Craft Beer Reviews Canada

Is The Establishment Alberta's best brewer of hazy IPAs? It's an entirely valid question that has no definite answer as of yet. But I'll start this review by stating that this beer makes a strong case for yes . In my experience, hazy or New England-style IPAs tend to fall between 6 and 7% ABV. Anything higher than 7.5% is frequently classified as a double or imperial IPA. Alive in the Superunknown comes in at 8.3% and The Establishment has purposefully labeled it an Imperial Hazy IPA. The thing about hazy IPAs is that they don't always fare well with the additional grain bill required to hit a higher alcohol content.  The West Coast-style IPAs of the 2000s and early 2010s handled a higher ABV quite well by offsetting the additional body and alcohol burn with blistering pine and citrus hop flavours thanks to old school varieties like Cascade, Centennial, Columbus and others. But hazy IPAs are more delicate in some ways. Extra body and alcohol burn are not characteristics...

Super Saturation by Cabin is a benchmark of sorts for Alberta hazy IPAs. In the hazy history of New England-style IPAs in this province that likely exists only in my head, I think of Super Saturation as the beer that dethroned Blindman Brewing's New England Pale Ale, an early (and unimaginatively named) entry to the style in this province. Blindman was the first brewery here that I can think of that added a hazy to their core release program. Since the origins of Super Saturation, Cabin has released a number of variations on that beer—or at least leaned into the name with releases like Saturation, Super Duper Saturation, Summer Saturation, and Total Saturation. And now comes Hyper Saturation, which I picked up on a recent visit to Sip Liquor Market , a local bottle shop not far from my home. Is this new Hyper Saturation release worth of the Saturation name and history? In a word, no. At least not the particular can that I tried on a lazy Sunday winter afternoon. Appearance: I had ...

A quick and easy review of Cactus Head , a beer from Blood Brothers Brewing that caught my eye while I was looking through the new IPAs at Sip Liquor Market . Appearance: Nice can with a cool design. Blood Brothers tends to vary the look and feel of their packaging. Not very consistent from a branding perspective but it always looks good. This beer pours hazy yellow. Nice fluffy head with very fine bubbles that faded to a frothy film that stuck around. Medium lacing. Aroma: Smells like white wine with a vegetal or grassy note. Taste: Strong grapefruit and gooseberry flavours with a slightly vinous, acidic aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Really nice, fluffy body with slightly lower carbonation. Overall: Tasty! Blood Brothers nailed the mouthfeel for this beer which leaves me eager to try more of their hazy IPAs. For me, a soft, pillowy body is what really defines this style of beer and is the quickest way to differentiate a brewery that gets it versus one that doesn't. Rating: 3.5 out ...

Apparently inspired by a cannabis strain, Blue Dream is a hazy IPA infused with plant terpenes designed to give this beer the smell of marijuana. Appearance: The can is visually distinct from all other Four Winds releases that I have seen. (The Four Winds brand doesn’t seem to have a strong design language. There's like four or five different design templates for their cans.) Blue Dream is hazy and yellow gold with a head that settles quickly and then dissapears completely, leaving almost no lacing. (I assume the additional terpenes inhibit foam formation.) Aroma: Does it smell like pot? I’m not an expert, but I think not really. I do get a sort of vegetal smell, maybe a little spice and not too much fruit. Flavour: Tough to pinpoint but I think there is some stonefruit in there. Some hops make beer taste fuzzy and I don’t know yet how to explain or elaborate on that any better. But this beer is fuzzy. There is a really strong ginger component to the flavour which is actually kind ...

I really like single hop beers for their educational value—there’s no better way to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of different hops. Mikkeller, one of my favourite breweries of all time, had a wonderful series of single hop IPAs a decade or so ago that was instrumental to my understanding of classic North American hop varieties like Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo, Simcoe and many more. So I was happy to see that Four Winds has a newer series of single hop releases with more contemporary hops coming out under the name Monocle. This was my first sampling of this series. Aroma: Smells like yard and garden clippings—in a good way. I personally get that from a lot of modern IPAs with new hop varieties. Taste: Very strong stone fruit finish, like peach or apricot. Bit of dank and a touch of grain which I like. (Maybe some blueberry notes as it warms—gets a little more sour too.) Mouthfeel: Pretty nice. Doesn’t fully achieve the fluffy cloud-like feeling I associate with an ou...

Appearance: Glory Days is a really good looking beer that poured clear and golden into one of my Spiegalau IPA glasses. The head disappeared quickly and never really returned though it left some light lacing. I suspect the packaging is an amalgam of the two brands that collaborated on this beer but it comes off looking like one of Cabin’s weaker can designs. Aroma: Smell is overripe tropical fruit. It's very nice. Taste: And it tastes like it smells. Tropical fruit. Maybe a hint of grain and just a barely perceptible touch of grass or other vegetal flavour. This is a tasty beer. Mouthfeel: It's an ISA. So it features a lighter malt bill. Carbonation is spot on but there's a thinness to the beer that's expected from an India Session Ale, which is a lighter form of IPA. Session in this case refers to a drinking session—meaning that, unlike a stronger IPA, you can drink more than one or two at a time because its less filling and contains less alcohol. Overall: This is a ...

Appearance: Packaged in a 473mL can featuring a minimalist geometric design inspired by both The Establishment Brewing Company and Ale Architect brands. Beer is yellow, opaque and resembles grapefruit or lemon juice. Head dissapates quickly to a thin film but continues to lace the glass. Aroma: It smells like grapefruit juice. Taste: Despite the appearance and aroma, this beer does not taste like grapefruit juice. Instead, it features the flavour of limes coupled with unidentified tropical fruit. There is also a hint of grass and a touch of tartness. This beer is undeniably delicious. Mouthfeel: There is a light touch to the carbonation which suits the style. The beer features the fluffy mouthfeel expected from a good hazy IPA. Overall: This is a winner. There's a lot to like: the lighter colour, the combination of citrus and tropical fruit flavours, and the perfect New England-style body. Find it and drink it. Rating: 4 out of 5.

I will start by acknowledging that this is not a Canadian beer. This is a seasonal release which the German brewery distributes internationally each year. Appearance: Traditional looking 400mL bottle with classic labeling. Beer is crystal clear yellow. Foam quickly disappears and leaves no lacing. Aroma: Mostly floral with the slightest hint of dough. Taste: The hop characteristics are overwhelmingly floral and grassy. The malt profile is more like cracker than bread. Mouthfeel: Carbonation is medium-low. Body is medium and slightly slick. Overall: I know this beer well and I love it. North American lagers pale in comparison. This is by far my favourite lager beer and I look forward to its release each year. Rating: 4.5 out 5. 

This is a quick review of Classic IPA by Nokomis Craft Ales from Nokomis, Saskatchewan. Appearance: Classic IPA comes in a traditional 335mL can featuring clean and simple graphic design. The beer pours a little hazy but has a nice copper colour with head that lasts throughout the glass and leaves thick lacing. Aroma: I smell resinous pine and a touch of candy. Taste: Citrus, pine and just the right amount of sweetness. This is a really well balanced. Mouthfeel: Carbonation is slightly less than medium. Body is slightly fuller than average. Perfect for the style. Overall: It's rare to find such a prototypical example of a West Coast IPA released by a brewery that was founded in the last 10 years. I really enjoyed this beer, which is the first I have tasted and reviewed by this brewery. Rating: 3.5 out of 5