Did you know that there is a Paris in Canada? Well there is, and it's located in Ontario where I'm from.
It's just a small town and nothing like the famous city in France but as far as small towns in Canada go this one actually has some charm to it. The bridge looking out at the water and riverside restaurants and shops was pretty nice. It was actually nicer than the photos appear.
I took a few vacation days last week and we visited the town on one of my days off. The weather was overcast but that didn't stop us from checking out the town. This was my fist visit to it. We had lattes and some pastries at a coffee shop. Regrettably, I didn't take a whole lot of pictures of the town itself. Picture a small village with one or two streets of nice little shops and restaurants, and then quaint little homes on the surrounding roads. That's the "just" of it.
Paris has a small Brewery as well so I bought a few beers to try at home and I figured I'd make them the focus of this weeks ##Beersaturday post.
Here are three beers from the Paris Brewing Company. I hope you enjoy!
Mill Race Bohemian Pilsner
Brewery: The Paris Beer Company
Origin: Paris ON Canada
Style: Pilsner
Abv: 5.5%
IBU: 25
EBC: 10 (I had to look up what this means and learned that it relates to color. It's similar to the SRM color scale apparently).
Marketing: Silver monochrome can with maroon accents. Town of Paris Ontario imagery. Lots of additional information about the beer and brewery on the back including the name of the brewmaster and the hops used (Triple perle and Noble). I found the look of the can to be pretty boring and hard to read at any distance. I appreciated the extra info About the beer though.
Color: This beer poured a beautiful golden yellow/orange color with a decent head on it that actually stuck around a little. I'm used to Pilsners being more pale yellow so this was a welcome surprise.
Nose: Nice aroma to this beer with notes of cereals, fresh grass, and bread. Very pleasant and strong considering it's a Pilsner, which I often find to be very bland. Pilsners tend to be the most boring of beers in my opinion but this one was an exception.
Taste: Very mild sweetness with a nice punch of short lived bitterness in the finish. Well balanced. I thought that I detected a tad bit of skunkiness coming through at first but I wasn't really sure and couldn't tell after I drank about a quarter of the beer so it may have just been my brain misfiring and mistaking the smell of the hops used?
Texture: Light bodied, good carbonation and a somewhat watery mouthfeel overall.
Impression: A very easy drinking beer with a lot of flavor and aroma, especially for a Pilsner. I would certainly drink another one of these when given the opportunity.
Head Gate Lager
Brewery: Paris Beer Company
Origin: Paris ON Canada
Style: Helle Lager
Abv: 4.8%
IBU: 16
ECB: 8
Marketing: Same silver can with maroon coloring similar to the first beer by the Brewery. Bridge and waterfall image seen in the town itself. This one had more to it and was much more interesting to look at than the very plain pilsner can by the brewery.
Nice amount of info about the beer on the back as well, which is always appreciated.
Color: The beer poured a very pale yellow with a weak white head that disappeared quite quickly.
Nose: Fresh clean smell with notes of bread and cereals, maybe some citrusy hops aroma in the background.
Taste: Tons of nice flavor in this one. Very fresh tasting, crisp and refreshing. Some sweetness upfront and some tanginess with a very mild bitterness in the finish. Grain flavors and subtle citrus notes coming through for me.
Texture: Decent carbonation, light bodied and pleasant mouthfeel.
Impression: This was an excellent beer overall. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was packed with flavor and very refreshing tasting. A great summer beer. This was my favorite from the Brewery by far.
Farmhaus Ale
Brewery: Paris Beer Company
Origin: Paris ON Canada
Style: Amber Ale
Abv: 6.5%
IBU: 30
EBC: 33
Marketing: Silver can common among the Beers from the brewery. Pale green accents and simple lettering. This beer is dedicated to the Bruce trail (a hiking trail and natural conservatory spanning across the province of Ontario). Apparently 10 cents from every can sold gets donated to the conservatory. The can design is fine overall and of course very similar to the others.
Color: The beer poured a beautiful burnt orange with red tones in it, with a pale orange head on top. The liquid was opaque and almost looked unfiltered.
Nose: The beer was very fragrant with sweet citrusy notes, burnt sugar, and some floral notes as well. Great aroma really.
Taste: Whoa! This beer had a kick of flavor on first sip. It was very malty and sweet upfront with a fruity flavor of plums and candied sugar. It reminded me of a barley wine almost. It was a little spicy as well, with not a lot of bitterness to it at all.
Texture: Strange carbonation, sharp bubbles that are more fizzy than the usual beer. Very different feeling.
Impression: This beer was too sweet for me. It was the type that I was thinking - "I'm going to get a hangover from this one," after only finishing a quarter of it. It wasn't unpleasant to drink but strange and unusual compared to the norm. I wouldn't buy it again but I don't regret purchasing it.
Conclusion
Overall I would say that the Paris Brewing Company is putting out a pretty decent quality product in their beers. Their Head Gate Helle Lager was my preferred choice by a long shot of the three that I tried. The Pilsner came in second place for me and I didn't really care for the Farmhaus Ale, which was a fine beer but not my particular taste style. It was just way too sweet for me. If you get a chance to try a beer from the Brewery I would recommend starting with the Helle Lager. In my opinion it is the star in their beer lineup.
