1 week Ago By Ben Sigurdson
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00 a X percent off the regular rate. In normal times, this space tends to be devoted to reviewing beers (mainly local) about once a month. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Opinion In normal times, this space tends to be devoted to reviewing beers (mainly local) about once a month.
It’s only been two weeks since the last beer roundup, but these aren’t normal times — and a new local brew is part of a national, patriotic beer campaign. Glorious and Free: A Trans-Canada Brewery Collaboration was initiated by Ottawa’s Dominion City Brewing Co. It encourages craft breweries to hop on board by brewing an IPA with a specific recipe and using Canadian ingredients, with a portion of proceeds from the beer going to a local, worthwhile cause.
(For more on the initiative, including a list of participating breweries — and the recipe, for the home brewers out there — see .) Manitoba is represented by the (Winnipeg — $4.85/473ml can, brewery and beer vendors), made from Manitoba malt as well as Chinook and Centennial hops before being dry-hopped with El Dorado, Centennial, Sasquatch and Chinook hops from Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
Kilter’s entry is pale straw and hazy in appearance, with herbal, lime and lemon zest as well as floral aromas coming with hints of tropical fruit and malt. It’s dry and light-plus bodied, with mimosa-ish citrus notes along with tropical fruit and grassy flavours that show well, light herbal and sour candy flavours bringing up the rear, modest bitterness and, at 6.5 per cent alcohol, a slightly warm finish.
Fifty cents per can and 15 per cent of draft sales of the beer go to Sunshine House. Enjoy with elbows up. Brewed in honour of the Pembina Highway’s brewery’s eighth anniversary, the (Winnipeg — $4.
69/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors and Liquor Marts) is pale gold and hazy in appearance, and aromatically offers bright banana candy, bread dough, clove and subtle spice notes — pretty typical for a wheat beer. It’s just a touch off-dry and light-plus bodied, with some lively, peppery spice accompanying the malt, bread dough and banana candy flavours, virtually no bitterness and, at 4.7 per cent alcohol, a modest finish.
A nice example of this style, and just in time for spring. The (Winnipeg — $4.59/473ml can, brewery and beer vendors) was brewed by the women who work at the Warsaw Avenue brewery in honour of International Women’s Day; it’s a West Coast-style IPA that’s pale gold and modestly hazy in appearance, while aromatically it brings slightly bitter grapefruit rind and resinous notes from Chinook, Cascade and Columbus hops along with fresh malt notes.
On the light-plus bodied palate there’s a pronounced pine note that works well alongside the citrus rind and grassy, resinous hop notes, with enough underlying malt for a richer backbone. It’s 5.7 per cent alcohol, which along with the bitterness from the hops some kick on the finish.
A portion of the proceeds go to the North End Women’s Centre. Visually, the (Winnipeg — $4.19/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors and Liquor Marts) is a deep and intensely orange-copper in colour and clear; aromatically, the Vienna lager offers vibrant malt aromas as well as more subtle caramel and bread dough components and an underlying resinous note.
It’s dry and medium-bodied, with the toasty malt and bread notes front and centre and coming with a citrusy, slightly unexpected hit of hops that brings a touch of bitterness (it’s 25 IBU) — more than expected, but it kinda works. The 5.5 per cent alcohol seems just about right.
The (Winnipeg — $4.79/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors and Liquor Marts) is the Daly Street North brewery’s first foray into the punchy, boozy double IPA category; made with Columbus, Cascade, Centennial and Amarillo hops, it’s medium copper and slightly hazy in appearance, bringing malty, resinous, citrus rind, floral and grassy aromas. It’s dry and medium-bodied, with pronounced biscuit and oat notes coming before the citrus, herbal/grassy and resinous flavours from the hops, the underlying malt backbone, lingering bitterness and, at 7.
9 per cent alcohol, a long, warm finish. An old-school style but comes with a dash of Low Life’s adventurous nature. Last but not least, the (Winnipeg — $5.
25/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors and Liquor Marts) is deep coffee brown in appearance with an off-white head, bringing dark malt, pine resin, dried fruit, roasted coffee and, interestingly, smoked meat notes on the nose. It’s full-bodied and dry, with that smoky, meaty note persisting with the resinous, hoppy notes (from Azacca, Mosaic and Columbus hops), medium bitterness, dark malt, dried fruit and black licorice flavours and, at seven per cent alcohol, a long, warm and peppery finish. It’s a compelling, complex brew — try next to a fire while contemplating the meaning of life.
Ben Sigurdson is the ‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly drinks column. He joined the full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014.
. In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the ’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism.
Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider .
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Ben Sigurdson is the ‘s literary editor and drinks writer.
He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly drinks column. He joined the full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. .
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the ’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and .
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism.
Thank you for your support. Advertisement Advertisement.
