LAVENDER PEAR CIDER ~ SPIRIT TREE

Sampled on draught this semi-sweet cider poured a slightly hazy light golden yellow colour, with moderate streaming carbonation. The nose cont

ained lots of pear with subtle floral notes. The lavender was quite light in aroma. The taste is lovely and rich. There is lots of caramelized pear in the flavour, along with earthy lavender and spice. The lavender is evident but is not cloying or overdone. The cider finishes with a slight astringency. As the pint progressed the carbonation fell off and was on the light side. The mouth feel was slightly syrupy. There is lots of complexity in the finish as the taste lingers and stimulates taste buds in different areas of the palette. This would be lovely with a cheese plate. The cider seems to be a one-off; I hope they make this again! I really enjoyed this cider!

6% from Caledon, Ontario

ST. LUKE’S VERSE ~ BEAU’S

St. Luke’s Verse is a GRUIT, a beer made with out hops.  Gruit (or grut or gruyt) are a herb mixture used to add bitterness or flavour to beer before the widespread use of hops, or when hops were prohibitively priced.  Lavender, thyme and rosemary were used in this brew.  St. Luke’s Verse is what young would women would recite to see their true loves revealed in their dreams.  Not for everyone but I really enjoyed this.  The label is beautiful too!

5.7% from Vankleek Hill, Ontario
-beer 4-