The Best of 2019: The Mild But Still Wild

According to Steve, this may be the only photo with all the Southern
Ontario Beer Boys in one place. Keep it handy. The boys might need it as
an alibi one day. But I'll tell you this for free. The SO Beer Boys have
done a whole lotta good for the community in two short years. Besides
that, they put on the best baseball tournament ever with the Brewers
Ball now having finished its second year. Just a great group of guys...

Well, it's that time of year when we all look back, reminisce on the simple marvel of having made it through another and quietly say, "Wow, whatta hunk of shit that craptastic year was!" Then we happily look forward to the next year... which is likely to be as bad if not worse.

Wait... have I suddenly and unexpectedly joined the already-far-too-swollen ranks of the many Beer Twitter curmudgeons and cynics?

Nahhhh, just yanking your chain. I've always been a glass half-full kinda guy... with a light side salad of weird. For instance, right now, I can't stop thinking about the fact that there's one person in the world who has eaten more mayonnaise than anyone else on the planet.

When the Southern Ontario Beer Boys held their now-annual Christmas
Crawl through Hamilton this past weekend, did they ever get a group of
happy participants. Shown here at Grain & Grit Small Batch Beers, the
group went well into the night, socializing and drinking some great beers
from our Hamilton breweries. I was working so I missed it but is there
anything like a cool event to kill that dead time between Christmas and
New Year's Eve? Apparently yes and the Christmas Crawl is exactly it!

And I mean, seriously, the dude doesn't even know it! (Ladies, doing you a solid here by assuming it's a guy. Doing myself a favour by also not assuming it's me.)

So before we begin our descent into the Best of 2019, let's take a quick pause and look at some of the good in the year. To me, that starts with the Southern Ontario Beer Boys - Neil, Mike, Paul and Steve. Now together for a couple of years, these fellows raise money. Lots of it, too, for the McMaster's Children's Hospital Foundation. How much is a lot? Try $29,000 in two years. Through countless events, including their ongoing Cans4Kids initiative (whereby we donate our empties to them and they turn that into something good for needy kids) to their now-annual Brewers Ball, where breweries slug it out for Softball Supremacy at the diamonds near Collective Arts Brewing.

Another lager pretty much had this
locked up until I tried the Wellington
Crispy Forever Helles Lager. This one
really should be a year-round release.

It's always easier to look at the bad because let's face it, there's no shortage of that. But it's also nice to focus on the positive like Southern Ontario Beer Boys, basically a drinking organization with a charity problem. And we - but more especially the kids - love them for that. Good work, guys! I hope you carry on well into the Roaring 20s (Part Two).

Okay, the Best of 2019. As always, there are rules. Rule #1 - Ontario beers only! Lots of great beers out there but even more within our borders so let's discover those by drinking locally. Rule #2 - No repeat winners! If you were my Best IPA or Imperial Stout two years ago, you're not gonna be this year's Best Beer of the Year. You had your moment. Let others step up. That's why I include previous winners. So you can see that. And finally, Rule #3. Doug Ford's a dick. Nothing to do with beer and not so much a rule, I suppose. Just sayin'.

Okey dokey, let's get this annual shitshow started with...

Best Pale/Blonde Lager: Wellington Brewing out in Guelph is a bit of an anomaly for me. For starters, it's the only brewery in Ontario that if you asked me which are my favourite beers from them, they would both be stouts - their Imperial Russian Stout and their Chocolate Milk Stout. However, in Autumn, they proved that they're pretty damn good with the paler styles. They took their award-winning Helles Lager recipe and then tweaked it with Citra, Amarillo and Cascade hops.

I was first given this Beau's Night Marzen from my Beau's rep
Adam. To be honest, I was surprised by how much I loved it. So
much so that I went out and bought about seven or eight more.

