I always find a bit of redundancy in labeling an English IPA. England is the home of the first IPAs, when brewers shipped strong ales that could handle the long journey, by ship, to the colonies in India. I can understand an American IPA or a Canadian IPA, with their own twist on this hoppy style of beer, but by definition, an IPA is English in nature, unless otherwise indicated.
Nevertheless, when I drink an IPA, all that I care about is that it carries the essential characteristics of an India Pale Ale.
Nita Beer Company, in the commercial and industrial area of Colonnade Road, in Nepean, has been around for about two years and has already made a name for itself, occupying taps in many pubs around Ottawa. I first tried their beer, last summer, at The Arrow & Loon, where I enjoyed El Hefe and OPA, and at CRAFT Beer Market, where both my wife and I fell in love with Mr. Brown Has Gone Coconuts.
Last Friday, Nita launched a new English IPA, and within hours I was paying the brewery a visit to pick some up.
Chauncey English IPA (6.8% ABV)
Nita Beer Company
Ottawa ON
Appearance: unfiltered, burnt apricot, with a creamy, off-white head that settles to a medium lace.
Nose: a slight hint of freshly shucked corn and orange rind. Not the creamy corn aroma that I associate with a flaw, but more green from the husk.
Palate: there's a good balance of malt and hops, with a bitter, acidic follow up to the finish. Orange rind carries through on subsequent sips and builds, as does the alcohol at the back of the tongue. It's a bit boozy, but thankfully there are good flavours to back it up.
Overall impression: Chauncey is a good beer to enjoy when you're not planning on going anywhere. The 6.8 percent alcohol content compels you to drink responsibly. It's a hefty, bull-dog IPA.
Maybe, that's where the English comes in.
Grab some from the brewery or check around Ottawa to see where you can get it on tap.
Beer O'Clock rating: 3.5
Cheers!
As the story goes (the one that's printed on the side of the can), the tiny town of Drummond, less than 30 kilometres east of Goderich and Lake Huron, in Southern Ontario, was founded in 1851. Four years later, a wealthy landowner in Berkshire, Southern England, bought the entire town, sight unseen, and changed the name to his own.
Henry Blyth never set foot in the town.
From this incredible story comes a beer to honour the town's namesake, who was absent so long ago. Why the brewers decided to choose a West-German-style ale is beyond me, but this is not your average Kölsch.
Absent Landlord Coutry Kölsch (5.3% ABV)
Cowbell Brewing Company
Blyth, ON
Appearance: a bright, cloudy orange-apricot with a creamy, off-white head that forms a thin but solid cap.
Nose: pear, with floral notes and ripe banana.
Palate: the nose carries through to the palate, with candied pear, rich banana, and a touch of creamy barley, which gives the strange impression of drinking a melted, unsweetened Creamsicle. It's rich, decadent, and flavourful.
Overall impression: this is the cloudiest Kölsch I've ever had and possibly, the most flavourful. It's certainly the best Kölsch I've ever had.
The fresh-fruit flavours give it the impression of being sweet, but this ale cleanses the palate and refreshes, especially on a hot day. Since my first can of Absent Landlord, I have picked up nearly 20 more and I expect that by the end of this week, I'll clear out the remaining stock on the shelves of this Ottawa LCBO, because it's only one of three stores in my city that stocks Absent Landlord, according to the LCBO Web site.
So grab it before it goes absent.
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Cheers!
Lumber-what??
Yup, sometimes, there are beer labels that you can't pass up. Actually, you can, but why would you?
The other weekend, when the missus and I were out in the west end, looking for hardwood flooring, we found ourselves passing by a local brewery that I haven't visited in a couple of years. I decided, once the flooring shop was visited, to pay another visit to this brewer.
It's a place that's generally out of the way, so I took advantage of my situation (there's always a reason to stop for beer).
I was pleased to see that Covered Bridge Brewing had moved into using cans, as well as growlers, so I picked up a couple of cans from the four brews that were available in aluminum. I decided that I wouldn't review all of them but if another of the four moves me while I drink it, I'll do more reviews.
But first, I had to focus on this quirky-named ale.
The hipster dude makes me roll my eyes (when is that fad going to go away?) and the name of the beer would make me blush to say in public, but it's the style of the beer that I'm all about.
