Your intrepid liquor reporter is hopeful that the warmer days of spring have finally arrived, and that Mother Nature is not planning to cruelly unleash the final snowstorm of the season, just as your humble narrator is trying to enjoy a pint out on the patio at the local watering hole.
Springtime is a special time of year. A young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of amoré, in no small part because the bulky winter coats start to disappear from the lassies in favour of a more revealing wardrobe.
In addition to the baring of pasty sun-deprived flesh, spring is our first opportunity to drink outside in the sunshine after being cooped up in dreary pubs all winter. Your humble narrator has been known to skip out of the office early on the first warm and sunny day of the season, to while the day away on the patio while sipping a pint.
Along with the changing of the seasons, and the rebirth of greenery throughout our fair land, springtime is also a time to change your drinking habits.
No, gentle reader, your intrepid liquor reporter is not suggesting that you cut back to a mere 12-pack a week, or any other such nonsense. Rather, springtime is the season to switch away from the dark stouts and coffee porters that see you through the chilly winter months, and start drinking the light and carefree beers of summer again.
To pay my respects to our fromage-eating friends in La Belle Provence, your humble narrator has been drinking his way through the microbreweries of Quebec recently.
What better way to celebrate the changing of the seasons than the variety 12-pack from Tree Brewing of Kelowna. With half a dozen flagship beers available year-round, and a handful more seasonal brews released only once per year, Tree Brewing will have something for whet every whistle.
To represent the changing of the seasons, your humble narrator solemnly opened each of the four styles of beer, and even made a little speech about the circle of life, despite the weary eye-rolling of my paramour, who sometimes wishes your intrepid liquor reporter would just shut the heck up about how much more beer-related enjoyment he is getting from the fine brew in question.
Cracking open the first brew in the variety pack, I found the Kelowna Pilsner has a newly designed logo, with the mythical Ogopogo sea monster emblazoned across the can. This is a mild version of the Czech Pilsner beer style, with a crisp finish that makes for easy drinking on a hot summer day.
The Cutthroat Ale has a distinct toffee aftertaste from the use of the same type of Vienna malts used for the beer at Oktoberfest, but the citrusy hop finish puts this beer in a league of its own. This is a particularly full flavoured brew, and will be very popular with the beer snobs who look down upon the fizzy yellow water that the megabreweries try to pass off as beer.
The Thirsty Beaver, despite having a cooler name, is less hoppy than the Cutthroat, but made with darker malts to give the beer a nutty aroma and flavour. This is a solid standby for a session beer, so take a six-pack of these to your next tailgate party.
Your intrepid liquor reporter has been a long time fan of the Hop Head India Pale Ale from Tree Brewing. This brew was considered too extreme for the Canadian market when it was released way back in 1999, but has grown a strong following among the beer cognoscenti, and has spawned many imitators.
The Hop Head IPA uses dry hopping in the brewing process to create an intensely aromatic beer, coupled with a sharp bitterness loved by beer nerds from far and near. If you were raised on a steady diet of Coors Lite, this is definitely not the beer for you, but lovers of hoppy beer can’t get enough of this one!
Do your part to celebrate the changing of the seasons by changing out your tired old beer choice for a new and exciting adventure in your mouth! If you head down to your local booze merchant, you might even find the Tree Brewing variety pack!
