Funk Fest, The Lowest of the Low and my busy, busy Canada Day Weekend.

Happy Canada Day!

Funk Fest 2018

Well, July has hit us here like a wave of lava. We are on our third or fourth day of extreme heat warnings and I picked this weekend to be extra busy. First up, on Saturday, June 30th,  was the wonderful Funk Fest at Sawdust City Brewing in Gravenhurst. For those of you who have never heard of our annual celebration of funky beers, Funk Fest showcases some of the best breweries in Ontario (and beyond now) that brew beers, which are considered "sour" or "funky."  It started out mostly as a character of Belgian beers, and Flander's Reds but breweries started to experiment and we now have Goses, Sour IPSs Sour Pale Ales, Auld Bruns, Farmhouse Saisons. It is a lovely mix of different beers. It is the third time The Queen of Pint Jockey Headquarters, and I have gone and quite frankly it gets better every year. This year we only sampled around 40 or so beers and the humidex was courting the forties (Celsius) and there wasn't much cloud cover or shade. They did have a misting tent this year which was a nice addition to the show, and they had a Paramedic on pancake duty, thankfully I don't think he was utilised much.  There were 40 Breweries this year pouring around 100 beers. In addition to about 33 Ontario Breweries, we had A la Fut rejoin us from Quebec, and three breweries from B.C: Dageraad from Burnaby, Four Winds from Delta, and Powell from Vancouver, and a few 

Tasty Sours

breweries from the USA. I'm very happy to say Funk Fest gets bigger and better every year and I can't wait for the next one. I did attempt to live blog again this year but, the same issue happened as last. With so many people at the event utilising the wifi is impossible. And I didn't want to see my cell phone bill after I uploaded so many pictures. So I broke out the old notebook and went analogue on this blog, so I am a little slow in posting my Funk Fest notes, mainly because I have to decipher my own handwriting.

The Lowest of The Low

Then on Canada day, after a long hot shift at work, we went off to The KEE to Bala, which if you are not from around here, is the Holy Temple of Canadian Music. (read it's a barn someone turned into a concert venue 75 years ago and anyone who is anything in the Canadian music scene has played there.) The Canada day concert this year featured my favourite Canadian band "The Lowest of the Low." They are perhaps one of the best indie artists to come out of Canada and are a truly genre-defying punk-folk-pop- rock-blues group. Their songs are lyrically driven guitar heavy pieces of art. and I suggest you check them out. I know many of you who are long-time readers have heard me natter on about them before... but truly they are worth the listen. It was the Queen's first time to hear them and she really did enjoy herself (she has good taste in music!) Oh, and I think Matt Mays was there too... not sure.

Anyway... I've rested... time to get those notes up. Stick around and see if I can figure out what I was trying to say.

Cheers


CJT

FUNKFEST 2017 Live Blog # 5

FUNKFEST 2017

Sawdust City Brewery

Gravenhurst, Ontario

Beers 350 to 357

Beer: Yalla Yalla

Yalla Yalla

Brewery: Half Hours on Earth
Location: Seaforth, Ontario, Canada

Style: Farmhouse
ABV: 6.6 %
Colour: Clear gold
Aroma: Woodsy biscuit 
Thoughts: Nutty warm delicious fruity and sour
Funk Factor: 6/6

Swoon

Beer: Swoon 

Brewery: Fairweather Brewing
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Style: Blend of farmhouses
ABV: 6.5 %
Colour: Light, clear gold
Aroma: Citrus and acetic acid
Thoughts: Bright citrus acidic refreshing
Funk Factor: 5/6

Idaho 7, Dry Hopped Sour Kettle

Beer: Idaho 7 Dry Hopped Sour Kettle

Brewery: Fairweather Brewing
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Style: Farmhouse
ABV: ?
Colour: Light gold
Aroma: Warm malty biscuit toast
Thoughts: Tart wheat biscuit and toast
Funk Factor: 5/6

Paradise Lost

Beer: Paradise Lost

Brewery: Blood Brothers Brewing
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Style: Farmhouse
ABV: 6.0 %
Colour: Cloudy gold
Aroma: Tart wheat and spice
Thoughts: Rubbery... chemical off flavours

