One of the first beers I reviewed and still one of the best I’ve tasted was Spearhead’s Hawaiian Style Pale Ale. What most impressed was its ability to incorporate the flavour of the pineapple into the beer in a subtle but unmistakeable way that doesn’t leave you with a sickly taste in your mouth going…
“Phillips Hop Circle IPA” (IPA), Phillips Brewing Company
This past weekend I had the pleasure of drinking Rogue Ale’s IPA, which is an excellent example of a west-coast IPA made on the actual west-coast … go figure, they actually make IPAs on the west-coast. When the beer came to the table, one of my very good friends remarked that it looked “hoppy.” While…
“Joseph Bellarmin” ( Double IPA), Microbrasserie de L’Île d’Orléans
It is truly remarkable how much the essential same ingredients can continually play out different surprises on the palette. It is probably one of the things that is fascinating me so much about this beer portion of the blog. Who is Joseph Bellarmin? Well, according to the words on the side of the bottle, he…
“Boneshaker” (IPA), Amsterdam Brewery
Purity • Passion • Revelry …. Such are the words found on the cap of Amsterdam’s “Boneshaker Unfiltered IPA.” Great words to drink to … even better words to live by. At 7.1% alcohol, a macabre skeleton riding a c.1865 “velocipede,” and with phrases like “over the top hops” and “copious quantities of hops” and…
“Hopkins Double I.P.A.” (Double IPA), Boquébière Microbrasserie de Sherbrooke
Hmm … so I’ve been waiting some time to try the big (BIG) bitter brother of Hopkins single IPA that I previously reviewed. There was the small distraction of some amazing food and a recent trip to Prince Edward County (and a lot of wine) that interceded between tastes, but we have finally arrived at…
“Hopkins India Pale Ale” (West-Coast IPA), Boquébière Microbrasserie de Sherbrooke
Sometimes you just get a good feeling about a beer before you even open it. Hopkins, brewed out of the Eastern Townships (which is Western Quebec for those not from around these parts), is a good example of just that. The label says “funky” with its retro, throwback monochromatic portrait but what really impressed me…
“606 India Pale Ale” (IPA), Paddock Wood Brewing
I know I’ve had beer in Saskatchewan before … what I can’t say with any certainty is whether I’ve had a beer from Saskatchewan. So here’s another product of my impulse shopping at The Beer Store last month, a new beer I haven’t tasted before and from a new region. I have to admit, this…
“Brown Ale Americaine” (Brown IPA), Pit Caribou
As relatively disappointing as my last few tastings have been, and with a bizarre spring storm brewing that has sucked the light out of the air last weekend, it felt right to return to Quebec and a darker brew. This is also a nuanced type of beer I haven’t hitherto tasted: Brown American Ale. I’ve…
“Twice as Mad Tom” (Double IPA), Muskoka Brewery
So here’s a lesson on the perils of impulse shopping whilst in a beer store – ok, I grant, it’s not a lesson I’ve learned nor am I likely to learn anytime soon, but in theory, there is a lesson to be learned here. A few weeks ago I went to return the empty shells of my…
“Mad Tom” (IPA), Muskoka Brewery
It is remarkable coming back to beers I know so well – I thought I knew – after starting this blog 6 months ago. In that time, I’ve sampled and really paid attention to nearly 4 dozen beers, of which 30 have been individually reviewed here. Muskoka’s Mad Tom is an IPA that I delightfully…