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| Who was Ontario's brewery of the year 2011? |
| Muskoka |
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24% |
[ 21 ] |
| Great Lakes |
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29% |
[ 25 ] |
| Amsterdam |
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14% |
[ 12 ] |
| Beaus |
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12% |
[ 11 ] |
| Flying Monkeys |
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18% |
[ 16 ] |
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| Total Votes : 85 |
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Belgian
Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 7009
Location: I Heart TO
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 Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Malcolm wrote: | | ... Hypothetically, if Amsterdam could take the blonde, amber and stout off taps around Toronto and keep their lesser known products on instead, they would rise to the upper pantheon of beerdom in my books.... |
Or "upper echelons of beer GEEKdom" which, as you say may be a costly venture at the expense of their mainstream income. But - and here's hoping - they can slowly piggyback the newer 'ultra premium' beers on their existing distribution & expand into this newer Ontario market that seems to be taking off (case in point Hawaiian Pale, Mad Tom, etc etc...)
On a side note the Boneshaker I got last month is spectacular. I had about six choices of IPA in the fridge last night - Stone, Red Racer, Racer 5, Hop Circle, Corné - and I believe Boneshaker held its own.
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cratez
Joined: 15 Mar 2010
Posts: 1329
Location: Toronto, ON
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Belgian wrote: | | Don't forget Grand River's distribution wasn't so great either even a few years back...Umm, so what was the complaint again? Let's see if Amsterdam will at least expand their best product at the same glacial pace as GR (or even outstrip them) |
We're talking about 2011, not the future, and this past year GRB really stepped up their retail distro of core beers and seasonals in major centres across the province. That is one of the reasons why I believe they're worthy of BOTY status, though it's certainly not the most important one.
I do agree, however, that Amsterdam's new approach to crafting bold experimental one-offs and collaborating with homebrewers is very encouraging, and over time it will likely inspire other OCBs to do the same. It would be nice to see the most successful one-offs replace some of the pedestrian beers that clutter the brewery's regular lineup.
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midlife crisis
Joined: 08 Jan 2004
Posts: 1139
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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I fail to see why the fact that they make a couple of mainstream beers should be held against Amsterdam (or Great Lakes, the same could be said of them). Are these the ideological purity awards?
I agree that the latest batch of Boneshaker was top notch. Better than Mad Tom (purely IMO, of course).
Regarding Grand River, I'm a big fan and love pretty well all of their stuff. To me, though, they didn't do anything particularly new in 2011 (except Pugnacious I guess, which was OK but not inspiring), and innovation would be a big part of my definition of BOTY. I agree that, in retrospect, they should have at least been part of the poll. |
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Derek
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 2926
Location: Kelowna, BC
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with the Grand River assessment. Some of the best brews in the province, but this wasn't really a 'special' year.
Neudstat deserves a mention as well... the first non-American brewery to be a top 10 award winner at the US open:
http://www.usopenbeer.com/
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Belgian
Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 7009
Location: I Heart TO
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:08 pm Post subject: |
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| midlife crisis wrote: | | I fail to see why the fact that they make a couple of mainstream beers should be held against Amsterdam (or Great Lakes, the same could be said of them). Are these the ideological purity awards? |
Naw. I think the sentiment (or irritation) is 'why not replace a few mainstreams with better stuff?' But mainstream suds  are a cash cow the brewer probably depends on - and these sales SUPPORT these low-volume / higher-cost new beers you and I like to buy.
We DID get Teichert Smoked Porter in the LCBO, and maybe one or two others (Boneshaker?) - and it wasn't like just one case or something, fleeting and impossible to buy (Granted GR fixed that tendency.)
Again, maybe Amsterdam are on the right track. I'm not holding my breath to see Tempest in 30 Ontario-wide stores because a fellow working there says the RIS is a one-off they won't make again.
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Last edited by Belgian on Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:13 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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velovampire
Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Posts: 971
Location: Parkdale
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Belgian wrote: | | We DID get Teichert Smoked Porter in the LCBO |
We did? How did I miss that? |
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Belgian
Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 7009
Location: I Heart TO
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:14 pm Post subject: |
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| velovampire wrote: | | Belgian wrote: | | We DID get Teichert Smoked Porter in the LCBO |
We did? How did I miss that? |
Call me on it if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure my eyes saw it at Cooper Street.
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matt7215
Joined: 05 Sep 2008
Posts: 2585
Location: Cambridge
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Belgian wrote: | | velovampire wrote: | | Belgian wrote: | | We DID get Teichert Smoked Porter in the LCBO |
We did? How did I miss that? |
Call me on it if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure my eyes saw it at Cooper Street. |
never happened
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cratez
Joined: 15 Mar 2010
Posts: 1329
Location: Toronto, ON
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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| midlife crisis wrote: | | I fail to see why the fact that they make a couple of mainstream beers should be held against Amsterdam. |
95% of their line-up qualifies as mainstream/uninspired to me. A malty blonde, a malty amber (Big Wheel), a malty brown, an undistinguished malty stout, two fruit beers (Pomegranate & Framboise), a decent bock, and a pedestrian wheat (416).
