Neustadt 10W30 Brown Ale (5.5%)

Okay, I’ll admit it, it’s been a long time since I last thought about the Neustadt Springs Brewing Company.

Not that I have anything against the historic, Grey-Bruce brewery rediscovered by Creemore Springs Brewery founder John Wiggins in the early to mid-1990s and finally reopened by Val and Andy Stimson in 1997. It’s just that it has had very little presence in Toronto since well before the pandemic and, given the number of active breweries now in the Greater Toronto Area, it sort of faded from my beer consciousness.  

I do recall hearing or reading something about the brewery beings sold lately, though, and a quick visit to the Neustadt website reveals that, as of July of 2021, the new owners are Mike and Anita Weber, with ex-Wellington brewer Marvin Dyck serving as brewmaster. The Webers and Dyck haven’t exactly been resting on their laurels, either, with a significant transformation of the brewery’s core product line, which now includes a coffee-flavoured blonde ale, a raspberry lager, and, be still my heart, a year-round Märzen!

Since pretty much the dawn of this millennium, however, the stand-out of the Neustadt line-up has been 10W30, and having benefitted from a branding refresh, it would appear to hold that mantle still. Stylistically sitting somewhere between a northern English brown ale and a Scottish wee heavy, it was always enjoyable, certainly quaffable, and occasionally exemplary, even if a touch of inconsistency meant that it was at times notably better than at others.

Ruby brown in colour, this modern day 10W30 pours refreshingly bright with a generous, off-white foam, making for a most attractive presentation. The nose is as lovely as its appearance, with rich, sweet malt offering notes of milk chocolate, raisins, black plum, toasted hazelnut, a bit of cinnamon, and just a hint of roasted malt.

The flavour starts as the aroma ends, with sweet, fruity-chocolaty notes – some dark chocolate joining the milk, a bit of sweet citrus peel mixing with the plum and raisin – which flow gently to a somewhat drier, slightly winey mid-palate, more date and raisin than fresh plum, but still with the citrusy accent and now rising notes of baking spice and toasted nut. By the finish, the beer is all but completely dry, with a light and refreshing bitterness and the merest suggestion of port wine providing a nudge of sweetness.  

This 10W30 is not just as good as I remember it, it is considerably better and very well suited to cold weather drinking, on its own or with any sort of hardy soup, long braise, or robust stew.

86 ($3.50)