The Bar Towel

Belgian wrote:Collective Arts Life In The Clouds IPA - a real winner.
I'm enjoying the different artwork on each can of this brew.

I really dig this beer, maybe not quite as good as #5, but for 2$ less it's better bang for buck imo. It actually reminds me a lot of Ransack, although a fair bit juicier with much more restrained bitterness....a lot of the same tropical flavours though. Will need to do a side by side. Definitely a great year round addition(along side the new dry hopped sour) to the already impressive CA portfolio

sofakingdrunk wrote:

Belgian wrote:Collective Arts Life In The Clouds IPA - a real winner.
I'm enjoying the different artwork on each can of this brew.

I really dig this beer, maybe not quite as good as #5, but for 2$ less it's better bang for buck imo. It actually reminds me a lot of Ransack, although a fair bit juicier with much more restrained bitterness....a lot of the same tropical flavours though. Will need to do a side by side. Definitely a great year round addition(along side the new dry hopped sour) to the already impressive CA portfolio

I'm definitely loving the Life in the Clouds IPA, great stuff. But did anyone else get an almost Gose-like saltiness in the finish of Mash Up the Jam? It seemed very subtle, maybe I'm imagining things. Either way, I thought it was decent but a bit watery.

Half way through a HopCity Hopbot IPA

Bobsy wrote:

BeerIsGood wrote:At the moment I'm having the Grand Cru Val-Dieu. Moving on to a Straffe Hendrik Quad next.

Curious about your thoughts on both of these. I have a Strafe Hedrik cooling its heels for later in the week, and plan on picking up the Val Dieu shortly. I quite enjoyed the Abbaye des Rocs, but felt that it fell short of the top tier.

With the Straffe I knew what to expect, as I've had it several times. A very good quad for me personally as to my tastes it's substantially lower in sweetness than many others in the style. While I greatly enjoy quads, there are some that bump up against (La Trappe) or exceed (Kasteel Donker) my personal sweetness threshold. This beer also has an excellent, lingering finish. As for the Val-Dieu, it was my first time and I lucked out, as again the sweetness to my tastes is at the lower end of the style. Quite rich, thick, and with a very slight bitterness. I would consider both to be somewhat less typical of the style because of the lower sweetness but are right up my alley personally. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend or drink again with frequency.

GtownRandy wrote:I picked up 6 Abbaye des Rocs today, they had a sticker over the label stating 10.3% abv! As I said in a previous post, this 100 rated beer, imported from Belgium, for $6.20/750mL must be one of the best values ever. Also got a Straffe quad, but declined the $20 Deus Brut.

I also passed on the Deus Brut. Since I generally dislike champagne, I didn't feel $20 was worth the risk.

Hoppy's Tavern wrote:Half way through a HopCity Hopbot IPA

Hard to believe but true. I found thirty six bottles of this at a grocery store in Qinhuangdao, China when I was living there. Bought a couple, drank them, then went back and bought the rest. The same store also had Barking Squirrel.

BeerIsGood wrote:

GtownRandy wrote:I picked up 6 Abbaye des Rocs today, they had a sticker over the label stating 10.3% abv! As I said in a previous post, this 100 rated beer, imported from Belgium, for $6.20/750mL must be one of the best values ever. Also got a Straffe quad, but declined the $20 Deus Brut.

I also passed on the Deus Brut. Since I generally dislike champagne, I didn't feel $20 was worth the risk.

The fine carbonation in DeuS is reminiscent of champagne, but the flavour profile is significantly different so I wouldn't let a dislike of champagne scare you away. DeuS is a beer after all and so it tastes a lot more like a Belgian strong blonde than a sparkling wine.

BeerIsGood wrote:

Bobsy wrote:

BeerIsGood wrote:At the moment I'm having the Grand Cru Val-Dieu. Moving on to a Straffe Hendrik Quad next.

Curious about your thoughts on both of these. I have a Strafe Hedrik cooling its heels for later in the week, and plan on picking up the Val Dieu shortly. I quite enjoyed the Abbaye des Rocs, but felt that it fell short of the top tier.

With the Straffe I knew what to expect, as I've had it several times. A very good quad for me personally as to my tastes it's substantially lower in sweetness than many others in the style. While I greatly enjoy quads, there are some that bump up against (La Trappe) or exceed (Kasteel Donker) my personal sweetness threshold. This beer also has an excellent, lingering finish. As for the Val-Dieu, it was my first time and I lucked out, as again the sweetness to my tastes is at the lower end of the style. Quite rich, thick, and with a very slight bitterness. I would consider both to be somewhat less typical of the style because of the lower sweetness but are right up my alley personally. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend or drink again with frequency.