The result? Their Crispy Forever Helles Lager, one citrusy beauty of a lager. Part of their Small Batch Seasonal releases in November, this one deserves year-round status as far as I'm concerned. (Previous winners: Muddy York Helles, Amsterdam Pale Rider, Cameron's 12 Mile IPL, Hogback's Vintage Lager)

Best Amber/Dark Lager: A classic German style, traditionally brewed in March, cellared for the Summer and released in the Autumn, Beau's All Natural Brewing's Night Marzen is a bready, malty beast of a beer. Beautiful clean finish and just heavy enough to carry some weight to its body. As soon as I finished it, I found myself wondering out loud, "Why are there not more Marzens?" Then I stopped talking to myself and had another. (Previous winners: Napanee Blacklist German Lager, Four Father's Shevchenko 9 Ukrainian Dunkel Euro Dark Lager, Lake Wilcox Mad Quacker Amber Lager, King Brewing Dark Lager, Mill St 100th Meridian Amber Lager.)

Released towards the end of 2018, I got my hands on Fairweather's
Barbarossa Dry-Hopped Imperial Pils early this year when I was in there
to buy (most likely) more High Grade IPA. Aside from the fact that it's
7%, this pilsner came with a fruitier aroma and taste than a regular one.

Best Pilsner: This will come as no surprise to the people of Hamilton and the surrounding area but Fairweather Brewing has an extraordinary knack for taking a traditional style and turning it on its head. Such was the case with their Barbarossa Dry-Hopped Imperial Pils. Whereas most pilsners come with that clean, grassy aroma, this one was loaded with a fruit nose. Whiffs of orange, pineapple, bit of melon, they took a pale ale flavour profile and dropped it in an Imperial Pilsner. At 7%, this had some heft to it and a deeper body than the colour would indicate. If it comes back around, grab it. This will show you what a pilsner truly can be. (Previous winners: Brock St Bohemian Pilsner, Great Lakes' Improperly Hopped American Dry-Hopped Pilsner, Steam Whistle Pilsner, Steamworks Pilsner, Black Oak Epiphany No 2 Pilsner, Rainhard Unfiltered Pilsner)

This one is not your typical Saison. This is a Saison that you
would enjoy on a Caribbean island. Like the label, it's all
palm trees and tropical fruits. It really, really surprised me!

Best Saison: I knew this would likely have little problem taking this category after I was gifted it by Ottawa Matty and Joel way back in the Summer. The Beyond The Pale Brewing's Saison Tropicale is exactly what you'd think. A Saison bursting with tropical fruit flavour. At a hefty 7.7%, there's orange, mango, citrus and even a little touch of pine (unusual for a Saison) to go along with that spicy Belgian yeast. One of the most Summer-oriented and refreshing Saisons I've every enjoyed. Even at that high ABV, I could see myself drinking these all afternoon. Then I could see myself falling over a whole lot. It's deceptively tropical. (Previous winners: Little Beasts' Really Good Friends, Little Beasts La Saison D'ete, Nickel Brook-Sawdust City 11~05 Saison, Four Winds' Saison, Collingwood Brewing's Saison Farmhouse Ale.)

Best Belgian Style Wit: To be honest, the field for this one was a little on the thin side. I don't think Ontario brewers are rushing to get new Belgian Wits out there. I only had a small handful of them this year and I'm totally that "I'll try anything new" guy.

The colour of this alone should say this is not your traditional
Belgian Wit. It's not. It's packed with fruit flavours that might
be considered a little foreign to the style. But it's pretty tasty!

That said, one really caught my attention when I was visiting friends in Whitby this past Summer. I popped into Brock St Brewing, which is just 10 minutes from their house, to grab some of their Traditional Irish Red Ale and Chocolate Milk Stout but also came across their Blueberry Belgian Wit. "A blueberry Wit?" I thought to myself. "Not exactly to style now, is it?" And frankly, it wasn't. But I'll tell you this for free. I went back for more after I had it. This had both a blueberry and blackberry flavour profile. The guy at the counter was telling me there was prominent hibiscus flower, as well, but frankly the dark berries probably overpowered that because I certainly didn't notice. You do lose a margin of that spicy Belgian yeast essence when it's this fruit prominent - actually, to the point that I nearly put this in the Fruit Beer category, instead. But this was one tasty-ass beverage, to be certain. (Previous winners: Amsterdam Spotted Cow White Wheat, Black Bellow's White Witbier with Elderflower, Railway City's The Witty Traveler Pint.)

