Can you recommend…?

Recently I was best man at my good friend’s wedding (congrats Joel and Janet!). In advance I was honoured by being asked to select two additional beers for the bar. I chose Black Oak Pale Ale and Flying Monkey’s Hoptical Illusion. It was fantastic to see how many people were drinking these on the day – choosing them over the standard fare of Corona, Heineken, Coors Light, etc. Later in the evening I was asked for beer recommendations by someone who is starting to pull away from only macros. After some hemming and hawing I finally created a list for him. It included a number of Ontario and Quebec micros as well as some international choices. All choices are reasonably user-friendly and are easily accessible at the LCBO. They are also choices I would happily drink. Here they are with some brief comments, sorted roughly by style.

• Denison’s Weissbier – A superb local choice and a top rated German hefeweizen. Lots of great banana, clove and citrus flavours and aromas. A classic. (lcbo)
• Schneiderweiss – This archetypal German hefeweizen is brewed in Germany. (lcbo)
• Unibroue’s Blanche de Chambly – A Belgian style wheat beer made in Quebec. A bit of a different style than the weissbier. (lcbo)
• Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA – An amazing IPA from a very highly esteemed American brewery. (lcbo) *(checking the lcbo site it notes it is now discontinued?)
• Dieu Du Ciel Corne du Diable IPA – Also amazing is an interpretation of the style from Montreal. Recently brought back to the LCBO. (lcbo)
• Duggan #9 IPA – Made in Toronto it’s an incredibly well-balanced beer. One of the best Ontario IPAs. (lcbo)
• Kostritzer Schwartzbier – This one will show that looks can be deceiving! I’ll leave it there… (lcbo)
• Creemore Kellerbier – Another Ontario choice – this keller (cellar) beer has a great hop profile and is unfiltered. Showcases another lager style. (lcbo)
• Czechvar – A classic version of the Czech style Pilsner. Crisp, flavourful and refreshing. (lcbo)
• Young’s Double Chocolate Stout – Black with a tan head. Huge chocolate taste and creamy mouthfeel. (lcbo)
• St Ambroise Oatmeal Stout – Black as midnight and full of chocolate and espresso flavours. One of the best. (lcbo)
• Duchy Originals Organic Ale – A very soft mouthfeel on this Extra Special Bitter (ESB). Mild and refreshing. (lcbo)
• Black Oak Pale Ale – Not quite an IPA, but more of an American Pale Ale. More often than not this will be in my fridge. (lcbo)
• Muskoka Cream Ale – A good transitional beer. Goes down very smooth and appeals to almost everyone’s palette. (lcbo)
• McAuslan Apricot Wheat – A fruity wheat beer; this is a good example of a fruit beer. From Quebec. (lcbo)
• Cameron’s Auburn Ale – An amber ale from Oakville. A malt prominent flavour and moderate hop profile. (lcbo)

Covering a number of styles, hopefully this will be a decent list for him to get started on! I did feel happy knowing that there is one more to-be convert to the awesome world of beer, and hopefully I have sown some seeds to get him on the Ontario craft beer train.