Monday, May 27, 2013

Microbrew times on the road: Sun King Osiris Pale Ale

So I finally made it to Indianapolis and this town has some great brews, with some great brewpubs throughout the town.  Sun King Brewery is one of the best known Indianapolis microbreweries, which is amazing considering they have only been around since 2009. 

Osiris Pale Ale is their flagship brew.  It's decently hoppy for a pale ale, which their website describes as being a west coast style pale ale.   The beer actually has a very complicated taste, it's hoppy for a pale ale but they didn't fall into the trap of punching their drinkers in the face with hops so it is a remarkably drinkable session beer. There are some notes of citrus and spices when drinking it, which really complement the level of hops they went with. I have had it in both a can (while in the grandstands watching the Indianapolis 500) and on draught in a few different places in Indianapolis and it really hits the spot on any occasion.  Some beers are good in certain situations or weather conditions but Osiris Pale Ale is good whenever you want a beer (which for me is often) and because the hops are not over the top it would be a good introduction to microbrew for the uninitiated. 

Overall it has quickly become one of my go to beers when in Indianapolis.   A great beer for a great (but underrated) town.   Sun King beers are available pretty much anywhere in Indianapolis and their website says their beers are sold in over 450 locations in central Indiana, plus you can get it ant pretty much any liquor store or bottle shop in the city.

What you need to know
Brewery:
135 North College Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46202

Website: www.sunkingbrewing.com

Twitter: @sunkingbrewing

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunkingbrewing

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Microbrew times on the road. Heartland Brewery: Farmer John's Oatmeal Stout

I wasn't expecting to be in New York City at all, however due to weather and United Airlines I ended up having to spend an evening in this area to catch a flight out of Newark airport the following morning.  When close to New York you should never pass up an opportunity to go into the big apple proper so that's what my friends Chad, Emily (who we met at the airport, also stranded), and I did.  We ended up wandering around Manhattan until we stumbled across Heartland Brewery (my beer spidey sense tingles when I see a sign for a brewery) and went there.  The beer I had was their Oatmeal Stout which was a very good choice.

Farmer John's Oatmeal Stout was surprisingly creamy.   I was honestly a bit skeptical (as I usually am) about it because in my mind the best Oatmeal Stout is from St. Ambroise and anything else is like comparing pie to the one made by your grandmother, there are some inherent biases that happen.  Anyways, Heartland Brewery's version is a very good one (but not as good as grandma's, I mean St. Ambroise's).  It is very smooth although the head is not as creamy as most stouts, and it is really clean tasting but still not too watery like Guinness.   It also has hints of espresso and dark chocolate to round out the flavour, which are nice touches.   If you are in New York City I would highly recommend it as you probably won't find a better stout in that area. 

Heartland Brewery has a few locations throughout Manhattan (7 as per their website) and the beer is brewed in Brooklyn.  I don't know of where else to get it but one of their pubs, and each of their pubs/restaurants has a different food theme.  They also do food-beer pairings which is cool.  

What you need to know
Website
http://www.heartlandbrewery.com/

Twitter:
@heartlandbrew

Friday, May 17, 2013

Muksoka Summer Weiss

I have always been a bit nervous about white beers.  It's not that there aren't a lot of great ones out there, it's that there are a lot of terrible ones as well (I'm looking at you Rickards) and there isn't much of a middle ground.   Also I don't like the idea of needing a piece of fruit to improve your beer, if the beer was any good in the first place then fruit wouldn't be necessary.   Despite my trepidation about wheat beers I decided to have a pint of Muskoka's Summer Weiss beer.  This was partly due to Muskoka's awesome track record and partly because it is the Friday before a long weekend and it is sunny out.  Whatever the reason it turned out to be a very good decision.

Muskoka Weiss is a German style white beer, that has a bit of a cloudy and darker in colour than most wheat beers.  At first I was a bit skeptical but as I had a few sips I quickly realized that this was indeed a very good beer.  It goes down nice and smooth with a good balance and slightly fruity flavours, hints of banana come through.  The flavour is almost sweet with the barley/wheat combo really rounding it out nicely. Some white beers have a bit of a sour flavour or try to add a bit too much hops to bitter the beer up, but Muskoka have resisted these urges in the name of creating a great summer beer.   Although this won't fully cure my skepticism about white beers, Muskoka Weiss is a great pint on a hot day sitting on a patio, although I am not sure it would be as good out of a bottle.  If you do buy a six pack then I suggest pouring it into a glass. 

You can get it at most beer stores and LCBO's throughout Ontario as well as on draught at various places.  If you are in that part of Ontario you could also drop by their brewery.

What you need to know
Brewery
1964 Muskoka Beach Road
Bracebridge, ON
P1L1V4

Website
http://www.muskokabrewery.com

Twitter
@MuskokaBrewery

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/muskokabrewery?fref=ts

Monday, May 13, 2013

King Brewery: King Pilsner

The trouble with pilsners and lagers is it is very hard to stand out from the crowd and very hard to make something truly original.  I will admit that my taste for this kind of beer is not as refined as it is for darker or hoppier beers but I was underwhelmed by King Pilsner. 

