10 Point IPA
Lake of Bays Brewing Company
Baysville, Ontario, Canada (Independent)
India Pale Ale 6.0% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml.
$8.95 (Canadian) At LCBO.
It is a pleasure to return again to a (relatively) new and upcoming brewery: Lake of Bays Brewing Company. Previously, I have blagged about their excellent Mocha Porter, their winter seasonal. I was pleasantly surprised to see this in my local LCBO tonight and decided to give it a try. This time of year an IPA is an excellent choice. It's a "clearing of the cobwebs beer." Just bitter and fruity enough to shake off the tongue numbing high alcohol heavy flavoured winter beers; and wake our senses up for the light aerie, wheat, weisse, and patio sippers to come when the temperature dial starts to climb.
The bottle itself is striking (I noticed it across the store... Job well done marketing department!) Vivid colours of gold and red on a dark glass 750ml bottle which seems to be the vessel of choice for Ontario Craft brewers these days (not complaining).
Aside from all of that... Onto tonight's tasting:
The bottle itself is striking (I noticed it across the store... Job well done marketing department!) Vivid colours of gold and red on a dark glass 750ml bottle which seems to be the vessel of choice for Ontario Craft brewers these days (not complaining).
Aside from all of that... Onto tonight's tasting:
It pours dark copper to slightly dun coloured with an off white, slightly tan head made up of tight bubbles. Plenty of hops on the nose, herbal, floral, and a hint of tropical fruit. Grapefruit on the attack, giving way to a deeply toasted malt, candy and burnt sugar. Very earthy for an IPA, yet still cleansing and refreshing. Finish is crisp and very clean with just a hint of the grain lingering on the tongue.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order: 5/6 PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
With a healthy balance of bitter and sweet, this has turned out to be a very solid offering from Lake of Bays. A little less hoppy, than the other Craft breweries who are taking a page from Spinal Tap and turning the hops up to "11." A practice I am not arguing with as it does make an excellent IPA, with one downfall, the hop-bombs are hard to drink, more than one or two and you are hit with a sensory overload that leaves you screaming for a Molson or (god forbid) a Coors.... Lake of Bays may have found a nice balance between the two. They have found a way back into my beer cooler... any day.
Cheers
CJT
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