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Clocktower Brewpub
575 Bank St. | Ottawa, ON | Established: 1996
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Clocktower red - great
ABV: 5.0% | IBU: 43 | Style: Red ale | Price: $2.85/473ml can
So I've had this beer many times because there's a Clocktower location about 13 meters from my house. Interestingly, I enjoyed my can of Clocktower Red more than I've ever enjoyed this beer on tap. I enjoyed this beer so much in fact, that I think that the recipe may have changed a bit over the years. Either way, this is now one of my favourite red ales, and it's now available in these handy 473ml cans at the LCBO.
Clocktower Red, in true red ale fashion, drinks incredibly easy for a beer that provides this much pop in the flavour department. The coolest thing about Clocktower Red though is that it's a veritable roller coaster of distinct flavour sensations. The beer starts grassy and grainy, but quickly transitions into a perfect level of caramel sweetness, filling the mouth a good depth of flavour and complexity. But wait, there's more. Seemingly out of nowhere comes an equally perfect level of bitterness on the back end, balancing everything out and drying the palate, creating an almost overwhelming desire to dive in for another sip. The grainy to sweet to bitter transitions are so clearly defined that it makes Clocktower Red a truly unique beer. Ya man, this beer is the real deal, and it immediately jumps to the top of my list of favourite Ontario red ales, usurping a couple of my old faves from Big Rig Brewery and Lake Of Bays Brewing Co. There are just so many good flavours here, all while retaining the typically subtle character of a red ale, and providing as much crispness and refreshingness as a good lager. Clocktower Red is another great example of an all-purpose and all-weather beer, and at $2.85/can it's a fucking steal compared to the hordes of $6.00+ beers that might be so over-the-top that you won't even be able to finish a bottle.
Clocktower Red, in true red ale fashion, drinks incredibly easy for a beer that provides this much pop in the flavour department. The coolest thing about Clocktower Red though is that it's a veritable roller coaster of distinct flavour sensations. The beer starts grassy and grainy, but quickly transitions into a perfect level of caramel sweetness, filling the mouth a good depth of flavour and complexity. But wait, there's more. Seemingly out of nowhere comes an equally perfect level of bitterness on the back end, balancing everything out and drying the palate, creating an almost overwhelming desire to dive in for another sip. The grainy to sweet to bitter transitions are so clearly defined that it makes Clocktower Red a truly unique beer. Ya man, this beer is the real deal, and it immediately jumps to the top of my list of favourite Ontario red ales, usurping a couple of my old faves from Big Rig Brewery and Lake Of Bays Brewing Co. There are just so many good flavours here, all while retaining the typically subtle character of a red ale, and providing as much crispness and refreshingness as a good lager. Clocktower Red is another great example of an all-purpose and all-weather beer, and at $2.85/can it's a fucking steal compared to the hordes of $6.00+ beers that might be so over-the-top that you won't even be able to finish a bottle.
Wishart's Bitter - Good
ABV: 5.0% | IBU'S: 32 | Style: Extra special bitter ale
Clocktower's Wishart's ESB was a nice find for me, as most Ottawa breweries seem to have forgotten about this traditional English brewing style. Extra special bitters, when done well, can be a rewarding experience for folks who want a traditional English bitter ale but don't want to be blasted by hops, like every IPA being released these days. Clocktower's entry into this field is very well done, and worth the trip to one of their brewpubs.
In the true tradition of this style, Wishart's Bitter is very handsomely coloured and has a nice robust body and flavour, but also plays to the lost art of subtlety. This beer doesn't try to do too much, it just tries to be an ESB, which is exactly what it should be doing since it's an ESB. No extra hops or gimmicky flavours required here. It starts off with a bit of sweetness, not chocolatey but more like caramel, and finishes with a nice subtle piney hop bitterness. The bitterness tends to linger but in a good way. It also has some nice nutty character throughout. At 32 IBU's it's just about perfect. If we have to nitpick a little bit, then we'll say that it's not quite as smooth as some of its English counterparts, as the carbonation seems a little bit unbalanced.
All in all though, a pretty nice example of an English bitter, and one of the few local beers done in this style. This one will taste better as it warms up and flattens out, and it goes really well with food.
In the true tradition of this style, Wishart's Bitter is very handsomely coloured and has a nice robust body and flavour, but also plays to the lost art of subtlety. This beer doesn't try to do too much, it just tries to be an ESB, which is exactly what it should be doing since it's an ESB. No extra hops or gimmicky flavours required here. It starts off with a bit of sweetness, not chocolatey but more like caramel, and finishes with a nice subtle piney hop bitterness. The bitterness tends to linger but in a good way. It also has some nice nutty character throughout. At 32 IBU's it's just about perfect. If we have to nitpick a little bit, then we'll say that it's not quite as smooth as some of its English counterparts, as the carbonation seems a little bit unbalanced.
All in all though, a pretty nice example of an English bitter, and one of the few local beers done in this style. This one will taste better as it warms up and flattens out, and it goes really well with food.
