Category: New Beer

“Be right back Summer. Stay put, don’t touch any buttons, and ignore all random thoughts that feel….spidery.” – Rick
“Wait you can’t leave me here” – Summer
“Ship, keep Summer safe.” – Rick
“Keep. Summer. Safe.”- Ship
“Ah wonderful.” – Summer
Man walks up to ship “Excuse me, hello?”
Summer turns away in fear
“What? You think you’re better than me? Nobody’s better than me! …Hey!? Hey!” – Man
Ship lasers man into meat cubes
“Keep. Summer. Safe.” – Ship
– Rick and Morty

Available now at Daft Brewing – Keep Summer Safe, our Thai Gose

“There are a few beers that accurately showcase Ryan’s abilities as a brewer,” explained CEO Adam Rondeau, “And this is one of them. Say what you will about Ryan’s personality, but the guy knows how to balance flavours to create a truly special beer. Garbage personality though.”

Keep Summer Safe is the latest beer in our Umami series, following True Level and Slow Ramp. Each beer in this series is made using a gose as the base beer. A gose is a traditional sour German wheat beer that was historically brewed in a region where the water is slightly saline, giving it a mild saltiness while being light and easy drinking. This makes the gose a perfect starting point for our Umami series where the objective is to balance each of the five flavours that we can perceive (sour, salty, sweet, bitter, umami).

This edition of our Umami series has an asian fusion theme. It’s made with a healthy addition of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, a blend of thai chilies and other peppers, sea salt, and is aged on sake oak. 

“When brewing a beer with so many ingredients, I am worried about it being cloying or overwhelming in one element” Head Brewer Ryan Dhillon explained, “but I take special care with this beer. With every drink, your palette will transition from tart to salty to deep umami with subtle sweetness in the background and then finish with a hint of spice.”

Overall, Keep Summer Safe is a fairly unique beer. It is very light and refreshing yet complex and feels like a full bodied beer. As Ryan would like everyone to know, it can be difficult to make such a beer, so please be impressed by him.

“The first thing you will notice with this beer is the citrusy aroma with a hint of spice” explained Nathan, Head Protector of Summer. “The flavour is upfront with tart citrus and quickly transitions into mild spiciness. It has a pleasant mouthfeel and finishes dry and refreshing.”

Keep Summer Safe is available now on tap and to go bottles from Daft Brewing, and also available for home delivery. Let us keep you as safe as Summer in your home and bring the beer to you. Click here to place an order now.

Kidnap the Sandy Claws
Beat him with a stick
Lock him up for ninety years, see what
Makes him tick
Kidnap the Sandy Claws
Chop him into bits
Mr. Oogie Boogie
Is sure to get his kicks
Kidnap the Sandy Claws
See what we will see
Lock him in a cage
And then throw away the key
– The Nightmare Before Christmas

Available now at Daft Brewing – Sandy Claws, our Pumpkin Porter.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas is definitely on my list of ‘must watch movies’,” CEO Adam Rondeau explained in regards to the name of this latest release, “It is the perfect name for our new Pumpkin Porter, which I’d say, is definitely on my list of ‘must try beers. I’m usually pretty neutral on pumpkin beers, (and Ryan’s beers), but every once and awhile I’m surprised with a good one. Sandy Claws is hands down the best pumpkin beer I’ve ever had.”

Sandy Claws is an American style porter made with dark roasted barley, crates of pie pumpkins smoked in house, a healthy dose of roasted pumpkin seeds, fresh madagascar vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks. The pie pumpkins add a creaminess to the beer and give a hint of smokiness that blends well with the roasted malt. The result is a bold roasty beer with balanced spice and a nice persistent creamy head.

When asked to describe his latest release, Ryan shrugged and said “If pumpkins and spice are basic then strap me into Uggs and sign me up for a “Live, Laugh, Love” tattoo.” Then he broke into chants of “Pump-Kin Porter!” to drown out any further questions.

Turning to Addie, the Assistant to the Regional Brewer, for help did not produce better results as all she yelled was “It’s roasty toasty!”