Ironically, not 60 feet from this deck in Oakville is a river that
travels through the ravine behind my house. When I was a kid,
it was an actual shallow river. Frogs and salamanders and cool
stuff. Now it's a trickle. That tells me we're all gonna die. But
anyway, this is a really great American-style German Wheat.

German Style Wheat Beer: Okay, as opposed to Belgian Wits, there was absolutely no shortage of damn solid German Wheats this year. Probably had a couple dozen solid ones from Ontario brewers during 2019 so we have a pretty good field here. In the end, the one I enjoyed the most was a gift from DJ Jazzy Jeff Mitchell, the fellow who mans the beer fort, as well as other managerial responsibilities at Brown's, Your Independent Grocer, in scenic Stittsville, Ontario. (I'll admit I'm assuming it's scenic. It certainly sounds that way. Got that whole Petticoat Junction vibe to the name. But I'm picturing century-old homes with killer wrap-to-the-side front decks.) So another beauty from the Ottawa area, this time it's Stalwart Brewing's Down By The River American Wheat Ale. Very floral nose, a wee whiff of banana and citrus, just 5.3%. It was one of those Wheats where, on a hot day, you instantly think, "Yeah, man, I could go for another of those." An interesting Wheat in that it also uses oat malts-flakes in the mix. Gives it that extra oomph. Looks thin but sure doesn't taste that way. Really nice job, Stalwart.

Look, I'm not gonna say it's a total honour being paired with one of my
roast beef and Swiss Cheese on a super cheesy bun sandwiches. But, well
frankly, it is. Bask in the glory, dammit. I seldom dip into the Kolsch well
but there are some very solid ones out there, including this Braumeister
Rheinwasser Kolsch-Style Ale. Yes, yet another gift from DJ Jazzy Jeff.

(Previous winners: Chronicle Brewing-Wave Maker Craft Brewing Hasheeshian Hop Hefeweizen, Big Rig's Big Boot Hefeweizen, Side Launch Wheat, All or Nothing Hopfenweisse, Creemore Spring's Hoppy Hefeweizen, How Sound King Heffy Imperial Wheat.)

The Beau's Lug-Tread Honourary Best Kolsch: This category is named after the industry gold standard Beau's Lug-Tread for a reason. For the first few years of this, I ignored Kolsch-style beers altogether. Why? It's not a style that excites me. That said, I eventually realized through both customers and friends that it is an excellent gateway style from macros into the craft beer world. So I can't underscore the value it has within the craft beer community.

"Switchboard Susan, won't you give me a line?" Oh my, this
beer, what a Summer it and I had together. As 2019 was truly
the Summer of Sessioners for me, this one kept landing in my
fridge over and over and over again! I broke the glass (but I
think Polk has a replacement for me.) Don't care because I'll
keep buying it. This has as much flavour as any actual IPA.

Once again, courtesy of DJ Jazzy Jeff Mitchell comes the Braumeister Brewing (Carleton Place, Ontario) Rheinwasser Kolsch-Style Ale. To my mind, this is an exceptionally good example of what this style can be. Again, I'm not trying to damn with faint praise here because they're not exactly my go-to beers. This is a time-honoured German style. I mean, we're going back centuries here. Now does it help a little that a Germany-influenced brewery in Carleton Place is making it? Not gonna lie, doesn't hurt because you know Braumeister is gonna take a Kolsch pretty seriously. This is as crisp and clean as even the best lagers. On the nose, grassy, cereal, on the tongue, super light citrus, refreshing and ultimately, easy drinking. (Previous winners: Sawdust City's Adaptation Vic Secret Dry-Hopped Kolsch, Beau's Haters Gonna Hate Imperial Kolsch, Cowbell's Absent Landlord County Kolsch, Old Tomorrow Trach 85 Lagered Ale.)

Best Session/Light Beer: As crazy as it sounds for a dude who likes his IPAs big and his Stouts Imperial, this was actually the hardest category from which to pick a winner.

So to be clear, a Cream Ale won the Best Blonde Ale category? Really?
It would seem so. Whiprsnapr Brewing in Nepean, Ontario, found a way
to make a Cream Ale with maple syrup that I actually enjoyed. That, my
friends, is no small feat. They used it judiciously which certainly helped.

