BREW continued from pg 35
– and in doing so they have inspired legions of brewers and enthusiastic beer drinkers in one of the most recognizable and prototypical West Coast IPAs. This is glowing orange amber hues with rocky white
head before a familiar bouquet of grapefruit and lemon citrus with a hint of pine resin and toasty crackers before tasting Cascade hop deliciousness of sweet grapefruit, lemon rind, pine, doughy caramel malts with a soft pleasant bitterness and nice crisp carbonation smooth and superbly balanced with a short finish. A true classic!
Goose Island Sofie (1988 Chicago, Illinois) 20 IBUs 6.5% ABV, LCBO 750 ml. $9.95 This style of farm house ale was originally brewed
in the fall and winter to be served to the hard working seasonal workers – “Les Saisonniers” – in Wallonia (French-speaking Belgium). Goose Island has definitely taken it up a couple of notches. The painstaking process that goes into creating Sofie is a delicate balance of art and science that sees Amarillo hops, wild yeasts, the blending of 20% aged and 80% unaged beer and the addition of more than 40 pounds of orange peels in both French and American oak barrels before a secondary fermentation in the bottle, resulting in a distinct and gorgeous final product.
Sofie pours a pale straw champagne colour with a full
active white head and distinct aromatics of funky earthy yeasts, sweet citrus, banana, white pepper and oak. The beer is quite complex with bright spritzy sweet-then-tart zesty orange and lemon citrus, definitive Chardonnay and Champagne grape notes, moderate hop bitterness with notable spice from the yeast and vanilla tones from the oak. The nice semi-dry finish makes Sofie a great beer for experimenting with food pairings, creating some exciting and very different results when matched up with oysters/ shellfish or fresh Chevre. Enjoy!
Jeff O’Reilly is a freelance beer writer and General Manager of D’Arcy McGee’s on Sparks Street, Ottawa. (
www.darcymcgees.com); follow him on Twitter @ pintinhand.
46 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
www.bounder.ca
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