GRAMMA’S STRAWBERRY RHUBARB ALE ~ OAST HOUSE

I love the seasonal summer brews made with fresh Ontario fruits. Gramma’s Strawberry and Rhubarb ale was sampled on draught. The beer poured a hazy orangey apricot colour with a small frothy bone coloured head. The head receded quickly leaving a cap and some lacing. The nose was subtle and simple: light strawberry and fruits, and a bready graininess. Taste follows the nose. The strawberry and rhubarb are not too over powering neither are they too subtle. There is a lovely fruity flavour mid sip, beginning with sweet strawberries, followed by a little rhubarb tartness and mild biscuit yeasts. The flavour is fresh and quenching. The body s medium-light and the carbonation was moderate. Love this one for summer patios! Thanks Oast!

4.8% from Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

OAST HOUSE ~ BIERE DE MARS 

SWEET'N SOW’R

A bottle of this at my local bar was my celebratory drink for starting summer holidays. The price is quite steep, so this was a once in a blue moon treat. The beer is one of Oast house’s bottle conditioned saisons. This one is a Biere de Mars, because traditionally this beer would be brewed in March to be ready for the farm hands in the summer. The bottle we enjoyed had been aging in the bottle since March 2015. Sampled for a 750mL caged and corked bottle, the beer poured a hazy orangey amber colour with plenty of creamy head, and lots of snap and crackle. The head left impressive lacing as it receded into a cap. The nose had lots of sherry, orchard fruits, especially peach, lemony citrus, Belgian yeasts, peppery spice, and tartness with a little astringency. The beer had a nice complexity and funky peach and other orchard fruits, melon, brown sugar, some herbals, slight sourness, and a hint of oak. Sweet fruits and mild caramel malts developed as the beer warmed. The sweet and sour were well balanced as was the dry mouthfeel at the end. The finish reminded me of champagne or cider. The carbonation was fairly lively and the body was medium. This a very approachable beer, lovely to sip on in the warm summer months, when you are feeling like a splurge.

5.5% from Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

EISBOCK ~ OAST HOUSE

Bocks are a traditional German dark lager, brewed since the 1700’s. There are several sub groups: maibock (a lighter and hoppier version), doppelbock (maltier and higher in alcohol) and Eisbock (the strongest of the group.) Eisbock was traditionally made by freezing doppelbock and removing the ice crystals, therefore making it a more concentrated in alcohol. Sampled on draught this beer poured a deep brown with coppery highlights. There was a small beige head that left a collar and nice lacing. The nose was quite mild, with hints of malts, fruit and alcohol. The taste was full of flavour and quite boozy, which lends itself to sipping. Dark fruit and rum soaked candied peel emerge first followed by coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malts, burnt sugar, Belgian yeast, and caramel. Some may find this too sweet, but on an unseasonably cold April night, this sipper was super.

10.1% from Niagara, Ontario
PHOTO: Courtesy of OAST instagram

ROASTED WALNUT BOURBON AGED PORTER ~ OAST HOUSE

When I walked into my local, the Bartender, ran over and told me I couldn’t order until I had tried this one. She remembered that I liked my porters and this was a new addition to the taps. Sampled on draught, this porter was one boozy treat! The beer poured very dark brown with a small off white head. There was tons of bourbon on the nose, along with roasted malts, subtle nuttiness, vanilla and coffee. The taste was incredibly full flavoured and rich. Chocolate, coffee, and dark fruit give way to a subtle nuttiness, barrel oakiness, and caramel sweetness mid sip. The malt backbone emerges into a hoppy finish followed by an aftertaste of bourbon. The bitterness is perfect in this porter and compliments the vanilla and bourbon notes. Thought this porter is already high in alcohol (7.2%) I think it tastes even boozier. The walnuts this porter was made with are all from the Niagara on the Lake region and were toasted in house.

7.2 % from Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

PHOTO : OAST HOUSE INSTAGRAM