Powell Street Dive Bomb Porter

Nice balanced porter: notes of coffee, subtle sweetness 8.5/10

Powell Street Bourbon Stout

Nice malty and salty stout, as Brandon said! Congrats to Brandon on successfully passing his PhD Dissertation defense today!

Syrup, malt on the front, nice salty bitterness on the finish 8.5/10

Powell Street Cumulus Lupulus

With a name like this, I HAD TO try ;)
Tart citrus like qualities - guava or passionfruit. Almost like a tea saison 8/10

Powell Steeet Ode to Citra

Nice citrus note on the front with a bit of a bitter finish. Lemon, and floral qualities 7.5/10

Cereal Killah Oatmeal Stout

Back from my end of semester crunch, and enjoying a glass of the Cereal Killah Oatmeal Stout from Abe Erb to celebrate the end of term (and a break from the marathon 12 hour days of writing!)

This beer is a full-bodied stout with notes of espresso. Nice roasted flavour, with sweetness up front and a mild bitterness on the finish. Quite pleasant! 8/10.

Black Creek Brewery Apricot Ale

Decided to go with something a bit different today: an apricot ale from Black Creek Brewery!

You definitely notice the fruity apricot flavour in this one, and it has a bitter finish, reminiscent of a session ale almost.

Consensus: decent apricot beer - no complexities to the flavour, but pleasing overall. 7.5/10.

Mill Street Cobblestone Stout

I've had Mill Street Brewery's Cobblestone Stout a few times now (at two different venues), and every time I've had it, the beer has been super flat with little flavour. Initially I thought that it was an issue with the taps, but given that the beer has been flat at every place I have tried this beer, I've begun to realise that it likely is the beer itself. Mill Street Brewery notes that their Cobblestone Stout is a: 

traditional styled Irish Stout that is served using beer gas to produce that familiar creamy pore. This is the same system that draft Guinness uses. Our black stout has a roasted malt flavour and a hint of toasted walnuts and chocolate in the finish. Select imported hops are used to dry out the finish of this ale.

I agree with one thing, the beer is definitely on the dry side. Otherwise I would say that the beer features very few of the qualities I normally look for in a stout - the "creaminess", roasted flavour, and malt finish. If they are there, I certainly do not notice them (and have failed to notice them time and time again).
Consensus: a very disappointing beer in my opinion, lacking in flavour.  3/10.

PS: I realize that such a critical review might lead to some backlash, but I would definitely be interested to hear from you if you've tried it before to hear your comments on it!

King Street Saison - Block Three Brewing Co.

Since I've been on a porter and stout mission of late, I decided to mix things up a bit and pick up a bottle of the King Street Saison by 3 Block Brewing Co.

Not a tea saison, which is what I was looking for (I guess these are not in season yet!), but it definitely opened with a citrus note. On the bottle, it claimed to have notes of coriander, but I would have to say that I certainly didn't notice it!

Consensus: it was a easy drinking beer, which went well with the pizza I had with it. It was missing the aromatics that I usually associate with (tea) saisons, but overall was enjoyable. 7/10.

Innocente Charcoal Porter

A favourite of mine! The first time I tried Innocente's Charcoal Porter was last summer, shortly after moving to Waterloo. I was immediately hooked! Not quite a coffee porter, but the brew has a rich roasted flavour with a hint of sweetness up front, and a coffee-like bitterness at the end.

It is brewed in collaboration with Beer Town, one of my favourite gastro pubs in Waterloo, with a ridiculious 70+ beers to choose from, so they certainly know their beers!

I highly recommend this one! A very solid traditional porter! 8.5/10

Swamp Head Midnight Oil Coffee Stout

A coffee first stout nevertheless! This beer doesn't mess around with "hints of coffee" or coffee flavouring - you definitely notice it right off the bat. Apparently 8lbs of coffee beans are used in the brewing process!

Initially I found the coffee flavouring a bit overwhelming, but as my palate adjusted to the flavour, I grew to enjoy it more and more! With an IBU of 40, it isn't super sweet, but not overwhelmingly bitter. Notes of chocolate are also present after.

Consensus: Initially it was a bit of an assault on the senses, but I grew to like this one. A bit more coffee than I'm used to in a coffee porter/stout. 7/10.

Maclean's Luck & Charm Oatmeal Stout

My inaugural craft beer review! Tonight I tried Maclean's Luck & Charm Oatmeal Stout from Hanover, Ontario. I would describe Luck & Charm as a hops first stout which has a floral, bitter note - almost like an ale.

Usually when I crave a stout, I am looking for that sweet, roasted flavour, and creaminess, that embodies the meaning of "barley sandich". This beer, however was a stout that masqueraded as an ale. There was a slight roasted flavour, but the predominant flavour was that of hops, mind you it doesn't quite have the bitterness that one might associate with a hops-first beer.

Consensus: Not your typical stout. If you like a hops-first beer, you might enjoy this more than I did. 5/10.