When Ontario indie rockers Born Ruffians joined forces with Muskoka Brewery to create a one-off collaboration beer for a beer festival, the band wanted something clean and crisp that they could drink after a sweaty show on the road. The resulting sessionable pale ale was such a hit with festival goers that it won “Best of the Fest,” earning it a spot on LCBO shelves this spring. This light-bodied, bubbly blonde ale has juicy pineapple and citrus on the nose and palate, with a light honey malt backbone.
This wild-fermented Belgian beauty features notes of well-aged balsamic vinegar and sour cherries with puckering acidity from start to finish. It’s a fun contrast with decadent chocolate desserts — sip it with the richest chocolate cake you can find.
The remote location of this small-town Ontario brewery hasn’t stopped its funky, sour farmhouse brews from selling out thanks to the droves of sour beer lovers ordering bottles online. The aroma is pleasantly perfumey, with whiffs of tangy orange blossom and floral chamomile tea. This farmhouse witbier drinks like a fuzzy peach, tart and fruity, with bright acidity and a flowery finale that lasts through the finish. Well worth a try, if you can get it. (The Seaforth, Ontario brewery ships its beers every week through its website.)
Red ales are a rare breed spotted mostly in Atlantic Canada. PEI’s sparkling copper brew has a rich grain and toffee character and a whisper of herbs, offset by a firm hop bitterness. Pair with grilled chicken and a green salad.
Brewmaster Frédérick Tremblay rejected American hops — until he discovered a blend that transformed his famous Belgian-style tripel into a Champagne-like tipple — drinks like spring in a glass. A shoo-in with grilled sausages.
Lambic beer is fermented the ancient way — with wild, airborne yeasts. Then it undergoes a secondary fermentation in large barrels, each populated with its own community of microflora, before being blended together to make gueze. This is one of the only unsweetened offerings from family-owned Lindemans, who have been brewing this style of beer since the 1890s. This gueze (a blend of aged and new lambics) is designed to quench thirst with zingy lemon, sour apple, expressive bubbles and a long, dry finish.
This offering from one of Ontario’s most ambitious new breweries is a lusciously malty red ale pouring a shiny, deep-blush hue with captivating notes of pine, tree sap and a touch of berry. These notes carry through to the flavour with a full and creamy body before grapefruit peel and pine notes kick in for a pleasant, lingering bitterness.