The 2-4 Beers of Christmas: Day 22 and 23: White and Red Session

Beer # 186 White Session

Beer # 187 Red Session

Collaboration with "The Local 7*

Sweetgrass Brewing Company
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Barrel Aged, Flavoured Belgian Saison 7.5% 
ABV Brown Glass Bottle 750 ml.
$19.95  (for both)(Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @SweetgrassBeer

 If you are a regular follower of my blog you will remember I spent the day in Toronto for OCB Week this past June.The Ontario Craft Brewers Week is a celebration of some of the most dazzling brewers in our province. It begins each Father's Day weekend (well... Dads like beer...) with The Session Toronto. I was hoping to make it down for this one but work schedules intervened and I went slightly later in the week. Session is sort of like fight club for brewers... There is only one rule... there are no rules. And you SHOULD talk about Session... So it's not like Fight Club... but somehow I wanted to use that analogy. Brewers are encouraged to bring out the inner artist and paint a pallete of beer. (Ok that's a slightly better analogy). Brewers try to "One Up" each other in a friendly (hehe check out what I did) kind of way. Sweetgrass Brewery and the so called "Local 7" a group of craft beer bars that included The Only Cafe, The Griffin Gastropub, Bar Volo, Wvrst, C'est What, The Auld Spot, Barhop, and Bryden's (kind of like the Group of 7 But Craft Beer Bars... instead of painters) all collaborated on a brew... or two. The result was a Lemon Verbena, and Raspberry flavoured Belgian Saison, that was split into two batches, and one was aged in chardonnay barrels (White), and one Cabernet Sauvignon Barrels (Red). Each was aged for ten months and the result was released in December of 2014 to the LCBO. Sadly, I have been sitting on these bottles because of my cold... I was hoping to get this post out sooner. I am quite certain that all of the bottles of these are gone. So if you didn't get to try these beers... sorry... email or twitter @sweetgrassbeer and maybe they will make more (if we are really, really good...)

Well I have a Litre and a half of beer on my desk... Onto the tasting...


White

Colour is a slightly hazy clear gold with a bright white head made of small bubbles. Aroma is woody and grapey. Definitely a white wine nose. Hints of green floral citrus from the lemon verbena. Oaky vanilla and light caramel. First sip gives us a lot of chardonnay qualities, grapey, oaky and citrus. Hints of malo-lactic fermentation, creamy, buttery, vanilla and caramel. The elements of the Belgian style saison are deep within, under the chardonnay window dressing. Aeration brings out the beer, a bready, citrus clean Belgian saison.


Red

Colour is almost Identical to the white in every way, except that I would say this is slightly lighter in colour. (Strangely).  Nose is very mossy, woody, like a autumn walk through the woods. Oaky, smoky, and dark red wine. First sip is very oaky, and sweet, lots of caramel and vanilla. Tastes not unlike a heavily oaked chardonnay more than a Cabernet sauvignon. Slightly more effervescent than it's white counterpart. Fresh cut oak overwhelms the beer a bit. Aeration gives us sweet smoky oak, some breadiness, a touch more caramel and a lingering vanilla.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


White                                       Red 

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

Final Thoughts:


Two most excellent beers and two excellent examples of how a barrel can change the way a beverage tastes. So much happens inside those little wooden envelopes... so much so that scientists haven't even figured out all of the processes, and chemical interactions. It is one area though where we don't need TOO much science... just let your tongue be the experimenter. Enjoy the reaction of all the woody elements that lend so much to these beers.


Cheers And Beery Christmas


CJT


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Beer # 159 Brakeman's Session Ale Junction Craft Brewery

Brakeman's Session Ale

Junction Craft Brewery

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Golden Ale 5.3 % ABV Aluminum Can 473 ml.
$2.85 (Canadian) At the LCBO
Twitter: @Junction_Craft

I have only talked about Junction Craft Brewery when I was down in Toronto for OCB Week There I had the Cascadian Dark Ale at The Only Cafe. Junction Craft has been around since 2012 and is part of the mushrooming Craft Beer scene in Toronto and Ottawa that has taken place over the last 5 years. Suffice it to say I could almost name every brewery in this province before 2009 and I was pleasantly shocked to learn that the number of breweries and brewpubs in Ontario now top 200! Junction Craft owes it's Railway theme to the location of it's brewery. Opened in the so called "Junction" Area of Toronto which is loaded with rail yards and warehouses and the crossing point of two major rail lines. It is also next to the Stockyards area where cattle were brought in to be auctioned and sent for butchering. The rattle and clang of the train has echoed through the Junction for over 100 years. So this became a natural choice to name the brewery when the time arose. Other than that, I could not find much on the brewery on the web page, and I haven't yet been down to have a chat with someone there (Which I plan to correct sometime soon), so tonight we will have to let the Brakeman do the talking for us.

All aboard... onto the next tasting.

