McEwan's India Pale Ale - no longer brewed???

[david henman]

...i finally found a beer that i enjoy from the first to the last drop: mcewan's india pale. suddenly, it has disappeared completely, at least in ontario. mcewans is owned by newcastle, but i haven't been able to find the web site in order to inquire.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

-david
toronto

[GregClow]

...i finally found a beer that i enjoy from the first to the last drop: mcewan's india pale. suddenly, it has disappeared completely, at least in ontario. mcewans is owned by newcastle, but i haven't been able to find the web site in order to inquire.

It is still being brewed, but was delisted by the LCBO a while ago. They still carry the Mcewan's Scotch Ale, but not the Pale.

While it's not exactly the same, you should give Ruddle's County Ale a shot - you might like it. It's available at some Beer Store locations.

[david henman]

...thanks, greg. i'll give it a try.

someone also mentioned that the beer store will order a beer for you if its not available, so i'll check that out.

i took john filson (toronto star) up on his suggestion to try "scottish irish india pale ale". it is quite delicious and exceedingly hoppy. i have a feeling that is what i liked about mcewans, the pronounced flavour of hops.

i tried sleemans india pale ale, as well, but...very little flavour. also charles wells, which is okay.

are there other beers with pronounced hops that i should try?

-david
toronto

[GregClow]

someone also mentioned that the beer store will order a beer for you if its not available, so i'll check that out.

The Beer Store won't, but the LCBO claims that they will order any alcoholic beverage in the world for you. However, there is generally a minimum order of a case, the shipping is usually exceedingly high (especially from overseas), and it all depends on whether or not the brewery or supplier is willing to deal with a small order of a case of two (most of them aren't).

are there other beers with pronounced hops that i should try?

Well, the Scotch Irish Sgt. Major IPA that you've tried is probably the hoppiest beer currently available at the LCBO. But some other local beers from the LCBO and/or Beer Store you might enjoy would include Mill St. Tankhouse Ale, Black Oak Pale Ale and Headstrong Pale Ale.

On tap, you would probably like most of the beers at the Granite brewpub, and some of the Durham Brewing products, especially their Hop Addict.

I'm sure there are many more that I haven't thought of, but that should be good for a start.

[david henman]

...again, thank you greg!

i'm amazed by how many beers lack any sort of flavour whatsoever.

it often seems as though the higher that marketing profile, the less flavour. last week i tried a beer from south america that was no different from molson canadian. kind of proves my theory that mainstream taste is an oxymoron.

mostly, however, i am curious to know how a beer as delicious as mcewans india pale ale can simply disappear. by the way, how do you know that it is still being brewed? this is very encouraging!

-david

[Steve-E]

I was in the US last week and I'm sure I saw some McEwans Pale Ale at this rather cool beer/wine store on the outskirts of Saginaw.

Their website is www.cork-n-ale.com

I'm sure if they have it, someone like Premiere should have it as well.

I know it's a bit of a trek, but hopefully it helps you.

[clasher]

If the LCBO stopped carrying it, that might explain the piles of McEwan's pint glasses I saw at a local surplus store.

[david henman]

are there other beers with pronounced hops that i should try?

Well, the Scotch Irish Sgt. Major IPA that you've tried is probably the hoppiest beer currently available at the LCBO. But some other local beers from the LCBO and/or Beer Store you might enjoy would include Mill St. Tankhouse Ale, Black Oak Pale Ale and Headstrong Pale Ale.

On tap, you would probably like most of the beers at the Granite brewpub, and some of the Durham Brewing products, especially their Hop Addict.

...thanks, greg. so far i've managed to find Black Oak Pale Ale. it is quite tasty, so i look forward to sampling the other ones you suggested.

cheers!

-david

[old faithful]

The McEwan's India Pale Ale: I don't recall it being that assertive, although it's been a while since I last had it. There are a number of beers I'd suggest as an alternative: Sleeman India Pale Ale which in its latest brewing is just superb with an authentic big lemony Goldings taste against a substantial malt background; Rickards India Pale Ale (light tan label) which may not be a true IPA (although that holy grail is one I'll stay away from, it's just too indefinite) but is a well-made session beer ideal for hot days like now; Keith's India Pale Ale, again, commercial but with a winy estery note showing warm fermentation and a good taste (especially on draft); and, on the assertive side, Hop Addict (a micro draft beer), which probably resembles one kind of early IPA before it was shipped to India anyway. (I wonder what Hop Addict would taste like if bottled unpasteurised and sent half-way across the world in a bouncing ship - it would lose some of its hoppiness and be milder in taste than many suppose the original IPA was - the hopping rate of early IPA was strictly a preservative matter and hop character diminishes with time). There are a number of other beers I like in the IPA vein including Scotch-Irish IPA which is very good especially the current brewing which stresses the malt more than past ones. Lots of choice for the seeker of good beers.

