The Bar Towel

At The Craft Brasserie & Grille:
Rorschach Truth Serum IPA (draft)
Muddy York Brewer’s Bockyard Maibock (draft)
Overhop Hazy In The Box (flight sample)
Market Metropolitan Porter (flight sample)
Fairweather Sun Drop IPA (flight sample)
Cameron's Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale (flight sample)

Over the week at home:
Cascade Apricot Ale 2016
Cascade Sang Du Chêne 2015
Halo Post-Scarcity Session IPA
Halo Chroma Key Pineapple
Halo Kaleidoscope DIPA
Great Lakes Thousand Islands Spring Bock

Dunham Funk Royal Ale — Cloudy pink sour plum juice
Bellwoods Witchshark — This latest batch has gone full New England style
Left Field Laser Show — Nice to see this at the LCBO with clear bottled-on dates

beerstodiscover wrote:Bellwoods Witchshark — This latest batch has gone full New England style

Indeed, like a different beer. More juicy and hazy, less peppery resin burn. I like it.

Also had the Black Roses Russian Imperial Stout made with additions of rosewater and dates and roasted nuts. That's worth a trip over, it's freaky good.

Just drinking a left field Greenwood IPA and I've gotta say I'm surprised I've not seen a bit more love for it. Really nice and fruity, nice mouthfeel and bitterness. Seems a bit less malt heavy than most in the style, and I like that. Great stuff

^ I really liked Greenwood IPA! Deceptively dull-sounding name, excellent Vermont Ape IPA.

Belgian wrote:Just having the Cascade "Sang du Chene" (means Blood of Oak) which is plenty tasty, sour & full and has interesting barrel funk nuances.
I probably scored it higher than some on RB since it wasn't cold (loving it at room temp.)

Now the Cascade Apricot Ale - very imposing sourness and surprisingly straightforward although there are nuances developing under the lemon and tangy fruit. I would leave a bottle of this to cellar for a few years and see what happens. I missed the more overt funk and the mystery that the Chene had but nothing wrong here.

I too am drinking a Cascade Apricot Ale. When I bought this beer, I was a little reluctant to part with over $20 for 750ml of beer. Well, let me tell you it was worth it. This beer is right up there with brews from my favourite brewery, Cantillon. The apricot has all the funky complexity of a good lambic, with a strong acetic acid component, reminiscent and probably stronger than a Rodenbach Alexander. I've got a Sang du Chene in the fridge. If it complex and tasty as the Apricot Ale, I may have a new favourite brewery.

BartOwl wrote:I too am drinking a Cascade Apricot Ale. When I bought this beer, I was a little reluctant to part with over $20 for 750ml of beer. Well, let me tell you it was worth it. This beer is right up there with brews from my favourite brewery, Cantillon. The apricot has all the funky complexity of a good lambic, with a strong acetic acid component, reminiscent and probably stronger than a Rodenbach Alexander. I've got a Sang du Chene in the fridge. If it complex and tasty as the Apricot Ale, I may have a new favourite brewery.

To me the Sang Chene or the Apricot is a fine ale to enjoy over a few or several days. I mean what can really happen, it's already sour.

It's a very sippable style, so I will avoid having an entire bottle all at once. The high turbidity is a slight issue (for me) - the bottle sediment probably gives me an annoying headache (as does drinking 500-600ml at a time.) But allowing the bottle to settle & then having a moderate sized pour avoiding excess sediment will extend the bottle and maximize the enjoyment. As you say the value and quality is here in spades.

Over the week at home:
Rainhard Armed N' Secret
Rainhard Swipe Right
Murphy's Irish Stout
Bench Citra Grove
Refined Fool Illiterate Librarians
Rainhard Hop Cone Syndrome

At the King Edward Restaurant & Pub:
Fuller's Brit Hop Ale (draft)
Neustadt Double Fuggled Ale (cask)

BartOwl wrote:I too am drinking a Cascade Apricot Ale. When I bought this beer, I was a little reluctant to part with over $20 for 750ml of beer. Well, let me tell you it was worth it. This beer is right up there with brews from my favourite brewery, Cantillon. The apricot has all the funky complexity of a good lambic, with a strong acetic acid component, reminiscent and probably stronger than a Rodenbach Alexander. I've got a Sang du Chene in the fridge. If it complex and tasty as the Apricot Ale, I may have a new favourite brewery.

I paid $48 for two Cascade beers, and I did really enjoy them. I didn't enjoy the price though. I'm currently drinking a Lake Effect, and I think I'm enjoying it as much as either of the Cascades at a fraction of the price.

