I may live in Ontario, but my beer tastes are international. And though the LCBO seems to favour Ontario, I am always looking out for beer that comes from other reaches of our great country. And while my latest finding is still brewed in Ontario, its ingredients come from the Arctic.
Bush Pilot Brewing Company makes its beer at another great brewery, Nickel Brook, in Burlington, Ontario. But its inspiration for its latest creation comes from legendary Inuk bush pilot, Johnny May. His plane, named Pengo Pally—Inuktitut for I miss you—is the name of this saison, that features the Arctic herbs, crowberry and Labrador tea, which were picked in Nunavik.
Enough of what I read off the label: let's get to the beer.
Pengo Pally Saison (6.5% ABV)
Bush Pilot Brewing Company/Nickel Brook Brewing
Burlington ON
Appearance: cloudy, deep, dried-apricot orange that reveals an effervescent storm that swirls in the glass—I wouldn't want to fly through that! An active, foamy, cloud-like head pours thick—I believe in aviation terms, it's a cloud with a high ceiling—and takes a while to settle in the glass. It's a slow pour to fill your glass.
Nose: candied pear, banana, and yeast.
Palate: more banana, spiced fruit, and pepper. There's also a little something that I couldn't put my finger on, like a fruity grass. These flavours, no doubt, come from the Arctic herbs.
Overall impression: this is a great farmhouse ale—earthy, fruity, and well-balanced. I wish that the alcohol level was lower so that I could enjoy more than one bottle in a single sitting. To that effect, think of it as a one-way flight, rather than a round trip. That's my of saying that if you drink one bottle, don't drive.
Or fly.
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Cheers!
This weekend was my first time in an LCBO for more than a month. Unless, of course, you count the time in Merrickville, when I was on my canoe vacation, and had been paddling for six days without any beer. That evening, I bought two cans of Hop City's Pale Ale but made such short work of them that they seemed like a dream.
Good stuff, by the way.
But this weekend was the first time since before I shut down Beer O'Clock that I walked into an LCBO, thinking to myself, "I need a beer to review."
For the first time in even longer, I left my local shop, empty-handed, uninspired by what I saw.
Still determined to find something, I went to the next-closest LCBO, at Merivale and Hunt Club. It's a good store and can usually be counted upon to have one or two obscure beers. I was also happy to find that it was still fully stocked with the Red Racer Summer Sampler that I reviewed last week.
I found something.
I used to shy away from saison ales, but over the past year I've taken a shining to them. So, when I saw one from a Norwegian brewery, one that I've heard of, heard it was good, I had to try it.
Saison (6/5% ABV)
Nøgne Ø (imported by Roland + Russell)
Grimstad, Norway
Beer O'Clock rating: 3
Appearance: an unfiltered, glowing apricot with a creamy, white head that settles to a thin cap.
Nose: grass, light ginger.
Palate: flinty, white pepper and malt, with a slight metallic finish.
Overall impression: most saisons that I have tried have displayed citrus characteristics with distinct fruit on the nose and in the mouth.
Not so with this ale. Its dryness reminds me of the difference between an off-dry, lychee-laden Ontario Gewurztraminer and a flinty, bone-dry Gewurz from Alsace. With these wines, you have one grape but two distinct products. And both of them are great, although I prefer the Ontario style.
The Nøgne Ø saison is a good beer, worth drinking for what it is, but I prefer the fruity interpretations of this style of ale.
Cheers!
Ryan, of Bières du Monde, is one smart man. One may say, a marketing genious.
He already knows that I love his beer shop, in the Galeries d'Aylmer, and am happy to recommend it as a place to find some amazing Québec microbreweries. It's a little bit out of my way when driving home from work, but the detour is always well worth the added time.
To entice his clients, Ryan has set up a Facebook page, on which he advertises the latest beers to fill his shelves. He also offers discounts on various bottles, and specials, such as free beer glasses with purchases.
I go for the beer, but I'll always find room for a new glass.
When Ryan contacted me the other week and asked me if I'd like to review a couple of beers that he had in stock, I jumped at the offer. But then I wondered, for someone who doesn't make this beer, why would a review of it be beneficial to him? And reviewing a beer, I made no promises that I would give a good review if I didn't like the beer.
I'm dreadfully honest when I review a beer, and if I don't like it, I'm not afraid to admit it, or even show me pouring it down the drain.
Sure, a good review of a beer would get folks visiting Bières du Monde and emptying the shelves of those beers, but no matter what the outcome of my tastings, I was still going to give Ryan free advertising for his shop.
So here it is: for a great selection of Québec craft beer, Bières du Monde is the place to go. If you don't check out the extensive variety, you're missing out. And both Ryan and André are great guys.
