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Collective Arts

Discuss anything and everything about craft brewers from Ontario here.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

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Orval_Al
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 2:19 pm

Post by Orval_Al »

sofakingdrunk wrote:
Belgian wrote:All of the above true. Basically a tweaked recipe, same entry / beer identity on Ratebeer for example. If I had to guess I'd say CA Jam has only gotten better.

I haven’t had it for a while, will have to re-visit.
Is it just me...or has Life in clouds changed as well. It’s definately not as hazy as before, and to me, doesn’t taste as juicy. I’m getting more malt seeetness coming through than before and less hops. Not as quite a soft mouthfeel either. To me this used to be the best regularly available ipa in the province, but my last half dozen cans or so haven’t been the same beer. There’s a few others out there I’ll reach for first*cough* Leftfield *cough* Great Lakes
Totally agree with this. I bought a bunch when it first dropped at the LCBO, because it was super hazy and delicious. Took a break and bought a can a few weeks ago. Doesn't seem the same. Substantially less hazy and like you said, not as juicy.

For my money, Yummy from Beyond The Pale is the best hazy IPA at the LCBO right now, though Nickelbrook's Wicked Awesome is also very good.

seangm
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Post by seangm »

sofakingdrunk wrote:
Belgian wrote:All of the above true. Basically a tweaked recipe, same entry / beer identity on Ratebeer for example. If I had to guess I'd say CA Jam has only gotten better.

I haven’t had it for a while, will have to re-visit.
Is it just me...or has Life in clouds changed as well. It’s definately not as hazy as before, and to me, doesn’t taste as juicy. I’m getting more malt seeetness coming through than before and less hops. Not as quite a soft mouthfeel either. To me this used to be the best regularly available ipa in the province, but my last half dozen cans or so haven’t been the same beer. There’s a few others out there I’ll reach for first*cough* Leftfield *cough* Great Lakes
Unfortunately I find this is an issue more often than I'd like, especially with hazy IPAs. I see a lot of inconsistency from batch to batch, even from breweries I consider the better ones in Ontario. Maybe there's settling occurring during the packaging process? Maybe it's the nature of such highly hopped beers? Not long ago I had a can of GLB Canuck that was completely flat (almost zero carb) and lacking aroma. It happens enough to notice, and while I love our local brewery scene I feel we still lag in some areas from a QC/consistency perspective.

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ry_kinney
Posts: 88
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Location: Amherstview

Post by ry_kinney »

Life In The Clouds did change for some time and was less hazy (actual description on the can changed from Hazy IPA to India Pale Ale) but the Sept 18 batch and newer I have found to be much closer to original standards.

maybethewater
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Aug 10, 2017 5:00 pm

Post by maybethewater »

seangm wrote:
sofakingdrunk wrote:
Belgian wrote:All of the above true. Basically a tweaked recipe, same entry / beer identity on Ratebeer for example. If I had to guess I'd say CA Jam has only gotten better.

I haven’t had it for a while, will have to re-visit.
Is it just me...or has Life in clouds changed as well. It’s definately not as hazy as before, and to me, doesn’t taste as juicy. I’m getting more malt seeetness coming through than before and less hops. Not as quite a soft mouthfeel either. To me this used to be the best regularly available ipa in the province, but my last half dozen cans or so haven’t been the same beer. There’s a few others out there I’ll reach for first*cough* Leftfield *cough* Great Lakes
Unfortunately I find this is an issue more often than I'd like, especially with hazy IPAs. I see a lot of inconsistency from batch to batch, even from breweries I consider the better ones in Ontario. Maybe there's settling occurring during the packaging process? Maybe it's the nature of such highly hopped beers? Not long ago I had a can of GLB Canuck that was completely flat (almost zero carb) and lacking aroma. It happens enough to notice, and while I love our local brewery scene I feel we still lag in some areas from a QC/consistency perspective.
Was going to counter that GLB has been perfect for me over a big sample, then just got a flat can of Karma Citra today - the can looked fine, but felt very thin (then felt normal once opened). 1 bad can out of probably a few hundred isn't too bad though.

sofakingdrunk
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Post by sofakingdrunk »

Orval_Al wrote:
sofakingdrunk wrote:
Belgian wrote:All of the above true. Basically a tweaked recipe, same entry / beer identity on Ratebeer for example. If I had to guess I'd say CA Jam has only gotten better.

I haven’t had it for a while, will have to re-visit.
Is it just me...or has Life in clouds changed as well. It’s definately not as hazy as before, and to me, doesn’t taste as juicy. I’m getting more malt seeetness coming through than before and less hops. Not as quite a soft mouthfeel either. To me this used to be the best regularly available ipa in the province, but my last half dozen cans or so haven’t been the same beer. There’s a few others out there I’ll reach for first*cough* Leftfield *cough* Great Lakes
Totally agree with this. I bought a bunch when it first dropped at the LCBO, because it was super hazy and delicious. Took a break and bought a can a few weeks ago. Doesn't seem the same. Substantially less hazy and like you said, not as juicy.

