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The Session #4: Local Brews

Posted on June 2, 2007 | 2 comments

Right, it’s time for another Session, that day of the month when beer bloggers all over the damn place kinda-sorta post about the same thing. This month, it’s being hosted by Gastronomic Fight Club, which is a bit odd since GFC appears to be a food blog (based in Omaha, no less) rather than a beer blog. But hey, beer is food, so it’s all good.

For the past three sessions, we’ve focussed on particular beer styles – stouts, dubbels, and milds. But this month, we’re mixing it up a bit, as snekse (I bet that’s not his real name…) at GFC has decreed that we shall all drink and write about a local brew (or brews). The specific parameters were that it had to be brewed within 150 miles of our house, preferably at the brewery closest to us, and leaning towards beers that are not well distributed outside of our area.

Well, if I was writing this 10 years ago, my pick would probably be something from Upper Canada Brewing, as I live about 5 minutes away from their original brewery. But they were bought by Sleeman in 1998, and production was moved to the Sleeman facility in Guelph soon afterwards. Plus the UC brands are pretty much shit now.

Nowadays, there must be at least a dozen breweries within 150 miles of my apartment, if not more. If I were to stick strictly to the “closest” rule, my pick would have to be either Amsterdam or Steam Whistle. But Amsterdam’s beers don’t really wow me (except for maybe their Framboise), and Beaumont did Steam Whistle.

So the other day, when I was returning some empties at the Beer Store, I stared at the big wall of logos (Ontarians will know what I’m talking about) looking for something local, and decided upon an old favourite that I hadn’t had in a while: Black Oak Pale Ale. And since I did this on Monday, the day that I was writing my Beer Of The Week column for Taste T.O., it gave me a chance to double dip, as I used it as my subject for this week’s column.

In fact, the column became a sort of preview for the Session, as I wrote a bit about local beers, and my somewhat embarrassing habit of not drinking them as often as I should:

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.

Like I said – kinda embarrassing. And also kinda stupid, given how good the beer is:

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.

As a result of all this, I’ve made a pact with myself to start drinking local beers more often. Sure, I’ll still pick up new and interesting imports, and faves like Brooklyn Lager and Aventinus will still be coming home with me occasionally. But I need to stop taking breweries like Black Oak (and Neustadt and Mill Street and Magnotta and King and so on…) for granted. Despite what I write above, they may not always be available, so best to enjoy them while I can, especially in these warm spring and summer months when a cool, fresh beer is always welcome.

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Beer of the Week – Black Oak Pale Ale

Posted on May 29, 2007 | Comments Off on Beer of the Week – Black Oak Pale Ale

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.

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The Session #3: Mild

Posted on May 4, 2007 | Comments Off on The Session #3: Mild

Another first Friday of the month, another Session in beer blog land. This time around, we’re being hosted by Jay at Brookston Beer Bulletin, and in honour of CAMRA’s Mild Month, he chose mild ale as this month’s style.

As Alan notes over at A Good Beer Blog, mild is a rare style nowadays, especially outside of the UK. But luckily, Toronto pub C’est What has a Mild Brown Ale in their line-up of house beers.

Even more luckily for me, I wrote an article on this beer just a couple of months ago as part of my series of Beer of the Week columns. So I can be lazy this month, and just do some cut ‘n’ paste. Nice!

Here’s what I wrote:

To most North American drinkers, mention of a beer with a 3% to 4% alcohol level will undoubtedly bring to mind fizzy yellow light/lite lagers that taste even less of beer than their 5% kin. But fans of UK-style ales will more likely think of Mild Ale, a style that was once on the brink of extinction but that has been gaining popularity thanks to the efforts of CAMRA and other real ale supporters.

Brewed since the 1600s, if not earlier, the definition of Mild Ale has varied a bit over the years, but it has typically referred to malty ales that are darker in colour and have a lower alcohol content than Bitters and Pale Ales. Back when ales were generally stronger across the board, Milds would vary in strength from 5% to 7%, but most modern interpretations sit somewhere in the 3% to 4% range.

