The Bar Towel

Pouring as we speak a Lake effect IPA

Over the week at home:
Bellwoods Runes - Amarillo/Simcoe/Mosaic
Driftwood Farmhand Saison
Elora Lady Friend IPA
Bellwoods Paper Tiger
Bellwoods Monogamy - Mosaic Lupulin Powder
Indie Alehouse & Great Lakes Falling Bear
Indie Alehouse The Jeffrey Session IPA
Indie Alehouse Sword of Damocles
Bellwoods & Thin Man Brewer's Cheese

Yesterday.
Barncat Green out American Barley wine-a big beer, very green, nice heat. Probably my least favourite Barncat beer I've had. Decent, but not my thing.
Cascade apricot-damn is it ever tart. Really complex and unique, but for me, didn't enjoy it nearly enough to justify buying again at this $. I'm glad i tried it, but it's a one and done for me. It took me almost 2 hours to get through the bottle, which is incredibly unusual for me. Towards the end it's becoming a bit of a chore. Maybe I should have tried to re-cork it and split over a couple days, but nobody likes a quitter.

Timmermans Oude Gueuze — Lovely lambic, pours rather hazy with a mix of lemon, green apple, apricot, barnyard funk. Effervescent and dry. Not as puckering as Lindemans CR and Oud Beersel OG. This one strikes me as less intense, especially on the flavour. More balanced. Drinks quicker with less cheese required.

At the Rogers Centre:
Goose Island Midway IPA (can)

At beerbistro:
Anchor Steam Beer (draft)

At Craft Beer Market:
Godspeed Ochame (draft)

At Bellwoods Hafis Road:
Bellwods Jelly King - Raspberry & Peach (sample)
Bellwoods Pale Ale w/ Lime & Mint (draft)
Bellwoods Niagara Montmorency Cherry Farmageddon (sample)

Over the week at home:
Fuller's London Pride
Indie Alehouse Lemonade Stand
Great Lakes & Beau's Yours To Discover
Black Isle Anything Gose

ry_kinney wrote:Tried Straffe Hendrik (Brugs) Quad the other night and absolutely loved it. It might be an unpopular opinion but I would place it above St Bernardus and Rochefort 10 (some bottles I've found to be better than others).

This is outstanding, I'm placing SH Brugs Quad right between Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12 in terms or respective richness / dryness. Insane quality here IMHO. $8.40 for 750ml is value.

Also had The Exchange Golden Ale - bottle from LC the last few months. Nice very drinkable stuff, kind of mild with a detectable contribution of the Chard barrel, big $13.50 price. ** follow up note, the body is improved by some sediment (not completely clear pour.) Now getting some vanilla as well.
Halcyon Barrel House Infinity Mirror is still pretty amazing for ten bucks, I would say.

At Victory Cafe and Crafty Coyote:
Omnipollo Zodiak IPA (draft)
Fuller's London Porter (draft)
Big Rig Alpha Bomb IPA (draft)
County Durham Red Dragon (cask)

Over the week at home:
Greene King Abbot Ale
Amsterdam Stenhouse Porter
Amsterdam San Rafael '71 4:20 Pale Ale
Amsterdam Space Invader IPA

Belgian wrote:This is outstanding, I'm placing SH Brugs Quad right between Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12 in terms or respective richness / dryness. Insane quality here IMHO. $8.40 for 750ml is value.

Wow, that's high praise. I've avoided this one so far but will give it a try based on these comments.

Belgian wrote:

ry_kinney wrote:Tried Straffe Hendrik (Brugs) Quad the other night and absolutely loved it. It might be an unpopular opinion but I would place it above St Bernardus and Rochefort 10 (some bottles I've found to be better than others).

This is outstanding, I'm placing SH Brugs Quad right between Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12 in terms or respective richness / dryness. Insane quality here IMHO. $8.40 for 750ml is value.

I'd agree with sentiments about the quality of this one. I'd place it above Rochefort 10, but below Abt 12 and Westvletern. Great value for the price.

Too many to count from a recent brief (but fulfilling) trip to Chicago, so I'll just list the highlights:

Allagash Curieux
Boulder Shake Chocolate Porter
Firestone Mocha Merlin
Surly Darkness (2012)
Revolution Coup d'Etat
Revolution Straight Jacket
Revolution Deth's Tar
Goose Island Islay

Bobsy wrote:

Belgian wrote:

ry_kinney wrote:Tried Straffe Hendrik (Brugs) Quad the other night and absolutely loved it. It might be an unpopular opinion but I would place it above St Bernardus and Rochefort 10 (some bottles I've found to be better than others).

This is outstanding, I'm placing SH Brugs Quad right between Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12 in terms or respective richness / dryness. Insane quality here IMHO. $8.40 for 750ml is value.

I'd agree with sentiments about the quality of this one. I'd place it above Rochefort 10, but below Abt 12 and Westvletern. Great value for the price.

