Brews News: You don’t need to know beer to give beer

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Baffled by beer and have a barley pop lover on your list? Relax. Here’s a tip sheet. And remember, the beer you buy is part of the HST holiday.

BUY A BOX

The LCBO is well-stocked with sampler boxes from Ontario craft and international brewers.

International. Belgium’s Chimay pack is a trilogy of trappist beers, plus a branded stemmed glass. Brewed by monks, the three ales are Chimay Blue, Chimay White and Chimay Red, each in 330 ml bottles. The beers are named for their labels. Blue, a dark brown ale, is a favourite.  Red is a brown ale that pairs with quality cheese. White is a tripel, rich and fruity. Alternatively, consider the Innis and Gunn discovery beer pack. It’s from Scotland and has four cask-matured beers: the familiar Original Single Malt Cask and Caribbean Rum Cask along with the limited edition Spiced Rum Cask Ale and Highland Cask Ale.

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Explore craft. Bellwoods IPA mix pack is for the lover of hoppy beer. It has three IPAs, Monogamy Loral, Cat Lady and Witchshark plus a branded glass. Combining beer with the traditional Christmas default gift of sock is the Toasty Toes Taster Pack from Lake of Bays. The beers are one can of Off the Grid Hazy Pale Ale and two cans of mystery beers in the spirit of a Secret Santa. Plus, acquiring the pack gets the recipient a chance at winning a day at the brewery in Baysville.

DARK AND RICH

Seven Fathoms Baltic Porter Aged in Whisky Barrels is London’s Storm Stayed Brewing’s Christmas gift to beer connoisseurs. Packaged for gift-giving with a metallic label, wax sealed in 500 ml bottles, this 10.2 per cent alcohol sipper is also a statement beer as Storm Stayed approaches its seventh anniversary in January. Speaking of which, tickets for its anniversary party on Jan. 11 also make a good gift for beer fans in or near London.

Flying Monkeys Invictus is a Russian imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels. A whopping 18.1 per cent alcohol, it uses earthy CTZ and Hallertauer hops and was cellared for a year or so in used Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam and Heaven Hill barrels. Sold at the brewery in Barrie and its online store.

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Scotch Ale by Sons of Kent is back for the season. It’s brewed with Golden Promise malt from Scotland and aged on oak. This nine per cent alcohol beer has won medals in both the Ontario and Canadians brewing awards competitions.

FUN FLAVOURS

Viva Puffs by Forked River of London takes a 6.5 per cent alcohol sweet stout and adds flavours of chocolate and raspberries for a vegan-friendly, lactose-free dessert beer.

Carrot Cake Stout by Anderson Craft Ales in London adds carrots from Urban Roots plus cinnamon, vanilla and allspice to a stout. The results reminds you of the classic dessert.

Sawdust City’s Mocha Crunch is a stout with chocolate bar flavours – think Coffee Crisp here. It has chocolate, coffee and vanilla wafers for a dessert beer to be remembered. It’s 5.9 per cent alcohol.

Plums Lovely as a Poem from Barrel Heart Brewing and Blending of Dundas is a 4.5 per cent saison aged in wine barrels and fermented on yellow plums grown in Niagara Region. Plums Lovely as a Poem is packaged in sharable 750 ml bottles and best served in white wine glasses.

Potato Hammer by Burdock Brewing of Toronto and Willibald of Ayr is an IPA brewed using Ontario spuds. But the flavour? Candied orange and grapefruit.

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Christmas Tree by Third Moon of Milton has lots of clementine zest added to Third Moon’s Cita IPA. This holiday beer – packaged versions sell out quickly – is one of three brewed for the season. The others are McCrampus (a West Coast DIPA collaboration with McThirsty’s Pub in Peterborough) and Egg Nog Sumptuous, a pastry stout with seasonal flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Watch for a Sumptuous Stout series from Third Moon.

Wayne Newton is a freelance journalist based in London.

BrewsNewsTravels@gmail.com

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