culture Inherent Weisse: A Large Pint (or Four) of Spring

Inherent Weisse is our biweekly guide to beer news and reviews you can use.

Spring is here, a-spa-ring is here! Life is skittles, and life is beer!

It’s finally happening, folks. The cold is (mostly) gone for good and we can start cautiously thinking about replacing our coats with light sweaters and heading out to that glorious patio or even our own balcony/porch for a nice, refreshing beer.

Not just any old beer, though. You might want something new. Or possibly something appropriate to the season. Or just something damned good.

Well, not to fear, because Inherent Weisse has you covered. For your reading (and drinking) pleasure, the following is a short list of beers that are currently pouring in local bars with LCBO releases coming soon.

SAWDUST CITY’S THE PRINCESS WEARS GIRL PANTS – Belgian IPA – 9% ABV

In the years Gravenhurst’s Sawdust City have been brewing I have not tried a single beer by them that wasn’t exceptional and this year’s iteration of The Princess Wears Girl Pants Belgian IPA is no different. It has all the lovely depth and sweetness that a golden Belgian ale brings while also combining the notes of mango and pine brought forth by the hops. The Princess Wears Girl Pants will be out in LCBO locations in the next week or so with cans selling at $5.25. Though if you can’t wait until then, it’s currently pouring at bars throughout the city such as Bar Hop and barVolo. Additionally, if you find yourself in a bar that carries Sawdust City, make a point of ordering their other, more bar-only releases such as There’s No Way of Knowing Saison, The Princess & Girl Pants Meet the O.D.B. (A version of the original, but aged in Gamay and Chardonnay barrels), and their Twin Pines Double IPA, one of the most exceptional beers of that style in Ontario today.

GOOSE ISLAND IPA – English IPA – 5.9% ABV

For the past little while we’ve seen Chicago’s Goose Island beers gracing the shelves and taps of Toronto. Bottles of Matilda Belgian pale ale and Sofie saison have been regular features on LCBO shelves and their Honkers Ale has been well liked at various bars throughout the city. For the past couple of months though, their Goose IPA has been creeping in to taps all over and have proven to be quite a hit. Unlike the hoppy IPAs customers are more accustomed to nowadays, this is an English-style IPA, so it has more of a malty balance to it that makes for fairly easy drinking. However despite the beer’s English influence, it can’t escape it’s American heritage, so along with the toasted malt flavours, the beautiful citrus notes brought forth by the Cascade and Centennial hops make this a pretty unique beer. While you can find this in bars throughout the city such as Bier Markt, 6-packs will also be hitting LCBO shelves in the next week or so selling for $13.75.

UNIBROUE ÉPHÉMÈRE PEAR – Fruit beer – 5.5% ABV

The Cherry and Apple variations of Unibroue’s Éphémère series are definitely no strangers to LCBO shelves, so fans of the fruit beers from Chambly will be pleased to know that a Pear variation is on the way this month. The beer is a Belgian style white beer, having a decent dryness to it and notes of cloves, coriander, and an incredibly subtle note of Pear. Éphémère Pear will be hitting bars in Ontario soon this month, followed up with a limited LCBO release being sold for $6.95 for a 750ml bottle.

BLACK OAK EPIPHANY No.2 – Imperial Pilsner – 7.7% ABV

After having recently won an Ontario Brewing Award for their Nox Aeterna Smoked Breakfast Stout, Black Oak Brewery launched their second beer in the limited-release Epiphany series earlier this week at WVRST. Epiphany No.2 is an unfiltered Imperial Pilsner. The description reads: “Epiphany No. 2 is a play on styles as we combined both traditional Czech lager ingredients with Comet, Wakatu and Saaz hops. Weighing in at 7.7% and 37 IBU’s, you will find a pronounced bready malt forwardness, boozy warmth and floral bitterness perfect for springtime enjoyment! Our brewers also added unmalted wheat to create a creamy foam cap. The result? A full-bodied beer that we are sure will satisfy both craft beer enthusiasts and lager drinkers alike.”

Currently bottles of Epiphany No.2 are on their way to LCBOs now and will retail at $8.95 for a 650ml bottle.