Latest 5

Five of the latest beers I have reviewed.  A look at a few English and English style beers, a new lager from Flying Monkey's that was previously an ale, and an excellent Hopfenweisse from Quebec. Stout fans who find themselves the Fuller's Black Cab should give it a try, it's an exceptional beer and in shameless self promotion; on tap at BRU.  The Tailset Ginger Beer was really well crafted, beautiful balance between spice and beer. The Shawinigan Handshake a great example of craft beer at it's finest, revolutionary style and superbly well built.

Fuller's Black Cab Stout
500 mL bottle. Pours opaque black with a thin beige cap, dissipates quickly with little lacing. Nose is largely roasted malt, coffee, cocoa, licorice, a touch of strawberry and woodiness. Crisp and dry with only slight carbonation. Finish is slightly bitter with hop and roasted malt, with lingering fruity esters in the English style. A real treat of a stout, full flavor and low alcohol and beautifully harmonious.

Flying Monkey's Antigravity Lager
335 mL bottle. The lager version of their old Antigravity Ale. Pours clear and light yellow with a fine white head. Aroma is minimal, a touch of Eastern European hops in a floral, herbal touch but not much else. A slight hint of cereal sweetness, but it would surprise me to find that this contains any adjuncts. Clean, crisp and refreshing with no aftertaste. Mild and light bodied with full carbonation. not a bad lager by any stretch, just bland.

Fuller's Organic Honey Dew
500 mL bottle. Pours clear golden with a thin white head. Aromas of honey, biscuit, apricot and a touch of herb. A hint of honey sweetness, but otherwise fairly dry with only a touch of bittering hop. Light bodied with moderate carbonation. Not great, but certainly not bad.

Grand River Tailset Ginger Beer
500 mL bottle. Pours bronze with a foamy white head. Aroma is packed with ginger, lemongrass, herb and bready caramel malt. Imagine a very clean brown ale infused with ginger. Slightly sweet, but well balanced with ginger. Not much hop presence here, medium carbonation and body. Really enjoyed this beer, everything is very harmonious.

Le Trou du Diable Shawinigan Handshake
600 mL bottle. Pours a very cloudy peach nectar color with a splotchy white head. Leaves some serious lacing. Aromas of apricot, banana, baking bread and piney hop. Bone dry with a hint of yeasty tartness, bright and fragrant; full carbonation and light to medium body. A lingering fruitiness and hop bite on the tongue. Very good, dangerously drinkable.

As per usual:
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WVRST

Toronto sometimes seems like an endless sprawl of ever changing restaurants. It can be tough for those who live outside the city to keep informed about the places that are currently trending downtown, let alone make it out to any of them.  I try my damnedest to stay in the loop, but sometimes it takes months for me to make it to TO to head to a hot spot.  Sunday gave us a great opportunity to head to WVRST, self described as a "sausage hall and other wonders".  Inspired by German beer halls, WVRST features the staple communal tables and is modernized by 'order at the counter' style service and loft like decor.

Take a walk up to the cashier in the far corner of the building to place your order.  The menu is strikingly simple, in essence one has three choices; sausage, fries, sausage and fries.  Tough choice, I know, but please don't feel limited!  They have 16 varieties of sausage to choose from, including game meat, vegetarian and heritage breed pork. All of the meat options are gluten free.  They serve your choice of sausage in one of two styles; on a bun (with 2 free condiments!) or 'currywurst' (over a slab of rough bread with curry sauce).  Even the fries have options, select regular or duck fat fried, then plain or dirty.  Dirty fries come smothered in fried peppers, caramelized onions and WVRST special sauce, while regular come with a complementary side of dip (of which there are over 10 types).  For those of you keeping track, that's actually 165 menu items based on combinations of sausage servings, fry servings and sausage and fry servings alone, yet to mention the toppings and dips!  All the sausages are made in house, meticulously seasoned and cooked to doneness, not dryness.  My rabbit sausage was juicy and a touch spicy, the duck and foie gras juicy and aggressively foie flavored, and the Tamworth pig well seasoned if lacking a little bit of fat.  The duck fat fries are exceptionally tasty, and stay crispy well beyond the length of time it takes you to finish your sausage.

