Toronto West Beer & Rye Fest Preview

2 Sessions, April 26, Henderson Brewing, 128A Sterling Road, Toronto

With #TariffTimes now fully upon us, I continue to get asked for recommendations of Canadian whiskies, both in general and as substitutes for bourbon. Which is why I’m breaking with my usual style of writing here and offering a preview of the upcoming Toronto West Beer & Rye Fest at Toronto’s Henderson Brewing Company.

Taking place the day after my birthday, on April 26, the festival is Henderson Brewing’s replacement for the Beer & Bourbon Fest they hosted last year, ditching the American stuff in favour of good ol’ Canadian whisky. But if you’re anticipating row upon row of Canadian Club and Crown Royal expressions, think again!

Rather than the ordinary and expected, the Beer & Rye Fest will shine the spotlight on whiskies you might not have yet heard about — unless you are an avid reader of Beaumont Drinks! — much less tasted, including spirits from John Sleeman & Sons, Spirit of York, and the Kiefer Sutherland whisky, Red Bank. Additionally, I am reliably informed that there will be some as yet unannounced surprise whiskies likewise available for sampling.

The festival also offers a unique opportunity to experiment with one of the drink world’s most delicious and best-kept secrets: the pairing of whisky and beer!

I first worked on this partnership decades ago for an ambitious but sadly short-lived beer magazine rather unimaginatively called Beer. (As opposed to the much later arriving, and unapologetically laddish, Beer Magazine.) The premise for the article was the John Lee Hooker song ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,’ and my self-assigned task was to develop the ideal combination of whiskey, whisky, and beer.

I don’t recall the combination I came up with at the time, but needless to say the options are far, far greater today than they were back then. And while the Henderson fest will feature neither bourbon nor scotch, there are Canadian whiskies aplenty to partner up with the Henderson that will be on offer, including:

Henderson’s Best & Collingwood Double Barreled

This pairing was almost too easy to develop. While its style is Extra Special Bitter, the character of the Best is more malt-driven than it is hop-forward, with a round, caramelly start and a drier, faintly tannic mid-palate that dries thoroughly on the finish. Parallel to this profile is the oaky character of the Collingwood, with deep char on the nose and ample dry vanilla notes in the body.

Taste the whisky and move to the beer and the Best develops a slightly smoky quality, amplifying the complexity of the malt without losing anything in terms of depth or character. Go from the beer back to the whisky and the richness of the Collingwood seems almost doubled, with caramel notes turning to toffee and the whisky’s previously moderate fruitiness developing a fruit salad quality. The ultimate effect is to beef up both whisky and beer in a very good way.

Image provided by Henderson Brewing

Pearson Express IPA & Spirit of York Distl Canadian Whisky

My initial inclination was to pair this “Toronto-Style” IPA with Spirit of York’s punchy, 100% Rye Whisky, but I found that the spiciness of the spirit combined with the beer’s relatively modest hop bitterness proved a bit overwhelming, so I traded the rye for the blended Distl and found a near-perfect match.

Distilled from a mix of corn and rye, Distl Whisky has a sweetness that is pretty much classically Canadian, but balances it with a mid-palate peppery spice that grows towards the finish. Combined with the lovely malt backbone of the IPA – almost English in character, but still with that Pacific northwest piney-citrus hop oomph – the spirit complements the beer marvellously, adding a marmalade character to the hopping, while the beer supplies a lemony and tropical fruit depth to the whisky.