Brewery: Collective Arts Brewing Co
Origin: Hamilton ON Canada
Style: Porter
Abv: 5.5%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Hops: Cascade, Nugget and Gr. Magnum
Marketing: The can boast a black white and coffee brown color scheme. The design imagery is of two robot skeletons creatures mirroring each other and touching fingers.
One robot (I'm going to say that its a robot) is in the sky or maybe space and the other is on earth (land) half in water or maybe partly submerged in oil. The design has a sort of futuristic vibe to it and maybe even a post apocalyptic feel. Maybe it represents where we are going in the future with AI and all of the data centers and what not?? I kind of like the design overall and actually, the more I look at it the more it grows on me. Its interesting, there's depth to it and it tells a story. Its gotten my imagination going at the very least.
Collective arts Brewery does this thing where different artists design the beer cans for a time and they seem to be ever changing. The art on this can was done by Morgan Sorensen out of Boise ID USA. I've had the Collective Arts porter before but the can looked different at the time. I prefer this image over the last one.
Color: The beer was solid black in color with a mocha colored head on top. The foam dissipated fairly quickly leaving only a thin layer in the end giving it a creamy textured look.
Nose: The beer had a sweet malty aroma with a lot of roasted notes. I got cocoa and dark chocolate coming through and a little coffee.
Taste: The beer started out malty sweet and finished strong and bitter. There was a little tanginess in the middle but definitely more bitter than anything else really. I got dark chocolate flavors, cocoa and some dark fruit (prunes maybe).
Texture: Lightly carbonated with small soft bubbles. The mouthfeel was medium bodied with a soft vevetiness once the carbonation settled.
Impression: I quite liked this beer overall. Quite a lot actually. Its been a long time since I drank one these, at least two years, but I think that I should revisit this one more often. It was a very good porter in my opinion.
Brewery: Collective Arts Brewing Co
Origin: Hamilton ON Canada
Style: Lager
Abv: 4.9%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: The can imagery is a swirly colorful mountain scene created by artist Jessa Gilbert from Squamish BC. Its a fine design. I don't love it or dislike it. Its definitely on brand for the brewery though. It reminds me a a Canadian painting from the Group of Seven.
Color: The beer poured a very pale yellow color and was crystal clear without any haziness at all. It looked like a standard lager in that regard.
Nose: Strong hoppy aroma with citrus and grassy notes. The smell was fresh and clean and unexpected for a lager which generally tend to be on the more bland side think.
Taste: the beer had a crazy punch of flavor on first sip. I was quite surprised by it actually. It was sweet and very tangy with a lingering bitter finish. I would say that this beer was predominantly tangy but not enough to make it sour, which is a good thing in my opinion. I don't like sours. It was quite sweet as well but the bitterness balanced that out nicely. It was very fresh and crisp tasting. Great flavor overall.
Texture: Nicely carbonated with a light bodied mouthfeel.
Impression: Overall I thought that this was a very good beer, especially for a lager. I find lagers to be fairly boring at times. The taste was fresh and crisp which made it very refreshing. It was a good summer beer in my opinion, despite the fact that I drank it in the begining of spring on a gloomy day. Perhaps it brought some sunshine into my life? Anyway, I would buy it again and likely will.
