Limited-edition libations to celebrate

Canada's 150th brings salutations from coast to coast

By: Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson Posted:

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The Canada 150 celebrations have been a huge boon for marketing minds across the country. You can’t throw a cork these days without hitting some product or landmark that’s been tweaked to reflect the big birthday.

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Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/06/2017 (3342 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Canada 150 celebrations have been a huge boon for marketing minds across the country. You can’t throw a cork these days without hitting some product or landmark that’s been tweaked to reflect the big birthday.

A quick trip to your local Liquor Mart, private wine store or beer vendor will reveal the drinks industry has certainly not been immune. From new, special edition products to re-branded staples — Labatt 50, for example, is currently available in “Labatt 150” packaging — there are plenty of options if you want to raise a festive toast from coast to coast.

uncorked@mts.net

Closer to home, there are a couple local brews available in conjunction with the Coast to Coaster beer promotion. The Torque Brewing Magnetic North Hefeweizen (Winnipeg — $3.04/473 ml can, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors) is part of the second wave of the promotion, which started at the beginning of June and features a selection (or “flight”) of beers from across Canada that changes every couple of weeks. The Magnetic North is medium-gold and hazy in appearance, with a modest white head. Banana candy, yeast, spice and malt aromas are front and centre here; on the off-dry, creamy palate the yeast and banana notes take off in a big way, with very modest peppery notes underneath. If you like that candied flavour profile in your wheat beer you’ll love this. ★★★ out of five
Closer to home, there are a couple local brews available in conjunction with the Coast to Coaster beer promotion. The Torque Brewing Magnetic North Hefeweizen (Winnipeg — $3.04/473 ml can, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors) is part of the second wave of the promotion, which started at the beginning of June and features a selection (or “flight”) of beers from across Canada that changes every couple of weeks. The Magnetic North is medium-gold and hazy in appearance, with a modest white head. Banana candy, yeast, spice and malt aromas are front and centre here; on the off-dry, creamy palate the yeast and banana notes take off in a big way, with very modest peppery notes underneath. If you like that candied flavour profile in your wheat beer you’ll love this. ★★★ out of five

Twitter: @bensigurdson

There’s still some of the Farmery Robbie Scotch Ale (Neepawa — $3.49/473 ml cans, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors) kicking around many stores following the first wave of Coast to Coaster beers. Medium-copper in colour and with an off-white head, the nose brings raisin, toffee, biscuit and malt notes. On the medium-bodied, creamy palate, the toffee and raisin notes show reasonably well, with a touch of granular sweetness on the finish. It’s a pretty decent Scotch ale, and probably the best beer from this brewery that I’ve tasted to date. ★★★ out of five
There’s still some of the Farmery Robbie Scotch Ale (Neepawa — $3.49/473 ml cans, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors) kicking around many stores following the first wave of Coast to Coaster beers. Medium-copper in colour and with an off-white head, the nose brings raisin, toffee, biscuit and malt notes. On the medium-bodied, creamy palate, the toffee and raisin notes show reasonably well, with a touch of granular sweetness on the finish. It’s a pretty decent Scotch ale, and probably the best beer from this brewery that I’ve tasted to date. ★★★ out of five
Canada isn’t the only one turning 150 this year. The Moosehead Anniversary Ale (Saint John, N.B. — $2.52/473 ml can, Liquor Marts and beer vendors) celebrates the brewery’s 150 years in operation, and is made using ingredients sourced from across Canada. It’s medium-gold in colour, slightly hazy and with a white head; aromatically there’s a fair bit of malt, red apple and a hint of caramel, with very modest hops. On the medium-bodied palate the hops and malt are in pretty good balance, and the apple note is in a supporting role. Not an earth-shattering brew, but pretty decent for the price. ★★½ out of five
Canada isn’t the only one turning 150 this year. The Moosehead Anniversary Ale (Saint John, N.B. — $2.52/473 ml can, Liquor Marts and beer vendors) celebrates the brewery’s 150 years in operation, and is made using ingredients sourced from across Canada. It’s medium-gold in colour, slightly hazy and with a white head; aromatically there’s a fair bit of malt, red apple and a hint of caramel, with very modest hops. On the medium-bodied palate the hops and malt are in pretty good balance, and the apple note is in a supporting role. Not an earth-shattering brew, but pretty decent for the price. ★★½ out of five
One of the regularly available products that has been rebranded for Canada 150 is the Pelee Island 2016 150th Anniversary Cabernet Franc (Ontario — $13.95, Liquor Marts and beyond). This Cabernet Franc from Ontario’s Pelee Island region brings bright raspberry, cassis and cherry aromas, with lighter leather and white-pepper notes. It’s a juicy, light-plus bodied red that doesn’t take itself too seriously, delivering loads of tart (but not underripe) red berry and cherry flavours, with very low tannins and fresh acidity. Chill this cheap and cheerful red down for 10-15 minutes and enjoy this all summer on the patio. An ideal patio-pounding red. ★★★★ out of five
One of the regularly available products that has been rebranded for Canada 150 is the Pelee Island 2016 150th Anniversary Cabernet Franc (Ontario — $13.95, Liquor Marts and beyond). This Cabernet Franc from Ontario’s Pelee Island region brings bright raspberry, cassis and cherry aromas, with lighter leather and white-pepper notes. It’s a juicy, light-plus bodied red that doesn’t take itself too seriously, delivering loads of tart (but not underripe) red berry and cherry flavours, with very low tannins and fresh acidity. Chill this cheap and cheerful red down for 10-15 minutes and enjoy this all summer on the patio. An ideal patio-pounding red. ★★★★ out of five
The Canada 150 celebrations have jumped the pond, as evidenced in the Innis & Gunn Limited Edition 150 Maple and Thistle Rye Ale(Edinburgh, Scotland — $9.99/500ml bottle, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors). Brewed in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, this ale was aged for 150 days in 150 oak barrels before Scottish wild thistle and Canadian maple syrup were added. It’s caramel in colour, with a frothy beige head that persists for quite some time, thanks in part to the addition of yeast at the time of bottling so the beer will continue to develop over time in the bottle. Aromatically, there are some intense raisin and sweet caramel notes, with hints of candied stone fruit and vanilla. On the rich, creamy palate it’s not dominated by sweetness in the same way many Innis & Gunn brews tend to be; rather, the maple, vanilla and herbal notes work well with caramel and malt flavours, as well as a decent dash spice. ★★★½ out of five
The Canada 150 celebrations have jumped the pond, as evidenced in the Innis & Gunn Limited Edition 150 Maple and Thistle Rye Ale(Edinburgh, Scotland — $9.99/500ml bottle, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors). Brewed in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, this ale was aged for 150 days in 150 oak barrels before Scottish wild thistle and Canadian maple syrup were added. It’s caramel in colour, with a frothy beige head that persists for quite some time, thanks in part to the addition of yeast at the time of bottling so the beer will continue to develop over time in the bottle. Aromatically, there are some intense raisin and sweet caramel notes, with hints of candied stone fruit and vanilla. On the rich, creamy palate it’s not dominated by sweetness in the same way many Innis & Gunn brews tend to be; rather, the maple, vanilla and herbal notes work well with caramel and malt flavours, as well as a decent dash spice. ★★★½ out of five

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