This article was originally written in May 2007 for the food & drink website Taste T.O., and republished here in October 2011 (but back-dated to match the original publication date) after Taste T.O. was shut down and taken offline.
Given the nature of this weekly column, it’s probably obvious that I’m not the type of beer drinker who sticks with a single favourite brand. I usually have a bottle each of a dozen or so different beers in the fridge at any given time, and another box or two of others stashed in the closet. Even when I go out, I rarely have the same beer twice in a night, unless I’m at a pub where there’s only one beer that I like on tap.
As a result, I often find myself giving short shrift to some beers that I really enjoy, but generally pass up in favour of grabbing something new. This is especially true of local beers that I tend to take for granted, figuring that they’ll always be available, while this new seasonal release or import may only be around for a limited time.
I was recently reminded of this bad habit of mine while listening to the first episode of Bar Towel Radio, a new podcast produced and hosted by Cass Enright, owner of the local beer website The Bar Towel. The episode featured an interview with Ken Woods of Oakville’s Black Oak Brewery, who mentioned that their Black Oak Pale Ale would be featured in a special Ontario Craft Brewers promotion at the LCBO this summer, and this made me realize that it had been months since I’d had one.
Well, that’s not completely true, as I’ve had several pints of the “Hop Bomb” version that is sometimes available on cask around town. But it’s been quite a while since I’d enjoyed the original version. So I hit my local Beer Store – a rare occurrence in itself, as I hate having to order my beer from a big board and have it delivered from the back room like some fast food restaurant – and picked up a sixer of the Pale Ale. The first bottle went down quickly with dinner after my warm walk home, and the second is being sipped more slowly as I type.
It has a beautiful golden hue with a good sized white head that leaves a fair bit of lacing on the glass as it recedes. The aroma is fresh and inviting, with a big hop presence, but with sweet malt to balance, and a faint woodiness. The body is a touch thin, but also crisp and lively – quite likely due to the addition of a bit of toasted wheat to the recipe – giving the beer a thirst-quenching edge. And the flavour follows the aroma closely: a good balance of sweet, honeyish malt and citric hops that linger deliciously in the finish.
Quite simply, Black Oak Pale Ale is just a really good beer. It’s tasty and refreshing, it pairs well with food, and it’s equally enjoyable on its own. It’s also a good reminder that there are excellent brews being made in Ontario that deserve just as much attention as the heavily promoted imports and the more popular local beers like Steam Whistle and Mill Street. Those looking to restock the fridge sometime soon should consider grabbing a box of Black Oak Pale Ale, or their Nut Brown, or some other Ontario craft beer that they haven’t had in a while, or even one that they’ve never had all. Some ideas on what to try can be found on the recently relaunched Ontario Craft Brewers website.
