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

A true German Marzen! A clear metallic gold colour with a thin creamy white head which sticks around long enough to learn about your troubles. The aroma was a nice mix of yeast, grains, and caramel with some hops thrown in for good measure. The flavour is well balanced between the sweetness of the grains, the caramel, and the hops. A nice autumn beer.

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

Is this supposed to be simply a take on German styles in general or is it supposed to be an authentic attempt at a Marzen? It fails if the latter. A nice golden pour with some red highlghts, and a creamy white head that lasts. Aroma has more hops than a true marzen, and they compete unfavourably with the sweet malt. Flavour is the same for me, too hop forward for a true marzen instead of the malt being the star.

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

A weak yellow pour, slight cloudiness, with a weak white creamy head. Not looking so great so far. Aroma is light caramel, some weak spicy notes, yeast, and grains. So, a little better than a few minutes ago. Flavour starts off sweet with bread and caramel notes, and finishes dry and bitter with a definite hop bang. Not the world’s best Oktoberfest, but still good enough for me.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

At one time Hockley Valley made decent beer. Those days seem to have passed. This is described as a blonde ale which means anything is possible. It pours a light gold colour, a little bit of haze, and thin whitish ring for a head. The aroma is light fruit, cereal grains, and earthy hops. The flavour is gross however, the grains taste old, and the hops just don’t come through. Plenty of metallic notes however.

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

Another in a long line of mild beers from the creative minds at C’est What? This one is a murky medium gold colour with a frothy off-white head. The aroma is grass, some herbs, and some yeast. The flavour is light sweet fruit, with an almost spicy peppery finish. Different, but good.

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

I bought this at a local liquor outlet and the cashier told me it was English, needless to say that when I looked at the bottle and saw Trinidad I feel lied to. Anyway, a nice black pour with a brown cap. Lots of chocolate and sweet malt in the aroma. Flavour is very chocolatey with hints of coffee. Excellent value, despite the lack of knowledge at the LCBO.

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

A small brewery is making a big stout with some big flavours. A solid black beer with thin creamy light brown head that lingers. A huge pop of roasted malt and bitter chocolate notes hits you in the face upon opening while the flavours are a little more subdued, but still the same. Very impressive for a small brewery.

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

The beer appears a little on the light side for a stout. More of a dark brown than a black and the head is more of an off-white colour than a tan. The aroma is typical with roasted malt and cocoa with some underlying coffee hints. Flavour leans towards the bitter end of the spectrum. A decent tasting stout that could use some work on its’ appearance

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

This beer defines the definition of average. It’s a good looking coca-cola colour with a thin tight creamy tan head. There isa a lot of roasted malt and oats in the aroma with hints of chocolate, enough to make you want more. The flavours aren’t as bold as I would like with the roasted malt hiding the oats and chocolate notes

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

I’m not all that impressed with the F&M Brewery as I feel their beers lack complexity. This is a fine example of a beer that lacks complexity as the roasted malt is expected to carry both the aroma and the flavour and it falls short for me. There needs to be more of a coffee/chocolate note to make this a winner.

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

This stout entered Ontario as a brand new entry into the stout race and started near the top. This is a black beer with brown edges and a creamy light brown cap. Lots of coffee and roasted malt in the aroma and the flavour is nicely balanced between the sweet chocolate notes and the bitterness of the coffee and roasted malt

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

I was not too excited to try this beer because when I heard the name Frank because my first thought was Frank D’Angelo. Fortunately he’s not behind the brewery. Unfortunately the beer isn’t all that good. It’s nice and dark, but the aroma and flavour is a hot mess. Too much roasted malt, and not enough of anything else.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

English and Irish style stouts have been a part of the Canadian brewing scene longer than Canada’s been a country, and it’s almost mandatory that all new craft brewers in the country make either a dry stout or an oatmeal stout. This isn’t in the list of better ones. It starts off a nice dark coca-cola colour but after that, everything falls short. It’s a thin stout with very bland roasted malt notes and even weaker cocoa notes.

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

I've been told that this is the best beer in Canada and I believe it. It pours black with brown hints, and a thick dark brown head that lingers. The nose is greeted with a roasted malt, coffee, chicory, some licorice, and cocoa. The tongue is greeted with a complex concoction of coffee, chocolate, molasses, and licorice and finished off with whack of bitterness.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

A very dark brown beer with black edges, and a huge frothy brown head that stocks around until the end. Coffee, chocolate, and molasses can be noticed in the aroma with a little nuttiness. Flavour is on the sweet side for the style with the molasses and chocolate being the dominant forces on the tongue. Would have been better had it been a bit heavier

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

Another beer from Broadhead that has me and some friends of mine thinking ‘what we’re they thinking’. The pour is a solid dark brown, with a light brown creamy cap. Aroma is very much at the roasted malt/chocolate end of the spectrum with not much in the way of coffee. The flavour is rather one dimensional as well with lots of roasted malt and milk chocolate, and nothing too bitter to keep it in check.

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

I look at the scores and I didn't think this beer was as bad as others. It certainly outranks Corona in my books. A typical pale lager with a pale golden colour, white foamy cap, aroma of grass and weak hops, and the flavour is very grainy. I did not notice any adjuncts here, just a watered down lager.

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

Purchased at Liquor Control Board of Ontario store. This is one of those rare beers that tastes better out of the can than it does out of the bottle. It pours a medium gold colour, clear, with a white head and plenty of effervescence. The flavour is quite grainy with hints of herbal hops.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Purchased at Liquor Control Board of Ontario store. A lager that is like most North American yellow fizzy beers. A clear golden pour with a huge white head that disappears before your eyes. Grass and vegetables make up most of the aroma with a weak hop presence noted. The flavout is pretty skunky with plenty of metallic and acidic notes dominating any clean grain flavours.

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

Purchased at Liquor Control Board of Ontario store. It’s a clear gold colour with a white head. There are notes of biscuit malts, and earthy hops, and a little bit of spice. The flavour is quite bitter with acidic and metallic malty notes. Easily avoided.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

There was a time when one could easily sample 90% of the beers brewed in Canada, mainly just by visiting the capital city in each province and asking for directions to the bar with the most taps. Then the 80s turned into the 90s and there was change afoot. It was during those mid-80s days when I tried the Oland and Moosehead beers for the first time on a trip to Halifax. Sadly, I was presented with a string of pale gold beers with white heads, and a definite grainy malt presence in the nose and taste. Fast forward 30 years, and nothing has changed.

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

Classic? Classic what? I’ll keep this review brief because the less said, the better. The beer is yellow, very clear, and a snow white head. The aroma is phenolic in nature with corn and spice in the mix. The flavour is bland, with metallic and acidic overtones making it almost undrinkable.

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

One of the telltale signs of a macro brewer is the inability to brew any beer greater than 5% without the alcohol becoming noticeable in the flavour. James Ready 5.5 is a perfect example of a beer that has such a pronounced alcohol presence in the aroma and flavour that only a 16 year old buys it on his prom night. Makes you wonder how these ‘accomplished’ brewers are unable to accomplish the simple task of brewing a 5.5% beer while every craft brewer on the planet thinks that 5.5% is ‘light’.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

Like a lot of stuff from China, one has to wonder whether this beer is a Bud/Miller/Coors knockoff because it’s really bad. The beer is a very light gold in colour with little to no head. Lots of adjuncts in the aroma and the flavour make Yanjing a very bad beer.