The campaign trucked right along this weekend as we continued to hit the subdivision we need (mine), and by all accounts turn out is good today. Sadly our competition decided to remove a significant portion of Tony’s signs from Caledon East, just as her allies removed those of Garry Moore and Annette Groves previously. On one hand it’s interesting that they’ve become so afraid they’ve stooped so low as to remove our signs and violate the very rules they placed in effect by putting signs wherever they want without permission. On the other hand, a fair fight would have been preferable. Results in a couple hours, I can’t wait.
My reviews on RateBeer.com earned me an invite to Neustadt Springs Brewery this weekend to try some reformulations of their core products, as well as the promise of a cask-aged version of their Big Dog Beaujolais Porter. It’s only about 30 minutes away from Mary’s family farm so we accepted and I’m glad we did.
On the drinking side, I tried reformulated versions of the Lager, Big Dog Beaujolais Porter, and 10w30; I was also treated to the Scottish Ale and rarely seen Manchester Bitter. The Lager was significantly improved with a terrific hop profile that really raised it in my books. The 10w30, which I already loved, didn’t taste much different, so I think what I tasted a month ago was the reformulation. The Porter is insanely good in all forms, but beyond description on cask. We just kept going back for more. The Scottish Ale is terrific, albeit a bit light in body. The Manchester Bitter – well.. let’s just say I’m one of the last to sample it, as I don’t think it’ll be coming back.
The coolest part was the tour. As with most breweries it was interesting to see the machinery and equipment, but Neustadt has a much cooler history to share as we headed into the basement, or “caverns” as they’re called. The brewery was built by 40 German stonemasons in 1857, specifically placed over the source of the crystal springs to create the Crystal Springs Brewery. A fire changed things up, but the building I was in was almost as is from an 1869 repair. Crystal Springs Brewery closed in 1916 and bought by Val and Andy Stimpson in 1997 to create Neustadt Springs Brewery. Into the basement we found very little natural light (ie. none) with a few candles and lights to guide our way through the man-made stone walls with arched ceilings. Sloped floors brought us 27 feet below grade to the source of the spring, the same spring they use to make the beer today. Inside these caverns is a plentiful supply of albino spiders – pure white and playing dead, although they weren’t. This glimpse of history was the perfect end to a great day, and anyone heading northwards (ie. Owen Sound, Hanover, Walkerton, Collingwood) would be well-advised to pop in for a tour and tasting.
Today’s Random Links
Beer Blog’s take on the Neustadt tour (with pictures)
The official Neustadt Springs Brewery page
BeerAdvocate.com: Neustadt Springs Brewery
RateBeer.com: Neustadt Springs Brewery