Funk Factor: 0/6

Peach Sour with Brett

Beer: Peach Sour with Brett

Brewery: Rouge River Brewing Company
Location: Markham, Ontario, Canada

Style: Flavoured Saison
ABV: 5.0 %
Colour: Green gold
Aroma: Fruity wet dog
Thoughts: Dried fruit sweet bready
Funk Factor: 4/6

Forgot About Drei

Beer: Forgot about Drei 

Brewery: Rouge River Brewing Company
Location: Markham, Ontario, Canada

Style: Farmhouse 
ABV: 5.5% IBU 25
Colour: Cloudy Gold
Aroma: Sweet sour and piney
Thoughts: Herbal sour IPA like. Hoppy

Funk Factor: 4/6

Beer: Blumo

Blumo

Brewery: Burdock Brewery
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Style; Sour Saison with Pinot Noir grapes and blueberries
ABV: 8.0 % 
Colour: Cloudy purple
Aroma: Deep winey sour and blueberry
Thoughts: Very wine like sweet blueberry and grapey. Sour candy finish.
Funk Factor: 7/6 Exceptionally Funky

Beer: Almost Dusk

Almost Dusk

Brewery: Folly Brewing
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Style: American Wild Ale with  boysenberries
ABV: 8.0 %
Colour: Deep reddish purple
Aroma: Sweet tart aroma fresh berries
Thoughts: Fruity fruit punch flavours very flavourful and delicious
Funk Factor: 6/6

FUNKFEST 2017 Live Blog # 4

FUNKFEST 2017

Sawdust City Brewery

Gravenhurst, Ontario

Beers 342 to 349

Beer: Funky Marg

Funky Marg

Brewery: Redline Brewhouse
Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada

Style; Saison
ABV: ?
Colour: clear gold
Aroma: Citronella candle
Thoughts: Spoiled... off flavours
Funk Factor: 0/6

Cherry Gose

Beer: Cherry Gose

Brewery: County Road Beer Company
Location: Wellington, Ontario, Canada

Style; flavoured gose
ABV: 5.0 %
Colour: Salmon
Aroma: Sweet fruit and sour cherry
Thoughts: Off flavours
Funk Factor:3/6

Biere de Mars

Beer: Biere de Mars

Brewery: County Road Beer Company
Location: Wellington, Ontario, Canada

Style; Biere de Garde
ABV: 5.5 %
Colour: Cloudy white gold
Aroma: Fruity, sweet, sour, biscuity
Thoughts: Off flavours, black currant
Funk Factor: 3/6

Saison Framboise

Beer: Saison Framboise

Brewery: Brasserie Dunham
Location: Dunham, Quebec, Canada

Style; flavoured Saison
ABV: 6.5
Colour: Cloudy salmon
Aroma: Sour tart, sweet raspberry
Thoughts: Raspberry jello and cake sweet smooth clean

Funk Factor: 4/6

Saison Cassis

Beer: Saison Cassis

Brewery: Brasserie Dunham
Location: Dunham, Quebec, Canada

Style; Flavoured Saison
ABV: 6.5%
Colour: Cloudy, cherry red
Aroma: Aldehydes, cassis
Thoughts: Cassis lemonade and champagne reminds me of a Kir Royale.

Funk Factor: 5/6

Collective Project: Gose

Beer: Collective Project: Gose

Brewery: Collective Arts Brewing
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Style; Gose
ABV: 5.0 % IBU 12
Colour: Green gold
Aroma: Sweet mineral
Thoughts: Flat boring low flavour
Funk Factor: 2/6

Bourbon Barrel Aged Pear Saison

Beer: Bourbon Barrel Aged Pear Saison

Brewery: Collective Arts Brewing
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Style; Aged Perry
ABV: 5.6 % 
Colour:  green gold
Aroma: Woody and mineral with hints of pear
Thoughts: Tasty warm woody fruity and tart

Funk Factor: 4/6

Razzy Star

Beer: Razzy Star

Brewery: Half Hours on Earth
Location: Seaforth, Ontario, Canada

Style; Flavoured Saison
ABV: 4.0
Colour: Salmon
Aroma: Sweet-tart fresh raspberries
Thoughts: Just ripe raspberry fresh off the vine tart and sugary
Funk Factor: 6/6

FUNKFEST 2017 Live Blog # 3

FUNKFEST 2017

Sawdust City Brewery

Gravenhurst, Ontario

Beers 334 to 341

Missed this picture!

