One Night by The Establishment Brewing Company and Ale Architect

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.

ESB by Sea Change Brewing

I recently found out this blog ranks highly in search engine results for craft beer reviews so it seems the onus is on me to revive it. To that end, I'm going to start adding new reviews and looking for another contributor or two. Today I'm reviewing ESB by Sea Change , a local Edmonton brewery. I purchased this as part of six pack of singles I assembled myself at Sip Liquor Market , a great little beer-focused shop not far from my home. Is this an authentic attempt at an ESB or English Special Bitter? Read on and find out. Appearance: ESB comes in a 473mL can. The packaging features a custom illustration very much in line with Sea Change's highly consistent design language. Once poured, I can see that this beer is much darker than I expected. I anticipated copper or amber and what I got is brown. Visually it reminds me of a British brown ale more akin to Newcastle than a quintessential English bitter. Head retention was little to none and there was no lacing left on the gl...

Alive in the Superunknown by The Establishment Brewing Company

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...

Naughty Hildegard ESB by Driftwood Brewery

The classics never go out of style. Naughty Hildegard ESB is not a new beer to me. Instead, it's an old favourite from earlier days of my foray into craft beer. A friend recommended it to me over a decade ago, advising that it was a decidedly North American take on English Special Bitter. And that it is! Appearance: Naughty Hildegard pours a beautiful copper color that brings to mind classic American craft beers like strong pale ales, red ales and IPAs. I drank this from a classic Spiegelau PA glass. White foam pours thick but ebbs as you drink, leaving just a touch of lacing. Aroma: It smells like fruitcake. In a good way! There's a touch of dessert-like sweetness coupled with the scent of dried fruit. Underneath all of that is a subtle hint of resinous pine. Taste: This beer is sublimely balanced in the old school way with a solid malt foundation and decidedly West Coast hop profile. Caramel malt adds colour and sweetness without overpowering the bitterness and fruit flavour...

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