Triple X IPA
C'est What Durham Brewing Company

cask conditioned at C’est What. Pours very clear deep copper/amber with thick creamy stable head. Aroma: light malt with a hint of citrus. Flavour: biscuity sweet malt balanced by light bitterness some hints of citrus. Medium body smooth - true pale ale.

 

 

Clear amber red colour with a dense off-white head. Nice lacing.

Nice citrusy hops with a touch of sweet malt. Classic pale ale.

Soft malt with a nice touch of hop. Bitterness is light but still there.

Moderate body with low carbonation. Classic cask ale.

A lovely beer. Easy drinking but full flavoured. Marked down a touch because they call it an IPA.

 

On cask at Victory.

Hazy orange colour, one finger white head lots of lace on the top of the glass. Not very aromatic, faint malt and hops, some citrus here and there. Taste is quite hoppy, citrus fruits, tangerine and grapefruit play off the bitterness and hop, nice balance of malt as well. Served a little cold, good mouthfeel, fairly good cask carbonation, nice hop oil slickness left behind. Quite enjoyable, solid drinking IPA, would revisit gladly.

Off cask at C'est What?, in Toronto.

I'm afraid that if I touch it I'll burn myself. This orange-amber colour glows like hot coal. It almost warrants wearing sunglasses inside. Its complexion was quite turbid until the yeast settled, after which it was brilliantly clear. The surface is a simmering layer of large ornamental bubbles laid over white mold. A more splendid looking beer I can hardly imagine.

The bouquet is stinky, but not necessarily in the typically endearing IPA way. Although it smells *nothing* like my gym bag, it shares a similarly stuffy, soggy, pungent scent that seems like it could use some airing out. Apart from orange rind and grassy herbals, I don't see much reason to spend time smelling it... especially when it tastes so good!

Because, truly, it does taste phenomenal. The aroma concealed the beer's bright citric character that, given its sharp and cutting acidity, feels like it seeps directly into your gums and warms the blood with a tropical fruitiness. It drinks like a juice! Sure, there's a bit of biscuit and toffee but predominantly this tastes of grapefruit and citrus rinds.

Although its citrusy flavour is so vivid and bright - like clear sky, at the equator, on summer solstice, bright - the mouthfeel could use a bit of a tune up. Its malts taste noticeably cardboard-y and are voided of their sweetness. Also, without carbonation the beer's exceptional floral and fruity elements aren't boasted as much as they should be.

With very few exceptions, I've rated all locally produced cask offerings I've had notably high. That's because enjoying fresh, lively ale - especially in the company of fellow indulgers at a venue that knows how to properly treat their casks - is an experience that tends to stand out and is often without equal. I'll be ordering this one regularly.

On cask at C'est What. I somehow keep missing this beer as every time I order it they say it is just out. Pours a hazy orange colour with a finger of white head that never lets up. Lacing down the glass. Beatiful pint of cask ale. Smell has grapefruity hops with a good caramel and bready malt. Flavour has a nice kick of bitterness, but the sweetness really compliments this well. Very smooth mouthfeel. I could drink pints of this all day.

On cask at C'est What. Poured a clear amber, with a very spotty head and a thin and moderately sheeted lacing. Light bitterness and floral hops, a bit earthy in the malts. Has a bit of a distinct urine smell when I first took a whiff; probably not the right way to be describing it but that's all I could think of. Taste is quite balanced, malty with a clean, crisp bitterness to finish it off. Finishes dry which I enjoyed, in addition to having a moderately low carbonation. Overall, quite enjoyable and sessionable IPA, hindered if anything, by a bit of a funny smell.

On-tap at C'est What.

This beer appears a hazy medium burnt orange colour, with one finger of soapy off-white head, which leaves concentric rings of lace down the glass. It smells of light bready malt, and mild floral, citrusy hops. The taste is sweet bready malt, and citrusy, weedy hops. The carbonation is almost non-existent, the body uber-smooth, soft, and ethereal, but still weighty enough to be real, and it finishes relatively dry and hoppy.

Interesting to have a Canadian-style IPA, without the bubbles to bring forth the dueling flavours. Highly drinkable, but without the zing one usually looks for in an IPA.

Some people have crazy white whales - vintages with limited production, aged for years in bourbon barrels and only sold for a duration of two hours at the brewery. Not me. A lot of my white whales are local tap only beers from brewers that I love, but don't seem to get all of their lineup in bars on a regular basis. Turning up at Volo last night I was disappointed to see one of my holy grails just emptied, but somewhat buoyed to see another still pouring on cask. Last night's event focused ion English cask ales, and if there's a brewery that was practically designed to do well as such an event its Durham (with the Granite sharing the honours). Bruce knows his stuff, and quietly produces some of the finest beers in our province. His Triple X has managed to elude me for some time, and I'm glad to finally track it down and make it my first drink of the evening.

