Spark House Red Ale - Lake of Bays Brewing Company (Canada - Ontario - Baysville)

Spark House Red Ale - Lake of Bays Brewing Company (Canada - Ontario - Baysville) 5.0%

The colour is a bit on the dark side for a Red Ale and it boasts a large resilient head of off-white foam. The aroma is somewhat sweet, has a hint of maple and the caramelized sugars whose flavour is best characterized as red. They are a step beyond toasty but shy of roasty, they lie at the point on the carelization spectrum when blonde sugars turn to yellow and then a shiny red. They give Red Ales' their characteristic colour, flavour and name. These red sugars are the main flavour but they are balanced by a moderate hoppiness that keeps the sweetness from being too strong so that the beer remains refreshing.

Copper Ale - Les 3 Brasseurs (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa) 5.6%

Copper Ale - Les 3 Brasseurs (Canada - Ontario - Ottawa) 5.6%

Reviewed in a one litre mug but... it was a deep copper in a glass with an inch of resilient foam. A sugary, glaze like aroma with subtle nectary yeast tones. It is hard to get a decent sniff of the beer's aroma in a restaurant out of this giant glass but, hey it's how I ordered it.

Red candy glaze taste. Floral and herbal yeast flavours. A very Belgian flavour spectrum. There is a touch of hops bitterness but only enough to balance the sweetness and to accentuate the yummy yeast flavours.

This tasty ale is the Neighbourhood Beer of the Sparks and Bank Street location of Les 3 Brasseurs in Ottawa. I've been told that this means it will be available at this location year round but only occasionally available at the other locations if at all. If there is a Les 3 Brasseurs location near you let me know in the comments what their Neighbourhood Beer is.