The Bar Towel

MatttthewGeorge wrote:

beerguykw wrote:has anyone tried their BA stout? done in whiskey barrels? I think it's quite good.

Best BA stout I've had this winter. Had it side-by-side with Double Tempest and Innocente was hands down better.

Also I really like their IPA and DIPA. Absolutely more bitter than most (so saying GLB is bitter than ordering an Innocente is stupid), however more complexity too. I find too many IPA's are just watery hop juice nowadays.

I agree, Until Proven Guilty is absolutely amazing and likely the best barrel aged beer i've had from Ontario. I've had it on 3 occasions now, the most recent time I had it back to back with Kentucky Bastard and Dragons Milk and Innocente still came out on top.

I do have a preference for their more malt forward beers over their hop bombs however. While I enjoy Bystander and their IPA's I still favour their porters, stouts, and Red Ale. Great stuff.

I'm not from the area, but I've been to Innocente a handful of times. Like nearby Block 3, they always have a good selection and reasonable bottle prices. Currently still holding onto two of those BBA Until Proven Guilty stouts, but all of this praise may just tempt me into opening one tonight.

My recollection is that most of their beers were serviceable-to-good, with no "stinkers" and a few stand-outs. That Pils-Sinner of theirs was superb; if they can re-create that one and get it into the LCBOs for less than the average Tusker I'd be very interested. They had a light rye beer (Glance? I think?) that I really liked, too. I've also enjoyed their three main year-round beers and the session IPA, as well. Most of the others were unremarkable, but stylistically sound.

I would keep your expectations tempered if you decide to try those four Bayside beers, but I have a feeling they will only be distributed locally, anyhow.

It's always good to see more breweries getting product out on the shelves. Competition is healthy. If their beers aren't up to snuff, then they'll get pushed out eventually (or at least, relegated to the token local stores).

spinrsx wrote:Fat Tug is having the strangest roll out. A case will show up at random lcbo's and then disappear.

Didn't expect to see it down here and based on reported bottling dates I didn't check drinkvine or the main site to check.
Walked into one of the better ones here and they had plenty. Grabbed 2 just in case the first was tasty.

Should have bought more.
Just goes to show that some IPAs can stand up for months. All depends on what you like. I prefer a big sweet malt bill, which this has, in combo with the right hop profile that isn't all citrus and fades quicker than the other tropical fruits (passion, mango).
But hey, this is BT. Gotta hate something about everything, amirite?
Beer geeks are the worst kind of people when it comes to beer.

fat tug will be year round

This is great news.. wonder when we will see another batch - hopefully it will come in fresher next time.

northyorksammy wrote:fat tug will be year round

FEUO wrote:

spinrsx wrote:Fat Tug is having the strangest roll out. A case will show up at random lcbo's and then disappear.

Didn't expect to see it down here and based on reported bottling dates I didn't check drinkvine or the main site to check.
Walked into one of the better ones here and they had plenty. Grabbed 2 just in case the first was tasty.

Should have bought more.
Just goes to show that some IPAs can stand up for months. All depends on what you like. I prefer a big sweet malt bill, which this has, in combo with the right hop profile that isn't all citrus and fades quicker than the other tropical fruits (passion, mango).
But hey, this is BT. Gotta hate something about everything, amirite?
Beer geeks are the worst kind of people when it comes to beer.

i'm kind of the opposite when it comes to IPAs, i much prefer the vermont style. that said, i really love fat tug. i think it's actually one of my favorite west coast style IPAs. generally with the west coast style you definitely have to drink it as fresh as possible otherwise the malt gets kinda murky and affects the beer drastically. not so much with the fat tug, still drinking great.

What does "murky" taste like?
Not familiar with malt fading (or murking) being a thing.

hmm maybe murky isn't the right word, but faded? imho the malt backbone in a westcoast ipa is v important and actually more important fresh than the hops.

jeremyg wrote:the malt backbone in a westcoast ipa is v important and actually more important fresh than the hops.

Ummm....wut?

I have never heard anyone take this stance before

what can i say i'm a pioneer

Sure. Thats the ticket.

Honestly, this is likely the most ridiculous thing I have read on BT in a long time. And there is a lot of ridiculous crap on here.

jeremyg wrote:

Well you will be happy to know Lagunitas 6 packs are now rolling out in Toronto. Cooper St had some in the fridge beside Anchor Steam even though website said only Summerhill at stock...typical!

Seems like the lcbo moved really fast with this ipa.. what is the date on the bottles?

So we have 2 lagunitas IPA's at the lcbo (maximus from the spring release - and the regular IPA which I figure is a regular listing), not too shabby

Is all of the lake effect ipa at the lcbo from November? One of my local lcbos has 600 cans in stock... was there a new batch?