Sun Comes up it's Tuesday Morning

A Range of Samples from Sawdust City and Lake of Bays

Twitter @SawdustCityBeer @LB_brewing

I've been on the mend lately. An early spring cold has put me out of commision for quite some time. That and I have been working some ridiculous hours. So I decided to hop into the local and do a bit of an omnibus tasting, as they had a few new ones I had not tried. Enjoy these and expect some new tastings shortly

CJT

Beer # 229 Cheli's Pale Ale

Lake of Bays Brewing Company
Baysville, Ontario, Canada

Independent Microbrewery
Dry Hopped Barrel Aged Pale Ale
7.0 % ABV 20 oz Draft (592 ml.)
$6.00 (Canadian) At the brewery

This is the newest beer in the NHL Alumni Series and it is named for Chris Chelios the 20 plus year, right handed defenceman who played for six years with The Montreal Canadiens and almost a decade each with the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings. This is the first Time I have seen the Alumni Series in draft form and was curious... If I get a bottle of this I will repost it in a more detailed form.

Pours a lovely clear gold with an off-white head made up of small bubbles. Nose is sweet and slightly woody, notes of malt and vanilla caramel. First sip is very refreshing clear and crisp. Very fresh tasting oak sets in later almost saplike but no too sweet. Good profile of an English pale ale with tons of fresh fruit some apples and a nice drying and slightly bitter finish. All through the beer you get a hazy woodiness, that is like a forest on a fall day or the distant smoke of a maple sugar shack.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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

Final Thoughts: Very good beer, sadly only a perfunctory look, would love to get this in a bottle and slowly savour it.

Beer # 230 So it Gose

Sawdust City Brewing Company
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Independent Microbrewery
Flavoured Gose
4.1 % ABV 20 oz Draft (592 ml.)
$6.50 (Canadian) At the brewery


This new offering by Sawdust is a lacto-bacillus soured wheat beer, with sea salt and coriander

Pours a hazy tinny gold, with a thin off-white head made up of tiny bubbles. Mildly sour on the nose with hints of wheat, and an almost sea like brininess. First sip gives us a tart brew with salt tones. The salt is evident, you taste it but it does not leave you thirsty. There are hints of citrus, coriander. The salt amps up your taste-buds and leaves you wanting more. There is a subtle fruitiness mixed in with the overall minerality of the salt. The strangest thing about the beer is the three main components the salt, the fruit-herb and the wheat all play exceedingly well with each other. one will surge ahead while the others wait their turn creating a flavour palate that is intriguing and ever-changing

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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

Final Thoughts: I was told this is the love it or hate it beer... I am obviously one of the former. This beer is an excellent example of Gose and how minerals can change the flavour of beer.The only other Gose I have blogged about was Beau's here and I can safely say this one is better. This is definitely not  some kid adding salt to his Canadian to make it taste less like skunk. This is a carefully crafted and balanced beer. Try it, you will be surprised.


Beer # 231 Original Jorden

Sawdust City Brewing Company
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Independent Microbrewery
APA
5.0 % ABV 20 oz Draft (592 ml.)
$6.50 (Canadian) At the brewery

This one was brewed for the Griffin Gastropub in Bracebridge, Ontario.

Pours a cloudy green-yellow with an off-white head made of small bubbles. Very light grapefruit and passion fruit on the nose with hints of pine and some vegetation. First sip is very light and fruity with some underlying greenness. Some medicinal hops and pine. nice bitterness on the finish with plenty of grainy malt.

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: Not the best APA I have ever had but a nice fruity patio sipper. 


Beer # 232 Balmoral's Outrage Rye Saison

Sawdust City Brewing Company
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Independent Microbrewery
Barrel Aged Flavoured Rye APA Saison
5.0 % ABV 20 oz Draft (592 ml.)
$6.50 (Canadian) At the brewery

The most interesting brew of the day was definitely this one. Balmoral's Outrage. I can't offer any opinion on the name... but the beer? Whoa!