In my experience, a Pilsner will be like a lager but with a bit more complexity to it, sort of like lager 2.0.  King Pilsner starts off right with a nice golden colour a bit of a nutty flavour to it, however it ends up tasting quite watery and not as refreshing as I was expecting it to be.  Maybe it was a situation of the keg needing to be changed, or maybe it is a case of me missing the point of a proper pilsner but to me it was nothing special.  I much prefer fellow Ontario pilsner Steam Whistle or the Czech original Pilsner Urquell.  Both of those beers are much less watery and are much more refreshing, and regular readers will be familiar with my disdain for watery beers.  In saying that I could see it being tasty on a really hot summer day as a first beer on a patio.   Despite my disappointment in King Pilsner I am curious to give some of their other beers a try as they seem to know what they are doing given some of the awards they have won for some of their other creations.

King Brewery beers are available at the brewery or across Ontario at the LCBO or Beer Store as well as in some parts of Alberta, however in my opinion you are better off getting Steam Whistle if you are looking for a good Ontario pilsner. 

What you need to know
King Brewery:
5645 King Road
Nobleton, Ontario
L0G 1N0

Website
www.kingbrewery.ca

Twitter: @kingbrewery

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kingbrewery

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Beyond the Pale: Rye Guy

Although I am trying to diversify which breweries get reviews, here is my second review of a Beyond the Pale beer.  The main reason for this is Geography, as their brewery is close to my house.

In the microbrew scene there is one type of beer that seems to dominate, and that is the IPA, or India Pale Ale for the uninitiated.  In the microbrew world, the idea of what constitutes and IPA is open to interpretation so we get a large range of beers called IPA's that are not all that similar.  In Canada there also seems to be a backlash against beers that are called IPA's but have been weakened for the mass market (I'm looking at you Keith's) so the microbrewers seem to go to an extra effort to make a IPA that is nothing like Keith's.  This results in a wonderful variety of beers that have nothing in common with Keith's or other mass produced beers called IPA's (I can't think of any others off the top of my head) and Beyond the Pale's Rye Guy is a good example of this.

In the beer world, a proper IPA will be strong and very hoppy, and Rye Guy is no exception to this rule, however they have managed to stay away from the apparant arms war between some brewers to make the hoppiest IPA possible as the Rye Guy is not over the top in the bitterness department but at 6.7% it still packs a good punch.  One major thing that separates Rye Guy from other IPA's is that the critical grain is Rye (as the name suggests) as opposed to barley or wheat found in most beers, this gives it some interesting pine and citrus flavours resulting in a very distinctive flavour.  This gives it a very nice balance that allows it to be very enjoyable for a larger number of people than most hoppy IPA's are.  Because it doesn't punch you in the face with hoppiness, Rye Guy does end up being remarkably drinkable for a 6.7% beer, almost as drinkable as a 5 % beer, which could make it a little bit dangerous if you are not paying attention to how much you are drinking.

Strong Hoppy IPA's are still a bit intimidating for many casual beer drinkers, but Rye guy does bridge that gap a little bit, however it is probably limited in it's market potential compared to their Pink Fuzz or The Darkness, however if you are a fan of hoppy IPA's then I strongly suggest you give Rye Guy a try.  It's available at their Brewery on Hamilton Ave in Ottawa and on tap at a few pubs around the city. 

What you need to know
Brewery Address:
5 Hamilton Ave N
Ottawa, ON
K1Y 1B4

Website: www.beyondthepale.ca 

Twitter: @BTPBrewing

Friday, May 3, 2013

Cassel brewery: Lil' Red Steamer

You have to applaud a Microbrewery for trying to go head to head with the big boys in terms of beer styles.  Many microbreweries prefer to make hoppy IPA's, and stouts, which have very little competition from the major breweries. In Canada the Red Ale market is well catered for with Molson (Rickards) Keith's and Sleeman all making decent Red beers but Cassel brewery from Casselman, ON are going head to head with the big boys with their Lil' Red Steamer Red ale and are doing a fine job of it!

Cassel brewery call Lil' Red Steamer a Red/Amber ale, which is a pretty accurate description of the colour as it looks more brown than red.   It is a surprisingly smooth and refreshing ale without being too watery.  It has a bit of a caramel flavour to it with a slightly malty and bitter finish to it.  I had it on tap and it was a  tasty pint to go along with my lunch and I think that due to the complexity it is one of the better red ales I have had.  They managed to avoid making it too watery or too sweet, which is a trap other microbrews fall into while they perfect their recipe but Lil' Red Steamer seems to have found a proper balance making it a very good red ale for the summer months.  On their website they say it goes well with a juicy burger and it definitely tastes like a good barbecue beer. 

You can get it at their brewery as well as on tap at a few locations in Ottawa, according to their website it is not yet in the LCBO or Beer Store.  

What you need to know
Brewery
715-C rue Principale
Casselman ON K0A 1M0

Website
www.casselbrewery.ca/

Twitter
@CasselBrewery
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