For
those not in the know, Gerard Comeau is a gent from my home province,
Nouveau Brunswick, who dared to travel to Quebec in search of cheaper
beer and booze. Cited by the RCMP and fined $240 plus fees and surcharge, Comeau decided to
fight. Successful at first instance and at the New Brunswick Court of
Appeal, it looked like Gerard would prevail, but the province’s appeal
to the Supreme Court of Canada was allowed and his fine was restored.
The reasoning is high-falutin’ constitutional law dealing with
interprovincial trade and tariffs, and is better dealt with in a legal
forum. For my purposes, Gerard Comeau is a dude who fought to freely
bring beer across provincial lines and regardless of his ultimate
defeat, I think he’s a folk hero worthy of a beer named in his honour.
On to the beer.
GC
is a brut IPA, meaning it is effervescent like a sparkling wine and
extremely low on sugar. The beer I got was a fizzy golden number; clear
beer under a sudsy white cap. It had a dry, yeasty aroma with some
faintly floral bitterness. Crisp and extremely dry, the beer wasn’t
overly flavourful, though there were some perfumed bitter elements,
particularly at the finish, and even more particularly as the beer
warmed.
Incredibly easy-drinking for a 7.2%
beer, GC was a well-brewed collaboration between two breweries I’d never
before encountered. Even without its legal/historical significance, I’d
have called this a quality beer, but the context is definitely worth an
extra half-point in my personal scale. Brut IPAs, while all be rage,
are still pretty new to me, but this one really clicked. I’d have liked
for the amplifiers to be turned up a bit, flavour-wise, particularly in
the early going, but that won’t stop me from enjoying the other two
bottles I’ve got left.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
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