LCBO Food and Drink Early Summer 2016

BEER  CAN DO!

mad & noisy Hops & Bolts India Pale Lager LCBO 346254, 473 mL, $2.90 Never heard of an IPL? You’re not alone. From Creemore Springs’s Mad & Noisy range, here’s a medium-bodied, fairly rich and flavourful lager with a plethora of hops that give lots of grapefruity citrus notes and a resonantly bitter finish.

LAGERS

Pilsner, invented in Bo- hemia in 1842, took the world by storm, letting lagers lord it over ales for the next 150 years. Craft brewers have always been ale lovers but now they are having fun with lagers too, reviving older styles and even thinking up brand new ones.

Side Launch Dark Lager LCBO 437228, 473 mL, $2.80

New vessels were launched sideways in Collingwood’s ship-building days—hence the name of the brewery. This smooth, complex, Munich-style lager (once known as Denison’s Dunkel) offers a hint of molasses in its malty depths.

Mill St. 100th Meridian Organic Amber Lager LCBO 413765, 473 mL, $3.00

The 100th meridian is an agricultural rainfall line in North America; the drier weather west of it better suited to the Saskatchewan-grown grains and Washington hops that go into this beer. Joel Manning sees it as a conscious homage to the European pilsner-style lagers brewed in Ontario in the late 1800s. “We use low-colour caramel malts so we can use a lot of them, balanced with Bravo and Cascade hops—the flavour markers of craft beer but subtle enough to catch people who are just transitioning from mass-market lagers.”

The Case for Cans Joel Manning, Master Brewer, Mill St. Brewery

Hop City Barking Squirrel Lager LCBO 267773, 473 mL, $2.95

An eminently drinkable amber lager from the independently operated Brampton brewery— the sort of beer that might lure pilsner fans to the dark side. Toasty caramel malts and easygoing hops come to an understanding, resulting in a refreshing session beer that’s a real crowd-pleaser. This squirrel is definitely not barking up the wrong tree.

“I am totally into cans. Always. They’re brim-filled so there’s less air. And zero light penetration so the beer doesn’t get stale as quickly. But pour the beer into a glass to drink it! People say, ‘Oh, beer from cans tastes metallic!’ But that’s because they’re drinking it from the can with their lips and tongue pressed to the aluminum.”

PORTRAIT OF JOEL MANNING BY RONALD TSANG

132  FOOD & DRI NK EARLY SUMMER 2016