Black Oak 10 Bitter Years

Black Oak 10 Bitter Years Imperial IPA
8% abv.

On a few trips into Toronto, Jeff and I would stop at the Black Oak brewery to grab some beers and Jeff really liked the 10 Bitter Years Imperial IPA. But it's been a while.

"I haven't had this in a couple of years," Jeff said after cracking open a new bottle. "I was excited to see if it was as good as I remembered when I heard it was coming to the LCBO.

"It still has that punchy citrus hops in the smell with a hint of sweetness. The taste is great, tonnes of pine and citrus hops. The bitterness is in balance with the caramel sweetness of the malt," Jeff said.

"I think it's incredibly drinkable and it's my favourite from Black Oak."

Taste Real - small, but good

Jeff and I took our 9-month-old out to Ignatius Jesuit Centre on the weekend for the Taste Real festival, which highlights local food. This year, they had beer! (Perhaps no coincidence, this was the first year we've gone to the Taste Real festival).

There were supposed to be five breweries, but only four showed up: Spearhead, Grand River, F&M and Wellington. (Neustadt, where were you guys? You were on the list!)

I got the three sample bracelet, Jeff got the seven sample one and away we went. My first stop was actually at Spirit Tree Cidery from Caledon. While not a beer, I must say, these folks make a mighty fine cider. Jeff had the pub-style one and I had the Apelager. It was so good.

"This could be dangerous," I said to Jeff.

"Not likely. It's only 3%," he told me.

Oh well - it was still very tasty and didn't at all taste like there was even 3% alcohol in it.

We popped over to Wellington where they had their collaboration brew with F&M, Happy Pappy. It was made, not surprisingly, for Father's Day. It's a golden ale and while I've not always been a fan of Wellington's one-offs, this collaboration was really quite good. I liked it a lot, Jeff said it was "OK." He would have preferred it if the beer had been colder (the keg was in the sun and it was hot on Sunday).

It wasn't overly hoppy (perhaps why I liked it), but as Jeff said, "there wasn't nothing there."

Happy Pappy

Tara getting me my Happy Pappy.

My third and final sample was from Grand River - they had a ginger ale. I really liked the Tailset Ginger Ale - definitely something I could see myself drinking on a patio, and it was particularly nice on a hot day. The guys said they used Verner's ginger ale as inspiration, rather than the sweeter Canada Dry.

Jeff also had the Irish Red Ale (yes, IRA) and he really liked it, saying there was a nice roastiness to it.

Jeff also made a stop at Spearhead to try their Moroccan Brown Ale. He wasn't super keen on the beer, but again, wondered if maybe it just wasn't served in the right conditions.

I was happy to see our local breweries out and I was also happy to see they had different beers than the usual ones. Hopefully next year this event can grow even more (at least the beer part).

Wellington Shangri-La IPA

Having not tried this beer, my reaction is: Cool label! (The label was designed by local illustrator Michael Byers.)

Another Wellington one-off (gotta say, we love that this local brewery is constantly trying new things!), Shangri-La IPA is an American-style India Pale Ale.

When Jeff poured it from the can, he said there wasn't much head.

"I get some tropical fruit, pine and floral/grass scents. The hop taste is there, but it's more muted than I would like - I was hoping for much juiciness. It finishes nicely with the malt balancing the bitterness, but still allowing the hops to linger," he said.

Mikkeller The Canadian Dream

When Jeff has to travel to Denmark for work, he will search out a Mikkeller beer. So when The Canadian Dream arrived in the LCBO, he had to get it.

(OK, let's be honest, it's a new-to-the-LCBO craft beer - he would have gotten it if it wasn't Mikkeller ...)

The pilsener is renamed depending on what country it's in - in Denmark it's the Danish Dream, in the U.S., it's the American Dream. Whether the recipe varies, we're not sure.

The LCBO says it's 5.5% abv., Beer Advocate says it's 4.6%.

"The smell and taste have a lot more in common with an American IPA than a Czech pilsener. It's super hop forward and I get more pine and citrus as opposed to grassy and spicy hops," Jeff said.

"It's not bad - but I much prefer Mikkeller's Draft Bear Imperial Pilsener. Unfortunately, I've never found it outside of Denmark."

Our leader bee

The above photo is of Jeff, his sister Alison and their dad, Rick. It was taken at an Ale Trail at the Woolwich Arms in Guelph a couple of years ago.

Rick died suddenly in April.

While a loss is never easy, this one was particularly difficult because no one saw it coming, and we're still not really sure what happened.

This year is Jeff's first Father's Day as a dad himself, but it will be a bitter sweet day given he won't get to celebrate with his own dad.

Rick loved the Ale Trail, in part because I think it gave him a way to connect with his son. He and I also tended to get quite drunk at these events, which was also fun.

We'll be thinking of our Leader Bee today.

We hope when you have a beer today, you'll have some fond memories of your own father to reflect on. And if you could, say a little cheers to Rick.

Happy Father's Day, and happy start to Ontario Craft Brewing Week.

Goose Island Sofie Belgian-Style Farmhouse Ale

When Jeff and I went to Chicago a few years ago, we stopped into Goose Island one evening and really enjoyed the selection of beers they had on tap. They were clearly a brewery that enjoyed experimenting.

So Jeff was happy to see the Sofie Belgian-Style Farmhouse Ale in the LCBO recently.

"It pours a nice straw colour. The smell is fairly typical for the style: Banana, lemon and clove, and pepper. For flavours, I get honey along with grass, as well as some of the same flavours that were in the aroma," he said.

He said there's also some "alcohol burn" even though the beer is only 6.5% abv., "but it's not overly distracting."

"It's a really great beer overall," he said.

"They suggest it can be cellared for up to three years. I have one bottle left and I'll try to age it for a while - but I don't think I'll be able to hold out for three years."

It's nice to know this brewery is still producing good, craft beer, considering it was purchased in 2011 by Anheuser-Busch. Andrew Goeler, Goose Island's CEO as of Jan. 1, told Crain's Chicago Business their parent company is "letting us do our own thing ... I'm not getting directives."

The Goose Island brewpub sign.

Mmmmmm.

Alexander Keith's Cascade Hop Ale

Jeff really should trust his gut instincts.

"When I heard Alexander Keith's was trying to make a hop-forward beer, I was ready to hate it," he said.

But he was "surprised" when he cracked open the can and got a "whiff of cascade hops."

"But that quickly faded to wet cardboard," Jeff said.

"There's no hop juiciness to this at all. There's some caramel that then leads to a bitterish finish. It's watery, although less offensive than their standard IPA.

"Buying this only proves you're a glutton for punishment."

He noted he's heard Keith's Hallertauer Hop Ale offering "is better ... marginally."