Off dark gold in colour with a short creamy white head made up of mostly tiny bubbles. Very light caramel malt on the nose with a light herbal hop. Toasty malt and molasses some hay, grains and grassiness and a touch of old leather. Slightly smoky with some hints of charcoal. Aeration gives us a fresh fruit and light herbal hops. Finish has a tart lingering bitterness. Complex yet refreshing. not forceful but gives you enough to contemplate.

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:  5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

It's a sneaky little beer. When one thinks of golden ales there is such a wide range of products out there that go from stellar to shabby. When I first sniffed it it didn't seem to have much going on... but it fooled me. A good complexity and a nice beer. Certainly worth having again. I would drink this all day at a BBQ. This is the third beer I have had from Junction Craft and I can assure you it will not be my last. 

Cheers


CJT



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OCB Week Location # 3 The Only Cafe

The Only Cafe

Honestly, this bar is my home away from home. It is the greatest, art bar, boho bar live music bar, and craft beer bar ever ( I'm being biased)

It was at one time the local watering hole of one of Canada's best Independent bands ever: The Lowest of the Low. They mention the bar in two of their songs... see the videos to the right.I spent (wasted)  many a good night here. It is a place the world comes to see you. The only was a craft beer bar before there really was craft beer bars. I came in here for my first sip of Duggan's #9... I used to drink Big Rock Traditional in here before Big Rock was a Big Thing... No matter how crowded, how hectic and how hip it seems.. it's not. It's home... a place where you can strike up a conversation with someone you would have never known. Play a game of scrabble, or Trivial pursuit with them... long before the advent of Game Cafes.... The Only welcomes all... The only...is the Only. As cryptic as that sounds, only someone who has had a pint here will know... it is a slow clap, nod in acknowledgement, only the best will know club. I am proud to have called The Only my Local at one time, and no matter how much she changes... she always welcomes me home.

Ono the Tastings!

Beer # 1

Maris Pale Ale
Left Field Brewery (Toronto)
ABV 4.5 %

very clear gold in colour whispy white head nose is light grain some caramel. First sip is light malt caramel, some grain, very thin, a little watery. A touch of vanilla and a little wood.

Beer # 2

So Say We All Session IPA
Nickel Brook Brewery (Burlington)
ABV 4.2%

Dark and brooding. Colour is a cloudy deep chestnut.Thin white head is almost non-existent. Nose is roasted grain a little burnt sugar some oak and vanilla. First sipp is nutty toasted malt and light chocolate. There are very light coffee notes, as well as a slight woodiness.

Beer # 3

Genius of Suburbia
Flying Monkey's Brewery (Barrie)
ABV

Light gold in colour, thin white head.Pine and citrus on the nose. There is a lot of Christmas tree going on in this nose.The taste of pine is milder than the nose.herbal hops pop up in place of the pine, The taste is very light and refreshing. Cleansing on the palate.

Beer # 4

Professor Dunkel Bock
Barley Days Brewery (Picton)
ABV 6.0%

Red in colour, with a thin white head. Dark caramel nose, burnt sugars, and fresh herbs.First sip is cloves, pumpernickel bread some molasses, caraway, deeply toasted malt

Beer # 5

Keefe's Irish Stout
Granite Brewery ( Toronto )
Cask
ABV 3.8%

Extremely dark brown, light tan head. Roasted malt on the nose some smoke, and coffee. First sip is coffee with some chocolate, tosted malt, some molasses, and turbinado sugar.

Beer # 6

Root Down
Wellington Brewery ( Guelph)
Flavoured Golden Ale
ABV 5.0%

Very light gold in colour with a very thin white head. The nose is all ginger. Deeply floral taste that explodes with ginger. Light graininess, and a touch of hops. Very smooth, reminiscent ginger beer.

Beer # 7

Festivale
Beau's all Natural Brewing (Van Kleek Hill )
Altbier
ABV 4.8%

Copper in colour with a white head. Sweet sugar and malt on the nose. Pastry, and sugar, like a bear claw. Wheaty and sweet. Caramel , and bread develops, and turns into some darker malt. Middle of the road.

Beer # 8

504 Pale Ale
Liberty Village Brewery
ABV 4.8 %

Light to clear gold in colour with a long lasting white head made of tiny bubbles. Hoppy and piney on the nose, light grapefruit and slightly toasty.First sip is very piney. moving on to light malt and some slight caramel and citrus.

Beer # 9

Cascadian  Dark Ale
Junction Craft Brewery
Black IPA
ABV 5.0%

Dark coffee brown with a light tan head. Aroma is all coffee and chocolate with a light herbal essence. First sip is bitter coffee and very dark chocolate deeply roasted malt and dark rye bread. Slightly bitter finish roasty and toasty.

Beer # 10

Enigma
Grand River Brewing
Red Ale
Cask ABV 6.0%

Exceedingly brown to black thin wisp of a head just off-white. Nose is high alcohol, grapey, sweet, bourbon and brandy. First sip is candy and maple syrup. sweet and well rounded. slightly sticky Some oak, vanilla, and toasted sugars. Slightly rum centred taste.Very unusual and very delightful.


Cheers

CJT