Beer O'Clock: Hail Saison

One of my favourite beer styles, over the past few years, has been the modest, unassuming saison. These farmhouse brews, which originated in Belgium, have a lot of characteristics that I like in a beer: light, fizzy, and fruity, they are perfect on a hot summer's day.

They also have added characteristics that I like. There's a mineral quality, almost flinty, with a spice that just gives me a comforting feel when I'm sitting back and sipping one.

So when I saw one being offered when I visited a Toronto brewery, last month, I had to add it to my mix.

Blood Brothers Brewing was founded in 2016 by Brayden and Dustin Jones, and I discovered that their taproom is just a short, five-minute drive from where my kid lives. Why I hadn't visited sooner, I don't know.

Though I picked up a good mix of IPA-styled brews, I was most interested in trying the saison. And after chatting with Dan, who was behind the counter, I was comped a couple of small cans that I can't wait to crack open and share my views.

Thanks, Dan!

Let's take a look at this saison.

Hail Saison — saison with Hallertau Blanc and Wai-iti (4.5% ABV)
Blood Brothers Brewing
Toronto ON

Appearance: pours a slightly unfiltered, effervescent, deep-apricot gold, with a generous, foamy-white head that settles to a dense lace.

Nose: banana and pear that unmistakably cries saison. I love it.

Palate: there's a tartness that hits the mouth straight-on. It's not common in the saisons that I've had before but it's not uncommon in a saison, though I was not expecting to pucker like I did. But after the initial sour shock, subsequent sips gave it the tartness of lemonade, backed with the flinty mineral-ness that I did expect. The finish is short and cleansing, but I didn't pick up much in the way of spice.

Not that that's a deal-breaker or anything.

Overall impression: for anyone who's read my past beer reviews, you'll know that I'm not a big fan when it comes to sour ales. There are a handful that I have liked, but it's not a style that I'll reach for. The initial sourness of this saison threw me a curve but as time went on and the glass went down, Hail Saison grew on me. It jabs you in the mouth with a tart citrus but then the flintiness reminds you that it's a saison, and the fruit soothes you as it goes down your throat.

The short, clean finish resets your mouth and you're ready to start the flavour exploration all over again.

Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺 + .5

While my last visit to Toronto was my first visit to Blood Brothers, it certainly won't be my last. Next time, I'll plan to stay and try some of their food, and I'll likely come home with another armful of brew.

You can order Hail Saison online for delivery or, if you're in the GTA, why not pay them a visit in person? Tell Dan that I sent you.

Cheers! 

Beer O'Clock: Flux

The only constant in life is change.

As I experience more and more styles and brands of beer, I find that my preference seems to change over time. I used to like lagers and then lost my taste for them, but then I'd try a particular lager and it would have me rethink my animosity toward that biscuity style. I didn't care for wheat ales at one time but now I have a healthy respect for them that borders on admiration.

I used to love pumpkin-spiced beer but now can't stand pumpkin-spiced anything, save for a homemade pumpkin pie (and only at Thanksgiving).

The first time that I tried sour ales, I wasn't a fan. I could appreciate them for what they were but often passed them up, not liking that lip-puckering tartness.

Every once and a while, I would try a sour ale and be pleasantly surprised by the hint of sour that blended perfectly with ripe citrus or other bold fruit flavours. Those are the types of sour beer that make me appreciate this style.

Me and my buddy, Marc.

Last week, a couple of my oldest friends and I met up at Bicycle Craft Brewery, on Industrial Road in Ottawa, to sit and have a couple of pints. It had been many years since I last set foot in this brewery, which is one of my favourites in the city. And there were some new brews to try.

It was good to see Layton, who used to deliver beer to my doorstep, but now has other duties at the brewery. My friends and I picked a brew and sat at one of the tables in the taproom.

I started with a jalapeno pale ale that went down nicely. The jalapeno was mild at first, but over time I could feel a slight burn at the back of the throat. It was a great start to our session.

Next, I enquired about a sour that they were pouring and asked just how sour it was. Not overly, I was told, and so I gave it a try. I liked it so much that I grabbed six cans to take home.

My tastes they are a'changin'.

