Countdown to Clarington Beer Fest

The brewery lineup is set. The food trucks have been named. The bands are ready to go.

Now all the Clarington Craft Beer Fest needs is you.

Bowmanville's first craft beer festival, hosted by Manantler Brewing, goes off Saturday at the west side of the historic Bowmanville Foundry brownfield site. Manantler will be joined by Beau's All Natural of Van Cleek, Ontario; William Street Brewing of Cobourg; Port Perry's Old Flame Brewing; Church Key Brewing of Campbellford and Social Lite Vodka.

Jam'eh'Can Eats and Three Six Kitchen & Lounge will be providing the food and six bands are slated to play sets: Jeremiah Taylor, Crown Lands, The Photogenics, West Hammock, Misty Sunshine and Micronite Filters.

Ticket sales are going well in what will be a very busy day in Bowmanville, with the Bluesberry Festival happening just around the corner on Bowmanville's main street.

There will be even more competition, noted event organizer extraordinaire Tasha.

"The Visual Arts Centre is having an event and so is Mosport, so we're doing up flyers for all of them," she said. "We're hoping to get some people to come over after the Bluesberry Festival. It's going to be awesome here all day but the late afternoon will be the best time to come anyway. That's when everything will be really happening."

There will still be a special beer released at the festival, but instead of the German ale to commemorate Camp 30, the WWII POW camp located nearby ("we're still going to do that. Just not yet," explained Tasha), it will be a little different.

Old Man's Paddle Pantry, a collaboration between Old Flame, Manantler, 5 Paddles and the Brewer's Pantry and part of the Dark Knights of Durham series, is a Belgian Style Spiced Table Beer (fenugreek, vanilla beans and chicory) that comes in at just 3.8 per cent and 20 IBUs.

The Tragically Hip's final show from the band's hometown of Kingston will be broadcast live across the country on CBC and Tasha said some of the bands at the festival will likely cover some Hip material during the day. As well, Tasha hopes a few licensing issues can be ironed out so they can show the concert on a projector outside.

"We're working on it."

See you Saturday.

Beer O'Clock

It's been a while since I properly reviewed beers but this blog is not where I am about to start.

But I have had a few outstanding brews in the past couple months - both brand new and old favourites - and I need to make mention of a few. A half-dozen of the best, anyway.

A visit to one of Toronto's best breweries - Rainhard, located in the Stockyard District - produced Hop Cone Syndrome, a beer I first heard of when it won silver at the Canadian Brewing Awards. And no wonder. There was tons of tropical fruit on the nose and it was rich and resiny with lots of citrus. Juicy, bitter and delicious.

Takes Two to Mango (Indie Ale House) was discovered on the same Big Smoke road trip. Smelled like mango and lemon and it tasted tart and fruity with a little spice at the finish. I liked this a lot.

Illiterate Librarians from Sarnia's Refined Fool Brewery was a recent LCBO find. There was a malty and fruity aroma with a wee burst of citrus. More pine than grapefruit on the tongue. Resiny and bitter.

A revelation was Absent Landlord, a  'Country-style' Kolsch from Cowbell Brewing in Huron County that got panned on Rate Beer for not tasting like a traditional Kolsch, which made zero sense to me because the brewery said it was a different take on the style and because it was AWESOME. This beer had flavour. It smelled of grains and spices and tasted surprisingly smooth. It was tart and fruity with some caramel for balance. Fantastic.

Bronan, from High Road Brewing of Toronto, was another surprise from a pre-Hip concert visit to Beer Bistro in downtown Toronto. There was loads of tropical fruit and some sweetness on the nose in this one. Resiny and juicy, with pine and some dankness. Juicy and dank at the same time? Impressive.

Half-Bastard, from Nickel Brook, was another LCBO find that stood out. Almost a session Stout at 5.3 per cent, with a frothy, milkshake-like head with coffee and dark chocolate on the nose. Tasted like cocoa, coffee and roasted malts, with a bit of dark fruit as well. Tasty.

Cheers!