Visit to Jobsite Brewery Stratford, Ontario October 15th 2019

For the second year in a row, we have had the good fortune to get down and see a show at the Stratford Festival. This year was a fantastic performance of Little Shop of Horrors. It was directed by the stellar Donna Feore, whose rendition of "Rocky Horror Show" at last year's festival will go down as the greatest live theatre performance I have ever seen. Some of last year's cast returned. Steve Ross who hilariously portrayed The Criminologist in Rocky last year took up the mantle of Mr. Mushnik the stereotypical Jewish flowershop owner. And last year's star Dan Chameroy who earned his fishnets bringing Dr. Frank N. Furter to life last year played the execrable Dr. Orin Scrivello DDS.

I have had a tough time thinking about this play though. All good theatre should make us think and this musical sure has made me wonder about the message of the play and it's role in modern theatre aside from being a vehicle of nostalgia. Originally based off of 1960's Roger Corman B-movie flick, Little Shop grew into a tragic love story between, hapless Seymour and his unfortunate co-worker Audrey. Audrey is a downtrodden woman. She is in an abusive relationship with a sadist. She claims to have a checkered past where she worked in shady nightclubs wearing revealing clothing. The dialogue stops just short of her professing to take money for sexual favours. Seymour is an orphan who was taken in by Mushnik for a source of cheap labour. Seymour finds an unusual plant which brings success to the Skid Row Flowershop. However, the plant turns out to be a carnivorous alien bent on taking over the world to eat all humans. The only common thread is Exploitation... which granted, was Corman's bread and butter. Mushnik exploits Seymour, and later his customers, Seymour Exploits Audrey II (the plant) who in turn is exploiting him. Orin the Sadistic Dentist exploits Audrey in stomach-churning ways. I want to say there is a cautionary tale in here but there is no real lesson, There is no redemption. Everyone dies. Be greedy, or don't be greedy the plant will get you in the end. Even at the end, when Audrey sacrifices herself so the plant can live and Seymour can continue to be successful just feels wrong; re-inforcing that outdated notion that a woman has to give up everything for her man. Audrey dies feeling "purpose" because she believes Seymour deserves better.


The only thing I can think of here is we need this play, to see how far we have come... or maybe how far we still have to go. And perhaps to bawl your eyes out when the heart-wrenching song "Suddenly Seymour" comes on.

Now don't get me wrong I was riveted while I watched this play. The production, singing and choreography were all on point and the casting was perfect. Gabi Epstein who plays Audrey (the human) is making the most of her first season at the Festival by drawing out, plainly, every single emotion, and regret, and fear, and hope on Audrey's face. She blows away the audience with her emotional version of "Somewhere That's Green." 

Anyway, I'm getting away from myself. I'm not here to review Stratford (as much as I enjoyed it) I'm here to drink beer.



So before the show, the Queen of Pint Jockey Headquarters and I voyaged over to a brewery we heard about last year but ran out of time to visit. Jobsite Brewing Company has been open for just over a year and occupies an old lumberyard on the edge of downtown Stratford. They share their repurposed building with a great little distillery called Junction 56.   Their unassuming entrance advertises two things: Pizza and Craft Beer. Enough said. Started in 2017 by Dave Oldenburger and Phil Buhler who were working together in the construction business and decided to combine their love of creating buildings and beer. Jobsite was their result and the brewery has been chugging along since August 2018. When we were in Stratford last they had only been open for 2 weeks!

So the Queen and I picked up a couple of sample boards and tried them out. Here are the notes.




Beer # 484: 2x4 Cream Ale
Style: Cream Ale ABV: 4.8%  IBU: ?

Lightly cloudy straw colour with a thin white head clean nose with notes of citrus and grain.Smooth and light with notes of malt and a slight creaminess. Slight chemical finish.

Final Thoughts: Average cream ale, a little watery. 

Beer # 485: Handyman Harvest Wet Hop Pale Ale
Style: Wet Hop Pale Ale ABV: 4.5% IBU:  30

Amber gold in colour with a light, off-white head. Aromas of pine and citrus and tropical fruit. First sip is bright green hops moving into a spicy west coast pale ale. Good malt representation a little ashy on the finish.

Final Thoughts: Average wet hop pale ale. Good hop choices and character but falls down on the Pale Ale aspect there is a disconnect in the flavour profile as it moves from the bright hops to the malt flavours.

Beer # 486: Impact IPA

Style: India Pale Ale ABV: 6.9% IBU:  ?