Why? Because if Ontario craft brewers have got one thing nailed down tight, it's session ales. There were literally more than a dozen, even two, I would consider potential winners in this category (which I'm sure is gonna make 2020 just as tricky.) In the end, I had to kind of stand back and simply look at what landed in my fridge the most. Though it was a tight race between this and another great one, it would appear that Muddy York's Switchboard Session IPA took up more fridge real estate than Number Two. That's not surprising. This is a fantastic beverage. At a reasonable 4.9%, this has all the flavours you would want in an IPA leaning on the hazy side. Orange, melon and citrus, this is the ultimate hockey-watching beer. The one that'll let you stay awake even if it goes to overtime and then a shoot-out. Is there any higher praise than that? Oh, I think not. Canada! Hockey! Yes!

I don't drink a ton of Brown Ales but apparently, when I
do, they're all killer. As a single in Wellington Brewing's
Re-Boot Mix Four, Volume 7, Old Buddy Espresso Brown
Ale was rich, deep and also on par with a Porter or Stout.

(Previous winners: Grain & Grit Light Ray Session IPA, Muskoka Detour, Great Lakes' Sunnyside Session, Flying Monkeys' Genius of Suburbia, Great Lakes Citradiction Extra Pale Ale - now revamped as a tasty-ass New England style.)

Best Blonde Ale: Want me to hate a beer? Put maple syrup in it. That stuff, as preciously Canadian as it is, belongs on pancakes and French Toast, not beer. So anyway, this year's winner has maple syrup in it and is a Cream Ale to boot. Rules are meant to be broken, I guess. Because the best Blonde Ale I had this year came courtesy of my Nepean Beer Store Brother Ben and it's actually a small brewery from his town. Whiprsnapr Brewing is not a big name in Ontario circles... not yet, anyway. But their The Mick Maple Cream Ale? Oh my, that was some kinda tasty. Just a lightest taste of maple syrup in this 4.5% offering added a whole dimension to a traditional Cream Ale. I really loved this. (Previous winners: Grain & Grit Bee's Knees Blonde Ale, Nickel Brook Cause & Effect, Lake of Bays Summer Session Ale - formerly Wild North Summer Sunset Session, now Paddle On Session Ale.)

Is this a true Ontario Craft Beer bromance? Oh yes,
I should say so. After both getting splashed in the
dunking booth at this year's Southern Ontario Beer
Boys' Brewer Ball, held in September at the softball
diamonds beside Collective Arts Brewing, our guys
Drunk Polkaroo and Sawdust City Brewmaster Sam
Corbeil cuddle up for bro-warmth. (It was chilly!)

Best Amber-Dark Beer: I didn't enjoy this until near the end of the year but once I did, it was game over for this category. As part of their Welly Re-Boot Mix Four, Volume 7 (Wellington had three Re-Boots in 2019 and yes, we got spoiled), their Old Buddy Espresso Brown Ale was a freakin' gem. I wouldn't know an espresso if a pretty waitress handed me one in a Paris cafe but I know coffee all too well. Roasty, nutty, licorice, coffee and deep-bodied, this beer has some serious flavour guns. When it comes to dark, rich beers, Wellington just keeps on knocking it out of the park. Fantastic job, gang. (Previous winners: Redline Brewhouse Leather Interior Brown Ale, Cameron's Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale, Mill Street Tankhouse Ale, Parallel 49's Gypsy Ruby Tears, Wellington's Terrestrial India Brown Ale, Cowbell's Doc Purdue's Bobcat West Coast Red Ale.)

Well, folks, that's it for Part One of this annual opus I call "Best Of." Next up, those hoppy ones we all know I favour. After that, it's the dark and dirty ones... that I also favour. And then finally, the people and places that made Ontario craft breweries such cool destinations. So yeah, long story short, you have three more of these to endure. Be strong, be brave. But to you and yours, a very Happy New Year and we'll see you again when January 1st, 2020 rolls around and suddenly, we can all see without reading glasses. But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...