The Bar Towel

very fresh GLB Lake Effect IPA - canned Jan 6th.
The only thing better than good craft beer is good FRESH craft beer

portwood wrote:very fresh GLB Lake Effect IPA - canned Jan 6th.
The only thing better than good craft beer is good FRESH craft beer

I can second this. I'm enjoying a January 6th Lake Effect right now as well.

Austin Beerworks Fire Eagle, Sputnik RIS, Axis IPA on cask, (earlier), Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA...Austin has become awesome for beer.

Digging the Goose Island Rambler IPA.

On tap @ the wooly, bellwoods jelly king-so tasty...glad that bellwoods kegs have made their way to Guelph.
@home:
Lots of Bench balls falls-this is pretty much my go-to right now, good bargain
Goose island mixer pack-enjoy the IPA and the rambler a lot, but the honkers not so much
2014 Kentucky bastard-just glorious
Barncat cat factory- nice hop flavour, almost a kind of funk thing going on, nice and refreshing. Super carbonated.....I poured a glass then went to the bathroom, when I came back it had risen and seriously overflowed the glass
Ransack the universe-still really enjoying this beer, and I can almost always find it only a week or two old.
Lake effect-i love this beer, my favourite Great Lakes beer by far. I think ithis is better than the last time it was canned
New limburg Belgian blond-took a gamble and bought this, knowing nothing about it and I'm really glad I did. It's a great bear, lots of pear, a little funky, nice dry finish and very refreshing. This was a real surprise
2015 Dragons milk stout-I found that the bourbon had really faded here, not worth sitting on imo
Oskar Blues dales pale ale-nothing special about this, tasting a bit old. I'd like to try it fresh, but unless I see it, I'll avoid buying more.
Ommegang 3 philosophers-a really good beer, although it only claims to have 2%?? Kreik blended with it, it sure seems like more. I will say though, after having both 355ml bottles and 750, I think the smaller format is best. I wish lcbo would make this a regular listing.

Over the last week plus:

At Bellwoods Brewery (Hafis Road):
Bellwoods Jutsu (sample)
Bellwoods Jelly King (draft)

At Bier Markt Queensway:
2012 Boon Oude Geuze (bottle)
2015 Orval Trappist Ale (bottle)

At home:
Bellwoods Ghost Orchid
Rainhard Kapow!* West Coast IPA
Bellwoods Boogie Monster
Rainhard Lazy Bones IPA
Schneider Weisse Tap X Marie’s Rendezvous
Bellwoods IPA w/ Mandarina Bavaria & Triskel
Boulevard Smokestack Series: Bourbon Barrel Quad
Bellwoods Roman Candle IPA

Over the last week or so:

-Sextant Why So Sirius? - Not bad; citrusy lemon/grapefruit, floral notes and some resiny pine. Flavourful for a light pale ale. Not exciting/unique, but good for a contract brew.
-Genesee Beer - Fine for an adjunct lager, but that's not saying much. Gritty grains and corn; not particularly clean-tasting. Would rather spend the $2 on a can of Jever.
-Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion - Now canned! Hadn't had this one in a long time. Still a pretty good APA, though the competition has mostly caught up.
-Arrogant Bastard - Also now canned! A great, unabashedly well-hopped strong ale, but the $4 price tag is still a bit of a mental roadblock for me. Yes, I realize that's a better deal than the bombers.
-Golden Pheasant - A little skunky, as always, but something about this pilsener has always rubbed me the right way.
-Unibroue Grande Reserve 17 (2014) - Still an excellent strong dark ale, but the aging didn't do much besides mellow out the alcohol a bit. I picked up a 2016 bottling recently and probably won't hold onto it for as long as I did the '14.
-Kichesippi Heller Highwater - I actually really liked this one, but I love most German lagers so maybe I'm biased. Clean, grain, crackery pale malts and grassy noble hops.
-Stack La Cloche Belgian Blonde - This one had a weird, distracting tartness/acidity to it that didn't really do it for me. Possibly a batch flaw, because the can was only 1.5 months old.

Drinking remainder of the Boulevard BBA Quad, AMAZING...

Now trying the Refined Fool Murder of Crows, I'm really hating the kind of plastick-y flavors of the excessive burnt malt against the already bitter green leafy hops... Black Imperial Pale Ale is not my favorite at the best of the times, and it was the worst of times.

I'm ready for a Stone stout right now...

So then I open an Ommegang XV. Not an immediate knockout - it's very dry! - but very solid. Black fruit, vanilla, dark bread and cherries and phenolic spices. A tribute to some Belgian originals with some of its own originality.

Belgian wrote:Drinking remainder of the Boulevard BBA Quad, AMAZING....

Have to say, I was a bit leery of shelling out 14 bucks for this but, based on your reco, gave it a shot. Agree with your assessment completely. It is very, very good. A real all-day sipper. Beautiful integration of dark malts, cherries and vanilla. So put me down for Amazing too.

Belgian wrote:Drinking remainder of the Boulevard BBA Quad, AMAZING...

Do you mean, the last of multiple bottles, or the last bit of a bottle you opened before?
If the latter, how long did you have it "open", and how did you seal it after opening?

portwood more or less wrote:

Belgian wrote:Drinking remainder of the Boulevard BBA Quad, AMAZING...

Last bit of a bottle you opened before? How did you seal it after opening?

Yes drank bottle one over three days, sealing it with a champagne cork.

Belgian wrote:

portwood more or less wrote:

Belgian wrote:Drinking remainder of the Boulevard BBA Quad, AMAZING...

Last bit of a bottle you opened before? How did you seal it after opening?

Yes drank bottle one over three days, sealing it with a champagne cork.

Good news!
My biggest beef against large format (especially high octane) brews is I try to control the amount of alcohol I consume on a daily basis. 750 ml of any beer is usually too much for me - especially when I still like to have a dram of single malt after dinner...

If a >500ml beer holds up well over a couple of days, I can justify buying more than one.

Friday and Saturday at Milos' Craft Beer Emporium:
Bellwoods Wizard Wolf Session Ale (draft)
Granite Brewery Hopping Mad (cask)
Bellwoods Jelly King Plum (bottle)
Bench Clean Slate Brett Saison (draft)
Black Oak Triple Chocolate Cherry Stout (draft)
Half Hours On Earth Barrel Fermented Yalla Yalla – Citra (draft)

Over the week at home:
Bellwoods Farmageddon
Great Lakes Harry Porter and the Cherry Hoarder
Bomber Park Life Passion Fruit Ale

At The Craft Brasserie and Otto's Bierhalle:
High Road Bronan IPA (draft)
Ottakringer Wiener Original (draft)
Stone IPA (draft)

Over the week at home:
Black Oak Pale Ale
Side Launch Mountain Lager
Black Oak Nut Brown Ale
Collective Arts Imperial IPA
Black Oak 10 Bitter Years

just a Side Launch Wheat, can - I find this beer more consistent than ever, which makes me so happy for the Toronto and Bavarian heritage of this Weisse. It also conserves well in the fridge for those 'gotta hava Hefe' moments.