Beer: Clean Slate Brett Saison 2016

Brewery: Bench Brewing
Location: Beamsville, Ontario

Style: Bottle aged Sour Saison
ABV: 5.7 % IBU  35
Colour: Super clear golden with hints of green
Aroma: Woodsy and citrus
Thoughts: Wood and mushrooms umami and roundness muted fresh fruit and hints of sour lemon.

Funk Factor: 5/6

Brett By Moonlight

Beer: Brett by Moonlight

Brewery: Waller Street Brewing
Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Style; Barrel Aged brett Stout
ABV: 6.3 %
Colour: Dark chestnut
Aroma: Toasted nuts wood charcoal
Thoughts: Toasty warm nutty wood and charcoal slight sour funk
Funk Factor: 6/6

Scotch River Sour

Beer: Scotch River Sour

Brewery: Waller Street Brewing
Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Style; Birch sap and spruce tip Saison
ABV: 6.8 % IBU 8
Colour: Slightly cloudy gold
Aroma: Super sweet bright 
Thoughts: Sweet fruity pine and maple syrupy with some light spice
Funk Factor: 7/6 Exceptionally Funky

Missed this picture!

Beer: Livery Stable Blues

Brewery: Waller Street Brewing
Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Style; Farmhouse
ABV: 6.0 % IBU 23
Colour: Brassy gold
Aroma: Spunky fresh herbal medicinal
Thoughts: Sweet and medicinal nutty and biscuity
Funk Factor: 5/6

Wild Child Apricot

Beer: Wild Child Apricot

Brewery: Black Swan Brewing
Location: Stratford Ontario

Style: Berliner Weisse
ABV: 3.9 %
Colour: Cloudy white gold
Aroma: Funky sour aldehyde hints of dried fruit
Thoughts: Dusty, off flavour
Funk Factor: 2/6

Wild Child Raspberry

Beer: Wild Child Raspberry

Brewery: Black Swan Brewing
Location: Stratford, Ontario

Style: Berliner Weisse
ABV: 3.9 %
Colour: Salmon
Aroma: Sweet and sour bright raspberry
Thoughts: Tart-sweet cooked raspberry... some off flavours
Funk Factor: 3/6

1854 Barrel Aged Anniversary Ale

Beer: 1854 Barrel Aged AnniversaryAle

Brewery: Collingwood Brewery
Location: Collingwood, Ontario

Style; Belgian Ale
ABV: 6.8 %
Colour: Light chestnut
Aroma: Toasty citrus wood and nuts
Thoughts: Sweet and sour, caramel and vanilla. Lots of wheat malt

Funk Factor: 5/6

Hype with Blackberries

Beer: Hype on Blackberries

Brewery: Block 3 Brewing
Location: St. Jacobs, Ontario

Style: Flavoured Saison
ABV: 6.5 % 
Colour: Cherry red
Aroma: Sweet fruit nose
Thoughts: Sour tart blackberry fresh fruit grenadine syrup sour candy finish

Funk Factor: 4/6

FUNKFEST 2017 Live Blog # 2

FUNKFEST 2017

Sawdust City Brewery
Gravenhurst, Ontario

Beers 326 to 333

Coalition

Beer: Coalition

Brewery: Tooth and Nail Brewing Company
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Style: Belgian Brown with merlot grapes
ABV: 6.0 %
Colour: Reddish brown
Aroma: Sweet, woody, grapey, hints of sour
Thoughts: Sweet smooth woody and winey.
Funk Factor: 6/6

