just little bit of DMS (creamed corn), malt with some touches of grain and tones of nectary almost floral hops.

The first sip is very coconut-ty but it becomes more balanced with the drinking. Besides the coconut Alohog isn't particularly sweet but there is a malty body with some sweetness with a bit of grain with a bit of grain in a coconut first, moderately bitter (slightly resiney) finish. The balancing bitterness makes Alohog actually quite bitter (it is a Pale Ale afterall). Also, the pint I had seemed to drink above 5.2% ABV.

Alohog is quite good, if you like flavoured beers and especially if you like coconut you should definitely try it. Because it has such a distinct coconut flavour there are lots of opportunities to play on that by pairing foods with coconut flavours.

Black Creek Pale Ale (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Black Creek Pale Ale (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 5.0%

Strongly malty aroma with molasses and roast. Also a bitter mildly hoppy aroma in the background. A fairly dark amber colour, bordering on brown, in a glass.

Sweet, malty taste with a hint of honey, more than a touch of roast with a light grain finish. Moderately bitter to go along with quite a bit of spicy vegetal hops flavour. Black Creek Historic Brewery's Pale Ale is a bit like a darker (in both colour and flavour) version of a Standard Bitter English Pale Ale and doesn't quite have the strong hops flavour of an American Pale Ale. Being made with a receipe from the 1800s, I'm not sure of the exact style category this Pale Ale would fall under (let me know in the comments if you know), but it is really quite a nice Pale Ale.

Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec - Lac-Beauport)

I picked up the following four beers in a sample-pack from a grocery store in Quebec. The Archibald Microbrasserie is located in Lac-Beauport, Quebec and makes more than a dozen types of beers so the quad of reviews that follows is hardly exhaustive. Each of the beers is quite good with a cheeky french name and a certain raw malt flavour carrying through the whole group. I look forward to trying more from Archibald the next time I am in Quebec.

La Chipie - Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec) 5.0%

Hoppy aroma with some fruit-like tones (nectarine) and it is also quite sweet which comes through even in the nose.

Very sweet, at first, then a crash of roast and nicely resiny, slightly green hops bitterness balance everything out deliciously. A taste of grain in the bitter finish that also has quite a bit of roast. The bitterness and strong roast combine into an almost mild smoky flavour in the aftertaste.

A top notch Red in my opinion. The confusing bit is that the label in English says it's a Pale Ale while on the French side it still says Pale Ale but it also says Rousse which I usually translate as a Red Ale and which is what I think it looks and tastes like. A darkish red amber in a glass.

La Ciboire - Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec) 5.6%

An amber colour in a glass with a frothy head. A sweet roasty glaze aroma with a touch of resin, not particularly pungent consider the powerfully flavoured tastes to come. The taste is quite sweet and very resiny with a strongly bitter hops aftertaste. Honey, maple and white cake tones are mixed with the malt borne sweetness. The hops tones on the other hand have wooden shades, chlorophyll and touches of cedar mixed in with the resin flavoured that comes through initially. A pleasant touch of earthiness and a touch of grain comes through as well.

Overall, La Ciboire is a nice IPA. The mix of sweetness and hops is good, though it is sweeter than many IPAs. Despite this, the bitterness is stronger than the hops character might suggest so there is still balance. However, if you like an IPA loaded with hops character as well as bitterness you might find this one too strongly sweet and lacking a little in the hops character.

La Joufflue - Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec) 4.2%

This Belgian Style White Beer is quite pale gold in a glass and an aroma full of coriander with a spicy floral aspect and a orange, citrus hint. Nice fluffy head and good lacing.

A very interesting taste, with a hint of green from a distinct hops taste. Also the coriander might not be quite the right word, it may be more like seeds of paradise with maybe even a hint of something like lavender. Also the citrus is less orange and more pink grapefruit. A moderately bitter finish. Overall a interesting perfumy white with some really nice flavours and spice that is a little different from you typical Belgian White. There is some fine sediment in the can which the can suggests swirling and adding to your glass. I recommend it as it adds some flavour and isn't overly thick though it obviously makes the pale slightly cloudy beer a yellow thickly cloudy colour. Definitely worth trying if you find yourself thirsty and in Quebec.

La Matante - Archibald Microbrasserie (Quebec) 4.9%

A floral, and slightly sour, sweet malty aroma at first. Also a mild dry and earthy hop aroma. The malt character of the nose reminds me of honey on toast.

Lots of grain in the flavour coming through with malthouse and bread tones. The malthouse is accentuated with a hops touch of green like you would get from eating a bean sprouts. This combined effect makes the malt taste appetizingly raw. La Matante has quite a sugary finish.

Quite a nice, fresh tasting beer. It almost seems like it could have been fermented a touch longer so the yeast could have eaten some more of the sugar and the raw malt flavours could have mellowed but it's nice this way too.

McAuslan Brewing (Canada - Quebec - Montreal)

Griffon Red Ale 4.5%

Griffon Red Ale is quite sweet and it's the crystal malt they refer to on the back label that is responsible for that. In addition to the slightly nutty or wooden tones, I also taste a sort of fruity flavour of figs in the aftertaste.

A very pleasant red that is sweeter than most but is not sticky: most traditional reds are more roasty and reminiscent of a caramelized sugar. Interestingly, I would say the aroma has more of that typical stickiness I expect from reds. I find Griffon Red Ale to be more drinkable than most reds - drinking four or five of these Red Ales wouldn't be a challenge at all because it's more crisp than those other reds I was referring to. Overall, a good red and one that even those who wouldn't normally reach for a red would enjoy.

Extra Blonde Ale 5.0%

Very clear and just on the pale side of full gold in a glass. Sweet with a distinct caramel flavour, also fairly bitter. A little smoky.

