Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel - Brasserie D'Achouffe (Belgium)

Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel - Brasserie D'Achouffe (Belgium) 9.0%

Gold, slightly cloudy in a glass with a big head of white and very light foam. A yeasty, nectar and herbal aroma with hints of mint and flowers. There is a bitterness of hops lingering in the background. The sediment at the bottom of the bottle is very fine but it does add to yeasty characteristic of this fine Belgian ale.

Bitter taste but also sweet and yeasty. Pine hops flavour without any sticky resin flavour; more like a dry bitterness that has flashes of pineapple to my taste. The pineapple may be as a result of mixing with some of the nectar and floral flavours of the yeast. The flavour is just what I expect from a Tripel: herbal yeast notes with floral hints while being sweet with some honey tones except it also has strong hops flavours and is not heavy on the tongue. In fact, many Belgian Golden Ales, Dubbels and Tripels are often a little syrupy (though in a good way) but I think Chouffe Houblon high alcohol content thins this beer a little so it plays lighter and thinner on the tongue, even though it is quite deliciously sweet. The bitterness of the hops also cleans out any very sweet highs. This is a really nice Belgian IPA or Double IPA if that's what they are calling it.

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.

Rye Pale Ale - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 6.6%

Rye Pale Ale - Cameron's Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Oakville) 6.6%

A glowing orange colour in a glass with big a fluffy off-white head of foam that left nice lacing as it faded.

A sweet hoppy aroma of pineapple, cedar, resin and a little floral. Strong, bitter taste with hops first: cedar, resin, a little citrus (orange) and some of that pineapple. The rye flavour really comes out in a grain loaded finish and aftertaste but this bitter brew is all about the hops which are strong throughout.

If you aren't a full blown hop-head and find Cameron's Brewing's Rye Pale Ale too bitter at first you are probably not alone. My suggestion would be to let it warm up most of the way and give a chance for the toasted bread (rye bread of course) and light caramel tones to really come out. Warmer and this RPA is still bitter but shows more balance.

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.

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.

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.

Spearhead Hawaiian Style Pale Ale (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Spearhead Hawaiian Style Pale Ale (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 6.0%

Brewed with pineapple juice this Pale Ale would be considered an American Pale Ale so it drinks more like an IPA. It has an extremely hoppy aroma that is chock full of cedar and resin; and the smell of pineapple juice comes through too. The taste is along the same "oh-goody" lines: very hoppy, with cedar and resin tones, though the beer as a whole isn't overly bitter, and the pineapple juice comes through as well. Gold with an amber touch in a glass.

Spearhead Hawaiian Style Pale Ale is really neat, the pineapple juice is really obvious in one way but totally blends in at the same time: it is there if you are looking for it but because it mixes so well with the hops that it can go completely unnoticed. It's a wonderful idea to make a really hoppy Pale Ale like this and add pineapple juice, and I very much enjoy this beer. There is some very light sediment at the bottom of the beer which can make the beer quite a bit more bitter and obscure the pineapple if it makes its way into your glass.