The Bar Towel

I wanted to split mine with my Brother-in-Law for Christmas. I don't think that's what they are frowning upon. No I know, they were worried about individual bottles. Actually, out of curiosity (and it's none of my business, so you can tell me where to go and you certainly won't get any judgement fo...

As much as I diss the LCBO, and the discredit they deserve for underestimating and mishandling this limited Westvleteren release, there are plans to include Orval, Chimay Blue and Rochefort 10 among their regular offerings beginning later this winter. Let's see if they follow up on this.

It doesn't look good for the remaining locations. The subject is already being posted on the discussion forums for eBay professionals. Those people will pay someone to stand in line as long as necessary to get it. Expect to see scalpers' prices advertised for Westy12 within a day or two.

Oakville will have 30 six-packs on sale tomorrow (Thursday) morning. They expect the line to start forming tonight and are telling people not to bother if there are more than 30 in line.

At 9:20 this morning the Ancaster store said they don’t know when they will have it: “Not likely today, possibly tomorrow, probably by Friday.” They don’t know how many they will have, but they will put it out “as soon as it arrives, on a first-come, first-served basis… When it’s gone it’s gone.”

Yes, I'm aware of Brew Time in Hamilton (about a 20-minute drive for me), and I'll give them a qualified thumbs-up. They're friendly and want to be helpful, but there are many items, especially in terms of equipment, they don't stock and are unable to suggest a source. I will say that they have quit...

By full-service homebrew shop I mean one that sells the range of ingredients, supplies and equipment used by advanced and all-grain homebrewers. There are a number of BOPs in the GTA (with the emphasis on "greater") that have some ingredients and a limited selection of supplies and equipme...

I'm an avid all-grain brewer who moved to Ontario from the US in 2003. It's taken me some time to get a handle on the homebrewing scene here, but my long-considered opinion is that the prevalence of BOPs in Ontario syphons off the base of the pyramid that supports all-grain brewers. Those who seek b...

The only beer yeast sold (in bulk by the gram) by Better Bitters in Burlington (four blocks from my house) is Danstar Nottingham dry yeast. Now they might give you some slurry of the house yeast from their microbrewery (it's a lager strain, but I confess I don't know which one) if you asked nicely. ...

I'm in Burlington and can give at least a qualified thumbs-up to Brew Time in Hamilton. They are indeed friendly and will order things for you. However, they are a BOP and WOP, not really a full-service homebrew shop catering to all-grain brewers. Like many people I buy base malt by the 25 kg bag di...

Among my favourites is a recipe that produces a beer much like Rochefort 8. It's not quite as good as its inspiration in my opinion, but my wife (God love her) likes it even better. The last keg just blew last night, amidst much wailing and the gnashing of teeth. I'm going to have to brew it again w...