El Pinguino wrote:Wooop, love the Belgian gift packs.

I'm guessing none of them have glassware though...I pretty much just buy the giftpacks for myself though

That's funny. Me too. I hand them to my kids and say "here, give me this for Christmas." Works out well for all concerned.

Yeah, I get that, thanks. That is my point. You see their entire inventory, a good 75% of which is complete crap.

Thanks, but does that illustrate the amount of crap they carry, or what?

Fuller's Vintage leads the pack here, IMO (though I will miss Bon Voeux too). Curious about what might be in a couple of others, such as the offering from the underrated Redline, Left Field, maybe O'Hara.

S. St. Jeb wrote:Great Lakes BURST! A New England Pale Ale coming to the LCBO.

https://www.canadianbeernews.com/2020/0 ... g-to-lcbo/

Ooh, ooh, ooh! That has potential to be excellent as a post-golf quaffer. Love the abv too. Thanks for the head's up.

maybethewater wrote:The freshness is better at the LCBO ime. And much better in terms of new offerings.

Check those date codes! There are occasionally some nice fresh offerings. But also the opposite, all too often.

Northern was founded in 1907. I think they would be more akin to Moosehead as a regional macro producer were they still around in their original incarnation today. Were Sleeman’s independent, I’d suggest them for that category too. Certainly nothing ‘micro’ or ‘craft’ about the former in the sense ...

"One of the first craft breweries in Ontario established in 1996" Not sure how far up the list you have to be to be considered "one of the first", but I think this is an exaggeration. Obviously the true pioneers were Wellington, upperCanada, Conners and Hart (I may be forgetting...

"One of the first craft breweries in Ontario established in 1996" Not sure how far up the list you have to be to be considered "one of the first", but I think this is an exaggeration. Obviously the true pioneers were Wellington, upperCanada, Conners and Hart (I may be forgetting...

any Grand River is no longer, the brand will live on but the brewery is closed https://www.magnotta.com/Page/Grand-River-Brewing That's a shame. While I haven't had a Grand River beer in years, there was a time when they were cutting edge and amongst the best craft options available. Will always fo...

This would be brewed at Brunswick Bierworks in East York, as with the other Omnipollos that we get.

Monk's Stout also spotted at Summerhill today.

Fullers Imperial IPA — Really nice beast of an ale. Firm Euro hops and massive malt. Fruity, bready, herbal, sweet and bitter. In its latest effort at over-packaging an ultra premium beer, Fullers triumphs with the darkest amber ale you've ever seen. Densely flavorful, exudes richness and a hop oil...

I bought one today (at Summerhill, alas). OT, but at 9:00 am they also magically had half a dozen (returned?) bottles of Blanton's on the whiskey shelf, but they didn't last long.

I seem to view Beau's a bit differently than others. Historically I've found that they excel at German (helles, altbier, marzen, kolsch, dunkel, etc.) and session styles (Wag the Wolf, ESB, Irish Stout, Good TIme), and are mediocre at almost everything else, particularly mid-strength IPAs, most Ame...