Bewitched by Witchshark and friends

I drank deeply of her beauty before I brought her to my lips. She was so enchanting I thought it must be sorcery, until I realized that at nine per cent ABV, she had a bite that I had to respect.

I was in love with a beer, as well as with a brewery. But even more with friends, both old and new.

The occasion was a visit to the Bellwoods Brewery on Ossington Avenue in Toronto, home of Witchshark double IPA, a brew that has already soared to the top of my must-have list. The friends were my college buddy Don, he of the Brew Ha Ha blog and his new found expertise in all things beery, and my new friend, the lovely Cat.

We had been talking for a while about doing a brewery tour – especially after I had missed Cat and Don’s Most Excellent Amsterdam Adventure – and we settled on Bellwoods, largely on the strength of three IPAs on the menu. Three? Damn, I was excited at the prospect and besides, it was my idea.

So on Saturday I headed to the Big Smoke and after almost pulling a Don (I missed my exit, as opposed to getting lost entirely) I made it the brewery and found a place to park on the permanently snow-bound side streets. (How can they plow it if the cars never leave?)

The meet-n-greet was outside, as we all arrived at about the same time, and other than a minor faux pas of extending a hand to Cat (her choice – the better one – was a warm embrace), was uneventful.

But inside, I saw what the fuss was about. Cozy (a lineup started soon after our arrival near the opening bell of 2) with a great country kitchen vibe (as long as your country kitchen contained massive beer-making machinery), the bar was dominated by a huge board with dozens of offerings from the brewery, as well as some ‘guest’ taps.

There were plenty of IPAs, so I was ready.

“One Roman Candle, please,” said I. “I’m sorry,” said our server. “We’re all out. We blew the keg.”

Don and Cat had some fun withy the sexual innuendos that were ripe for the picking, but I was devastated. No Roman Candle?

“But we have it at the bottle shop,” continued our server, witness to the look on my face. “So no worries.”

All righty then.

I had the Catherine Wheel first, a Belgian IPA that was a must-drink for Cat for almost obvious reasons (and a must-drink for Don and I if we knew what was good for us) and I was suitably impressed. I wasn’t bowled over, but bonus points to Bellwoods for making a very strong beer (7.3 per cent ABV) taste like a session brew.

Next up was Wizard Wolf, a true session pale ale at 4.8 per cent. Not bad. Not bad at all.

After sampling the guest tap IPA (Half Nelson, from Great Lakes: excellent!), the Witchshark appeared, and I was in love.

Deep copper colour, great head (hey! I passed on the last innuendo opportunity) and absolutely huge hops. Citrusy (Grapefruit? Don’t take my word for it – I’m a rookie at this) and overall, just an awesome beer. It jumped right to the top of my list with Rogue Brutal and Smashbomb and is my undisputed number one double IPA.

We had a great afternoon trading stories  - I almost forgot to mention that it was our mutual friend and fellow craft beer geek Steve's birthday (he couldn't make it from New Zealand for the visit) and it was Don's the day before, so we had a lot to celebrate. All good things, unfortunatly,  must eventually come to an end – we all had to drive and I had to work. Actually, I was more than two hours late for my shift when I left but I have an … understanding boss, so it was all good.

We hit the bottle shop before we left and I finally got my hands on the Roman Candle, as well as a couple of bottles of the Witchshark.

Cat and Don, spoiled as they are, got to bring their bottle shop buys home and start (re-start?) drinking. But as I had to work, my drinking would have to wait.

So there I was, three hours and a bit after I left Bellwoods, finally at home with a Roman Candle poured in front of me. And I took a few sips (“s’right, nothing special”) and promptly fell asleep.

I can make excuses – up since 4 am, aching back, blah blah – but still: I left a quality beer on the table. I am so sorry, Bellwoods.

Two hours later I awoke, but I’m not fit for drinking, and my bedtime comes early. So I put my Roman Candle – already poured in a glass – in the fridge.

Now I didn’t let that beer go to waste the next day – for shame if you thought that for a second – but the true test was delayed until the next evening. Cold and poured in my bestest glass, I finally got to sampling Roman Candle at its best.

S’right. Nothing special.

I still had two bottles of the Witchshark left, however, which I savoured over two days and each bottle was better than the last.

True love, mate. With a great beer, a great brewery and great friends, old and new.