Photo courtesy of www.elgintourist.com
By Writing & Reporting Community Member Charlie Sasse
I know quite a bit about craft beer in the U. S., and I still learn things about new breweries and beers everyday. What I don’t know much about is the craft beer scene in Canada. Most have heard of Molson, Labatt, and Moosehead, but there is also a growing craft beer scene that is getting more and more interesting. This year on my annual trip to the London, ON area I decided to pick a Canadian craft brewery and stop in for a visit. I researched what breweries where in the general vicinity of my hotel and picked one.
There were a few to choose from but I kept going back to one, Railway City Brewing in St. Thomas, Ontario. The name Railway City originates from when St. Thomas was the railway crossroads of Canada. It was a bustling town and a major stop between Chicago and New York City. I have loved trains since I was a kid living just west of the Indianapolis Zoo off of Washington St. In the summer we would hop on freight trains as they passed through the neighborhood and ride them beyond the Hoosier Dome to Union Station. This was back when Union Station was a little mall with an arcade, small shops, and more importantly a Hooters. We spent whatever money we had at the arcade and when it was gone we spent the rest of the day sitting on the benches outside of Hooters. Then it was back on the train heading home.
The flagship beer for Railway City is Dead Elephant Pale Ale. With an ABV over 6% and 46 IBUs, this beer satisfies with its hoppiness and smooth refreshing finish. I felt it was at the high end of carbonation for a hop forward beer, but it worked well in this pale. The name Dead Elephant is in reference to Jumbo the elephant. Jumbo was a massive pachyderm that was a main attraction for P.T. Barnum and his circus. The circus would travel by train from town to town and put on shows. On September 15, 1885 Jumbo was walking near the tracks in St. Thomas and was killed by an oncoming train. There are many different versions of the story. I will leave it up to you to decide if you think Jumbo was saving a baby elephant or was just an animal meandering where he shouldn’t have been.
Every year on September 15 Railway City releases an Imperial IPA called Double Dead Elephant Ale. It is a tribute to Jumbo featuring an ABV over 7% and 90 IBUs. This beer is traditionally brewed the day after the hops are harvested from a local farm. On the day I visited I was allowed to sample the Double Dead Elephant even though I couldn’t buy any. It was delicious! If I could make one recommendation it would be to pump up the alcohol just a little. An Imperial IPA with those kinds of citrusy/piney flavors and aromas would benefit from the alcoholic bite that pushing it to 9% would add. Since my annual trip takes me up over Labor Day weekend and before the release date, I will never be able to purchase the Double Dead Elephant, but it was great to be able to sample it!
I know quite a bit about craft beer in the U. S., and I still learn things about new breweries and beers everyday. What I don’t know much about is the craft beer scene in Canada. Most have heard of Molson, Labatt, and Moosehead, but there is also a growing craft beer scene that is getting more and more interesting. This year on my annual trip to the London, ON area I decided to pick a Canadian craft brewery and stop in for a visit. I researched what breweries where in the general vicinity of my hotel and picked one.
There were a few to choose from but I kept going back to one, Railway City Brewing in St. Thomas, Ontario. The name Railway City originates from when St. Thomas was the railway crossroads of Canada. It was a bustling town and a major stop between Chicago and New York City. I have loved trains since I was a kid living just west of the Indianapolis Zoo off of Washington St. In the summer we would hop on freight trains as they passed through the neighborhood and ride them beyond the Hoosier Dome to Union Station. This was back when Union Station was a little mall with an arcade, small shops, and more importantly a Hooters. We spent whatever money we had at the arcade and when it was gone we spent the rest of the day sitting on the benches outside of Hooters. Then it was back on the train heading home.
The flagship beer for Railway City is Dead Elephant Pale Ale. With an ABV over 6% and 46 IBUs, this beer satisfies with its hoppiness and smooth refreshing finish. I felt it was at the high end of carbonation for a hop forward beer, but it worked well in this pale. The name Dead Elephant is in reference to Jumbo the elephant. Jumbo was a massive pachyderm that was a main attraction for P.T. Barnum and his circus. The circus would travel by train from town to town and put on shows. On September 15, 1885 Jumbo was walking near the tracks in St. Thomas and was killed by an oncoming train. There are many different versions of the story. I will leave it up to you to decide if you think Jumbo was saving a baby elephant or was just an animal meandering where he shouldn’t have been.
Every year on September 15 Railway City releases an Imperial IPA called Double Dead Elephant Ale. It is a tribute to Jumbo featuring an ABV over 7% and 90 IBUs. This beer is traditionally brewed the day after the hops are harvested from a local farm. On the day I visited I was allowed to sample the Double Dead Elephant even though I couldn’t buy any. It was delicious! If I could make one recommendation it would be to pump up the alcohol just a little. An Imperial IPA with those kinds of citrusy/piney flavors and aromas would benefit from the alcoholic bite that pushing it to 9% would add. Since my annual trip takes me up over Labor Day weekend and before the release date, I will never be able to purchase the Double Dead Elephant, but it was great to be able to sample it!
Railway City makes many other beers including their Iron Spike series which consists of blonde, copper, and amber styles, but their Platform Series interested me most. The Platform Series is released in September and the recipe is based on the winning entry from their annual homebrew competition. The 2015 winner was an English Porter and was available for purchase when I arrived. The porter features a 5.4% ABV and used Fuggle and Cascade hops to bring the IBUs to 19. I tried this porter at the brewery as well as out of the bottle after returning home. It is an easy drinking English Porter that is made for a pint glass and not a 10 oz snifter. There is a roastiness to this beer that is a bit subtle and hides behind the chocolate flavor but you can still taste it. The Platform Series is a fantastic idea that seems to be practiced well in St. Thomas (at least in 2015). I wish I could have brought more home from Railway City, but it just gives me something to look forward to next year.
Railway City made me want to plan a brewery trip to Ontario in the future. While I was there I was talking to some people that are beginning to step outside of their comfort zones and drink IPAs from places other than Alexander Keith’s or try small breweries outside of Wellington. I was given a list of breweries that are “must visit” places throughout Ontario and offered many spare rooms to sleep in when I visit. Besides beer and booze being quite a bit more expensive in Canada, one other thing you will learn is just how nice and welcoming Canadians are. Though I am certain that my travels will not take me there over the winter, I am looking forward to scheduling a brewery trip to Ontario in the near future.
You can follow Charlie Sasse on Twitter at @TheBeerReverend
Railway City made me want to plan a brewery trip to Ontario in the future. While I was there I was talking to some people that are beginning to step outside of their comfort zones and drink IPAs from places other than Alexander Keith’s or try small breweries outside of Wellington. I was given a list of breweries that are “must visit” places throughout Ontario and offered many spare rooms to sleep in when I visit. Besides beer and booze being quite a bit more expensive in Canada, one other thing you will learn is just how nice and welcoming Canadians are. Though I am certain that my travels will not take me there over the winter, I am looking forward to scheduling a brewery trip to Ontario in the near future.
You can follow Charlie Sasse on Twitter at @TheBeerReverend