I agree the Straffe is drier than expected, but it was a little more phenolic than most quads. I am drinking one right now. It's fruity malt profile is a little darker than say the Abbaye de Rocs. Like Unibroue beers, the phenolic level would put me off buying regularly, even though they are good beers. I find with too much phenols the drinkability can suffer. Overall, Straffe's Quad is definitely worth a try. It has a good complexity of taste and aroma. I liked it better than Val Dieu, but not as much as Abbaye de Rocs.

While I am on the subject of quads. A few months ago, I bought one of my favourites: St. Bernardus Abt. Usually, it is one of the best examples of the style. However, this bottle was off. The flavours were muted, and it could have been slightly infected. I am wondering about the quality control now. I bought it at the King and Spadina store. I'm hoping this is a one off, so I will give St. Bernardus a try again.

Belgian wrote:

El Pinguino wrote:Pretty sure I have an old bottle of Deus kicking around too...had it once, and grabbed it way back during original LCBO release. But.....I'm also pretty sure it is not exactly meant to be aged for more than a 1-2 years, correct? I think when I checked the bottle recently it had a BB date of only 1-2 years after production.

"Keeping and Storage
The beer can be stored for 24 months in the bottle. This beer will not gain from being stored in a cellar for years on end."

Ahh well, this should be interesting anyway!

Pops a cork. Nope, this is in very nice shape. Definitely ginger-y, a noted aspect of the specialized yeast. Very delicious stuff, definitely has a nice rounded balance of gentle phenolic, rooty spiciness, hints of vanilla and sandalwood, and a complicated suggestion of mostly sweet (ripe pear?) and some tart & tropical fruits in the background. Very good. I guess the carbonation is very fine from the Champenoise process, it's still strong enough and the bottle fizzed slightly on opening though I should have chilled it. I wonder if the long maturation attenuated the sweetness.

Nice! Sounds like a winner...something to look forward to opening when I return to Canada-land.

seangm wrote:

sofakingdrunk wrote:

Belgian wrote:Collective Arts Life In The Clouds IPA - a real winner.
I'm enjoying the different artwork on each can of this brew.

I really dig this beer, maybe not quite as good as #5, but for 2$ less it's better bang for buck imo. It actually reminds me a lot of Ransack, although a fair bit juicier with much more restrained bitterness....a lot of the same tropical flavours though. Will need to do a side by side. Definitely a great year round addition(along side the new dry hopped sour) to the already impressive CA portfolio

I'm definitely loving the Life in the Clouds IPA, great stuff. But did anyone else get an almost Gose-like saltiness in the finish of Mash Up the Jam? It seemed very subtle, maybe I'm imagining things. Either way, I thought it was decent but a bit watery.

I didn't get the Gose qualities you did, that being said I've only had the one. I do agree that it's a bit thin feeling. Tasty enough stuff, but not in the same ballpark as, say, Jelly king.

seangm wrote:

sofakingdrunk wrote:

Belgian wrote:Collective Arts Life In The Clouds IPA - a real winner.
I'm enjoying the different artwork on each can of this brew.

I really dig this beer, maybe not quite as good as #5, but for 2$ less it's better bang for buck imo. It actually reminds me a lot of Ransack, although a fair bit juicier with much more restrained bitterness....a lot of the same tropical flavours though. Will need to do a side by side. Definitely a great year round addition(along side the new dry hopped sour) to the already impressive CA portfolio

I'm definitely loving the Life in the Clouds IPA, great stuff. But did anyone else get an almost Gose-like saltiness in the finish of Mash Up the Jam? It seemed very subtle, maybe I'm imagining things. Either way, I thought it was decent but a bit watery.

I didn't get the Gose qualities you did, that being said I've only had the one. I do agree that it's a bit thin feeling. Tasty enough stuff, but not in the same ballpark as, say, Jelly king.

Railway City Black Coal Stout.

Had part of 1 of my 6 Abbaye de Rocs today. It was pretty good, but not up to St Berny or Rochefort standards. When wife got home from work opened a Left Field Laser Show, bottled Mar 6. Before the cap was fully removed I could smell the hops! Wife rated it amongst the best ever, and I agree it was awesome. But at $9 for a 650ml it’s the same as $6.50 for a 473ml can. Followed it up with a sip of wife’s Ransack, which was almost as good for half the price.

BeerIsGood wrote:

Hoppy's Tavern wrote:Half way through a HopCity Hopbot IPA

Hard to believe but true. I found thirty six bottles of this at a grocery store in Qinhuangdao, China when I was living there. Bought a couple, drank them, then went back and bought the rest. The same store also had Barking Squirrel.

Interesting, any proof?