This easy-drinking pale ale has a crackery malt bill with light aromas of citrus and perfumey florals, leading to a bready sip that leads to a crisp, lightly bitter finale. With talented young brewer Zoei Thibault at the helm, this brewery is set to open its doors in Calgary’s Inglewood neighbourhood later this year.
Drinking some dark sour beers is like drinking coffee with lemon juice. Nope. Luckily Northern Maverick’s Tart of Darkness gets it right. This copper ale mixes notes of toast and toffee with tons of dark fruit — plums, fresh figs and sultanas — and a light, tarty kick. Easy drinking but not overly complex, it’s like a “starter” Flanders Red.
Mascot’s brewmaster Siobhan McPherson (Mill Street, Amsterdam, Burdock) is boss, as is evident in her latest sour ale. Fermented with souring yogurt, this kettle sour’s lactic funk is balanced by refreshing cucumber, tart pineapple and a tingle of ginger on the finish.
Get ready for more soursop sour beers in Canada. The tropical fruit, aka Brazilian paw paw, graviola or custard apple, is the latest “it” fruit in sour beers because it’s got a tangy pineapple or strawberry flavour. This brew’s racy acidity helps the orange, apricot and lemon notes shine, finishing dry with zero bitterness. The acidity makes this beer fun to use in salad dressing (just swap out some of the oil in your dressing) or sip it alongside fruit salad or nachos and guacamole.
Dark yellow, generous lasting foam. Nice smell of hops and a cocktail of tropical fruits (noticeable pear, banana and passion fruit). Light round body, slightly bitter throughout. Fresh taste in spite of a somewhat low acidity. Lasting finish.
Dark brown, thick, lasting light brown foam. Butterscotch, caramel and dark chocolate on the rich nose. Gently smooth in its attack, it becomes full and round in the mid-palate and finishes on a sweet caramel note with only a tad of bitterness.
Dark yellow, hazy. Nose of green hops with citrus notes. Tingling at first (the acidity...), it turns very smooth in the mid-palate. Refreshing bitterness in the great long finish.