Howdy Y’all, so another month has passed and Spring has finally sprung. The grass is green, the leaves are out and we’ve finally seen the sun. Oh snap, that done rhymes! I’m up here spittin’ lyrics, wonderin’ if anyone is even there to hear it. Oops, there I go again! ENOUGH OF THAT.
So…it’s May y’all and you know what that means? Cottage season is just around the corner. In a scant few weeks Muskoka is gonna be boomin’ with sun seekin’ vacationers and we here at Sawdust City are getting’ prepared to hit y’all with a barrage of new beer flavours. Also, our brewers just got back from the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville and are plum full of delicious new beer-y ideas. I mean, they are just burstin’ at the seams to bring you all the fresh new ideas they concocted while they cruised across the southern US takin’ in the culture. Sure, we had some fun, but we also took in a lot and are excited to share those ideas with y’all. Now, we’ve already released a few sweet brews and we got a ton more comin’ at ya. SO BE PREPARED!
First up, let’s talk about the 3 (yes 3!) that we’ve already released. Adaptation: Azacca, Lemon Meringue Coriolis and Jalapeno Lime Coriolis. We wanted to kick off the cottage season with some very drinkable, very sessionable ales. A little summpin’ you can enjoy on the dock with out worryin’ about fallin’ in the lake. With Adaptation: Azacca we takes our Gateway Kolsch as a base and dry hop it with silly amounts of Azacca hops. This is our third kick at the can in the adaptation series and we just love it, cause Gateway Kolsch gives us a blank canvas to play. With this one, we find that the Azacca really pops against the light, easy drinkability of our Kolsch. Aromas of grass, ripe berries and a little ol’school dank hoppiness punch out from the glass. The low bitterness of our Kolsch also allows us to hit y’all with a bunch of hop flavour without any harsh bitterness. You can pull out bright flavours of citrus and berry against some oily, sticky dankness. At only 5% abv and packin’ loads o’flavour, this one is a real beaut!
Next up we got our two variations on our Coriolis Effect Berliner Weisse; Lemon Meringue Pie & Jalapeno Lime. Oooh weee! Both of these are just knock your socks off awesome. And I ain’t just whistlin’ dixie here folks. These tart, low abv crushers are just dy-no-mite! Lemon meringue pie comes at ya with bright aromas of fresh lemon zest and then hits you right in the cheeks with a brilliant tartness. Then the finish is all soft vanilla pie crust, chewy and delicious. Your brain just won’t believe your tongue when it tells it that it’s drinkin’ a beer. Then we got our Jalapeno Lime Coriolis, another bright citrusy bomb with oily lime zest all up in your grill! Refreshing and insanely drinkable, the jalapeno is there to bring you a gentle roasted pepper flavour with none of the accompanying heat. We roasted 200 jalapeno pepper to pull out that lovely green flavour. It plays second fiddle to the lime, but it backs it up to give it a lovely finish. Perfect with a fish taco or a fresh summer salad.
Ok, now let’s talk about what’s still to come! First, we got Place to Stand Pilsner which drops this week. A collab we did with our friends at Great Lakes last year, this was one so good we just had to bring it back! Usin’ only locally sourced ingredients, this old school northern German style pilsner has malt from Barn Owl Malt in Belleville, ON and hops from VQH farms in Eden, ON. It leads with heavy aromas of grassy, peppery, herbaceous hops, which melds seamlessly into the bready, chewy, honey malt body. Pourin’ a beautiful clear golden, this lager is a new world spin on an old world favourite. Celebrate tall that’s great about Ontario and get some of this!
Then guess what’s next y’all? Juicin’ is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! That’s right our fan favourite New England style hazy IPA is back just in time for the long weekend. We got your back y’all! Pop in on your way to the cottage and pick up your favourite juicy IPA. Hazy, beautiful and loaded with tropical and citrus flavours and aromas, this supple IPA is the perfect way to waste the day away sittin’ by the lake and forgettin’ about…well, everything! Now we didn’t change anything to the recipe this year, but we done did tweak it, just a tad, to make it even more awesomerer than last year. We never rest on our laurels here at Sawdust City. It’s all about getting’ better. Even with the beers we love. It’s still a hop bomb with a super soft malt body, so get yerself in here and pick up a case before it’s gone! NO SERIOUSLY. IT GOES REAL FAST!
And last but not least, our regular Coriolis Effect! Originally brewed as a collab with our pals at BarHop in Toronto, this gold medal winning berliner Weisse has become an annual favourite around here. This is the third year we’ll be brewin’ it and the second year in a row it’ll be available at the LCBO. This tart, crisp, 3.5% abv beauty first goes through a lactic fermentation to give it the mouth puckerin’ tartness you know you love, before we ferment it with our regular house ale yeast. Workin’ with a strain of Lactobacillus Brevis, provided by our pals at the Escarpment yeast and late hopped with a bunch of Idaho 7 hops, this summer favourite is tart and hazy with a big lemony kick. It’s like lemonade for adults! Come by our retail store or pick some up at yer favourite local LCBO.
Well that’s about it for May y’all. Can’t wait to see ya at the brewery! Tune in next month for more adventures. And trust me….June is gonna be big! Cheers!
Sam Corbeil
BREWMASTER