52 brews

[woodpecker]

this site was interesting and nicely done:

http://52brews.com/

There’s a beer for every story, and a story for every beer.

We here at 52 Brews would like to invite you on a tour with us. Every week we will tell the tale of another fine brew, share our experiences, and provide you with the proper tools to learn about every style and beverage we discuss.

[biegaman]

Looks like a great little site, thanks for sharing!!!

[52brews]

Saw a link pointing to my site from here so I decided to swing by. I appreciate the kind words, I hope to keep churning out good content for you.

I gather the Unibroue review is what perked the interests of this community, and I'll be looking for some more Canadian brews down the road - this seems a great place to start.

I won't be reviewing the mass-lagers but I'm open to exploring pretty much everything else for any of you who have recommendations. I am really impressed with the beers of Unibroue so far. Any other Canadian brewers I should keep an eye out for?

Thanks

[Illuminatus]

Any other Canadian brewers I should keep an eye out for?

Durham County and Grand River Brewing.

[Jon Walker]

Any other Canadian brewers I should keep an eye out for?

Thanks

Off the top of my head...
Phillips
Hopfenstark
Dieu du Ciel
Half Pints
St.Ambroise

[Derek]

Here's a start:
http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers?this_ ... =CA&style=

Though nothing under 10 reviews gets on there. If Ratebeer was up, it might be a little more statistically significant.

Durham's hop head is a hell of brew.

Grand River does a lot of really sessionable brews. They actually use well water that's pretty hard, which gives them a lot of character.

[Bobsy]

For you, its going to be all about availability. A lot of great Canadian stuff never leaves this land, but I'm sure you've heard of a brewery called Dieu du Ciel. Their imperial stout is viewed as one of the best in the world, and you don't have to make a special pilgrimage to pick up your allotment on the one day its released. While you have already covered the imperial stout category you should keep your eyes peeled for their other bottled offerings. With the exception of a crappy hemp beer they are all amazing.

ps. Good call on the DFH India Brown. I had one while watching the Bills screw up repeatedly on Sunday and it is one hell of a beer.

[52brews]

Wow these are great! Ya know it didn't occur to me to see if BA ranked by country - nice suggestion. Thanks everyone. I think Bobsy's got a point, good beer is a real hit or miss in my home state of NJ. I may get lucky and stumble on a few of the above labels though. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Jersey has appreciative beer people but is NOT a beer state, nor are there any real beer towns here. For instance, Hoboken, NJ- just across the river from NYC - has more bars per square mile than any other town here. It really seems that there are only a few bars of the over 100 there where I can get a decent selection of great international and domestic beers- as in non mass-produced.

I've found a few superb bars and outstanding stores in other towns, but they are few and far between. Actually I wrote about some of my frustrations with the NJ beer scene here: http://52brews.com/?p=534

It's not that locals aren't trying- I mean I found a little hole in the wall bar that carries 26 amaaaazing craft beers on tap and rotates them regularly, a true beer geek's dream; it's just that the craft beer scene is still young and particularly immature here.
I should give more credit to the local brewpubs, as they are the only ones trying to turn the scene around. It's just frustrating to read of all the great beers brewed ELSEWHERE, and in many cases unavailable in my area.

I've read that Canada entered the craft beer scene around the same time as America - late 70's early 80's. As I continue to learn more about great beer around the world, it's fascinating to think about the offerings from just over the border; I wonder what similarities - or more interesting, differences - have come about in Canada through experimentation, collaboration, and innovation compared to other brewers around the world during the same time.

The fact that Unibroue was just under my nose this whole time, and I simply glanced over them, is practically sinful. (I'm still a bit of a noob, admittedly). These guys, prior to growing in scale, really paved the way for the movement in Canada. But I would imagine that some of the smaller Canadian brewers have even more unique offerings, as is typically in the favor of the smaller production facilities, no?

What do you guys think? Does the sheer size and corporate takeover of a brewer like Unibroue change your perspective or the character of their product? Is their stuff widely appreciated and/or recommended in your neck of the woods?
While larger facilities typically have more efficient means of quality control, is anything lost in the process of scaling up? Does the allure fade with the disappearance of independence?

[Derek]

What do you guys think? Does the sheer size and corporate takeover of a brewer like Unibroue change your perspective or the character of their product? Is their stuff widely appreciated and/or recommended in your neck of the woods?
While larger facilities typically have more efficient means of quality control, is anything lost in the process of scaling up? Does the allure fade with the disappearance of independence?

I think Unibroue was setup as a big business, but the love of Belgian Beer was always a fundamental part. They certainly brought in the right expertise. I don't think the character of their product has changed, and they're still widely appreciated.

In contrast, Sleeman was setup as a big business and their approach was to go after market share, from day one. Of their initial offerings, only the dark was an all-malt brew. While it had a little more flavour than most macro's, I never really considered it craft. When they took over Upper Canada (and closed the original brewery), they did improve the quality & consistency of the UC products. It's too bad they cut down the variety of the upper canada brews though. I'm glad Sleeman allowed Unibroue to continue to run completely separate. It doesn't seem like Sapporo has made much difference either.

[52brews]

Interesting point. The only American comparable I can think of might be Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams). They've managed to increase production exponentially and maintain a high standard with great product. I would imagine Unibroue is an even larger organization, though I can't find clear indication of their annual yield.

Boston Beer Company, by the way, is now America's largest independent brewer, after the takeover of Anheuser Busch by InBev. As a beer geek I find this particularly interesting - if nothing more, a symbol of the growing craft beer market here.