Golden orange in colour with a creamy off white head. Pine and citrus on the nose and mildly grain forward. First sip is balanced and sweet with pine and juicy fruit. One of the more mellow and smooth IPAS I've had. Not spectacular, but very enjoyable.

Final Thoughts: This is a different flavour profile for an IPA that I have tried. It's a little more muted and balanced. The hops don't try to rip your face off. I wouldn't class it as a favourite, but it is very interesting and worthy of more study.

Beer # 487: Wrong Nail Amber Ale
Style: American Amber Ale ABV: 5.4% IBU:  ?

Medium-dark amber colour with an off white head. Aroma is sweet and malty. Warming notes of toasted sugars and molasses smooth creamy finish. Aeration gives us toasty bread and brown sugar.

Final Thoughts: Sweet, malty, and balanced. One of the best ambers I've had in a while. The flavour profiled is "nailed" just like the eponymous "wrong nail," building a smooth sippable amber.

Beer # 488: Honey I'm home Hazlenut Hop Honey Brown
Style: Flavoured Honey Brown Ale ABV: 5.2% IBU: 20

Dark chestnut in colour with an off white head. Aroma is Frangelico maple and hazelnut. First sip doubles down on the Frangelico and adds a mild coffee and chocolate.Finish is sweet with a hint of chemical... possibly it is the hazelnut extract.

Final Thoughts: I hate extracts in beer. They are really chemical and off-putting. The last thing I want in a beer taste is the memory of the time I snuck into my Mom's baking cupboard and tasted the artificial hazelnut extract. Blech.

Beer # 489: Big pour stout.
Style: American Stout ABV: 5.8% IBU: ?

Dark chocolate brown with an off tan head dark roast coffee on the first sip with TONS of smoke. Bacon and wood smoke finish is campfire and cocoa powder.

Final Thoughts:  Excellent stout. Dry, light-bodied, smokey, and chocolately. One of the highlights of this visit.




Cider # 11: Hammer Bent Red Cider (Guest Tap)
Cidery: Twin Pines Cider House Location: Thedford, Ontario, Canada
Style: Traditional Cider ABV: 6.8% IBU: 0

Clear gold in colour with little head Aroma is freshly crushed apples fruity tart and dry.clean and crisp with a natural malic acid finish. Great dry cider.

Final Thoughts:  Fantastic dry cider. It reminds me of old Magner's Aged Cider before they messed around with it for mass commercial distribution.

Beer # 490: Weisse Ankle Wheat Ale
Style: Wheat Beer ABV: 5.0% IBU: ?

Light gold in colour with a skiff of white head. Deep cuts of banana and clove. Standard wheat beer.

Final Thoughts: Very average. Needs more character.

Beer # 491: Confection Connection Raspberry Lime Milkshake IPA

Collab: TWB Cooperative Brewing Location: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Style: Flavoured Milkshake IPA ABV: 7.8% IBU: ?

Orangey red with a light white head. The aroma is cream cheese/cheesecake. Raspberry dominates the middle with a light citrus hum. The effect with the lactose is pure cheesecake creaminess and sweetness. The finish is lime zest.

Final Thoughts: Now this was interesting! It tasted like you blended up a raspberry lime cheesecake with a nice IPA and served it like a milkshake. I really haven't found many Milkshake IPAs I have liked but I did like this one we ended up trying this one twice because the Queen and I both enjoyed it.

Jobsite Social                                      TWB Co-op Social
 jobsitebrewing                              twbcoop

    N/A                                              @twbcoop

Cheers
CJT

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Ontario Craft Cider Week: Coffin Ridge Forbidden Artisanal Dry Cider

Cider # 10 Forbidden Artisanal Dry Cider

Coffin Ridge Winery

Annan, Ontario, Canada

Boutique Winery

All Natural Hard Apple Cider 
6.5 % ABV Aluminium Can 500 ml.

$2.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: @coffinridge

@ontcraftcider

Well it has finally arrived. Not only is summer here, but the beverage festivals begin. I am going to be a busy boy for the next few months. And first up on our list is the Ontario Craft Cider Week, sponsored by the Ontario Craft Cider Association (check them out... give them some love). Our first offering is a first for the blog. It is actually brewed at a winery. And a special winery to boot. Coffin Ridge is located in Annan Ontario. which is in between Meaford and Owen Sound and boasts some of the most northerly vineyards in Ontario. It is also the heart of Ontario apple country, which goes to explain the cider, and why we are here today. Coffin Ridge is a member of the Ontario Craft Cider Association and therefore the perfect beverage to kick off Cider Week.