Like most traditional ale styles, Mild is more common in the UK (although even with CAMRA’s efforts, it still hasn’t been restored to the point where nearly every pub had a Mild on at least one of their taps). But with the increasing popularity of cask ales in North America, more and more microbreweries are taking a crack at the style.

The only local example of the style comes courtesy of C’est What (67 Front Street East), the almost-brewpub (their house beers are brewed off-site at County Durham Brewing) that has been at the forefront of Toronto’s craft beer scene for over 19 years. Their C’est What Mild Brown Ale had actually crept up to 4.1% abv, but it was recently reformulated back to its original 3.4% level without sacrificing any of its unique character.

In the glass, it has the appearance of a nut brown ale or even a light porter, with a ruby-brown body and light mocha head. Both the aroma and flavour hold notes of roasted malt, cocoa, coffee and toasted nuts, with a delicate touch of hops in the finish. The body is on the creamy side due to the fact that it is served using a nitro tap of the sort typically used to serve stouts and some cream ales. Personally, I’d rather have it served as a cask ale, but in this case the nitro doesn’t have as much of a negative effect as it can have on lighter beers. Dispensing method aside, it’s just nice to have a flavourful beer that one can quaff several pints of in a session without falling off one’s barstool in the process.

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Beer of the Week – Great Lakes Orange Peel Ale

Posted on May 1, 2007 | Comments Off on Beer of the Week – Great Lakes Orange Peel Ale

This article was originally written in May 2007 for the food & drink website Taste T.O., and republished here in September 2011 (but back-dated to match the original publication date) after the Taste T.O. blog was shut down and taken offline.

In a local craft beer scene that has seen its fair share of well-intentioned failures, Etobicoke’s Great Lakes Brewery is a low-key success story. Founded in 1987, Great Lakes spent many years brewing nothing but Golden Horseshoe, an easy drinking lager that was initially available only on draught. It was eventually bottled and joined by two other beers, Red Leaf Lager and Black Jack Black Lager. All three beers catered to fairly mainstream tastes, and while not wildly successful, they developed enough of a following to keep the small brewery operational for the last two decades.

Sometime last year, however, they suddenly decided to break from their usual mould and try something different with a series of seasonal releases. Their first effort, the full-flavoured Devil’s Pale Ale, was launched at last summer’s Festival of Beer at Fort York, and it surprised many local beer drinkers who knew the brewery from their trio of mellow lagers. Even more surprising was their Winter Ale, a strong spiced ale that was perfect for the holidays.

Most recently, the series has continued with Orange Peel Ale. As the name suggests, this golden ale had orange peel added during the boil, giving both the aroma and flavour an interesting citrus note that compliments the sweet malts and soft herbal hops. Despite the use of five specialty malts and five varieties of hops, this is not an exceedingly complex beer, and the orange notes are quite subtle. In fact, it’s quite reminiscent of a good UK session bitter, albeit with a slightly fruit-accented character. But given the sickly sweetness of many fruit beers, it’s nice to have one that doesn’t beat you over the head with the fruit, and just lets it be one aspect of a tasty, well-crafted beer.

One other good thing about Orange Peel Ale: Unlike the previous Great Lakes seasonals which were only available on draught or at the brewery, this one is part of the LCBO’s spring beer release (LCBO 615633, $4.95/650 mL). Quantities and distribution are limited, but it’s been so popular that the brewery is doing a second batch to meet demand, so you should be able to find it for at least the next few weeks.

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Beer of the Week – Atlantic au Pineau

Posted on April 24, 2007 | Comments Off on Beer of the Week – Atlantic au Pineau

This article was originally written in April 2007 for the food & drink website Taste T.O., and republished here in September 2011 (but back-dated to match the original publication date) after the Taste T.O. blog was shut down and taken offline.

