It did so by taking Best in Show at the Ontario Brewing Awards. Technically a 2017 brew, this Flanders Red inspired ale has been sitting in barrels for years waiting for its opportunity to debut. Working with different vintners and varietals means each batch is an exploration into a new element. The grapes become the fulcrum a subtle hopping and straightforward malt bill gives the grapes kins centre stage for colour, tannin and complexity. Embracing the spirit of sustainability, the winemaking byproduct finds a new home in this clean saison. Highlighting the wine country that surrounds them, the Matron team incorporates grape skins into this low-ABV farmhouse ale. A little grassy with some mild bread and honey notes, and just hits the spot on a hot summer day. Torontonians may have missed out on baseball season this year, but Ice Cold Beer, made with ingredients from Barn Owl Malt, VQH Farms, and Escarpment Labs, brought us right back to the Rogers Centre (- cough – SkyDome) imagining local icon Wayne “Ice! Cold! Beer!” McMahon yelling at the crowd. Left Field Brewery, Ice Cold Beer 100% Ontario Ale A regularly available New England style IPA from Great Lakes is very welcome and just builds on the pedigree they’ve established with Lake Effect, Octopus Wants to Fight, and Canuck. From a market penetration standpoint, HazeMama is the one that matters. Looking through Untappd, it turns out Great Lakes released something like 50 beers in 2020. A nearly letter perfect recreation of cellar fresh Pilsner Urquell, with the bitterness goosed ever so slightly, this beer is an absolute must try and a real expression of the brewer’s admiration for tradition. Released the week before Christmas, Sklepnik V Oceli is perhaps the culmination of Luc LaFontaine’s experimentation with Czech ingredients and techniques. Drying, moreish, and yet aromatically fruity, worthy of a place in our Top 20 Beers list. Screamer slots lotus hops into the orchard fruit ester profile of the yeast strain and creates a bright, vibrant, refreshing experience. The Belgian Saison suffers a lot of innovation in the New World, but in the right hands it’s a viable platform for customization and delight. As with many of their releases, a portion of the proceeds from each can sold goes to support a good cause: Menobideg is a social enterprise educating young Indigenous folk with outdoor science learning opportunities. Hazy and pine like resin notes play together while a hint of the sumac’s acidity shines through to keep this beer fresh and vibrant. No strangers to making great beers and backing fantastic causes, Dominion City’s collaboration IPA with Algonquin Anishinaabeg restaurant The Birch Bite features foraged ingredients including cattail root and sumac. (RN)ĭominion City, The Good Way, Menobideg Sumac IPA Why? Not only are they absolutely connected to the community and boosting BIPOC initiatives, they make darn tasty beer. (TL)īrewed with an organic cream of Earl Grey tea blend from Davids Tea, this beer features vanilla and lactose in order to provide sophisticated sweetness perfect for solitary consumption. A fluffy, crackery malt body with notes of citrus and herbs on the nose, it’s worth picking up anytime it’s in their bottleshop. This urban brewery is proving you don’t have to be on the farm to brew like you are - their all-Ontario lager is a thing of beauty, and a thing of the land. (JSJ)Īvling Brewery, Fallow Year Ontario Lager While skepticism is warranted when you see brewers play around with things that are working, the rye barrel significantly changes the complexity of this imperial stout, taking it in a spicy, warming, fruity direction. The basic model of Barrel Aged Double Tempest had a fantastic year, sweeping competitions across Canada and the world, so that alone would put it in our Top 20 Beers of 2020 list. Amsterdam Brewery, Barrel Aged Double Tempest, Rye Barrel Variant I’ve asked Growler contributors Robin LeBlanc, Ren Navarro, Tristan Bragaglia-Murdock, Jordan Duff and editors, Crystal Luxmore and Tara Luxmore, to provide a shortlist of the Top 20 beers that they thought made a difference in 2020. It has mercifully stopped arguments over whether children are allowed in tap rooms. Sure, 2020 was punctuated by lockdowns and significant changes for the brewing industry in Ontario, but it hasn’t stopped our province’s brewers from releasing new and exciting beers.
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