Beau's Strong Patrick

mintjellie · Post by **mintjellie** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:21 pm

And how about the difference between a weissbier and a saison?

How about a kolsch that tastes like boiled cabbage and corn?

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:23 pm

midlife crisis wrote:That is a silly analogy. I guess my frustration is with the notion that there is a clear and unmistakable difference between IIPA and barley wine, like there is between steak and chicken. The differences between IIPA and barley wine can be subtle, at least on the margins, as they exist on a continuum. Sure, if they said Screaming Beaver was a pilsner I would be pissed off. But these much more fine distinctions don't bother me at all.

if that was the one and only beer where i thought they were off style i wouldnt have brought it up, i completely agree that IIPA and barley wines can be similar

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:51 pm

How about a kolsch that tastes like boiled cabbage and corn?

Look, if they are making bad beer, by all means, have at 'em. My impression was that the OP thought the beers were OK but somehow dishonest, in that they were stylistically different from the name on the label.

El Pinguino · Post by **El Pinguino** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:09 pm

I just picked up a bottle of the Strong Patrick...will see what I think of it. Agree that their beer styles may not be bang on but...I enjoy their beers.

Could be an interesting blind tasting experiment!

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:27 pm

midlife crisis wrote:My impression was that the OP thought the beers were OK but somehow dishonest,

When you order a Saison and it's not really a Saison, I think that is a good time to comment on 'beer reviews' about this and/or other beers made by that brewer. It's totally fair.

Especially among a community that appreciate hair-splitting distinctions of style and - more importantly - beer drinkers who will go out of their way to support exceptional versions of a distinct style. We respectfully don't like to face yet another muddled, directionless beer with a 'style' name slapped on it.

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 11:00 am

midlife crisis wrote:
How about a kolsch that tastes like boiled cabbage and corn?
Look, if they are making bad beer, by all means, have at 'em. My impression was that the OP thought the beers were OK but somehow dishonest, in that they were stylistically different from the name on the label.

They don't. That's a bullshit comment about Lug Tread.

mintjellie · Post by **mintjellie** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 4:52 pm

Bytowner wrote:
midlife crisis wrote:
How about a kolsch that tastes like boiled cabbage and corn?
Look, if they are making bad beer, by all means, have at 'em. My impression was that the OP thought the beers were OK but somehow dishonest, in that they were stylistically different from the name on the label.
They don't. That's a bullshit comment about Lug Tread.

Oh yeah, like I really feel the need to make shit up about a local brewer. You think I'm lying? Look, I want to support local breweries. The more local breweries putting out great beer, the better. I absolutely LOVED Winter Brewed. But when I tried Lug Tread, I was completely overwhelmed by vegetal flavours. It was a disgusting drainpour of a beer, and I've never though of buying it since. Just like I wont buy canned Denisons anymore because I got sick of getting tart lemon-bombs. I wont by Nickel Brook Organic either - also heavy on the DMS. My Black Oak Pumpkin was unpleasantly soured last fall too. I didn't feel too sad when I stopped seeing Scotch Irish taking up valuable shelf space, and don't even get me started on Trafalgar.

Just because beer is craft and local, that doesn't mean it's good. Don't be homer and automatically assume anyone who's had a bad experience with local brewers products is bullshitting.

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 5:28 pm

I would hope you're not lying, but it's still a bullshit comment. Try a beer once, pour it down the drain and then tell Bartowel that they don't know what they're doing? Thanks for the advice, but don't be an ass and assume that your experience with a beer (that you've "tried") is indicative of anything when it's so out of line with the majority of reviews on a beer.

mintjellie · Post by **mintjellie** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 5:35 pm

Bytowner wrote:I would hope you're not lying, but it's still a bullshit comment. Try a beer once, pour it down the drain and then tell Bartowel that they don't know what they're doing? Thanks for the advice, but don't be an ass and assume that your experience with a beer (that you've "tried") is indicative of anything when it's so out of line with the majority of reviews on a beer.

Apparently I'm being an ass for not liking a beer that tasted like crap. Good to know!

The beer has under a hundred ratings. Even if it was a poor batch, they probably sold more than a hundred of those four-packs it comes in from that one batch. I'd bet there's a lot of people out there who had similar experience to mine with that batch of Lug Tread.

