Vim & Vigor is the reigning champion of Ontario pilsners and worth a revisit here. While the individual hallmarks of a pilsner (floral hop top notes, healthy nearly powdery barley character, and peppery bitterness on the back end) are all present, its popularity is down to the progression of flavours and textures. It is sweet to bitter to dry in rapid-fire succession and leaves the drinker wanting more.
Discretion refers here to the lower alcohol for the style. At 3.5%, it is a light quencher that features raspberry and hibiscus above a small body of arrowroot biscuit. The Belgian yeast character supports bright carbonation and a small amount of phenolic character on the back end. Deceptively complex for a low alcohol beer.
From East York in Toronto, the Hefeweizen took gold at the recent Ontario Brewing Awards, and no wonder. Soft in texture, with a lightly creamy wheat body, neither the banana nor clove derived from fermentation overwhelm this beer, and the transition on the palate from sweetness to a small wheaty acid tang on the finish lends refreshment.
This silky milk stout has a hint of perfumy bergamot that seamlessly weaves into the velvety chocolate and vanilla flavours of this stout. Pour into a teacup and eat with scones, while scrolling the latest @sussexroyal Instagram posts.
Simcoe, Ontario’s New Limburg is one of the best Belgian style breweries in Canada. This light refresher has aromatic notes of bright lemon, chrysanthemum and goldenrod above a lightly sour body with a dry finish and a peppery retro-nasal sting. Just the thing after a day down the mines.
Toronto’s Left Field Brewery’s Squeeze Play series make fruited kettle sours. A zingy kefir-like tang mixes with juicy pomegranate seeds in an easy-drinking refresher that will keep those “last days of summer” vibes going strong.
Mead has caught on in a big way in the United States, but Canada is catching up with this hopped Buckwheat Honey Mead. The slightly floral buckwheat honey comes through, but ties into the grassy hop character, suggesting a field of clover in the mind’s eye. A good introduction to the genre for mead novices.