On Sunday April 17th I attended a Barley’s Angels Brewster Series talk & tasting with Mill Street Brewpub’s Bridgid Young. The Brewster Series is part of the Barley’s Angels Toronto Chapter’s educational events roster. This series introduces attendees to four female brewers under 30. From Barleysangels.ca:
In this series of four talks, each brewster will share her story and her passion for beer. There will be an introductory beer and tasty appetizers served. The talks will then be followed by a guided tasting of four beers, led the brewster as well as the Barley’s Angels Toronto Chapter organizer, Certified Cicerone™ Mirella Amato.
The three other brewsters featured include:
– Jennifer Robitaille, Magnotta Brewery (February 20th)
– Mary Beth Keefe, Granite Brewery (March 20th)
– Erica Graholm, Steam Whistle Brewery (May 15th)
Barley’s Angels is an off-shoot of the Pink Boots Society®, whose mission is “to inspire, encourage and empower women to become professionals and advance their careers in the Beer Industry, mainly through education.”
Sunday’s women-only event took place at at The Twisted Kilt pub in Davisville. In all, we tasted five beers from Mill Street, alongside some delish nosh courtesy of the Kilt. Mirella and Bridgid guided us through the tastings, encouraging us to imagine what other foods we would pair with the beer. Bridgid used to be a winemaker at Angel’s Gate in Beamsville before she began working with Mill Street. Considering herself an urban farmer, she is an advocate for local, sustainable, artisan food & drink. This is what makes Mill Street such a good fit for her.
Mill Street Brewpub has it all: unique, complex products served in a casual yet upmarket gastropub, wrapped up in fantastic branding that remains consistent on all levels and is compatible with their physical surroundings. Located in Toronto’s Historic Distilley District, Mill Street echoes the past whilst presenting itself as a trail-blazer for the craft beer scene.
THIS JUST IN: Mill Street Brewpub will be offering a new event series that I am SO excited to attend: every second Monday of the month they will feature artisnal Ontario cheeses paired with Mill Street beers. YAY!
Mill Street’s former brewmaster now runs Duggan’s on Victoria Street. I believe this is the spot where Growler’s used to be, years ago. (My first wheat beer was had there. Tasted like bananas.)
Mirella asked our group if we considered Ontario a lager province, or if more people were coming over to the craft movement? The educated palate of the interested consumer is indeed creating a demand for more craft beers, but I believe on the whole, we are a lager province. When I think of taste afficiandos, I think more of wine than beer. However, a lot of craft beers are barrel-aged and flavoured, bringing those wine lovers over to the golden side. These new flavoured, fruity beers are appealing to men and women alike. Bridgid said she’s seen many men in suits sipping tulip glasses of Frambozen at the Brewpub! Bridgid herself enjoys a smoked malt beer, with texture and “soul.”
Did you know that beer was invented before wine? Making it the original beverage of the gods. But Mirella explained that the reason we in North America do not pair our foods with beer the way we do with wine, is because in the past, the only “fancy” restaurants we had this side of the Atlantic were French or Italian – both strong wine-based cuisines. And so, we came to associate good food with wine. Not beer. But with craft beer’s expansion in the minds of the alcoholic beverage consumer, it is gaining ground. Craft beer needs more outreach endeavours to educate consumers.
Some basic notes for pairing beer and food:
– Typically an ale can be paired where a red wine would be, and a lager where a white.
– Pay attention to the colour of your beer. A lighter colour should be paired with a lighter-coloured main. For example, a stout with a steak, versus a lager with chicken.
– Your beer should be equal to or sweeter than the food, or else your beer will taste bitter.
– Beer tasting notes are much more approachable than wine tasting notes, and so should take a lot of the guess-work out of pairing with food. Beer is often described as having hints of chocolate or coffee, as being hoppy or smoky…compared to wine descriptors like “wet stone” or leather. (Unless you want to pair your wine with your shoes or your patio!)
Here are the five beers we tasted, with tasting notes by Bridgid Young, alongside my personal recommendation for food pairing:
Mill St. Ginger Beer 5.0%abv Deep orange liquid with a dense, white creamy head. Very prominent ginger aroma on the nose, with some slightly floral hop character and a strong malty structure. Smooth across the palate. The malt shines near the end, just as the heat of the ginger and the hops completely dry out the finish. Refreshing and well-balanced.
Pairs well with (duh) dark chocolate covered crystallized ginger, oysters, and would be an amazing thirst-quenching summer lager. I want one right now!
Mill St. Pilsner 5.0% abv A golden amber Czech style Pilsner. The nose is very balanced between malt and hop character – bready and biscuity malts balanced by spicy, grassy Saaz hops and a whiff of sulfur. On the palate the malt shows as grain and biscuit, while the hop intensity builds to offer a spicy, almost floral note. Fresh and clean with a dry finish.
Would pair well with a paella or apple-cider pulled pork. It has a rosewater finish, and would also be amazing with steamed crab legs.
Mill St. Helles Bock 7.0% abv A strong German lager with a golden orange colour. The malt character on the nose is very bready, toasty with some caramel notes. There are also aromas of currants, marmalade and heady grapes [concord or muscat]. The palate is medium bodied with sweet caramel malt, honey, grains and flowers and apples. It is a little sweet and dense on the mid palate, and then finishes dry and spicy with a peppery, anise character.
Not everyone at my tasting table agreed with me, but I would pair this beer with breakfast! Scones, clotted cream, and traditional British hunt marmalade. But if I *had* to eat it with lunch or dinner, it would be with applewood smoked cheddar or the always-pairable apple-cider pulled pork. With an apple & celeriac slaw. On an egg brioche. Just sayin.
Mill St. IPA 6.2% abv An English style IPA that pours a rich copper colour. This beer has a serious malt profile, rich and dense with biscuit, caramel, bready, nutty and toasted malt character. English hops offer an earthy complexity with a hunt of spice. True to style, this beer displays a crisp, plaster-like character that shines against the richness of the malt. Medium bodied, balanced and clean, this is a dangerously sessionable beer.
This very complex beer would pair best with a ploughman’s lunch or charcuterie platter, so that with each bite of food, a different flavour in the beer will be highlighted. Spicy chorizo, dark Mayan chocolate, even a salty pretzel would each bring out a different flavour. However, there are so many flavours in his IPA, I am of the mind that I wouldn’t pair it with anything because I would like to keep the beer as the star, not the co-star, of the meal.
Mill St. Frambozen 5.5% abv A raspberry wheat beer that shines a beautful deep red with a thick white head. The nose is fresh, sharp and all about the raspberries. With a nod to the wheat malt, the palate is creamy and dense, with fresh berry flavours and tart malic acidity to balance out the sweetness of the fruit. Refreshing and delicious.
This beer surprised me. I was expecting something like Frulï, but it was thin and hardly sweet at all. What it did taste like, once I got rid of my pre-conceived notions, was lager mixed with fresh raspberries. Would be great with chocolate mousse, strawberry-rhubarb pie, or a spinach/strawberry/goat’s cheese salad. (Yes, beer goes with salad!)
The moral of this story is, if all you know about Mill Street Brewery is their Organic lager, it’s time you expanded your beer-horizons. As most of their beers can only be purchased at the pub, and not in the LCBO or The Beer Store, you will need to head over to the Brewpub to try Mill Street’s full line-up. But believe you me, it’s worth the streetcar ride to the Distillery.
STAY TUNED: Mill Street will be opening their next Brewpub in Ottawa this summer.
For more information on Barley’s Angels or Mirella Amato, visit www.barleysangels.ca or www.beerology.ca.
Cheers,
x