The Bar Towel

[rejtable]

For Ottawa, it's out of the way but L'autre oueil in old Aylmer is unrivaled for bottle selection and they usually have a dozen interesting taps on the go. Depending on when you are heading this way, Mill St should be open.

For Halifax, a couple that haven't been mentioned... Henry House which has great pub food and serves a pretty decent selection of Granite beer. If you go, sit in the basement, not in the bland bistro/restaurant area on the main floor. Second, while not a craft beer mecca, Tom's Little Havana behind Rogue's Roost is high up on my list for great atmosphere. They usually have a good selection of Propeller/Garrison stuff. No matter what Greg Nash is doing at Rockbottom or the Hart and Thistle I'd take a nice Propeller Bitter any day at Tom's!

[JerCraigs]

[boney]

Thanks for all the tips! I'm definitely planning on hitting up BDT in Ottawa/Gatineau, The Alibi in Vancouver, and the Hart and Thistle (and now maybe Rock Bottom) Halifax, time permitting. I used to live in both London and Hamilton, pre-dating Gambrinus and The Ship, respectively, so those will be new to me. Might head to the Judge for some nostalgic abuse as well. As others have said, I'll probably skip the Grad Club in London.......way, way back in the day I used to frequent the old Spoke, when it still had sticky carpet, mad Karaoke, was divey and had $2.50 pints of 50. Ah, to be a grad student again.

Already did my thing in Calgary and Edmonton. Went to Sherbrooke in Edmonton and picked up a much desired Cantillon Fou Foune as well as some Sherbrooke exclusive collaborations with Paddock Wood. Also went to Alley Kat and chatted them up. Apperently the next in the single hop Dragon Imperial IPA series will be Green Dragon with Zythos hops (next week). Should be awesome. The new logo for that beer is completely bas-ass and will look fantasitc on a beer t-shirt.

Back briefly in Calgary before I'm off to Vancouver tomorrow and hit up The District tonight for some Brew Brothers offerings.....Amarillo IPA and Black Pils, both of which were in good form.

[boney]

First of 2 nights in Vancouver. Got in a little late, so I decided to grab some sushi and look for a good local bottle shop. Low and behold, Brewery Creek is a mere 4 blocks from the hotel I am staying in. I wasn't expecting to be blown away, but when I walked in, my jaw hit the floor........Oud Beersel, Fantome, Cantillon, Jolly Pumpkin, Deschutes, Green Flash, Elysian, Bear Republic. It was ridiculous.

Now, I'm essentially on 2 weeks of job interviews, so hauling a bunch of beer around the country is not feasible and I don't really have time to ship stuff back to Calgary, so my purchases were restrained. Here's what I bought......

-Boon Oude Geuze
-Oud Beersel Oude Kriek
-Oude Beersel Oude Geuze
-Jolly Pumkin Bam Biere (drinking right now in the hotel room....was always one I wanted to try and never had the opportunity to)

.....and the piece de resistance..... Deschutes Abyss! I couldn't believe it when I saw it. They had Brooklyn Black Ops as well, but it was one or the other.

Tomorrow......Alibi

[boney]

Had a good time at the Alibi Room last night. Great Place. Crazy good tap selection. Drank.....

-Red Truck CDA
-Fern's IIPA Cask (brewer from Granville Island)
-Storm Imperial Sour Flanders Red
-Howe Sound Pothole Filler Impy Stout

On to Halifax today

[rejtable]

So, Calgary to Vancouver then to Halifax. The back to the centre? Who's you travel agent?

Enjoy Halifax. Right across from Rock Bottom is Premier Wine and Spirits (in behind Pete's Frootique) if you are looking to grab something for your room or to stash in your bag. Best selection east of Québec by far.

[Derek]

[boney]

Was in Halifax last week. Never got to Hart and Thistle, simply because I was hanging out with other people whose first priority was not beer, but still had some enjoyable local pints at Henry House and Split Crow. Also made a quick trip to Premiere and was able to try Hell Bay English Ale for the first time (only OK).

Travelled on to Ottawa and stopped by Brasseurs du Temp over in Gatineau. Wow. They may be one of my favorite Canadian breweries. Everything was top notch, including a very cidre-like apple ale. Also had a very bretty saison from Charlevoix, called Multigrain, on the guest tap which was really outstanding.

Spent the weekend in Montreal with a pilgrimage to Dieu du Ciel, as well as Brutopia (close to the hotel). Had some Peche on tap, as well as their Black IPA and various other beers in the Rigor Mortis series. Wicked good. Traction Ale by le Trou du Diable was on the guest tap and also solid. Bottle shops in Montreal are insane! Maybe not as diverse as top bottle shops in the States, but they certainly have way more beers that I've never even heard of compared to shops in the States. Fun stuff.

Next week, still in Montreal but also in Toronto, Hamilton and London. Quite a bit buisier. In most places, in town for less than 24 hours. probably will not have as much time to explore.

[Torontoblue]

[boney]

I was in Toronto today. The only free time I had was between 2 and 3, then I had to meet upwith some family. I though "perfect, Volo now opens at 2 , so I'll just grab a quick pint". No such luck. There was a hand written note on the door saying "will open at 3pm today". Foiled! Ah well. Next time, old friend.