Brews News: Autumn harvest time for tastiest beers

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Autumn is a time for Oktoberfest vibes, harvest celebrations and the tastiest beers of the year.

Here’s four fall styles you need to try.

Festbier. The smooth and malty style enjoyed at Germany’s Oktoberfest, it’s the international party lager. In London, Anderson Craft Ales has a festbier batch as its fall seasonal. It is 5.6 per cent alcohol and available in cans at the brewery or through the Anderson online store.

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Red ale. Pour a red ale and be ready for a flavourful experience. Railway City in St. Thomas revised its Iron Spike with the new version arriving soon. Head brewer Amanda Fehr said they’ve built a more complex and intricate malt bill. “The addition of crystal dark embeds a distinct toffee flavour,” she said. “Overall, the malt and hop balance allows us to provide an enhanced drinking experiment for our customers.” Reds like Iron Spike are best served cool, not icy cold. Like fall days.

Harvest ale. “Harvest” beer isn’t a defined style but is a nice marketing descriptor to guide people to beers featuring crops just off the fields. A fine example, available at the LCBO, is MacKinnon Brothers Harvest Ale from Bath, Ont. This beer focuses on the MacKinnon farm barley harvest. The Munich malt is grown on the farm and kilned at a higher temperature than usual. It’s a malty masterpiece.

Saison. In southern Ontario, there’s a popular destination for saisons: Meuse near the Brant County community of Scotland. Meuse has its Saison de la Meuse listed at the LCBO, but that beer is really just the beginning. You might want to visit the brewery and venture into Terroir Mixed Culture Fresh Hop Single Malt and Single Hop (SMASH) beer. It uses organic barley and Centennial grown on the Meuse farm.

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NEW AND NOTED

London Brewing’s Truly Local beer fest gives way to its 10th anniversary party this weekend (Sept. 14). The co-operative that started as a pop-up at an Old East Village restaurant has grown into a neighbourhood gathering spot on Burbrook Place and a busy spot for live music. Music plays a big part in the 10th birthday bash, a ticketed event that starts at 3 p.m.

Oktober Fall Fest, complete with Powerhouse Brewing keg tapping and marzen beer, happens over three weekends at 100 Kellogg Lane. The first weekend is Sept. 19-22.

Broken Rail in St. Marys has Kool Grape Fizz, an ale with grapes. As always, best enjoyed after a hike or bicycle ride from downtown St. Marys along the rail trail to Glass Street.

There’s a new IPA at Upper Thames in Woodstock. Fogbound is New England style, hazy and hoppy with aromas of exotic fruits. The flavour reminds of peaches and mango. This juicy beer is 6 per cent alcohol.

Playing with flavours is Natterjack. The West Elgin brewery has a series of malt-based brews under the Talbot Twister umbrella, including pina colada and watermelon. There was also a two-case trial of peach seltzer.

The clock is ticking on Beerlab London, or at least the name. On the horizon is the rebranding to Supply and Demand Beer and Pizza. The tap list has 10 beers listed, including four IPAs.

Wayne Newton is a freelance journalist based in London.

BrewsNewsTravels@gmail.com

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