Day 171-Beer 171 Signature Ale, Durham Brewing Co, Pickering Ontario

Tonight's brew poured a copper colour with a nice off white head that left lots of nice sticky lacing. The aroma was grassy hops, caramel malt and some floral tones. The taste is sweet up front, caramel and toffee than some nice hop flavours grapefruit and pine. Overall a good brew 3.6 out of 5

Day 170-Beer 170 Sculpin IPA, Ballast Point Brewing Co. San Diego California

another Ballast Point brew, this one poured  an amber colour with white bubbly head. The aroma was citrus, grapefruit and orange, fresh grass and some floral scents. The taste is nice hops right up front with hints of pine, grapefruit and a sweet malt background. Overall a crisp, smooth IPA, a very good brew 3.9 out of 5

Day 169-Beer 169 Wellington County Dark Ale, Wellington County Brewery, Guelph Ontario

Oh what a day, a 41 front nine, my best ever and now for a brew. It poured a dark chocolate colour with off white head that left a nice sticky layer of lacing across the entire surface of the beer. It's aroma was some grassy hops mixed with caramel, coffee and roasted malts. The flavour was toasted malt, caramel, roasted coffee and a hint of hop bitterness similar to a very dark bakers chocolate. Overall a good dark ale 3.5 out of 5.

Day 168-Beer 168 Top Shelf Classic Lager, Lake of Bays Brewing Co., Baysville Ontario

Official beer of the NHL Alumni Association, whatever that is? It poured a clear golden yellow colour with some head that dissipated quickly leaving only a scattering of lacing.  The smell is fresh grass with hints of grainy malts and honey. The taste is traditional lager, grainy malts, a slight breadiness, a just a faint hint of grassy hops. It is a very clean,  smooth and dry lager, overall not a bad brew, 3.4 out of 5

Day 167-Beer 167 Altbier Collaboration Ale, Creemore Springs Brewery, Creemore Ontario

Altbier which means old beer is one of the oldest and rarest beer styles in the world, it was brewed in collaboration with a Dusseldorf brewery, one of only four in the world that still make this type of ale, so here goes, and is there a reason only a few breweries still make it, we will find out. It poured a dark copper colour similar to many red beers with a white head that settle quickly leaving a thin layer of foam across most of the surface. The smell that hits you first when you open the can is sour green apple but than as it warms it has a caramel and roasted malt scent with just a hint of hops. The flavour includes caramel malt, a hint of hops bitterness that does not linger and some hints grain/corn and some nutty malt. Over all a nice dry finish, a good brew, with just a hint of bitterness, however I was looking for something different as this wasn't a lot different than many modern red ales. 3.5 out of 5

Day 166-Beer 166 Church Key Holy Smoke Scotch Ale, Church Key Brewing Company Campbellford Ontario.

Another Scottish style beer but made in Ontario. This one is unique,  it is a strong 6.2%ABV dark ale that Scottish imported peat-smoked whisky malt, hence a peat smoked Scottish ale. It poured a dark chocolate, almost black colour with creamy tan coloured head  that left a thin film of cream across the surface. The smell was  hints of peat, chocolate toasted grains, roasted malts and just a hint of smoke. Very nice. The taste was caramel and roasted malts up front with a nice follow of just a hint of peat and lots of smoke that lingered in the mouth for just a few moments. Overall this was actually quite good. It is very smooth well balanced and quite interesting, definitely  a smoked beer. I'll have to try another of these and any other beers that Church Key makes. 4 out of 5

Day 165-Beer 165 Innis & Gunn Lager Beer, Innis & Gunn, Edinburgh, Scotland

A great night of progressive euchre tonight, Linda won most lone hands and I won high score. It was great to see some friends that we hadn't seen in a while. As for tonight's brew, we are off to Scotland for a beer brewed with "naked golden oats"? It poured a clear golden yellow colour with  a white head that dissipated quickly leaving no lacing. The aroma was fresh grass, lemon and grain malt. the flavour was typical lager, almost no hop bitterness, some grainy malt and a touch of grassy hops, but nothing outstanding. It's a nice light beer that is very drinkable but nothing special, 3.2 out of 5