Streif

Beer: Streif

Brewery: Tooth and Nail Brewing Company
Location: Ontario

Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: 7.0%
Colour: Gold with off white head
Aroma: bitter herbs yarrow fruit and sour
Thoughts: lots of aldehydes... some faults bitter lemon
Funk Factor: 2/6

Dead Parrot

Beer: Dead Parrot

Brewery: Forked River Brewing Company
Location: London, Ontario

Style; Sour English Brown with cherries
ABV: 7.7%
Colour: Dark chestnut brown with an off tan head
Aroma: Sweet with sour cherry
Thoughts: Wheat dark malty coconut sweet tart cherry sticky lips
Funk Factor: 6/6

Abbey Normal

Beer: Abbey Normal

Brewery: Forked River Brewing Company and Sawdust City
Location: London Ontario

Style; Abbey
ABV: 5.5 %
Colour: Off brown and cloudy
Aroma: Wheaty woody 
Thoughts: Rye bread, some off flavours
Funk Factor: 2/6

Hermit Kingdom

Beer: Hermit Kingdom

Brewery: Bar Hop
Location: Toronto, Ontario

Style; Belgian Golden Ale
ABV: 7.2 %
Colour: Cloudy Bright Gold
Aroma: Cedar Eucalyptus 
Thoughts: creamy scents of barber shop sweet and sour wheat
Funk Factor: 6/6

Spanish Red

Beer: Spanish Red

Brewery: Bar Hop
Location: Toronto, Ontario

Style: Sour Farmhouse red... blend of a fresh and aged beer
ABV: 5.5 % IBU 17
Colour: Rusty red
Aroma: tart cherry pie 
Thoughts: sour creamy lip coating delicous
Funk Factor: 6/6

Cellar Biere de Garde

Beer: Cellar Biere de Garde

Brewery: Bench Brewing
Location: Beamsville, Ontario

Style: Biere de Garde
ABV: 6.8 % IBU 15
Colour: Light chestnut
Aroma: Woody and wheaty
Thoughts: Woodsy licorice spicy a little wine notes. Caramel and biscuit
Funk Factor: 5/6

Citra Grove

Beer: Citra Grove

Brewery: Bench Brewing
Location: Beamsville, Ontario

Style: Dry Hopped Sour Ale
ABV: 6.0 % IBU 14
Colour: clear gold
Aroma: Bright citrus and tropical fruit straw aged soft cheese
Thoughts: Fresh delicous well balanced sweet and tart. Bright citra hops notes
Funk Factor: 6/6

Update, Canada Day, Canada Beer Month, FUNKFEST Live Blog, and a Yeast Named Brett,

Well first off it's Canada Day, So let's mention that right up front. Today we celebrate the 150 years of Canada officially being Canada. This year has been sort of controversial in that regard because Canada is certainly not 150 years old to many people; it is mostly a metric of British colonization. Montreal Recently had their 350 anniversary, and Quebec City is Celebrating 409 Years.And without getting too deep into the major politics of Canada Day, the Indigenous Peoples of Canada have been calling this place home for 50,000 years. While I'm a proud Canadian and enjoy the benefits of what calling myself Canadian means around the world; I like many people feel the need to open a dialogue on how we can best celebrate this nation, our long history, and it's many people. Anyway, that is too heavy a subject for today and my little beer blog. Just keep in mind as you raise a beer for this sesquicentennial celebration of the greatest nation, it's not about the numbers, it's about our people.

Yes. I know. I've been gone a long time. Sorry. My new job keeps me pretty busy so I haven't had much time to Blog. So I am taking the opportunity this month to fix that; I declare this the Second Annual #CanadianBeerMonth. The Fridge of Fame is stocked with some awesome Canadian Craft Beers from a few different provinces, and I'm going to get to as many of them as possible.

