Looking at Ontario Craft Lagers 2.0

Sean from Side Launch Brewing, who was something
of a mountain himself (I came up to his chin), holds a
cold can of Side Launch Mountain Lager, just after its
release in the Spring of 2016. Sean was at the annual
Rib Eye Jack's Streetsville Beer Fest to serve us all!!

You ever get the feeling that "Hmmm, something's missing here?" Your phone? Your wallet? Your car keys? Any shred of dignity you once had? (Just the dignity one? Okay, that's cool because you still have your phone, right?)

Well, I got that the other day. You see, the ink (What ink? This is the Interwebs) was barely dry on my last column about some top-flight Ontario Craft Lagers when the Twitter folk struck with a passion over what was perceived to be a missing beer. A vengeful mob gathered outside my front door with Tiki torches and pitchforks.

Okay, perhaps I'm overselling it a little. It was actually just three guys on Twitter but they all said basically the same thing. "What about Side Launch Mountain Lager?" To those three gentlemen, let me say, "I assure you that I was not going to forget that crisp and delicious beauty from our good friends in Collingwood!!" (To everyone else... I totally forgot it. D'oh!) Brewed in the German style as an answer to Czech pilsners, this 4.7%, 27 IBU lager is beautiful balanced without that slight (but perfect) bitterness at the end of a pilsner. So a very worthy addition of this list and I thank those three guys for reminding me. I looked everywhere and never did find my dignity so gentle reminders are always appreciated.

It always comes back to Drunk Polkaroo when you're talking good craft
beer in Ontario and here on his You Tube channel (please subscribe - it's
free!), Polk's reviewing the excellent Wellington Brewing Helles Lager...

And speaking of German styles, I have a couple of Helles Lagers to add to this list before we get to the hoppy lagers. I'm sure you're all familiar with, say, Becks, a traditional German lager? Well, think of Helles Lagers as that style but on good beer steroids. Not that there's anything wrong with those traditional lagers but keep in mind, the entire salad dressing industry thrives because basically, none of us like the taste of plain, washed lettuce. It's nice to add that palatable extra something-something to the mix.

First on deck, out of Guelph, would be Wellington Brewing's Helles Lager. This is only sold in six-pack, 355-ml (12 ounce) cans so there's a commitment there.

When I posted this on Twitter, I called it art entitled "Gaslight
by Nightlight" as my back door has a motion detector to scare
off both burglars and apparently the raccoons. Except for one
thing. You could shoot a flare gun at a raccoon and the damn
critter won't flinch. Trash Pandas are as fearless as they come.

I recognize that I'm asking you to make a $13.50 investment but I firmly believe it's a beer you'll love. Also a great one to treat your macro friends, should they stop by. It's always good to have a cross-over in your fridge and I think this beer and Steam Whistle Pilsner are your best bets. Just 4.5% and 17 IBUs, this has that grassy, grainy aroma and smooth, easy-drinking back-end. But man, it really pops on its carbonation! So for gawd sake, pour it in a glass to oxidize it. It's one of the few lagers I've enjoyed that maintains a slight head nearly to the end. Or maybe I just drink it that fast. That's entirely possible. As you can see from the above photo, Drunk Polkaroo has gone with his trusty Wellington tulip glass (a solid choice for nearly any style) whereas from the photo on the right, you'll see I opt for the curvy IPA-style glass.

Next on deck is a beer I enjoyed actually on the deck just the other night... or last week... I dunno, it was recent and where the hell are my car keys? The phone's charging so I know to look somewhere near electricity. Anyway, that beer would be Muddy York Brewing's (Toronto) Gaslight Helles Lager.

Another Polk production here and this time, he captures
Redline Brewing's (Barrie) Kollision Hoppy Lager. You
know, I'm always praising Polk's pics but really, what do
his have that mine don't... except proper focus, solid colour
balance and exactly-right exposure?? But aside from that??

This was exceptionally tasty and a solid reason I have to get to that within-an-hour brewery sometime this Summer. They make consistently great beer - period, end of sentence. And I'm glad I had this one before I wrote this. At a reasonable 18 IBU but a more up-there 5.4%, they use Bohemian malts and a "unique yeast strain" on this one, this was a solid starter beer after a late shift. No idea what that yeast strain was but it added some zing to this one. Or maybe it was the Bohemian malts. I have no idea. I'm not a brewer. But I do know this - lagers, especially tasty ones, are one of the hardest styles to brew because there's no dark malts or big-ass hops to hide behind. The style is the ultimate "The Emperor Has No Clothes" beer. You either nail it or it's a weak cuppa tea. This was full-flavoured for a lager. Beautiful job here.

Okay, these days, Ontario craft brewers have decided that, hey, there's nothing wrong with a little hop boink in a lager and have proceeded brewing them according. To them, I say... I worship you all with the same reverence I reserve for the All-Father Odin. So let's look at some hoppy lagers leading up to the one I think is the best in Ontario.

How much did I like Michael Duggan's Sorachi Lager? Well,
I drank it in my Excalibur Casino and Resort glass from Las
Vegas. That's one of the highest honours I can bestow upon a
beer. Clear and very golden, this had some great spicy taste!

