International Wines/BeerTop Stories

What I wouldn’t give for a teleporter, warmer days, and a good nap

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By Brian Yeo

Now I certainly don’t want to set the tone for this piece with the perception that I’m whining,
anything but, but as I sit here contemplating my schedule for the next couple of weeks I’m
thinking I may be better off scheduling times to sleep into my calendar rather than all that is
happening in the craft beer world.

There are openings, closings, releases, tastings, dinners, breweries to visit, and road trips aplenty. Such is the oh so exciting life of an obsessive beer nerd. So rather than providing commentary and/or reviews on everything happening, it would seem a quick synopsis is more in order.

curmudgeonSpring seasonals, new releases, and a favourite returns

Since the end of February, a slow but steady stream of Ontario craft beers have been making their way onto the shelves of the LCBO including the Amsterdam Spring Bock, Great Lakes Orange Peel Ale, Beau’s All Natural Beaver River I.P. EH?, Grand River Curmudgeon IPA and Nickel Brook Headstock IPA (LCBO 275172).

All have their merits; the Amsterdam is a light interpretation of the Bock style, the subtle hint of orange in the Great Lakes is rather refreshing on a warm day, and the Curmudgeon is truly curmudgeonly with an aggressive hop bite finish.

Nickel Brook Headstock IPA (LCBO 275172, 7.0% abv, 80 IBU, $2.65, 473ml can)

nickelbrook_headstockcanThe Headstock first made its appearance last summer at the Session 99 Festival and since,
casks and kegs have been found throughout some of the better beer bars in Southern Ontario.

I will speak honestly in that it was this beer that helped change my perception of Nickel Brook and coupled with their Cuvee Spiced Ale and Bolshevik Bastard Imperial Stout their future is looking bright. Headstock pours a deep amber with tones of red with a quickly receding off-white head. The nose and palate reveal very characteristic pine resins, citrus, caramel, a
distinctive earthiness, lingering bite and warming alcohol all true to an American styled IPA.
Worth trying.

Beau’s All Natural Beaver River I.P.Eh? (LCBO 242701, 5.6% abv, 60 IBU, $4.35, 600ml bottle)

Taking from both British and American stylings of the IPA, Beau’s, as is to be expected from
these guys, have a created a distinctive IPA balancing assertiveness and finesse that is uniquely
their own.

Rich copper-amber in colouring with a slight haze revealing its unfiltered nature,
Beaver River gives off aromas reminiscent of a forest after a rain both earthy and fresh pine,
grapefruit, graham cracker-esque sweetness, notes of caramel, and a light floral tinge.

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The palate is rich and almost creamy with just a touch of sweetness and moderate carbonation
taking you to a lengthy finish of citrus and hop punch. A very well-crafted beer and highly
Recommended.

Warm Weather Alert: To add even more fun to the spring season, the folks at Beau’s have
also announced a second spring seasonal, the Patio Saison, which will be released on the first
sunny day in April where the temperatures climb past 18 Celsius. To follow the “Saisonal”
forecast visit here and let’s hope for a warm day soon.

Throughout the craft breweries of Ontario much is happening as well, with many, if not
all bringing new great beers and taste experiences to the shelves of their retail stores.

Wellington’s new One-Off the Rye – It comes out Saturday (April 14)  following on the success of the Terrestrial India Brown Ale and the Welly Mammoth Stout.

Great Lakes Brewing will soon release its Robust Porter through its retail store as part of their 25 th Anniversary celebrations.

Grand River Brewing in Cambridge was slated to release the Dog Stalker April Bock in their
retail this week.

A Legendary Spring Oddity has been spotted throughout the province courtesy of Muskoka Breweries and word also travelled through the twitterverse on Thursday that Nickel Brook was in the midst of bottling their new American Pale Ale, the Naughty Neighbour with a release expected soon. Below we will take a look at a couple of can’t miss brewery only releases.

Cameron’s Brewing Rye Pale Ale (6.6% abv, $16.50 for 6 pack of 341ml bottles, Brewery only)

camerons_rpaThis is one seriously impressive beer! The RPA first appeared as an experimental batch for the
2011 Cask Days IPA Challenge held at BarVolo in Toronto where it finished 2 nd in this consumer
voted on competition.

Cameron’s has twisted the IPA style as well combining elements from both British and American interpretations. A combination of 7 different hops are used both for floral delicacy and pungent earthiness balanced by 5 different malts including a judicious use of rye to create a full and robust body, luxurious mouthfeel, and a delicious peppery spicing from the rye.

Currently the RPA is on offer as a spring seasonal release from Cameron’s but given the calibre of this brew I can only hope it becomes part of their year round portfolio. Get yourself out to Oakville to grab some bottles or find it on draught, you won’t be disappointed. Highly Recommended!

This week also marked the much anticipated return of Black Oak Brewing’s highly acclaimed
10 Bitter Years, a Double IPA, which became available on Wednesday through their
retail store.

10-bitter3The initial version of 10 Bitter Years was created as a testament to Black Oak’s president Ken Woods history within the Ontario Craft industry, and while Ken will attest to the struggles in those first years, the resulting beer is a thing of beauty.

In 2011, 10 Bitter Years captured the gold medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards in the Imperial IPA category and was truly well deserved. Without even tasting the latest version I’ll put this as a Highly Recommended (With the preface that I get mine before you do or there may be trouble! In the past this beer has disappeared in a matter of weeks if not days.)

Craft beer events

Next week, two of my favourite craft beer events will be happening in Toronto and if I had
access to a teleporter I would certainly attend both but unfortunately that isn’t my reality.

Brewers Plate Toronto (Wednesday, April 18, Roy Thomson Hall, $125)

What happens when you combine the best of the Ontario Craft Brewers with some of
Ontario’s most talented chefs in a celebration of local, sustainable food and drink with a
charitable twist?

Well, you get Brewers Plate Toronto, which already is destined to be a highlight beer event for 2012. Proceeds from Brewers Plate will, this year, be donated to Green Thumbs Growing Kids! An organization dedicated to working with urban children, youth and their families to educate on the intricate relationship of food and nature in an urban-based gardening program.

For more info visit here.

Cask Days 4th Annual IPA Challenge (Friday April 20 to Monday April 23, BarVolo, $10)

4 days, 32 beers, 26 breweries in a head to head, single elimination, no holds barred
competition. What more needs to be said?!? Visit here for more details.