Pours a coppery gold with an off-white head made up of small bubbles. Nose is woody with lots of medicinal herbaceousness. The beer is slightly tart with some oak and smoke. There is leather and cedar followed by a dried fruit sweetness, some spices, like ginger clove and curry. There is a definite turmeric and coriander, cumin, Indian sweet masala going on. This beer was described as "Christmas Cake" to me, and the dried fruit and spicy sweetness does back that up, but I get a nice fruity curry from this, a gentle Northern Indian curry with raisins and potatoes. The beer is infused with Juniper and Angelica root, which should give it a more gin-like or even a Drambuie feel, but I lean more towards the food. I would be thrilled to drink this with a nice spicy curry, (or for that matter bake it into a Christmas Cake.)

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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

Final Thoughts: This beer is why the craft market is doing so well. It is not about Why?... it is about Why Not? This is a fantastically delicious beer that I am afraid not enough people will get to taste (or understand). Sometimes the ripest fruit is found far out on the limb...

Beer # 233 The Princess Wears Hotpants
  Sawdust City Brewing Company
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Independent Microbrewery
Cask Conditioned 
5.0 % ABV 20 oz Draft (592 ml.)
$6.50 (Canadian) At the brewery

Flavoured with some citric acid and jalapenos this beer is designed to spice up your life.

pours a cloudy off-gold with very thin off-white head. First sip is light an fruity with a follow-up attack of hot jalapenos. tangy and zingy, with a nice fruity hit of capsicum.

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: not my favourite incarnation of the princess, but I like the heat. A nice tasty brew good for summer sipping, or spicy food. try some if you can find it... it pops up erratically. 

Cheers 

CJT

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Terrible Ted Red Lake of Bays Signature Series

Beer # 222

Terrible Ted Red Saison
NHL Alumni Signature Series

Lake of Bays Brewing Company

Baysville, Ontario, Canada
Independent Microbrewery
Belgian Rousse 6.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml
$11.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: @LB_brewing @NHLAlumni



The large red seven on the bottle says we are doing another Lake of Bays NHL Alumni collaboration Signature Series. Co-incidentally I just did a quick count and this happens to be the seventh edition in the collaboration. The highlighted player this time around is Renfrew Ontario native Ted Lindsay. 

Robert Blake "Terrible" Ted Lindsay was born on July 29th, 1925 to former NHA/ NHL goalie Leslie Bertrand Lindsay who had previously played for the Montreal Wanderers (Later Canadiens) and the Toronto Arenas (Later Maple Leafs). At the age of 19, Ted's junior hockey career had caught the eye of the scouts and he was invited to try out for the Detroit Red Wings. He soon found himself playing left wing with Sid Abel and Gordie Howe on the aptly named "Production Line." Six years into his NHL career, in 1950, Ted helped Detroit win the Stanley Cup, a feat they would repeat 3 more times: in 1952 and back to back in 1954-55. In the 1955 Stanley Cup Ted Lindsay was the first player to pick up the cup and skate around the ice with it. He did not loft it over his head and his only intention was to take it up to the boards so the fans could see it up close. The Victory Lap is now almost an institution where each player on the winning team skates a lap around the ice with the cup. Ted Earned his nickname by being a rough character, so rough in fact he was the reason the NHL instituted penalties for Elbowing and Kneeing. Not only tough on the ice, Ted Lindsay attracted unwanted attention from the team owners off the ice as well. In 1957 When Ted discovered that the amount of money in the players pension fund was being covered up and he realised that so many players were struggling to survive, often having to take summer jobs to make ends meet, he and fellow player Doug Harvey of the Montreal Canadiens secretly contacted all of the players in the league and quietly formed the NHLPA The National Hockey League Player's Association. Needless to say the Owners were furious. Ted Lindsay was stripped of his captain's C and he and Doug Harvey were both traded. The Owners spread rumours and lies about him trying to discredit him. But the NHLPA eventually came out on top. Player's salaries improved, and they received better benefits. The NHLPA became a union in 1967 and still represents players to this day.

For his part in the founding of the NHLPA The Lester B. Pearson Award for the NHL's most outstanding player was renamed the Ted Lindsay Award in 2010.

