Covered Bridge Brewing: Seoirse the Great

Irish Red Ale is a beer type that can bring some mixed opinions.  Some find it to be an overly sweet style, while others find it to be a nice, smooth and malty ale.  Personally I am somewhere on the fence, I have had some fantastic Irish red ales as well as some really disappointing ones but I tend to be optimistic about them. They are a beer style you can give to people who think craft beer is all about uber hoppy IPA's or pumpkin spice beer to prove that there are a lot of different beers out there, Irish red is a beer that can be enjoyed by a larger segment of the drinking population.  Thanks to my good friends at brew donkey, I found myself with as growler of Covered Bridge's Irish red and a junior hockey game on the radio, time to do some sampling and writing!

It doesn't pour red, I'll throw that out there right away, it pours an extremely dark brown, almost black colour.  The nose is extremely malty and toffee-like, smells very thick and flavourful but it sorta goes downhill from there.  On the tongue you get all of the hops out of the way, a bitter intro that smooths out into a malty middle.  The toffee and coffee flavours are quite pronounced, but the consistency isn't great, pretty watery but at least it's flavourful.  From the nose I was expecting a much more full bodied beer, but it turns out to be fairly watery, which is disapointing.  To give the beer credit, it is quite smooth and easy to drink, but I found myself a bit let down by it.  The strong nose is a tease for a beer that just doesn't make it in terms of consistency.   I would still drink it again, but it's not covered bridge's finest.

It's available in growlers at their brewery and on order through brewdonkey.ca.  You may be able to find it at bars and restaurants in Ottawa, however I can't confirm that.

 Alc 6%

IBU 22

Rating: 3 steins.

What you need to know
Brewery address
119 Iber Road, Unit 6
Stittsville (Ottawa), ON
K2S1E7

Website:
http://www.coveredbridgebrewing.com/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/coveredbridgebrewingco/

Twitter
@CBbeer

Whiprsnapr brewing co #wreckingcrew pale ale

Thanks to my good friend Brad at Brewdonkey, I often get a chance to try some interesting beers, so when it was time to make my latest order I decided to give Whiprsnapr's beers a go, and this is the first of those I'm trying.  Whiprsnapr are yet another welcome addition to the Ottawa craft beer scene, I have tried a few of their beers at festivals before and have generally been impressed so having a chance to drink a proper glass of their beer with the opportunity to write about it is quite exciting.  Their #wreckingcrew (the hashtag is a part of the name) is part of a rotating group of beers that they claim they brew every Wednesday, so next week's #wreckingcrew (OK I know the hashtag is annoying) could be different from the one I'm drinking, which is a single malt pale ale.

It pours a cloudy straw yellow colour with a hint of orange to it.  The nose is very sweet with some decently noticable hops, the sweetness is almost maple or honey-esque in nature but with this hop addition, very interesting.  The tongue is decidedly mild, again extremely sweet with an almost fruity/honey taste to it, not overly malty but very sweet.  As the sip progresses the malt and the hops make their appearance, providing a nice, beery middle that is very refreshing. The finish of the sip is where the hops really show their strength with a very strong citrussy bitter taste, which can be explained by the summit hops they use. It's an extremely interesting and complex beer that they may or may not make again.  I hope they do as it's really tasty, well done Whiprsnapr!

It's available at their brewery, as well as on order from brewdonkey.ca.  Unfortunately I don't know if they will re-do this recipe so you may be out of luck, but if this is an indication then their other Wednesday creations have a lot of promise, my only tip is lose the hashtag in the name!

Alc. 4.7%

IBU 38

Rating: 4 Steins

What you need to know

Brewery address
14 Blexley Pl, Unit 106
Nepean, ON
K2H8X3

Website
http://whiprsnaprbrewingco.com/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/whiprsnaprbrewingco/?fref=ts

Twitter
@whiprsnaprbrew

Online ordering
Brewdonkey.ca

Kawartha Lakes Raspberry Wheat

My loyal readers may note that I don't review many fruit beers.  It's not that they can't be good, it's that they are not necessarily my cup of tea so I don't drink too many of them.  I much prefer a malty stout or ESB to a fruit beer, but in the name of science and a raspberry wheat being the only beer in my fridge, I am giving Kawartha's Raspberry wheat a chance.  KLB (Kawartha Lakes) have seen their distribution expand across Ontario since they were purchased by Toronto's Amsterdam brewery in 2013, and while I'm happy to see craft brewers expand, this particular brew leaves a lot to be desired.  

You don't get a heck of a lot on the nose, watery with a hint of raspberry but not much more than that.  On the tongue you don't get much either, mostly watery with a hint of raspberry, there are some strong mineral notes as well.  As the sip progresses you get more in the way of the raspberry, but you never really get much in the way of beer taste.  In a blind taste test you would only know this was beer if someone told you as it tastes more like raspberry water than beer.  I had been looking for the sweetness of a wheat beer, but any wheat or malt flavour is nowhere to be seen.  As the sip comes to an end you get a bit of an acidic bitterness, but not a hoppy bittnerness, so the overall sip profile tastes like raspberry water that's started to go off.  I guess this could be good if you don't like beer at all, but in my opinion it's disappointment in a can (to quote my lovely girlfriend who had bought a few cans).

It's available at the beer store and LCBO across Ontario as well as some bars and restaurants where Amsterdam products are served, however I would avoid it if you actually like wheat beers as there are many better options. 

Alc 4.5%  IBU 14

Rating 1 Stein  

What you need to know

Website (Amsterdam)

http://www.amsterdambeer.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Amsterdambeer/

Twitter

@amsterdambeer

Kichesippi Natural Blonde

Kichesippi are one of Ottawa's more prominent microbreweries.  They have been around for about 5 years now with Natural Blonde being their first brew. I like a proper pale ale and I first tried Natural Blonde a while ago at the now defunct Rochester Pub and remember it being really good.  I have had it numerous times over the years but realized that I haven't gotten around to reviewing it yet, so here it is.  

