TRADITIONAL LAGER ~ YUENGLING

A shout out to my friend Heather for bringing me a bottle to sample. Yuengling is the oldest operating brewery in the United States, founded in 1829. It also brews one of the largest volumes of beer in the U.S. Traditional Lager is an amber beer commonly found before prohibition, and is also Yuengling’s flagship brew. It is cheap and very popular in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Sampled from a bottle the beer poured a clear amber colour, with lots of carbonation and a white head. The aroma was very light but did contain sweet corn, grass, sweet grains, light caramel malt and a little breadiness. The taste was as simple as the aroma: Caramel, corn, buried citrus and light bread dough. The finish was lightly hopped but had no bitterness and the malts and corn gave it sweetness. The mouthfeel is carbonated and thin but not watery. This brew is inoffensive, easy to drink, and has more personality than many other mass-produced beers. Not terrible, not great, but definitely OK.

4.4% from Pottsville, Pennsylvania

SAWDUST CITY ~ SEARCHING FOR LOMEZ BRAGGOT

Searching for Lomez Braggot is a one off braggot/mead brewed by James Benson. Sampled on draught, it poured a golden yellow. The beer clung to the sides of the glass. Honey was dominant on the nose, but there was also a lime citrus too. The taste was sour, like a Berliner, which was in sharp contrast to the nose. I believe the beer component of this mead was a wild ale or wild saison. The aftertaste was honey, with no trace of bitterness. The beverage was quite warming, but the alcohol seemed to be well hidden.
Braggot is a very old drink; it mentioned in the Canterbury Tales in the late 14th Century, even earlier records exist. Braggot is made by blending spices and herbs with mead (alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey and water) and beer. The braggot was created either at taverns or by the brewers.

8.5% from Gravenhurst, Ontario

BERLINER WEISSE ~ OAST HOUSE

A traditional Berliner Weisse or Berliner Weißeis is an opaque sour white beer.  It is commonly low in alcohol, averaging 3% to 4% ABV.  It dates back to the 16^th in Northern Germany.   A number of different grain combinations can be used to make it as long as the malts are kilned at a very low temperature to limit the colour added to the beer.  Fermentation happens with yeast and a lactic acid bacteria which gives the beer it’s characteristic sour taste.

Oast House Berliner Weisse was my favourite of the Berliners I tried this season.    It has a good sourness, but does not shred your taste buds and finishes with a pleasant puckering sourness.  Well done Oast!

4.9% from Niagara, Ontario
-beer 106-

1929 ~ DOUBLE TROUBLE BREWING

This Cream Ale is brewed exclusively for the The Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Brewed for the Hotel’s 85th anniversary, and named after the date the Hotel opened its doors, it is available exclusively at the Hotel in its bars, catered events and minibars. Brewed using a recipe that is true to the time period, the cream ale is aged a little longer and uses corn flakes as well as grains.
It pours a slightly opaque golden colour. Taste is grainy with sweet notes. Very pleasant but expensive at $8.50 a bottle.

5% from Toronto, Ontario
-beer 80-

 ~SUNLIGHT PARK SAISON ~ 

LEFT FIELD BREWERY

Farmhouse Ale/Saison.  Excited about having this new Brewery in the East End of Toronto.  Named in honour of Toronto’s first professional baseball stadium, which was located in the then Riverside area.  A little hoppy for a saison, this is made from a generous amount of honey malt and malted wheat and the zest of 100 organic grapefruits. -beer 8-

5.3% from East Side, Toronto, Ontario