The Bar Towel

To A: Do not fear the World Wide Stout. Unlike Triple Bock (which has its fans, I'm just not one of them), the WWS is very much drinkable. It tastes like beer, and is to my tastes more of a barley wine than a stout, due to its lack of assertive roast. After 3Bock, WWS is a revelation in the superhea...

I'll bite on the Baltic Porter/Imperial Stout point. They are most assuredly not the same beer style. They came from the same place, but the Imperial Stouts today are revivalists, more or less true to the originals. Baltic Porters are the holdovers. They are usually (but not always) bottom-fermented...

I'm not going to get too worked up over here - if you know me then you know I don't need to be clubbed over the head - I love mild, dortmunder, Kölsch, White Shield, Budvar and a lot of other subtle, stylish beers. I'm not done with the Summer Lightning yet, anyway, as I have more. But Jon is right ...

I think with the Hopback the British are bigger on it because light, golden ales are pretty new to them (Summer Lightning being the first if my info is correct). Up here, we obviously drown in the stuff, even if most of it is utter crap. I've had four or five of the British golden ales and they real...

Well, one thing I did forget to mention is that while I was disappointed with the product I was very happy just to see it. To get beers of such reputation in, even if it is just a few cases for a trial run, that's what I like to see. For every disappointment, I've had two pleasant surprises. So over...

Yes, I had it and was disappointed. Peter knows I was fired up about this one, so I'm not just ragging on it. It has a pleasant malt note (always love the Maris Otter) and a refreshing effervescence, but not nearly enough flavour overall (and hop in particular) for my tastes. I understand part of it...

Cass, I knew you were there, but disappointed not to run into you (or anyone else for that matter). What sounded very funny to me when I posted last night (drunk) was less amusing today! Teach me for posting right when I get home from a beer fest. But yeah, I agree with the comment on potential. If ...

I just got back from the festival myself. I didn't see Cass there, in fact I was kind of surprised at how many people I thought I would run into, but did not. Kind of says something, really. A real festival, and I would have seen everybody and their dog there. Actually, the crowds were not that bad....

I was thinking just any car/minivan would do, as long as there is a DD present. But then my cheapness is motivated by the fact that I have a huge tasting later in September I have to save for, so I'm looking to chip in for gas, not hire transport, personally. But yeah, if anybody out there wants to ...

I was wondering about transport down to the Buffalo fest - if it wasn't possible to have some groups going down to the fest. This would make it easier for DD purposes and also for those of us city-dwelling types who don't have cars.

Any thoughts on this matter?

Speakings of 'heat emergency' beers - I pulled a couple of beauties from my cellar to mark the occasion - a little Schultheiss Berliner Weisse and Rodenbach Alexander. I can't believe they didn't bring the Schultheiss back this year - a world classic for less than two bucks a bottle? I drank more th...

Though I'm not sure they should be claiming outright that they brew their own beer on-site when they don't, such distinctions are generally of little value to the average consumer. I don't think it takes away from the beer. I mean, Liefmans Goudenband is brewed and fermented at seperate locations. D...

The point about the price of beer in BC & here is simple. When you are coming back from the US, you pay duties and taxes of some sort on your beer. In BC, you also pay the BCLDB markup as well. Here, you do not pay any markup. Thus, if I bring back a dozen beers into Ontario, what I pay at the b...

Some of the factors in beer pricing between here and BC: one is that beer taxes and levies are higher in BC. You can notice this when you bring it across the border in Ontario vs. in BC. Here there is a duopoly, so you do not pay an LCBO markup whereas in BC you must pay the BCLDB markup (the beer &...

I've got a bottle of that 60Minute IPA with my name on it just waiting for me already. My source says it is one huge hop monster with a nose even bigger than Weyerbacher Hops Infusion. Suffice to say I'm looking forward to it.