Eatdrink Waterloo & Wellington #1 June/July 2018

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LCBO!
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Forked River Capital Blonde — London’s
five-year-old Forked River nailed it early
with this beautifully versatile blonde ale.
A Canadian Brewing Award winner in its
style class a year after Forked River
started brewing it, Capital Blonde is a
light 4.7 per cent alcohol so it can be
consumed in multiples. As a brand,
it benefited greatly last year from
a reboot that introduced fans to
a blonde-bearded hipster on the
label, providing the cool vibe it
deserves. Capital Blonde’s strength
is not as a sessionable beer but as
a food partner, paired with dishes
ranging from standard barbecued
hamburgers to tomato-based Italian
food and spicy Mexican. This is a
craft beer to have in the fridge at all
times, May through September. $2.95 for a 473
mL can at the LCBO, the brewery’s online store, Beer Store
and select grocery stores.
Grand River Brewing Tailgate Lager —
Nothing says Waterloo Region like its most
famous watercourse, the Grand River, and
by extension, Grand River Brewing. The
Cambridge craft brewer has this
lager in significant distribution
and, since every springtime deck
gathering needs a lager within
reach, why not choose this one?
Tailgate Lager — it’s at the Beer
Store in Waterloo Region and
Guelph and LCBO — is 4.5 per cent
alcohol and a not-bitter 15 IBU. Its
tagline is the “beer less travelled.”
Think of it as the lager equivalent
of buying bread from a bakery instead of the
supermarket. As with blondes, lagers like this
are crowd-pleasing, and kings of the burgerpairing
domain. $3.10 for a 473 mL can.
Elora Wandering Monk Belgian
IPA — A gold medal winner at the
2017 Canadian Brewing Awards, the
Elora brewer channelled his or her
inner bitter monk to give us a beer
to ponder and discuss. Careful
sipping should reveal flavours of
white grapes, blueberries, and
tropical fruit. It’s a seasonal, in
shareable 500 mL bottles, and at
the tail end of its availability, so
grab it when you see it. Wandering
Monk is 8 per cent alcohol and
balanced. Its IBU is unavailable.