The Terroir Project Pale Ale
Sawdust City Brewing Company
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada
Independent Microbrewery
Wet Hopped Pale Ale Tillsonburg and Nottawa Chinook hops
5.4 % ABV 20 IBU
10 oz Half Pint Glass
$3.75 (Canadian) At the brewery
Twitter: @sawdustcitybeer
Popped into the local brewery recently to try out their new wet hop beer. Last year they did a similar brew where they went and picked the hops in the morning drove back to the brewery and made the beer with the fresh green hops. Hops are usually processed, they are dried and come in pellet form. However, since the proliferation of craft breweries, hops farms have had to keep pace, and are springing up everywhere. Since hops do grow almost anywhere, and they are similar to grapes ( as in they take on a flavour profile specific to the soil they are grown in) Sawdust wanted to experiment and see how much hop terrior can affect the beer it is used in.
Enter the "Terrior Project." Sawdust brewed a batch of a standard pale ale and then split it in half and hopped it with Chinook hops purchased from two different hop farms. The first was Tillsonburg. It is a farming town, famous for tobbacco, The second is Nottawa, which is a small community south of Collingwood The famous shipbuilding town on the shores of Lake Huron. The area here is noted for farming and limestone quarries. So how do the beers differ? Is there a more mineral quality in the beer from Nottawa? or is there more fruity character?
Let's find out.
Sawdust City Brewing Company
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada
Independent Microbrewery
Wet Hopped Pale Ale Tillsonburg and Nottawa Chinook hops
5.4 % ABV 20 IBU
10 oz Half Pint Glass
$3.75 (Canadian) At the brewery
Twitter: @sawdustcitybeer
Popped into the local brewery recently to try out their new wet hop beer. Last year they did a similar brew where they went and picked the hops in the morning drove back to the brewery and made the beer with the fresh green hops. Hops are usually processed, they are dried and come in pellet form. However, since the proliferation of craft breweries, hops farms have had to keep pace, and are springing up everywhere. Since hops do grow almost anywhere, and they are similar to grapes ( as in they take on a flavour profile specific to the soil they are grown in) Sawdust wanted to experiment and see how much hop terrior can affect the beer it is used in.Enter the "Terrior Project." Sawdust brewed a batch of a standard pale ale and then split it in half and hopped it with Chinook hops purchased from two different hop farms. The first was Tillsonburg. It is a farming town, famous for tobbacco, The second is Nottawa, which is a small community south of Collingwood The famous shipbuilding town on the shores of Lake Huron. The area here is noted for farming and limestone quarries. So how do the beers differ? Is there a more mineral quality in the beer from Nottawa? or is there more fruity character?
Let's find out.
Onto our beers for tonight.
Beer # 286 Tillsonburg
The colour is a honey gold with a light skiff of head made up of white bubbles. The aroma is fruity with hints of grapefruit and papaya. Pine is evident right at the end. First sip is aromatic green hops some light caramel malt and a hint of bitterness. Mineral notes dominate the middle with some resinous pine. Aeration gives us more caramel, pine and fresh greenery.
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| Tillsonburg on the left Nottawa on the Right
From the first pour the beers look identical, but do they taste identical?
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The colour is a honey gold with a light skiff of head made up of white bubbles. The aroma is fruity with hints of grapefruit and papaya. Pine is evident right at the end. First sip is aromatic green hops some light caramel malt and a hint of bitterness. Mineral notes dominate the middle with some resinous pine. Aeration gives us more caramel, pine and fresh greenery.
Beer # 287 Nottawa
The colour is an almost identical honey gold with a light skiff of head made up of slightly off-white bubbles. The aroma while still fruity has stronger pine notes with hints of herbal bitter greens. The first sip gives us lots of fresh pine and resin. Sweet caramel malt and hints of bitterness at the back of the throat. Aeration gives us more pine with some hints of tansy.
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Colour: 5/6 PASS 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL 5/6 PASS
Re-Order: 5/6 PASS 5/6 PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS 5/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
Quite frankly, I was impressed that I would find a substantial enough taste difference between the two beers. Keep in mind these beers are identical: same grain, same water, same yeast, same process, and same weight of hops. The only difference, at all, is the fact the hops were grown in two different soils. Both beers are excellent. I enjoyed them almost equally. but the strong fruitiness of the Tillsonburg just ever so slightly tipped the balance. Tillsonburg was my favourite. However... the only way you will know, is to try them for yourself. And I urge you to do so. I hope more breweries do this in the future as this was a delightful experiment.
CJT
Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional
Tilsonburg Nottawa
Cost: 5/6 PASS 5/6 PASSColour: 5/6 PASS 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL 5/6 PASS
Re-Order: 5/6 PASS 5/6 PASS
Experience: 5/6 PASS 5/6 PASS
Final Thoughts:
Quite frankly, I was impressed that I would find a substantial enough taste difference between the two beers. Keep in mind these beers are identical: same grain, same water, same yeast, same process, and same weight of hops. The only difference, at all, is the fact the hops were grown in two different soils. Both beers are excellent. I enjoyed them almost equally. but the strong fruitiness of the Tillsonburg just ever so slightly tipped the balance. Tillsonburg was my favourite. However... the only way you will know, is to try them for yourself. And I urge you to do so. I hope more breweries do this in the future as this was a delightful experiment.
CJT
Follow me on Twitter: @pintjockey
Like me on Facebook: Pint Jockey Online
