Take a Winter Walk to 5e Baron

Something very special happened for me in December 2023. After almost eight years of involvement in the craft beer scene, probably six years of which were taking it seriously, moving from just an Instagram account to the occasional video collab with friends, to legit blogging with BAOS, to full-on co-hosting the podcast, I did my first solo beer collaboration! It also happened to be with one of my all-time favourite breweries, my friends at 5e Baron of Aylmer, QC.

I’ve been talking for a while about my love of West Coast IPAs, and truly no one I know of brews as many of them as 5e Baron. In fact, in 2023 West Coast/American IPAs or Pale Ales made up 15% of their year’s production. They had 9 brand new West Coast or American IPAs/Pales last year alone, which doesn’t even include the returns of some of their greatest hits like Wychwood, or the doubles like Sitka and Sequoia. They truly make some of my favourites, and it’s an absolute treat to walk into the 5e Baron taproom any day of the year and basically be guaranteed to be able to get a Westy on tap.

The idea I came to them with was a West Coast IPA with a classic C-hop bill, leaning heavy on Centennial, taking inspiration from some of the favourite classic American IPAs. I’m so amped that they were game for this idea, and I’m absolutely in love with the result. The final dry-hop blend was 55% Centennial, 30% Cascade, and 15% Chinook, all from Houblonniere Lupuline in Chapeau, QC. The original plan was a single IPA, around 6.5 - 7%, but head brewer Dimitri thought that the name “Winter Walks” I had chosen sounded like a bigger beer, so we agreed that it would be even better as a Double West Coast IPA. I’m so glad he made that tweak, because to be honest, the Double Westies are my favourites, and the way everything came together with this hop combo and the grain bill from their coniferous series in a big 8% classic Double Westy was just spectacular.

I shamelessly stole an idea from my good friend Noah of Beerism, which is to have a group of my beer writer and photographer friends review the beer for me. Here’s what they thought:

Beerism

Winter Walks pours out a gorgeous bright orange, carrying a lovely clarity and an ample puffy head. The nose delivers candied oranges mixed with deep piney aromas and a slight earthiness from the yeast.

Up front, the palate carries ample sweetness without being cloying in the least. This is due to an aggressive but not over-the-top hop bitterness that echos resinous tree sap. Grapefruit pith and light orange characteristics compliment things even further, finishing in a long-cutting bitterness that cleans up every sip. This is truly one of the best double West Coast IPA’s I’ve had in a very long time.

La Chopine

Cette magnifique Double West Coast IPA présente une belle teinte dorée caramel et laisse une jolie dentelle sur les parois de mon verre. Les arômes résineux et d’agrumes, principalement d’orange et de pamplemousse, sont absolument invitants! Elle est hautement aromatique et déjà, au nez, elle me rappelle les plus belles West Coast qu’on prenaient plaisir à déguster il y a déjà quelques années! Du bonheur dans mes narines!

En bouche, son amertume résineuse et herbacée est bien tranchante, fidèle au style. On y retrouve des belles saveurs d’agrumes et de conifères. Elle est maltée sans tomber dans un excès de caramel ce que j’apprécie énormément et la finale est plutôt sèche pour une Double IPA. Nathan et 5e Baron nous propose ici une bière qui respecte vraiment bien les traditionnels saveurs et arômes du style, une rareté sur le marché en ce moment. Alors si tu le peux, va vite te chercher ça chez ton détaillant de bières spécialisées préféré!

Cee (BAOS Podcast)

Coming in at 8%, this bad boy rocks Centennial, Cascade and Chinook from Houblonnière Lupuline Hop Yard, plus this is the last beer of 2023 for 5e, which is just cool af. It pours a slightly opaque caramel with a foamy head and a sticky, citrusy nose, the body is hella creamy with tons of candied citrus, dank stone fruit and grassy bitterness, it’s piney and resinous, hella sticky and sappy, pithy grapefruit and more citrus, very drinkable, all wrapping in a piney, dank, malty, dry finish. Spectacular - go get this in ya!

So there you have it! I’m truly honoured to have had the opportunity to work with 5e Baron on this beer. The brewing team absolutely nailed what I was looking for, and their skill in the execution of this style unquestionably matches their enthusiasm for it. To drive the point home on how many variations of this style they make, at the time of this writing, Winter Walks is one of FIVE West Coast IPAs 5e Baron currently has available in cans!

If you have the chance to try this beer, I would love to hear what you think of it! Tag me in your posts of the beer, and extra points if you take a picture of Winter Walks on a winter walk!

Cheers!

Article by Nathan Lefebvre.

Beer reviews by Beerism, La Chopine, and Cee.

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Nathan

Nathan is a craft beer enthusiast from Ottawa, ON. He is the Co-Founder of @TeamLactose, he’s passionate about travelling for beer and he loves talking about beer from Ontario, Quebec and beyond.

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