Flux Dry Hopped Sour (5% ABV)
Bicycle Craft Brewery
Ottawa, ON

Appearance: an unfiltered, bright apricot-yellow, with a white foamy head that settles to a dense lace, and then fades to almost nothing but extremely fine effervescent bubbles on the surface.

Nose: lush lemon citrus and a trace of pineapple, with overtones of... now, hear me out... tobacco. Not burning tobacco, but much akin to a dry, wine-dipped cigar. I'm thinking of Colts.

I thought I was crazy when I first detected tobacco in my glass, and I wondered if it was because I was a bit stuffed up (it's ragweed season) or if there were other smells that I was picking up from the brewery (though, I didn't sense this aroma in any of the other beer that I sampled). Nearly a week later, in the comfort of my home, I still get this scent. If you've had this ale and share this sensation, let me know in the Comments section. I'd love to hear from Fariborz or someone else at the brewery.

Palate: sharp lemon hits me straight off and is immediately followed by a sourness that is subtle but present. The added lactobacillus is obvious but doesn't make me pucker up. It's like a fresh-squeezed lemonade that is light on sugar. That wine-dipped cigar sensation does carry through in the finish but is tempered with the dry hops. The finish is short and palate-cleansing.

Overall impression: Flux leaves me scratching my head. I like the citrussy mouthfeel and the easy-going sourness but I can't shake the tobacco overtones, which doesn't detract from the overall pleasantness of this ale but doesn't help it, either. It's almost a distraction, but then I taste the other flavours and everything seems fine.

After all, I did pick up a 6-pack (and have consumed half, already).

I used to belong to a cigar club (with one of my buddies who joined me at Bicycle Craft, last week) and do enjoy the aromas of a cigar (though, I gave them up decades ago). But do I want that flavour in my beer? My opinion on this ale is in flux.

Maybe, for this dry-hopped sour, I do want that wine-dipped cigar flavour, because I'll continue to drink it for as long as it's available.

Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺

Flux is a limited release, so order it while you can and let me know your impressions. Bicycle Craft Brewery offers free delivery in Ottawa for orders of $100 or more (orders of $40 or more are charged only $5 to ship), and you can, of course, pick it up from their taproom. They also deliver throughout Ontario for a nominal fee.

Cheers!

Beer O'Clock: Jelly King

I could have sworn that I had reviewed a sour ale by Bellwoods Brewery before. I distinctly remember drinking their Plum sour ale before (my Untappd account has it logged, on February 13, 2020, complete with a photo that I took) but there is no review.

I also seem to recall drinking a Bellwoods ale that was made with concord grapes, though I can't find any record of that one and I must be thinking of someone else's brew. Maybe someone from the brewery can jog my memory on that one.

Regardless, a review of a sour ale from Bellwoods' Jelly King line is way overdue.

Those of you who know me know that I have an arms-length relationship with sour beer. I'm not keen on beers that get me puckering my cheeks with every mouthful. I don't like to screw up my face with anticipation of my next sip.

At the same time, I do like ales that are jam-packed with tropical-fruit flavours. I love mango, guava, passionfruit, and others in my glass of suds. And in that light, Bellwoods never fails.

Last month, on a trip down to Toronto, I stopped in at an LCBO and my eyes fell on the familiar label from this Toronto brewery (I would have gone to the brewery, directly, but time was not on my side on that trip). I picked up a couple of bottles, in addition to the lager that I reviewed last week, and headed home.

Let's look at this version of Jelly King.

Jelly King (Mango, Guava & Passionfruit: 5.6% ABV)
Bellwood's Brewery
Toronto ON

Appearance: a hazy orange with hues of pink that get captured in low light, with a foamy-white head that quickly settles to a fine lace and dissipates altogether, save for a fine ring around the meniscus that lines the glass. Some minute bubbles come and go on the top.

Nose: the mango leads the aroma, followed by a hint of passionfruit. There's a jam-like quality that tells you that you're in for a fruity treat.

Palate: the sourness punches you right in the mouth. On the first mouthful, I got sour lemons, backed by guava. The fruit is intense. There is strong citrus and as you get to the finish, more passionfruit comes out, as well as a ruby-red grapefruit flavour that seems to cleanse the palate.