As mentioned in last week’s column, the LCBO’s Spring beer release has started trickling out into selected locations. It’s quite a lean release this time around, featuring only six beers, one of which (Fruli Strawberry Beer) is already available year-round at the Beer Store. Of the remaining five beers, only two are imports: the Duchy Originals Organic Ale that I wrote about last week, and this week’s pick, Atlantic au Pineau (LCBO 24372, $3.45/330 mL).

This beer comes from Brasserie des Gabariers, the French brewery responsible for the Cognac-laced XO Beer that has been available in a couple of previous LCBO seasonal releases. XO elicited some pretty strong “love it or hate it” responses from the local beer geeks, and I was one of the ones who actually enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to trying this one. Instead of straight Cognac, Atlantic is infused with Pineau des Charentes, a liqueur that is made by blending Cognac with unfermented grape juice.

Unfortunately, the ingredients list also includes sugar, which means the resulting beverage ends up being more of a sweet apertif or dessert drink than a typical beer. At least it looks like a beer, with a bright golden colour and a massive white head that disappears fairly quickly. The aroma is a bit grassy, suggesting that there are some hops in there, but it’s mainly quite sweet – almost cloyingly so – and the body is sticky. The flavour is also very sweet, with strong notes of white grape juice and sugar syrup, and a middling beer behind it.

Like the XO, this is essentially a gimmick beer. It’s just that it’s a gimmick that doesn’t work as well as it’s predecessor. Still, it’s worth a taste for the novelty value if nothing else. Just don’t bother buying more than one – unless, of course, you have a serious sweet tooth and prefer beers that don’t really taste like beer.

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Beer of the Week – Duchy Originals Organic Ale

Posted on April 17, 2007 | Comments Off on Beer of the Week – Duchy Originals Organic Ale

This article was originally written in April 2007 for the food & drink website Taste T.O., and republished here in September 2011 (but back-dated to match the original publication date) after the Taste T.O. blog was shut down and taken offline.

I had a bit of trepidation about this week’s column, as I’m coming off of a battle with a nasty stomach bug, and wasn’t sure if I was up for a beer yet. But my weekly mission cannot be denied, so I pulled my two latest purchases from the fridge: Duchy Originals Organic Ale and Atlantic au Pineau, both part of the LCBO’s Spring seasonal beer release that is starting to trickle into stores. Reading the label on the latter, I saw that it’s an ale infused with Pineau des Charentes, an apertif made from Congac and grape juice – a little too esoteric for my barely recovered belly. So it went back in the fridge for next week’s instalment, and I was left with Duchy by default.

Duchy Originals is a line of organic products created in 1990 by Prince Charles, who has long been a proponent of whole & natural foods and traditional farming methods. The beer is a Bitter that is brewed under contract by Wychwood Brewery (best known for beers like Fiddler’s Elbow and Hobgoblin) using exclusively organic hops and malt sourced from farms in Britain. And like all Duchy Originals products, profits are donated to The Prince’s Charities.

It’s a very noble endeavour, so I wanted to like the beer before I even poured it. Thankfully, I did. It’s got a nice brilliant copper colour with a good sized white head, so it scores points for appearance. The aroma is decent, with some solid maltiness, and notes of caramel and orange peel. Body is good for the style, with soft carbonation. The flavour is pleasant and well balanced, with malt and grain notes off the top, some orange-candy sweetness in the middle, and a grassy hoppiness to finish.

There’s nothing especially unique about it, but it’s certainly a pleasant and quaffable beer for those who enjoy UK ales. I just can’t help but think that if it weren’t for the organic hook, it wouldn’t stand out much from other quality UK imports, especially given the slightly higher price point (LCBO 26971, $3.60/500 mL). But it’s not often that we see an organic beer besides Mill Street Organic Lager on LCBO shelves, and it’s for a good cause, so I say it’s worth the splurge for a couple of bottles.

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Beer of the Week – Hockley Dark

Posted on April 3, 2007 | Comments Off on Beer of the Week – Hockley Dark

This article was originally written in April 2007 for the food & drink website Taste T.O., and republished here in September 2011 (but back-dated to match the original publication date) after the Taste T.O. blog was shut down and taken offline.