Lumbersexual Session IPA (3.5% ABV)
Covered Bridge Brewing Company
Stittsville, ON
Appearance: a cloudy deep-apricot, with an off-white to beige head that was thick and foamy, and settled to a solid cap, then dense lace.
Nose: orange peel and ruby-red grapefruit. It was powerfully fragrant, with solid hops.
Palate: at first, there was a watery lightness that disappointed me, but at the end the hops came through. On subsequent sips, the wateriness dissipated as the hops coated my tongue, though I still came back with the impression of a watered-down IPA. Only the low alcohol reassured me that it was also a session ale.
Overall impression: the nose was huge and powerful, like a lumberjack, but the palate was gentle, like a lover. I now get the name of this ale. But did I like it?
Yes, I did, once I got past the first mouthful and really started drinking it. It's refreshing and light—perfect for these hot, hazy summer days. And with the low ABV, it's something you can throw back without a care.
Beer O'Clock rating: 2.5
Currently, this beer is only available at the brewery, but because it's packaged in cans, I'm hopeful that it'll soon make its way to LCBO shelves.
Cheers!
I love discovering new Ontario breweries. Take last night, for example: it was International IPA Day, and I found myself in Carleton Place, a small but beautiful town a half-hour or so west of Ottawa. After a photo shoot in a hot, abandoned factory, I needed to find a cool pub and have a cooler brew to celebrate this special day.
I found such a place at St. James Gate. And, not only did they have an IPA to help me with the celebration, but this IPA was from the very town I was in.
I'll have to review that ale, but not today.
No, today, I take a look at another discovery from a Kitchener brewer, whose cans of American Pale Ale found their way to my local LCBO shelves.
And this APA was not what I expected.
Harbinger American Pale Ale (5.5% ABV)
Descendants Beer & Beverage Company
Kitchener, ON
Appearance: a deep amber to copper, more in line with an amber ale; a creamy, beige head left a solid cap.
Nose: slight malts, but otherwise, closed. I expected some fresh hops, but found none reaching my nostrils.
Palate: hop-forward with solid malt balancing from the first mouthful, but as the ale went down past the tongue, the hops prevailed as the dominant flavour. There's also a burnt toffee-ness that coats the tongue. It drinks somewhere between an amber lager and a red ale.
Overall impression: this is not what I expected when I opened the can. A few hours before I tucked into this APA, I had a Kichessippi 1855 with lunch. The two were very much in the same class, where I would have initially thought that they would be very different.
I did enjoy this ale for the body and flavours that it offered. Expecting a pale ale, though, I would have been disappointed if that was all I really wanted. This ale is so much more that it seems to depart from its category.
If you're looking for a full-bodied amber or a lighter red, this will go just nicely. If you want an APA, beware.
Beer O'Clock rating: 2.5
Cheers!
No, this isn't another STAR TREK-themed beer.
This lager is named in homage to an old lighthouse that signaled a port along the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the town of Oakville. And like that 1836 beacon, this can caught my eyes and drew me in.
Captain's Log Lager (5% ABV)
Cameron's Brewing
Oakville, ON
Appearance: clear, bright gold with a fizzy white head the disappeared like a ship in a fog. (Quickly.)
Nose: like a ship that secures its cargo, this lager had a tightly closed nose that did not offer up its secrets. Over time, I could only get faint hints of grass and barley, but not much else.
Palate: clean malt and a light body that made this lager sail smoothly down my throat. It's very easy to drink in any situation—those with a taste for easy-drinking beer will enjoy this lager. But for me, I would have liked to have had more flavour—full steam ahead, as it were.
Overall impression: this is such a simple lager that should appeal to all palates. It's unassertive, clean, and refreshing. A captain's log would be straightforward, without any rough seas.
Captain's Log is smooth sailing all the way.
Beer O'Clock rating: 2.5
Cheers!
There's a brewery in Ottawa that I've always liked but don't get the opportunity to drink as often as I'd like.
It's not the brewery's fault: it's mine.
When Beyond the Pale first opened its doors, a couple of years ago, the only place that you could buy the beer was in its Parkdale Market-area site or in a few pubs in the Hintonburg area. Or, you could find them at a booth in a beer festival.
