Stats: Hybrid (DIPA/Rye Ale) ♦ 8% ABV ♦ 63 IBUs ♦ Petaluma, California. Colour: Light Amber/Golden; Filtered. Medium-foam. Light-lacing. Mouth Feel: Full-bodied & hoppy; long finish. Light-medium carbonation with creamy mouthfeel (contains oats). Location/Price: LCBO ♦ $16.45/6-pack Pairings: Roast pork; something carmelized (). ♦ Honey garlic wings; pulled pork () As quoted from Lagunitas: The…
“Cruiser” (Pale Ale) Amsterdam Brewing Co. Limited
Cruisin’ … on a Sunday afternoon …. I can’t imagine anything better. Rating → 81 points Stats: (Golden) Pale Ale. 4.9% ABV. 40 IBUs. Toronto, Ontario. Size: 355mL Colour: Hazy, almost white gold Mouth Feel: Medium carbonation — very crisp clean finish. Purchased: LCBO Price: $13.65 (6 pack) Pairing Notes: Cadbury Easter Eggs (yes, I said it) Mmm…
Honey Bee’Lixir (English Ale) Railway City Brewing Company
Floats like cloud and drinks like a bee, this is the latest from Railway City … Rating → 79 points Stats: English Ale. 5% ABV. 29 IBUs. St Thomas, Ontario. Size: 750mL bottle Colour: Dark red-brown amber — perfectly filtered Mouth Feel: Medium-low, natural carbonation; relatively flat on the tongue with a low specific gravity….
“Enlightenment” (Belgian Ale), Renaissance Brewing Company
“Perhaps its inevitable, perhaps one has to choose between being nothing at all and impersonating what one is.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre, The Age of Reason Rating → 68 points Stats: Belgian Ale. 6.5% ABV. Marlborough, New Zealand. Size: 500mL bottle Colour: Muddy brown amber Mouth Feel: High carbonation obliterates the mouthfeel Purchased: LCBO Price: $6.95 Pairing…
Fire and Blood (Red Ale) Ommegang Brewery
There can be only one … but this isn’t it. Rating: 78 points Stats: Red Ale. 6.8% ABV. Cooperstown, NY. Size: 750 mL bottle Colour: Deep red amber, slightly unfiltered (on lees) Mouth Feel: Medium carbonation with a very dry finish Purchased: LCBO Price: $9.95 Pairing Notes: Beef fajitas I know: I’ve been on a bit…
“Pumpkin Ale” (Spiced Beer) Great Lakes Brewery
The Great Pumpkin Ale emerges — all hail the great pumpkin ale…. Rating: 90 points Stats: Spiced Beer. 5.5% ABV. Etobicoke, Ontario. Size: 650mL bottle Colour: Deep straw, golden Mouth Feel: Medium carbonation; clean, bitter and refreshing finish. Purchased: LCBO Price: $4.95 Pairing Notes: Green curry. And so the field narrows and it comes to a point as I complete my seasonal quest for…
“Pumpkin Ale” (Flavoured Beer) Grand River Brewing
Suddenly, out of the turbid waters, a pumpkin appeared. Rating: 84 points Stats: Spiced Beer. 5.2% ABV. Cambridge, Ontario. Size: 500mL bottle Colour: Deep straw, golden Mouth Feel: Medium-low carbonation; medium mouthfeel. Purchased: LCBO Price: $3.95 Pairing Notes: A light Indian curry. With the bar now squarely set, I approach the third in the Great Pumpkin Ale challenge with this one from…
“St-Ambroise Citrouille” (Pumpkin Ale) McAuslan Brewing
The benchmark in pumpkin ales. Rating: 88 points Stats: Pumpkin Ale. 5% ABV. Montreal, Quebec. Size: 341mL bottle Colour: Deep amber Mouth Feel: Medium carbonation; creamy and full in the mouth. Purchased: LCBO Price: $9.95 (4/pack) Pairing Notes: n/a After the first disappointment on the Great Pumpkin Ale countdown, I chose to go with a known entity … one I already knew I loved from…
“Pumpkin Ale” (Spiced Beer) Black Creek Historic Brewing
A pumpkin ale that is more ghostly because of what doesn’t appear. Rating: 70 points Stats: Spiced Beer. 5% ABV. Toronto, Ontario. Size: 500mL bottle Colour: Light-brown amber Mouth Feel: Low carbonation; low specific gravity; light end. Purchased: LCBO Price: $3.95 Pairing Notes: n/a First up on the Great Pumpkin Ale Countdown is this traditional sampling from Black Creek Brewing. This is…
“The ‘Witty’ Traveller” (Belgian Wheat Beer) Railway City Brewing Company
Stats: Belgian Wheat Beer. 4.2% ABV. 15 IBUs. St Thomas, Ontario. Size: 473mL can Colour: Pale (very pale) off-‘yellow’ watery straw; faintly cloudy. Mouth Feel: Low-medium carbonation with a dry finish. Purchased: LCBO Price: $2.85 Pairing Notes: Greek Food (e.g. Souvlaki) → 78 points So, the next surprise in my Getting Canned series of beers only coming in cans is also the final taster from…