Luckily, when I tried the beer that Ryan offered, I liked them both. And so, for my first post on the return of my Beer O'Clock blog, I'd like to share my thoughts on two ales that are available at Bières du Monde.
La Saison du Tracteur Farmer's Strong Ale (6% ABV)
Le Trou du Diable
Shawinigan QC
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Appearance: an unfiltered, deep gold with hints of orange; a thick, foamy white head that leaves a moustache and never goes away.
Nose: luscious pineapple and yeast.
Palate: a creamy citrus and bitter mango, with a malt finish. As I drank, the taste of alcohol becomes stronger.
Overall impression: as a caution, there is lots of sediment in the bottle that made its way in my glass and danced with the bubbles. If you don't like drinking sediment, either pour slowly and stop before you get to the bottom of the bottle or sip slowly from your glass and don't finish the last mouthful or two.
This is a very pleasant ale with lots of flavour and a great blend of bitterness and malt. I would have liked to taste less alcohol, which grew more dominant in the finish as I emptied my glass.
With summer coming to a close, this is a beer with which I would take advantage of the waning patio season.
The other ale that Ryan invited me to try was an IPA that I've been meaning to try all summer, but never took the opportunity to pick up. For this opportunity, I say thank you, Ryan!
Yakima IPA (6.5% ABV)
Microbrasserie Le Castor
Rigaud QC
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Appearance: an unfiltered, pale amber with a foamy white head.
Nose: big hops, bold grapefruit.
Palate: intense, but not overpowering hops; bitter grapefruit that takes you to a lengthy finish.
Overall impression: I was first introduced to Le Castor earlier this year, with an oatmeal stout that received less than a stellar review. It was Ryan who suggested that the bottle I tried was off, and he replaced the beer. He was right, and I redeemed the oatmeal stout in a second review.
This offering from Le Castor is a classic IPA, something that you can drink anytime, anywhere.
While you can find beer by Trou du Diable at the LCBO, the saison is not the one you can get. And there are no beers by Le Castor on the LCBO site. If you want to try these ales, and I recommend that you do, go to Bières du Monde.
And tell them I sent you.
Cheers!
And now, a word about Beer O'Clock:
I have decided that I will only review beer that is available in the greater Ottawa area and Gatineau, or is listed through the LCBO. One of the things that I didn't like about the blog is that I would write a review on beer that wasn't available to the majority of my readers (or, at least, the ones who encouraged me to revive the blog).
If I find I'm cutting out readers who live outside the National Capital Region, I'll broaden my range accordingly. Your comments are always welcome.
I hope you enjoy the beer.
I should never drink beer while painting.
It's not that I'm worried about becoming impaired and spilling paint on the floor—or worse, in my beer—or about some other mishap. I'm also not worried about getting paint on my face—I can do that without drinking.
The problem with me painting a room (in this case, my ensuite bathroom) is that I tend to focus on the job, taking as few breaks as possible. And so, with this weekend's reno, where I spent a couple of hours painting, I shouldn't have poured myself a glass of beer because it took almost four hours to drink it.
Luckily, the beer held up the entire time. I also had another bottle, that I could enjoy last night, after the painting was done.
My friend and fellow beer blogger, Katy Watts, was recently in New York and brought me a seasonal that will most likely be gone by the time I hit the Big Apple in May.
Sorachi Ace (7.6% ABV)
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.
Beer O'Clock rating: 3.5
Appearance: rich gold and cloudy, with a thick, foamy-white head that dissipates slowly and leaves a fine lace.
Nose: pineapple and orange, with a touch of honey.
Palate: orange rind, spices, flint, with dry hops and another touch of honey in the finish.
Overall impression: this traditional Belgian-styled saison, which is fermented in its 750-ml bottle, is a refreshing ale that will welcome in the spring, hopefully in time for patio season. This saison, along with the recent one I tried from Beau's, are changing my mind about this type of ale, which I tended to shy away from.
If you can find some (none in the LCBO), stock up. Savour it. Just like I did when I was painting, and the next evening.
Cheers!
In a follow-up to my review of the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, I wanted to let you know that I had my second bottle on Saturday, at breakfast. My wife made me a fried-egg sandwich with Swiss cheese and tomatoes. We didn't have any bacon or other tasty meats, which I typically add to these sandwiches, but I didn't need it. The beer more than made up for its absence.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the beer with my breakfast sandwich, I can't say the same for the accompanying fruit. Smoke beer does not go well with sweet, ripe, freshly chopped pineapple. The sweetness and acidity clashed with the smoky bitterness.
But it was a worthwhile experience.