You are probably wondering why I am up so early, and it can only be one thing: it's FUNKFEST! Every year on the Canada Day Lond Weekend, Sawdust City Brewery hosts... oh, about a thousand or so of their closest friends to celebrate Sour Beers. They have invited over 40 breweries down to pour special one-off and seasonal brews for a total of around 85 beers! It is an amazing time. I went last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself, and I have been looking forward to this year's Fest for quite some time. So throughout the day, I will be posting updates from the Fest with beer tasting notes, pictures, and maybe a video or two (we'll see how my poor phone holds up under the battery strain). Just don't expect any Pulitzer prize-winning narratives... (85 beers remember!). Follow me on Facebook, and Twitter with the hashtag #PintJockeyLiveBlog.

Onto the last item, I wanted to talk about this morning. Brett. When you ask what makes a sour beer, and more importantly why would I want to drink one, the answer begins with Brett. Or Rather Brettanomyces. Brettanomyces if a particular yeast strain that grows on the skins of fruit. It was first discovered in Brittain when people started to investigate what was causing some off flavours in some Brittish beers. They discovered that this on particular yeast strain contributed a "funky" citric acid taste to the beer. Not desirable for the Britts. The yeast strain was named "Brettanomyces" which literally means "Brittish Fungus." ( I dare you to come up with a better name for a punk band than Brittish Fungus). However, there are certain styles of beer where this little sugar chomper is desirable. And many of these styles have become popular in recent years with the craft brew crowd. Lambics, Gueuze, certain Saisons, Old Bruin, and Flander's Red style ales all take advantage of the fruity sour hint of Brettanomyces. It is also used in barrel aging beers to produce a brighter more complex beer. I have seen Brett applied to more and more styles lately, especially the crowd favourite IPA, which, when balanced with juicy hops can make a thirst-slaking refreshing brew.

I will try and talk more about Brett in some upcoming posts. Right now I want to drink some. Well, Funk Fest Starts in just over 3 hours. So if you are going hope to see you there, if you are not, please follow along as I taste my way through as many beers, as I can safely consume. (Don't worry, there is a bus!)

Cheers
CJT

Independence Day

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July to all of my readers south of the border. Hope you are kicking back with some wonderful American craft brews. I have a quick tasting in honour of our American neighbours, then I will be back to my plan of the Shandy beers. Then I will have a number of new flavoured beers as well. The Fridge of Fame is full of blueberries, ginger, and spice. 

I had always thought we should get together with the US and have a four day weekend called North American Days. It could start on Canada Day and end with Independence Day. Four whole days to celebrate both our nations! Think about it... Hey Harper, Obama... c'mon whaddaya think? elections are coming up... everybody likes holidays!

Just remember it was MY idea. And make sure you are drinking locally, give your hard earned cash to your local brewers so they can keep your neighbours employed.

Cheers
CJT

Beer # 81 Maple Leaf Lager

Maple Leaf Lager (Elora Grand Lager)


Trafalgar Ales and Meads
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Lager 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml.
$3.95 (Canadian) At The LCBO


Twitter: n/a


Two beers for the price of one in a brew by two breweries for the price of one... No, I haven't been drinking... yet. Maple leaf Lager goes by the Name of Elora Grand lager, for most of the year, but around Canada Day, it gets a little patriotic and sheds it's traditional label for something a wee bit more festive. Now the two breweries part. The Old Mill Brewery in Elora was purchased by Trafalgar Ales and Meads in1997 and they continued to operate in on site until 2000 when budgetary constraints forced them to close the Old Mill. Since 2000 all Elora Beers have been brewed at Trafalgar's Oakville Brewery. 


Onto our first Canada Day Brew:


Pours a very light coppery gold, with a thin skiff of a white head. Nose is pure malt and hops. First sip is grainy and sugary, malt and slightly bitter medicine. Some earthiness, and a little woody. Aeration smooths out the beer, and enhances the herbal hoppiness. Finish is short warm notes of roasted grains.



Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional   


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS
Experience:  4/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:



Not an entirely memorable beer, but not an entirely bad one for that matter. Certainly head and shoulders above the other "Barrel-wash" Lagers and Pilseners of the "Big Three." Deeper tones than the rain watery "Euro-lagers," But not a great contender for a recurring spot in the Fridge of Fame in Pint Jockey Headquarters.


Cheers
Happy Canada Day
CJT


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