Eatdrink #42 July/August 2013
The LOCAL food and drink magazine serving London, Stratford and Southwestern Ontario since 2007
The LOCAL food and drink magazine serving London, Stratford and Southwestern Ontario since 2007
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
№ 42 | <strong>July</strong>/<strong>August</strong> <strong>2013</strong> www.eatdrink.ca 51<br />
Barrel Aged Beers<br />
Barrel aged beers seem to be in vogue with<br />
local craft brewers. Wooden wine and<br />
liquor barrels are full of many flavourful<br />
and aromatic compounds and tastes that,<br />
when added to beer, create another level<br />
of depth and complexity, and round out or<br />
mellow the beer’s character. Some recent<br />
notable examples:<br />
Summer LCBO<br />
Summer seasonal releases are arriving at the<br />
LCBO and they show great promise with a<br />
fine line up of international crafted brews hitting<br />
the shelves in June. Most of these beers<br />
have scored 80 or better on the beer rating<br />
sites. Some notable must-tastes include:<br />
• Mikkeller Canadian Dream (320697)<br />
• Abbaye des Rocs Blanche Des Honnelles Strong<br />
Belgian Wheat Ale (318907)<br />
• Ommegang Iron Throne Blonde Ale (336032)<br />
Niagara Craft Brewing<br />
Another early summer junket took me to see<br />
the two newest craft breweries in the heart<br />
of Niagara wine country — Niagara Oast<br />
House Brewers and Silversmith Brewing<br />
Company — both conveniently located<br />
on the old Niagara Stone Road that runs<br />
through Virgil and Niagara-on-the Lake.<br />
Both had impressive small batch brewing set<br />
ups, which augurs well for the production<br />
of cask-conditioned ales. Oast House had a<br />
new release of Bière<br />
de Garde (strong<br />
Belgian farm house<br />
ale) as well as a new<br />
Smoked Irish Stout<br />
and a delicious<br />
Summer IPA —<br />
all unfiltered, all<br />
natural, flavourful<br />
and unique.<br />
Nothing beats sampling well-crafted beers<br />
fresh from the brewery.<br />
Silversmith had a new pale ale which<br />
really got my attention — massive apricot<br />
and pear tones with earthy hopping, very<br />
cidery. Schwarzbier was fresh and roasty but<br />
unfortunately the new Oyster Stout was still<br />
in the conditioners. I will return to sample<br />
this one. After tasting some of these two<br />
talented brewers’ new releases I believe they<br />
have great potential. Both have sampling<br />
rooms and retail stores at the brewery, but<br />
• Flying Monkeys Matador Cedar Aged Double IPA<br />
• Cameron’s Obsidian, a rum barrel aged Imperial<br />
Porter<br />
• Nickel Brook’s “Old Kentucky Bastard”, a Bourbon<br />
Barrel aged Imperial stout<br />
• Radical Road’s Canny Man, a barrel aged Scotch<br />
“wee heavy”<br />
• and most recently, Bush Pilot Brewing Company’s<br />
Barrel aged “Stormy Monday” Barley Wine.<br />
• Howe Sound King Heffy Imperial Hefeweizen<br />
(333138)<br />
• Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Saison(333146)<br />
• Nøgne Ø Saison (322578)<br />
• Le Trou du Diable Shawinigan Handshake (322552)<br />
• Brooklyn Brewery Sorachi Ace (322537)<br />
• Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel (325738)<br />
• Scaldis Blonde Triple (327601)<br />
• Les Trois Mousquetaires Hopfenweisse (333468)<br />
• Cuvée des Jacobins Belgian Lambic Ale (318758)<br />
you can keep an eye out for their products at<br />
craft beer pubs and the summer beer fests in<br />
our area.
Change language