Redline Brewhouse Visit

Redline Brewhouse

Independent Brewpub/Microbrewery

Barrie, Ontario

Twitter: @rlbrewhouse

So I have had a few Redline beers before but I had always wanted to get down to their brewpub. As it is just in Barrie and barely an hour away one would think this is an easy task. However, in reality it has taken me almost a year since I heard of them to actually walk through their doors. Tucked in the centre of a strip mall on Bayview Street in the South of Barrie. A stones throw from the Barrie Colt's hockey arena and the large Park Place "Mega Store" shopping area (That used to be Molson Park Ontario's former best outdoor music venue where I saw Kim Mitchell Alannah Myles, Vince Neil and Van Halen, among others). Large and boxy but open and still inviting The aviator themed brewhouse boasts a small seating area separated from the brewing floor by a short wall and some glass for brew gawking. The small swag shop offers the usual glassware and t-shits, hats, plus cans, bottles, and a growler fill.

The bar supports 12 taps divided up into core beers, seasonals, and guest taps. When I was there they were offering beers from Left Field Brewery, Muddy York Brewing Company, and Folly Brewing, all out of Toronto. The names of all the beers were dutifully marked on a large chalkboard just to the right of the large TV playing soccer. To the left of the bar is a semi open kitchen, still sparkling like new, and very quiet and orderly. The only real sound was a very polite "service please" every time one of the kitchen's creations moved into the window, Speaking of creations, I don't generally talk about food, but Redline had a lovely charcuterie  platter on offer that day (pictured below). For $18 CAD this quite large (almost too much for two people) consisted of blue cheese marinated in Hops across the Pond beer, pesto sun-dried tomatoes, maple horseradish cheese, Genoa Salami, prosciutto, olives, pickles artichokes, and the star of the platter, bacon jalapeno jam. The platter was delicious, and paired well with the beers.

The Beer

The beers that I have had, such as Clutch, Cruise Control, 396 (all IPAs) were guest taps up here at Sawdust City, and were quite good I must say. So I was quite excited to try some of the beers that haven't made it out of their taproom. Some of the beers are pictured below, I seemed to miss taking a picture of one of the racks (sorry)

L to R: 5:01, Double Clutch IIPA, Diving Horse, Grandstand 

L to R: Clutch, Air Ride IPA, Grandstand (again) Second Smile

Ok. Enough preliminaries, onto the tasters:

Main Beers

Kollision  

Kolsch 

ABV 5.3% IBU 37

Light gold in colour with a tropical fruit and hoppy nose. Sweet grapefruit and citrus with some fresh green hops fading out to a malty finish.

Holeshot  

English style mild brown ale 

ABV 3.7% IBU 19

Chestnut in colour with a light tan head. Smoky hazy nose with hints of charcoal
Lighter and fruition in taste some raisin and chocolate Aeration gives us a burst of malt and some bruleed sugar.

Hops Across the Pond 

Belgian style pale ale 

ABV 4.9%  IBU 21

Clear gold in colour with a thin skiff of a head and some glass lacing. Light tropical fruit nose some sweetness. First sip is lightly wheat and some banana like a light tropical drink. Guava and pineapple in the background

Apropriate Haze 

German Wheat 

ABV 4.8 IBU 21

Hazy translucent gold in colour with a light head made up of tiny off white bubbles. Bananas sugar and clove on the nose and in the first sip hints of cinnamon and fresh baked bread

5:01 

Golden ale 

ABV 4.2 IBU 17

Rich gold in colour toasted hops and singed paper on the nose. Heavy on the German hops (Hallertauer? Maybe? ) taste of rainwater and slightly woody.

Double Clutch IIPA

Imperial India Pale Ale

ABV 8.1 IBU 83

Hazy light gold with a creamy white head. Pineapple and grapefruit on the nose. First sip is hot with alcohol and heavy mouthfeel. .. Slightly  creamy in consistency.  Piney and aromatic with some bitter herbs.

Air ride IPA 

India Pale Ale

ABV 6.1 IBU  67

Cloudy white gold with a vibrant white head made up of small bubbles. Light  nose with hints of tropical fruit. First sip is quite hoppy with strong grapefruit notes fuller mouthfeel with a slight creamy texture. Very fine bubble structure  and gentle after taste.

Guest Taps

Grandstand 

Left Field Brewery, Toronto, Ontario

@LFBrewery
Hopped Wheat

ABV 5.5%

Golden in colour with a light off white head.
Bright green hops on the nose light bodied and fruity hints of pine and touches of incense.

Second Smile 

Folly Brewing/Brewpub, Toronto, Ontario
@FollyBrewing

Sour Summer Saison  

ABV 4.2 

Cloudy and very light gold in colour thin off white head. Juicy peppery and sour nose. Sour candy on the first sip light and fruity. Hints of wheat very very light. Quite drinkable.

Diving Horse APA  
Muddy York Brewing Company, Toronto, Ontario
@MYBrewingCo
American Pale Ale
ABV 5.6

Darker gold in colour with a thin skiff of an off white head. Smoky pine on the nose and rich caramel malt.

Final Thoughts:

Overall a very enjoyable experience, the beers were light fruity and quite refreshing. I would look forward to them doing great things in the future.


Cheers

CJT

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