While they won’t be officially given out until tomorrow, this year’s edition of the Ontario Beer Awards have already caused some controversy in the local beer geek scene thanks to a leaked list of winners being posted to the discussion forum at BarTowel.com.

This competition tends to cause some minor grumbling every year due to the fact that the credentials of some of the judging panel are somewhat questionable – for example, the bios of some judges use phrases like “he’s been throwing keg parties since he turned 19” as proof of their suitability for the position. But this year, the complaints went into overdrive when it was discovered that the notorious Steelback Brewery somehow managed to win four medals, including gold in the Dark Lager and Honey Beer categories.

Unfortunately, this controversy – however justified it might be – is bound to overshadow the fact that several very deserving beers also won awards. One of those beers is Hockley Dark, a brown ale from Orangeville’s Hockley Valley Brewing that’s been on LCBO shelves and a few bar tap lines for the past three years or so. This is a beer that tends to fly under the radar for a lot of local beer drinkers, perhaps because many of them look upon brown ales as an unexciting and non-challenging style, but if I may steal the motto of a more popular mainstream brew: Those who like it, like it a lot.

To be honest, it took me a few tries to bring me on board, but now I’m a serious fan of this brew, especially when I can find some fresh cans (easy to tell thanks to the date stamp on the bottom). It has a nice dark ruby-brown colour with a fairly still body, and a pleasing aroma of roasted malt, brown sugar, cocoa and woody hops. The body is soft and light, which surprises those who expect all dark beers to be big and heavy, and the flavour is full without being overpowering, with notes of malt, licorice, coffee, roasted nuts, and a slowly developing hop bitterness in the finish.

This is an understated and under-appreciated gem of a beer, and well deserving of the gold medal it has won in the Dark Ale category. If you’d like to give it a try yourself, it can be found at many local LCBO locations (LCBO 34660, $2.50/473 mL can) and on tap at a few of Toronto’s better beer bars.

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Beer of the Week – Gayant La Goudale

Posted on March 20, 2007 | Comments Off on Beer of the Week – Gayant La Goudale

This article was originally written in March 2007 for the food & drink website Taste T.O., and republished here in September 2011 (but back-dated to match the original publication date) after the Taste T.O. blog was shut down and taken offline.

It would be a bit of an understatement to say that France is not known for having a great beer culture. After all, it’s one of the countries most synonymous with wine, and most people would be hard pressed to name a single French beer. (No, Brador doesn’t count.)

But in the Northern region of the country known as Nord Pas-de-Calais, the influence of Belgium holds a lot of sway (as indicated by the area’s colloquial name of French Flanders), and a beer style known as bière de garde is the drink of choice. Translated as “beer for storage”, bières de garde are strong ales (usually 5% to 7.5%) that were originally brewed by farmers in the spring to last through the summer months when the warm weather made brewing more difficult. This farmhouse pedigree makes them a cousin to the Belgian saison, a style that is more common in North America thanks to the popularity of Saison Dupont.

It’s a shame that we don’t get more of these beers over here, as they can be just as interesting and varied as saisons and other traditional European styles. One that is available in Ontario now is La Goudale from Les Brasseurs De Gayant, although you’ll have to hunt for it as it’s only available via private ordering from the import agency Roland + Russell.

While saisons tend to be hazy in appearance, bières de garde are usually clear and bright, and this one is no exception as it pours a clear golden colour with a moderate white head. There’s lots of wheat and yeast in the aroma, as well as some herbal tea notes. The mouthfeel is slightly sticky, and the flavour is quite sweet and honeyish to start, followed by a dry herbal finish. As it warms up, the 7.2% alcohol comes to the forefront a bit too much, but it’s still quite a palatable beer that would pair well with rustic farmhouse meals, or with a heaping serving of moules frites. Contemplate it for a while and you’ll probably find characteristics that bring to mind the strong ales of Belgium, even more proof that when it comes to beer, traditions are generally built around the shared histories of historical regions rather than modern national borders.

