Tag Archives: ipa

Fracture Double IPA — Amsterdam Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: May 1, 2013

I love hops, and I hope you do too. In fact, I have three hop plants on order from Toronto Brewing as we speak. I also have a hop vine at my mother’s house. So, you would assume that I was a pretty big hop head. Give me the biggest, brashest, hoppiest thing you can find. No malts, they’re for the weak. Etc. But I’m not. Actually, I value balance and subtlety a lot more, as I spend more and more time drinking excellent beers. Anybody can make a basic beer and chuck a crate of hops in it, but crafting a balanced beer, even if it is hop-forward, is no small feat. Because of this, I tend to prefer…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged ale, amsterdam brewing co., dipa, hops, iipa, ontario, top-pick | 2 Responses

6-4-3 Double IPA — Left Field Brewery

By chris | Published: April 29, 2013

Wow. Just Wow. How about Left Field Brewery? I don’t know if you remember when, a few weeks ago (March 4th, to be specific) I mentioned Left Field Brewery launching. I remember, because it was the single biggest day of traffic on my blog. Seriously. People were jazzed about the new baseball-themed beer. Obviously, I have something of an interest here. Mark and Mandy Murphy, the duo behind Left Field, are friends of mine, and Mark and I do our monthly home brew webcast, Brewmance. But my own interests didn’t prepare me for the onslaught of love and attention they were about to receive. Between savvy branding and excellent products, Mark and Mandy have seen their beers launch, been featured…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged ale, dipa, hops, left field brewery, ontario | 3 Responses

Hopwired IPA — 8 Wired Brewery

By chris | Published: April 18, 2013

Did you ever read The Chrysalids in school? Remember Sealand, the awesome country where telepaths were normal and encouraged? Sealand was New Zealand. It survived the nuclear holocaust, basically because it’s such an awesome place. Even Wyndham knew that it was that awesome. Think about it: It’s Middle Earth; they have the All Blacks; Marlborough makes some of the nicest wines in the New World; they were the first country to elect a female Prime Minister; they have some of the most progressive conservation programs for their endangered wildlife; and of course, there’s Flight of the Conchords. Not only are they growing incredible grapes for wine, but New Zealand has become something of a rock star in the hop production…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged 8 wired brewery, hops, new zealand, top-pick | Leave a comment

Roman Candle IPA — Bellwoods Brewery

By chris | Published: April 2, 2013

I love a good fireworks display. When I was younger, it was all about lighting off the kind you buy at pop-up shops on the way to the cottage, firing them off over the lake on Victoria Day, Canada Day, and midnight on New Year’s. As I’m getting older, I prefer just wandering down my street to the beach to take in the display from Ashbridges Bay (a much safer option. When I was about 21, I had a fairly large commerical firework jam and explode about 18″ from my head, as I was lighting another one; not cool). I also have some pretty serious concerns about airborne heavy metals after displays (Google it, it’s disturbing), and while I don’t…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged bellwoods brewery, hops, top-pick | Leave a comment

Hop Head Black IPA – Tree Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: June 13, 2012

And BC beer week just keeps on going. Back to a Tree product (not the last), their highly regarded Hop Head Black IPA. This stuff sold like crazy in Kelowna where it’s made, and was talked about all over BarTowel.com among other places. Black IPA – or Cascadian Dark Ale – is a fairly newly recognized style. In fact, there is no shortage of people who still won’t recognize it. I tend to defer to others on what actually constitutes a “style”, but I would agree that this type of beer needs to be classed as “something”, even if it’s simply a sub-class of another style (IPA, for instance). If you’ve never had one and you like Russian Imperial Stouts…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged bc, bc beer week, black ipa, tree, tree brewing, tree brewing co. | Leave a comment

10 Bitter Years XI – Black Oak Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: April 12, 2012

Ten Bitter Years XI - Black Oak Brewing Co.

Every year, in Munster Indiana, there is a migration of sorts. While it doesn’t have the drama of David Attenborough narrating the migrations of the Serengeti, it may well be the largest migration of beer geeks in the western hemisphere. I am, of course, talking about Dark Lord Day. The one day a year you can purchase Three Floyd’s Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout. This huge RIS is widely considered one of the best beers in the world, and 6000 geeks, all holding pre-bought tickets, turn up for a festival including beer, food, music, and the star attraction, Dark Lord RIS. Now, Dark Lord Day doesn’t happen until the last Sunday in April (though I think it’s now sold-out), but…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Event | Also tagged black oak, dipa, double ipa, hops, ontario, top-pick | 2 Responses

Lake Effect IPA – Great Lakes Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: March 27, 2012

So, I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it: Great Lakes Project X is an awesome event. And it happens every month, so I hardly have an excuse for missing it so damn much. If you’re not familiar, Project X is run by Great Lakes Brewery. Each month they brew up a couple of interesting/one-off/sometimes-disturbing beers, and serve them up to legions of fans. Pretty simple really. It’s generally hosted at the brewery, though of late they have been taking them afield. The event is nearly always the second Thursday of the month, and the next one (following that pattern) is April 12th, and it will be at the Victory Cafe. As that’s about 20 minutes closer to my…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged ale, great lakes, great lakes brewery, hops | Leave a comment

St Ambroise India Pale Ale – McAuslan Brewing Inc

By chris | Published: November 18, 2011

McAuslan is another one of those breweries, that if you read here enough, you know I’ve got a bit of a thing for. A big bit of a thing. Their Pale Ale is just amazing, their Oatmeal stout is one of my favourite stouts, their Citrouille is probably my favourite pumpkin beer; the list goes on. Needless to say, I was more than happy to receive a selection of their current line-up, including this, their India Pale Ale, as well as their Scotch Ale and new Russian Imperial Stout. Now, I know that McAuslan makes some very authentic English-style ales, despite being located in Montreal (okay, in a suburb, whatever). Despite the explosive (dare I say “unlikley”) rise of IPAs…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged hops, mcauslan, top-pick | Leave a comment

Escondidian Imperial Black IPA – Stone Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: September 14, 2011

Okay, if you’re not familiar with Stone Brewing Co. of California, I will assume you’re from Ontario, and give you some grace for our common geographical lacking. If everyone else will give me a moment to chat to my Ontario cohorts. Stone is one of the top brewers in the states, producing some amazing beers, including Arrogant Bastard Ale, Stone Ruination IPA, Stone Levitation Ale and many others. It’s just (go figure), you can hardly get them here in Ontario. I was lucky enough to share this bottle with Stephen Beaumont yesterday (among others) and just had to take notes for a review. Stone created this beer for their 15th anniversary, and it’s a big one. Befitting a brewer of…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged black ipa, california, hops, imperial ipa, stone brewing co, top-pick, usa | Leave a comment

Hop Head IPA – Tree Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: September 11, 2011

I know we’ve talked about this before, but it’s just a fact: There are a lot of awesome IPAs from the west coast. Now I’ll add the usual caveat: I consider anything west of Regina “West Coast”, which makes calling a beer from Tree Brewing out of Kelowna BC, “West Coast”. I have done this ever since a BC-born friend of mine referred to me, with no joking in his voice, as an “East Coaster”. I found this interesting, as there is about 1000km between where I live and where the ocean is. According to Google I can actually be in salt water quicker by heading north (if I’m flying, and seriously, who wold drive?) and going to James Bay,…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged bc, hops, top-pick, tree brewing co. | 2 Responses