Maple Ale

[db]

Anybody in Ontario brewing a Maple Ale besides Upper Canada?

If you had to put together a six-pack of 'definitive' Canadian beers, what would you choose, and why?

[Josh Oakes]

Niagara Falls used to make a maple ale a few years ago. I didn't care for it, but then I've never really like a maple beer.

As for a definitive Canadian six-pack, I'll just take six of the finest:

St.Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Spinnaker's ESB
Sailor Hagar's Witbier
Quelque Chose
Trois Pistoles
Seigneuriale Reserve

Unfortunately, the definitive Ontario beers like Granite's cask Bitter and Denison's Weizen (along with Fat Cat Porter from BC) are draught-only and cannot be included in my six-pack until the government gets their head out of their ass.

[Cass]

I know Josh will disagree with me on this, but I've always hoped that maple beers would be more embraced by brewers of Canada. Not that needs to be, or would be a "national" style, but a maple beer (to me) is definitively "Canadian". The Niagara Maple Wheat from a few years ago was a nice brew, and very different from most of the beers available at the time.

One maple beer I know of (although not available in Ontario) is Cheval Blanc Tord-Vis (Brasseurs RJ). It can be found in Montreal, and I've had it a couple of times. A nice beer, with a maple flavour more prominent in the finish. Schoune of Quebec also produces a Maple Ale, which is also unavailable in Ontario.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Cass on 2001-10-15 11:00 ]</font>

[Lyle]

The first homebrew I ever made was brewed without any water whatsoever! We tapped a sugar maple in my parent's backyard, and brewed the entire beer with maple sap. As you probably are aware - the maple sap is like water. It needs to be boiled down ~80:1 to get maple syrup. We brewed a version of an English Premium Bitter with the sap. It didn't have a maple-sweet character, but rather a very subtle, woody, earthy note underlying the pale malts. It was quite fun!

As for commercial maple beers, there are several. In many cases, the maple syrup is used to "prime" the beers before bottling. In this case, a distinct maple-sweet character sometimes comes out in beer, depending on how active the yeast still was at bottling time.

Maple syrup is less commonly used in the boil - since it is primarily simple sugars that the yeast will entire convert to alcohol. i.e. it is like adding sugar to increase the alcohol % without adding much flavor.

Some of the more "impure" varieties of syrup lend delicious flavors to beer. Black Treacle, for example, has been used in several English beers, most famously Old Peculier. I've also had quite a few homebrew examples made with different sorts of syrups or molasses. Concentrated birch syrup, especially if added in secondary fermentation or just before bottling, can make a really unique beer with aromas reminiscent of a birch soda!


_________________
Lyle Ostrow
Premier Gourmet
3465 Delaware Avenue
Kenmore, NY 14217
tel:(716) 877-3574
email: premierbeer@adelphia.net

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Lyle on 2001-10-15 17:31 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Lyle on 2001-10-15 17:32 ]</font>

[DAN-D-MAN]

Northern Breweries out of Sudbury makes an excellent Red Maple. As you may have guessed, it's a combination of a Red beer and a Maple and they've done a good job with it as it's not as sweet as the Upper Canada Maple (which can be a little overwhelming at times!) but yet a little sweeter than a standard red beer. And, it's now available at most beer stores. Check it out!

As for my six favourites...for now - these will change within a few months:

- Black Oak/KLB Nut Brown
- Hacker Pschorr/Schneider Weisse
- McAuslan Oatmeal Stout on tap (a little bitter in bottles)
- McAuslan Apricot Wheat
- Don't remember the name German Smoked Beer just released at the LCBO
- Aventinus Doppelbock

[Josh Oakes]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Northern Red Maple. I couldn't get into that one either, but that was more to do with the whole macrobrew thing. It does look good though, as good as any macrobrew I've ever seen.

[Jon Walker]

If I had to put together a "definitive" six pack of Canadian beer then I'd no doubt include Blue, Canadian, Moosehead and Kokanee amongst the six. Let's face it, those are the beers that are the most popular coast to coast.

But if the question meant what six Canadian beers do I think best represent the state of craft/micro brewing in this country I'd pick;

1) Sailor Hagar's IPA - Gotta love a balanced IPA with an IBU of 85! How I miss it.

2) McAuslan Oatmeal Stout - Probably the best widely available stout in the country from one of the best all around micro brewers.

3)La Blanche de Chambly - A great example of white beer on lees and a summertime favorite.

4)Tree Spy Dark Lager - As lagers go this is the closest I've come to liking the style. Interesting smokiness makes this an intriguing entry into the lager category.

5)Dragon's Breath Pale Ale - Probably my favorite pale ale from Ontario and the only Ontario beer I can honestly put on this list. Too bad its future availability is so much in question.

6)Big Rock Cold Cock Winter Porter - A great example of the style and again one of the only beers from the Praries that seemed worth mentioning. Too bad they stopped making it.

So that's my all around list. To be fair my personal Canadian top 6 would have included at least 3 IPA's but...I wanted to round that out a bit. Truth is, these days I'm drinking mostly imported beer...but that's another story.

[PRMason]

Well Jon, it looks like the future of Dragon's Breath is no longer in question. I received a letter from the receiver involved with Hart Brewery informing me that the brewery had declared bankruptcy on Oct.1. The lawsuit over the Dragon's Breath name seems to be a reality as Desnoe's and Geddes, the brewers of Dragon Stout, are listed among the creditors.
A sorry day for IBU fans.