Black Oak Nut Brown Ale

English Brown Ale is a great beer style, I'll just throw that out there.  It can be malty, complex, and yet not hoppy enough to turn people off.   Brown Ale was one of the beer types that convinced me that there was more to beer than fizzy lager so I have always had a soft spot for it and always pounce on the opportunity to try a new one.  I am actually surprised I had never had Black Oak's Nut Brown before, maybe they haven't been selling it outside the GTA for that long, but I found it in Ontario's much maligned Beer Store so I decided to grab myself a six pack.  

It pours a proper brown colour, lighter than some but darker than more popular brown ales (I'm looking at you Newcastle) so it definitely looks the part.  The nose is a satisfying malty flavour with strong caramel and coffee notes to it but neither of those are dominant.  They advertise chocolate notes as well, although I didn't really notice that, coffee and caramel yes but chocolate not so much.  On the intro to the sip you really get the coffee flavour, the malt is quite front loaded but not over the top which I quite like but it sorta disappoints from there.  After the coffee and malty intro it really falls off badly, I found the middle and finish to be quite watery with a hit of hops on the finish.  It is certainly drinkable but I found that it was a little bit disappointing given the promising intro and nose.  I certainly am willing to give this more time (I have 5 more in the fridge) but first impressions are that it needs work. 

It's available at the beer store, the LCBO, their brewery in Etobicoke as well as in some bars and restaurants in Ontario.

Alc 5% 

Rating 3 Steins

What you need to know

Website

http://www.blackoakbeer.com/

Twitter

@blackoakbrewing

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/blackoakbrewery?fref=ts

Brewery Address

75 Horner Ave, #1-

Toronto, ON

Tree Brewing Company: Cutthroat West Coast Ale

One phenomenon of the Craft Beer revolution is that geographic monikers get added to beer styles.  Until recently you never had an American Pale Ale, or a California Pale Ale or indeed a West Coast Pale Ale so breweries often take creative license with the definitions.  In my mind West Coast Pale ale is synonymous with American Pale Ale, which is synonymous with a whole pile of hops, however they only advertise this as being 38 IBU (and is just called West Coast Ale) so I didn't know what to expect, as it turns out I got a pretty good beer.

Cutthroat pours a nice burnt orange colour, which as loyal readers will know, is what I consider a sign of a proper pale ale so it was already promising.  The nose is not strong, but has a nice subtle sweet malt smell to it, some beers have really potent noses and weak tastes, this one has a weaker nose but good taste so that is a plus.  The sip opens with a slightly watery and minerally taste, this can be a bit deceptive as it progresses into a very sweet malt middle.  They say it has toffee notes, which I agree with, it's actually more like caramel to be specific but it's quite nice.  This sweet malt progresses into a distinctly ale-like finish with a surprisingly citrussy hop taste to it.  The hops don't have much of a presence until the finish/aftertaste but they are a welcome addition.  Overall it's an interesting beer, it starts as a sweet malty beer that is reminiscent of a Vienna lager (Stiegl and Gösser are good comparative examples) but the finish is an assertive reminder that this is indeed an Ale.  I find that the watery intro is an odd contradiction that makes me struggle to fully enjoy the beer, it's good but not great.

It's brewed in BC but distributed across Canada.  In Ontario you can get it in the LCBO, a full list of cities is available on their website.

Alc 5.0% IBU 38

Rating: 3 Steins

What you need to know

Website
http://www.treebeer.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/treebeer?fref=ts

Twitter
@treebrewing

Brewery Address
1083 Richter St
Kelowna, BC
V1Y 2KG

Underdogs Brewhouse, All or Nothing Hopfenweisse

One of the many advantages of Ontario relaxing their prohibition era liquor laws is that the LCBO is carrying more and more interesting craft beers, so when I dropped in last night I had to pick up a few new ones, for research purposes of course.  One of the ones I picked up was All or Nothing Hopfenweisse I beer type I don't normally drink by a brewery I had never heard of.  It's all part of the adventure of being a reviewer, and unlike other reviewers of other things I get beer, so without further ado, let's find out if this was a win, or a loss.

Underdogs are a rare breed of craft brewery in that they only brew one beer, hence the name all or nothing.  The rationale behind this is that you focus all of your efforts to make one beer really well, and Underdogs describe it as a beer unlike you have never seen before so I was looking forward to it.  It pours a cloudy orange colour, underscoring it's weisse credentials (which is always a good start) and on the nose you get very strong banana notes with an assertive wheatiness that really shows a lot of potential.  As a result of  the nose I was really looking forward to having a taste but sadly the nose is really the strong point of the beer.  As the sip starts you get an overwhelming taste of pretty much nothing unfortunately.  It starts with a mineral water flavour that progresses into a light beer esque middle that trails off with a slightly sour and bitter beery taste. I couldn't detect any of the tasting notes they have on their website so writing this review was quite difficult.  I really wish there was more to this beer as it is a pretty easy drinking brew, but it really doesn't taste like much.  It's a shame because the pour and the nose have so much potential, but the overall product is a letdown.  I wish every brewery success but I fear these guys won't go very far with a product that falls this flat, unfortunately I won't be buying it again.

It's available at the LCBO as well as at bars and restaurants throughout Ontario. 

Alc 5.1% IBU 25

Rating 1.5 steins. 

What you need to know

 Website
http://underdogsbrewhouse.com

Twitter
@underdogbeer

Facebook
 https://www.facebook.com/UnderdogsBrewhouse

Brewery address
1100 Skae Drive
Oshawa, ON L1J 7A1