Mill St. Brewery Spring Mix

Mill St. Brewery Spring Mix

I received a little surprise at my door the other day, Mill St. Brewery Spring Mix. Along with a lovely 12 pack we also got a large bottle of Rodeo Monk White IPA. A fantastic pre-Easter treat and very generous of Mill St. Brewery. 

Here are some of the brew master’s notes on the Mill St. Brewery Spring Mix and the Rodeo Monk! I haven’t tried any yet, saving mine up for the long weekend!!

Rodeo Monk White IPA

This is a style of beer that I first came across on the west coast and have been intrigued by ever since.  We make a number of yeast-forward beers at Mill Street that include Belgian and German styles of wheat beers and we have made many different styles of IPA over the years and the idea of fusing the two designs together is something I had never thought to do on my own.  The increasing availability of new “fruit” flavoured hop varieties coming from the American west coast coupled with the peardrop/banana/clove flavours of Belgian wheat beers is such a natural marriage that the beers in this family of “Belgian White IPA’s” are pretty universally wonderful.  I chose a combination of traditional European hops and new American hybrids to make this truly a combination of old world and new world flavours.  I think it is one of the best beers we have ever made at Mill Street and I really hope you like it.

Tasting Notes: Combination of herbal, floral and fruity IPA hops aromas with an underpinning of light peardrop sweetness.  Lightly sweet palate that is quite soft and textured due to wheat malt use. Long, complex finish with notes of apricot, pears in syrup and tropical fruit but finally finishing dry.
Serving Suggestions: Strawberry spinach salad, mussels, white fish, bloomy rind goats milk cheese, cow’s milk brie or medium hard mountain cheese or washed-rind cow’s milk cheese.

Snowdrop

This beer was brewed for spring.  We wanted to achieve a balance of winter baking spice and sunny and floral flavours that spoke to the dynamic relationship between winter and summer in Canada.  This is a very unusual beer.  Black pepper is a classic saison spice and the use of the lemon, anise and chamomile were all additions based upon cask beers that we have done over the years that represented various seasons in my mind.  This is a very lightly flavoured beer but one that is made up of many different small flavours that weave together to make a truly unique flavour profile.

Tasting Notes: Light licorice and lemon on the nose with a light floral/spicy note.  Palate is malty with a licorice underpinning the dry, acidic lemon thread.  Finish is complex and lingering with floral/citrus and earthy anise notes.
Appearance: Blonde and lightly hazy with a white head.
Aroma: Chamomile, lemon and licorice.
Serving Suggestions: Goat cheese, soft ripened cow’s milk cheese, seafood, particularly mussels.

Big League IPA

We have been thinking about brewing a big blonde American-style Imperial Pale Ale ever since we made our Curious Parrot last summer in Ottawa and now’s the time to do it!  We brew strong specialty beers in Ottawa in the winter (it’s cold there!) and Imperial Pale Ales are an old 19th Century style that fits in with our old 19th Century building there!  The liberal use of US grown Cascade hops gives the beer a very big “grapefruit” aroma and palate and bringing the beer out in the last week of February when “Grapefruit League” Major League Baseball is starting meant that the name was almost pre-determined! No grapefruits were harmed in the making of this beer!   It’s a lovely rich blond beer with a beautiful white head and long lingering hop finish.

Tasting Notes: Grapefruit/piney aroma and light pale malt palate with a lingering dry hop finish
Appearance: Light golden with bright white head
Aroma: Fresh grapefruit juice and herbal hops
Body: Medium
Serving Suggestions: Hard cow’s milk cheese, mild curries and Mexican food

Madawaska Maple

The maple syrup used to brew our Madawaska Maple Ale comes from the rugged and rocky hills of the Madawaska Valley, and is made in wood-fired evaporators by traditional producers. The result is a subtly sweet and malty Irish red ale, brewed with a tip of the hat to those who help us infuse it with Ontario history. Cheers!

Info taken from Untappd

This pack is being added to our long weekend. Why don’t you run down to Mill St. Brewery and grab one for yourself. Come back and tell me what you think? Enjoy spring with Mill St.!!