Husband-and-wife team Kari and Clayton Stenson are making luscious ales out of their 2-year-old brewery in the windy town of Swift Current. Their milk stout is my favourite: made with 5 different types of malt barley, wheat and oats, this jet-black brew will shatter your misconceptions about dark beer being bitter and foreboding. Notes of dark chocolate, figs and plum, with a ribbon of creamy sweetness, ride on a smooth, silky body.
Pouring jet black with a generous tan head, aromas of mocha lead to a medium-light body with cold-brew coffee and dark chocolate flavours and a dry, clean finish.
Bright aromas of strawberry, orange, overripe peach and chives swirl on the nose of this hazy, dusky peach-hued India Pale Ale from the Cambridge, Ontario outfit that is cranking out one delicious juicy IPA after another. The body is beautiful: it feels light yet fills the mouth and there’s a medium bitterness at the dry finish.
Kellye Robertson, head brewer at Dartmouth’s all-lager brewery, Spindrift, has created a modern version of the German Schwarzbier. Using 7 specialty malts to amp up the body, the result is a complex nose and aroma: notes of dark bread crusts, dark fruit, toasted nuts, ash and cacao swirl together on a lean, light-bodied black brew. Overall, the crisp, clean sip is effortlessly integrated.
The Etobicoke brewery’s beloved Märzen, Oaktoberfest, is soft and sweet with notes of biscuit, light caramel and just a hint of floral hops. This elegant and clean lager is perfect for toasting to the harvest or glugging down at an Oktoberfest celebration with sausages and pretzels.
Orval is the only beer brewed by Trappist Monks at Orval Abbey in Gaume, Southern Belgium. A darling of brewers and beer lovers the world over, it was one of the first beers with brettanomyces, a yeast strain that adds pleasing acidity and dryness, to hit North American shores. Pouring a deep orange, with floral, spicy and sweet grain aromas and lots of bitter hop character, ending in long dry finish. Stock up on a couple bottles for the cellar; with age the brett yeast will produce a drier, funkier, fruitier beer. Swap wine for Orval during the appetizer round at your next dinner party; the beer’s Champagne-esque effervescence and dry finish pair well with aged cheeses and cured meats.
A bready, rich lager crafted with all of the ingredients grown west of the 100th Meridian, the beginning of the great plains. Pours a light copper with a bright white head. On the nose, delicate floral hop and toasty malts; caramel and bread flavours on the palate, with a beautiful a soft floral hop finish. This all-organic brew is perfect with roasted chicken topped with barbecue sauce, or grilled root vegetables.