Mike Duggan #12 Ontario Ale
Duggan's Brewery

On-tap at Duggan's Brewery, in Toronto.

A tall glass of frosty golden liquid with a frothy white head is like a giant sign saying 'hey, you, over here, drink this'. The beer appears sunny despite - not only that it's currently winter, overcast and nighttime outside - that its complexion is obstructively hazy. That tells you this is obviously no filtered, mass-produced brew. And that's a good thing.

If Ontario Ale were true to its name, you'd expect its aroma to be underwhelming, simplistic and negligibly hoppy. Duggan's Ontario Ale, however, does not fit that description. For one, its malts have a thick and wholesome biscuity character and its hops - which are far from negligible - brim with assertiveness and floral tones and lemony zest.

On first thought, you might mistake this for a pilsner. (Note: I did, and I certainly found it remarkably similar to Duggan's German Pilsner which I ordered after it for comparison's sake.) The hops are earthy and almost pungently bitter, icing over bready and biscuity pale malts. And ignoring the ale yeast esters this is as clean, crisp and refreshing as any lager.

They may be conspicuous, but the exact variety of the hops eludes me. They have the light spice and pacifying floral components of European Noble varieties but are also laced with a brisk lemony zest and a generous splash of citrus. They are raspy like Jeff Bridge's voice, with a tang vivid enough to lighten up the ample and hefty malt profile.

I was not expecting this. In fact, I initially thought the server had brought me the wrong beer - not many of Ontario's ales have this much character and nothing near this much hoppiness. If this really is to be the flagship of the province then it is surely the symbol of a new generation of more enthusiastic, less timid Ontarian brewers (and drinkers!)

Had this at the brewpub

Poured a hazy light golden colour with 1/4 inch white head that settled to a thin ring, left a small amount of lace around the glass. Smells of malt, hop bitterness and some citrus notes. The taste is a crisp malt with a good bitterness to it finishes semi-dry and quite refreshing. Mouthfeel was a little watery but not terrible. Drinks well, would be a good session brew. Pretty solid overall.

When I saw Ontario Ale I was expecting the standard amber, moderately hoppy beer. This is not one of those, and thats a good thing.

Fortunately Duggan's creativity with beers is superior to his creativity with numbers.

Poured a hazy gold with a couple fingers of creamy white head. Nice spider web lacing. Grain, honey, orange peel and citrus on the nose along with a pepperiness. Initial blast of sweet honey malt is quickly crushed by a resolute and surprising bitterness, which seems to clock in higher than their IPA. Good citrus throughout as well as that peppery grassy aspect that reminds me a bit of a pils. Some slick hop oils linger on the tongue. I have no clue what the style is, and don't think it was brewed with that in mind. Medium body with a good carbonation that works very well with this one.

I presumed this was a rebranding of the Canadian Wheat, which is why I held off trying it a cask days, but there's no doubt it's a different brew. The server said that all the staff went up to a hopfarm and picked the hops used in the recipe, and I'd be curious to know what they were. A good effort and somewhat surprising.

Had this on tap a week or so ago at the brewpub, but I didn't know what style or alcohol percent it was, so I didn't enter the review... thanks for adding it Sammy. I was confused when I got to Duggan's and there was a #12 that wasn't their wheat beer. I asked and they assured me it was different. I don't get the point of using numbers if you are going to reuse them, not the first time either. 12 was used just this summer! There are literally infinite integers to choose from (quick almost proof: for all integers n; n+1 exists).

Anyways, on with the review. Pours a golden orange colour with about a cm of white head, little lacing. Smells of very mild grassy and citrus hops and very grainy malt. Flavour is sweeter than it is bitter, so I wasn't sure if this was a pale ale, but it tastes pretty good. The beer is fine, not their best offering though.