I enjoy the Boneshaker, Wee Heavy, and Oranje Weiss though.
| midlife crisis wrote: | | Are these the ideological purity awards? |
Not as I understand it. I've chosen a brewery that 1) makes a broad range of flavourful and interesting beers that I regularly purchase on tap and in package, 2) brews several seasonals that I actually like to drink, and 3) distributes many of their offerings across the province. All criteria that I personally deem important for Ontario BOTY, but you're not obliged to agree.
| midlife crisis wrote: | | The latest batch of Boneshaker was top notch. Better than Mad Tom (purely IMO, of course). |
The IPA is very good but it tastes different everytime I try it, and in that regard it's not nearly as consistent as Mad Tom. The first time I sampled Boneshaker it was closer to an English IPA; over time it's come to resemble the American style that I believe they were aiming for all along.
| midlife crisis wrote: | | Innovation would be a big part of my definition of BOTY. |
That's entirely reasonable, and I think it's fair to say that Great Lakes, Beau's, and Amsterdam currently have a leg up on other OCBs in this area.
I guess I'm mostly concerned with quality, consistency, and breadth of line-up, as my picks for previous years would've been Black Oak in 2009 (when I finally sampled all of their outstanding beers and they first released 10BY) and Flying Monkeys in 2010 (the year that Hoptical and Netheworld became widely available and Smash Bomb hit bars).
Also, despite the dismissive tone of my first post, I get why a number of folks have picked Amsterdam. They've taken an exciting new direction, they released some killer one-offs, and experimentation of any sort is badly needed in this province. If I lived in Toronto - or better yet, in the same neighbourhood as Amsterdam - I would likely have a more favourable opinion of them.
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Cale
Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 536
Location: Hamilton, ON
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:16 pm Post subject: |
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As someone who has been drinking Boneshaker almost weekly since the end of spring, I would say if anything it's the MOST consistent IPA around. It may have had consistency issues in the past but that doesn't appear to be the case anymore. Although I can't speak for the bottled format.
It's a good beer but a little flowery/perfumey for me some days. I always order it over Spearhead and Mad Tom though. |
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matt7215
Joined: 05 Sep 2008
Posts: 2585
Location: Cambridge
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Cale wrote: | As someone who has been drinking Boneshaker almost weekly since the end of spring, I would say if anything it's the MOST consistent IPA around. It may have had consistency issues in the past but that doesn't appear to be the case anymore. Although I can't speak for the bottled format.
It's a good beer but a little flowery/perfumey for me some days. I always order it over Spearhead and Mad Tom though. |
where has it been on tap that long and where is it on tap beside Mad Tom and Spearhead??
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jcc
Joined: 08 Aug 2007
Posts: 136
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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| matt7215 wrote: | | where has it been on tap that long and where is it on tap beside Mad Tom and Spearhead?? |
It definitely has been on tap at the Town Crier on John Street for months (6 months perhaps longer, can't remember exactly), not beside Mad Tom and Spearhead though. |
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Cale
Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 536
Location: Hamilton, ON
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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| matt7215 wrote: | | Cale wrote: | As someone who has been drinking Boneshaker almost weekly since the end of spring, I would say if anything it's the MOST consistent IPA around. It may have had consistency issues in the past but that doesn't appear to be the case anymore. Although I can't speak for the bottled format.
It's a good beer but a little flowery/perfumey for me some days. I always order it over Spearhead and Mad Tom though. |
where has it been on tap that long and where is it on tap beside Mad Tom and Spearhead?? |
It's on tap at the Ship 99% of the time. They get Spearhead, Smashbomb, and Mad Tom periodically.
The Judge has it on tap quite often as well. |
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Belgian
Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 7009
Location: I Heart TO
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:26 pm Post subject: Amsterdam has TWO Rsapberry beers, and one's real good! |
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| cratez wrote: | | If I lived in Toronto - or better yet, in the same neighbourhood as Amsterdam - I would likely have a more favourable opinion of them. |
As they would of you!  No seriously dude, London is even farther away from Buffalo than I have to drive so I feel your pain - I hope friendly traders get you some bottles.
Least that's how it worked for years from Cambridge's GR. Still does for the rare stuff.
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Belgian
Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 7009
Location: I Heart TO
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:44 pm Post subject: FAILZ |
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| matt7215 wrote: | | Belgian wrote: | | velovampire wrote: | | Belgian wrote: | | We DID get Teichert Smoked Porter in the LCBO |
We did? How did I miss that? |
Call me on it if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure my eyes saw it at Cooper Street. |
never happened |
Other people say it happened. You owe me a homebrew now!
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