Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Like Moosehead Pale Ale and Moosehead Lager, I have a sneaky suspicion that Clancy’s Amber and Clancy’s Red are the same beer in differently labelled bottles. The first giveaway is that neither beer is really all that red or amber in colour, more of a pale gold with orange hues. Again, the aromatic base is bready malt with very weak hints of caramel. The flavour does nothing to remind me of a Vienna style lager.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Clocktower has long been a constant of mine. They make a whole lineup of sold beers without any real bad ones in the bunch. I would rather have a brewery that makes a solid lineup than one that works on crafting a couple of standouts, and as a result others suffer (I’m looking at you Beau’s). Unfortunately, this is the beer that Clocktower took a miss on. Pale gold in colour with a weak bubbly head. Aroma is grass, some earthy hops, and some weak acidic notes. Flavour is very weak, an almost watered down sensation. One to avoid.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

A very good IPA. The tropical fruit notes send the flavour soaring to the highest heights. A hazed red-tinged golden colour with a snow white ring make up the appearance. Grainy malt combined with tropical fruit and yeast comprise the aroma. Light fruity flavours, and a bitter hop finish are the flavours of the day. Well done!

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

When this beer was originally released, few people paid any attention to the beer itself, rather they paid attention to the labels. A few years later, and people are raving about both. Collective Arts has no static label for any of their beers, when you buy a 6 pack, or a group of cans, each one will have a different drawing on the label…how neat is that? R&R is a mellow APA. The beer marries the sweetness of the malt with the citrusy bitterness of the hops like no other. Definitely a winner.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Another great beer from the fine folks at Collective Arts. While it’s a blond ale, it isn’t boring. It pours a slightly hazed medium gold colour with a frothy off-white cap sticks around long enough to say hello. The aroma is light grains, some light fruit, and floral hops. The flavour is a nice balance between the grains, the fruit, and the bitter hop finish. Perfect for those who like their blondes with a bit of oomph!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 8

Since early 2014, Session IPAs are everywhere. Some of them lack colour, some of them lack aroma, and a lot of them lack flavour. The people at Collective Arts realize that when it comes to beer, flavour is important! A nice hazed light golden colour with a decent sized white head. Grass and tropical fruit make up the aroma while the balance between the citrusy hop finish and the tropical fruit sweetness make this a great Session IPA.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

There is a time and place for every beer style, and when I am where I need to be for a porter, Stranger Than Fiction is in my top 20 list. A beautiful solid brown pour with black edges, it is topped off with a creamy dark brown head. Dark chocolate and coffee are the first things that hit both the nose and the tongue. Nothing too bitter here which makes it an easy drinking porter.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

While MolsonCoors and MillerCoors try to pass this off as a craft beer, it’s not. A hazed light yellow pour with a huge white head. The aroma is weak spices, light wheat notes, and tropical fruit. The flavour is metallic wheat, with hints of orange and coriander.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Belgian Ales have a place in my fridge all the time. This is a light brown ale, slightly hazed with a white cap. The aroma is sweet malt, yeast, and lemon zest. Ample spices are prevalent as well. The flavour is sweet caramel, yeast, and spices. Quite good.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

One of the more renowned beers that comes out of Belgium. It pours a dark gold colour, slightly hazy, with a white cap that lingers. The aroma is candy sugar, light fruit, yeast, grains, and some floral hops. The flavour is light sweet fruits, some burnt candy, yeast, and dessert spices. One of the first Belgians I tried over 20 years ago, and one I return to every now and then.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Not all rye ales are created equal, and this is one of the ones that excelled in the creation department. The pour is rust red with an off-white creamy head. The aroma is rye, spice, and weak citrus. The flavour is dominated by the spicy rye notes and caramel with a pleasant citrusy finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

This is quite possibly the thinnest stout I have ever had. It pours a dark black in colour with a creamy brown head. Lots of coffee and chocolate in the aroma, but not much vanilla or roasted malt. The flavour is much the same as the aroma with almost no vanilla.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

