This month the the Session topic as chosen by Brian at Red, White, and Brew is "Think/Drink Globally". He challenges us to report on the longest trip to visit a Brewery which we have made.

I guess I just don't get out much. Been to quite a few breweries but not many of them are too far away.
Back in college we went on a class trip to a brewery. Well, a chemical factory actually. It was Molsons. They were still the sponsors of "Hockey Night in Canada" then, and Brador still tasted pretty good. Shows you how long ago that was.
I don't remember a thing about the tour except these huge shiny tanks standing about 2 1/2 stories high. I remember their bar after the tour though. Highlights from Hockey games and attempting to get through every beer in the line-up in 2 1/2 hours. I think there was some cheese and crackers on the bar. I also remember the coats with big pockets full of the bottles we didn't have time to get through. But that is another story.

Back to the "topic du jour". I guess the longest trip I have made to get beer was last summer's 3 day trip to Ottawa. Devoid, my co-host at BeerTaster, and I decided we needed to visit some of the "further flung" Ontario Craft brewers. It was about a 5 hour drive. Now, we could have saved ourselves about a half hour by paying triple the cost to fly, and another triple the cost to rent a car when we got there, but how could we ever bring back 3 coolers full of beer?

There were 2 breweries near Ottawa which we wanted to visit, and a third on the way home.
There were also a couple of pubs we were interested in. One was a brew pub and a serious disappointment. The other simply had a beer list of 200 different beers. Many of which I had never been able to get hold of and looked forward to. This Pub Italliano was worth the trip all by itself, wonderful Italian food and several great Belgian beers. A brief rain while under the umbrella on the patio couldn't come close to disturbing us.

On to the breweries.
We were very interested in visiting 2 of them.
Beau's is about 45 minutes past Ottawa in the small town of "Vankleek Hill" and we got lost trying to find it. It was worth the trouble though.
Their "Lugtread" was great and we bought a growler to take with us. Their "Festvale" was also wonderful so we bought another growler.
Both growlers got shook up enough to leak into the cooler in the trunk of the car and lost a lot of their taste (and most of their volume) by the time we got back to the hotel.
Dinner the first night was thoroughly disappointing and the beer at the brew pub was a waste of money. Not a great start.
Next day was a couple of museums and then on to "Scotch Irish Brewing" which is or was somehow affiliated with "Heritage Brewery". I never really asked about the relationship and didn't really care.
Their "Sgt. Major India Pale Ale" was a fine example of the traditional style, their "John By Imperial Stout" was not available at the time but I have had it since and enjoyed it immensely. Finally their "Stuart's Natural Session Ale" was a delight and the beer which I shall review here. Largely because it is the only one which is currently available locally.

Dinner that evening was at the afore mentioned Pub Italliano I forget which of the pasta dishes I decided on, but I remember the "Delerium Tremens" and the two Westmalles, both the double and tripel.
Wonderful. I don't remember the cab ride back to the hotel. Such is my travel experience.
Now on with the beer!

Stuart's Natural Session Ale.

This beer seems to have changed a bit since I tried it last summer in Ottawa.

You can read my original review from a year ago here. Stuart's Natural Session Ale

It pours with a very thick full white head which dissipates quite slowly and leaves a full and rocky cap.
The colour seems to be tamed down somewhat, not as much orange hints to it, much more amber.
The aroma also seems to be tamed down a bit. I recall a strong apricot aroma and I find it much fainter (but still there) now.
There is a solid aroma from it now, more blended perhaps, A lot of malt notes in there, from biscuit to grass to light fruit.
The tastes are really quite pleasant without any one taste being overbearing. The malt base is quite solid With a hint of sweetness and a nice light biscuit taste. The hops might be a different strain from a year ago, a bit more citrus and quite a nice berry with just a touch of earthiness.
I don't find nearly as much apricot as I noted last year.
The beer is only 3.7% ABV which makes it a great session beer, you get a lot more flavour in a very drinkable and refreshing beer. Nothing tries to pound you over the head and it all seems to blend very well.
You can drink them by the six pack with no trouble at all, and they would go really well with a lightly flavoured summer dinner.