Monogamy - Loral
Bellwoods Brewery

 

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. Date stamped March 13, 2025. My thirteenth beer from the Toronto, Ontario brewery, and eighth for 2025. With Gracie the cat.

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Mar 13 2025 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy, turbid pale straw yellow colour, producing one finger of loose, soapy white head that collapses within a minute or two. A sickly thin collar lives on, encircling a patch of film on the surface; minimal lace production. Lemony aroma, with hints of stone fruit, grapefruit and floral, grassy hops.

It tastes pretty good, but it's very subdued - in all fairness, Loral doesn't strike me as particularly showy hop, yet that's all this brew has to work with, save for the undercurrent of grainy, wheaty malt sweetness. Lemon zest, underripe plum & peach give way to floral hops, grapefruit pith and an herbal, peppery spice note late in the sip. Herbal, grassy, mildly citrusy finish with low bitterness, concluding with a fairly dry aftertaste. Medium-full in body, with moderate carbonation and a plush, soft texture that makes each sip satisfying. Ridiculously drinkable for 6.4%

Final Grade: 4.11, an A-. Maybe there's something I'm missing about the Monogamy series, but based on the handful of variants that I've tried to date, it's clear to me that Bellwoods is capable of brewing much better pale ales than this. OK, that's not entirely representative of how I feel about this beer: Loral is still a darn good IPA, better than plenty of the IPAs you'll find at the LCBO. Useful in an educational, utilitarian sense: if you're not familiar with Loral hops, then this will show you what they're made of, making it easier to notice & appreciate them when you come across them in the future. But if I'm going to blow five bucks on a Bellwoods tallboy, there are plenty of others I'd sooner revisit.

July 8 2025

 

Pours chill hazed blond with languid streams of carbonation and a crackly, small head. The nose is abundant in floral hops, berries and pineapple. Herbal, floral, lightly tropical hops abound in the taste. Balance is provided by a clean, bready malt profile. High carbonation in the full mouthfeel. Medium bitterness in the long finish.

A nice IPA from the Ontario masters with an interesting hop profile. Worth a try.

 

Pours a nice thick foam head. Has some good lacing to it. Nice pale yellow cream color. Light aroma of floral and almost pineapple or passionfruit notes to it.

The taste is pretty good. Made only with Loral hops, it seems a little bit more mild compared to other hop varieties. Not really bitter or very citrousy, but still retains some some bitterness with light citrous peel and floral tastes. It's very smooth and easy to drink even at 6.5%. Don't taste any alcohol at all. This is a really good IPA and it's better than I was expecting.

Using only 1 variety of hops works great in my opinion and I might even prefer it now over a handful of different hop variants so that you can really get a taste for that particular hop. Loral is a winner in my book. I will looking for more of these Monogamy Hop beers as they come out. Will buy Loral again if still available on their website for my next order.

473ml can served cold into a chalice. LCBO purchase as part of a Bellwoods Christmas pack. Out of retirement.

Appearance - Hazy straw yellow with a two finger head that lives for a good while. Plenty of lacing too.

Smell - Some peaches, a touch of grapefruit, possible pineapple mixed in. Good depth of fruity flavor and steady wheat malt backbone.

Taste - Fairly sweet the peaches are bittered up just a bit by the presence of grapefruit and other sweet citrus kicks in too.

Mouthfeel - Medium-full bodied, smooth, juicy and crushable.

Overall - Another very final IPA from Bellwoods, lately it seems like their stuff has been better than ever.

 

 

This one pours a light and almost pastel-colored hazy yellow, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like peach skin, grapefruit rind, grassy hops, hop spice, and pine.

This has a wonderful dryness and a little bit of spiciness to it, and it works well. There's also a big juicy notes of peach and grapefruit. It's just really well rounded, and clearly well-brewed. Loral is definitely an interesting hop- that spicy character is nice.

This is medium bodied, creamy and full, but finishes very dry. This is quite drinkable.

I'm not entirely sure I've had anything with Loral hops in it. They're clearly a fun hop, and I hope to see some more breweries get on board the Loral train.