Monocle Single Hop IPA with Nectaron by Four Winds

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 outstanding hazy IPA but it’s not too full. Just maybe a little crisper than I’d like. Carbonation seems about right.

Overall: It’s a gooder. I wouldn’t seek it out but I’m happy I had it. What did I learn about Nectaron? A stone fruit bomb, at least in my opinion—with a nice touch of dank.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Do Stuff Together by Mikkeller

The core purpose of this blog is ostensibly the review of Canadian-made craft beer. But I will veer off-course from time-to-time. This review of an American-style beer brewed in Belgium by a Danish brewer is one of those times. There's a lot to like about Mikkeller . The homebrewer in me loves the story behind the company, from its homebrew roots, to its establishment as a virtual brewery, to its evolution into a global craft beer brand. The marketing professional in me loves the brewery's branding, focused as it is on the illustrative style of their talented art director, Keith Shore . And most importantly, as a fan of craft beer, I love that their output is universally pretty good. Mikkeller's beers are typically sold as singles, at least in Alberta. In fact, I don't believe I've ever come across a four- or six-pack of Mikkeller beer. Do Stuff Together is no different. This is a premium beer with a premium price of just under $10 for a single 473mL can. It is...

Entropy Series No. 11: Whisky Sour by Dageraad Brewing

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Classic IPA by Nokomis Craft Ales

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