After 3 years as a Chicago Black Hawk Ted Lindsay returned to Detroit for one last season, in 1960, under the coaching of his former linemate Sid Abel. In 1966 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. and in the 1960's and 70's he served as announcer and on air commentator for the New York Rangers. Ted's jersey number hangs alongside his "Production Line" teammate's numbers in the Joe Louis Arena where it was retired in 1998. Since then Ted has been active in philanthropy.

Onto our beer...

Pours a dark orange-red with an off-tan head with a strong reddish tint in it. Head is short but long-lived and made of small bubbles. Aroma is strong with malt lots of roasty caramel and some light hints of citrus and spice, especially clove. First sip is slightly tart, a tad sour, Good caramel, some banana, more allspice and clove extended flavours of wheat Aeration gives us a woody caramel with a light spicy finish.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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


Final Thoughts:

The most striking thing about this beer, and the aspect of it I loved the most was the colour. It was a gorgeous liquid that shimmered and shifted in hues as the light struck it. Truly living up to it's name, red shone through just about everywhere. So far this is the lowest alcohol of the signature series and I think it is the most sedate. While it is an great example of a Belgian Rousse... it's just a tad unassuming. Beyond the obvious there is not a lot going on. Is it a good beer? Yes, definitely. Should you try it? Of course. Is it in the same league as its predecessors? Well... not really. All the other signature series beers have been bold and larger than life. This one seems to be riding the pine while the others are out scoring hat tricks. But therein I am comparing apples and oranges and it's just my opinion... Bottom line, it's a very good beer and you should try it.
Cheers


CJT


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Beer # 195 Lake of Bays Crazy Eyes Darcy Tucker Winter Bock

Crazy Eyes Darcy Tucker Winter Bock
NHL Alumni Signature Series

Lake of Bays Brewing Company

Baysville, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Bock Lager 8.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml
$11.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: @LB_brewing @NHLAlumni

I am a little behind on this one, I have had it lingering in the fridge of fame for almost a month. I first had to finish the 2-4 beers of Christmas, and then new beers kept popping into my possession, so poor Darcy Tucker kept getting shoved into the boards. Anyway... If you haven't guessed we are talking about one of my favourite Leafs of All Time: Crazy Eyes Darcy Tucker. 

Born in Castor, Alberta (Castor is French for beaver...) on March 15th 1975, Darcy Tucker started out in the Western Hockey League playing for the Kamloops Blazers, helping them to win the Memorial cup in 1992, 94, and 95. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1993,151st overall. He went on to play first with the Montreal farm team the Fredericton Canadiens in 1996; where he won the AHL Top Rookie of the year award (Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award). He then played in three seasons with the Habs... but we won't hold that against him... and in three more with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then in 1999 Darcy Tucker became a Toronto Maple Leaf; traded from Tampa for Mike Johnson. For the next 8 seasons Darcy brought his drive and heart to a team that sorely needed it and he helped them through some of their best seasons (of late) and sadly, some of their less than best. If you look up Grit and Determination in the dictionary it will say: "See: Darcy Tucker." He was a fan favourite, always good for a solid check or a wicked goal when you least expected it. Of his 15 years in the league he spent more than half in the blue and white. A stellar winger, a gentleman, a damn good hockey player. Fans in Toronto were shattered when he was traded to Colorado in 2008, and in 2010, Darcy hung up # 16 for good. I still think to this day that we should have given you the "C." Maybe if we had you would have given us the cup. However, we are still proud to call you one of the greats that ever wore a Maple Leaf.

Now before I start crying in it... Let's taste the beer...

Pours a dark chestnut brown with a light tan head made up of small bubbles. Aroma is robust and nutty with some sweet malt, espresso, chocolate and a hint of caramel. First sip is smooth and creamy, lightly sweet with lingering hints of caramel and licorice. Some woodiness, light smoke and the mildest hint of vanilla. Aeration brings of the coffee notes and some oak and maple woods.

 Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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


Final Thoughts:

Yet another great beer from Lake of Bays. I do so look forward to the signature series. I am glad they had decided to extend it past the Masked Men Series. (May I suggest a Sittler ESB?) Like it's namesake, this beer is a solid producer, good flavour, well rounded, not afraid to take you into the boards... The alcohol is noticeable, but muted. Flavour dominates. Sip this one slowly or share with a friend.