This brew pours a rich mix of gold and amber, which shines lustrously when held up to the rapidly failing light. The cask pour gives this beer only the faintest hint of a head, which soon migrates to the edge of the glass to form a light collar. Little retention and no lace, which seems to be the way with some cask beers, so I can live with that. Hops are certainly present in the aroma, and strike me as closer to the American varieties than the British. Grapefruit and pine mix in with delicate floral notes and a rich biscuit malt to produce a satisfying and fresh bouquet. Excellent balance in the taste, which has a decent level of bitterness, but never forgets that malts are an ingredient in beer too. Lots of nice floral notes, some pine, a bit of orange peel and herbs spring from the hopping, while a rich berry fruitiness, and doughy breadiness arise from the malts. As I said, perfectly balanced, like a cask beer should be, and probably the highlight of the evening's drinking. The mouthfeel shows an experienced hand, and this really cashes in on all the potential of the cask format. Its light and refreshing, yet at the same time displays a remarkable depth and smoothness. This really helps to beef up the flavour profile, and give everything more body.

So, while I doubt this beer was a white whale for anyone else, I'm damn glad I got to try it. Hopefully it won't be so elusive in the future!

From cask at the Castle:

A cloudy dark honey - amber ale with a sticky 2 finger cap.

Floral, cedar aroma with sweet malt undertones

Nice chew of caramel malts in the front side then a rush of citrus-pine hops,... thin finish.

A decent IPA..better than hop head but still a tad thin in the body for my tastes.

Orange tinted bronze. Difficulty detecting nose: somewhat nothingness in both flavor and taste unfortunately. Bland forefront character bleeds into slight suggestion of ripe fruit for but a split second as flavor melds into annoying, grainy bitterness found in many similar examples. A decent cask beer but not on-par with any American cask ale I’ve had the rare pleasure to slurp. I would say that this would be a good beer to turn non-geeks onto the wonders of cask…but that pesky bitterness that annoyed me would be absolutely reviled by BMC drinkers. (Or L/M drinkers, depending on your country!)

Cask at Bow and Arrow, older than I like cask ales but it was still good. Poured a dark ruby brown, big creamy head and plenty of lace. The smell was sweet, with a subtle hoppiness. Tasted some alcohol, very grapefruity, malty, some more citrus, with a pleasant bitter finish. Very smooth, medium bodied and very nice.

Hand pumped from a cask, this beer was a hazy, dark orange colour, with a creamy head, wonderful lacing. Aromas of fruit, floral hops, and tonnes of malt and grain. Wonderful session ale. Rich, and full bodied, just the right amount of carbonation. Malty, fruity, heavy, yet refreshing. Not overly hopped, but a good amount. Goes down so smooth. Just a great session IPA from Durham.

This is a great session ale I enjoyed at C'est What, the finest purveyors of cask ale in Toronto. Its not hoppy or strong enough to be a genuine IPA but its still a great and complex ale.

It pours a hazy dark oak with a crackly long lasting head and swathes of intricate lace work. The aroma is fruity malt with herbal spicey hops providing good balance. The taste is quite malty with a blend dark fruit up front. Spicey English hop notes become evident in the middle. Bitter builds in the finish, at least this beer has the lingering finish of an IPA. The mouthfeel is watery in a refreshing way with a nice yeast crispness. Theres a lively 'yeast bite' in the finish which is one of the greatest things about good cask ale.

This is a dark, malty bitter with a good, late emerging hop bitterness. Very delicious stuff. Ive been very pleased with Durham's offerings. The Black Kat Stout is excellent stuff too.

Pupmped from a cask. Nice amber, thick rich dense head. Aroma is nice blend of grapefruit and floral hops. Sweetness of a red ale curbed by floral and citrus hopping that is not overwhelming but very appropriate. Overall medium bodied with a fuller finish. Slightly tangy aftertaste. Well done.

High hops, bitter with some zest. More bitter and hoppy than the signature ale and they are both session ales. Mid-sip spice and grapefruit zest. Hint of malt. More ordinary yellow with a bit of retained head.
Recently reformulated real ale. Had at Smokeless Joe's.

A very nice amber pour with a generous white head. The nose was both hoppy and malty and had a nice fruitniess to it as well.

The taste was very good. Rich maltiness was balanced extremely well with a nice level of hopiness. This combined with underlying fruity hints made this beer a great dinker. Very easy going down. Smooth as silk and worth another try.

Mmmmmmmmm. there is nothing quite like cask conditioned real-ale goodness. This beer was presented to me with a nice cascading amber colour and a nice head. The aromas were of hops, and faint malts. The taste was more of the same. Not overly hopped, but very hoppy none-the-less. An excellent session IPA with a super smooth mouthfeel and a crazy drinkability. A great treat. Can we get this in the U.S.?
Cheers!
-F