Gary

[Blankboy]

There are a number of beers I'd suggest as an alternative: Sleeman India Pale Ale which in its latest brewing is just superb with an authentic big lemony Goldings taste against a substantial malt background; Rickards India Pale Ale (light tan label) which may not be a true IPA (although that holy grail is one I'll stay away from, it's just too indefinite) but is a well-made session beer ideal for hot days like now; Keith's India Pale Ale, again, commercial but with a winy estery note showing warm fermentation and a good taste (especially on draft);

Gary, Gary, Gary...what are we going to do with you? Sleeman IPA, Rickards? Keiths? I think you should be fined or something. For shame.

[old faithful]

There are well made commercial beers that please. I've sampled beers for 35 years now and enjoy occasionally a good commercial brew. Sleeman IPA is far removed however from even, say, Keith's. Especially in its current brewing it is very fine. It is quite similar to many bitters I've had in England and is in effect a filtered, bottled version of top- or warm-fermented, traditionally hopped beer.

The current Sleeman Porter is one of the best porters I've ever had in a generation of sampling this beer style. Better does not always mean super-treacly or highly hopped. That Porter has a soft characteristic taste deriving I think from roasted malts and some unmalted grains - it has the true, almost soy-like taste of a traditional porter - no surprise it comes from a late 1800's brewing book.

Not that I need to take comfort from this but my historical researches have convinced me beer was always something appreciated, except for certain small-market specialties (e.g., barley wines, very strong stouts), for its balance and palatability. Time and again I read say in the 1800's books of the need not to make beer too bitter or too "luscious" (sweet). Tons of hops were only added to make the beer last two years, say, or over a long voyage, and at the end of that cycle the hop character is much reduced. The English ales evolved from the old country ales which used pale malt whose fermentation was fairly prolonged and no hops at all (originally)... It might have tasted like a bready Molson Dry..

Sleeman IPA's use of Goldings is great because it lends a lot of taste without what used to be called a "twang". The hopping gives what one old book called the "aromatic principle" without extracting too much of "the nauseous bitter". Of course such beers viewed in their widest sense will always be pleasantly bitter to a degree. But going overboard with Cascades or other C hops is not my idea of a great beer. Even though such beers have a market today, I am not sure how traditional they are. In my reading of beer history I can't find where beers like this were popular in, say, 1910.

The norm around 1910 in the U.S. and Canada was something not far removed from, say, Sleeman's Cream Ale or a medium body dunkel beer or pils. Of course for those who like beers with huge flavours more power to them. I like some of them for some occasions (especially strong porters and stouts, some old ales, doppelbocks) but I can't see a contradiction in saying that and liking a fresh Rickards IPA or even a Sol at an outdoor party. These latter beers have a subtle flavor that is appealing (unlike again most commercial beers which I find corny and unbalanced). I think many craft brewers would understand what I mean even if they choose not to drink commercial beer or those I mentioned.

In the old days (going back centuries, not just to 1910), "small beers" and X and XX beers filled that need. Nothing really has changed, I think.

There are commercial beers I don't like (most, in fact) and micro beers I don't like.

Obviously this is one person's taste but I thought these explanations may help to explain why I feel as I do.

Gary

[Blankboy]

<snipped the history of all beer>
Obviously this is one person's taste...

Gary you never ceast to amuse me, even in this reply you felt the need to post "the history of beer according to Gary" when just the above would have sufficed.

I'd hate for newbies to join and read you recommending Sleeman IPA, Rickards and Keiths and buy it based on that. I'm sorry but that beer is swill -- I don't care if 300 years ago someone liked a beer that tastes like Rickards IPA, that doesn't mean it's any good. You are a very knowledgeable man but I wonder about your taste sometimes, especially when you say something like "the current Sleeman Porter is one of the best porters I've ever had in a generation of sampling this beer style." -- it makes me think "is this guy fucking mental?". You really think that? That shit is mediocre AT BEST and that's being generous -- hell, the Labatt Porter is just as good. Anyways, to each their own but if anyone is reading, here are what I consider some good IPAs that you can get in Toronto:

- Tree Hophead India Pale Ale (Volo)
- Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (various bars)
- Durham Hop Addict (on tap at various locations)
- Granite Brewery IPA (Granite Brewpub)
- Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (I think there's still some at Volo)
- and of course the Scotch Irish Sgt. Majors IPA

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, there aren't that many good IPAs in the city. As for Porters, you can't go wrong with these:

- Fullers London Porter (LCBO)
- Scotch Irish Black Irish Plain Porter (sometimes at Volo)
- Mill Street Coffee Porter (LCBO and on tap at various places)
- Black Oak Nutcracker (when available)

and...?....I'm having a hard time thinking of other good ones that are avilable here.

[old faithful]

I like most of the beers you mentioned! They are for me a part of the beer world, not all of it (in IPA-Porter). I know Labatt Porter well and see not much connection between that and Sleeman's porter. I mention history only to indicate that strong flavored beers are not necessarily traditional even when breweries were small. Glad to offer my thoughts to those interested. Beer is personal and I have my take on it and others have theirs.

Another point I'd like to make is some people need to work up to more assertive styles.

Gary

[Blankboy]

Two more, both still available at Volo, I believe:

Sierra Nevada Porter and the Great Divide Titan IPA.

[lister]

Scotch Irish Vanilla Bean Cask Porter.