Cheers


CJT


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Beer # 155 Lake of Bays Stitches Oktoberfest Lager

Stitches Oktoberfest Lager
NHL Alumni Signature Series

Join here: Signature Series Club

Lake of Bays Brewing Company

Baysville, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Oktoberfest Lager
8.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml
$11.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: @LB_brewing @NHLAlumni

Well, finally back for the last instalment of the masked men series (very sadly I may add). And to round out the lineup of larger than life beers for larger than life men, we have Gerry Cheevers. Cheevers was born in 1940 in St. Catharines Ontario, and got his start playing for the Toronto St. Michael's Majors. He only played 2 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs one win and one loss, but he went on to be a star in the net for the Boston Bruins. He netminded the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972, and later went on to be a successful coach for Boston and colour commentator for both The Hartford Whalers and Boston. He finally ended his hockey career scouting draft picks for Boston up until 2002. But What really set Cheevers apart was his iconic mask. So iconic in fact, that when the Hockey News rated the best masks of all time Cheevers mask scored 221 points out of a possible 300, the 2nd place mask got 66 points. The mask's origin came from an incident where Cheevers was hit in the mask with a puck during practice. He dodged into the dressing room and his Coach followed him in and discovered Cheevers having a beer (too bad Lake of Bays wasn't around back then...) Harry Sinden Boston's coach at the time yelled at Cheevers and said if he wasn't injured he had to be out on the ice. As he suited back up to head out John Forestall the team trainer drew a stitch-mark on his mask as a joke. The joke caught on and every time Cheevers took a puck to the mask, a new stitch-mark was added. The final mask looks like something out of a Tim Burton night terror... and it hangs on the wall of Gerry Cheevers' Grandson's bedroom. Hopefully it will find it's way to the Hockey Hall of Fame someday, as the great Gerry Cheevers did himself, being inducted in 1985 only five years after his storied 24 year long playing career.

I remember watching Cheevers as a very young boy. He was a good old fashioned stand up goalie that stopped pucks like a brick wall. He is retired now, raises Thoroughbred race horses. I hope he is sitting back tonight enjoying a beer as much as I am enjoying one named in honour of him.

Onto The Last Masked Man...

Dark copper in colour with a short off-tan head. Deep malty aroma with some caramel, licorice and vanilla. Toasty bread and grain on the first sip, with lots of caramel sweetness. Hints of citrus and vanilla. Mild hoppy bitterness through the middle to balance the sweetness. Green herbal spicy hops. Finish is toasty malty and sweet. Aeration gives us caramel, sweet, anise, turbinado sugar, and a hint of vanilla.




Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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

Final Thoughts:

Textbook beautiful, Oktoberfest. Sweet, malty, hint of green hops and mild spice. Very much a food beer, sausage would be traditional, and delightful. But barring that, BBQ, hotdogs, a hamburger, a nice steak, potato chips, all would go well with this beer. The alcohol is noticeable, share with a friend, or eat a good meal with it. Please enjoy responsibly, but do not hesitate to grab one... they will not be here much longer.

Cheers

CJT


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Beer # 145 Lake of Bays Jake The Snake Imperial Pilsner

Jake The Snake Imperial Pilsner
NHL Alumni Signature Series








Join here: Signature Series Club

Lake of Bays Brewing Company

Baysville, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Imperial Pilsner 7.5% ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml
$11.95 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @LB_brewing @NHLAlumni

And back with the third installment of the "Masked Men" series from Lake of Bays. This series would certainly not be complete without the original masked man. Jacques Plante.

