We’re offering lots of variety at Beau’s for the craft beer enthusiast in December, with five beers slated for release this month. LCBO stores will see two brand-new offerings from the local brewery on shelves beginning Dec. 3: a barrel-aged, bottle conditioned Belgian tripel called New Lang Syne, and the latest creation in the Farm Table Series, an 80 Shilling Scottish-style ale.
New Lang Syne is a Belgian tripel that has been aged in white wine barrels. The strong (9%) deep golden ale is bottle-conditioned to sparkling effervescence, and is packaged in a 750 mL champagne-style bottle complete with cage and cork.
Beau’s other LCBO release for this week, Farm Table: 80 Shilling, is a dry and toasty traditional Scottish-style ale. Malt-focused and sessionable (4.7%), 80 Shilling pours a deep copper colour, with mild-to-moderate caramel flavour and balanced hop presence.
Beginning this Thursday and throughout the holiday shopping season, a brewery-only beer release “Black Forest I.P.A.” is the reward for those who make the trip out to Beau’s Vankleek Hill location. This black I.P.A. was brewed with German dark malts and an addition of dried sweet cherries; a bittersweet blend as the cherry fruitiness mingles with the hops and roasted malt flavours. The name is, of course, a tip of the hat to the well-known German dessert, black forest cake.
In conjunction with the Winter Solstice on Dec. 22 Beau’s will also bring back two of its gruits (herbal ales): Bog Water gruit ale, and its amped-up version, The Bog Father imperial gruit. A favourite for many years, Bog Water will return for a winter residency on LCBO shelves, and kicks off a new Gruit Series from Beau’s that will change up four times a year, on the solstice or equinox. Last brewed in 2013, The Bog Father Imperial Gruit will be available Dec. 22 as well, as a brewery-only release.
Beau’s Gruit Series takes inspiration from centuries-old brewing tradition: herbs, spices and other botanicals replace a dominant hop character. Bog Water gruit is brewed with hand-harvested organic bog myrtle, which contributes a sweet aroma, balanced bitterness, and herbal, spicy notes suggestive of a digestif. A plum-like fruitiness and a Belgian yeast profile make Bog Water a very complex and contemplative winter ale. Bog Father Imperial Gruit echoes and amplifies these characteristics in an imperial (8%) version.
New Lang Syne and Farm Table: 80 Shilling will begin arriving on LCBO shelves this week, and they will both be available starting Dec. 3 at Beau’s Brewery, along with brewery-only release Black Forest I.P.A. All three beers are also available for home delivery in Ottawa via BYBO, a social enterprise run by Operation Come Home (www.BYBO.ca). Fans of gruit ales can expect the return of Bog Water and The Bog Father later this month.
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