The Bar Towel

Thoughts? Another variant of their bitter/ESB styled beers, this one (surprise!) also with no American-style hop character? Not to be cruel - but did we need another one of these?

Maybe this should just be the new thread for Trafalgar beers that boast something about "hops" on the label. Merely tolerable, nearly flat, and nothing above the predictable.

I actually thoroughly enjoyed my first two bombers. My expectations of Trafalgar are actually so low I barely even pay attention to what their products are claiming to be. The third bomber I had though, was a tad too minerally and earthy, the hops were going south and as I've experienced with all their semi-decent products, after a couple weeks on the shelf they aren't worth buying any more.

I'm a big fan of the ESB so a slightly hoppier version, when fresh, was highly enoyable. I look at it this way, at least they're headed in the right direction, from a horrifyingly awful brewery to a moderately okay one, however slowly they may be taking to getting there.

I thought it was pretty good. I generally try one of whatever new Trafalgar product and have mostly been disappointed. The last few I have tried have been much improved. The Left Coast and the Hop Noveau were both great. I didn't care too much for the Malted Corpse however

If you see trafalgar west coast ale on the shelf at the LCBO, just keep moving. Do not be seduced by the claims of “dry-hopped” and “unfiltered” on the bottle. There is no way that this beer is unfiltered…way too clear. Not sure what kind of hops I was supposed to detect either? Instead of left coast ale I would have called this one "Lame Ontario Ale".

You don't need a filter to get a clear beer. Sometimes it'll naturally clear with time, sometimes brewers use finings.

Regardless, the one I had did seem a little stale.

hopaddict wrote:If you see trafalgar west coast ale on the shelf at the LCBO, just keep moving. Do not be seduced by the claims of “dry-hopped” and “unfiltered” on the bottle. There is no way that this beer is unfiltered…way too clear. Not sure what kind of hops I was supposed to detect either? Instead of left coast ale I would have called this one "Lame Ontario Ale".

it may or may not be unfiltered but one thing's for sure, it's undrinkable. At the very least, it's not worth buying, particularly when there is so much good beer on the shelf... that is unless you are a ratings whore.

Sanchex wrote:...that is unless you are a ratings whore.

Or, as unbelievable as it may seem, you actually enjoy the beer as it's far from 'undrinkable', unless the bottles you've got have been vinegar bombs like Trafalgar used to make. I'm no huge fan of them (apart from the occasional bomber of the Elora ESB), but this beer is at the very least drinkable every time I've had it. The only real issue with it is that it advertises itself as something that it's not.

Yeah I'll drink something to rate it occasionally ('rate whoring' - AKA Rate drainPouring can be a fun way to keep your mind open about macro lagers, as well as you might go 'hey. I'd drink this.) But moreover I'd like to give any beer a chance - and realy, really allow it's merits to shine rather than pre-judging anything. Ever try to really describe a mediocre beer rather than just go into trashing it with epithets and hyperbole? It's just different, you use your descriptive ability and stay unemotional about your reactions.

It's like with people. Each is unique, some are a little tough to figure out, but that's why it can be interesting to hang in there & discover what's actually good about them and not immediately judge them too harshly. That's just why I don't write off some breweries after one go.

... that is unless you are a ratings whore.

I'm no ratings whore but the 4 guys that I shared the bomber with are

The bottle I had was stunningly decent. It was also very fresh, before it was even showing up in the LCBO system. As always with Trafalgar, it all depends on how lucky you are with getting a fresh bottle. I can say fresh it was more than drinkable - kind of like a kicked up Flying Monkey's Hoptical.

But it would appear nothing has really changed at Trafalagar in terms of quality control. I really appreciate their creativity, and the fact that they actually get their interesting one-off type experiments into bottles and on the shelves, but how they remain in business when basic issues like quality control cannot be addressed is a mystery to me.

Had this last night. very impressed. not a huge pale ale, but very drinkable. I will try to get some more, it's that good. Hopefully Trafalgar can build off of this success with some more beers!

Got one in a trade - Was FAR better than I thought it would be, which is to say it was decent.

Of course, with my experiences with this brewery the next bottle will be an infected mess.

I've had a few that've been quite nice but today the Trafalgar Bug came through and I had a foamy sour mess.

Sanchex wrote:

hopaddict wrote:If you see trafalgar west coast ale on the shelf at the LCBO, just keep moving. Do not be seduced by the claims of “dry-hopped” and “unfiltered” on the bottle. There is no way that this beer is unfiltered…way too clear. Not sure what kind of hops I was supposed to detect either? Instead of left coast ale I would have called this one "Lame Ontario Ale".

it may or may not be unfiltered but one thing's for sure, it's undrinkable. At the very least, it's not worth buying, particularly when there is so much good beer on the shelf... that is unless you are a ratings whore.

It is an above average beer from one of our worst producers, but their beer is getting better over time and I hope it continues. And I am a ratings whore.

I think I waited a bit too long to drink this one. I bought the bomber about a month ago and put it in the fridge right away. No infection or anything, but the expected hoppiness really just wasn't there. Not bad, just relatively flavourless.