Canadian Heritage Moment: Jacques Plante First Goalie Mask

Jacques was the first born child of Xavier and Palma Plante of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, in Mauricie, Quebec in 1929. He began to play hockey when he was 5 years old, with no skates and a goalie stick his father had carved from a tree root. His first "professional" hockey games were when he was 14 and playing for his Father's factory's team. The coach paid him $0.50 a game because all of the other players were workers in the factory drawing wages. Plante, however, refused the plentiful offers that came his way, some from the US and England, until he finished high school. A few weeks after he graduated he signed with the Quebec Citadeles for $85.00  a week and he never looked back. In 1953 Plante was called up to the Montreal Canadiens, and that year he finished with his first Stanley cup. He went on to win 5 more, each with the Canadiens. But the 1959-1960 season is what Plante is to be remembered most for. After being struck in the face by a slapshot from Andy Bathgate of the New York Rangers three minutes into the game, Plante was in the infirmary receiving stitches. He told his coach Toe Blake that he would not return to the ice unless he could wear the fibreglass mask he used during practises. Despite Blake's fury, Plante returned to the ice with stitches, a broken nose and the first goalie mask used in the NHL. (Clint Benedict of the Montreal Maroons wore a leather nose protector in a few games in 1929 to protect his broken nose, but this was the first use of a "modern' goalie mask ). IIncidentally the Canadien's won that game 3 to 1. and went on an 18 game winning streak after that, aided by Plante and his goalie mask. That year Plante won his final Stanley cup. Plante went on to play for Toronto, Boston, St. Louis, New York and he ended his career in Edmonton in 1975. After his playing career Plante became a top notch goal coach and an analyst. But sadly, after moving to Switzerland with his second wife, Plante passed away in 1986 at the all too young age of 57. Hockey felt his loss.

Onto our tasting.

Deep golden to copper in colour. Good sized head, white bubbles of medium size. Nose is sweet, hoppy and lightly malted. First sip is citrus and malty. Alcohol is quite evident. Very full bodied. Some caramel and turnbinado sugar. a touch of creaminess. Aeration is smoky, sweet, and caramel. Finish is medicinal hops.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

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

Final Thoughts:

This is a pilsner on steroids. While it has all the usual characteristics of a good pilsner, it also has more of everything else. Massive flavour, good sturdy malt profile, light citrusy hops. Forward, innovative, and demanding like it's namesake, this beer demands your attention. I suggest you heed it's call while it is still available.

Cheers

CJT


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Beer # 119 Lake of Bays Top Shelf

Top Shelf Classic Lager
Official Beer of the NHL Alumni Association 

Lake of Bays Brewing Company

Baysville, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Golden Lager 4.5% ABV Aluminum Can 473 ml
$2.45 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @LB_brewing @NHLAlumni


While we wait for the third edition of the NHL Alumni Signature Series beer to drop in a month or two we have one more from the boys in Baysville. A craft Golden Lager this time that has been adopted as the official beer of the NHL Alumni Association. What goes better with hockey than beer? Hockey, beer, and helping others, that's what. A portion of the proceeds from every can of Top Shelf sold goes to support the activities of the NHL Alumni Association.  For those of you who do not know what the NHL Alumni Association does here is their Mission Statement from their website:

The NHL Alumni Association is a not for profit organization that brings together former NHL players with the following mission: 

- Assist in youth hockey initiatives, involve former NHL players in support and participate in raising funds for charitable causes that enhance the quality of life for our youth. 

- Assist former National Hockey League players in their transition to life after hockey. 

- Promote the great game of hockey and inspire today’s youth through positive images as guardians of the game.

Find out more about them and their events here: NHL Alumni Association. And please, buy their beer.

Onto the tasting:

Clear gold in colour with a slight off white head made of small bubbles. Aroma is fresh crystal malt, molasses, grainy, oaty, and hay. Very malt forward with the first sip. Roasted malt, caramel, turbinado sugar. Short finish, clean with a hint of molasses and licorice. Aeration brings out a warm, nutty, creamy taste.


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:

A very good beer by Lake of Bays, and a great example of a lager with actual flavour (almost shocking isn't it!). This is not your average Megabrew watered down, souless lagers. It can hold it's own on the flavour front with some great craft ales I have tasted. If you DO like those Megabrew watered down, souless lagers... This beer is not for you. But it's for a good cause... buy a case anyway, and give it to one of your friends who actually like beer... Like me.

Cheers

CJT


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