Nice use of quotation marks, by the way. Are you implying that I'm lying about trying Lug Tread? Or are you implying that I should have wasted money on a beer I didn't like a second time? I'm so sick of having to give breweries second chances after I get burned spending my cash on shit beer. Why is it that I've never gotten spoiled wine from Ontario winery?

Ottawa, eh?

Kekumba · Post by **Kekumba** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:14 pm

What's with the "homer" remarks from GTA folk (yeah okay, Barrie in this case, but you get the idea) towards Ottawa people around here lately? This isn't the first time I've seen it within the last few months. Is that what people here really need to use to get a point across? Seriously lame. Do you not buy anything from Nickel Brook (who by the way I think sucks way harder than Beau's...I'm probably just being a homer though, right?), and Black Oak now, too?

I don't know, I just kinda laugh at these discussions. I'm in full agreement that Beau's is a big of a hit and miss brewery as there could possibly be. I'm also completely frustrated on the profiling and marketing of some of the one-offs. I still enjoy a good portion of their beers, but I don't think anyone here should be using Lug Tread as an example for anything. It's not targeted towards people like us, and it's not representative of the brewery as a whole.

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:19 pm

No you're an ass for trying a beer once (hence "tried") and then telling everyone they don't know what they're doing. It's irresponsible. Trafalgar is notorious for quality assurance issues, so that's fair game, but Beau's isn't.

Possibly because you don't know anything about wine? Some estimates put the amount of corked wine at up to 10% and in my experience Ontario wines can be pretty bad for it... that said I've never gone on a forum and bad mouthed a winery because one of their bottles was off. I bring it back and try it again in the future.

Yeah, Ottawa, har har har. How clever. Might even make sense if I didn't start this bloody thread with a lukewarm review of Strong Patrick. Jaysus.

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:24 pm

Had a discussion about this with Matt today. I was in agreement about some of wacky styles they are making, and about some of labeling quirks. I mentioned that I don't think they make bad beer.....we talked about some of their stuff being kitschy.

I do not think LT is a bad beer. I would happily buy it most days and be happier to drink it. I don't think that a gruit, for example, is something I am going to buy very often. You could call something a gruit, make a red irish ale, and sell it as a gruit, and Id know none the better, because what the hell is a gruit?

hey at the end of the day these guys do a good job, some of us may appreciate them more than others!

The_Jester · Post by **The_Jester** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:38 pm

Really liked the Strong Patrick. It wouldn't be much of a beer without the whiskey barrel, but it's not without the whiskey barrel, so that's irrelevant. One of Beau's better bottled offerings, in my opinion.

And as an aside, I don't drink much Lug Tread, but I've never had an off bottle. It's not great, but neither is it poorly made.

mintjellie · Post by **mintjellie** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 1:57 am

Bytowner wrote:No you're an ass for trying a beer once (hence "tried") and then telling everyone they don't know what they're doing. It's irresponsible. Trafalgar is notorious for quality assurance issues, so that's fair game, but Beau's isn't.

Possibly because you don't know anything about wine? Some estimates put the amount of corked wine at up to 10% and in my experience Ontario wines can be pretty bad for it... that said I've never gone on a forum and bad mouthed a winery because one of their bottles was off. I bring it back and try it again in the future.

Yeah, Ottawa, har har har. How clever. Might even make sense if I didn't start this bloody thread with a lukewarm review of Strong Patrick. Jaysus.

I know that if I ever smelled something similar to what I've seen described as cardboard, wet paper, damp basement, or wet concrete, I would probably assume that something was off.

And if the wine had muted aroma and flavour, I would just pass it up in favour of something else in the future.

studious · Post by **studious** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 3:46 pm

Haha, the furious hate for Lug Tread is hilarious. I've enjoyed it many times as simple, fresh summer beer (I like the slight grassy taste).

I also quite like Strong Patrick, especially after being out of the fridge for a while. Funny, I had it on tap at the Cloak and Dagger and was pretty disappointed as it seemed slightly soured. I had a bottle at home though, and that turned out to be tasty with just a touch of the barrel coming through. No comment on the "Irish Red Ale" style as I have no point of comparison.