I love trying new beers. It’s especially exciting when it’s also a new release from a brewery. I read in a newsletter from Broue Ha Ha, a great spot for craft beers in Gatineau, QC, that Boreale Brewing (Brasseurs du Nord) was releasing a New England-style IPA called, fittingly, IPA du Nord-Est. Broue Ha Ha was one of only 14 places in Quebec that would be getting the beer. The relative rarity and the glowing praise in the newsletter was enough to convince me I had to make it there for release day. I had to change a few appointments but I made it there shortly after opening and picked up a couple of cans.
The appointment I had to change was in Almonte, ON, a small-town west of Ottawa. I love the falls on the Mississippi River that runs through the centre of town. I took the beers with me for some photos. I love photographing craft beers almost as much as I like drinking them and this spot seemed perfect for the beer.
The beer itself is delicious. It’s one of the better examples of a NE-style IPA that I’ve tried. There was a mouth-watering dankness on the nose. The beer drank silky smooth. It had amazing tropical fruit flavours and that juicy quality that makes NE-style IPA’s so delicious. This new beer is definitely worth picking up and I’m glad I bought more than one can.