Beer O'Clock: Pardon My French!

If you drive past Rockland, Ontario, along the Ottawa River, one of the prominent things that you will see is a large, green-and-white flag that waves near the intersection of Highway 17 and County Road 17. The left half of the flag is a darkish green with a white fleur-de-lys, while the right half is white with the green logo of the Ontario trillium.

The flag represents the Franco-Ontarians that make up much of this region of Eastern Ontario. It unites Franco-Ontarians during cultural struggles, such as education rights campaigns, and represents more than 600,000 people and 400 years of French presence in Ontario.

Although me my family originally comes from Montreal, having moved to Ottawa in the late 1960s, we are not Franco-Ontarian, much like we cannot say we're Quebecois. I have Franco-Ontarian and Quebecois relatives, but I cannot claim the same.

French is not my first language, nor do we live a life where the French culture is a part of it.

I'm simply Canadian. And that's more than good enough.

I have a friend who lives near Plantagenet, along Highway 17, and so the route through Rockland is familiar to me. A couple of years ago, on a drive out to visit my friend, I noticed a sign for a brewery on the east end of the town.

It's a yellow sign with black print, and a logo of an eagle or other bird of prey. It's a brewery, Brauwerk Hoffman. It stood out to me because for a Franco-Ontarian region, I didn't expect to find a brewery that embraced a German heritage.

Every time I made it out this way, I meant to stop and check out the brewery, but either I was in a rush to get to my friend's place or would be returning too late to visit the brewery. I only ever thought of Brauwerk Hoffman when I was driving past.

Fortunately, on my latest stop at my friendly neighbourhood LCBO, I found some of this brewery's creations on the shelf. The one that stood out was the green-and-white can that depicted a man and a woman, in lederhosen, holding the Franco-Ontarian flag.

I had to do more research into this brewery but in the meantime, I picked up some of this beer and brought it home. You'll learn what I discovered after the review.

Pardon My French! West Coast IPA (7.0% ABV)
Brauwerk Hoffman
Rockland ON

Appearance: pours an unfiltered, light-copper, with a foamy, beige head that holds a solid cap.

Nose: fresh grapefruit and pine resin. It smells like a classic IPA.

Palate: bitter grapefruit gives this brew a full body that lingers in the finish. I would expect a bit of tropical fruit with a west-coast IPA but this ale is more reminiscent of a British-style IPA. As the finish continues to linger, some of the alcohol comes through, making this ale more heady than a typical IPA—west-coast or otherwise.

Overall impression: this is a serious brew that you need to drink responsibly. The higher alcohol content begs you to sip and pace yourself. I feel that after two pints, I wouldn't want to drive. The alcohol flavour becomes more apparent as you drink, so I don't think I could enjoy a second glass, anyway.

That said, I like the grapefruit flavour. This is the closest to a true IPA that I've had in a while. Often, I'm disappointed when I purchase a beer that is simply labelled IPA, only to pour the contents into my glass and discover a hazy, fruity NEIPA instead.

I love these hazy brews but am driven nuts when they're not clearly indicated, and I buy the can, hoping to find a British-style IPA inside. This time, I bought a West Coast IPA, and I find it to be more in line with a traditional IPA.

And I wasn't disappointed.

Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺

On digging into Brauwerk Hoffman, I learned that the brewery originates in Campbell's Bay, further upstream on the Ottawa River, in the Pontiac region of Quebec. Hoffman is the name of the founding family, and they opened the second location, in Rockland, in 2020. The original brewery is said to still be in operation, though Google Maps says it's temporarily closed.

Seasonal?

There is no sizable German community in Rockland, and even the Pontiac region reports only a small German presence; though, obviously, the Hoffman's took up in the area. But it seems that this brewery has embraced the Franco-Ontarian community and has honoured it with this ale.

The label on the can reads

West Coast IPAs have become synonymous with being bolder, stronger and "hoppier' than other classic styles. The same can be said of Franco-Ontarians.

Pardon My French! is certainly bolder than a classic IPA but still fits well in the category.

If you like an IPA that packs a punch, this one is trés bon.

Santé! Cheers!