The Bar Towel

Mill Street Hopped & Confused Vol 3
I didn't know they have had more than one version.

Czechvar Dark Lager
I don't know if there's anything special about this, but I wanted to try it last time it was in the LCBO and didn't manage to get any.

S. St. Jeb wrote:Czechvar Dark Lager
I don't know if there's anything special about this, but I wanted to try it last time it was in the LCBO and didn't manage to get any.

I quite enjoy it, great price too. Glad to see it in cans.

Godspeed Tmave Lezak is basically a version of this type of beer, even a tribute... a very good one. Store has it if people want to compare the two.

I'll have to revisit Budvar Dark for fun.

Belgian wrote:Godspeed Tmave Lezak is basically a version of this type of beer, even a tribute... a very good one. Store has it if people want to compare the two.

I'll have to revisit Budvar Dark for fun.

I agree, the Godspeed Tmavý Ležák 12º is an excellent tribute to the style, and overall it's one of my favourite go-to beers from the area. I'm also a fan of their Czech amber lager.

shintriad wrote:I agree, the Godspeed Tmavý Ležák 12º is an excellent tribute to the style, and overall it's one of my favourite go-to beers from the area. I'm also a fan of their Czech amber lager.

Yeah one of mine too - nicely malty - but the Czech Amber Lezak and the Besuto Best Bitter have lately also competed for my attention. Both the Polotmavý Amber and the Sklepník Pilsen-style sold out insanely fast, so I expect we may see these come back around, as did the Svetly 12º and the Vicepni 10º.

Hey, anybody had a few of the recent Orval?

Mine is 25/09 2020... same BD as me, and this is the mellowest batch or Orval I can remember in 17 years, it's kind of spicy and fruity and caramelly. There's still some signature funkiness and hop dryness. Orval prides themselves on never making exactly the same beer twice, at least not intentionally... your thoughts?

Yes. I did notice the Orval was not as strong as I remembered it. Still a great beer, but being inconsistent isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Belgian wrote:Hey, anybody had a few of the recent Orval?

Mine is 25/09 2020... same BD as me, and this is the mellowest batch or Orval I can remember in 17 years, it's kind of spicy and fruity and caramelly. There's still some signature funkiness and hop dryness. Orval prides themselves on never making exactly the same beer twice, at least not intentionally... your thoughts?

I found it to be more hoppy/spicy/dry with a bit of citrus, pear and some biscuity malt though not quite caramel to my palate. With respect to the brett, definitely mellower than the last bottles I had, although I don't think I even opened any of those until 9-12 months after bottling. This time I grabbed a dozen so I can try it at more stages of aging compared to my previous purchases.

This batch didn't strike me a especially different. But if memory serves, we wouldn't normally see Orval quite so fresh. More Brett is always a good thing, let's hope it builds up to a sweet spot in the coming months. (And we see more batches).

beerstodiscover wrote:This batch didn't strike me a especially different. But if memory serves, we wouldn't normally see Orval quite so fresh. More Brett is always a good thing, let's hope it builds up to a sweet spot in the coming months. (And we see more batches).

My favorite Orval is most the bright, dry and firm 'fresh' examples... almost 'woody-herbal' when bottled - and this beer mellows over a year or two. In Belgium they charge a small premium for 1-year-old Orval at bars. This is all down to taste preference (or, absurdly our LC chooses for us what bottlings we can access, or not.)

The Orval of 15 years ago was shockingly medicinal and dry to me, it took me a minute to get into it. Not for everyone! So I always hope that the great classic Trappists etc. do not start to 'dumb down' their formula for the greatest yield, sales and profit (to some extent Chimay has done this, perhaps one other.)

Belgian wrote:

beerstodiscover wrote:This batch didn't strike me a especially different. But if memory serves, we wouldn't normally see Orval quite so fresh. More Brett is always a good thing, let's hope it builds up to a sweet spot in the coming months. (And we see more batches).

My favorite Orval is most the bright, dry and firm 'fresh' examples... almost 'woody-herbal' when bottled - and this beer mellows over a year or two. In Belgium they charge a small premium for 1-year-old Orval at bars. This is all down to taste preference (or, absurdly our LC chooses for us what bottlings we can access, or not.)

The Orval of 15 years ago was shockingly medicinal and dry to me, it took me a minute to get into it. Not for everyone! So I always hope that the great classic Trappists etc. do not start to 'dumb down' their formula for the greatest yield, sales and profit (to some extent Chimay has done this, perhaps one other.)

Not to dip our toes into other importers' beer, but...
unsure about your claim of Chimay dumbing down the formula. We haven't noticed any changes over the years (we stick to Blue and tend to buy it to cellar for 5-10 years).
Rodenbach appears to have sweetened each and every one of their releases to the point where, to us, it's not recognizable compared to what they released 5 years ago.
Westvleteren has changed. Quality has dropped over the last few years. Their fresh beer is difficult to drink. Pretty harsh. The old rule of cellaring bottles for 5 years to hit perfection is kind of out the window. It tends to age faster.
Orval: we wait 2 years before opening. 2 years is the perfect spot.

Gleemer Imports wrote:Not to dip our toes into other importers' beer, but...
unsure about your claim of Chimay dumbing down the formula. We haven't noticed any changes over the years (we stick to Blue and tend to buy it to cellar for 5-10 years).

It's still a fine brewer. My understanding is their methods changed:

Until the 1990s, the brewery used open fermentation. When they switched to tall, conico-cylindrical fermenters, the beers apparently lost complexity ("grievously," according to Jackson).

I've had a number of cases of Bleue, and from those one bottle that for some reason was literally like pure sugar syrup. Possibly they add dextrose as part of the final bottle re-fermentation, and I got a fluke bottle with way too much of it? Blue Cap / Grande Reserve does have some nice flavors and nuances but it leans a bit sweet and simple for me, and while it holds up OK for me it doesn't seem to age amazingly well past 5-8 years.

I hope Westmalle stays on point at least. Sad to hear St Sixtus is losing its pedigree...

Orval is available online now.

This caught my eye.

Bear Russian Imperial Stout

An award-winning Scottish brewery crafting conversational beer. This full-throttle stout is aged for four months in ex-whisky casks. It pours black, revealing the whisky's influence with coffee, chocolate, fig, vanilla and orange preserve notes. It's full-bodied and roasted with a long, rich finish. Try with chocolate cake.

S. St. Jeb wrote:This caught my eye.

Bear Russian Imperial Stout

An award-winning Scottish brewery crafting conversational beer. This full-throttle stout is aged for four months in ex-whisky casks. It pours black, revealing the whisky's influence with coffee, chocolate, fig, vanilla and orange preserve notes. It's full-bodied and roasted with a long, rich finish. Try with chocolate cake.

They had a beer early last year that had been aged in a whisky cask, I don’t think it was a stout, just a dark ale. I remember it being really quite good, and stupid cheap price wise.
I’ll give this new one a shot for sure.