The best beers do one of two things:
a) They force you to stop, and to be, and to pay attention. Whether it's a session beer to accompany conversations with friends, or a solitary beer after a long day at work, the beer enhances the experience, and helps you to enjoy the moment even more.
or
b) They take you away from where you are, in either time or space. Their tastes can take you back in time, such as anytime I taste a beer even remotely similar to the O'Keefe beer my dad used to drink, or when a smooth, pale lager transports you in mind to a cottage waterfront somewhere, even when you're sitting in your own backyard.
When either of these two things happen, the beer has gone beyond a liquid in a glass, and has become an experience. And that's what's truly special, for me, about beer. It's rare, but it's usually a sign that someone has made a fantastic beer. And it's why I constantly push myself to try new beers.
Mercifully, the lcbo recently launched their feature on Garrison Brewery (from Halifax), which featured five new beers. The long bare shelves are stocked again! There is light at the end of the long, winter tunnel! Of the five, two were standouts for me: The Grand Baltic Porter and the Spruce Beer.
I'll start off by saying that, if you see either of these, buy them. Then drink them.
Anyhoo, long story short (too late for that), the Spruce Beer did a b) all over my brain-mouth. As I was drinking, I was taken away to a smoky campfire, in the winter, near a sugar shack. I could just about see it. There were horses nearby (which I couldn't taste). I was in the middle of the winter that we've been spared (so far) this year. That's what it's all about, right?
Anyway, my point, is that there IS a gem at the lcbo during this slow slow winter season, and it's the Garrison's Spruce Beer. Buy it, drink it. And store some, apparently it ages well. And if we ever DO have a winter again, it may a) all over your brain-tongue too.
No comments:
Post a Comment