Bellwoods' description claims "punchy hop aromatics" but I didn't pick up any hops. They seemed to be drowned out in the sour fruit.

It's really sour: almost too much for my liking.

Overall impression: if you love a good sour ale, this will get you puckering up. It's loaded with fruit, and not just the mango, guava, and passionfruit that's advertised. While this Jelly King is a bit too sour for me, the punch of tropical fruit wins me over.

Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺.5

While Bellwoods' Web site doesn't currently show this brew available from its shops, I did see a lot of it in the LCBO where I picked mine up. Check out the store nearest you. And if you can't find it, I encourage you to check out the other ales from the Jelly King series.

Cheers!

Beer O'Clock: Hi-Fi

I have to say that I'm really glad that DW talked me into stopping at one of our area LCBOs, a few weeks ago. I've been avoiding stores that I don't consider 'essential,' and because I've been able to order beer online and have it delivered, the LCBO is only 'essential' when we run out of wine or other booze.

I'm glad she decided that she needed some St-Germaine. For if she hadn't, if we didn't go into the LCBO near the Barrhaven Costco, I wouldn't have gone into the beer section, wouldn't have seen some new releases, and would not have left the store with six cans from three different breweries and three very different styles of brew.

I also have to admit that under most circumstances, I wouldn't have reached for a sour ale. There are very few that I like: I'm not into lip-puckering sours. If it's going to be sour, it has to be mildly so.

So when I saw a mango-passionfruit sour from a Chatham brewery, I nearly said, "nah." But then I said, "You know what? What the hell... why not?"

I'm glad I did.

Hi-Fi Mango Passionfruit (4.8% ABV)
Sons of Kent Brewing Company
Chatham ON

Appearance: an effervescent orange juice appearance with a bubbly white head that dissipates quickly. It reminds me of a murky orange soda, like Orangina.

Nose: tart tropical notes of oranges, mangoes, guava, and passionfruit. There's also a trace of acetone.

Palate: the passionfruit leads the way, followed my mango juice and oranges. The sourness comes on top of the fruit: it's obvious but not overpowering. It's also at the limit of what I like in a sour ale—I'm not quite puckering up.

Overall impression: if this ale was just a wee bit lighter in sourness, it would be perfect. I like the lush fruit and light body. This would make a great brew to enjoy on a hot summer patio or would quench your thirst after tending your garden. Or to sip while you're sitting on your front porch at the end of a workday. I like it but I get my hackles up a bit before I take a sip. I'm calm as the ale swirls around my mouth and washes down my throat.

If you like sour ales, you'll really like this offering from Sons of Kent. If you're okay with sour ales, this might test your tolerance, as it did with me. But if you're not into sour, this is not the brew for you.

Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺

You can find Hi-Fi brews at your friendly neighbourhood LCBO or you can order directly from Sons of Kent. There is a flat rate of $15 across Ontario and all orders over $100 are free.

Cheers!

Beer O'Clock: Half Remembered Dream

You would think that with my reluctance to sour beer, I would shy away from a brewery that is all about the pucker.

Not so with one of Kanata's newish breweries, which will celebrate it's first anniversary next month.

Small Pony Barrel Works (101 Schneider Road, near Carling) ages all of their brews in oak barrels, and when you visit the brewery, barrels are inescapable: small tables let you sit and sample a pint or two (and, hey, the edges of the barrels will contain your drink, should you have the misfortune of spilling it); rows of stacked barrels run the length of the back of the brewery; and the aroma of oak, hops, and malt fill the air.

I briefly visited SPBW on Sunday afternoon and the place was empty, save the young woman who was busy affixing labels to the latest batch. While there is a tasting room, I was interested only in snapping some photos, grabbing a sample of ales, and heading out. Perhaps, if there were others milling about and I had more time, I might have stayed for a pint to get the true feel of the brewery.

I'll have to come back.

If you want to take beer with you, they have a decent selection but they are available in 750 ml bottles only. That's a pint and a half, so it's no large feat to finish a bottle in one sitting. But I was taken aback by the cost of a bottle, where prices ranged from $15 to $18.

