The Legendary Spring Oddity: An Odd Bird Indeed
The Legendary Spring Oddity from Muskoka Brewery in Bracebridge, Ontario pours a clear, light golden colour with a medium sized and frothy white head that has good retention and leaves some spotty lacing. The smell of this seasonal hybrid ale is like a spiced-up Belgian tripel. An almost sour, apple-like aroma is joined by hints of the heather tips, juniper berries and orange zest used in the brewing process and backed by a sweet caramel aroma and a soft yeast tone.
Hunt this Beer While it's in Season
The Legendary Spring Oddity has a crisp and spicy taste with a lot going on. Apples, soapy and floral hops, toasted light grains and berries are backed up by a solid yeast character. The ale is full-bodied with a medium carbonation level. There is a nice pop on the tongue, then a yeasty, biscuit-like feeling. The finish is dry and the aftertaste has a lingering sweetness that becomes more prevalent after warming, followed by the melange of spices and a subtle hint of alcohol.
Headstock IPA: The Freak Out Tent is That Way
Nickel Brook Headstock IPA from the Better Bitters Brewing Company in Burlington, Ontario pours a hazy, rusty amber colour with a medium-sized tan coloured head that is retained for a while as a frothy colour. There is spotty lacing and small grains of yeast sediment are visible. This American IPA has a thick, syrupy aroma with citrus and berry tones in the forefront and a sturdy caramel malt base with a pine accent and a subtle spicy note.
Go Ahead, Drink the Brown Stuff
The taste of Nickel Brook Headstock IPA is similar to the smell, with bright citrus and red berry tones taking the lead and backed by toasty, bready malts with a hint of caramel. There is a nice balance of sweetness in the taste and a solid bitterness in the finish. The ale is full-bodied with a relatively mild carbonation. It is very creamy on the tongue with a lingering oily sensation and flavours of lemon zest, pine and a peppery spice in the aftertaste.
Robson Street Hefeweizen: Wheat Bored
Robson Street Hefeweizen from Granville Island Brewing in Vancouver, British Columbia pours a cloudy, rusty orange colour with a medium-sized, frothy white head that burns off quickly, leaving a small collar and little to no lacing. The German-style beer has a dirty smell about it that mars the wheat, banana and mild clove aromas. There is a sweet, honey-like tone and one of light lemon zest in the background.
I Never Knew a Wheat Beer Could Be so Tasteless
The taste of Robson Street Hefeweizen is very bland for a the style. There is very little in the way of traditional banana or bubble gum flavours and instead lemon zest, wheat and earth come to the forefront, accented by a subtle hint of cloves. The beer has an extremely thin, watery mouthfeel with a mild carbonation and it remains watery throughout. The finish is dry, with a syrupy and slightly peppery aftertaste.
Ambre de la Chaudiere: A River Runs Through It
Ambre de la Chaudière from Mill Street Brewery’s Ottawa Brewpub pours a hazy, rusty orange colour with amber tinges and a moderate tan coloured head that gets retained as a string-like collar and leaves some spotty lace behind. This Bière de Garde smells of wheat, grains, yeast, banana and bubble gum and it has a subtle hint of alcohol.
This Beer is Worth a Visit to the Brewpub
Ambre de la Chaudière has a deep taste of biscuit-like grains with a toasted, earthy character. Sweet, fruity accents of strawberry and banana and an assertive boozy bite round out the taste. The unfiltered beer is full-bodied with a low carbonation level. Yeast provides a pop on the tongue before a bready character takes over. The finish has a nice dryness and the aftertaste has a honey-like flavour and syrupy quality.
Netherworld Cascadian Dark Ale: Tales from the Darkside
Netherworld Cascadian Dark Ale from the Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery in Barrie, Ontario pours a cola-like dark ruby colour with a nice, creamy head not unlike a root beer float that leaves some distinctly layered lacing. This American black ale, often referred to as a “Black IPA” has a crisp, spicy aroma with a generous helping of a grapefruit-like citrus smell backed up by notes of toasted grains, malts and molasses.
Dark Beers Don't Have to be Heavy
The taste of Netherworld Cascadian Dark Ale is malty and slightly sweet with syrup, coffee and toasted cocoa tones, as well as a subtle cherry or plum-like fruit flavour. The beer is noticeably carbonated but still a bit watery on the tongue, though there is a nice oily quality as well. The finish carries a nicely-balanced, solid bitterness and the aftertaste is slightly sweet and spicy with a soft banana note and a lingering pine-like flavour.
