September 16, 2017

313/2131) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  It All Gose Wrong by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  *1/2;  a 5.2%, 24 ibu Sour-Gose;  their Blonde with sumac, hibiscus, lemon and crème de cacao;  lemony nose;  opens salty and herbal;  creamy chocolate finish; 

Given that Sours and Gose beers are among my least favourite styles I was not expecting to like this one. 

Today is The 3 Brewers' Cask Festival featuring a cask from each Ontario 3 Brewers, eight in all.  This effort comes from the Ottawa location.

314/2132) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Blondes Are Just Peachy by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  *1/2;  5.2%, 24 ibu;  their blonde with peach nectar and peppermint tea;  mild peach nose;  faint peach flavours;  not really getting the mint tea; 

This is from the Kanata location. 

No charge for admission, no line-ups and a ticket good for a quarter pint of beer was a mere two dollars.  I can manage an eight dollar pint equivalent.  When you are interested in customer service and not fleecing strangers this is how it is done.

315/2133) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Gurkenweizen by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  *1/2;  4.8%, ibu n/a;  the Wheat beer with cucumber and coriander;  very refreshing on a warm day; the coriander comes through in the nose;  flavours of cucumbers with a hint of melon; 

By the Yonge Street brewmaster.  His intent was to remind people of how flavourful cucumbers can be.

316/2134) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  The Not So Blue Freezie by the 3 Brewers of Ontario:  **1/2;  a 6.2%, 26 ibu American Amber/Red;  their Amber with hibiscus, lavender and rose hips;  remarkable blueberry like nose;  floral berry flavours, dry herbal aftertaste;  surprising; 

This is from Oakville and he makes it regularly for their cask nights.  This one created a lot of talk at the event, largely centring around how it could be possible to produce these flavours from those ingredients.

317/2135) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Summer Breeze by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  *1/2;  a 5.2%, 24 ibu Belgian blonde/golden;  their Blonde with pears, lemon zest, elderflower and golden Belgian candi sugar;  refermented with honey;  I was reminded of the Double Diamond at the Rose and Thistle what with those globules;  a bit sweet, a bit citrusy and floral with herbal notes; 

From the Adelaide Street location.

318/2136) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Radagast the Brown by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  **;  4.8%, ibu n/a;  their Brown with peaches, cinnamon, vanilla, Jim Beam and French oak;  finished with a shake of nutmeg after pouring;  autumnal spice nose;  the cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla work very nicely with the rich roasty chocolate notes of the brown;  cinnamon and nutmeg last through the finish;

This was from the Liberty Village location.  This was another one that generated a good deal of conversation.

319/2137) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Little Brewshop of Horrors - Audrey III IPA by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  **;  6%, 60 ibu;  IPA with bergamot, lychee and basil;  first off I notice the nose, from a distance:  Asian tea and basil;  dry and floral with strong herbal basil notes and a bitter basil finish; 

From the Richmond Hill location. 

At the end of the day ballots were passed around and the vote finished

1st - The Not So Blue Freezie
2nd - The Plea of Esposito
3rd - Radagast The Brown

My ballot had 2 and 3 reversed.  The Plea of Esposito was the local contribution which I have enjoyed in the past in several versions.  Justin believed in it and it was interesting but not entirely surprising that he chose this one to represent his efforts.

This was a very well run event, I only wish more people had attended.  The last I heard it will be repeated with this year's winner hosting the festivities next year in Oakville.  Public transit to Oakville being what it is, this likely rules out my attending.