Head of In House Pumpkin Carving, Nathan, stepped up with useful notes, saying “In the aroma, you will get chocolate, coffee, and a splash of spice that will make you think of Grandma’s fresh pumpkin pie. The flavour starts with chocolatey roastiness that blends nicely with the well-balanced spices. It’s the first time I’ve had a pumpkin beer that was so dark and I can easily say it’s the best pumpkin beer I’ve ever had.”

Sandy Claws is available now flowing from the taps of Daft Brewing and in to go bottles from our bottleshop. Grab it now, because just like Sandy Claws in the movie, once it is gone, the recipe will be locked up for ninety years (or just till next year).

   “My grandpa, Squidman Palledorous, was police chief back then. He ordered Mr. Mertle to turn his backyard into a fortress and chain up The Beast and put him under the house  where he could never get out to eat children and stuff. That’s where he’s been for years. And that’s where he’ll be for the rest of his life. Because Mr. Mertle asked the cops how long he had to keep The Beast chained up like a slave, they said until forever. Forever. Forever. Forever. Forever. Forever. And so, The Beast sits there under that lean-to, dreaming of the time when he can break the chain and get out, dreaming of the time he can chase and kill again.”
– The Sandlot

Available now at Daft Brewing, The Beast, our Scotch Old Ale.

“The Beast was the perfect name for our latest release” explained CEO Adam Rondeau, “because much like the Beast in the film Sandlot, our brewer Ryan needs to be chained up in a backyard somewhere and never let out to protect the world from his terrible beer.”

The Beast, made in collaboration with the Kingston Single Malt Society, is a British-style Old Ale aged on Islay scotch oak.

Old Ales are a style of strong beer that used to be aged in casks. They are strong and malty and have been referred to as “winter warmers” or “keeping ales.” Historically Old Ales are cellared in barrels or casks for a year or more.

“The Beast is a complex beer leaning on the malty side with notes of a caramel and a lot of oak character. The beer has picked up tannins from the oak, while also picking up some peatiness and a hint of iodine from the scotch. You will notice a warming in the back of your mouth, and the beer finishes with notes of tobacco that linger gently. This is not a beer for the faint of heart.” explained Master Scotch Taster, Nathan.

This full bodied beer is perfect for aging as explained by Head Brewer, Ryan. “You can drink it today, it’s going to be pretty good. But if you buy six, drink one today and then one on the anniversary of today for the next five years. The beer will smooth out and develop complex notes of dried fruits and vanilla. Time adds a lot of character to a beer like this.” 

“Letting time age out Ryan’s mistakes is probably the only way to drink any of his swill.” Adam added after hearing Ryan’s recommendation.

The Beast is available now in the Daft taproom and in to-go bottles. Buy it before it’s gone forever. Forever. Forever. Forever.

I don’t even have a quote for you this time. Just watch this video

Now on tap and available in to go bottles from Daft, Don’t Hassle the Hoff, our Oktoberfest.

“Naming a beer after a legend such as David Hasslehoff was an easy call for us,” CEO Adam Rondeau explained, “because he’s everything I wish our brewer Ryan could be, and I like to find ways to remind him of that everyday.”

We like to think the history of Oktoberfest mirrors the history of Daft in a way. All the way back in 1810, Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese and invited the town to party with them. The party lasted for days with food and beer flowing through the city, and ended with a horse race. The party was so legendary they decided to repeat it every year. Our brewery started with an epic brewery crawl where we wanted to keep the party going by starting our own brewery. When you start a business with others, you are essentially marrying them, so like we said, pretty much started the same way. We even ended our crawl with our own horse race…. Well, more of a piggy-back race.

Don’t Hassle the Hoff is the Daft version of an Oktoberfest beer – a hybrid between a traditional German Marzen and a Festbier. 

“A Marzen is a more traditional German Oktoberfest beer. It’s amber-copper in appearance, very bready in flavour, and sometimes has a malty-sweetness to it,” explained Head Brewer Ryan Dhillon, “while a Festbier is what you see being drunk out of the giant boot-shaped glass steins at Oktoberfest festivals. It’s super light, crisp, has a big fluffy head, and it’s easy to drink litres and litres of it. And what we did was BAM” Ryan clapped his hands aggressively (editors note: he yelled BAM along with the clap), “mushed them together.”