I get it: you'd pay that much for a good bottle of wine. But we're talking beer, where the average cost of that much beer is about six or seven dollars. If I go to a pub for a pint, I'm going to pay about seven or eight bucks.

When a can of beer from a brewery is $5, I expect that the contents are going to be good. SPBW is charging at least double that price.

It had better knock my socks off.

Fortunately, of the three bottles I've tried so far, I can't complain about the quality. Ci-Tron (4.3% ABV) is a Berliner Weiss-inspired ale with loads of tart lemon flavour that can cut through a good curry and actually paired incredibly well with lemon-meringue pie. Respect Your Elders (6.4% ABV), also German-influenced, has lovely tart and floral notes, the floral being elderflower (with coriander and sea salt). While the sourness was there, it was a complement to the flavours rather than the centre of the show.

When I picked my bottles, I asked for their flagship brew, and I was pointed to Half Remembered Dream (5% ABV), a blend of sours with rose hips and hibiscus. Let's take a closer look at it.

Appearance: unfiltered, glowing orange with a hint of pink. I was reminded of the soda, Orange Crush. The foamy-white head also had a tinge of pink and poured thick, but quickly settled to a small, thin lace that was composed of an intense effervescence of minuscule bubbles, and then disappeared altogether.

Nose: sour grapefruit and floral notes, with a candied overtone. The back label describes Swedish berries and I thought, ah-ha, that's it! As with its appearance, Half Remembered Dream smelled more like a soda than a beer. (That's not a criticism.)

Palate: initially, the mouth feel brought memories of Orange Crush, but sour. In the finish, however, a touch of sweetness came through to the centre of my tongue. The rose hips and hibiscus are there but subtly play with your taste buds. It's tart, then sweet, then fruity and floral. As with the appearance and aroma, it tastes more like pop than a wobbly pop: it's light, refreshing, and seems more suited to summer patios than autumn leaves.

Overall impression: though SPBW doesn't make me a total convert to sour beer, its selection does strengthen my growing appreciation and respect for this style of ale. Half Remembered Dream is solidly planted in my brain and I would happily drink it again. I also liked the other two brews I tried, particularly Ci-Tron, and I'm looking forward to my fourth and final selection, Wild Blue Yonder (6.4% ABV), which I will likely have before this week is out.

If I can find any fault with Small Pony Barrel Works, I would ask the owners to reconsider their pricing strategy. Yes, your beer is great, but I've had equally great beer that cost a fraction of what you charge. Given a choice on a store shelf, I'd have to pick up the lower-priced beer. It's simple economics: I can buy more with my bucks.

SPBW is a luxury—the question is, can you afford it? I spent $63 on four bottles. For that price, I could buy a lot more beer and be just as happy, but for a lot longer.

Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺🍺 Luckily, I don't take price into consideration when I rate beer. Half Remembered Dream is perfectly balanced, perfectly flavoured, and is a beer that I recommend based on quality alone. Break the bank and treat yourself at least once.

Cheers!

Beer O'Clock: Laura's Pick

I'm allergic to cherries. But that's okay, because I've never been a huge fan of them, except when they're candied.

Call it a sweet craving.

So, you're probably asking yourself, why would I bother to review a cherry ale? And a sour one at that? (If you may recall, I don't like sour ales.)

When I visited Kichesippi Beer Company, last week, my intention was to try another seasonal that they had released: the Remic Rapids West Coast IPA. But the person behind the counter started talking up another seasonal so much, I had to give it a try.

I may not like sour beer or cherries, but I can still be objective when I try an ale that is both, can't I?

Can I?

Laura's Sour Cherry Wheat
Kich Staff Pick No.7 (4.5% ABV)
Kichesippi Beer Company
Ottawa, ON

Appearance: an unfiltered peach-pink with plenty of effervescence in the pour, with a white, bubbly head that immediately dissipates, just as though I was pouring a soda. The large bubbles clung to the inside of the glass, but quickly shrunk to tiny pearls.

Nose: candied cherries with only a touch of sourness.

Palate: more candied cherries, with only enough sourness to live up to the claim that there was any. The lush Montmorency cherry flavours were the star of the ale, and I detected a sweetness with the sour. The fruit remained in the finish.