The first time I sampled Redline Brewhouse's (Barrie) Kollision Hoppy Lager was at a Rib Eye Jack's Ale House Beer Fest back in October 2016. It was, hands down, the stand-out lager in an afternoon mostly dedicated to IPAs and the odd stout. Even within my criteria of pale-golden lagers only, it meets that with a lovely bit of haze as you can see from the picture. What former Brewmaster Sebastian McIntosh created was a traditional lager, using the usual malts and hops in the boil but dry-hopped it at the end with Cascade and Simcoe hops. That gives the 5.4%, 37 IBU brew some nice orange rind and grapefruit on the aroma followed by a bit more orange and citrus as it's going down. Lager with a definite punch to it.

I stumbled upon well-known Parkdale (Toronto) brewer Michael Duggan's Sorachi Lager not too long ago and came away very impressed. While it is an exceptionally light beer at 4% and just 15 IBUs, the addition of Sorachi hops give this a lemon nose and a bit of a spicy, peppery kick on the back end. Definitely, a light, refreshing Summer lager.

I have actually bought a dozen or so of the Railway City
Express India Session Lager as the weather turns much
warmer up here. For my money, this may be the second
best lager in the Province at the moment. Hoppy good!

The next one out of Saint Thomas comes from our friends at Railway City Brewing and has been available for months now at the LCBO - their Express India Session Lager. This one firmly falls into the Lager-Meets-An-IPA territory. In fact, in a blind taste-test, most of us would likely guess this was a Pale Ale. You've got orange and citrus in the aroma of this 4.8%, 18 IBU (it tastes much hoppier than that) pale gold beer but there's also some pine and the malts on the tongue. Sounds a lot like a Pale Ale, doesn't it? In fact, it won a Silver medal at the 2017 Canadian Brewing Awards in the Session Ale category, despite being a lager!! So clearly, I'm not the only one getting a huge ale vibe off this one. In fact, the 2018 Canadian Brewing Awards is happening right now in Halifax as you read this so we're always eager to see how Ontario breweries fare at these awards. Maybe I'll have another lager or two to add to my next treatise on this often-ignored style.

But that brings us to the beer that I think is far and away the finest lager in Ontario and has been for a while now. That would be my hometown homeys, Cameron's Brewing's 12 Mile India Pale Lager.

As far as I'm concerned, Cameron's Brewing's 12 Mile
India Pale Lager is THE best lager in the Province right
now. I'm not saying that because they're my hometown
brewery - I'm saying that because this is a delicious beer!

In fact, while the men and ladies at Cameron's just two minutes down the hill from me in Oakville do not presently have an IPA or pale ale on their everyday roster, it's not like Brewmaster Jason Britton is ignoring us hopheads altogether. While their outstanding Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale was recently relegated to seasonal status, the popularity of their even-better 12 Mile India Pale Lager has basically forced the beer's way onto the brewery's full-time brewing slate. Usually lagers are evening's starters - light fare to get the sunset session started before hitting the ales. But this one? It's so flavourful that you can drink it all night. And I have. On many occasions.

While it was formerly only available as one of four beers in their Brewmaster Selection Pack, a Bronze medal at the 2017 Canadian Brewing Awards (as well as a Country Winner at the 2017 World Beer Awards) may have turned the tables for this lager in terms of demand for it. Last August, the brewery finally announced its new fulltime status with Britton saying, "We are always listening to our beer fans and watching what is tantilizing their palates."

This one - Bellwoods Bellweiser Pilsner - made
me laugh hard at the name. Firstly,  Bellwoods
seldom makes a light style, leaning heavily on
the IPAs and dark styles. And secondly, I can't
believe they called it Bellweiser?? How have
they not received a 'cease and desist' on this??

"We launched 12 Mile last year (2016) in the 4-Pack and on draught. It was a relatively new beer style for us and quickly established a passionate following," he added of the 5.2%, 40 IBU lager. (Try finding any other lager at or above 40 IBUs.) Malted with 2-Row and Dextrapils, the hoppiness comes from the addition of Mosaic and Galaxy hops. Cameron's has, of course, a number of outstanding beers but this has been my favourite since it first came out in 2016. With its tropical fruit and citrus aroma and taste, it's the one lager that all IPA drinkers should try.

Okay, finally a pilsner that just simply made me laugh out loud when I saw its name. That would be Bellwoods Brewing (Toronto) Bellweiser Pilsner. They called it Bellweiser? Are you shitting me? That's hilarious. And also unusual for a brewery that seldom dips its toes into lighter styles such as lagers and pilsners. Like, never really as far as I can recall. Until this. At 4.8% and probably 15 IBU, it's lightly floral and grassy on the nose and goes down like an easy-drinking pilsner should. Nice beer. But face it, I'm including this for the name. I can't believe the big boots at Anheuser Busch have not stomped this into the ground. Well, yet...

Okay, I'll be back next with a look at the upcoming two-day Liquid Arts Festival, being hosted by Collective Arts Brewing in mid-June. Over 50 breweries from around the world and dozens of bands will be converging on Burlington Street in Hamilton for what's bound to be THE Party of the Summer! But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...