Spearhead Brewing

[pootz]

I think the spearhead team have some surprises in store for the craft beer culture in this market. I'm excited about what they want to accomplish and anxious to see what they can do.

[shintriad]

Glad this was resolved. Stephen is definitely a cool guy, and I've tried some of his homebrews — we're in for a treat.

[bartle]

Might be off topic, but what is your final pH after the pineapple juice?

[Tapsucker]

Might be off topic, but what is your final pH after the pineapple juice?

Funny, through all this flaming, that's all I was thinking!

[Ale's What Cures Ya]

Definitely looking forward to this beer. A great idea that if done well should deliver the goods.

[cratez]

I think the Spearhead team have some surprises in store for the craft beer culture in this market. I'm excited about what they want to accomplish and anxious to see what they can do.

Glad this was resolved. Stephen is definitely a cool guy, and I've tried some of his homebrews — we're in for a treat.

My thoughts exactly, fellas! Stephen is passionate, enthusiastic, and ridiculously knowledgable, and if his home brews are any indication of what we can expect, we're in for some really flavourful and innovative beers. A crafter that brews 'without boundaries' is precisely what we need in this province, as Flying Monkeys and (to a much lesser extent) Great Lakes are the only well-known micros that seem to follow this ethos right now. I'm looking forward to trying everything that Spearhead has to offer!

[JerCraigs]

A crafter that brews 'without boundaries' is precisely what we need in this province, as Flying Monkeys and (to a much lesser extent) Great Lakes are the only well-known micros that seem to follow this ethos right now.

Yeah.. Lackey should get off his ass and brew something. I mean 90 different entries on RB? That's kind of lazy

I'm kidding.

I think your comment makes for an interesting point on geography and distribution. You guys in London have had a number of the one-offs from FM, most of Great Lakes stuff has not left the GTA, similarly many of the Grand River and Beaus releases have been brewery only or very limited releases outside of their hometowns. So depending on where you live you get a very different impression of different breweries.

[grub]

Might be off topic, but what is your final pH after the pineapple juice?

Funny, through all this flaming, that's all I was thinking!

hehe, i was a little curious how juice worked out. many of them are pretty sweet and not overly acidic. whole fruit on the other hand can be pretty acidic if you don't know what you're doing...

[bartle]

Might be off topic, but what is your final pH after the pineapple juice?

Funny, through all this flaming, that's all I was thinking!

hehe, i was a little curious how juice worked out. many of them are pretty sweet and not overly acidic. whole fruit on the other hand can be pretty acidic if you don't know what you're doing...

Just curious due to the fact of where it's being brewed. Fermentation alone should control the pH. If it's added after fermentation it can do some crazy shit to shelf-life, lower the pH like a bastard.

Also, if the juice is added to the kettle those IBU's could be off a few points due to lower utilization % for the hops.

[StephenRich]

Thanks for all the kind words that have evolved in this thread guys!

[cratez]

Yeah...Lackey should get off his ass and brew something. I mean 90 different entries on RB? That's kind of lazy

By "much lesser extent" I was referring to GLB's retail offerings, which compared to Flying Monkeys (assuming Smash Bomb hits shelves soon) and with the exception of the Crazy Canuck, are fairly conservative/standard beers. There's no denying that when it comes to cask ales and one-offs, GLB - and Mike Lackey in particular - are one of the most prolific and adventurous brewers in this province.

I think your comment makes for an interesting point on geography and distribution. You guys in London have had a number of the one-offs from FM, most of Great Lakes stuff has not left the GTA, similarly many of the Grand River and Beaus releases have been brewery only or very limited releases outside of their hometowns. So depending on where you live you get a very different impression of different breweries.

LOL. In other words, you think I have a narrow understanding of what constitutes an envelope-pushing brewer in Ontario, and that I have limited experience with the more notable one-offs that we've seen in the last couple of years. You're sadly mistaken. Yes, FM has brought most of their single batch brews here, but Great Lakes also came down with various cask experiments last March, and I've tried some of their newer stuff (Bitter Wife, Wimpy Impy, Miami Weiss) in Toronto and at Gambrinus. Also, it's funny you mention Grand River and Beau's, since ALOT of their one-offs have made it here, and in some cases (Dog Stalker, WinterBrewed, Plowman's Anniversary, Treading Water) we've been one of the only cities to get them.

Of course, most of the treats that we get are due to the magic of Milos and Adil, but recently we've been seeing other breweries showcase their seasonals and limited releases at different bars around the city. For instance, Mark at The Morrissey House has acquired some rare stuff from Mill Street (Spring Bock, Frambozen) and Church Key (Barely Legal, Great Gatsbeer), The Welly One-Off Series (IPA, Blueberry Cedar Bitter) is now being featured at APK Live, and The Black Shire regularly carries single batch releases from Railway City (Double Dead Elephant) and Nickel Brook (Strawberry White).

So luckily geography hasn't presented much of a barrier to distribution here in London, and thanks to the work of some very dedicated publicans, we get more special goodies from the top brewers in this province than probably any city other than Toronto (not surprisingly).

Getting back on topic, I'm glad to see that London beer geeks will be among the first to sample Spearhead's Hawaiian Style Pale Ale, and I can't wait for the event on the 19th!

[StephenRich]

Not to mention the unbelievable beers that Adil created at Flying Monkeys a few months ago... That Ryely Wine (18%) is one of the best barleywine's I have ever had, standing up there the Firestone Abacus , Xuauyu, and the North Coast's Old Stock Ale...

[JerCraigs]

By "much lesser extent" I was referring to GLB's retail offerings, which compared to Flying Monkeys (assuming Smash Bomb hits shelves soon) and with the exception of the Crazy Canuck, are fairly conservative/standard beers. There's no denying that when it comes to cask ales and one-offs, GLB - and Mike Lackey in particular - are one of the most prolific and adventurous brewers in this province.

I don't disagree with any of that.

LOL. In other words, you think I have a narrow understanding of what constitutes an envelope-pushing brewer in Ontario, and that I have limited experience with the more notable one-offs that we've seen in the last couple of years. You're sadly mistaken.

Actually I was more trying to make the point generally, but if anything you guys have actually (seemingly) had *more* of the one offs and experiments from Flying Monkey's than anywhere else. I have a lot of the Great Lakes stuff, but that's more because I have made an effort to make it out to a lot of the Project X events than anything.

Considering that many of these beers can be a "one night only!" type of experience its easy for people to miss it, particularly if you are not in one of the cities that sees them, or even more specifically at the specific bars or events that regularly feature them.

Anyways, enough threadjacking

[Belgian]

Never enough threadjacking

Nuff said.

[mintjellie]

Squirrels!