Le Trou du Diable’s co-owners, Isaac Tremblay and head brewer André Trudel, wanted to pay tribute to Hans Peter Drexler and Garrett Oliver’s Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse collaboration with a hoppy wheat beer of their own.
Since their brewery is based in Shawinigan, it made sense to double up on the homage and add a cheeky reference to the town’s most famous resident by calling the beer Shawinigan Handshake.
Former prime minister Jean Chretien enjoyed the beer so much (and has enough of a sense of humour) that he convinced them to brew it regularly — it had originally only been meant for Oktoberfest — and he agreed to let the brewery use his image on the bottle label.
This beer is an interesting combination of disparate influences. German weizenbocks are light in colour and depend on aromatic, yeast-driven flavors. They are one of the lightest, most sprightly beers brewed for the traditional autumn celebrations. On the other hand, American IPAs are dependent on the citrusy hops that are the calling card of beers from the US pacific northwest.
Shawinigan Handshake pours a light amber gold with a frothy head that dissipates to leave some noticeable lacing on the glass. The aroma is all weizen: white peach, cooked banana, toasted wheat and warm spices. By contrast, the flavour has the recognizable white grapefruit and zesty, bitter notes of an American IPA.
The balancing of these two styles creates a beer that I think will accomplish the difficult task of satisfying those who appreciate the best attributes of both parents. At the same time, it offers something to imbibers who find weizens too spritzy or IPAs too bitter.
The label design that made it into LCBOs (despite some raised, paternalistic eyebrows) shows Chretien strangling the devil. In another version, Don Cherry stands in as Cretien’s adversary, but the brewery decided it was pushing the envelope enough as it is.
Le Trou du Diable Shawinigan Handshake, $6.05 for a 600 mL bottle, LCBO #322522
In addition to covering beer, new restaurants and food trucks for Post City, David Ort writes about food and drink for several Toronto publications including Spotlight Toronto and his own site, Food With Legs. For more of his thoughts on food, beer and life in general, follow him on Twitter.