Cameron's Brewing Company has sent two new IPAs to LCBO shelves at once, aimed at opposite ends of the same category. Rec League Champs is the softer of the pair: a hazy IPA at 5.8 percent ABV and 30 IBU, hopped with Eclipse and Azacca.
The Oakville brewery describes it as tropical, juicy and smooth, with ripe mango, pineapple and bright citrus over a lighter, easy-drinking body - a hazy meant to finish clean rather than heavy.
The hop pairing splits that job between hemispheres. Azacca, an American variety named for the Haitian god of agriculture, is the one known for mango, papaya and pineapple, so it accounts for the tropical half of the brewery's description. Eclipse comes from Hop Products Australia, which released it commercially in 2020, and it remains an uncommon sight on Ontario labels; its reputation is for sweet mandarin and citrus peel rather than tropical fruit, with pine needles and a herbal note underneath. Both hops carry that pine beneath the fruit, which is a less obvious foundation for a beer sold on smoothness than a straight citrus-and-tropical bill would be.
The name is not a one-off either. Cameron's already sells a Lawn Hero light IPA and a Pastime Pilsner, so a hazy named after a beer-league trophy is house style rather than a departure from it. The brewery's own copy calls it "perfect for post-game bragging, sideline coaching or celebrating that almost-championship run," and the can follows through: a trophy on bright blue, ringed by the scattered debris of a rec-league season, basketball included.
Rec League Champs is available now in 473 mL cans at the brewery, online with free doorstep delivery, and at LCBO locations across Ontario.
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