from the Brewer: On August 1st 2015 at Griffin SESSION Muskoka we held the inaugral ‘Collaboration Nation North’ beer contest. 12 Northern Ontario townships entered a beer idea to compete for the best ‘Township Beer.’ In co-operation with brewmaster Sam Corbeil of the Sawdust City Brewing Co. the township of Midland came up with the…
St Luke’s Verse (Gruit) Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co.
Serve me warm and dip me in olive oil … and call me wonderful. Rating → 89 points Stats: Gruit. 5.7% ABV. 11 IBUs. Vankleek Hill, Ontario. Size: 600mL bottle Colour: Light copper – dark gold Mouth Feel: Medium-low but tight carbonation, that fades quickly. Refreshing and creamy finish. Purchased: LCBO Price: $24 (for Mix Pack)…
Winter Brewed (Coffee Amber) Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co.
The Best of Beau’s — a mix pack you must get. Rating → 89 points Stats: Old Ale. 6% ABV. 25 IBUs. Vankleek Hill, Ontario. Size: 600mL bottle Colour: Dark amber — the colour of a well-steeped Earl Grey tea or a weak, reddish coffee Mouth Feel: Medium-low but tight carbonation, that fades quickly. Refreshing and…
Honey Bee’Lixir (English Ale) Railway City Brewing Company
Floats like cloud and drinks like a bee, this is the latest from Railway City … Rating → 79 points Stats: English Ale. 5% ABV. 29 IBUs. St Thomas, Ontario. Size: 750mL bottle Colour: Dark red-brown amber — perfectly filtered Mouth Feel: Medium-low, natural carbonation; relatively flat on the tongue with a low specific gravity….
Hop Nouveau 2014 (American IPA) Trafalgar Ales & Meads
Pour cautiously our you’ll have wet hopped everything around you too …. Rating: 87 points Stats: American IPA. 5% ABV. Oakville, Ontario. Size: 650 mL bottle Colour: Slightly turbid straw Mouth Feel: High carbonation but very dry throughout Purchased: LCBO Price: $6.95 Pairing Notes: n/a Ok, so 30mL into pouring this beer, it was already evident…
“Harvest Ale” (American Pale Ale), Muskoka Brewery
A new offering from a brewery that makes an impression for its limited and season runs. Rating: 88 points Stats: American Pale Ale. 7.0% ABV, Bracebridge, Ontario. Size: 750mL Colour: Thick, dark, perfect amber. Mouth Feel: Medium carbonation; creamy middle. Dry finish. Purchased: LCBO Cost: $8.95 Pairing Notes: n/a So here’s another limited run beer from a brewery that has challenged…
“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…