Lake of Bays 10 Point IPA Review

I picked up this gorgeous looking bottle last week for $8.95 from the local LCBO.

The first thing I noticed about this beer is its fantastic color. There was something about it that made me fall in love - it was deep amber with some mahogany hues and just so perfectly clear with absolutely no bubbles rising from the base of the glass. The head was creamy and medium thick and receded leaving a decent amount of lacing behind. 

Strong hops and toasted aromas rise from the glass, but not much else. The taste is a bit more subtle than I anticipated with toasted malt taking the stage, leaving the hops behind. Some caramel and nuts are also present and compliment the malt, but I just wish there was a bit more of the hops.

The finish is a tad spicy and heavy on the malt. The caramel and nuts compliment the finish very well, which leaves a satisfying feeling, but the hops are, again, nowhere to be found. Caramel notes also make an appearance and give the finish some sweetness.

I enjoyed this IPA, but I felt like it was a bit too plain, too standard.

Scores:

Cost - $8.95

Taste - 7.7/10

ABV - 6%

Overall - 7.7/10...very enjoyable, but lacks depth

Puckering Punch Vodka Beverage Review

Besides Sucking Lemons, Jaw Drop brought a second vodka beverage to the shelves of LCBO. The beverage comes in the same eye catching can.

For those wondering, the contents of the can are the same color as the hands on the can. The drink smells like a generic, sour fruit punch with almost no vodka smell. This drink is more up my alley than Sucking Lemons. It starts off with a nice sour-ish punch with minimal vodka taste and transitions to a sweet/sour fruit punch taste with a bit more vodka taste coming out towards the end.

The aftertaste is more alcoholic than the taste, but the vodka flavour doesn't last very long as the sourness takes over. As I mentioned before, I like this better than Sucking Lemons. I think I will get a few more of these next time I am too lazy to mix drinks.

Scores:
Cost - $2.95
Taste - 7.5/10
ABV - 7%

Overall - 7.5/10...more sour than Sucking Lemons with minimal Vodka taste

Sucking Lemons Vodka Beverage Review

You can figure out why I bought this...if you can't, just take a look at the can.

That worked like a homing beacon for me. I was walking fast through the isles carrying my bottle of Robust Porter to the register when something bright in the corner of my made me stop and look. Yep, I bought a can.

So does it live up to its name? I will make it quick and painless - it doesn't. Instead of the strong citric taste I was expecting, I got a sweet lemon juice with a mild vodka flavour. OK, there is a bit of sourness, but it wasn't as much as I had expected. I really wanted this to be similar to a half and half vodka cocktail I make where I squeeze a lemon or two and add a lot of vodka. That cocktail is in the 20's and does not taste like vodka at all. Give me a few of those and I am done for the night.

However, this vodka beverage can be saved one of two ways - squeeze in a lemon or two...or just add in some lemon juice if you are way too lazy or don't have lemons.

To those who make this drink - if you are reading this, please release a version 2.0, "Sucking More Lemons" (also, please credit me) which is packed with lemons or citric acid. I would love it.

Scores:
Cost - $2.95
Taste - 6.5/10
ABV - 7%

Overall - 6.5/10...not as lemony as I expected

Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum and Cola Review

Here is a new pre-mixed drink that recently appeared on the shelves of the local LCBO - spiced rum & cola. I love spiced rum and cola so I definitely had to try this. If I like it, I might just get a bottle of Bacardi's Oakheart and add it to my large Kraken collection.

The drink pours extremely fizzy and keeps on bubbling for a while. The aroma is sweet with hints of vanilla and cinnamon...and cola of course. The taste is a bit off balance and has a very strong rum flavour, however, it is one of the few premixed cola drinks that actually has a decent cola taste. Vanilla notes are present from the start while the cinnamon appears shortly after, but the main spiced character does not show up until well after the finish. The aftertaste has cola-like sourness and gives you the same mouth dryness, but the rum adds way too much sweetness. I can see myself getting sick after a couple of these, but at least the cola taste is one of the better ones I have had the pleasure of trying.

I still may buy Bacardi's Oakheart to try making my own spiced rum and cola drink with it.