Enough small talk... Let's PRESS on (get it? Cider Press?)

Clear gold in colour with hints of green. Slight skiff of a carbonated head that disappears quite quickly. Aroma is apple pie, bready, with cinnamon and cloves, some citrus and a hint of ginger. Quite tart, yet with a smooth finish, very crisp dry and clean. Lingering taste of slightly green wild apples.Aeration gives us lots of bright lemon and tart green apples

 Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Cider Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Experience:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL



Final Thoughts:

This is what dry cider should taste like: Crisp, tart, full of good apple flavour... and grown in our backyards. This is a cider made by a winemaker and it shows. It is gentle and well balanced and drinks like a crisp summer white. This is an absolute must try and a great way to kick off Cider Week.

Cheers

CJT


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Batch: 1904 Brickworks Ciderhouse

Cider # 9 Batch: 1904

Brickworks Ciderhouse

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Independent Cidery

All Natural Hard Apple Cider 
5.0 % ABV Aluminium Can 500 ml.

$3.10 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: @BrickworksCider

I have only just begun to hear about Brickworks Ciderhouse and as soon as I saw their first product on the shelf at the local LCBO I knew I had to add it to the blog. I honestly wish I had been able to add this brew to cider week as true hard apple ciders were hard to come by. Everything else seems to have adjuncts. This cider is all natural and tasting it you can tell that a lot of care has been put into it. Longtime friends and first time cider brewers Chris Noll and Adam Gerrits have done their homework and made an excellent brew.

Enough already lets taste the cider...

Pours an almost clear gold, fully transparent with low carbonation. Head is clear-white and made of small bubbles that break almost instantly. Aroma is clear fresh crushed apple juice, with the barest hint of cinnamon. First sip is light and tart with crisp clean apple flavour. No off taste from bruised apples. Lots of cheek puckering natural malic acid, but thankfully free of cloying added sugars and other adjuncts. Aeration gives us apple skins and hints of an almost citrusy flavour. Touches of cinnamon and the long lingering feeling of a big bite from a freshly picked macintosh apple. 


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:

I am suitably impressed. This is a great first outing for The Brickworks. A very clean crisp dry cider that should do a bang up business on the patios this summer. I hope they do not rest on their laurels... While this is an excellent product, I think a nice barrel aged cider and perhaps a mulled cider for fall would compliment their line immensely. While this may be a great summer sipper, I could also see this being used for cooking quite easily, When I taste it I think of bacon cider mussels, apple jelly, and cider glazed pork tenderloin (just not all at the same time...).

Cheers

CJT


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Cider Week: Cider # 8 Sir Perry Pear Cider

Sir Perry

Gaymer's Cider

Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom

Owned by C&C Group PLC

Adjunct Hard Pear Cider 6.0 % ABV Aluminium Can 500 ml.

$3.00 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: Not found

Last one of the week and sadly probably the worst. Doesn't taste much like anything but alcoholic water filled with citric acid. (Sad Monkey again) Anyway Tonight we get back on track and start up with some really great beers to make up for a few misses we had here on Cider week. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the change and I would like to do it again. I think I will do more research next time and I'll stock up some good ciders. Perry is an Old England term for a pear cider. 

Onto the (last... for now) Cider Week tasting.

Clear green gold with a white head that disperses quickly. Aroma is wet dog and earth. Very sweet, some pear. Citric and absorbic acid make it very tart and sour. Syrupy and sweet. Aeration gives ups pear and coffee. finish is mild spice.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 4/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Cider Style: 2/6 SO-SO

Re-Order:  2/6 SO-SO
Experience:  2/6 SO-SO

Final Thoughts:

Truly bad. this one is another in the "avoid" category.

Cheers

CJT


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Cider Week: Cider # 7 Blackthorn Cider

Blackthorn Cider

Gaymer Cider Company
Sommerset, England, United Kingdom
Owned by C&C Group PLC
Adjunct Hard Apple Cider 6.0 % ABV Aluminium Can 500 ml.
$3.15 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @BlackthornCider

Second to last cider, and apparently I didn't save the best for last. The two English ciders I have left are adjunct ciders and are not very good. (Sad Monkey). 

Anyway onto the tasting.

Light coppery gold in colour with a white head that disperses quickly Nose is wine like, very bready and yeasty, some apple. First sip is tart and sugary, some sulphur in the background. Citric,and malic acid are prominent. slightly chemical. Apple is almost background. Alcohol is quite evident. Aeration is malic acid... it is so strong it dries out my teeth and gums.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Cider Style: 2/6 SO-SO
Re-Order:  2/6 SO-SO
Experience:  2/6 SO-SO

Final Thoughts:
Overly tart, overly sweet, overly chemical. Slide this one over into the "avoid" category.

