International Gruit Day celebrations on Feb. 1 help kick off Beau’s “feBREWary”

OG: Original Gruit

Beau’s All Natural joins 25 international breweries Feb. 1 for annual celebration of botanical beers; new Beau’s gruit ale “OG: Original Gruit” releases this Thursday

VANKLEEK HILL – (Jan. 27, 2015) Beau’s All Natural’s month-long winter celebration of beer begins this coming Thursday Jan. 29, with the release of OG: Original Gruit, a centuries-old beer style that incorporates herbs and other botanicals in lieu of hops. The new beer will be tapped simultaneously at 150 restaurants and pubs across Ontario on Thursday, and will also be sold and served at the brewery’s retail shop in Vankleek Hill.

OG: Original Gruit is a tip of the hat to the roots of this ancient beer style, made with three of the most common historical gruit ingredients: Labrador tea (also known as wild rosemary), bog myrtle (a.k.a. sweet gale), and yarrow. This deep gold, slightly hazy gruit has a mildly citrusy, herbal aroma with some malt notes. The flavour is balanced between malty sweetness and herbal bitterness. The finish is medium-long with lingering tannins and a hint of spice.

Along with winter seasonal Bog Water Eastern Ontario Gruit, OG: Original Gruit is Beau’s contribution to International Gruit Day on February 1. The annual event celebrates beers made with herbs and other botanicals in lieu of hops. For 2015, a total of 25 breweries from Ontario, The US and as far away as the Netherlands have brewed gruits to mark the day, and will participate in an international “Cheers” to the style on social media between 1-3 pm EST that day, using the hashtag #GruitDay. A list of participants is online at www.gruitday.com, and the event has an online community at www.facebook.com/gruitday.

Visitors to Beau’s Brewery can sample the new gruit from Beau’s beginning Thursday, January 29. A limited number of bottles of OG: Original Gruit will be available for sale from the brewery at a retail price of $7.95, and can also be ordered for home delivery in Ottawa via beer delivery service BYBO (www.bybo.ca). On Saturday Beau’s will tap a special cask-conditioned version of OG, and on Sunday, Feb. 1, Beau’s co-founder Steve Beauchesne will be on hand between 1-3 pm to greet guests and lead a toast to International Gruit Day 2015.

OG: Original Gruit will be one of the featured beers pouring this weekend at Gatineau, Québec’s winter beer festival Festibière (www.festibiere.ca), along with several other Beau’s beer creations, marking the official launch of Beau’s Brewery in Québec. The event takes place at the Canadian Museum of History Jan 30-31.

A full list of places across Ontario to try OG: Original Gruit on draft starting Thursday (and/or join in the group cheers Sunday Feb. 1 from 1-3 pm) is available at www.beaus.ca/feBREWary. feBREWary 2015 is Beau’s All Natural’s 4th annual month-long beer event designed to “Give Old Man Winter a kick in the snowpants.” Details on all the new beers, as well as events at the brewery and across the province at licensee partners (including an OG Gruit Hip Hop Karaoke party at The Elmdale Tavern in Ottawa Jan. 30) are also available online.

Beau’s All Natural is a local, family-run, award-winning, certified organic, and totally DIY craft brewery. Founded in 2006, Beau’s brews interesting, tasty beers, including its flagship Lug Tread Lagered Ale, using best-quality certified organic ingredients & local spring water. In addition to Lug Tread, Beau’s offers a growing collection of Year-Round Beers and a rotating Seasonal program, as well as the “Wild Oats” and “Pro-Am” Series. Beau’s has been a recipient of more than 70 awards for brewing, packaging design and business practices, including 2 Gold medals at Mondial de la Bière (Strasbourg, France, and Montréal, Québec); 6 Gold medals at the Canadian Brewing Awards, 7-times “Best Craft Brewery in Ontario” (2007-2013) and 6-times “Best Craft Beer in Ontario” (2007-2011; 2014) at the Golden Tap Awards. As a Certified B-Corporation, Beau’s meets higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Beau’s beer is available in Ontario and New York State – available soon in Québec (Feb. 2015). Oh yeah!

Website: www.beaus.ca
Twitter & Instagram: @beausallnatural
Facebook www.facebook.com/beausbrewery

OG: Original Gruit label: http://www.beaus.ca/design/og-label.jpg

*If the above link requests a password to access, please cut and paste the link directly into your browser (instead of clicking on the link) and it will go straight to the image – thanks!

For more information, please contact:

Steve Beauchesne, Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co.
10 Terry Fox Drive, Vankleek Hill, ON K0B 1R0
Toll-free at 866-585-BEER
http://www.beaus.ca