Scores:

Cost - $2.70 for a can

Taste - 7/10

ABV - 7%

Overall - 7/10...great cola taste, but needs some balancing

Coors Light Iced T Review

Coors Light mixed with Iced Tea? Well it is not as crazy as it sounds. Beer cocktails have been a part of drink menus for some time now and are becoming even more popular. In fact I have been mixing Fruli with cider for years to give it a bite and some extra %%%.

I wasn't even aware of this being on the market until a friend of mine told me about it. Following our conversation I picked up a can which I forgot about until now. That meant that it was nice and cold when I took it out of the fridge - the perfect temperature these beverages were made to be consumed at.

When I emptied the can into a pint glass, the first thing I noticed was the light amber color as a result of the iced tea addition. To be honest, this does give the beer a very appealing look. Unfortunately there was no head so the beer looked more like iced tea.

The aroma is very heavy on the iced tea with a faint Coors Light note. The taste is very light but I sort of already expected it to be. The regular Coors Light notes - light malt and adjuncts - are present but share taste buds with light iced tea flavours. The beer is not very sweet which is something I actually enjoyed.

The finish is a mixture of light malt, adjuncts and light iced tea flavours. Since I drank this very cold I enjoyed it a little. I can see this being very popular during the hotter summer days. If Coors had released this for Victoria Day (around the day, not months before it), they probably would have made some decent money.

Scores:
Cost - $2.35 for a can
Taste - 5.5/10
ABV - 4%

Overall - 5.5/10...Coors Light mixed with iced tea - refreshing

Dominus Vobiscum Lupulus Review

This Belgian Strong Ale had been sitting in my basement for weeks now waiting for the right moment. Well, this Saturday afternoon happened to be just the perfect moment. I refrigerated it for a few hours and let it sit in the room to warm up just a bit.

The beer has a dark straw, light golden color and the pour starts off perfectly clear until some of the agitated yeast starts to come out of the bottle. The pour ends with a thick and very creamy head which recedes sloooowly leaving a ton of lacing behind. I recommend a larger glass for one, smooth pour rather than 2 or 3 since there will be some yeast at the bottom.

The aroma is somewhat very typical for this style of beer - wheat, spices and herbs, some citrus, a bit of a banana peel, light bubble gum, alcoholic and slightly floral. The taste is where this beer shines. It starts off with a sweet, slightly fruity flavour carrying banana peel, citrus and bubblegum notes, but quickly transitions into a bittersweet, hoppy flavour.

The finish is dry and spicy with hop bitterness and Simcoe notes combined with traces of banana peel and citrus.

The 10% ABV is very well hidden in the flavour, but it can be noticed through the aroma. I enjoyed this more than I expected to since I was prepared for a sweet, headache inducing Belgian ale, but I got a very well balanced hoppy ale that can kick your ass.

Scores:
Cost - $11.65
Taste - 9/10
ABV - 10%

Overall - 9/10...excellent Belgian Strong Ale without the headache

Nickel Brook Headstock IPA Review

Look at that colorful can. Though I was immediately drawn to it, I thought it was leftover beer from Christmas. What also drew me to the beer were the big, bold, green letters at the bottom announcing the 80 IBU. I had to have it and in exchange for $2.65 at the cash register, I took home a lonely can.

The beer has a dark walnut color with mild reddish hues and pours with a short to medium, off-white head which recedes to a thin, yet creamy looking layer. As expected, the aroma coming from the beer is sweet, hoppy and fantastic. Some pine, grass, papaya and other fruits are present, but the sheer hoppiness is a bit overwhelming.

The taste is very, very, very good. It starts off just a tad creamy with strong papaya notes and sweet, caramel malt. Then the hops come, which are surprisingly not as grassy as in the aroma. The flavour overall is surprisingly smooth and the whole can goes down easy. I wish I had bought a second one for tonight.

The finish is bittersweet and a nice split between the hops and the sweet malt with very light papaya undertones. The 7% ABV is well hidden, but you can really feel them towards the end.

Scores:
Cost - $2.65 for a can
Taste - 8.8/10
ABV - 7%

Overall - 8.8/10