What're you drinking right now?

[Provost Drunk]

I was in Montreal myself last weekend and went to Le Saint-Bock (among other places) and had the Double Malediction - tasty stuff!

Yeah the regular strength version was quite good and I enjoyed the Calice too so they seem to know what they're doing on the brewing front. Does the imperial version also come with a marshmallow garnish? I thought that was pretty funny, though given how well it compliments the roast and vanilla flavours I can see why they do it.

It did indeed! I thought the marshmallow was a nice touch.

[cratez]

Over the weekend at Godspeed Brewery and The Only Cafe:
Godspeed Pitch & Pray Series: Dortmunder (draft)
Godspeed Pitch & Pray Series: Stout (draft)
Godspeed Yuzu (draft)
Rainhard Total Clarity (draft)
Left Field Bang-Bang (draft)

Over the week at home:
Great Lakes Retronym - English IPA
Lake of Bays Wild North Pumpkin Ale
Great Lakes & ACTRA CanCon Session IPA
Beau's Farm Table: Märzen
Refined Fool Suburban Menace

[S. St. Jeb]

Maclean's Bent Spoke Session IPA

IPA flavour at 3.9% abv

[Belgian]

Godspeed Pitch & Pray series: Dortmunder
2012 Saison Dupont 750ml

Good stuff!

[Belgian]

Another Saison Dupont 2012

A 2010 Etienne Dupont Cidre Triple - not bad, and late maturity. The simpler Dupont ciders are supposed to be great. This one is OK.

2012 Samichlaus - this is a GODLY beer in the five-year range of cellaring... man I have to buy 6 or 12 more if it comes back... greatness! Sami mellows and creates a toffee-bready thing that is very palate-coating and awesome. This is a beer that comes a little 'hot' out of the gates when it's released so it needs sleepy time...

[sofakingdrunk]

Another Saison Dupont 2012

A 2010 Etienne Dupont Cidre Triple - not bad, and late maturity. The simpler Dupont ciders are supposed to be great. This one is OK.

2012 Samichlaus - this is a GODLY beer in the five-year range of cellaring... man I have to buy 6 or 12 more if it comes back... greatness! Sami mellows and creates a toffee-bready thing that is very palate-coating and awesome. This is a beer that comes a little 'hot' out of the gates when it's released so it needs sleepy time...

I've got a bit of a tradition of drinking one Sami a year, always on Xmas eve(day) wrapping presents. I hated this beer when I first had it as I drank it fresh(from lcbo) and it was a hot mess. I forgot about the other bottle I bought, then came across it a couple years later on Xmas eve. Gave it another go and it was heavenly, probably the biggest change in a cellared beer I've noticed. Now I'll buy one a year, lay it down for 2-3 years and drink an older one.....it's a great kickstarter beer for a long drawn out day/evening of drinking.
I do feel that price had gone up significantly
Over the past couple years though, although tbh, it was probably too cheap to begin with.

[Belgian]

SAT
Bottle of Bellwoods Jelly King Strawberry Rhubarb - still a great strawberry aroma, the taste is a bit acetic like balsamic viniagrette with strawberries & some slightly weird vegetal notes from the rhubarb. It's like a summer garden salad. Overall sourness still nice.

It's a pleasure to switch back to the 2012 Samichlaus Doppelbock I began yesterday. So rich and mellow.

And now the 2012 Amsterdam Tempest RIS. Waxed bottle pours a thick and dense texture with a puffy head, no flaws all very clean here. This has aged well despite brewer's predictions, with nice layers of soft cocoa liqueur and mellow coffee accenting the deep dark bready notes. No hop green-ness of fresher examples, nice and fully-matured RIS.

Dude. ^^^ This is my last-ever bottle of Tempest! ^^^ It is gone now!

SUN
My last bottle of Jelly King Blackberry, a suitable summery September day to enjoy this truly remarkable batch of deep red goodness.