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Beer of the Week – Trafalgar Celtic Pure Irish Ale

Posted on March 13, 2007 | Comments Off on Beer of the Week – Trafalgar Celtic Pure Irish Ale

This article was originally written in March 2007 for the food & drink website Taste T.O., and republished here in September 2011 (but back-dated to match the original publication date) after the Taste T.O. blog was shut down and taken offline.

If you believed all the advertising and hype that gets rammed down our throats around this time every year, then you’d think Guinness was the only suitable choice of beer for St. Patrick’s Day. And the sad fact is that if you have your heart set on sticking with an actual Irish beer for the 17th, then Guinness is the best of a mediocre and mass-produced lot that also includes Kilkenny, Smithwicks and Harp – unless, of course, you were smart enough to hoard a few bottles of O’Hara’s Celtic Stout from Carlow Brewing the last time it was available at the LCBO.

My advice, then, is to go local. If stout is your thing, there are a couple of locally brewed options available, including Amsterdam Irish Stout and Durham Blak Katt, although since both are draught-only, they may take some hunting to find.

Not a stout but still fitting the theme of the day is Celtic Pure Irish Ale from Oakville’s Trafalgar Ales & Meads. This brown ale is available at several LCBO locations alongside Paddy’s Irish Red ($3.75/650 mL each) with special labels promoting Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade (one of the biggest in the world, apparently – who knew?).

This beer is described by the brewer as an “everyday ale”, and it’s a pretty accurate description. It’s not an ale that wows you, but it’s still well made, with a pleasant flavour of caramel malt, delicate notes of coffee and cocoa, and moderate bittering hops to provide some balance in the finish. It’s a bit lacking in body, but it should serve as a good session ale if you’re planning on polishing off a few, and the unassuming flavour means it should pair well with your favourite pub grub. Sláinte!

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Beer of the Week – Fuller’s London Pride

Posted on March 6, 2007 | Comments Off on Beer of the Week – Fuller’s London Pride

This article was originally written in March 2007 for the food & drink website Taste T.O., and republished here in September 2011 (but back-dated to match the original publication date) after the Taste T.O. blog was shut down and taken offline.

If you’ve been shopping for beer at the LCBO recently, you’ve probably noticed that the number of canned beers on the shelves has been increasing quite dramatically. A lot of them are beers of the type that you’re probably used to seeing in cans, from US bargain brands like Yankee Jim and Old Milwaukee, to an array of indistinguishable lagers from the former Eastern bloc.

But due to the same environmental initiatives that have led to the recently launched deposit return program, the LCBO has been actively sourcing other canned beers, and the result has been some surprising additions to the aluminium-clad line-up on the shelves. Most notably, there has been a mini-spike in UK ales being added to the inventory.

Now, there are some who feel that cans are not a suitable container for good quality beer. They argue that the package imparts a tinny flavour to the beer, or that it somehow cheapens the product. The first point has been rendered moot by newer technologies that ensure no metallic flavours leech into the beer. And as for the second point, it’s just a prejudice that people will have to get over. After all, the most important thing is that beer inside the container is kept in good condition, and it could be argued that in many cases, a can does a better job of that than a bottle.

A good example of the can’s superiority over the bottle can be found in Fuller’s London Pride ($2.75/500 mL, LCBO 676767). This UK-brewed bitter was previously available here in bottles, and while it was a pleasant enough ale, it always seemed to have a slightly stale character. In cans, however, I’ve found it to be fresh and lively, with well-defined bready and slightly fruity malt in the aroma, and grassy hops coming through to impart a pleasant sweet-bitter balance in the flavour.

So, please don’t fear the cans. They’re allowing us to experience some great UK ales (not to mention a few world class Pilsners that have sneaked in with the rest of the Euro-lagers) in a state that is much closer to optimum condition than a bottle could ever offer. Now, if only we could convince the LCBO to start bringing in some of the fantastic US craft beers that are available in cans…

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