You have to applaud a Microbrewery for trying to go head to head with the big boys in terms of beer styles. Many microbreweries prefer to make hoppy IPA's, and stouts, which have very little competition from the major breweries. In Canada the Red Ale market is well catered for with Molson (Rickards) Keith's and Sleeman all making decent Red beers but Cassel brewery from Casselman, ON are going head to head with the big boys with their Lil' Red Steamer Red ale and are doing a fine job of it!
Cassel brewery call Lil' Red Steamer a Red/Amber ale, which is a pretty accurate description of the colour as it looks more brown than red. It is a surprisingly smooth and refreshing ale without being too watery. It has a bit of a caramel flavour to it with a slightly malty and bitter finish to it. I had it on tap and it was a tasty pint to go along with my lunch and I think that due to the complexity it is one of the better red ales I have had. They managed to avoid making it too watery or too sweet, which is a trap other microbrews fall into while they perfect their recipe but Lil' Red Steamer seems to have found a proper balance making it a very good red ale for the summer months. On their website they say it goes well with a juicy burger and it definitely tastes like a good barbecue beer.
You can get it at their brewery as well as on tap at a few locations in Ottawa, according to their website it is not yet in the LCBO or Beer Store.
What you need to know
Brewery
715-C rue Principale
Casselman ON K0A 1M0
Website
www.casselbrewery.ca/
Twitter
@CasselBrewery
Facebook
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