It pours a nice blonde colour, typical of a proper ale or lager.  The nose has a quite noticeable hop presence to it, even coming from the bottle however the intro to the sip is a bit underwhelming.  I had been hoping for a maltier start to the sip but it falls a bit flat, however on the middle that sugary malt flavour comes to the forefront.  It's very sweet and clean through the middle, quite refreshing with an almost piney flavour to it.  This malty middle moves on to a surprisingly bitter and hoppy finish that adds an excellent level of complexity to what could have been a very simple beer.  For those who like blonde beers but don't like the overly sweet and fizzy nature of lagers this would be a good alternative.  It is a nice balance between blonde ale and pale ale.  It's nice to see breweries being successful and Kichesippi have not only had success with their beers, but with their Harvey & Vern's line of soft drinks as well, which are excellent.  Their 1855 and Wuchak Black are also excellent beers that I will review another time.

It's available at their brewery in Ottawa's west end, in six packs and tallboys at the LCBO and on draught in a variety of bars and restaurants in the Ottawa area.

Alc 4.9%

IBU 30

Rating: 3.5 Steins

What you need to know

Brewery address
866 Campbell St
Ottawa, ON K2A2C5

Website
http://www.kbeer.ca/

Twitter
@kichesippibeer

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/KichesippiBeer

Hop City Lawn Chair Classic Weisse

Traditional German style weisse beers can be very hit or miss.  When done well, a good weisse can be really refreshing and sweet with lots of flavours, for mass produced examples think Hoegaarden or Blanche de Chambly, while done wrong they can taste absolutely disgusting, too heavy and malty without the sweetness of the wheat, for examples of how not to do it think Keith's White or Rickard's White (Blue Moon in the states).  Fortunately Hop City have done it right with a sweet and flavourful weisse.

On the nose you immediately get strong banana notes, but it is not overwhelmingly strong.  I may not have gotten the strong nose because I drank it straight from the can (I hate washing dishes) so if you pour it into a glass you may get stronger flavours.  On the tongue you get a delightful hit of sweetness that is the sign of a good weisse, this flows into a surprisingly sour middle that helps bring out the complex spice flavours that the side of the can advertises.  The finish is very minerally, a tad watery to be honest, but it doesn't take away from the fact that this is indeed a fine example of the weisse beer genre.

It's available throughout Ontario at the LCBO as well as on draught at a variety of pubs and restaurants in the province.  Hop City have really taken off as one of Ontario's most succesful craft breweries, they make some great beers.

Alc 5%

IBU 9

Rating; 4 Steins

What you need to know

Website
http://www.hopcity.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HopCityBrewingCo/

Twitter
@HopCityBrewing

Waterloo Spiced Dunkel

Dunkel is a German word for dark, and Dunkel beer is a dark lager.  Most dunkels tend to be malty and sweet but not overly hoppy so I was looking forward to Waterloo's as they tend to make some really good German style beers, however their seasonal spiced dunkel is a bit of a disapointment.  

It pours a reddish brown colour (they call it mahogany colour) with minimal head.  The nose is quite interesting, with strong hints of pumpkin, cloves and other spices which gives the drinker the impression of this being an interesting and complex beer.  On the tongue you get a sweet and malty taste, but those spice notes you anticipate from the nose don't make the early appearance.  As the sip progresses, the flavour does indeed pick up as you get a nice nutmeg and clove tasted in the middle of the sip before it trails off into a watery finish. The nose really makes you think it will be a really complex and spicy beer, however it seems to fall a bit flat.  It's not a particularly bad beer, it's malty and smooth but the promise of spice doesn't pan out.

It's available at the LCBO and beer store in tallboys as well as at their brewery in Waterloo, ON.  It's a winter seasonal so only available for a little while.  

Alc 6.1% 

Rating: 2.5 steins

What you need to know

400 Bingemans Drive

Kitchener, ON

N2B 3X9

Website

http://waterloobrewing.com/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/The-Waterloo-Brewing-Co-157802271063635/

Twitter

@brickbrewery

Tooth and Nail: Truce

Warning, this is a seriously dangerous beer.  It's sweet, smooth, and strong so you definitely need to be careful when you give this a try.  They call it a Holiday Ale, and were making it and selling it mostly during the holidays so I had picked myself up a bottle.  As it's a 750 ml bottle and 8.75% I needed to dedicate an evening to drinking it, as I didn't figure I would be very productive afterwards!

It pours a cloudy brown colour, with a creamy brown head.  On the nose you can smell the malt, this is one malty beer!  When you first take a sip you get a fairly smooth, sweet, and fruity start, the label talks about fig and raisin flavour, as I don't eat a lot of figs and am not a fan of raisins I am not really in position to validate this, but it does taste of dried fruit.  As the sip progresses you get a really mellow and smooth yeasty and malty middle, very smooth and tastes a bit like fresh bread.  The hop presence only really shows up on the finish, as it finishes with noticeable but not overwhelming hops.  As I said in the intro, this is high test stuff, it's really smooth and easy to drink but at 8.75% you need to handle with care.

It may not be available anymore (sorry about that) but Tooth and Nail have a variety of beers for sale at their brewery/ brewpub at the corner of Irving Ave and Wellington West in Ottawa's up and coming Hintonburg neighbourhood.

Alc 8.75%

Rating: 4.5 steins

What you need to know

Website:
http://toothandnailbeer.com/

Brewery/Brewpub
3 Irving Ave.
Ottawa, ON

Twitter
@toothnailbeer

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/toothandnailbrewingcompany?fref=ts