For the first time ever, the 29 small craft breweries that make up the Ontario Craft Brewers are launching a six-beer "Discovery Pack" designed to let beer lovers sample a selection of premium beers, including some pale selections as well as some that are darker and more adventurous. All are brewed from natural ingredients in southern Ontario (Canada), and the cheerful yellow six-pack is available through LCBO retail outlets.
At a recent LCBO beer sampling session held to launch the Discovery Pack, Divira Ovadia of the Debbie Travis television program From the Ground Up suggested that holiday dinner parties might focus around tastings of unusual beers. She mentioned that in Düsseldorf (Germany), there's a tradition of serving beer "in a sampling manner". One way to do this is to present each guest with an assortment of small clear glasses (such as double-height shot glasses), each filled with a different beer. The variation in colour, from lemon to amber to golden brown, makes a festive presentation on the table.
The OCB Discovery Pack includes:
- Mill Street Original Organic Lager from Mill Street Brewery in the heart of Toronto’s Distillery Historic District. Normally sold in an attractive, small-sized clear bottle, this is a pale, almost greenish yellow brew with a clear, gentle taste. It’s a good first step for the beer drinker who’s just starting to experiment, and of course, it’s organic!
- Great Lakes Red Leaf Smooth Red Lager is a standout. Brewed at Great Lakes Brewery in Etobicoke, it’s a dark caramel colour with an almost maple taste that’s not at all heavy or bitter; a potential second step towards the "dark side" of the beer world.
- Walkerville Amber Lager comes from the Walkerville Brewing Company in Windsor. As its name suggests, it’s bright amber in colour, with a crisp, dry, sharp and tangy taste that almost approaches the citrus range.
- Lakes of Muskoka Cream Ale, from Muskoka Brewery in Bracebridge, was the very first beer from this brewery.It’s a lovely red gold and has a smooth, lightly tangy flavour.
- J.R. Brickman Pilsner from Brick Brewing Company in Kitchener/Waterloo is very hopped, mid-gold in colour, rich and lightly sweet.
- Wellington S.P.A. (Special Pale Ale) is brewed with German hops at Wellington Brewery in Guelph. This may be the most adventurous beer in the box for those whose tastes normally run to pale, sweet lagers. A medium brown-gold in colour, it’s sweet, very hoppy, yeasty, chewy and even smoky.
The first-ever OCB Discovery Pack was three years in the making. Adventurous beer drinkers can only hope it’s a success, and that it will soon be followed by a succession of other tasting packs.
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