Lake of Bays Brewing’s latest NHL Alumni beer is soon to be on/may already have hit LCBO shelves. As usual, it is celebrating one of the many great hockey goaltenders of yesteryear (Gerry Cheevers). Where I come from we call them goalkeepers, and save the “tender” suffix for the pub where it belongs.
Stitches Oktoberfest Lager pours a brilliantly clear deep copper and even has some ruby highlights, it’s a quite beautiful looking beer. The nose is intense for an Oktoberfest, with some atypical booziness, but there are the usual malty aromas one would expect. There’s some sweetness, a little dark fruit and a subtle herbal hop aroma. On the palate it’s a malt bazooka, with molasses and dark rye bread leading the charge, and some raisins and light sherry notes providing some support. It’s medium to full bodied, I would go as far as to say it’s chewy. The finish is clean, with a warm boozy aftertaste that lingers.
Is Stitches a good beer? Yes, it’s gorgeous. It would pair nicely with hearty fall meals, I’m thinking something gamey like rabbit and bean stew. I had it with bread pudding and ice cream, and it certainly wasn’t out of place, its sweet malt notes complementing the bready dessert.
Is Stitches a good example of an Oktoberfest beer? Likely not, this beer displays many of the attributes of a Doppelbock (the 8% ABV, the dark fruit notes and the dark ruby colour) and even the label mentions that it’s caramel notes are “true to style”, which is bollocks, caramel is one of the only things that the BJCP states is NOT appropriate in Octoberfest beers.
Is Stitches worth $11.95? That depends on what your T4 says! It’s a very nice beer, and is suitable for sharing and even cellaring at 8%. That said, I’d probably balk upon seeing the price tag. I can pick up a Trappist Belgian Quad for just over $7 at the LCBO (La Trappe), and that mortgage isn’t going to pay itself….
HopGobblin' 