LCBO Food and Drink Early Summer 2016

BEER  CAN DO!

Lagers are brewed with bottom-fermenting yeasts; ales use top-fermenting yeasts and tend to have more flavour and depth. Most wheat beers are top-fermented, too. Herewith a mixed bag of ales and wheat beers to quench a summer thirst. A MIXED BAG

Innis & Gunn Original LCBO 334037, 500 mL, $3.10

People say this remarkable Scottish ale tastes like whisky, which must be because it’s used to season old bourbon casks before Scotch goes into them—hence the oaky caramel and vanilla swirling around and over the beer’s own rich wheat and barley malt flavours. Its success has prompted craft brewers everywhere to experiment with barrel-aged brews—and Innis & Gunn have also produced many variations. I still prefer the original.

Underdog’s All Or Nothing Hopfenweisse LCBO 417543, 473 mL, $2.95

Nickel Brook Cause & Effect Blonde Ale

Hop City Lawn Chair Classic Weisse LCBO 380535, 473 mL, $2.90 “Grab a chair,” says the writing on the can. “Like a picnic in your mouth.” That’s true, if you bring bananas and cloves in your basket. An unfiltered Bavarian-style hefeweizen , this fruity, spicy blond is per- fect when you’re sitting back on a warm afternoon.

Pouring Tip Mill St.’s Joel Manning has this advice for us: “Pour your beer into the glass aggressively! Let the head settle, then top it up. Don’t try to trap the CO2 in the beer by pouring too carefully. Re- lease it, then you open the beer up and let the aromas and flavours fully emerge.”

LCBO 415042, 473 mL, $2.60 Here’s an ale for the lager lover—unfiltered but subtle and refreshing, with a medium body and well-integrated sug- gestions of citrus and grassy grains. The design on the can shows an old-fashioned map of the brain—something to think about.

Adding hops to a wheat beer is still an unusual play, but I dare say it will catch on. It’s a delicious idea in this case, with the typical weisse flavours of banana candy and coriander seed overlaid with just enough grassy, piney hops to make things really interesting.

Lake of Bays Spark House Red Ale LCBO 380329, 473 mL, $2.60

Our brewery’s overall theme is “the working north” says Lake of Bays owner and president, Darren Smith. “Crosswind pays tribute to bush pilots, Spark House to the men who fought forest fires. The Dorset fire tower is right in our local area.” It’s a smooth and full-bodied red ale, starting with deep, rich flavours from chocolate and roasted malts—until the hops break in to provide a pleasantly dry finish and good length. Try it with fresh, crusty bread, nippy cheddar and a tangy chutney.

136  FOOD & DRI NK EARLY SUMMER 2016