Pemi Pale ale

by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
(UNOB Towers)

Pemi Pale ale from the Woodstock Inn and Brewery: try to get the special edition

Pemi Pale ale is one of the Woodstock Inn and Brewery's standard brews, meaning it's available all year round. Described as "a pale ale for hopheads", the Inn's printed beer menu goes on to compare it to an IPA.

I found this to be a little disappointing, not because it wasn't a decent drop of ale, but because of that IPA comparison. The beer lacked dryness in the finish and had little in the way of a head, though it had good hoppiness.

Fortunately I met one of the Inn's brewers, Butch, later in the evening and he poured a pint of Pemi that had been treated to an additional fermentation. Pumped by hand, the beer poured with a very encouraging fluffy head. And sure enough, all the qualities that it had lacked in the regular pint were more than compensated for by this special edition.

Unfortunately, Pemi Pale ale won't be available in its more rewarding format very often, but if you can make it to the Woodstock Inn and Brewery and visit the basement tavern, there's usually at least one beer that's been conditioned in a cask or had some other special treatment. Butch will be happy to chat about his beer too!

Don't miss Old Man Oatmeal stout if you're there too -- delicious.