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.

Down the New Zealand Pilsner Rabbit Hole

There are many different beer styles but the majority are well-established and well-known to brewers. Their characteristics and the ingredients that comprise them are generally understood and accepted. That said, the craft beer explosion over the past decade or two has led to an evolution and expansion of traditional beer canon. New styles have emerged. Some have trended then waned—take white IPAs or India Pale Lagers for instance—while others seem to have completely redefined the brewing industry. (Yes, I'm talking about hazy or New England-style IPAs and pale ales.) New Zealand (NZ) Pilsner is a relatively new and seemingly only loosely defined style. Most articles on the style have been written in the past three years. Popular primarily in its country of origin and among homebrewers, its defining features seem to be that it is brewed mostly with Pilsner malt and NZ-grown hops. Much has been written about hops from NZ, especially Nelson Sauvin , a particularly standout vari...

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 ou...

Classic IPA by Nokomis Craft Ales

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

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