TGIF: Spring Into Patio Season
Let’s be honest…there are worse ways to kickstart the weekend than with a cold beverage.
And yet, it’s easy to fall into a routine of buying the same couple of beers or spirits at your favorite watering hole or the LCBO. Of course, there’s always going to be your standard go-to’s. But mixing it up (get it…mixing???) makes for a fun outing.
With that in mind, we’re taking a shot (bet you thought we would stop with the drinking puns after that first one) at finding you a weekly selection of spirits to liven up your Friday.
3 Beers To Celebrate Patios
As the clock strikes midnight on Saturday, the longest winter in memory will finally be consigned to the history books. And even though things are not quite back to normal, we can at least look forward to warmer temps…and the return of the patio!
A few eateries around Barrie, like Malone’s Pint House, have already opened their outdoor table settings. And more will follow as the mercury rises.
With that in mind, we’ve assembled a trio of lagers to enjoy when your fav patio returns.
TGIF: Spring Into Patio Season
CLUTCH PALE ALE- REDLINE
Clutch pours an inviting straw colour, topped with a creamy white head. A bombardment of flaked oats provides a luscious and soft texture. Furthermore, it’s hopped generously with Centennial, Amarillo, Citra, and Mandarina Bavaria. This drink bursts with flavours of orange peel, grapefruit, peaches and pine.
Moreover, load of dry-hops are used at the end of fermentation for lush aromas spanning fresh tropical fruit, pine, and citrus. Soft and aggressive at the same time, Clutch is a classic Pale Ale bevy.
Mango Flight Delay – Barnstormer’s
As the motto on the can reads: “California in a glass made better by the north.” The reference is to the boldly hopped style of West Coast India Pale Ales, which this tasty bevy ably captures.
The mango comes through well, while the hops are understated so that at first, it expresses itself as more of a mango American wheat. At the end of the swallow, a low bitterness lingers briefly, bringing forth the IPA character. Moderate sweetness, with supporting malt, and dry overall.
The body reveals a thin lacey foam head and mild-ish carbonation. And at 85 IBUs, the peachy-golden, slightly hazy beer is bitter, to be sure, but appeals greatly due to the balance.
There’s a plump, fleshy core of peach and tropical fruit to anchor the pine-forest hop quality. With four hop varieties lending hints of tropical bitterness and three grades of complimentary golden malts that produce the beer’s golden harvest appearance, this one is a definite California vibe.
JUICY ASS – FLYING MONKEY’S
Juicy is perhaps not the first word that comes to mind when describing an IPA.
But it’s the perfect title use when you talk about hops. Specifically, the American IPA offering from Flying Monkey.
Juicy Ass meshes bright fruity notes, dank hoppy bitterness & fresh verdant resins with sticky malts. That gives it a softly carbonated and unfiltered flavor.
The initial pour is a medium yellow, nearly opaque colour, and clearly unfiltered. There is not much of a head, although a lacy film does trace the glass. The first aroma is fruity, with bright tropics flowing through.
The first taste is less fruity than the first smell, with slight resiny and dank grassy grapefruit hops. That gives way to a pleasant toasty malt taste backing it up. Overall, the taste is well balanced, and the hops are not overpowering, or overly bitter.
There is medium carbonation for the body, and although it’s oily, it is not too dry.
Overall, this is a subtle and complex IPA with fruity hops and pleasant passion fruits. The golden ambrosia brings together hops with notes of pine, tangerine & passion fruit. Plump and fresh, Juicy Ass is a fun, delicious craft beer.
What did you think of TGIF: Spring Into Patio Season? Do you have a recommendation for TGIF? We want to hear it! Contact us, send a msg to our FB page or an email to [email protected]
