LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2015

BEER  HIP HOPS

➤ For well-hopped beers like pale ales, pilsners and IPAs, play off the resinous qualities of Cascade, Centennial and similar hops with foods heavily flavoured by rose- mary, thyme and similar herbs. ➤ Lighter beers can display the floral or grassy qualities of hops like Saaz and Vanguard, which lend themselves well to goat and other soft and mild cheeses. ➤ For beers with earthy and spicy hop characters derived from Fuggle and Golding, keep it simple and artisanal with rustic cheddars and charcuterie. Beer being the versatile beverage that it is, deciding on food for a beer-tasting crew should be an easy propo- sition, and usually it is. But if you want to accentuate the hop experience, you may wish to be a little more discerning in your menu selections.

F E E D I NG TH E HOP PAR T Y C ROWD

THE NEW AND OLD WORLD OF FRESH HOPPING

Before it was discovered that drying hops allowed for better year-round us- age, the cones were plucked from the vine and added directly to the unfer- mented beer during its boiling stage. A few years back, some brewers decid- ed to resurrect this practice, spawning a new class of beers known variously as “wet hop” or “fresh hop” beers.    Two of Ontario’s earliest and on­ going wet hop brews are Amsterdam Brewing’s Autumn Hop ( LCBO 337261, 500 mL, $4.95) and Trafalgar Ales & Mead’s Fresh Hop Harvest ( LCBO 436857, 500 mL, $4.95). Both are sea- soned with the citrusy, floral hop va- riety called Cascade and, due to the variability of the harvest, each year’s version will be slightly different in flavour and aroma. For getting to the heart of what the hop is really all about, however, there are few brewing tech- niques than can compare.

With rye grains as well as barley malt already in the mix, Double Trouble Brewing needed an assertive hop for its Fire in the Rye Roasted Rye Pale Ale ( LCBO 362855, 473 mL, $2.95). The brewer chose Centennial, a bold, floral and citrusy variety that has been called the “Super- Cascade.” On the nose, the profound floral-citrus notes

of the hop accent the spici- ness of the rye, while in the body its characteristic flavours of lemon zest and citrus oils cut through the ale’s maltiness to bring it to a dryly bitter finish. While this beer might otherwise be said to straddle the pale ale-IPA division, the judicious use of Centennial keeps it solidly on the side of flavourful pale ale.

DOUBLE TROUBLE FIRE IN THE RYE

66  FOOD & DRI NK AUTUMN 2015