I remember during my first sommelier course we had a class on Beer. My experience with beer hadn’t gone much beyond Coors Light from my college days in the nineties and I sincerely hated beer. Each sommelier student had to announce their favourite beer to the class. As I sat there listening to all these exotic beers from my fellow classmates, I dreaded what I would say. I took the safe route and blurted out “Corona” as someone else had also indicated that was their favorite too. I had only sipped Corona on occasion and, to be honest, it didn’t appeal to my personal taste. After taking that class, I really gained an appreciation for beer (thank you, Stephen Beaumont) and decided I preferred ales to lagers and would have a few Schneider Weisse or Chimay beers a year.

That was until I tried the Mill Street Organic beer. Yes, it’s a lager but it’s a lighter style (only 4.2% alcohol) with an amazing floral bouquet and the requisite banana flavour that I love about beer. Perhaps because it’s made in a European style that makes it appeal to my taste buds. It pairs with anything from fish and chips (has that great acidity to cut through the grease), to hot dogs, to salads and fruit. In Ontario it’s available at the LCBO and the Beer Store and on tap some local Toronto pubs and restaurants. Or better yet, head on down to the Mill Street Brew Pub next time you are TO.

This beer rocks!

Click on the image below for this beer’s tasting notes here:

Organic wines are, essentially, wines that are made from organic grapes that were grown free of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and growth stimulants. In most cases, grapes are handpicked at harvest so that only the best quality grapes are selected.  In the winery, only clean, non-contaminated stainless steel tanks and barrels are allowed.  Winemakers are discouraged from adding sulphur dioxide to the wine, but it is permitted in some cases.

 

Biodynamic wines are very similar to organic wines, in the sense that the grape farmer use homeopathic, herbal-based compost and field sprays, as well as following a very strict vinification process. However, the key difference is that biodynamic growers focus on the vines themselves and believe that they respond to forces of nature and that the growth of the leaves, roots, buds, flowers and fruit are influenced by the position of the moon and stars with certain constellations.  All of these forces play in the sustainability component where winemakers work within their own environment and natural eco-system to produce wines that pay homage to their own terrior.