I did something, this week, that I haven't done in many months: I bought beer.
Not only did I buy beer but I also visited a brewery. The last time I was in a brewery was when I visited Broadhead Brewing, after kayaking at Petrie Island, and DW, our Paddlefolk, and I stopped for lunch.
I ordered a pint with my meal but I actually didn't pick up any to bring home with me. I haven't had beer in my mini fridge since the end of May.
It seemed that I had pretty much given up on beer. I filled my mini fridge with flavoured sparkling water, ginger beer, and tonic water, but no beer. Even when I went out for my regular karaoke nights, I would sometimes drink a soda or some other alcoholic beverage. And if I did decide to drink beer, I'd have only one can.
I had sort of lost my groove for beer.
On Monday, I drove to Toronto with Kid 2 and my father. My daughter had come up to Ottawa to join her closest friends for a cottage getaway but asked me to drive her back to her Toronto home afterwards (she's a starving artist and couldn't afford return transportation). And it just so happened that my father wanted to go to Toronto to check out an old MGB that was for sale, so we made a day trip of it.
We left the house early and took Kid 2 straight home, where she dropped off her suitcase and changed into something more suitable for the heat of the city. The three of us then went for lunch, after which we said goodbye to my daughter, and my father and I continued to Etobicoke, where the car was.
My father was going to take a couple of hours to inspect the car and go for a test drive. I didn't want to interfere with his time with the car, so while he was busy, I performed a search for the closest breweries to me.
The closest beer shop was Rainhard, but because I remembered trying one of their brews and giving them a scathing review, I searched for the next closest brewery, which was in the opposite direction. It was Mascot Brewery.
I've also reviewed a beer from Mascot, last year, but didn't remember having done so when I made the decision to check out the brewery and shop.
When I entered their beer shop, I found two large refrigerators that were crammed with myriad cans. The person who worked the shop entered from the back and told me that if I took 12 cans, I would receive a 15-percent discount.
I was initially only planning to take six cans, but my mini fridge was even low on sparkling water and cocktail mixers, so I decided that this was the time that I'd start putting beer back into that fridge.
The first beer I sought out was a stout. It's still my favourite style of beer and I'm always looking for a new one. I saw many cans that were labelled IPA, so I asked the person behind the counter to describe the various cans: some hazy, some fruity, but none were true IPAs.
Sigh.
I picked up two kinds anyway, plus I grabbed a dark lager and a couple of pilsners. I had 10 cans and was looking for two more cans to get my discount, so I asked the person in the shop what she would recommend, based on what I had already taken and what was left.
She told me that her absolute favourite was a pilsner and she pointed out the can, which was tiled with various comic-like illustrations. I said I'd give it a try and took the two cans that made up my dozen.
And for my first beer review in more than three months, let's take a look at this beer that is the favourite of the person who works in the beer shop of Mascot Brewery. And it wasn't until I took the can out of my fridge and cracked it open that I learned something that was a bit of a surprise, as you'll see.
Kensington Brewing Company
Toronto ON
Did you notice something? Yes, the beer that is the favourite of the beer shop employee isn't actually from Mascot Brewery. It's from Kensington Brewing.
I did a search and learned that Kensington Brewing, which was on Augusta Avenue in the Kensington Market, was permanently closed. This news rang a bell with me, as I remember not being able to find this brewery on a search, last year, when I was in this market area. Instead, I found Burdock Brewery and did a couple of reviews of their beer (a mango gose and a saison).
I also learned from a blogTO article that not only had Kensington Brewing closed suddenly, it had been acquired by Mascot. Mystery solved. Let's get back to the pilsner.
Appearance: a slightly unfiltered, golden yellow that produces a white head that starts with a foamy cap but settles to a thick lace.
Nose: grassy lemon (as opposed to lemongrass) and biscuit.
Palate: more biscuit and grassy lemon. The body is medium but with a light, short finish.
Overall impression: Augusta Pils (named after the street on which the old brewery resided) is a simple, typical pilsner. It's easy drinking and not complex, something that many beer drinkers would appreciate but beer connoisseurs might give a pass. It makes me wonder what the person in the beer store was drinking before she tried this pils and whether she has tried all of the beer that Mascot has to offer.
And if she has tried them and still prefers this brew, what am I in store for with the five other selections?
Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺 I can't fault Augusta for what it is. It's exactly what I expect from a pilsner. But there's nothing that I found that stands out with it. It is what it is.
Next I'll try the stout and I'll give a review if it stands out or if it doesn't hold up. If it's a good, standard stout, I won't bother giving it a review.
So beer is back in my home. Is this the start of getting back to my usual stockpile or will I let the fridge run dry again? Stay tuned.
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