The resulting beer was made using German Munich and Pilsner malt and traditional Saaz hops. It is golden in colour and has fluffy clouds of white head that lingers on top of your beer. This beer is highly drinkable with mild malty and bready flavours and a nice crisp finish.

“There is something alluring to this beer. You think it’s going to be quite bold when you take that first sip, but then it quickly dries out to create a crisp and very drinkable beer.” Our very own Prince of Oktoberfest, Nathan, explained.

Don’t Hassle the Hoff is available now at Daft pouring from our taps and available in to go bottles. Now if only we could advertise this with a picture of the Hoff pouring beer over his bare chest…

“Well, you guys seem like a great family. We have to be realistic. I’m in the real estate business. It’s 2006. That’s all good enough for me. We’re gonna put you in a NINJA loan. No income, no job, no assets. And you don’t have to pay a penny for two years.” – James
“Oh NINJA please! So we’ll take something cozy and intimate. A one bedroom.” – Tobias
“Or bigger.” – Lindsay
“Yeah, how about something nice? A three bedroom?” – James
“Oh, it definitely is.” – Tobias
“You have to remember that this was a time when banks were eager to create as much debt as possible.” – Narrator
– Arrested Development

Now available at Daft Brewing – Ninja Loan, our latest New England IPA

“We decided to call this beer Ninja Loan, because much like the banks in the early 2000s that offered subprime mortgages,” CEO Adam Rondeau said reflecting on the name choice, “our head brewer, Ryan, continues to provide us with subprime beer.”

Ninja Loan is made with a combination of three big, juicy, new world hops: Lemondrop, Belma, and Idaho #7. These create a super juicy beer full of tropical and citrus flavors. At 6% ABV there is a nice smooth body (oOoo! mouthfeel :P) to balance out the hop bitterness. A huge addition of oats and wheat create a persistent haze that is essential for this style, since the delicate hop compounds attach themselves to the haze and deliver those tasty tropical fruit notes to your dome. This is why Ryan is a self-proclaimed “hazy-boi.”

“Ninja Loan has a smooth and creamy mouthfeel, with lots of citrus flavour,” explained Head of Describing Things, Nathan, “You will notice heavy apricot and grapefruit flavors. These flavors come straight from the hops, as there are no fruit additions to this beer.”

Ninja Loan is now pouring on draft and available to-go in the bottleshop at Daft Brewing. 

Jake (in a helicopter): THIS. IS. AWESOME. Just so we’re clear from this point forward by call sign will be Deathblade
Charles: And I’ll be Rum Tum Tugger
Jake: No Boyle. No characters from Cats. Dig deep. Think of something scary
Charles: Adolf Hitler
Jake: NO! You’ll be Sidewinder
Charles: I’m more scared of Hitler
– Brooklyn 99

Now available at Daft Brewing and the Kingston Brewing Company – Rum Tum Tugger, our Dark and Stormy Sour.

When asked to comment on this beer, CEO Adam Rondeau stated inappropriately that, “If Ryan was a crewman on Captain Rum Tum’s ship, I can guess what his job description would be.” (Editors note: This is the cleanest quote we could get out of Adam)

Some of our fans may remember that Rum Tum Tugger was one of the first beers made by Daft in collaboration with KBC for the final Kingston Craft Beer festival held at the Brooklyn in 2019. As has been a common occurrence that people who frequent Daft’s bottleshop are familiar with, we struggled to keep up with the demand and promptly sold out.

Rum Tum Tugger is inspired by one of our favorite cocktails – the Dark and Stormy. The beer is made with a hearty addition of fresh hand peeled ginger (which was definitely done with great enthusiasm by staff who definitely volunteered for this task without any threats or coercion) and Limu Omani, a middle eastern dried lime, in a sour beer base that is aged on dark rum oak. 

When you first set your eyes on a glass of Rum Tum Tugger, the first thing you will notice is that it has a darker appearance than most sours. We used darker malts to give it a deep copper color that is topped with a white head that laces the glass. 

