Coast-to-coast quaffing sensations

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/06/2021 (1879 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When it comes to the amount of ink spilled (or characters typed, as it were) on Canadian drinks in this space, most of the focus tends to be on either the latest releases from local craft brewers, or on wines from Ontario or B.C. Which makes sense, given the amount of shelf space each occupies on shelves of Liquor Marts, private wine stores and beer vendors.

But if you look hard enough, you can find some sort of boozy beverage in our market from every province (not including the northern) territories, particularly wandering through the beer aisles.

● In addition to the abundance of wine coming from the Okanagan Valley, B.C. probably has the largest contingent of non-Manitoba beer in our province. The Phantom Beer Co. Mindfuzz India Pale Ale (Vancouver – $3.96/473ml can, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors) is medium straw in appearance and hazy, with a white head. Aromatically it brings deep malty notes, with biscuit, lemon zest, pear and mango notes in there as well. That malty note persists on the medium-bodied palate, with not as much of the pronounced bitterness one might expect from a high-octane IPA. Rather, the biscuit, bread dough and tropical fruit flavours come through with just hints of peppery hops on the long, 6.2 per cent finish. 3/5

● Most of the tipples we get from Alberta come in the form of whisky, but there are a couple brewskis that grace our shelves as well. The Grizzly Paw Brewing Co. Rundlestone Session Ale (Canmore, Alta. – $4.04/473ml can, select beer vendors) is pale gold in colour and mainly clear with a white head and brings, according to the can, “IPA characteristics” with lower alcohol than your typical India pale ale (hence the fact it’s called a “session” ale — you’re able to drink more of them in a single session of sipping). Aromatically it’s malt-driven, with more subtle resinous notes coming with ripe grapefruit and floral notes on the nose. On the light-plus bodied palate the hop notes are quite subtle; instead the malt and tropical notes are front and centre instead, while the 4.5 per cent alcohol is mild. 3/5

● Most of the beer from Quebec that we see is from the (very good) heavyweights at Unibroue, so it’s nice to see some more offerings in the form of the Microbrasserie Dieu du Ciel Rosée d’Hibiscus (Saint-Jérôme, Que. – $3.93/473ml cans, Liquor Marts). It’s copperish-pink in colour and clear, with strawberry candy, sweet grapefruit, fresh malt and floral notes on the nose. On the medium-bodied palate, ripe strawberry and raspberry flavours show well with just a hint of sweetness, while a malty note runs throughout that works nicely with the modest acidity. The 5.9 per cent alcohol seems just right, and overall this beer is both refreshing and decently complex. Now, if only we could get more of Quebec’s sparkling ciders in our market… 4/5

● On the beer side of things, each of the four Atlantic Canadian provinces has brews in our market, although most of what we see from New Brunswick is Moosehead, and variations on Moosehead. Nova Scotia has a really strong beer scene overall, and from the province to our shelves comes the Garrison Brewing Lil’ Juicy IPA (Halifax, N.S. – $3.59/473ml can, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors). It’s pale gold in colour and hazy, and aromatically this “East Coast Hopped” IPA delivers the “tropical blast” advertised on the can, along with resinous, almost-woody/grassy hops notes. That resinous note comes through in a big way on the medium-bodied palate, providing almost some sweetness to lift the pronounced malt, lime, grapefruit and gooseberry notes with a slightly chewy texture before the warmer finish from the six per cent alcohol. Hop heads take note. 4/5

● From Prince Edward Island comes the Gahan Beer Blueberry Ale Wheat Beer (Charlottetown, P.E.I. – $3.26/473ml can, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors), which features island blueberries in the mix and is blue-ish copper in appearance. You pick up those blueberry aromas quite distinctly, as well as some wheat, malt and a vanilla-like note. There’s more pep on the light-plus bodied, barely off-dry palate than you might first expect, with ripe blueberry flavours working well with doughy, malty flavours, a hint of citrus, very fine bubbles and a modest 4.5 per cent finish. A solid example of a blueberry-infused brew. 3.5/5

● Finding a beer from Newfoundland and Labrador wasn’t easy, but the payoff with the Quidi Vidi Day Boil Session IPA (St. John’s N.L. – $3.99/473ml can, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors) was worth it. Like the Grizzly Paw, this is a lower-alcohol take on an IPA, and is medium straw in colour and hazy in appearance. It brings grassy, resinous and grapefruit rind notes in a big way on the nose, with subtle tropical notes in there as well. It’s light-bodied and quite juicy, leading with ripe grapefruit and tropical flavours, plenty of zippy, grassy bitterness and a long finish (despite the modest 4.5 per cent alcohol). Great intensity and flavour without a boozier burn. 4/5

Bonus: bringing all parts of the country (territories included!) together is the Trans Canada Dominion Ale ($9.24/650ml bottles, brewery, select Liquor Marts and beer vendors). Featuring spruce tip bitters from Yukon, hops from four different provinces, Nova Scotia honey and more, it features ingredients from across the country and is brewed annually to celebrate Dominion Day. At press time it was just rolling out to store shelves.

uncorked@mts.net

Twitter: @bensigurdson