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…
“Legendary Oddity” (Spiced Beer), Muskoka Brewery
Finally … a beer from the Muskoka Brewery worth writing about. Having previously reviewed their ubiquitous Mad Tom and Twice as Mad offerings which left me unimpressed, I was hesitant about sticking another toe in their fermented waters. Twice bitten — definitely third time shy. So why did I take the bait? The packaging grabbed…
“Rudolphus VI” (Belgian IPA) Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company
Most good things must eventually run their course … and this concludes my “Best of Beau’s” series featuring the four beer in their “mix pack.” This final comer is, again, Beau’s Brewery’s play with a defining but yet less mainstream beer style: the Belgian IPA, something I didn’t know that existed as a “style” before…
“Doc’s Feet” (Dubbel) Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company
Ambition can be a dangerous thing. Doc’s Feet is going to challenge you as much as the label challenges convention. I’m not sure if this some homage to Hello Kitty fitted as a west coast totem (I fear to ask) holding I don’t know what (a beer cap? the sole of a Doc Marten?). I…
Blackened Tilapia with Grilled Salsa
Tilapia is a relatively mild fish that oddly seems to attract both those that don’t particularly like fish and even those that love fish. With the commercial farming of tilapia, it has become ubiquitous in Canadian retailers and whether you approve of fish farming or not, it does at some level represent a more sustainable…
Blackening Spices
I was reading another blogger’s recipe for Cranberry Tilapia Quinoa last week and in the course of our shared back-and-forth comments about how to tackle what she described as a “blandness,” I suggested that she try blackening her tilapia to give it more zip … and I said that I had a recipe I’d be happy…