Left Field Brewery Wrigley Pale Ale
Rating: NNN
Why Left Field’s full-bodied oat pale ale scooped gold at the 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards. A portion of tap-room sales of this brew (named for floppy-eared mascot Wrigley the Basset Hound) goes toward improving the Greenwood dog park.
Price $6.75/650 ml
Availability At the Left Field bottle shop (36 Wagstaff, 647-346-5001, leftfieldbrewery.ca).
Rainhard Brewing Sweetback’s Milk Stout
Rating: NNNN
Why Mocha’d out and mighty tasty, Rainhard’s sweetish stout can make friends with almost anybody. For what it’s worth, I watched a stout skeptic polish off a bottle with minimal assistance.
Price $5.95/500 ml
Availability At the brewery (100 Symes, rainhardbrewing.com)
Burdock DIPA
Rating: NNN
Why Burdock’s recent release is strong and juicy, just the way I like my IPAs. To cash in on the wallop of fruit barely contained in the bottle, drink this double IPA as fresh as you can. If you blink and miss it, take consolation in the fact that you won’t have to look hard to find a solid second choice.
Price $6.50/500 ml
Availability If there’s none left in the bottle shop fridges, try it on tap at the brewery (1184 Bloor West, 416-546-4033, burdockto.com/brewery)
WHAT we’re DRINKING TONIGHT
Ancho Reyes
Every drink has a story, some more original than others. Just how much inspiration chili-charged Ancho Reyes draws from a recipe that originated in 1920s Puebla isn’t what piques my interest. What does is this Mexican liqueur’s picante perfection and depth, unique in the sea of disturbingly saccharine bottled garbage. Flavoured with chilies, mainly of the ancho variety (aka dried and smoked poblano peppers, for which Puebla is famous), it’s become a fixture at Toronto cocktail bars since its summer release, mirroring the response it received in American and Mexican bars since launching a couple of years back. All with good reason: it’s great with agave spirits (mezcal especially), rum, whiskey, beer, coffee, fruit salad….
Price $39.95/750 ml
Availability LCBO 453969
