Grizzly Beer - Bellwoods Brewery

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

3.96/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep brown colour with some ruby in the light, one finger of dense off white head, good lace down the glass. Smell is loaded with pine, hop heavy with some dank citrus fruits, some darker malts, subtle sweet bready notes but this is a big hoppy brown beer. Taste is similar to the nose, lots of sharp pine flavours, malt is a little more pronounced, lightly roasted in the finish with some chocolate, lots of hop bitterness throughout, citrus hop aftertaste. Lightly carbonated, medium body, easy drinking as this went fairly quick. Quite the good beer here and easily mistaken for a Black IPA, supper hoppy and quite drinkable, would certainly entertain this again.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2013 21:14:13 | More by peensteen

Vyronian

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%

05-03-2013 02:31:11 | More by Vyronian

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -1.2%

05-02-2013 12:57:06 | More by liamt07

yancot

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -1.2%

05-02-2013 07:16:21 | More by yancot

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.04/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Grizzly Beer, probably not coincidentally, has a similarly coarse, brown exterior to that of a grizzly bear. Mind you, it is not nearly as intimidating (though as we're soon to find out it is almost every bit as weighty). Gemstone highlights don't exactly lighten the beer but do reveal a bit of translucence. Its head is buttermilk coloured and the lacing as clingy as an insecure girlfriend.

If you've ever cracked a tree stem in half and exposed its resinous, green interior then you can easily catch the drift of this Brown Ale. It smells strongly of flower buds, tree roots and bark, dark green leaves and conifer cones so big you can imagine kicking them across the sidewalk. It is extremely fragrant and the kind of aroma that could make even the forest jealous.

Although a fairly definitive (New World) Brown Ale, the flavours borrows a thing or two from numerous other styles; figs, plums, licorice, pine, brown sugar, carob, coffee, browned butter, hazelnut, grapefruit and miscellaneous citrus is an (intuitive, ingenious) hodge-podge of flavours.

The mouthfeel has a tree bark-like texture: dry and pithy. There are also similarly dry and pithy notes like those of citrus peel. Though it is underscored by a very raspy and 'green' plant-like note, the hoppiness is wrapped in enough roastiness and chocolate sweetness to keep it from tasting too acidic or juicy. It has the malt depth one wants in a Brown Ale.

Like seemingly every single one of their offerings regardless of style, Bellwoods Grizzly Beer is far too serious to be an entry-level offering. It's as if these guys went from kindergarten straight to Stanford. Then graduated with honours. This is a solid Brown Ale with extroverted hoppiness and toasty, bittersweet maltiness - it is a beer designed to impress and, indeed, it has.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 03:44:53 | More by biegaman

heebes

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%

03-26-2013 14:36:22 | More by heebes

DaPan

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%

03-23-2013 02:29:48 | More by DaPan

Digimaika2

Ontario (Canada)

4.23/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottle from Bellwood’s bottle shop. Bottling date: Feb. 21, 2013.

(4.25) A: Deep and dark brown with a reddish tinge around the edges. Good height of creamy tan coloured foam head that stays put for a good length of time and very good lacing.

(4.25) S: Pine, grapefruit, raisins, plums, caramel, and roasted malt notes as this warms. Variety of aromas that work well together. Definitely hop forward but some appealing dark fruit elements poke through along with a smooth chocolaty nose. Very nice.

(4.25) T: Mellow pine, juicy tart citrus fruits, licorice, herbal qualities, and a probing roasted malt taste in the form of cocoa and lightly roasted coffee bean. This is very smooth and velvety. Everything comes together very well here, similar to the aroma.

(4.0) M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Semi-slick with a chewy and slightly gritty texture.

(4.25) D: This is one of my favourites from Bellwood’s that I’ve had to date. Full and robust taste with a great variety of flavours. Would definitely pick a couple more bottles of this up.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 03:13:14 | More by Digimaika2

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

3.89/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle bottled on Feb 21, 2013, consumed on March 6, 2013.
Poured in to tulip.

A - Medium brown; opaque. Half a finger of light brown head.

S -A big nose of citrus and piney hops with some chocolate, roast and sweet brown sugar.

T - Bitter up front with pine and grapefruit flavours. The hopping doesn't overpower the malt bill, and some nice roast and chocolate flavours are present in a good balance.

M - Medium body with some stickiness. Light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 19:58:03 | More by TheSevenDuffs

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

4.09/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottled Feb 21, 2013.

Beer is dark brown in colour, with a small beige head. Decent lace.

Nose is quite hoppy, but with a nice malt backbone. Bright citrus fruit, some pine. The malt contains chocolate and roasted nuts. Nice mix, the malts and hops complement each other well.

Taste is similar to the nose. Malt perhaps a bit more upfront. Nuts. chocolate, a bit of roast malt, citrus and some pine. A hint of vanilla. Nicely balanced, a strong hop flavour but still lots of malt. A touch of sweetness, though balanced against the bitterness of the hops.

Medium bodied, moderate to strong carbonation. Slightly oily.

Overall, very nice. Hoppiness is reminiscent of a Black IPA, but malt base clearly different. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2013 20:58:02 | More by jrenihan