Accumulation - New Belgium (United States - Colorado - Fort Collins)

Accumulation - New Belgium (United States - Colorado - Fort Collins) 6.2%

A whole bunch of tropical fruit makes up the aroma to this cloudy golden beer: mango, papaya, passionfruit and grapefruit. The taste is quite bitter, especially initially and in the finish, and it is full of the same tropical fruit mix but with more orange. The mouthfeel is a little bit creamy with some classic wheat herbal tones (coriander) in the finish. As far as the combination of the two flavour spectrums of a Belgian White and an IPA I think Accumulation does it best of the, admittedly few, I have tried.

Despite the wintery scene on the label, Accumulation's flavour seems like a tropical breeze - or maybe that's the point. Accumulation certainly is a refreshing break from the winter.

Duvel Tripel Hop (2014) (Belgium)

 Duvel Tripel Hop (2014) (Belgium) 9.5%

Grassy, unripened mango, passionfruit hop laden aroma also with sweetness and a herbal hint typical of a less hoppy Tripel. A pale, cloudy gold in a glass with a frothy and resilient head of white foam.

Hoppy, bitter flavour at first, pine, sweet tangerine (got that from the Untappd description), something between the green (aka unripened) mango and passionfruit I got in the aroma but with a sweet herbal, floral finish of a Tripel. Interesting hops character and a flavour that is otherwise true to the Tripel style. Nice beer.

Bog Water - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Bog Water - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 6.6%

A deep, cloudy brown colour in a glass with a thick head of meringue like foam. Yeasty aroma, nectar and herbs, but with a strong floral, no more like a fruity touch.

The yeast continues to lead in the flavour along with the strong fruit (tropical fruit?) flavour that comes on strong at some points but fades away just as quickly only to reappear with later sips. In addition to the herbal yeast flavours,  this Eastern Ontario Gruit has quite a darkly malty body with tastes of dark bread blending into roasted tones. A grain and roast aftertaste with traces of the herbal yeast tones. Overall, a very tasty and interesting beer.

Mad Tom IPA - Muskoka Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 6.4%

Mad Tom IPA - Muskoka Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Bracebridge) 6.4%

Cedar, resin, kumquat, passionfruit, grapefruit and a little orange rounds out the delectable aroma. A brass colour in a glass with a big, resilient, frothy white head of foam.

Unlike some IPAs with fruity and floral hops aroma the passionfruit and citrus continues in the taste along with the sticky cedar. In fact these delightful flavours are first and foremost. Mad Tom IPA is fairly sweet, especially in the finish, but still has plenty of the bitterness expected from an IPA. Its tasty aftertaste is sticky resin along with a certain pleasant grain touch. Overall, Mad Tom is a really nicely flavourful IPA.

Miami Weiss - Great Lakes Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Miami Weiss - Great Lakes Brewery (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 4.5%

A very cloudy gold colour in a glass. Lots of pine, pineapple, passionfruit and maybe a little bit of guava, all from the hops, in the aroma.

Bitter taste with not nearly as much hops in the taste as in the aroma but it hoppy with some pine and guava. The mouthfeel is creamy, as is typical of a wheat, but with a bitter bite. There is light sediment on the bottom of the bottle; it doesn't change the flavour all that much when it ends up in your glass.

There is a pretty silly suggested serving temperature on the bottle: 1 to 3 degrees Celsius. That is about as cold as you can get a beverage and is more appropriate for flavourless light beers like Coors Light than a hoppy wheat beer like Miami Weiss. At that kind of temperature this beer is only very bitter with the faintest hit of hops, please ignore their suggestion and serve it warmer so you can enjoy the lovely hops character.

The Matador Imperial IPA - Flying Monkeys (Canada - Ontario - Barrie)

The Matador Imperial IPA - Flying Monkeys (Canada - Ontario - Barrie) 10%


The first thing I smell from the aroma is sweetness, and a hint of citrus or passionfruit and then the strong cedar and resin tones that characterize this Imperial IPA aged on Spanish Cedar. It pours a cloudy orange-gold colour with a lingering white head.

The taste is sweet with almost peachy fruit tones along with lots of malty, nearly caramel tastiness and the lovely balancing bitterness loaded with cedar tones, from the hops as well as from the actual cedar. There's nearly no sign of the high alcohol content either, which is quite surprising for a 10% ABV beer. Lots of resin and a peppery, spicy finish exactly as alluded to on the label. This large bottle of excellent beer is indeed perfect for sharing with beer aficionados.

Summer Weizen - Okanagan Spring (Canada - British Columbia - Vernon) 5.0%

Summer Weizen - Okanagan Spring (Canada - British Columbia - Vernon) 5.0%

The aroma is a blast of apricot, peach and passionfruit with some hints of citrus. Okanagan Spring's Summer Weizen pours a lovely and cloudy apricot colour with a moderate head.

The taste is also potently apricot, mostly dominating the complimentary wheat flavours. You can certainly still taste the wheat: it gives the beer an appetizing creaminess. Also, the apricot and other fruit flavours (I feel like the passionfruit comes through well in the taste) are so pleasant and tasty that as long as you tend to like a fruit flavoured wheat ale, and know what to expect from this one, you are sure to like Summer Weizen.

As always, Okanagan Spring has an interesting and informative label which I appreciate. I also like the fact that use apricots (presumably) grown in the Okanagan Valley region.

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

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

Brassy gold colour in a glass. Lovely citra hop aroma of mango, passionfruit and papaya with some light vegetal touches; some tones of honey. Quite a bitter taste, a malty body, some hone and still mango as well as passionfruit a bit of a slightly metallic aftertaste that mellows after a few sips but reminds me of dandelion greens.

This hops provides a really neat hops character that dresses this American IPA up in exotic tropical fruit flavours. Citra One Hop IPA is the second of the One Hop IPA series by Garrison. I have already reviewed the first and I look forward to trying their next one as soon as it is released.

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).