Brews News: Adult slushies popular summer thirst-quenchers

A beach, a square and a slushy beer — a summer hike to Ontario’s prettiest town just got sweeter.

Square Brew, the Goderich craft brewery pouring since 2017, has a hot weather thirst-quencher new this year in both alcohol and alcohol-free versions.

We’re talking about slushies, the novel belle of the ball along with hazy IPAs at many summer beer festivals.

Square Brew added a slushie machine and featured a cranberry seltzer and White Freezie for its first icy forays. They are made with Goderich Water, which is Square Brew’s in-house malt seltzer.

White Freezie was canned in tall boys priced at $3.32 for to-go purchases and online orders. It’s 4.5 per cent alcohol.

Storm Stayed in London are the local deans of adult slushies, kicking off its season with a strawberry daiquiri and rum version.

Looking to try a home version? It’s an easy process, according to the Food Network. Pour a lager (or Belgian white such a Blue Moon) into a shallow casserole dish and place it in the freezer for two hours, scraping it with a fork every 30 minutes. Spoon the semi-frozen beer into glasses and fill with frozen lemonade or the juice of your choice.

With its patio located steps away from the Maitland Woods Trail loop and a short cycle or drive to the beach or famous Courthouse Square, Square Brew is a popular stop for visitors and locals.

Adult slushies paired with a hot day make Goderich an even more tempting destination.

BEER AND BURLESQUE, TUNES AND TRAINS

Railwork’s Beer-esque and Carniv-ale Show returns to the Elgin County Railway Museum on July 8 with entertainment inspired by circus sideshows by Vertical Air of London and music by roots rock band the Commoners.

On the beer front, there’s hometown Railway City and Broken Rail, the St. Marys brewery that resurrected an abandoned railway station, and Bad Apple Brewing near Grand Bend.

Railway City will be at another former railway town on June 24 for the Raleway Festival in Palmerston at the town’s one-time passenger rail station.

NEW AND NOTED

Refined Fool has its Sarnia Light. Now, Storm Stayed has introduced a rival as spirited as a Knights-Sting playoff game. London Lite is a 4 per cent alcohol lager brewed with rice.

Berry beers? Refined Fool has raspberries in its new Help Yourself to My Parent’s Wardrobe, a thick, hazy IPA that also has vanilla and lactose. Storm Stayed has the sweet-sour Peak Season brewed with Heeman’s strawberries. Anderson Craft Ales and Heeman’s have Strawberry Sour. Broken Rail in St. Marys has the return of Strawberry Buzz, a strawberry wheat beer. Railway City in St. Thomas has a new fruit sour Express.

Golfers and light beer fans can ask for an O’Mulligans at Powerhouse in London. This light lager is 3.5 per cent alcohol with a can label that pays tribute to the frustration of golf.

In Blenheim, Red Barn Brewing pays homage to a revered local family with DeBoer’s Light Lager, a 4.2 per cent alcohol thirst quencher.

Spicy beer? Bell City in Brantford has the return of Hielo de Fuego, a lager with habañero chili peppers. On tap and in cans at the brewery.

Sour beer? Upper Thames in Woodstock has Making Waves with lemon-lime. A fruited kettle sour, it’s on tap at the brewery and sister Brickhouse Brewpub. Cans are coming.

Beer fights homelessness? It’s happening in British Columbia at Trench Brewing of Prince George where the brewery and modular home builder Pine Ridge Modular have launched a fundraising kolsch, They will donate $2 from each four-pack of Pine Ridge Kolsch sold to agencies working to alleviate homelessness in the Prince George area. Food for thought for breweries in other small cities looking to make a dent and draw attention to the housing crisis.

Wayne Newton is a freelance journalist based in London.