“Rum Tum Tugger actually has a higher ABV than what you would traditionally find in sours,” Star of the Brewery Nathan explained, “This will give you a slight warming feeling when you take a sip. On the front end of the beer you will find a mild tartness and ginger flavour up front with a hint of lime that gradually transitions into subtle oak and rum on the back end. The finish is very crisp, which makes this an easy drinker, which can be deceiving because of the higher ABV.”

Rum Tum Tugger can be found on tap and in the bottle shop at Daft Brewing and on tap at Kingston Brewing Company. Make sure to stop by and try this latest release before it tugs its way out of here.

Releasing today at Daft Brewing, we have a classic east vs west coast rivalry brewing with our latest drops – Biggie, a New England IPA, and Tupac, a West Coast IPA.

The Cause

We have been learning, reading, and listening the past few weeks. To be honest, we weren’t sure how to respond. We want to use our platform in a meaningful way. In the end, we chose to tie our support to the release of two new beers (since that’s all we really do). The namesake of these beers, Christopher “Biggie” Wallace and Tupac Shakur, are two of the most influential artists in the last century. Their stories are representative of the injustices that many Black communities face today. 

Here is an excerpt from season 3 of the Slow Burn podcast, which digs into the lives and deaths of Biggie and Tupac:

“You have two guys, two of the brightest stars to emerge out of the hip-hop era in that time, and they’re gone, just like that,” Joel Anderson, the Slow Burn host, says. “And if those two guys can get killed and nothing can happen, then what does that say for the rest of us? As you see, it’s not like we’ve been able to solve that problem.”

We will be donating $2000 from the profits of Biggie and Tupac to the Ontario-based Black Legal Action Centre (link below).

We are trying to learn more about these issues every day. We hope that we can help foster a more equitable world. Until then, we will continue to try to be better. Below are a few resources that we found enlightening and, at times, uncomfortable, including the podcast mentioned above. We would love to hear from you if you have any other resources that you love!

Resources:

Slow Burn podcast about Biggie and Tupac – more info can be found here. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/07/776908450/slow-burn-season-3-turns-its-investigative-eye-to-the-murders-of-biggie-and-tupa

“13th” documentary on Black criminalization can be found on Netflix, here. https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80091741

“The Skin We’re In” documentary, here. https://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/m_episodes/the-skin-were-in

Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC), more info can be found here. https://www.blacklegalactioncentre.ca/

The Beer

These two beers are the first styles that jump to mind when discussing IPAs. The difference between the two have long been a topic of discussion during our late night virtual beer and cheese pairings, and head brewer Ryan is finally delivering on his drunken claims that he would eventually release these two beers side by side.

When asked what inspired the East coast vs West Coast double release, CEO Adam Rondeau gave a little shrug before explaining “I was confident that if Ryan brewed two beers for a double release that at least one of the beers would be palatable..” Staring off into the distance as he trailed off Adam let out a sigh, “But it’s humbling to be able to admit my incorrect assumptions and errors in judgement.”

When you first set your eyes on Biggie you will notice you can’t even see through the beer thanks to its haziness. This was done using a combination of water chemistry and oats to add protein to the beer, giving it a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. The haze captures the flavour and aroma of our heavy dry hop addition of Mosaic, Citra, and Sabro. The result is a super juicy beer bursting with tropical flavours. 

Biggie is very similar in colour and mouthfeel to Bingpot, but because of the different hops used it has a completely different flavour.

Hailing from the west, Tupac is one of the first American beer styles which was a driving force behind the craft beer revolution when it launched in the late 80s and early 90s. Tupac is much more clear than its counterpart from the east. With a heavy hop addition during the boil, this beer is more on the bitterside, but a malty base helps to bring balance to the beer and prevent the bitterness from overwhelming the senses. Tupac has a heavy dose of traditional west coast hops to give it that classic dank citrus and piney notes. Specifically, this beer is hopped with Cascade, Simcoe, and El Dorado.

Biggie and Tupac are flowing on the taps and available in the Daft bottle shop now. Swing by to enjoy a pint on our patio or grab a few bottles to enjoy at home before they are gone.

“This. Castle. Is in…Unacceptable. Condition. UUUNNNNAAACCCCCCEEEPPPTTTAAABBBLLLEEE” 
– Lemongrab, Adventure Time

Releasing today at Daft Brewing – Lemongrab, our mint lemonade sour.