Overall impression: despite being allergic to cherries, I think that the boil countered whatever it is that makes me react to them. And because the flavour was candied, with only a hint of sourness, I found this ale to be a pleasing summer thirst quencher. With the heat and humidity that we've experienced in Ottawa, this summer, Laura's Sour Cherry Wheat cuts my thirst.

Laura Oattes has been a brewer with Kichesippi Beer for more than five years and chose sour cherries for this mid-summer thirst quencher (apparently, it was either this or malt liquor). I'm glad she went for the former.

According to the lad who talked me into picking up a couple of cans of Laura's brew, the company sold 3,000 litres in only three weeks. They are currently working on a second batch.

Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺 While this is a beer style that I would usually overlook, I'm glad that I tried this one. The cherries are flavourful and a bit candied, which is the only way that I like cherries, and there isn't very much of a sour flavour, which is also a plus. I highly recommend it and would try it again.

Get yours directly from the brewery or contact them to see who has it on tap.

Cheers!

Beer O'Clock: Juice Joint

We walked down the narrow concrete steps that hid the rain-soaked street. Below, a thick, dark door led into a tight entranceway.

"This reminds me of a speakeasy," she said.

"That's because it was, back during prohibition," was my answer.

"Really? Cool! We studied these in school."

My daughters had never been to Waller Street Brewing. For myself, it had been more than a year since I had been here, myself. The dust-encrusted mini-growlers that I was returning were a testament to how long I had held onto them. Each of my daughters carried one empty: I held the other two.

The dimly lit bar area was busy, for a Saturday afternoon. People of all walks of life seemed to fill the seats and line the small bar. My daughters made for the youngest of the visitors: I was, by far, the oldest.

I had come for two specific ales, but I also had a taste of two cask-conditioned ales. The brett was the most memorable, with the notes of lychee and pineapple on the nose. But it was the Tiger Milk—a white stout—and the sour saison that I walked out with.

The owner and brewer, Marc-André Chainey, wasn't in, though I had run into him only a couple of weeks earlier, at a craft-beer event, when he first introduced me to the sour saison and had told me he was working on the white stout. This prompted my long-overdue return.

I'm not a fan of sour ales. I don't like how they make me suck in my cheeks, how they make me stick out my tongue. Last fall, I tried a pumpkin sour ale, which I liked, but it was more pumpkin ale than sour.

Marc-André's sour is a farm ale with more emphasis on sour, but it doesn't centre itself on a pucker-face sourness. Let's look at it more closely.

Juice Joint Sour Dry-Hopped Sour Saison (5.4% ABV)
Waller St. Brewing
Ottawa ON

Appearance: an unfiltered, dark apricot with a foamy, off-white head that settles to a solid cap. While you sip and the level of ale in you glass goes down, you may notice that as the head disappears, little clumps of foam thicken like curdled milk. These clumps don't affect the flavour, but when I asked, our brewer offered a possibility for these formations.

Perhaps they are the result of residual "souring lacto" that is churning the beer, making condensed foam. It could also be the effect of polyphenols from the hops, making more foam.

As I said, it didn't affect the flavour.

Nose: slightly candied, puréed pears.

Palate: the sourness is introduced right away but it's not lip-puckeringly strong. The fruit comes close on its heels and mixes with the sourness and comes out as tangerines and limes. The finish is sharp, clean, and refreshing.

Overall impression: this sour saison makes me do something that no other sour has ever done—make me want to drink more. It also makes me rethink my distaste for sour ales. With its beautiful balance of acidic sourness and ripe fruit, I'm hoping to find a patio on which I could enjoy this ale on a sunny afternoon.

I haven't enjoyed such an inspiring ale in a while that I'm also going to do something I haven't done in a while...

Beer O'Clock rating: 5

Yup, I would seek out and enjoy this dry-hopped sour saison any time I'm able. Which means that you should get out and try some, too.

Marc-André's sister, Marie-Eve, told me that a new batch should be available at the brewery on Friday (May 12). Currently, Pure Kitchen has it on tap and more Ottawa pubs should pick it up soon.

Cheers!