Moosehead’s small batch series allows the brewers at the iconic New Brunswick plant a little leeway to play. The key components here should be strawberry, rhubarb, and lactose. However, the acidity from the rhubarb is basic, and the strawberries and cream do not quite manage to pop. Bigger in all directions would be the suggestion for the next batch.
Marston’s in Burton-upon-Trent is best known for Pedigree, but 61 Deep is their segue into a modern context. Referring to the depth of the facility’s well, the match-struck sulfate of the local water peeks through American and Australian hops that set this modern pale ale up with pine, grapefruit, mango, and a lasting bitterness despite the comparatively low (4.1%) alcohol.
To make the Grove beer series, Bench’s brewmaster Mark Horsely brews a dry, wild ale fermented with the brewery’s mixed fermentation culture, but changes up the hop varietal each time. Citra Grove is a stunner: aromas of fermented lemon, white pepper, mandarin orange flesh and fresh pineapple mark the nose of this vivacious and bubbly ale. Try it with a mezze plate, and do not forget the pickled radish.
Indie Alehouse was an early mover on the Ontario scene and remains one of Toronto’s best brewpubs today. You can expect to see more of them outside of Toronto as they just opened a small production brewery. This beauty drinks like a summer fruit salad. Ribbons of strawberry, honeydew melon and orange lead to a racy, pine-like bitterness sailing on a creamy body.
A treasure of a beer, Vitus has won many medals, including the World’s Best Beer in the 2011 World Beer Awards. This single bock beer drinks is a sparkling classic with a warming 7.7 percent ABV classic. Flavours of chocolate and rye bread mixed with a fruity hefeweizen yeast strain that presents dried apricot, clove and banana notes. Try it with classic German fare like sausages and mashed potatoes, with apple sauce.
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-drinker refresher that will keep those “last days of summer” vibes going strong.
Altbiers have terroir — it is hard to replicate the flavour without tasting one made in a Düsseldorf altbier brauerei. These amber-hued lagers are perfectly balanced, crisp German classics that deserve veneration. When it comes to this tightly defined beer style, Uerige is an outlier, beloved for its higher hop bitterness. It is rare to find a Düsseldorf example in Canada, so hunt down this Altbier at the LCBO in Ontario this fall.