TORONTO, ON – In what is believed to be first in Ontario’s modern brewing scene, beer drinkers will soon be able to enjoy a pair of widely released brews made using 100% Ontario ingredients, all thanks to a unique partnership between two brewers and several of the province’s hop growers.
Ontario Beer Company is an initiative from brewers Michael Duggan (Duggan’s Brewery) and Brad Clifford (Get Well Bar), a duo who have previously collaborated on smaller scale all-Ontario beers that have been available exclusively at Get Well. For this new project, the pair have teamed up with hop growers Hugh Brown (Heritage Hill Organics, Barrie, ON), Daniel Sabourin (Nation Hops, St-Bernadin, ON) and Hugo Desrochers (Tribal Hops, Iroquois, ON).
Using freshly harvested hops from these three farms along with select Ontario-grown malted barley, Duggan and Clifford have crafted two beers – 100 Mile Lager and 100 Mile Ale – that are described as follows:
100 Mile Lager is a crisp, golden hued, European style lager, with a solid malt backbone and a firm, clean bitterness. Generously hopped with Ontario grown Nugget and Hallertauer hops, it has a pleasant floral aroma and spicy nose, and weighs in at a sessionable 5.0% abv.
100 Mile Ale is a full flavoured amber ale, with lightly toasted malt flavors, caramel and toffee notes, and a well balanced bitterness derived from Ontario Chinook and Cascade hops. The aroma is dominated by grapefruit and light citrus notes. It weighs in at 5.4% abv.
Both 100 Mile brands will be released in November, and will be available in 473 ml cans at LCBO outlets throughout Ontario.
I tried the ale today – DELICIOUS! If you like a strong IPA finish you have to try this beer!
Great idea! Support your local hop growers!
Just had both, and must say they are both great for their respective styles. And I love that they are so local.
Why 100 mile, and not 160.9 kilometre? Ontario uses the metric system last time I checked.