There is no doubt that beer is an acquired taste. For the non-beer drinker there can be some very overwhelming tastes in beer that send them running for the hills. Very often the hops in beer are accentuated to add a distinct bitterness that can take a while to get used to. It takes some people years before they can really appreciate the hoppier ales.
Luckily, there are many, many categories of beer to choose from. Saying you don't like beer is a bit like saying you don't like cheese. Until you've tried salty fetas, creamy bries, aged cheddars, silky ricotta, how do you really know?
Here are five delicious Ontario craft brewed beers from various categories that I recommend the non-beer drinker try. Craft beers are artisinally brewed in small batches. All of these are available at the LCBO and other locations in Canada.
Creemore Springs Kellerbier—Kellerbier is an unfiltered, medieval German beer known for its naturally cloudy appearance. Kellerbier is wonderfully aromatic with a hint of citrus and spice imparted by German whole leaf hops.
Old Credit Pale Pilsner—Medium body with smooth taste, topped off with a thick creamy fine textured head.
Mill Street Belgian Wit—Mill Street Belgian Style Wit is a beer made with a unique blend of ingredients. The soft texture and pale colour comes from the use of wheat, coriander, orange peel and yeast to produce the complexity and depth of fruity flavours contained within the glass. This beer is unfiltered. The resulting cloudiness gave rise to the term Wit, or White beer.
Amsterdam Framboise—Framboise is brewed using an old world recipe that blends Belgian wheat malt with real Canadian raspberries. In fact, 2.2 pounds of fresh raspberries goes into making every 750ml bottle, resulting in an abundantly obvious ruby red beer with a crisp fruit flavour. Brewed only once a year.
Beau's Lug•Tread Lagered Ale—Golden-hued, crisp and finely balanced, Lug•Tread is a tribute to the classic beer of Cologne, Germany. It is top fermented (like an ale) and then cold aged (like a lager) for a lengthy period. This gives the beer some light ale notes complemented by a lager-like crispness. Lug•Tread displays interwoven malt and hop flavours, subtle fruit flavours and a crisp, lingering finish.
I've converted more than a few non-beer drinkers over the years. Give them a try and let me know what you think!
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