What beer are you drinking now, Canada?

I just finished an Isabella IPA from Bandit Brewery in Toronto.

It took me a few of these to get the full effect. I love Nelson hops and I've never had a Nelson/Citra combo. I wasn't sure how it would work, but damn it's a tasty beer.

The Nelson shines with the Citra playing a solid support. I loved the wee Citra kick after the smooth Nelson. A nice fruity beer, and just a touch of dank.

I've been impressed with Bandit. I haven't had a bad beer by them yet. The beer is reasonably priced, and they always have a nice selection. I've ordered from them 3 times now, and it's been a simple overnight for delivery.

I've had two of the Longwave series and been impressed. The latest, a BBA Barleywine, is on the way.

I hate trying to put pictures in posts...it's clunky and a hassle, so just imagine it

 

Just finished a Brassneck Magician's Assistant. A kettle-soured blonde ale with strong grapefruit flavours with lemon and orange notes thanks to the Amarillo and Citra hops. It's a decent sour, could be have a better balance, and mouth mouthfeel.

 

Had a Not Barasway imperial kveik porter from Folly last night and was pretty impressed.

I am still wrapping my head around kveik, but I definitely was not expecting a thick rich porter to come from it.

 

Bandit has really upped their game in the last few years.

I went there a few years back. The place is a giant pain to get to from the east end and park. They were out of beer that was listed on their website as in stock, and what they did have was mediocre at best. It totally seemed like a hipster place that was there for the neighbourhood and didn't care about the beer. So I didn't bother for a long time.

Started to see some more of them online and put in an order last summer. The IPAs were excellent, the wizard of gose was great and so was the stout. Very impressed and I love a redemption story.

 

I just had another treat from Bandit. Their Longwave BBA barleywine.

For some reason this beer has had some extreme reviews. A flurry of comments that I can't get my head around. People saying the bourbon wasn't present and all they got was green apple are perplexing.

It's a very nice British barleywine, nice dark fruit and toffee flavours meld with the bourbon.

My only nitpick was that the carbonation was higher than it should be for the style. All in all a nice beer, in a style we don't get enough of.

 

My latest Best Case partial mash kit of British IPA with extra fuggles and East Kent Goldings. We love the partial mash kits for the spent grain for bread and feeding our chickens.

 

Currently having a Roasted Chestnut Brown Ale from Oast House in NOTL.

Love a well-made brown, and even more when its a nut brown. This is a great one.

 

Last night with dinner

Godspeed Tamvy Lezak 12.

 

Drinking a Vienna Lager from Fenelon Falls Brewing and its pretty good. Light and clean.
Unsexy style, but a good standby.

Going well with my pizza and the Leafs game.

 

Today I'm trying "Dark Matter" by Hoyne from Victoria , BC. Doesn't fall in to any category as explained on the label , a bit of hop, chocolate ? Niiiiiice

 

Last night was Shacklands - Almanac a Marzen/Dubbel hybrid which I felt was exceptionally well done.

 

This showed up at the liquor monopoly this week. Not sure that I’ve ever seen Great Lakes in NB before. A wonderful beer that’s been nice to revisit.

 

Found this super fresh. Superb!

 

A little over hopped for the style, but a tasty brew nonetheless. Shipping across most of the country!

 

I took advantage of the free shipping to Toronto on Fridays from Merit in Hamilton to order some beers from a brewery I have yet to try. There is a weedy, minty quality that I get in this one that I quite like. Am I the only one that gets mint from Amarillo? Most people say I’m crazy when I say that.

I enjoyed this. Young Rival IPA.

 

Another Ontario brew to hit the shelves here this week. Decent enough but I find these hazy DIPA all a little same-y. Glad to try it though.

 

Indeed, the market is awash with hazy beers, some are fantastic but most are just okay or worse. This is a craze/trend that needs to die. Bring me classic IPAs. I love a good West Coast (just about anything by Alpine in California, Fat Tug in Canada), a solid American IPA like Bell's Two Hearted, good British IPAs are nice too.

The good hazy IPAs will survive, but it's time to move on. Hops, barley and water. No oat flakes and wheat flakes. There are styles that benefit from those fermentables, IPA is not one.

</rant>

 

Merit Tivoli. Having formerly lived in Hamilton, I like the nod to the theatre. The beer is alright.

 

An easy drinking new blonde ale from Gahan. This will be a fridge staple all summer. Presented in a non-Gahan glass, but still from PEI.

 

Another well made beer from Tatamagouche. Every summer we vacation a 10 minute drive from the brewery, so drinking this puts me in a good mood for sure.

 

I appreciate the short cans. Especially at $23 for 12, makes for a nice fridge staple.

I also still like having old school, east coast style IPAs around.

 

Hear! Hear!

 

Glad to catch this seasonal on tap before it ran out. Pump House does a nice Schwarzbier every spring. Great stuff. Not the most adventurous brewery...generally stick to the stereotypical brewpub fare, but everything they do is without flaws and really hits the spot.

 

Pump House Pail Ale, I still love this one at the brewpub, was happy to grab a growler at the production brewery for home.

 

A retro choice: Miller High Life which they have in bottles her in BC for the last few months. US brewed instead of the locally brewed Miller under license. Kind of a crappy beer now, but in my 20's it was a distinctive beer so I associate it with fun and girls and exotic foods (at the time) like Calamari and butter chicken.. Beer was so bland in the 80's that this was a good choice, slightly bitter with tight effervescence and a clear bottle Bittersweet how the first sip took me back to another time instantly.

 

A nice DIPA freshly canned from Tide & Boar Brewing.

 

Blood Brothers Devil’s Trill XXII: The Beverley Trillbillies. Nicely tropical with great body. It has that burn that all Blood Brothers IPAs seem to have. I’ll likely enjoy it more in four weeks.