Pils - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 4.8%

Pils - Garrison Brewing (Canada - Nova Scotia - Halifax) 4.8%

Full gold in a glass, nay beyond full gold. More like a brass colour. Sweet caramel aroma with some malty grain undertones.

Label from Garrison website

Quite a bitter taste, full of that dry European hops flavour I expect from a pilsner. A barely metallic finish preceded by some nice malty sweetness, a bit of roast flavour with a fresh grain taste. This is a solid Pilsner and just so much fresher than anything you can get from Europe that you gotta love it. While it's not make the kind of dynamic food pairings that some stronger tasting ales will form, Garrison's Pils pairs easily and casually with just about any food, like any good Pilsner. If only it wasn't February and I could suggest picking up a growler to serve it at your next BBQ; do it anyway!

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.

Estrella Damm (Spain - Barcelona) 4.6%

Estrella Damm (Spain - Barcelona) 4.6%

Estrella pours a pale gold with a thick and fairly resilient head which leaves behing some nice lacing and is a bit surprising. A malty, lightly hoppy aroma with something that reminds me just a little of pears.

A sweet, at times bordering on overly sweet, malty taste with overtones of lightly toasted bread, balanced with just a bit of hops and bitterness. Over all this is actually a nice tasting lager, however a glance at the ingredients list (that I'm guessing the EU forces the brewer to include) shows that Estrella uses rice and maize rather than just barley and a stabilizing agent called propylene glycole alginate. Needless to say this certainly isn't an ingredient list I associate with craft beer and it goes to show that even though it doesn't taste half bad this is a megabrewery's international lager not a craft beer.

Freeze Alkoholfritt Ol (Norway - Tromso) 0.0%

Freeze Alkoholfritt Ol (Norway - Tromso) 0.0%

This is one of alcohol free beers that are about as good as the ones in Canada. I've had some here in Norway that are pretty grand including some good Yule ones. Freeze is really sweet and smells and taste a little like a somewhat flat normal beer. It tastes more like a malty pop than beer. So, all in all: for beer this is a pass; for an alcohol free beer this is about average; for malty pops Freeze is delicious!

I should also mention that this beer is actually brewed above the arctic circle which is pretty amazing if you think about it.