BEER SNOB ~ SHILLOW BEER CO.

“Beer Snob” is Shillow’s brewery second flagship beer. It is Belgian Rye Ale. Sampled on draught, it poured orangey amber with a good-sized white head, which left nice lacing. The aroma contained spicy rye, and a fruit, with floral hops and estery Belgian yeast. I really like the combination of the spice in the rye malts (It’s brewed with pale malt base with rye malt and a touch of Abbey malt) and complexity of the Belgian yeasts. The English floral hops provide a nice finish and complement the spiciness of the beer. The carbonation and body were both medium. A very pleasant beer, I will return to this one!
5.6% from Toronto, Ontario

RYE~IT PUNCH ~ BIG RIG

Rye-It Punch is a new seasonal offering from Big Rig Brewery. It is a Roggenbier, a traditional German style beer that contains a large amount of rye (roggen). It was a traditional Medieval Ale that are unfiltered, bottle or keg conditioned and are lightly hopped to allow for the rye spiciness to show through. Roggen biers lost popularity when rulers of the day decreed that certain grain only be used to bake with. The motive behind this was so that the poor would eat rather than imbibe. The Bavarian Purity law that states only Barley could be used in beers. Barley was not suitable for baking and more suitable for brewing. Rye became the grain for the masses and wheat, being expensive, was limited to only the rich.
Sampled on draught the beer poured a very murky golden orange with a generous cream head, that dissipated to a cap. The nose contained sour notes, along with grains, banana, cloves and spice, bubble gum and fruit. The taste was very similar to the nose with refreshing citrus, orchard fruit, spice, doughy grains, and slight sourness. The hefe yeast gives distinct notes of banana and clove; the rye spices things up and gives an earthy finish. The carbonation is fine and soft, and the body is medium-light.

4.5% from Ottawa, Ontario