For my money, Yummy from Beyond The Pale is the best hazy IPA at the LCBO right now, though Nickelbrook's Wicked Awesome is also very good.
Haven’t been able to get my hands on Yummy yet. I’m a big fan of Pink Fuzz....not such a big fan or Arimatherapy though(to be fair I’ve only had it twice, it may not have been super fresh, as they don’t date their cans for some reason)

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Orval_Al
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 2:19 pm

Post by Orval_Al »

sofakingdrunk wrote:
Haven’t been able to get my hands on Yummy yet. I’m a big fan of Pink Fuzz....not such a big fan or Arimatherapy though(to be fair I’ve only had it twice, it may not have been super fresh, as they don’t date their cans for some reason)
I haven't tried the Pink Fuzz. Heard it's great, but never been a big fan of grapefruit beer or radlers. Had a similar reaction to Aromatherapy. I've also tried their Saison Tropicale, which is a really interesting beer.

To me Yummy is on another level. I don't think too many LCBOs stock it, but worth doing a search!

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JaseWescott
Posts: 266
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2017 5:08 pm
Location: Hamilton

Post by JaseWescott »

Happy to report IPA No. 7 is delicious #redemption

my only complaint is that it's a Citra bomb and I wish I could taste more Nelson Sauvin hops.

-Liam-
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 9:03 pm

Post by -Liam- »

Orval_Al wrote:
sofakingdrunk wrote:
Belgian wrote:All of the above true. Basically a tweaked recipe, same entry / beer identity on Ratebeer for example. If I had to guess I'd say CA Jam has only gotten better.

I haven’t had it for a while, will have to re-visit.
Is it just me...or has Life in clouds changed as well. It’s definately not as hazy as before, and to me, doesn’t taste as juicy. I’m getting more malt seeetness coming through than before and less hops. Not as quite a soft mouthfeel either. To me this used to be the best regularly available ipa in the province, but my last half dozen cans or so haven’t been the same beer. There’s a few others out there I’ll reach for first*cough* Leftfield *cough* Great Lakes
Totally agree with this. I bought a bunch when it first dropped at the LCBO, because it was super hazy and delicious. Took a break and bought a can a few weeks ago. Doesn't seem the same. Substantially less hazy and like you said, not as juicy.

For my money, Yummy from Beyond The Pale is the best hazy IPA at the LCBO right now, though Nickelbrook's Wicked Awesome is also very good.
I was only saying this to a friend today. LITC tastes like a different beer compared to a couple of months ago. It's so disappointing when a regularly stocked beer tastes that good initially, and then just drops off the charts over time. I remember when 'Headstock' was killer for about a year...and now it's like bin juice.
I was a little unimpressed with 'Wicked Awesome' when I tried it, but perhaps it's worth revisiting? 'Yummy' is very solid and it'd be great to see it more readily available.
For me though, Badland's 'Through the glass' is one of the best IPAs available in Ontario right now. I haven't had a bad one yet.

sofakingdrunk
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Location: Guelph

Post by sofakingdrunk »

Agreed, Badlands is killer

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JaseWescott
Posts: 266
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Location: Hamilton

Post by JaseWescott »

new core beer drops tomorrow. it's similar to IPA No. 5 recipe.

Image

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Tapsucker
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1910
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 6:21 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Tapsucker »

JaseWescott wrote:new core beer drops tomorrow. it's similar to IPA No. 5 recipe.

Image

Whaaah? Can't find #7 in any eLBOw stores. This might just be a good consolation prize...

Though, typically I find Columbus a bit vegetal for me, but I'll hold off on judgement until I try this.
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Fans are cash cows.
The herd will consume until consumed.

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MatttthewGeorge
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Post by MatttthewGeorge »

Had a sample of this on tap recently and wasn’t impressed. Boozy and muddled imo. Hope the can is better.
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seangm
Bar Fly
Posts: 604
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2015 12:44 pm

Post by seangm »

MatttthewGeorge wrote:Had a sample of this on tap recently and wasn’t impressed. Boozy and muddled imo. Hope the can is better.
That's almost exactly how I felt about IPA No. 5 to be honest, although I seemed to be alone in not loving it.

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cratez
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Location: Brantford, Ontario
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Post by cratez »

Looking forward to the Surround Sound. To date I haven't encountered the QC issues that others have experienced, and IMHO these guys can do no wrong when it comes to hoppy beers.
"Bar people do not live as long as vegan joggers. However, they have more fun." - Bruce Elliott

Quotashun
Posts: 76
Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2017 8:38 am
Location: Toronto

Post by Quotashun »

Anyone else try Hydro Thunder yet? It was released at the bottle shop last Saturday; collab DIPA with Twin Sails. I was so disappointed by it (especially since they made you buy four, otherwise, I would have just grabbed a couple to try out). Completely lacking carbonation, just syrupy flat booziness. Ugh.

On the other hand, grabbed a bottle of the Bourbon barrel aged Imperial Porter, which was really tasty. Surround Sound was good too, although it didn't really stand out to me the way IPA No. 5 did if it's supposed to be similar.

I definitely typically love CA's hoppy offerings, but was really let down by Hydro Thunder and IPA No. 6 unfortunately. Didn't notice the drop-off with Life in the Clouds as others have noted here, but perhaps I haven't had any of the more recent batches.

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