Alexander Keith's Saphir Hop Ale (Canada)

Alexander Keith's Saphir Hop Ale (Canada) 5.5%

Full gold with a finger of foam that settled fairly quickly. Herbal, floral, slightly citrusy (orange/tangerine) marmalade and sweet aroma. The taste is bitter but with continued citrus (more tangerine now), marmalade like sweetness. There is also some resin and a floral flavour that reminds me of some blossom, maybe honeysuckle? The aftertaste is drily, lightly bitter with more malt than hops flavour.

I am a fan of these One Hop beers because I like the opportunity to learn about one specific type of hops. This beer is also highly drinkable and pretty tasty.

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.

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.

The Canadian Dream - Mikkeller Brewery (Denmark - Copenhagen)

The Canadian Dream - Mikkeller Brewery (Denmark - Copenhagen) 4.6%

An orange amber colour in a glass with a big off-white head of foam. A sweet and citrusy aroma with some resin and ever-so-slightly musty wood tones.

Very hoppy taste, cedar and light resin. Some citrus and tropical fruit flavours: I pick up papaya (think of those dried orange cubes in trail mix), some grapefruit and maybe tangerine. While this beer has sweet tastes at times it is also quite bitter and leaves the tongue tingling a little as a result.

There is a bit of confusion as to the alcohol content of this beer, the label claims 4.6% but I have seen it registered at 5.5% in several places on the internet. I think it is more likely to be 5.5% because this would otherwise be the hoppiest and lowest alcohol beer I ever had by a longshot. Roughly speaking, a higher alcohol content requires more sugar for the yeast to eat. Also, for a beer to be this hoppy without being overwhelmingly bitter there has to be a fair amount of balancing sweetness, this is something that I just don't think could be accomplished in a conventional beer that is only 4.6%. Regardless of the ABV, this is a very nice American Pale Ale.

New Grist - Lakefront Brewery (USA - Wisconsin - Milwaukee)

New Grist - Lakefront Brewery (USA - Wisconsin - Milwaukee) 5.3%

Very pale gold in a glass, almost like a cider with a nearly nonexistent head. All of which is typical of gluten free beers. The aroma is very lightly citrusy (tangerine perhaps) and fairly tart.

The taste is a just little tart at first, especially in the finish, but is otherwise very beer like. New Grist is a little overcarbonated to my tastes but has a convincing malt flavour with light grain flavours and even some light dry european hops. This is a very convincing Pilsner style gluten-free beer and while it is a little light on flavour that makes it a whole lot better than some of the gluten-free options out there. If Lakefront added just a little bit more dry hops flavour I think it would be about as close to a Pilsner as a gluten-free beer could be.