Cheers

CJT


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Cider Week: Cider # 6 Thornbury Premium Apple Cider

Premium Apple Cider

Thornbury Village Cidery
Thornbury, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Hard Apple Cider 5.3 % ABV Aluminium Can 473 ml.
$2.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @ThornburyCider

Premium Apple cider is the re-branding of an older product called "Peeler's Apple Cider." It was also produced by Thornbury Village Cidery, in Thornbury, Ontario. I am not sure of the reason for the re-brand, but I would think that since "Peeler" is a term now more often connected with exotic dancers in Ontario, we won't have to strain too hard to think of a reason. The updated packaging is certainly classy and stylish evoking the apple processing history of the area. Apples have been commercially grown around Thornbury since the 1880's, and and in 1932 John Mitchell, of Mitchell brand apple products, built one of the first large-scale apple processing facilities in Canada and the building he built is now home to the cidery. Painstakingly restored and updated the cidery is one of the most efficient and modern cideries in Ontario. They source their locally grown apples from 7,500 acres of orchards within mere miles of the cidery.

Enough with the backstory... onto the tasting.


Light gold in colour with a hint of green. White head disappears quickly. Bright fresh apples on the nose. Cinnamon and allspice.Tart, crisp apple flavour. Some spiciness, nutmeg, cardamom finishing with a slight green apple sour. Slightly under ripe. aeration gives us a taste of the alcohol and accentuates the cinnamon finish is similar to mulled apple cider.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Cider Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

This is what cider should taste like. Tart spicy crisp clean, All natural.And to top it off one of the best values on cider around. I for one am glad they re-branded, this is a seriously good product, people should take it seriously, ( and you should seriously try it!).


Cheers

CJT


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Cider Week: Cider # 5 Alexander Keith's Original Cider

Original Cider

Alexander Keith's Brewing Company

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Owned by Labatt Brewing Company a Subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev LTD
Adjunct Cider 5.5 % ABV Aluminum Can 473 ml
$3.05 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: @alexanderkeiths

It's getting near the end of cider week and I am hurrying to get all of the ciders done because I have some big, BIG, beers waiting in the fridge of fame to be tasted. Tonight we are trying The Keith's version of "Original" cider. It is another adjunct cider. I am mystified as to why multinationals need to use so much chemicals. I can get over a little Malic Acid as it actually comes from apples. it's that green apple snappy taste you get when you bite into a Granny Smith, or a perfectly ripe MacIntosh. However, in this they use extra sugars, colour, and flavour. Let the apples speak.

Onto the tasting.


Very clear gold with a hint of green. White head that is short lived. Nose is candy and sugar some artificial apple. First sip is very sweet.Tart, candies, malic acid, green apple, light spice.Aeration is sour and tart, malic acid is strong, and artificial apple.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Cider Style: 3/6 SO-SO
Re-Order:  3/6 SO-SO
Experience:  3/6 SO-SO

Final Thoughts:

Another just average cider. Too much artificial flavours going on in it. But, it is still drinkable, especially if you poured it over ice as they recommend (seriously don't ever do that!). Of the adjunct ciders I have done this week this is probably the best so far.

Cheers

CJT


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Cider Week: Cider # 4 Crémant St. Nicholas

Crémant
Cidrerie St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas, Quebec. CanadaIndependent
Sparkling Apple Cider 2.8 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml. Cork stoppered.
$12.00 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: None found

This Cidery has no website or twitter feed so I can't garner much information about them. Situated on the south side of the St. Lawrence just a little upriver from Quebec City, St. Nicholas one of the oldest parishes in Quebec, dating back to 1694. Tonight's cider is the lowest in alcohol this week (2.8%) and the most expensive ($12.00)

Enough scrounging for facts... onto the tasting.


Very clear green and gold in colour. Head disperses immediately leaving no trace. plenty of bubbles breaking the surface though. Nose is fresh spy and russet apples with plenty of cinnamon. First sip is spicy, honey, tart, crisp, fresh pressed apple. A true, natural cider taste. Very fizzy. Bubbles like champagne in my mouth. Sweet but not cloying, very clean, sharp enough to wake up the palate. Could conceivably drink this on a patio all afternoon.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Cider Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  5/6 PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

An excellent cider. Too expensive for everyday drinking but a nice bottle to share with someone special.

Cheers

CJT


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