Lagers and Fruit beers are done…
Pale ale is not too descriptive as a beer style. On its own I do not think it is a beer style (at least not as recognized by the BJCP). It is usually accompanied by a regional name (English, India, American, etc) which is then subdivided into further categories. Two of the beers sampled in this category are American Pale Ales and one is an English Pale Ale (best bitter). All three sampled were fresh from the breweries.
Pale Ales
1. Black Oak Pale Ale – Toronto, ON – 5% abv – bottle
Whenever I see this on draft I gravitate towards it, though I do not often buy it in bottles. Visiting the brewery to buy enough for my party (plus a bit for me) I was informed that it was available at my local east-end LCBO but made it clear it was my task and duty to get it direct from the brewery for my party-goers. This straw coloured pale ale is sessionable time after time. Piney, grassy hops combined with light, caramel/toffee malts provides an excellent balance. Moderate in both bitterness and sweetness this is a great all-around beer that can stand up on its own or be paired with a wide array of food items.
*BREWERY FRESH!
2. Granite Brewery Best Bitter Special – Toronto, ON – 4.5% abv – growler (CASK!)
This sampling combined three of my favourite things about the Granite Brewery. Growlers, cask beer and best bitter special (hand drawn into the growler on request). This copper coloured brew is deliciously dry-hopped which dominates the flavour. There is a high malt component which balances out the high hops. There is bitter finish on this beer and possibly notes of black tea. This growler was purchased late in the evening before the tasting party and received the usual caution to consume this beer within 24 hours. Though refrigerated until the time of sampling this beer did not fare well and many proclaimed it had gone off. I did not feel it was undrinkable but it certainly was not up to its usual high standards.
*BREWERY FRESH!
3. Great Lakes Canuck Pale Ale – Toronto, ON – 5.2% abv – bottle
Initially introduced at the time of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games this beer quickly became a favourite of mine. It was an easy beer to share with friends because it was very well balanced and not TOO anything (hoppy, yeasty, etc) except it being TOO delicious. At a housewarming during the later winter months I was astonished and pleasantly surprised to see approximately 10 bottles of this beer in the fridge brought by a number of people, myself included. This current incarnation (released for Canada Day) has solved some of the diacetyl issues experienced during the first batch and continues the dry-hopped goodness. Nice dry hopped flavour (cascade?) with some piney hops and bready malts. Though not a low abv I find it quite sessionable.
*BREWERY FRESH!
Food pairing: Pad Thai
This category was up in the air for food pairing until I picked up the beers. When I went to Black Oak and Great Lakes I was able to speak to the brewers to weigh in on their opinions of what to pair with the beers (Ron Keefe was no in when I went). Both Adrian (BO) and Peter (GL) suggested I pair their respective beers with something spicy, like Indian or Thai because generally spicy foods have complex flavours that will hold up to the hop bitterness of the beers. Though the pad thai was not spciy (someone forgot the sriracha – me) the busy-ness of the pad thai (spices, veg, meat, seafood, etc) provided the desired contrast. This pad thai is famous in my circle of friends and guests started gobbling it up before the beers were even served!
My winner: All three are top contenders and I would gladly accept a pint (or growler) of any at any given time. As noted above the Granite BBS was below par, which narrows it to two. I have to give my vote to my perennial favourite: Black Oak Pale Ale. It is consistently a delicious beer.
Tasters poll winner: Again we had a landslide victory in this category. Great Lakes Canuck Pale Ale got top marks from tasters with double the votes of the other two combined. If the pad thai got a vote in this category it may have won.
Next up: Wheat beers…
Beer With Me 