In the Niagara region the farming is fruit trees and vines. We aren’t talking about hauling up carrots and toting taters. More like picking peaches and grapes and then sampling a Pinot Noir or a Cabernet Franc after a day in the field. And citrus is so FLA, not at all NOTL. I think Farmer Steve and his beloved Kubota are more likely to be on the go pushing snow than hoeing rows. But Niagara also has a brewery or two, some even grow their own hops and operate out of a barn. Sounds like my kind of farming.
So we have Oast House in the house with their commitment to “channel Niagara’s truest terroir into their beer”. I had to ask myself “What the hell is a “terroir”?” A leg humping breed of canine crapping in my yard perhaps? What is that dog leaving in my beer? Or a rampaging neighbour’s kid, a terror of the holy kind? Keep that kid away from my beer, and my record collection. Whatever a terroir is,* I am not sure I want it in my beer.
I was quaffing this brew while watching the Blue Jays get the hits but not the runs in a pointless game for them. I think the announcer said “It’s hard to win if you don’t score runs.” No fact check required on that play-by-play insight.
This Oaster west coaster on my coaster pours a peachy golden with a reddish tinge and slightly hazy. A bright white frosting, peaches and cream. A juicy peach citrus aroma with some hops on top. And the taste is a juiced up juicy juicer. A blatant case of juice abuse. Taste like tropical and peach to me, Oast tells us it’s passionfruit. If you are looking for passionfruit in Niagara I think you are at the Fresh Mart, not in the farmer’s field,** waiting in the line, not plucking the vine. The juice far outweighs the hops in this one, about as balanced as a jenga game on a roller coaster. There is a lingering hop juice combo on the end for a crisp flat finish. Juice on the loose with no excuse. Son of a peach, this brew is juicy.
A fruitful brew for sure. If you love juicy brewskis, this brew’s for you.
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