Donovan and Tristan are two friends from humble beginnings in London, Ontario. Off and on roommates and general guys who like beer, the following article follows them through a journey into the sometimes overcrowded world of craft beer where they will try to find the best that Ontario has to offer.
This review was written while tasting the beers themselves, after a few name brand beers. It has been presented in the most unedited version possible to preserve the accuracy of the experience.
First up this issue we took a small diversion from craft beer and tried a local mead. Mead is a honey-wine with a very sweet and smooth flavour. We tried the Baked Apple Mead from Trafalgar Ales and Meads in Oakville. We got this on a strong recommendation from a friend, and our first impressions were very favourable. The mead tastes like a very good cross between a white wine and an apple cider. Sweet, and a little bitter, and we would definitely recommend it. Overall we give it a four out of five. It is kind of cheating for us to review something like this, seeing as it is more of a wine than a beer, but we drank it anyway.
Secondly we tried the Pompous Ass English Ale from the Great Lakes Brewery. We grabbed this one because of the name. We didn’t expect to like this one, but we actually did find it very pleasant. Last term we ran into a lot of pale ales, and the overuse of hops throughout the beers in general turned us off of overly bitter beers. This beer almost fits into that category, but the hops taste is subtle enough to prevent that. This beer is nothing new, but it actually pulls off a nice hoppy taste where the others fall short. We did not totally agree on the rating for this beer, but we agreed on a three out of five.
We chose the last beer based solely on the can design. The bright red and white can of the Old Tomorrow Canadian Pale Ale is from the Old Tomorrow Brewery Company in Toronto. This beer fits into the same category as the Pompous Ass, being bitter and hoppy. It also pulls off the subtleness of the Pompous Ass. It’s a nice and smooth beer, and we liked it. It was indeed better than the Pompous Ass, and we give it a four out of five.
We definitely got a good batch of drinks this week. Any of the beers reviewed would go well with a meal, or as your workhorse beer at a small party, but be careful if you get into the mead. The high alcohol and sugar content might throw you off. Mead can give you one hell of a hangover. Until next issue remember to try as many different beers as you can, and please drink responsibly.
Leave a Reply