Pours a cloudy darker yellow, slightly orange, decent white bubbly head with spotty lace and a bit of retention. Nose is all Nelson Sauvin, quite strong with no malt to obscure it. Slightly white wine-like acidity, gooseberry, lime and maybe a bit of grapefruit, fresh grass, slight green garlic. Very impressive fresh hop character for a ‘light beer’. On the palate the hops are again dominant, but the lightness of the beer much more apparent. Flavours are pretty similar to the aromas though the balance is tilted more towards citrus rind/pith at the beginning and in the middle there is a faintly sour/tart plus garlic/onion character before the citrus takes over again. A bit of kiwi as well. The malts are very plain with no sweetness, a little grain, crackery and dry on the finish. Low bitterness, mild flavor on the finish though there is a bit of hop/grain aftertaste. Carb is moderate, body light and lightly watery as expected for the ABV. I’ll admit that the idea of a low alcohol session beer isn’t really for me. I prefer a mix of moderate to high alcohol beer and water in separate glasses, rather than together. That said, on its own merits as a light beer, this is quality stuff and the aroma extraction from the hops is as good as a typical APA.

Bottle: Poured a pale yellow color ale with a super large foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of light floral hops notes with some light citrus undertones. Taste is also dominated by floral hops with some light citrus notes and a sweet non-descript malt backbone. Body is about average with good carbonation. Fell a bit short in terms of hops flavours.

(500ml bottle from brewery) Pours a slightly hazy yellow orange, tiny white bubbly head and no lace. Aroma is sweet, hoppy and of moderate strength; orange/grapefruit rind, mango, fresh pine needles, floral, also some grainy pale malt/wheat notes. Palate is more subdued, citrus (especially grapefruit), pine, floral and slightly spicy Centennial-type character, pale malt, wheat, quite grainy. Fairly dry, lightly bitter, mineral finish with grain persisting. Mouthfeel fairly light, carb active and medium-high. This is obviously a Monogamy-type pale ale, can’t have a single-hop with Zythos anyway since it’s a blend. It’s not a bad ’Monogamy’, but it’s not the best one.

(500ml bottle from the brewery) Pours a quite hazy pale orange with a big bubbly white head that leaves a ring and a lot of lace. Aroma pungent/dank/earthy hops, orange and tree fruit from hops/yeast, slight pepper, Belgian yeast character, malt sweetness. On the palate, sweetness from pale and crystal malt plus fruit from yeast/hops at first, tangerine and tree fruit, plus grassy/dank hops. Malt sweetness fades pretty promptly, leaving a fruity core, and that dank herbal hop character leads to a dry, somewhat peppery finish with a bit of Belgian yeast but not much. It’s moderately bitter for an IPA. Mouthfeel is medium-full, carb moderate but lively and fine. The parallels to Cat Lady are unsurprising given the Summit/Simcoe core to this beer as well, but the slightly sweet fruity yeast character differentiates this from its sister beer. Both are great IPAs, and it’s a fine time to be doing bottle runs to Bellwoods...

(500ml custom-label bottle from the brewery, no Brett) Pours a hazy straw yellow, decent head of white foam with a bit of spotty lace left behind. Aroma yeast-forward, some light banana esters, fresh white bread, a little bit of spice, also some lemon, herb/grass, touch of grain. Flavour has a little bit of malt sweetness to begin but already bitter/tart, which builds throughout. Some spice, lemon/orange, hay and herb type floral hops, bready yeast. Quite dry and slightly bitter by the end with grain and the dusty yeast character clinging to the top of the mouth that I associate with a to-style Belgian saison. Mouthfeel quite light, carb effervescent and prickly. I think this is a good take on a traditional farmhouse saison without spice additions, serious funk or any other tricks. Nothing sticks out, but very competently made and refreshing.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a small dark brown foamy head with minimal retention and no lacing. Aroma of black bitter chocolate notes with some light cherry flavors and some cognac and warming alcohol notes are also perceptible. Taste is also dominated by bitter black chocolate notes with some tart cherry notes that are quiet subtle and some warming alcohol Cognac notes. Body is quite full with low carbonation and some apparent alcohol. Good but I get the feeling there is something that doesn’t really fits in this mix.

(Shared glass on draught at the brewpub, Nov 14 2013) Pours a slightly hazy dark yellow, fairly small white head, little bit of lace. Aroma grassy, little bit of citrus, tropical fruit, a bit grainy, a bit tart. Flavour citrus flesh, some tropical fruit, cut grass at first. Lightly tart and berry-ish in the middle, light somewhat grainy malt, a light bitterness towards the finish with slight spice hints and a bit of lingering fruity/tart character. Light-bodied, dry throughout, moderate carb - refreshing and fairly flavourful for the low abv. Would be great to drink earlier in the day on a patio in the summer. Fear it was rather overpowered when I had it, splitting a glass late in a session immediately off the back of hoppy beers as a breather before some imperial stout.

13th November 2013
Tasting at Bruce’ s pad. Thanks to Colin for this one. Hazy gold-amber beer. Good pale cream coloured head. Softish airy palate with light fine citrus. Softish airy malt. Skunky hops with a touch of pine and even a whisper of mint. Very mild citrus underneath. Light dry finish provides a flash of lime peel. Nice!

Bottle at Mr Bois’s 5K, from the main man himself. It pours hazy golden-amber with a thick white head. The nose is wood, earth, varnish, grapefruit, orange and plenty of dank skunky hop action. The taste is wood, earth, toast, rather dry, grapefruit, orange peel, sherbet, some astringency, skunk and varnish with a dry, bitter finish. Medium body, fine carbonation and foamy mouth-feel. Smooth, balanced and really rather tasty. Great stuff.