Back then, if you wanted to take some of their beer home, you had to go directly to the brewery and pick up a growler. And because the brewery was popular, you had to get to the brewery as soon as it opened its doors, before they sold out. Their latest batch sold out quickly, which meant that you could miss out on special brews.
Which is usually what happened to me.
But now that the brewery has started to can their product and move into the LCBO, I can always find some Pink Fuzz, and now, I can try their latest offering.
I was especially prompted to pick up their new pale ale because a friend of mine created the artwork on the can.
What was inside the can was equally impressive.
Pale Ale Project (4.9% ABV)
Beyond the Pale Brewing Company
Ottawa, ON
Appearance: a luminescent, deep gold with ample effervescence (I saw what I thought was a bubbly twister in the glass) and a thick, foamy-white head.
Nose: ripe citrus—tangerine and pink grapefruit—and pineapple, with floral overtones.
Palate: lemon, grapefruit, with light hops on a light body, though the flavours carry to a solid finish.
Overall impression: this is one of the most-flavourful pale ales I have tried. It has the light body of a session ale but the weighty flavour of an IPA. I was sad that I had only bought myself two cans—I was seriously craving more and this might just become my regular brew of the summer.
Beyond the Pale has come out with a successful project. Grab some while you can. I suspect this ale is for a limited time.
And kudos to artist extraordinaire and Ottawa-area historian, Andrew King, on a great label. I like the intricate work: a friend of mine saw it and felt it had a Rube Goldberg machine and I agreed. I like how the picket fence worked into the art, paying homage to the company logo.
Beer O'Clock rating: 4
Cheers!
In today's explosion of craft breweries, it's increasingly important to create a brew that stands out above the rest. As I have written before, in the fight for shelf space at The Beer Store or the LCBO, a beer must be packaged in a way that draws a shopper's eye to it and that the style of beer is clearly laid out, so that the consumer knows what she or he is buying.
Above all else, in order to bring that beer lover back and to establish itself firmly in the market, that brew must be a product with solid, consistent quality.
I first visited Whiprsnapr Brewing Company during its grand opening, in the fall of 2014. It's humble production facility and tasting shop, in the industrial park in Bells Corners, was packed with eager aficionados, anxious to try Ottawa's newest brewery. I was impressed with their lineup of ales and lagers, of their sitting areas, of their merchandise—I picked up a t-shirt of their flagship brew, Root of Evil, with the word evil placed inside the mathematical square-root sign, even though, for that grand opening, that flagship product wasn't available. A problem during production, I was told, one that would be fixed in the next batch, which would be available in the next couple of weeks. I did sample everything else that was on tap and even took a couple of mini growlers home, fully intending to review them all.
I never reviewed them. When I got home and had poured the beer into my own glasses, I noticed that the beer didn't quite taste like I remembered them in the brewery. I looked at my quickly scribbled tasting notes to see if I missed something, but I hadn't. My notes from the taps at the grand opening did not match my notes from the growlers.
There wasn't anything wrong with the beer: it just didn't seem consistent.
I chose to put off a review for the time being. I would wait until my taste buds had begun to forget what they had sensed (I never completely forget the taste of a beer) and try again. Besides, I really wanted to review the beer whose name emblazoned the t-shirt I had.
And then I went on a hiatus of more than four months, where I wasn't reviewing any beer. I was still drinking it, still writing notes, but I wasn't sharing my impressions. It was just me, enjoying my pints.
Whiprsnapr, by then, was just another of the many breweries I had known, and had moved on. I still always meant to try Root of Evil, but I was also coming to a point where I was reluctant to buy growlers because of my inability to return them. To this day, I'm sitting on a small fortune of empty jugs from almost every Ottawa brewery, including the growlers I bought at Whiprsnapr's grand opening.
It wasn't until the brewery was putting their product into cans, where they sold at the LCBO. A couple of months ago, I saw black cans with evil inside the square-root sign, and I knew it was the time to give this lager a try. I picked up a couple of cans and brought them home.
When I opened the first can, I wore my Whiprsnapr t-shirt. I planned to take a photo of myself, in that shirt, sipping a glass of the yellow-gold beverage.