When this came out, there were people who were predicting it would take the Ontario IPA market by storm, and after it swung and missed, those people forgot their words (even though they were published). This is an average beer at best, but a below average IPA. It pours a clear copper colour with very little head. The aroma is more caramel than citrus, although the citrusy hop notes are certainly there. The taste is again, more sweet than citrus. Not one I seek out.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

A hazy pilsner – go figure! This beer pours a hazed medium gold from the can, with a thin white ring passing for a head. The aroma is biscuit malt, with notes of yeast and perfumy hops in the mix. The taste is sweet malt and yeast. Not much in the way of hops in the flavour.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

When I was in University many decades ago, there was a ginger beer available from England that was very good, but over time it disappeared from the shelves. This is not an ideal replacement. The beer pours a cloudy copper colour with a weak light brown head. The aroma is really just ginger and caramel, and anything else is lost in the mix. The flavour is a muddled mess of caramel notes, ginger, and citrus.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

This is a stout, a plain simple stout. Not an Irish stout, and not a specialty stout…just a stout. A black pour with a dark brown creamy head, this is only available on draught. Roasted malt and coffee dominate the aroma, while the flavour has more of a chocolatey feel to it. Nothing outstanding, just a solid beer!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Another in the long line of draught only beers from the GTA brewer County Durham. Hop Addict is a moderate ABV IPA with a lot of aroma, and not so much flavour, for me anyway. The beer pours a clear light copper colour with very little head. The aroma is nice citrusy hops, some caramel and some grains. The flavour however isn’t as hop forward as the aroma would indicate.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

This is the only beer I’ve seen from Durham in bottles. A light copper colour, clear, with a thin white head. Aroma is earthy hops, cereal malt, and yeast. Flavour is a nice balance between the malty sweetness and the hoppy bitterness but the feeling is that something is missing, it doesn’t hit you like it should.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Weizenbocks are very hard to find in North America, and dark weizenbocks are even rarer, so I was excited to see this one at the LCBO a while back. A dark brown pour, with a medium sized off-white head. Notes of chocolate, dark fruit, wheat and yeast make up most of the aroma. The flavour starts sweet with the wheat and fruit notes, but the finish is very bitter with the hops and chocolate.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

A decent draft beer. Quite a bit of haze on this one. Lots of yeast in the aroma, definitely some spices, possibly clove, and bread malts. It tastes alright with some definite citrus and spices up front. Finish is quite bitter!

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

I had this side by side with the 12, stuck viscoisity meter into both, and from what I can tell, two beers with identical colour, identical aromas, identical body, and identical flavours. I have to give them identical scores.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

A local find at the liquor store. I've tried it before but not rated it. A rusty brown pour with a thick off-white cap. Cap sticks around until the end. Lots of dark fruits (plums, raisins) in the aroma as well as notes of yeast, caramel, and burnt molasses. Flavour is on the sweet side for me with the caramel/fruit notes very strong. Not bad for a Canadian brewed doppelbock.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Got myself a 6-pack from the local liquor store (although my wife would rather I get my 6-packs at the gym). First thing I notice is that this is not as 'black' as the world reknowned stout. The aroma is dark roasted malt, and coffee. Flavour is watered down coffee. Everything about this beer was disappointing.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

A recent find at the liquor store. In most cases it is nice to see a brand expand its' lineup, but in the case of Guinness and brewing some of these new additions outside of Ireland, not such a great idea. Everything about this beer screams 'pale lager' from the light gold colour with the white head, the acidic grainy aroma, to the metallic grainy taste. Is this a result of brewing in a macro pale lager system, or just a bad recipe? Who knows, but not worth spending your money on.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

I find it hard to believe that I am opnly getting around to rating this now having had it hundreds of times in the past 40 years. Well, it's the stout by which all stouts are measured, so by that statement, it should get a 10 for everything....shouldn't it? I'll be quick about this. Appearance is dark brown with black edges and a huge creamy light brown head. The nose is rooasted malt, and coffee...good coffee. Flavour is a nice balance of roasted malt and bitter goldings. Can't beat it.