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Oshawa Brewing Company

Discuss anything and everything about craft brewers from Ontario here.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

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Urotsukidoji
Posts: 126
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2011 2:47 pm
Location: South Of Heaven

Oshawa Brewing Company

Post by Urotsukidoji »

Oshawa Brewing Company

Look, I hate to rag on anyone who is genuinely trying, and has a passion for beer.
But I gotta say, this place is straight up bad. Like, really bad, I’m talking the worst “brewery” I have ever had the (dis)pleasure of checking out.

The warning signs were there, its located in the middle of nowhere, in a sketchy part of the ‘shwa. The inside of the place is an unappealing, almost empty, cavernous warehouse.

As of this writing, the website listed on all their hideous, amateurly designed labels (http://www.oshawabrewingcompany.com) does not actually exist. They do however have an active facebook page;

https://www.facebook.com/oshawabrewingcompany/

Plus, probably the biggest red-flag, is that the beer is brewed offsite!! Based on a facebook photo, I would say that means in the dude's garage. So, what we basically have here is a guy, masquerading as a legitimate craft brewer, selling us his canned home brews to bankroll his hobby.

The first beer I tried, out of a total of 9 (God help me) was the “Pineapple Blood Orange”. I’m usually a sucker for any beer (or virtually anything) with a hint of orange flavour, so this seemed like a good choice to get the ball rolling. The first sip seemed ok, but then about halfway through the can, my thoughts were “why does this taste like spoiled orange juice?” The last third of the can, was unfortunately, a drain pour.

Next up – Oatmeal Stout, not a drain pour (close), but did not taste like any oatmeal stout I’ve had before. Very thin… sort of caramel-y… odd, but I manned-up and drank it.

On to the “Blonde Ale”, not sure how you mess up a blonde ale, but here we are. It had a slightly odd unpleasant taste, nothing crazy, just enough to make you wonder why you’re drinking it when your fridge is filled with top of the line suds…. So it was hello drain for this one as well.

Followed this up with the “Maple Ale”. I love maple, and I also dig most flavoured beers, so this should be up my alley. It smelled great, just like maple fudge, sadly, it tasted like a fruit wine or cider on the turn, almost metallic…. You guessed it, another D.P.

“Easy Amber” (sounds like a stripper’s name) and “Copper Ale” were next on the hit list. By this time I’m getting a little hesitant, and have lost all desire to travel further down this path. But, in the name of science, I pressed on… Both of these seemed to also feature that odd metallic taste, with the strange cider note in the back palate. I finished most of the Amber, but a quarter of it, and almost all of the Copper, went to visit their friends in drain town.

This brings us to “Hop Explosion”…. If not for a slight colour variation, I do not think I could have picked it out of a police line-up with the last two beers. Couple sips, a cringe on my face, and it’s end of story for this one.

Finally (thank God), it comes down to the last 2, both IPAs, I love IPAs, hell, we all do, don’t we? So I thought maybe there would be a small chance at redemption. The final two contestants on “Let’s Try And Choke This Down” are “Double Red IPA” and “European IPA”. If you’re still reading it should come as no shock that both were a freaking nightmare. Nothing even close to resembling an IPA to be found in either can, just more of that same off putting taste. Just for a change, I dumped them on the back lawn instead of down the drain. …. Seemed like a fitting end to this endeavor.

So, in conclusion, AVOID the Oshawa Brewing Company at all costs.
Last edited by Urotsukidoji on Wed Nov 07, 2018 5:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Coronaeus
Posts: 316
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2014 3:11 pm

Post by Coronaeus »

That’s yeoman’s work to be sure.

That logo!?!

Baulz
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:38 am
Location: Pederburra

Post by Baulz »

Thanks for the reminder on this place. I was at a seminar in Oshawa earlier this year and ended up with some time to kill. Checked Google and this was the closest brewery, drove over and quickly bought some cans to try.

From what I recall the guy said it used a to be a brew your own beer business, it declined so he changed the licensing to brew "craft" beer. If you look at the crap they sell, it is the same standard recipes you get at any brew your own place. Most likely from extract, it could even be kits.

I have most of the cans I wasted money on taking up space in the fridge, can't even bring myself to try them. Free to a happy home for anyone that wants to come take them away!

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