Tuesday 19 June 2012

Beer # 80 Stonewall Light




Stonewall Light With a Squeeze of Lime


Cool Beer Brewing Company
Etobicoke Ontario, Canada
Independent
Flavoured Light Lager 4.0 % ABV Clear Glass Bottle 275 ml.
$1.25 (Canadian) At The LCBO


Twitter: @coolbeerbrewco

First in a small series on Shandy style beers, we come to Cool Beer's Stonewall Light. Made with natural ingredients and brewed at a facility at the base of the 427 in Etibicoke near Toronto. This brewery is famous for it's Millenium Buzz Beer, brewed with hemp seed, and it's spandex girls from trade shows. I've never had good luck with their beer, despite the fact they have won numerous awards.

Onto the tasting:

Pours clear gold in the glass with a thin white head made up of small bubbles. The aroma is tinny with musky wet grain and the minutest hint of lime peel. The taste is flat wet grain, skunk. The whole beer is unpalatable. Tinge of fresh lime on the finish. Aeration gives us more must and a metallic bite.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional   


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 0/6 FAIL
Re-Order:  0/6 FAIL
Experience:  0/6 FAIL


Final Thoughts:


More Than likely this beer was spoiled before I ever got to taste it. Why on earth do brewers insist on still using clear glass? Utter garbage.


Cheers
CJT


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The Shandy

A Mixed up History


The Lamb and Flag Glynneath
Well no tasting this time around. I want instead to set up for a few tastings I will be doing after this post. Shandies. For the uninitiated a Shandy is a beer mixed with a non-alcoholic drink to reduce the alcohol content, often served to children. I first got a taste of a shandy when I was spending the summer in Wales with my cousins. I was in Glynneath West Glam. and the regular family outing for dinner was always at the pub. Attitudes towards drinking are very different in Wales and England. The afternoon pint is a ritual, and Pubs often are community gathering places where families come to eat and catch up on gossip. I was there at the Lamb and Flag  with my aunt and my cousin. I think we had been shopping and were on our way home. The picture on the left shows the patio where we were sitting. My cousin came out with a pint for himself a gin for my Aunt and a Shandy for me. It was in a pint glass cold but no ice. I imagine it would have been made with a Mild Ale, probably 3.5% ABV or there abouts, and bottled carbonated lemonade (bringing the alcohol content down to 1.5 or 1.75% ABV). It was really good. I can still remember the way it tasted, bready and lemony, like a dessert. The next time I can across a shandy was the first commercial issue of one that I remember. Labatt's Twist Shandy. It was introduced in 1985 and had a fairly long run (Until the mid ninties?). There is so little information on it on the net so I cannot see when it was discontinued. It was a very low alcohol, 2.3% I believe, so it was higher than the shandy I had in Wales. It was quite good for a commercially made product and my family kept some in the fridge as we renovated the old 
Labatt Twist Shandy (1985- 199?)
farmhouse. 


So recently a very large beer corporation decided to 
release a very questionable product. When I first saw it I honestly thought it was a joke, as it came out just before April Fool's Day. But, it was an actual product and one they have spent millions on marketing. I was eventually given one by a beer supplier at the restaurant and I took it home, with plans to rip into it and generally deride it online. However, I started to research, as I always do, before I talk about a beer. What I discovered was That MY definition of "Shandy" was too small, it was actually a world wide phenomenon, and the product I was going to deride, didn't seem so out of place anymore. I had actually posted about a "Shandy" without giving it a lot of thought. See Beer # 63 Radlermass brewed by Brick out of Kitchener/Waterloo, and Formosa. So for my own sake I thought it was time to educate myself, so when I do post about this beer, I can take a more scientific slant, instead of the beery-snobby slant, I was going to take.


History

The History of the shandy is as mixed up and muddled up as much as the drink itself. Pinpointing an origin seems as impossible as defining the drink. As far back as humans have made alcohol, they have put stuff in it. Herbs to make it taste better and last longer, honey and fruit to sweeten it, water to weaken it so it could be drunk throughout the day. The Greeks were a good example of this. They only drank full strength wine at Breakfast (talk about getting the day started with a bang!) They would then drink wine through out the day cut with water. How much water depended on the circumstances and custom. In fact the term "Symposium" come from a Greek dinner party where a group of men would gather eat first in silence and then drink voluminous amounts of wine and discuss philosophy, religion, science, politics, while getting increasingly more intoxicated. The Symposium Master would dictate when everyone would drink, how much, and how much water to put in the glass. How civilised! 

S. Cerevisiae Beer Yeast
When one looks back on the history of civilisation, one finds that the advance of man is tied directly to alcohol. If you ask any anthropologist why this is, the answer will be simple: People who drank water died; people that drank alcohol lived. In the unsanitary times of the past water was almost always teeming with pathogens as yet unknown to our lesser advanced relatives. In fact, it was noted in the cholera epidemics of the 1600's in London. That anyone who worked in the breweries, did not get sick. Cholera is a water borne pathogen, and those in the breweries drank beer as it was freely available. It wasn't until Louis Pasteur discovered bacteria in the 1800's that this began to make sense to people. As a side note, Louis Pasteur work on microbiology is grounded in his study of fermentation. In fact the yeast sample that Carlsberg Brewing company preserves in Denmark and is used in all of it's lagers still bears Pasteur's name: Saccharomyces pastorianus

So, how does this bring us back to shandies? For saftey's sake people have had to drink alcohol mixed with water to prevent disease. So, did it always have to be water? No. So obviously people had, over time, come to mix different things with their beer to make their experience more enjoyable.