Lemongrab is Daft Brewing’s first beer to be created and produced by our assistant to the regional brewer, Adelaide “Potato” O’Hara.

“All I can say is we should have turned over brewing responsibilities to Addie a lot earlier,” CEO Adam Rondeau said “I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally taste something we brewed here that isn’t undrinkable swill.”

Lemongrab is a sour beer brewed with malted barley and wheat and additions of lactose, fresh mint, and an unacceptably large number of lemons. Because, when life gives you lemons, make alcohol. 

Shortly after sitting down to provide information for this blog, Addie trailed off in mid sentence, staring out the bay door and letting out a squeal, pointing to an adorable three-legged dog outside of the brewery.

Now focused again, Addie said “Honestly, I just love the Adventure Time character Lemongrab and how he yells all the time. He’s essentially my spirit animal. So from the start I knew what I was going to name the beer, and just had to work on a recipe to fit the name.” Head Brewer, Ryan, later expressed how proud he is of Addie’s thoughtful recipe development process.

The resulting beer is bursting with lemon and has nice undertones of mint. Lemongrab is a refreshing summer beer with a creamy mouthfeel and a crisp and light finish. The acidity and lactose sugar is nicely balanced and finishes with a hint of mint. Lemongrab is reminiscent of chugging an ice cold minty lemonade. 

We looked for Ryan to get his opinion on his protege’s first beer, and after a long search he was found huddled under a tank muttering to himself “One day they will learn to appreciate me… One day I’ll show them all.” After this, we quietly backed away and decided to let him have some time alone.

Lemongrab is available now in Daft’s bottle shop. Make sure to grab a bottle quickly, because it is unacceptable how quickly this beer will sell out.

“Wait for the ramp Morty…they love the slow ramp. It really gets their d*cks hard when they see the ramp just slowly extending down. GREETINGS!”
Rick flips off the crowd
“Morty, you’ve got to flip them off, I told them it means ‘Peace among worlds’ how hilarious is that?”
– Rick, Rick and Morty

Releasing today at Daft Brewing – Slow Ramp, our Paloma Gose

“Slow Ramp was the perfect name for this beer, as the variety of flavours slowly ramp up and build to a grand crescendo as you journey through this delightful gose, ” CEO Adam Rondeau explained, “It also accurately captures the pace of Ryan’s journey into becoming a barely adequate brewmaster.”

“Slow Ramp is the second in Daft Brewing’s Umami series, with the first release being our True Level. The goal of the Umami series is to tie in that mythical fifth flavour, which is basically unheard of in beer today. Umami is depth of flavour. It provides a satisfying complexity that ties together other flavours. For example, when you’re cooking at home and your dish is missing something that you can’t quite place…it’s probably umami. I use all natural ingredients to add umami in this beer.” Head Brewer Ryan rambled almost incoherently, “I am most proud of the umami series because of the technical difficulty in creating something this unique and exciting, and because it is exactly the innovative style in which I make sure Daft excels.” he continued, making sure to get a quote in that allowed him to toot his own horn.

Similar to True Level, Slow Ramp is a sour beer made with Aji Amarillo peppers, pink Himalayan salt, and tequila oak. What sets it apart is the addition of grapefruit and lemon, instead of lime. The result is a delicious and refreshing but complex beer that is a delicate balance between the five basic flavours. This beer is reminiscent of a Paloma, which is a refreshing traditional Mexican cocktail. 

“On your first sip you will notice the grapefruit and lemon that quickly transitions into subtle peppers and oak. After a couple sips you will notice the hint of sea salt and an essence of spiciness.” Nathan wisely explained, “It has a creamy and complex mouthfeel and finishes with a refreshing crispness and light acidity.”

Drawing inspiration from the name of the beer, Lindsay, Ryan’s wife, responded with her middle finger held high when asked to give her thoughts on Ryan’s latest work.

Slow Ramp is available now in Daft’s bottle shop. Make sure to grab a bottle quickly because, unlike the slowly extending ramp it was named after, these will be speeding off the shelves.