Haze Phaze
Mill Street Brew Pub

I had this on tap at the State and Main Restaurant in Orillia, Ontario. It has an attractive orange hazy color and emits a tropical fruit essence. The flavor is nicely complex with a smooth banana like mouthfeel. I really liked it.

Pours a thin foam head. Color or orange juice. Smells of pineapple and orange juice.
Taste is not bad at all. Citrous juice mixed with hops and an almost cherry after taste, which I find unique for an IPA like this. Although it's not bad, I think i still prefer many of these other IPA's that are easy available anywhere.

 

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, from their Block Party Mix Pack from my favourite The Beer Store on Goyeau St. in nearby downtown Windsor. My third beer from the Toronto, ON brewery.

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; coded Feb 22 2024 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy goldenrod colour, producing an inch of soapy, spongy white head that lasts for a little over three minutes. A delicate curtain of lace is draped onto the glass, with a generous sudsy collar and cap remaining in place. I'm getting a lot of stone fruit on the nose, with accents of melon, grapefruit pith, mango and berries.

It tastes fine; the Galaxy hops pop out, but they're one of those varieties that tends to 'stand out' from the background (or at least, that's how my senses perceive them). I'm getting apricot, melon and a little bit of passion fruit, with grapefruit pithiness and a touch of hop resin bitterness developing later on. Mildly fruity-sweet aftertaste with briefly lingering hints of resin and melon rind. Medium in body, with low-ish carbonation that gently agitates the tongue, resulting in a smooth, soft, almost fluffy mouthfeel that I found satisfying, and probably the highlight of this beer. Good drinkability.

Final Grade: 3.69, a B grade. Haze Phaze ain't half bad, but like many of this brewery's products, it's rather forgettable. The flavours are fine, I guess, but that's just the thing - it's merely acceptable, with nothing here to distinguish itself from the myriad of similar hazy pale ales you can easily find these days. Mill Street has brewed better IPAs than this in the past - maybe not *markedly* better, but this is still utterly average by Ontario standards. It's worth a shot at least, but definitely not a brew to go out of your way for - honestly, I'd prefer a Tankhouse.

July 7 2024

 

Pours a vibrant yellow, very foamy styrofoam head. The aroma is sickly sweet; overripe berries. Upon the tongue, there is potential here, but the galaxy hops are in an unnecessary battle with the alcohol and lose some steam. The profile reads more spotted banana when the grapes of the galaxy are needed. It’s OK, but could have been better.