The Bruery Share This: OC comes in a large bottle and serves up equally big flavors. If you're looking for absolute monster chocolate nib flavors with an in your face booze nature, this beer will leave you happily satisfied.
If you're looking for the quintessential juicy IPA experience, then the Collective Arts Brewing IPA No. 5 is going to satisfy. Although the finish on the beer falls short of the other qualities, the overall tasting experience elevates it to one of the better IPA's I've enjoyed in several years.
The Muskoka Shinnicked Stout is an enjoyable oatmeal style stout with nuanced flavors of espresso. Although I would not hesitate to drink this again, it didn't quite elevate itself above other beers in this crowded style enough that I would actively seek it out.
The Põhjala Öö Cassis was a really interesting flavor profile. Although the balance was fairly average, the overall beer experience was very good. The blackcurrant is prominent, so this isn't a beer you would have more than one of in a session.
The Left Hand Brewing Fade to Black Vol. 1 is a solid representation of a stout. It has a satisfying roasted espresso with an interesting combination of licorice and hoppy/chocolate bitter combination that builds as it warms up.
Not only does the Mexican Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout deliver on big peanut butter and chocolate, but it also gives you the cinnamon and complexity that comes with Mexican hot chocolate. I won't hesitate to pick up another Belching Beaver Mexican Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout on my next visit to my local bottle shop.
The Dieu du Ciel! Rigor Mortis is good, but the booze forward nature of the tasting holds it back from being elevated to a higher score. I found it challenging to move past that boozy character and find nuances or other flavors that made it stand out from the pack.
The Modern Times Black House was an enjoyable coffee stout. The use of 75% Ethiopian and 25% Sumatran gives it a coffee profile that stands out from the average coffee stout on the market, at an ABV that isn't overpowering.
The Collective Arts Brewing Collective Project Hazy was an enjoyable IPA that was quite sessionable. I would seek these out in the future and would not hesitate to enjoy two back to back.
Overall, I found the Põhjala Jõuluöö a very good beer. A satisfying example of an oak aged stout. I would love to see a release example at 10% ABV or above to see how far they could push the flavor profile.