After my first sip, I knew something was wrong: I detected distinct tones of buttered popcorn, which is often a sign of a flaw in the beer. Perhaps it was a bad can—it happens from time to time and is the main reason that I always buy at least two of every beer I bring home. I poured out the can and reached for the second one.
The buttered popcorn was still there, but I also noticed that the second can didn't taste like the first one, either. Many similarities, but not the same and neither of them good. That's how they made it, I told myself as I dumped the second can.
I don't like to write bad reviews, especially of local brewers. I have met the founder and brewer, Ian McMartin, a couple of times, had actually cycled with him before he opened his brewery. He was a good guy, loved the outdoors, and was passionate about beer.
After tossing out the two cans, I sent a tweet, warning that I had a review for Whiprsnapr, and that it would be "evil." Ian responded right away, asking me what was wrong. I told him what I had detected in my beer and he admitted that he had let out a batch that had problems, but they were brewing a new batch, and were even altering the recipe a bit. He'd have this batch in a couple of weeks.
I told him that I would hold off on my review until the new batch was ready, when I would come to the brewery and pick up the cans from him.
In the brewery, Ian poured me a sample from the tap. It was cold, clean, and refreshing, and I found nothing out of sorts with a lager. Ian gave me my replacement cans, and I was on my way, ready to give this brew its due respect.
As soon as I was home, I pulled out my best glass, set up my camera, and shot the beer on my front porch. It looked good. It smelled good.
I didn't like the taste.
Maybe it was me. Maybe I had built up the beer in my head and had unrealistic expectations.
I poured the rest of the glass down the drain and placed the second can in the fridge. I would take a break, drop any preconceived notions, and treat the next can like I've never had this beer before.
A couple of weeks later, in the LCBO, I saw another can of beer by Whiprsnapr. I had had this beer—an IPA—at the grand opening and from one of the growlers that I had brought home. I remembered liking it, so I thought that I would review this ale with the second can of lager that sat in my fridge. I would take a look at these two offerings in a single review, see which I preferred.
I opened the lager first. Here's my official review:
Root of Evil Prohibition Lager (4.5% ABV)
Whiprsnapr Brewing Company
Ottawa, ON
Appearance: deep gold with a white, foamy head that quickly settles to a dense lace. The clear liquid dances with the tiny pearls that rise to the surface.
Nose: buttered popcorn and dry grass. For me, it's okay if a beer smells like popcorn, as long as it doesn't taste like it.
Palate: good, toasted malt with a little bit of hops on the finish, mixed with flavours of creamed corn.
Overall impression: Root of Evil is brewed with corn as a main ingredient, so it's no surprise that I pick it up on the nose and in the mouth. But I don't think I'm a fan of that grain in my beer. For me, it seems a little pedestrian. That said, the lager was well-balanced, with the malts leading the charge and the hops right behind it.
It's not a bad lager; indeed, it's a far step up from any mass-produced lager and would most likely be a welcome change from those who drink Labatt's. But for me, in a time when so many microbreweries are fighting to be the leader, I can't get around the inconsistencies I've tasted with this beer.
For me, inconsistency is the root of evil.
Beer O'Clock rating: 2
How did their IPA fare? Let's see...
Inukshuk Canadian IPA (5.5% ABV)
Appearance: burnt orange with red highlights. A foamy, beige head that settles to a thin cap. I found the colour to be gorgeous.
Nose: orange peel and a touch of pine. There are the classic notes of an IPA but with a Canadian flair.
Palate: orange rind and sharp hops, plus a bit of malt on the tongue. There was also a tinge of grassiness that didn't quite seem in step with a traditional IPA.
Overall impression: this is a pretty good IPA that is easy enough to drink, even while sitting outside on a hot, muggy, mid-30°C afternoon. While I didn't find all the flavours fit into my idea of an India Pale Ale, the can clearly reads Canadian IPA, and I think Ian came through on a local take on one of my favourite styles.
Beer O'Clock rating: 3
While I still like my t-shirt, I think I'll pass on any more of this lager. As much as I like the brewer, I can't trust what I'll get in the can. But I would drink Inukshuk again. It's an ale that speaks to my outdoor Canadian self.
Cheers!
