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Beer

Beer School, November 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 24

What is Kveik? You may have come across kveik while perusing your beer options and wondered what’s behind this trendy new beer style. It turns out that kveik (pronounced “kah-wike”), is not a new beer style at all, but refers to a unique family of ancient yeast strains originally used in Norwegian farmhouse ales. Kveik, a western Norwegian slang word for yeast, designates a collective of high-heat-tolerant yeast strains capable of producing clean beers at unusually high fermentation temperatures without hot alcohol flavours, medicinal or funky aromas that other ale yeasts would produce in the same high temperature range. From …

Beer, October 2020 E-News

Wholesale Changes Around The Corner?

Licensed restaurants and bars have been allowed to sell take away packaged beer, cider, and wine for a few months now. This has been a welcome, albeit temporary, development for an industry decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, on its own, this change falls far short of its potential to provide a lifeline to hospitality businesses. In its efforts to modernize the rules impacting the alcohol sector, the Ontario government has stated that its goal is to improve consumer choice and convenience and provide more opportunities for private sector businesses. The idea of allowing beer and wine sales at “corner …

Beer, October 2020 E-News

Featured Beer: October 2020

Yuzu Citrus Saison, 4.1% ABV (355ml can), Godspeed Brewery Beginning as a saison and finishing as something more enigmatic, Yuzu combines Japanese citrus and Belgian yeast, with restrained hopping to create a light, lively beer accentuated by mild tartness and minerality. The combination of fruit and saison characteristics creates a dramatic nose of freshly-peeled clementines, all pith and bright orange. The acidity helps smooth and hone the minerality that gives the simple beer complexity, and allows for a crisp but memorable finish.   Nonbe Oktoberfest Bier, 5.7% ABV (355mL can) Godspeed Brewery Brewed with Vienna and Munich malts and Tettnanger …

Beer School, October 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 23

A Brief History of Cream Ale  Cream ales first originated in United States in the mid-nineteenth century. In response to the large influx of German immigrants and resulting popularity of German lagers, American brewers developed the cream ale as a counterpoint to celebrated German beer. Due to local preference and cooler climates, Northeastern brewers were predominantly ale brewers. Prior to prohibition, many American brewers began producing a light bodied ale to rival increasingly popular German lagers. This brew was known as a “present use” ale, as it had a short shelf life and was meant to drink fresh. The fermentation …

Beer School, September 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 22

Old Fashioned Cocktail: A Brief History  There are many competing narratives surrounding the history of the Old Fashioned – many have been credited with its invention and many more have debated what constitutes a “real” Old Fashioned. So, here’s a brief, anecdotal and at least partially accurate account of this classic cocktail.  In 1806, the first published version of a cocktail resembling an Old Fashioned appeared as an editorial response in New York publication, The Balance and Columbian Repository. The paper’s editor described a cocktail called a Bittered Sling that was a “potent concoction of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar.” Similarly, …

August 2020 E-News, Beer School

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 21

Beer & Wine Hybrids Beer & wine hybrids have a long history in the craft beer world, dating back to at least the 1970s when Cantillon made Vigneronne, a blend of Lambic beer aged on Muscat grapes. Over the past several years, an increasing number of breweries have been experimenting with hybrids by blending wine with beer, co-fermenting wine and beer together and aging beer on wine grapes. Not only are there different ways to incorporate wine with beer, brewers may use whole grapes, grape must (freshly squeezed grape juice with skins, seeds and stems), grape juice, or pomace (solid …

Beer School, July 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 20

Pasteurization & Beer  For over 150 years, pasteurization has been instrumental in extending the storage life of food and drinks. French microbiologist Louis Pasteur developed the process in the 1860s, initially revealing that pasteurization could combat unwanted acidity in wine by inhibiting the growth of unwanted spoilage organisms. Similarly, he found that pasteurization could extend the shelf life of beer by applying heat for a short time.  Types of Pasteurization  When it comes to beer, there are two main methods of pasteurization. Bottled and canned beer can be pasteurized by passing through a long, narrow chamber or tunnel where they’re …

Beer School, June 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 19

What is a coolship? The term coolship, from the Flemish koelschip, is a large shallow vessel made of stainless steel or copper, used to cool wort. Coolships are often housed in large rooms, where they lie open to the elements allowing for airborne yeast to flow in and inoculate the beer. This type of fermentation is referred to as “spontaneous fermentation” because the microbes come at random, rather than using a controlled addition of cultured yeast strains. Predominantly used to create sour beers, a renewed interest in coolships for brewing has been inspired by Brasserie Cantillon, a world-renowned lambic producer …

Beer School, May 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 18

Barleywine  A descendant of ancient English strong ales, barleywine (or barley wine) is a full-bodied, high strength ale usually between 8% and 12% ABV. Barleywine owes most of its heritage to its old ale predecessors, which by the nineteenth century was hardly a distinct beer style, but was variously known as old, stock, strong, or stale ale. These old ales were generally barrel-aged for a year or so, imparting them with vinous qualities and rich aromatics. Old ales were mostly malt-heavy and dark, with some residual sweetness and an elevated ABV. In 1903, Bass & Co. Brewery coined the term …