Frost Hammer
Mascot Brewery

Never heard of this brewery, so this is my first dance with them.
Pours wine and half lager like, but it's still hazy enough. The head is firm and quite bubbly. Smells malty sweet (I hope it won't taste like that), along with papaya, passion fruit, and even a bit of brett.
The taste is super interesting compared to what I'm used to. All of the nose is in here but it mixes so well, that I can't help but be impressed. I am used to citrusy notes but this is not like that at all. And though there is sweetness, it does mostly lean away from West Coast maltiness, which is a good thing.
A decent enough surprise overall.

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Nov 20 2024 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy orange amber colour, supporting nearly two fingers of fluffy, foamy white head. Within three or four minutes, it has receded back to a thin collar and a sudsy cap, with a gorgeous coat of lace draped across the glass; looks good so far. Intriguing aroma of white grapes, peach, tangerine and indeterminate tropical fruits; passion fruit or guava, perhaps, backed by grainy malts.

A tasty DIPA, offering up flavours of peach, passion fruit, mango and white grape, buoyed by an underlying scaffold of bready, grainy malts and honey sweetness. Bitter and mildly boozy on the back end, with stone & tropical fruits dissipating into a fruity aftertaste. On the fuller side of medium-bodied, with moderately assertive carbonation and a frothy, smooth mouthfeel that goes down easy. Quite drinkable for a DIPA.

Mascot's Frost Hammer is a solid imperial IPA that does a great job of showing off the combined capabilities of Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin hops. I was hoping for a more forceful showing from the latter, but you can't always get what you want - and in any event, it's still a good pairing, with their flavours and aromas playing well off one another. I don't think I'd go out my way to find more Frost Hammer, but if it shows up again locally, I'll grab a couple of cans.

[Updated Feb 9 2026]

Another tallboy, with a new black label; dated Jan 20 2026, so this is considerably fresher than last time. Some gritty sediment lazily swirls around its golden amber-hued body. I do feel like I'm getting more Nelson this time around, i.e. the grape/vinous flavours are more prominent - the freshness definitely seems to make a difference in that regard. I still wouldn't call this a top tier Ontario DIPA, but it does have some unique traits that stand out - and since the DIPA selection at the LCBO is generally a bit lacking, it's nice to have some variety. I can't drink DIPAs every night, but this one has a spot in my rotation for as long as it's available.

Final Grade: 4.03, an A-

10oz pour in a tulip glass. On tap at the brewery location in King St. in Toronto.

Appearance: Bright gold to amber color. Of white head with lots of sheets and strands of lacing.

Smell: Definitely has the Nelson Sauvin style hop aroma with some additional floral and muted tropical fruit smells.

Taste: Berry/tropical fruit/grape flavor, and that distinctive Nelso Sauvin hop taste. There is some underlying malt (bready + caramel) which balances the hops very well. Very interesting tasting DIPA.

Mouthfeel: Nicely thick and smooth, light carbonation, and a tiny bit warming at the finish.

Overall / Drinkability: A slow sipping and savoring beer to try and pull all the flavors out from. Given that this beer appears to be a single hop DIPA (and dry hopped at that), the Nelson Sauvin shows up strongly in this beer. I picked this beer as a sort of “hop candy” dessert beer, it was good to try and pick out all the flavors, but not something I’d want a huge glass of, nor a DIPA that is dangerously drinkable. Still, glad I tried it even if I wouldn’t want more of it in an evening.

Review from notes. Served cold into a pint glass and canned 11/27/24.

Appearance - Hazy, rich orangey gold beer with two fingers of foamy white head on top and with great lacing too.

Smell - Pine, passionfruit and mango.

Taste - Same as the nose with plenty of malt to support this hefty beer and notes of caramel. The pine passionfruit and mango are interspersed.

Mouthfeel - Full bodied with modest carbonation and semi-dry finish.

Overall - A worthy if unspectacular DIPA. Certainly worth a taste.

March 11 2025

The label on my can stated 8.2% ABV. At my lady Pamela's house; canned, from the University Ave. West LCBO in nearby Windsor. My fourth from the Toronto brewery, and first for 2025.