Coming Soon to the LCBO

[heebes]

Bush Pilot Stormy Monday - Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Barleywine

not a bad first beer to send to the LCBO

gotta wait for the taste of course but i cant see repurchasing this much, hope it sells well for them

[TheSevenDuffs]

http://www.momandhops.ca/bush-pilots-st ... -in-march/

at 12.75 a bottle its getting pricey to drink Ontario brews.

$12.75 for a 750 ml bottle of a barrel aged barleywine is a lot??? I will agree that this is an unproven product, but there aren't too many BA BWs south of the border selling for less than that... in fact, most are at least a few dollars more.

[jrenihan]

http://www.momandhops.ca/bush-pilots-st ... -in-march/

at 12.75 a bottle its getting pricey to drink Ontario brews.

$12.75 for a 750 ml bottle of a barrel aged barleywine is a lot??? I will agree that this is an unproven product, but there aren't too many BA BWs south of the border selling for less than that... in fact, most are at least a few dollars more.

Sounds like an interesting beer. I have a feeling it will be far too spice-heavy for me, but a calvados-barrel aged barelywine sounds pretty good to me.
Ren

[ChrisK]

With an ingredient list like that I wonder if it will resemble a barleywine at all. Apple brandy barrelling sounds quite interesting, though, considering the rave reviews AB barrel aged beers have received in the states recently.

[cmadd]

With an ingredient list like that I wonder if it will resemble a barleywine at all. Apple brandy barrelling sounds quite interesting, though, considering the rave reviews AB barrel aged beers have received in the states recently.

If it's anything like Matt from HotD, sign me up.

[Bush Pilot Brewing]

Hey folks,


Just want to say hello and to share a few bits regarding our first beer, a Calvados barrel aged, spiced barley wine.

Some interesting views were expressed so far, and we will be more than happy to address any question, concerns and hopefully soon, a compliment here and there.
Bush Pilot is “gypsy brewing” concept thought out by a small team of people dedicated to artisanal brews and distillates - some us here can be held responsible for bringing to Ontario some very interesting craft beers over the past eight years or so.

Anyhow… The Bush Pilot team was extremely happy to convince Anders Kissmeyer of Nørrebro Bryghus fame to take a leading role in recipe development for Stormy Monday and supervision of the brewing process. Anders’ magic was evident in several beers that topped our personal all-time-fave list, like Stevns CCC, La Granja and Mikkels Monster, just to name a few. He continues to brew some bold beers under his own Kissmeyer label.

The ingredient list (to long be listed even here, so please visit the site for details www.bushpilotbrewing.com) will certainly provide a good hint of our intentions – in other words, the complexity and the spice profile of Stormy Monday is not an accident. Some of the spices we used, when sourced in their real natural form rather than an extract, were difficult to find and pretty pricey. Even our friendly wholesale spice shop mistakenly reduced our vanilla bean order by tenfold thinking that we must have made a mistake in ordering that much of real vanilla. How big is your bakery – they inquired with a puzzled look.
Mind you, our objective was not to get rich (anyone else in craft brewing can tell you the same) or to even make money on this beer. The idea was to brew some 300 cases of a beer that we would be proud of and it was clear the only way we would brew would be without cutting any corners or by implementing cheaper alternatives. We were rather bent on emulating the experience that craft brewers in Denmark, Norway, Italy, Belgium, USA and elsewhere go though routinely in order to create their unique masterpieces. One of the things we learned is that the cost of sourcing, shipping and clearing Calvados barrels from Normandy was substantial enough that one could have brewed the same amount of a pretty decent IPA for the money spent on this exercise alone. Of course, there is the cost of malt, hops, contract brewing, storing your product for seven months in someone’s space or tanks and so on. Still, no regrets. None.

Ultimately, we are not suggesting to you that Stormy Monday is a great or even good value. Heck, you can get some great beers (Chimay comes to mind) for less than half the price. Our hope is that you will try our first beer and judge it yourself – what we trying to say is that the price point we arrived at is a rather accurate reflection of what it costs do make a beer of this complexity, whether you happen to brew in Copenhagen, Michigan or somewhere else. Ideally, we will see more of these complex, demanding styles routinely brewed here in Ontario.

Stormy Monday is bottled and will hopefully be picked up next week for a targeted arrival to LCBO stores by mid March. We will keep our fingers crossed for a warm welcome as this would fuel our tired minds and bodies for our next, even more challenging project slated for this Spring, featuring another great guest brewer from Europe.

Let us know what you think.

Cheers!

[Belgian]

I already think it sounds cool. Even though no troupe of Canadian musicians were involved in the making of this Bare -- I mean beer.

[Bush Pilot Brewing]

I already think it sounds cool. Even though no troupe of Canadian musicians were involved in the making of this Bare -- I mean beer.

Speaking of Canadians... Oh, forgot to mention something important. Stormy Monday could not have been brewed without the involvement of Jon Downing, Sam Corbeil, Ryan Morrow, Matthew Howell and a whole lot of very talented and hardworking people at Niagara College Teaching Brewery and Nickel Brook Brewery.

Our next project will most likely take a similar shape. Our Euro-guest will co-brew with the local crew and we narrowed the style list to two or three possibilities. Some special barrels are being chased across France.

For the time being, Bush Pilot is very happy to find its operational base at Nickel Brook, supported by a visionary owner and a fantastic crew that has proven with its own brews that Ontario is becoming a rather interesting craft beer hotbed. Considering a number of other fantastic micros, there is little doubt that great times are ahead of us.

Cheers,

[phirleh]

I already think it sounds cool. Even though no troupe of Canadian musicians were involved in the making of this Bare -- I mean beer.

Speaking of Canadians... Oh, forgot to mention something important. Stormy Monday could not have been brewed without the involvement of Jon Downing, Sam Corbeil, Ryan Morrow, Matthew Howell and a whole lot of very talented and hardworking people at Niagara College Teaching Brewery and Nickel Brook Brewery.

Our next project will most likely take a similar shape. Our Euro-guest will co-brew with the local crew and we narrowed the style list to two or three possibilities. Some special barrels are being chased across France.

For the time being, Bush Pilot is very happy to find its operational base at Nickel Brook, supported by a visionary owner and a fantastic crew that has proven with its own brews that Ontario is becoming a rather interesting craft beer hotbed. Considering a number of other fantastic micros, there is little doubt that great times are ahead of us.

Cheers,

Will this be available out of Nickelbrook?

[Urotsukidoji]

will def try this one. Sounds very interesting.... although calvados is not a fav of mine.

[sprague11]

Calvados worked with the JW Lees Harvest Ales (different beer, I know..), so this might very well be interesting. Considering the price of some similar products can hit 12 bucks for 330 ml, this could wind up being quite the deal.

[PeenSteen]

BA La Buteuse is one of my favorite BA beers and they used Calvados and that was more than double the price of this

[Bush Pilot Brewing]

Will this be available out of Nickelbrook?

Stormy Monday will be available only at LCBO stores.

[ChrisK]

Considering the ingredient list, barrel ageing, and the fact that it is contract brewed I don't think we could reasonably ask for a better price point on a 750ml format.

To whoever is manning the Bush Pilot username, thank you for taking the time to talk about the brew with such an extensive post. Projects like this show that Ontario is heading for good things in the world of beer and I hope you meet with success. I also hope I get to try it.

[PeenSteen]

Nickel Brook - Maple Porter...should be on shelves next week, 750ml bottles.