Over the last few years, Ottawa’s brewing scene has exploded. Check out a few of these local brews to switch up your drinking game.
Beau’s Patrick Strong: Irish Style Red Ale
The St. Patrick’s day beer
I admit I was skeptical about trying Beau’s. Once at Mike’s I decided to be adventurous and get myself a Beau’s Lug-Tread instead of my usual Barking Squirrel and I was left unimpressed. However, I’m changing my tune for their Strong Patrick Irish Style red ale, which is both delicious and very strong—6.7 per cent alcohol to be exact. Lovers of that oaky aged-in-a-whiskey-barrel Innis & Gunn type flavour will definitely want to check this one out. It’s a warming and pleasant thing to drink on a cold winter’s day. It might also be a good choice if you need something pleasant and dignified to drink in the midst of the approaching St. Patrick’s Day revelry.
Beau’s Tom Green Beer
The house party beer
Listen guys, house parties can be a monumental struggle. They’re crowded and loud and often involve talking to strangers. But if you’re walking around with some dude’s face on your beer bottle, you have an instant conversation starter: “Hey, who’s that dude on your bottle?” Why it’s Canadian actor, comedian and talk show host Tom Green of course!
I admit I actually didn’t know who Tom Green was before I tried this beer but then I went to the Internet and found a video of him serenading and kissing a very bemused looking Pierce Brosnan at a press conference and I was entirely won over. Also the beer itself is excellent! Of all two milk stouts I’ve tried in my life this one is certainly my favorite. The coffee flavour isn’t overpowering, and it’s surprisingly smooth and sweet. If you like darker beers then it’s certainly worth trying. Beau’s recommend you pair it with cheese, sandwiches, sausages, or any moose meat you might have lying around.
The Russian Imperial Stout
The snifter sipper beer
This is a beer for people who like their beverages “bitter as wormwood and sharp as a two-edged sword” (10,000 points to anyone who gets that reference). Beau’s advises you sip their Russian Imperial Stout from a snifter very slowly. This is a good idea because this beer boasts a nine-per-cent alcohol content and is extremely bitter. It was actually a bit much for me but some people are all about that black coffee sharp aftertaste life and to them I say: “Have at it!”
Hogsback Vintage Lager
The summer beer
What a lovely thing to drink on the first day of March. For some reason my brain has already been trained to associate light summer beers with summer. This is one such beer, a crisp, fizzy, sunshiny lager. It’s the exact sort of thing I’d picture myself drinking while camping or while barbecuing if I knew how to start a barbecue. According to the brewing company website, the founders chose their rather impressive prize hog logo before they’d even planned to name their brewery after Hogsback. Also, quick piece of city-lore: according to the Hogsback website the name Hog’s Back was coined in the early days of Ottawa’s settlement, to describe a ridge of limestone in the Rideau River that resembled like the backbone of a hog.
Broadhead Grindstone Amber Ale
The friendship beer
Like a good friend, this new amber ale from Broadhead has just the right amount of sweetness. Give this beer to your friends: the ones who love beer and ones who think they hate beer. I might be biased but my theory is that most people who hate beer have probably only ever been given boring beer and this one is neither overwhelmingly bitter nor is it boringly light. Plus the people down at Broadhead have possibly the most enjoyable business plan I’ve ever seen. It includes growing beards, hiring friends and making rap videos.