A World of Difference

The variations of shandies would take more than one blog to deal with, in fact I could probably run a sister blog to this one and not run out of material for quite some time. However I am going to list a few of the more interesting shandy variations here before I log off to go sample some.

Regionality
is the key to shandy variation. In the U.K. The two most prevalent Shandies are the Ale and Lemonade variety, and lager and Cider. The later is called a snakebite or if it is Guinness and cider it is called a Balck and Tan, a priest collar, or black velvet (also called a poor man's black velvet as there is a cocktail of the same name that contains Guinness and Champagne). The former variety is also called a Shandygaff, although this name is not as common anymore. It also can be made with ginger ale or ginger beer (N.B. try mixing a good lager of your choice with Beer # 72 Crabbie's Ginger Beer. you're welcome).

In North America, especially Canada, Although we have most of the U.K. versions here,we also have a variety of shandies called "drop shots." Dr. Pepper is the most recognizable  A mixture of beer and Cola that half fills a pint glass, and then a shot of amaretto dropped in just before the entire mixture is drank (best if done in one drink). As well there is the Irish Car Bomb: a shot of Irish Liqueur dropped into a half pint of Guinness. The is also a Black Shandy which is also common in Australia which is Guinness and lemonade. This can also be called a Portagaff in Australia. Lager and lime is another one you will hear frequently, which is a pint of lager with a shot of Rose's Lime cordial in it. Another frequent one is a Red Eye, which is beer and varying amounts of Clamato or tomato juice.


Beer mixed with Fanta Orange Soda is called: Quianti in Argentina, Fan-schop in Chile, or if it is plain orange juice it is called a Brass Monkey in the US.


Cola and Beer, other than the Dr. Pepper is called: a Mazout in Belguim, Rafejo in Columbia, or Shandygaff in Japan (can also refer to beer and gingerale in Japan).


Beer and 7-up is call a Sneeuwwijte (Snow White) in The Netherlands.


Lastly Radlermass from Germany, Bici, Bicicletta, or Ciclista in Italy or Panache in France all refer to beer mixed with a sparkling lemonade. Radler and Ciclista both give reference to the fact that it is a cyclist's drink.


Commercial Production

A number of companies have, over the years, produced a commercially available product, as opposed to it being available in bars only. Lately we have seen this trend again in North America. Bud Light Lime burst onto the scene a few years back, another variation of the shandy. Now almost every major brand has tried out some sort of shandy like beverage. Even craft brewers are stretching their pallets and producing more flavoured beers and concoctions. Next I am going to try a few of the beers I believe fall under the category of a Shandy (whether strictly or liberally up to you to decide). I will also include the beer I have been hesitant to even try...




Cheers
CJT




Monday 18 June 2012

Beer # 79 606 India Pale Ale


Paddock Wood 606 India Pale Ale

Paddock Wood Brewing Company
Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada
Independent
India Pale Ale 5.4% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 355 ml.
$2.25 ($13.50 6 pack) (Canadian) At The Beer Store.

Twitter: @paddock_wood

Paddock Wood Brewing company has one of those interesting bull-dogged determined to make this work stories. Brewer and Owner Steven Cavan was a lecturer in History and his wife a professor at the University of Saskatchewan. However there was no good craft beer to be had in Saskachewan in 1992, so Steven decided to brew his own. Problem number two arose when Steven could not find the ingredients he needed to make his english-style beers so he tried to import them. Upon discovering that the minimum shipment were far too large for just his own brewing habit, he decided to sell the excess through a mail order business. When a nearby grain company began taking away his business, he changed format again to make "homebrew kits." Demand spike for the homebrew kits and he expanded his facilities, until he came under the radar of the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Association. They determined he needed a liquor licence for what he was doing. So he decided to convert to a full brewery, but there were no licences for a small craft brewery, only brewpubs. So after some lobbying the SLGA changed it's rules allowing Paddock Wood to become Saskatchewan's first craft brewery in 2004.


Onto the tasting:

pours dark amber with a red tinge, head is frothy and off-white bubbles are Small and tight. Bright citrus and herbal hops on the nose along with a slight earthiness. The taste is all grain, deep, rich, malt, caramel. Herbal, hay and straw. giving over to a bright citrus burst of tropical fruit. Aeration brings out ripe tropical fruit and re-asserts the grain.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional   

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6Exceptional
Re-Order:  6/6 Exceptional
Experience:   6/6 Exceptional

Final Thoughts:

An excellent brew, high marks indeed! To me the taste profile is very reminiscent of Smashbomb by Flying Monkeys here in Ontario. This is definately a beer i will keep coming back to as long as the Beer Store stocks it.