I find I'm becoming increasingly price-sensitive. With a mortgage, three kids and a couple of cars to pay for, I need to spend my dollars wisely. Cascade is super-steep, but some breweries in Ontario are pricing themselves out of my comfort level. This is where I give kudos to folks like Great Lakes and Common Good (who are local to my work). Producing great beers at great prices. I know that there are price pressures unique to each brewery, but its tough to square that when other breweries within a short drive are producing the same styles at equal or better quality levels for half the price. I guess I like the idea of craft beer being accessible for all, and that its probably a sign of a maturing market that some are positioning themselves as premium, whereas others are staying the course.

Bobsy wrote:

BartOwl wrote:I too am drinking a Cascade Apricot Ale. When I bought this beer, I was a little reluctant to part with over $20 for 750ml of beer. Well, let me tell you it was worth it. This beer is right up there with brews from my favourite brewery, Cantillon. The apricot has all the funky complexity of a good lambic, with a strong acetic acid component, reminiscent and probably stronger than a Rodenbach Alexander. I've got a Sang du Chene in the fridge. If it complex and tasty as the Apricot Ale, I may have a new favourite brewery.

I paid $48 for two Cascade beers, and I did really enjoy them. I didn't enjoy the price though. I'm currently drinking a Lake Effect, and I think I'm enjoying it as much as either of the Cascades at a fraction of the price.

I find I'm becoming increasingly price-sensitive. With a mortgage, three kids and a couple of cars to pay for, I need to spend my dollars wisely. Cascade is super-steep, but some breweries in Ontario are pricing themselves out of my comfort level. This is where I give kudos to folks like Great Lakes and Common Good (who are local to my work). Producing great beers at great prices. I know that there are price pressures unique to each brewery, but its tough to square that when other breweries within a short drive are producing the same styles at equal or better quality levels for half the price. I guess I like the idea of craft beer being accessible for all, and that its probably a sign of a maturing market that some are positioning themselves as premium, whereas others are staying the course.

I understand where you are coming from. Craft beer is getting expensive. However, I probably don't drink as much of it as most forum posters here. I used to only drink two beers a week. At this rate, I might as weĺl splurge and buy the highest quality stuff like Bellwoods, or Cascade. Of course, I do enjoy some local bargains like Headstock, Karma Citra, and McLean's IPA. My thinking is that I would rather buy less quantity with a higher quality.

I'm on the third one now, the Cascade Brewing Manhattan NW found as 'Manhatten' on lcbo.com. Nice complexity of fussy barrel treatments and additions to attempt balance with the assertively sour flavors:
"It’s a blend of Blond Quad aged in Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels on 150 pounds of sour pie cherries for five months before additionally aging on apricot noyaux for three months."

Again very stunning, equal to the Sang du Chene. For me the intensity of flavor justifies the price - it exceeds value points of wines in that respect.

I would buy more Chene and Manhattan, while the Apricot leaves me a little indifferent (to me it's just turbo sourness). Can you convince me to keep a bottle for Apricot for 1-2 years? Also the fleetingly available online order ones look damn amazing. I'm clearly a Cascade fan.

Also had the Brasserie De L'Abbaye Val-Dieu Grand Cru - proud ale has a good combo of rich country-style bready richness and spicy-fruity Belgian character. I bet it would age well to develop potentials as suggested. Also would be a killer braising or stewing beer I imagine (has some cool minty hop character but it's far from dominant.) I don't mind this at all. Nutty and vanilla tones develop in the glass.

KBS 2018 - on tap at Volo last night.

This year's edition seems to have more boozey heat than last year's.

Two teammates shared beer duty at hockey last night. Choices included the all-to-common Coors Banquet, Coors Light, Canadian, and...what's that? Jever Pilsner. BONUS!

Just finished drinking a Bush Pilot - Pengo Pally Saison Beer

Will be opening anytime soon after this post, a Robohop from Great Lakes, at $5 a can I have big expectation for this one

HaandBukk Doppelbock is absolutely amazing.
^
Fairly expensive yet it encapsulates everything I love about great Doppels / Dunkler Bocks. Absolutely gorgeous perfectly proportioned full flavors. Apple flan and toffee-caramel and dark bread, figgy dried dark fruit, some mineral and faint iodine and barnyard, vanilla. Great palate and long winding finish. It sucks that I will have to buy at least 6 more at this price but not really, I'm happy to.

Also had the Bench Citra to re-try a recent batch.
^
Good session sour/IPA but IMO zero comparison to Cascade Sang du Chene or Manhattan. I blended in some leftover Cascade Manhattan to give the Citra more fullness, creating added deliciousness. And I really do like Bench. But Jelly King probably kicks this, to be honest. It's just not a fair comparison probably. Bench offers great value & broad access.