Rye Guy is a natural guy, comfortable in his own skin: strong with a complex & sensitive personality …. Rating → 90 points Stats: IPA. 6.7% ABV. 52 IBUs. Ottawa, Ontario. Size: half-growler (or full-growler also available) Colour: Golden, unfiltered, brewed on lees Mouth Feel: Low-Medium, very natural carbonation; refreshing, clean, dry finish Purchased: From Brewery Price: $7 (plus $3 bottle deposit) Pairing…
Archives for October 2014
Indian Summer
It was a miracle day a month ago, a hot miracle of an Indian summer when Ben and I went for ice cream and, in reliving a special memory, we created one even more special. Over the last few months, but really over the last couple of years, I’ve been contemplating writing a book, one that will…
“The Mullet” (Belgian IPA) Beyond the Pale Brewing Company
Business in the Front and Party in the Back Stats: IPA. 75.8% ABV. 49 IBUs. Ottawa, Ontario. Size: half-growler (or full-growler also available) Colour: Dark gold, unfiltered, brewed on lees Mouth Feel: Low-Medium, very natural carbonation; refreshing, clean, dry finish Purchased: from the Brewery Price: $7 (plus $3 bottle deposit) Pairing Notes: n/a → 86 points It seems only fitting that I…
Ben ~ In Memoriam
It was a rainy morning, a forecast filled with tears. Ben, the miracle dog, has left us, left my hearth, but not my heart. These past few days have been the saddest of my life — and that isn’t hyperbole. It seems only right that it has poured rain almost non-stop here for two days, save…
“Pumpkin Ale” (Spiced Beer) Great Lakes Brewery
The Great Pumpkin Ale emerges — all hail the great pumpkin ale…. Rating: 90 points Stats: Spiced Beer. 5.5% ABV. Etobicoke, Ontario. Size: 650mL bottle Colour: Deep straw, golden Mouth Feel: Medium carbonation; clean, bitter and refreshing finish. Purchased: LCBO Price: $4.95 Pairing Notes: Green curry. And so the field narrows and it comes to a point as I complete my seasonal quest for…
“Pumpkin Ale” (Flavoured Beer) Grand River Brewing
Suddenly, out of the turbid waters, a pumpkin appeared. Rating: 84 points Stats: Spiced Beer. 5.2% ABV. Cambridge, Ontario. Size: 500mL bottle Colour: Deep straw, golden Mouth Feel: Medium-low carbonation; medium mouthfeel. Purchased: LCBO Price: $3.95 Pairing Notes: A light Indian curry. With the bar now squarely set, I approach the third in the Great Pumpkin Ale challenge with this one from…
“St-Ambroise Citrouille” (Pumpkin Ale) McAuslan Brewing
The benchmark in pumpkin ales. Rating: 88 points Stats: Pumpkin Ale. 5% ABV. Montreal, Quebec. Size: 341mL bottle Colour: Deep amber Mouth Feel: Medium carbonation; creamy and full in the mouth. Purchased: LCBO Price: $9.95 (4/pack) Pairing Notes: n/a After the first disappointment on the Great Pumpkin Ale countdown, I chose to go with a known entity … one I already knew I loved from…
“Pumpkin Ale” (Spiced Beer) Black Creek Historic Brewing
A pumpkin ale that is more ghostly because of what doesn’t appear. Rating: 70 points Stats: Spiced Beer. 5% ABV. Toronto, Ontario. Size: 500mL bottle Colour: Light-brown amber Mouth Feel: Low carbonation; low specific gravity; light end. Purchased: LCBO Price: $3.95 Pairing Notes: n/a First up on the Great Pumpkin Ale Countdown is this traditional sampling from Black Creek Brewing. This is…
Searching for the Great Pumpkin … Ale
As Canadian Thanksgiving arrives and we sacrifice hundreds of thousand of pumpkins across this fair land as part of our traditional devourment of the greatest pumpkin pies in the country, it seems appropriate that I spend a few days at least contemplating that other pumpkin treat: pumpkin ale. What makes a great pumpkin ale? And what is the…
Dreamy
To be caught in a dream is to let go of the world that is and be transported to a world that might be. It is a place where the imagination plays with indistinct forms, thoughts, hopes and desires …. To capture it in a photograph, might be to capture the dream of the subject’s or…