WVRST also features a beer list that will make even connoisseurs happy.   Rare and large bottle formats from Cantillon, Hopfenstark, La Trou du Diable, Panil and Bruton.  Draft offerings from all the popular Ontario craft breweries, German staples, and more exclusive goodies like Bellwoods, House Ales, Dieu du Ciel and Urthel.  We thoroughly enjoyed rare 100% Organic Geueze from Cantillon, and Hopfenstark Saison Station 7, but excuse my brief notes, it's hard to eat and record these things.

Cantillion 100% Organic Geueze 

350 mL bottle. Aromas of chamomile, lemon zest, fresh cut grass and yeasty brett funk. Bone dry with plenty of sourness and a distinct barnyard aftertaste with a touch of hops. Complex and well built.

Hopfenstark Saison Station 7
750 mL bottle. Pours golden with a thin white cap. Aromas of herb, tea, earthy minerality and yeasty spice. Mild and well balanced with old world hop bitterness. Medium bodied with full carbonation.

A great place to stop for a quick bite to eat, or an interesting destination for an afternoon of beer sampling!

Dinner for three with rare beer, draft cider and tip $130.

WVRST
wvrst.com
609 King St. W
Toronto

'New Job'

My 'new job' as Chef/Beer Manager at Bru in Oakville has opened me up to tasting a lot of beer lately, chatting with sales reps and buying what I like.  Too bad I don't have time to make notes on it all.  Here's a list of what I've been drinking lately.

Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Saison
750 mL bottle. Pours straw yellow with a thick white head. Big yeasty aroma with apple, banana and spicy phenols; clove and allspice. Mild cotton candy sweetness, super smooth and very refreshing. A touch of earthy funk here as well as it warms up a little. Fine champagne like texture. A damn tasty saison, but I’m a sucker for the style.

Les Trois Mousquetaires Hopfenweisse
750 mL bottle. Pours a hazy hay color with a foamy white head and lots of lacing. Great aromas, fresh herbaceous oregano and mint, nice tropical fruit notes from the cascades and yeast; mango, banana. A hint of bubblegum sweetness, but still dry, a thick wheaty mouth feel with an nonabrasive yet palate coating hop bitterness. Light on the palate with full carbonation. A tasty beer, perfect for summer.

Mikkeller 'The American Dream'
330 mL bottle. Sold as ’The Canadian Dream’ in Canada. Pours amber with a huge off white head and patchy lacing. Deceptively rich, ale-like nose, packed with hop bite. All kinds of hop notes on the nose; earthy herbs, bitter citrus and a hint of fruit. A touch of sweetness and nutty caramel notes. Clean and refreshing with medium body and carbonation and a lingering hop tinged aftertaste. Extra points for the complexity of flavor obtained in this lager: superbly a-typical.

Renaissance Marlborough Pale Ale
500 mL bottle. Pours orange tinged brown with a foamy off white froth. Nose is woody hop and citrus, a touch of grape and papaya. Fairly sweet, caramel malt with a hint of breadyness, a full body and a big bitter finish. Medium carbonation, a slight boozy heat and a slick palate coating hop flavour. A fairly standard DIPA, was expecting a little less of an 'American' taste due to the use of NZ hops. Well made nonetheless.

Howe Sound King Heffy
1000 mL bottle. (Gosh thats big). Pours golden with a thin white head. Aromas of banana, cloves, orange peel and yeasty spice. Fairly sweet and medium to full body with moderate carbonation. good hop bitterness and booze on the finish. Interesting.

Estrella Damm Inedit
750 mL bottle. Pours hazy straw with a thick white head and lots of soapy lacing. Nose is lemon and fresh cut grass, coriander and a touch of yeasty spice. Mildly sweet but dry on the finish, a full carbonation and medium body that leads to a smooth fruity/floral finish. A real quencher, reminds me of a light farmhouse ale. Well made but not mind blowing.

Great Lakes Brewing Miami Weiss
650 mL bottle. Pours a cloudy straw color with a spongy white head and lacing galore. Great piney, citrusy hop nose. Layers of aroma hop, hints of citronella, wax and soap. Fruity and bone dry with medium carbonation and a well rounded and smooth wheat accented mouth feel. Clean and American in style. The ultimate summer beer, dangerously sessionable.

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