Lake of Bays Brewery
For this #Beersaturday post I'm going to review to beers from Lake of Bays Brewing Company. Let's see how they faired.
On the Hunt
Brewery: Lake of Bays Brewing Co
Origin: Baysville, ON Canada
Style: Italian Style Pilsner
Abv: 4.5%
IBU: 20
Hops: Perle
Best served: 6-8°C. Does this stat really matter? Everyone just grabs the beer from the fridge and cracks it open.
Marketing: Grey and deep forest green color scheme with a prominant Lake of Bays brand logo displayed front and center. Double exposure style image design of a wolf and starry night forest. Nice blurb about the beer on the back with lots of info.
I don't think that the can or it's name matches the style of beer at all. When I think of Italy I don't think of wolves and forests (though I know that they do have forests). The can probably matches the brewery's overall theme and I do like the design a lot nonetheless so points for good marketing. Viewed on its own I actually think that it's a smart and stunning design.
Color: The beer poured as pale a yellow as they come with a lot of carbonated bubbles on top. The liquid was clear with just a slight haziness to it. Scratch that, on second pour the haziness was pronounced, to the point that I would say that the liquid was opaque. Most of the unfiltered part must have settled to the bottom of the can and a lot of the glasses I use can't hold a full beer.
Nose: Very aromatic with a lot of nice fruity notes. Grass, citrus (lemon) and maybe some subtle pineapple coming through. I actually also notice the pear in the background that they mention on the can. All around a very complex and pleasant aroma.
Taste: Sweet and tangy with a nice bitterness in the finish. Well balanced.
Texture: It seemed that a lot of the carbonation was lost in the pour but enough remained to give the beer a nice bubbly texture. Light bodied in my opinion.
Impression: I actually quite liked this beer. It had a lot of aromatics and great flavor. It was interesting without being odd. Clean crisp and refreshing without being boring. A nice beer that I would certainly buy again.
Spark House
Brewery: Lake of Bays Brewing Co
Origin: Baysville, ON Canada (I don't actually know where this town/city is located which makes me think it must be up North).
Style: Red Ale
Abv: 5.0%
IBU: 29
Hops: Magnus, Cascade, Saaz
Best served: 6-9°c (added it again despite its frivolousness)
Marketing: Monochrome red color scheme with the white Lake of Bays brand logo prominently displayed front and center again. Spark house tower imagery. For those that arent familiar, a Spark house is basically a very tall tower in the forest and used as a look out spot for forest Rangers and park staff to watch for wild fires. The marketing and design of the can seems to follow the brewery's great outdoors theme.
A good amount of info on the back of the can as well which is great. I quite like the can overall.
Color: The beer poured a rich copper amber red color with not a lot of head on top. Most of the bubbles dissipated rapidly. The liquid was mostly clear with only a slight haze to it.
Nose: Sweet malt aroma. Not a lot of hops coming through in the nose. Burnt sugar and subtle fruit. Some milk chocolate in the background, which was a welcome surprise for me.
Taste: Sweet malty flavor with a very subtle bitter finish. Grape must and subtle chocolate notes.
Texture: A good amount of carbonation with a medium body mouthfeel.
Impression: Very good beer for me. I like this style and malt forward beers in general. Tasted clean and fresh. Great beer for me.
I drank this while BBQ a pork roast and broccoli.
I really enjoyed both beers so I'm starting to recognize Lake of Bays as a great Brewery that serves a fresh and flavorful product. I'll keep an eye out for more from them on the store shelves.
I have had a love/hate relationship with Lake of Bays brewery because of their IPA game. A few years ago, they were just not good as they found their feet in my opinion. Since then, they have gotten consistently better but they file in some weak and watery ones with the IPA label on it and you come to discover after the fact it is a Low Calorie IPA or some such shit.
When I do find more standard IPAs, like this DDH Hazy, they are starting to get good!
So glad to have you covering the lighter more traditional beers in our region. These breweries shouldn't be painted only by the brush of an IPA addict like me.
Seal of approval for you and maybe for LoB! ;)
I can't comment on their IPAs myself but I trust your judgement. That would be annoying getting a weak and watery beer. I liked the beers that I've tried so far. It is nice that we like different styles of beers otherwise we would both be reviewing all the same ones 😆
You had a nice selection of Beers this time
The colors are very attractive!
They did have have some nice colors to them 👍
I really like the look of that second one.
It's funny having a bear served at x temperature. No one does care. In fact for me the colder the better usually!
Yeah I agree I like them to at least start cold. In France it was hard to have a cold beer because our fridge was so small 😆. I do notice more flavors and smells come out as they warm a little though.
I noticed that with stouts and porters but even then I like them cold!
Yes agreed. Cold or at a minimum, chilled lol, is always better
Greetings @leaky20 ,
Such a lovely post...great reviews, superb photographs....ending on a splendid note...excellent BBQ on the menu.
We are ready to try these...
Cheers, Bleujay
Thanks. I'm glad you liked the review. The bbq turned out pretty good in the end. A good accompaniment to the beer 🍺