No city wants to be on the receiving end of lake effect snow (and no commuter wants to deal with it), but for Mike Lackey, brewer at Great Lakes in Etobicoke, it's the IPAs he drank while he lived in Buffalo that inspired Lake Effect IPA.

Lake Effect IPA is the most recent entry from GLB's Tank Ten series to make it into the LCBO. "Tank Ten" has replaced "Project X" as the name for the special releases that Lackey and his colleagues make outside of the brewery's regular lineup.

There are now purpose-built IPA glasses on the market (which I haven't yet had the chance to try), but a beer tulip or nonic pint glass works just fine. Poured into a tulip, Lake Effect is a hazy copper-orange with a resilient, barely off-white head.

All of the juicy hop aromas—tangerines, tropical mangoes, and bitter orange peel—are balanced nicely by a bit of pine resin and a touch of herbal grassiness. The flavour is more straight-ahead citrus bitterness, which is complemented by malty sweetness.

Lake Effect is a well-balanced, contemplative IPA that I see going perfectly with leftover gluttony, days home from work, and World Junior hockey games between Boxing Day and New Year's.

Great Lakes Brewing Lake Effect IPA, $5.95 for a 650 ml bottle, LCBO #353920

In addition to covering beer, new restaurants and food trucks for Post City, David Ort writes about food and drink for several Toronto publications including his own site, Food With Legs. He is the author of the Canadian Craft Beer Cookbook; now in stores and available for ordering online. For more of his thoughts on food, beer and life in general, follow him on Twitter or get in touch at info@foodwithlegs.com.