Craft Beer Reviews Canada

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

Autumn is a wonderful time for those of us who really like good beer because two kinds of limited release beers hit the shelves: Oktoberfest and fresh hop. I enjoyed a number of Oktoberfest beers this year but I had a hard time finding fresh hop ales in Edmonton. My absolute favourite is Sartori Harvest by Driftwood Brewery but apparently it was not distributed in Alberta this year. Too bad! Fresh hop ales are made with freshly picked hops during the fall hop harvest. The hops are typically picked and then transported directly to the brewery to be added to beers. Normally hops are dried and further processed for longer-term storage and stability so fresh hop beers are a special treat. This is my first time drinking and reviewing this fresh hop ale from Cannery Brewing. Cannery has been in business for over two decades and I've been lucky to visit their taproom in Penticton, BC. Appearance: Fresh Hop Extra Pale Ale comes in a very traditional-looking can that fits in nicely with Can...

 I'll preface this review by stating for the record that I'm a big fan of Polyrhythm Brewing in Edmonton. It might be my favourite brewery here. There's a lot to like about it, starting with the very nice people who own it. From there, it ticks a number of boxes: friendly staff; casual tap room; and of course, good beer. Polyrhythm brews a lot of hazy IPA. Probably more than anyone else in the city. They have some mainstays like Snare Buzz, which is a high quality hazy IPA on par with Super Saturation by Cabin—at least to my palate. But they also output quite a range of limited release hazy IPAs. I feel like they use a relatively standardized grist—almost all of the variations I have tried clock in at 6.5%—but that they experiment with a lot of different hop bills and schedules. At some point I'll probably undertake a sort of review of the whole brewery as I intend to add content like that to this website. But for now, I'm sharing thoughts on Polyphonic, a relativel...