Haven't had Straffe Hendrik since a trip to Belgium in 2012. At the time, I didn't have it in my list of favourite quads from the trip, but was obviously spoiled by the selection. I do look forward to revisiting and will need to grab an extra bottle or two if I like it as much as everyone else.

Kasteel Cuvée de Chateau is Kasteel Donker that has been aged for ten years in the castle cellar of the brewery for a beautiful, almost Shiraz wine-like result. I found the difference stunning especially compared to the inherently malty-rich regular Donker. A good one, complex. (WED)

NEXT DAY - Fresh as Helles from Sam Adams. Six pack from LCBO. Now, SA doesn't make incredibly amazing beers all the time, but they do have a way of making inoffensive beers reasonably tasty. This one is a balance of dryness and fruity sweetness showing white grape and some baked apple flavours. Easy-going round palate with a note of lemony hop on the finish. A crushable basic beer, it sure isn't Founders.

At the Fairmont Winnipeg:
Half Pints Bulldog Amber Ale (draft)

At Peasant Cookery:
Barn Hammer Le Sneak Belgique Witbier (draft)
Little Brown Jug 1919 (draft)

At King's Head Pub & Eatery:
Half Pints Little Scrapper IPA (draft)
Surly Todd The Axe Man (draft)
Barn Hammer Saturday Night Lumberjack (draft)

At SMITH Restaurant:
Stone Angel Samhain (flight sample)
Barn Hammer Lousy Beatnik (flight sample)
Stone Angel Redhanded (flight sample)
Oxus Transoxania IPA (flight sample)

At The Common:
Surly Xtra-Citra (draft)
Bridge Rotating Hop IPA - Denali (draft)

At the Cornerstone Bar & Restaurant:
Torque Red Line IPA (draft)
Surly Todd The Axe Man (draft)

At the Grove Pub & Restaurant:
Russell Blood Alley Bitter (draft)
Half Pints Encyclopedia Brown (draft)

At Yellow Dog Tavern:
Barn Hammer Grandpa’s Sweater Oatmeal Stout (draft)

Highlights were the Axe Man, Lousy Beatnik, Xtra-Citra, Encyclopedia, Transoxania & Grandpa's Sweater. Will share my thoughts on WInnipeg and its bar scene in the Local Beer Guide thread soon.

At Death and Taxes:
Collingwood White Bay IPA (cask) - good execution
Collective Arts Tropical Milkshake IPA - very good, but perhaps not as good as the milkshake IPAs from Bellwoods.

At Big Rock:
A DIPA that tasted like a creamsicle. The hop flavour was very unique, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Perhaps, it wasn't as hoppy as most DIPAs, but was hoppier than a regular IPA.
An ESB that was also good.

Also recently:
Ace Hill Pilsener - Good German style pilsener. I have seen some good recommendations for other Ontario pilseners/lagers, but I usually find them boring. This is the first one with good hop flavour I have tried since I enjoyed Brick's Hennigner back in the 90s.

Currently drinking Life In the Clouds, from Collective Arts. It's excellent, as I've come to expect from anything IPA related done by this brewery. The real find today, however, is the previously drank Mash Up the Jam dry hopped sour from them, which is exceptional. These people continue to up their game.

Over the long weekend in Detroit:

At 8 Degrees Plato:
Short's Hopstache IPA (draft)
Mikkeller Passion Pool (draft)
Stone I'm Peach Double IPA (sample)

At Founders Brewing Detroit:
Founders Solid Gold Premium Lager (draft)
Founders Galaxy Wheat IPA (draft)
Founders Golden Naked Stout (draft)

At Jolly Pumpkin Pizzeria & Brewery:
Jolly Pumpkin El Meloso (flight sample)
Jolly Pumpkin Cascade Bam (flight sample)
Jolly Pumpkin IO Saison (flight sample)
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere Chinook (flight sample)
Jolly Pumpkin Ale Absurd (flight sample)

At Hop Cat Detroit:
New Belgium The Hemperor HPA (draft)
Black Rocks Potter's Porter (flight sample)
Short's Space Rock (flight sample)
Upland Kiwi (flight sample)

At Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company:
Old Nation M-43 (draft)

At Slow's BBQ:
New Holland Tasmanian Hatter (draft)

At Mercury Burger Bar:
Odd Side Ales Citra Pale Ale (draft)
Roak Live Wire IPA (draft)

At a friend's house:
Odd Side Ales Strawberry Fruitsicle
Bell's Black Note Stout
Founders Mothership Series #2: Sleeper Cell

Highlights were the Passion Pool, Golden Naked, Cascade Bam, Hemperor, Kiwi, M-43, Citra, and Black Note. Will post my thoughts on the city's rapidly evolving beer scene in the Local Beer Guide soon.