With the deluge of new breweries opening in Ontario it can be easy to forget that there are some, like Toronto's Granite Brewery, that have been plugging away for decades. The LCBO release this winter of their Peculiar was a welcome reminder that they have a catalogue of very good English-style ales.

Granite's restaurant space at Mount Pleasant and Eglinton is a tied house, which is an old-fashioned, legal name for a pub that is connected to a particular brewery. A few other bars carry their beer, but the Peculiar is the only one at the LCBO.

Granite's Peculiar pours a dark chestnut with ruddy brown at the edges. The small, pillowy head quickly recedes and leaves a thin ring of foam and good hints of lacing on my beer snifter.

The aroma of vanilla, malt, biscuit, and ripe fruit has a definite autumn theme to it — like a molasses cake with crabapple jelly. The flavour opens with a good shot of sweetness that gets its depth from cereal flavours and is held in line by a very slight, grassy hop bitterness. A further balancing note is struck by the crisp, dry finish.

Though at the strong end, this beer falls into the spectrum of English ales that are built for pub consumption, so choose a food pairing to fit. A meat pie with pickled onions or bangers and mash with a mustard-fortified onion gravy would be ideal.

A juicy tartness lingers in the background of the bottled version of the Peculiar. I've never picked this up when having it on tap, so I think this element alone makes it worth seeking out a couple bottles.

Granite Brewery's Peculiar Strong Ale, $5.75 for a 650 ml bottle, LCBO #686980

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 his own site, Food With Legs. He is the author of The Canadian Craft Beer Cookbook; now in stores and available for ordering online. For more of his thoughts on food, beer and life in general, follow him on Twitter or get in touch at info@foodwithlegs.com.