The backlog of hops is threatening to overwhelm me and I better spill them out in another episode of Zeke's Sweet Hops! Make sure to follow @detlev who sponsors #beersaturday and is surrounded by quaffers of the golden goodness.

I do have a scad of new followers so it makes sense to introduce the bit. I love beer. While I tend to aggrandize stories to make them more entertaining to the masses, it may seem like I am a raging alcoholic headed for an early grave. Fear not for I have a beer or so every night, try and stay active, and just like to share my discoveries and insights. So, maybe a low level or social alcoholic! It is all about the habits.

I have mentioned Jobsite Brewing http://www.jobsitebrewing.ca/ for a while because they are a client of mine and I helped them with the technology that runs the business. Here is a nice sampler I bought to bring to a BBQ so more of my friends could sample the goodness that is right in their home town. You can take a look at their own description of these brews here http://www.jobsitebrewing.ca/beers/ but here is my impression.

Big Pour Stout - Every brewery has to have a Stout in order to please the old school malt lovers, and entice the Guinness drinkers who are probably among the most loyal and widespread on the planet. I generally have not met a stout I dislike and this one is no different. This can produced a nice thick and full-bodied flavour and texture and seemed to taste even better as it warmed up. Not everyone wanted to sample the stout as it is somewhat of an acquired taste. Those who did, enjoyed it with raised eyebrows as it is a sipper and had lots of character.

Impact IPA - This one is my favourite as I am obviously a fan of the hops. I don't crush 3 pints in a sitting anymore so I want a beer that tastes like 3 pints in 1. This is a real neat one because it is a touch malty compared to the other IPAs around. It is also hoped nicely but not overly like many of the sport-hopped IPAs I love. I think it is a good decision for them to offer this New England Style IPA as it is a little more accessible to those whose pallet hasn't been completely spoiled by years of IPA abuse like me.

**2x4 Cream Ale - ** You HAVE to brew a simple and smooth beer when you live in a small blue collar town filled with Labatt Blue drinkers and those who just want a 'lawnmower beer.' I could probably drink a half dozen of these as they are nice and creamy in texture and relatively simple and clean on the taste. If I were to bring someone to the brewery and they hadn't really experienced craft beer, I would definitely recommend this one.

Collective Arts Brewery https://collectiveartsbrewing.com/ is extremely popular in most of Ontario because of their support of the arts (displayed on each can) and their incredible range of beer including many IPAs. They have their standard ones and have showcased a series of IPAs starting with IPA No 1 and are now at No. 6. It boasts healthy doses of hops and a dash of peach. Generally, I am not a huge fan of fruity beer as many tend to overfruit them......then why not just go all in on a sour? This one has just the right amount of Peach so that the sweetness is there, and the tartness mixes well with that of the hops. I would get this one again over another IPA only because it is a fleeting seasonal and will most likely be gone when it is gone. I didn't hate this at all!

Karma Citra http://www.greatlakesbeer.com/beer/karma-citra/ is firmly in my top-10 favourite beers from among my top 3 breweries Great Lakes Brewery http://www.greatlakesbeer.com/ I have meintioned this one in my blog previously because of the INCREDIBLE IPAs they have, my brother works there, and their Lake Effect IPA is one of the first IPAs to turn me to the dark side. I can't wait til late summer when they release this as their seasonal beer and fight with my local friends to buy it before they do at the store. It is an American Pale Ale that is such a great balance of Hop and Sweetness and Malt Body that it is pretty much the perfect beer for me. In this shot, I have made a back ground of some of the sunflowers from my garden which matched nicely and I think I am rather clever.


I often have to reign myself in to a couple beers otherwise I would write a compendium that nobody would get through, and I would not have anything to talk about in the next Sweet Hops post. The next one should include a little more from growlerville and perhaps a revisiting of some old favourites I have not had in a while to see how they please my evolving palate now.

Comment with a pic or mention or link to your blog post with the good beer you have had this week!