I am beginning to understand the meaning of "a new normal" as the nonroutine of the last few months sets in. Good thing there is #beersaturday and my hoppy discoveries show no sign of slowing.

Source: https://www.pinterest.pt/goldensaintbeer/ with a little Zeke design on top.

The three latest beers patiently waiting on my camera roll to be reviewed are on deck and now it is their time to shine. We have session IPAs and a sour twist from breweries featured on my blog in months gone by.

Strap on your drinkin' socks and LET'S DO THIS!

Before we get started, I am reviewing the photos and thinking my photographer critics might be expecting masterpieces like that one. Summer, out-doors, nature, vibrant colours of the goofy beer I enjoy, and natural light. All true.

These ones follow the standard format made popular over the years of beerology blockchain blogging because they were taken at night. During the daytime, I tend to grab one on the run while doing chores, welcoming socially distant visitors, and not really in photographer mode.

It has inspired me to see if I can share more summer life in the background for future #beersaturday entries and let us see how I do.

A Lighter Shade from Big Rig

Big Rig Brewery https://bigrigbrew.com/ is actually located in Ottawa, our nations capital, when I always assumed it hailed from small town near mine. I have always enjoyed their Alpha Bomb IPA https://bigrigbrew.com/menu/alpha-bomb/ but their page seems to be having issues and perhaps they need a call from the beerologist?

Anyhow, I was pleased to see the same trademark yellow/green, high-contrast design around a new brew that boasted a hop on the label. I grabbed one without looking too closely or even being concerned about the tastiness of the contents.

If I had paid the FOUR-FOUR more mind than the HAZY, I might have known I was purchasing a lighter, "crushable" session IPA. Looking at the thick hazy pour, it is no surprise that there is a lot to this beer despite the lower ABV at 4.4%. You can taste it though as it is smooth, obviously lighter than the standard IPA/Strong Beer, and is gentler & waterier on the pallet.

With this new brew is a similar look but new representation of their spin on the 500 year-oldGerman Purity Law https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/12/17/251959392/is-a-500-year-old-german-beer-law-heritage-worth-honoring#:~:text=Written%20by%20Bavarian%20noblemen%20in,the%20fermenting%20agent%20centuries%20later. Water, malt, hops and yeast is what it should be but I am okay with their hops, malt, water and love.

This beer goes very well with my summer crusade to find lighter alcohol beers that have a complex taste and go well with summer activities. A few of these may make it on my camping trip if they are not sold out.

More of Those Flying Monkeys!

Long time blockchain drinkin' buddies will know Flying Monkeys Brewery https://www.flyingmonkeys.ca/ well from my tales of sliding from craft beer love into IPA obsession. They are one of the regions OGs of IPA, have always had a punk rock approach to design, brewing and nonconformity. There is so much going on with both the label and the beer, it jumps off the shelf and into your mouth with the greatest of ease.

I did notice the lower 4.6% ABV but my familiarity with one of my original favourite breweries lead me to know what I was getting into. A strange mix of traditional and trendy hops made for an interesting taste and a bit more of a tongue punch than the first one. Equal parts mild, crisp, juicy and complex take their turns changing your mind as you eventually get to swallowing. Then, that sips tastes like another and I knew I liked this beer right away.

This one deserves the coveted third picture because so much is going on on the label. I get a little tired of a label crammed with debatably-related key words to hook in the hipster with an eyebrow cocked up over lensless glasses. I make a happy exception with this one as they are pretty damn funny and the mythical mutations are entertaining and goofy.

So, I will most likely succumb to the insistent expression and drink this beer on the run again. Another goot regatta/camping beer. This

A Sweet Sour

Jobsite Brewery https://www.jobsitebrewing.ca/ is a perennial feature on my beerologist report because they are only a couple miles from my home, are run by a great team with solid and engaged leadership, and have always rocked solid IPAs and produced all sorts of progressive playground beer.

This Apricot Peach Sour Splinter https://www.jobsitebrewing.ca/buybeer/sour-splinter-kettle-sour is surprisingly good! Not surprising that it is a solid beer, but a sour is many things to many people and I have been underwhelmed by quite a few of them. Most likely because the undisputed king of sours is brewed up the road in Sebringville at https://www.halfhoursonearth.com/

I forced some sunshine into this pic as it is summer and this bright beer is lively. It really does taste sweet like apricot, tart like peach, and solidly sour as the namesake suggests. The Splinter is to remind you this is a brewery created by hard working building contractors who also know the value of consistent branding and theme. Though the garden soil under the thumbnail was unintentional, it seems to fit as I enjoyed this during some hard work and dedicate that to the hard working folks at Jobsite.

So there you have it once again. These very different but similarly good beers all can tell a story. I have taken you provincially from the far east, to the center, and now to the west in what would most likely be a 8 hour drive from the first to last brewery. All in the course of a few minutes.

Thanks again for taking the virtual brewery tour and hopefully I will get back to visiting these physically with you by my side courtesy of the Blockchain.

I have had hundreds of beers with my #BEERSATURDAY crew. It is week 161 already and the night is but an embreyo! https://hive.blog/beersaturday/@detlev/beersaturday-week-162 of the longest running beer-drinking club on any blockchain. Take some pictures, tell some pub tales, and become a Beerologist by posting your own suddsy story with @detlev and yours truly.

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A Pandemic cannot slow down the Blockchain Beerologist. How was your latest beer?