Coors Light Iced T: T Time
This light, flavoured adjunct lager from Molson Coors Canada pours a light pencil yellow colour with a moderate soapy white head that burns off within a couple of minutes, leaving a string of a collar behind without any lacing. Coors Light Iced T actually smells kind of nice. There are aromas of lemongrass, green tea and ginger ale, with light grain and honey accents.
They Should Call This the Copper Bullet
Coors Light Iced T has a very refreshing taste made up of sharp lemon and dry tea flavours. It has more in common with a lemon-flavoured ginger ale than anything resembling beer, though it’s far less sweet than I had expected. The beer has a very thin mouthfeel with a moderate amount of carbonation. There is a bright pop on the tongue, with an ever so slight oiliness. The finish is scantily malty, mildly dry and the aftertaste leaves a lingering lemon flavour.
Plowman’s Ale: A Hardworking Beer
Plowman’s Ale from Grand River Brewing in Cambridge, Ontario pours a fiery copper-amber colour with a large and frothy tan coloured head that leaves rings of lace and settles as a collared film. This American red ale has a nice dark fruit and bread aroma that has a metallic or mineral-like tinge when first poured. Once that wears off, fresh grains and chocolate can be noted. There is also a slight nuttiness and a bit of diacetyl smell after warming.
This Satisfying Ale is Great After a Long Day
Plowman’s Ale is surprisingly complex in taste. Sweet and toasted malts, chocolate, sweetened raisin, caramel and smoky wood are capped with a solid and bitter floral hop finish. The ale has a creamy, bready and earthy mouthfeel with fairly heavy mineral and grain characteristics. The aftertaste is dry with a hint of caramel and a toasted bread note.
Fuller’s London Pride: Chuffed to Bits
Fuller’s London Pride from Fuller Smith and Turner PLC in Chiswick, London, England pours a gem-like golden amber colour with a rich and creamy white head that settles as a sturdy film and leaves a moderate amount of lace. The aroma of this English Pale Ale is of roasted malts, with a cherry or plum-like fruitiness and it carries undertones of freshwater and floral hops.
I Could Drink this Smooth Ale All Day
The taste of Fuller’s London Pride has a bready character, with a toasted accent and a faint honey or caramel-like sweetness. This ale has an extraordinarily smooth and creamy mouthfeel, despite little to no perceivable carbonation aside from the head. A dark wood note comes through on the back of the tongue as it finishes and the aftertaste is nicely embittered.
Dead Elephant IPA: Turn Your Attention to the Centre Ring
This American-style IPA from the Railway City Brewing Company in St. Thomas, Ontario pours a golden-amber colour with a medium-sized off-white head that leaves a moderate amount of lacing and gets retained as a thin collar and film. Dead Elephant IPA has the traditional berry and citrus aromas fans of the style know and love, but here they take a back seat to a warm, toasted grain smell and deep caramel tone.
This Stylized Can Holds a Solid American IPA
A nicely embittered grapefruit flavour is much more prevalent in the taste of Dead Elephant IPA and is joined by a slightly sweet, dark caramel tone, as well as a biscuit-like one. The ale is full-bodied with almost no carbonation beyond the first few minutes after being poured, yet there is a bright pop on the tongue followed by a heavy yeast note. The finish is bitter and the aftertaste is oily and grainy, with a subtle fruit tone.
Portage Ale: Canoe Pour Me One?
The flagship beer of the Mill Street Brewery Ottawa Brewpub is a cream ale that pours a slightly pale golden colour with a frothy white head that leaves a healthy amount of lace behind as it settles and gets retained as a thin, collared cap. Portage Ale smells mostly of sweet grains, wheat and yeast. There is a strong juice-like tone that hovers between raspberry, cherry and grape, and a slight hint of alcohol on the nose.
This Cream Ale is Only Available in Ottawa
The taste of Portage Ale is rather sweet as well, with grains making up the bulk of the body. There is a strong grassy tone, a certain grape or apple juice-like flavour, as well as subtle milk chocolate and red berry notes. The ale is medium-bodied with a high carbonation level and is quite creamy on the tongue thanks to a distinct yeast character. The finish is dry and the aftertaste has lingering yeast and raw grain tones.
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