Pale Ale 5.0%

Caramel and sweetness, and also quite bitter: sprucy with hops in both the taste and aroma. A strong malt backing bracketed by the sugary sweet caramel flavour of what I suspect is crystal malt, and the sprucy hops bitterness with some faint red fruit esters for character.

An interesting beer, complicated and tasty but the mix of flavours seems just barely out of sync: the caramel sweetness doesn't entirely mesh with the robust hops bitterness, although I am often sensitive to caramel overload. All in all, McAuslan's Pale Ale is an enjoyable American Pale Ale on the sweet, caramel end of the spectrum with a nice hops character.

Saint Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale 5.0%

A pale apricot orange colour in a glass. Fairly mild aroma, a strong apricot taste. Not dissimilar to an apricot wine. It is barely bitter (a little more so in the aftertaste), sweet, perfumy and has a background of moderate malt. It is like a somewhat strong tasting lager with apricot added. The apricot flavour is well done and captures the nice aspects of the apricot and is blended nicely with the malt of the lager - an excellent flavoured ale.


Note: I have previously reviewed their excellent Raspberry Wheat seasonal, Saint Ambroise Framboise.

Bushwakker Sampler (Canada - Saskatchewan - Regina)

Bushwakker Sampler (Canada - Saskatchewan - Regina)

This brewpub had great beer, good eats and a fabulous jazz group playing the night we were there. If you are in Regina this place is a can't miss. The location is a little weird: the neighbourhood is sort of industrial and run down but the brewpub is a gem. They had plenty more beers than I was able to sample and a whole pile of specialties and seasonals too.

Dortmunder ?%

A blended beer, it is very smooth and malty but bitter and has more than a hint of bananas in its flavour. Also somewhat musty and woody, an interesting balance/interplay of flavours.

Last Mountain Lager 5.2%

Malty but quite hoppy with a musty fruit finish.

Regina Pale Ale 4.5%

Nicely sweet pale ale this one: I'm sure there is some crystal malt in this brew's kettle. Bitter finish but well balanced and tasty.

Dungarvon Irish Red Ale 5.0%

Smooth and a little toasty. Hints of honey, not as dry or bitter as some other reds.

Sodbuster Brown Ale 5.0%

Tastes and smells of caramel, very sweet with roasted malt backer. Some bitterness and a slight coffee hint.

Palliser Porter 5.8%

A true porter: bitter and black, tastes of coffee and dark chocolate. If it was just a little less bitter it could pass as a dessert beer. A nice way to finish the sample tray.

Sea Level Brewing at The Port (Canada - Nova Scotia - Port Williams)

Locate in Port Williams, Nova Scotia, The Port gastropub has award-winning decor, great food and even better beer made on location by Sea Level Brewing. All the prices are very affordable, so, if you are in the area I definitely recommend checking pulling into The Port.

Cheers!

Planter's Pale Ale 4.5%

A sweet, slightly caramel and nutty aroma. Tasted much the same but with hoppy and bitter tones as well as strong bread flavours and a slightly bitter, grain finish. Pale gold in a glass.

Raspberry Wheat 4.5%

A tart but sweet, clearly raspberry aroma. Clear and refreshingly watery mouthfeel. Bitter with a raspberry tartness, not very sweet and more than touch of the grain flavour that comes with freshly crafted beer. The raspberry is not very strong due to the fact that Sea Level Brewing is using actual raspberries rather than syrup or concentrate. Gold with a pink tint that makes it look almost grapefruit pink.

Rojo Mojo Red 5.2%

A mild sweet slightly roasty aroma. Roasty, bitter, more than a touch hoppy. Some sherry like fruit tones. A nice red! Amber in a glass.

Blue Heron Extra Special Bitter 5.5%

Brass coloured in a glass. Very hoppy aroma, sprucy and sweet - makes your mouth water if you are a hops fan and perhaps cringe if you tend to shy away from hoppy brews. Not nearly as bitter as implied by the aroma but still plenty of great hops flavour. Although Blue Heron is a dry-hopped beer, Sea Level Brewing uses hops that they grow themselves that are low in bitter oils but still full of flavour: hoppy and green. It still has a bitter, lingering smoky finish. Sweet but not overly and, as a result of its bitterness, pairs well with food as the menu recommends. Even with the pleasant hops flavours this beer brings it is still mild enough that someone who might not like a strongly hoppy and bitter hops flavour can still enjoy this beer while hops fans are still happy.

Port in the Storm Porter 5.5%

Smoky, coffee aroma with a touch of chocolate. A perfect silky head and very dark in a glass. A very smoky dark coffee flavour touches of grain, bitter and a hint of hops. A smooth mouthfeel. A very nice porter.

Lake of Bays Brewing (Ontario - Baysville)

Pale Ale - Lake of Bays Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Baysville) 5.0%

Noticeably hoppy aroma that carries through to the taste. Caramel malt is the delicious counterpoint to the bitter hops that is the main flavour of the aftertaste. This well balanced and interesting beer was a delight to enjoy while overlooking one of Northern Ontario's many beautiful and picturesque lakes.

Mocha Porter - Lake of Bays Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Baysville) 5.2%

This porter is very dark in a glass but not quite opaque and it smells of coffee and oatmeal. The taste itself is mainly of black coffee, a little watery as a porter compared to a stout usually is, and a bit like raisins with a hint of black olives. Actual coffee was added to this porter which seems a little like cheating to me but the end result is very tasty.

Bass Pale Ale (England) 5.0%

Bass Pale Ale (England) 5.0%

Amber in a glass. Bass Pale Ale is bitter with a malty body and has a somewhat perfumy finish. All in all, it is not particularly remarkable.

This bottle was probably a little stale as it tasted a bit like cardboard.