[cratez]

At Bellwoods Brewery Hafis Road:
Bellwoods Pink Guava Jelly King (draft)

Over the week at home:
Muskoka Harvest Ale
Thornbridge Jaipur IPA
Black Oak Oaktoberfest
Bellwoods Monogamy (Citra)
Black Creek Pioneer Harvest Pumpkin Ale
Bellwoods Goblin Sauce
Trappistes Rochefort 8
Bellwoods Monogamy (Mosaic)

[Belgian]

Side launch Wheat
Bench Balls Falls Session IPA
2016 Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux

[cratez]

At The Monk's Kettle:
Cheshire Valley Ariana Single Hop Pale Ale (draft)
Big Rig Midnight Kissed My Cow (draft)

At home:
Amsterdam Autumn Hop Harvest Ale
Samuel Adams Octoberfest
Great Lakes Audrey Hopburn Belgian IPA

[S. St. Jeb]

Aleyards Collaboration IPA

There seem to be many IPAs that have a big grapefruit taste. I don't dislike them, but it's not my favourite take. This one isn't like that. Ironically, because it isn't, the first couple of sips almost seem disappointing. But when my taste buds 'adjusted', I found I really liked it. I prefer these types of beer with a pleasant bitterness, and not so much a focus on citrus.

Since this was a collaboration for Toronto Beer Week, I'm assuming it's a one-off and when it's gone, it's gone.

[Belgian]

Godspeed Momiji Kellerbier (355ml can) - way more enjoyable second time after I was working outside & goodly thirsty. The hops are not so aggressive now.

Bench Brewing Twenty Mile Farmhouse Ale (500ml can) - absolutely stunning warm-weather beer with plays of lemony citrus and light phenolics and hint of earthy funk over light sweetness and just the right note of sour completing the satisfying medium palate. Try this one watching the last few summery sunsets.
^ Obviously Bench is better value at .80 cheaper (or 55% the cost per ml), but I really like Bench so don't just go on that.

Bellwoods Passionfruit Milkshark - bottle - oh man that's so nice. Yeah I spent over $35 on 5 bottles of beer there this week and I can't even be mad.

[beerstodiscover]

Amsterdam Autumn Hop Harvest Ale - Canned on Sept 20. This is good, but not as good I a remember. I remember it tasting like as hoppy as an IPA, but this is definitely and APA. Perhaps it's faded in my mind due to the higher quality hoppy ales we can get around here now. Still, very much worth picking up.

GLB Audrey Hopburn — Nice to see this one back at the bottle shop. Drinking very nicely. Belgian IPA is a hit or miss style for me. This one nails it right down the middle. Benchmark for the style IMO.

[seangm]

Amsterdam Autumn Hop Harvest Ale - Canned on Sept 20. This is good, but not as good I a remember. I remember it tasting like as hoppy as an IPA, but this is definitely and APA. Perhaps it's faded in my mind due to the higher quality hoppy ales we can get around here now. Still, very much worth picking up.

GLB Audrey Hopburn — Nice to see this one back at the bottle shop. Drinking very nicely. Belgian IPA is a hit or miss style for me. This one nails it right down the middle. Benchmark for the style IMO.

Personally I've always interpreted Autumn Hop as an APA, never had the more intense IPA hoppiness or flavour to me. Some years are definitely better than others though, much like Muskoka Harvest I've found it fluctuates year-to-year.

Some beers I've been enjoying as of late:

New Limburg Wit - This one is really pleasant. Super refreshing, classic witbier with a nice depth of flavour owing to the addition of chamomile. Only complaint is that my bottle was a bit on the flat side and didn't pour with much head.

Trou du Diable Mellifera - Indifferent here. Not bad, but it didn't really come together for me. It was slightly sour, but also sweet at the same time owing to the honey. Ok overall but I probably wouldn't reach for it again.

Omnipollo Zodiak - Really liking this one, it's in my regular rotation right now along with the other crop of good East Coast style IPAs available right now. Very juicy, tropical and citrus notes with no bitterness. A winner.

Left Field Eephus - In 355 ml cans! A dream come true personally, as this is one of my go-to beers year round. It's an excellent brown ale that perfectly straddles the line between English and American styles. The new format rocks, and apparently Maris will be offered in 355 ml cans in the near future as well.

Founders Centennial IPA - Still one of my favourite American IPAs. Beautiful showcase of Centennial hops, complex but endlessly drinkable. Brought up by a friend right from the source, and at about twenty bucks (CAD that is) for 15 cans you just can't beat the quality to value proposition either.

[Belgian]

Beau's Farm Table Märzen (formerly "Nightmarzen")

Bench Brewing Twenty Mile Farmhouse Ale