Cheers
CJT

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Beer # 78 and the Ontario Craft Beer Week


This Past Weekend marked the start of one of the busiest weeks of the season for Ontario Craft brewers. OCB Week is a stellar showcase of events and fantastic beer brewed by the best of the best in Ontario. Many brewers try to out do each other in a friendly "one-up-man-ship" by creating fantastical saisons just for this week. I can assure you... they get creative... So if you are in Ontario check the events calendar for a tasting near you and see exactly, what Craft Brewers of Ontario have to offer


I am going to start this week off with a Beer that was launched to coincide with OCB Week, and the 200th anniversary of the war of 1812.


Rifleman's Ration Brown Ale


Black Creek Historic Brewery
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Traditional Brown Ale 5.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.
$3.95 (Canadian) At LCBO.


Twitter: @Blackcreekbeer



Black Creek brewery opened in 2009 as part of an ongoing project to study life in 19th century York (Toronto). The brewery is located at Toronto's famous Black Creek Pioneer Village. The village was founded in 1960 and partially owes it's origin to Hurricane Hazel. After the Hurricane passed through Toronto in 1950 The government outlawed building on river flats, turning over this future greenspace to conservation authorities. One section of this space contained The Strong Family farm. Built around the start of the War of 1812, the Strong farm was chosen to be preserved as an example of 19th century life. In 1960 the foundations for the Black Creek Pioneer Village were laid. Encompassing 30 acres, with the Strong Family Farm at the centre, the village has grown over the last 52 years into a very accurate depictionof 19th century Canadian life. So what is a 19th century village without a brewery? Not a very good one. So they took steps to correct this and the Historical Brewery was opened in 2009. Their mission is to show how brewing was completed on a small scale at the local level in the 1800's. They have also planted hops barley and are working on their own malting floor. Later this year they are releasing an "Estate Ale" which they are claiming to be a "1 mile ale." All ingredients will come from the village and no-where else.  Something I am looking forward too I hope they will save me a bottle. There is a media release on their upcoming session beers here. The beers will only be available at the brewery, and will be well worth a taste.


For those of you in the Toronto area who haven't been, the Black Creek Pioneer Village website is here. If you Haven't been, go, and if you haven't been since that grade 5 field trip... definitely go. Why? They have beer now! The brewery runs tours twice a day and three samples are included!

Tonight's beer get's it's name from the practice of giving British soldiers an extra amount of money to purchase beer. British military encouraged the purchasing and consumption of beer to help stimulate local economy (Buying local still works. Get out and give your neighbours the money not some faceless corporation!) 



Enough history already.... Let's try some historic ale:

Dark Chestnut in colour with a creamy light tan head made of small bubbles that hold up fairly well. Nose is chocolate, molasses and malt with a light hint of spice and citrus. First sip lets us know this a deep rich fortifying brew. Warming well balanced notes of grain and malt with a hint of citrus. finish is a slight medicinal herbal hop, that gently lingers for an extended period of time. Aeration lets off a burst of malty green hops and a brandy note.



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional   


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6Exceptional
Re-Order:  6/6 Exceptional
Experience:   6/6 Exceptional


Final Thoughts:


I do so love getting lost in a beer! I had a difficult time tasting this beer because I drained my glass before I could write all my notes! (Thankfully it came in a 500ml!!)  The good news is this is a wonderful beer, very reminiscent of a true "British Brown" You can feel the brewer's hands in the beer; carefully thought out and crafted. The bad news is... it's only available until August which I think is a shame. In case someone down at the brewery is reading, please consider adding this to your regular stable of beers! 
Cheers
CJT


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Sunday 17 June 2012

Beer # 77 Kipling South Pacific Pale Ale


Kipling South Pacific Pale Ale


Thornbridge Brewery
Bakewell, England, U.K.
Independent
Pale Ale, Unfiltered 5.2% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml.
$4.75 (Canadian) At LCBO.

Twitter: @thornbridge

Another offering from the interesting gentlemen from Bakewell. Kipling, billed as a "South Pacific Pale ale"... due to the exclusive use of the Nelson Sauvin hops variety (developed in New Zealand and named for it's characteristic gooseberry aroma which is most often found in Sauvignon Blanc wines). Bottle did contain some sediment but not as much as the previous beer I had from this brewery "Jaipur".


Without further ado:


Pours light bronze in the glass with a frothy white head made up of medium sized bubbles. Aroma is all tropical, gooseberry, passion fruit, and guava. Fruit also leads the charge in the attack , but is slowly overtaken by a warm malty taste. Toased malt burnt sugars and a slight bitterness counterbalances the sweetness in the brew, oaky and slightly earthy. Finish is toasted malt with a hint of herbals. Aeration pulls out more papaya - mango, and very earthy grain flavours.



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional   


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6Exceptional
Re-Order:  6/6 Exceptional
Experience:   6/6 Exceptional


Final Thoughts:

A very good use of the Nelson Sauvin Hop variety. I think we will be seeing it used more and more in the coming years, as brewers experiment with a wider flavour pallet, and deeper complexities.


Cheers
CJT


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