Yup. Closed until 7pm.
Oh well, fuck 'em, I'm off to Yellow Griffin.
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Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
Goose Island Migration Week - May 26-29
Toronto! @gooseisland #MigrationWeek continues tonight at The Banknote with a tap takeover. Opens at 7, all beer $5.
Not a bad event. Bourbon county stout was quite tasty, but not worth an insane detour. Packed.
Pours of the BCS and barley wine were tiny! Advertised as 7.75 oz for $5, reality was closer to 3-4 oz.
Nothing else interesting on tap.
Pours of the BCS and barley wine were tiny! Advertised as 7.75 oz for $5, reality was closer to 3-4 oz.
Nothing else interesting on tap.
I just got back from there too! Yeah it was a huge swarm at the bar. I justified the price by helping myself to one of their promotional T-shirts and a free pint glass which they were giving away in the corner. All in all, was kinda nice to try the Bourbon County Stout on tap.
Crap, I was looking for a t-shirt! I somehow managed to grab a seat at the bar by myself at about 9 and there was a glass and t-shirt in front of me, but it was an XL. I didn't see where they were giving them out.vincho wrote:I just got back from there too! Yeah it was a huge swarm at the bar. I justified the price by helping myself to one of their promotional T-shirts and a free pint glass which they were giving away in the corner. All in all, was kinda nice to try the Bourbon County Stout on tap.
BCBS was a bucket list beer for me and while it was pretty fantastic I thought the Barleywine was better.
Had a nice time last night. Ended up going for 7:30 and meeting a guy from labatts (sales?) for the mississauga region. Bought me a drink which was pretty nice of him. Met another guy named Andrew in which we spoke about blue monk having BCBS back in JAN. Was able to have Odgen,BCBS, Sofie, and BCS Barley, which was pretty exciting. Good event overall, grabbed a T, shaker, and then went to play ball at 9:30.
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cratez
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That sums up my experience, and I enjoyed the lively atmosphere at Banknote. With the exception of the various festivals, it's rare for a Toronto craft beer event to be held outside of the well-established beer bars and brewpubs, so this was a nice change in setting.DeMarco wrote: Had a nice time last night... Was able to have Ogden, BCBS, Sofie, and BCS Barleywine, which was pretty exciting. Good event overall, grabbed a T, shaker...
The Stout lived up to expectations with its massive velvety mouthfeel and beautifully integrated bourbon notes (vanilla, oak, char). I also liked the Ogden - lemony, estery, dry and slightly hoppier than your average Tripel. The Barleywine was okay but not really my thing - fairly similar in taste to the stout since it's aged in the same barrels afterward, and a little too malt-forward for my liking (hence why they dub it "English-style"). Almost drinks like the same beer as BCBS, except swap out the roast with a vague dark fruitiness and some molasses. Glad I got to try it, though.
Overall I had a good time and events like these just keep adding to the continual evolution of Toronto's beer scene.
"Bar people do not live as long as vegan joggers. However, they have more fun." - Bruce Elliott
Your flavour assessment is almost exactly in line with mine. The bourbon barrel aging for the stout did wonders, but the barley wine just didn't match the stout. It had less of the nuance and subtlety than the BCBS and had much more pronounced alcohol notes. I also agree that the Ogden was nice.cratez wrote:DeMarco wrote:
The Stout lived up to expectations with its massive velvety mouthfeel and beautifully integrated bourbon notes (vanilla, oak, char). I also liked the Ogden - lemony, estery, dry and slightly hoppier than your average Tripel. The Barleywine was okay but not really my thing - fairly similar in taste to the stout since it's aged in the same barrels afterward, and a little too malt-forward for my liking (hence why they dub it "English-style"). Almost drinks like the same beer as BCBS, except swap out the roast with a vague dark fruitiness and some molasses. Glad I got to try it, though.
What I really wanted to ask is what it would take to occasionally get some of their interesting beers to rotate through Ontario. Matilda and Sofie make appearances at the LCBO fairly often. I think I've seen them on tap once or twice, but not sure. Given that they already have a strong distribution network in Ontario, it would make sense to see some of the good stuff occasionally.
I was at the Banknote and heard an LCBO rep say (and confirmed with an InBev rep) they're planning to bring a shipment of BCBS into stores up here next time around.napoleon wrote:What I really wanted to ask is what it would take to occasionally get some of their interesting beers to rotate through Ontario. Matilda and Sofie make appearances at the LCBO fairly often. I think I've seen them on tap once or twice, but not sure. Given that they already have a strong distribution network in Ontario, it would make sense to see some of the good stuff occasionally.
seeing as it was $27.99 USD last release, I wonder what it'll go for here..GreatCop wrote:I was at the Banknote and heard an LCBO rep say (and confirmed with an InBev rep) they're planning to bring a shipment of BCBS into stores up here next time around.napoleon wrote:What I really wanted to ask is what it would take to occasionally get some of their interesting beers to rotate through Ontario. Matilda and Sofie make appearances at the LCBO fairly often. I think I've seen them on tap once or twice, but not sure. Given that they already have a strong distribution network in Ontario, it would make sense to see some of the good stuff occasionally.
Wow! It was good, but don't know that good. That's $35 CAD, so with a 50% markup would be more like $50. Couldn't justify that. Please refer the people in the thread complaining about Bellwoods' prices to this thread.rfrf wrote:GreatCop wrote: seeing as it was $27.99 USD last release, I wonder what it'll go for here..
I wouldn't count on the pricing translating like that. We actually tend to get good deals on stuff that's normally expensive in the US due to exclusivity.napoleon wrote:Wow! It was good, but don't know that good. That's $35 CAD, so with a 50% markup would be more like $50. Couldn't justify that. Please refer the people in the thread complaining about Bellwoods' prices to this thread.rfrf wrote:GreatCop wrote: seeing as it was $27.99 USD last release, I wonder what it'll go for here..
I think my first Bourbon County was a small bottle 6 years ago, was excellent with thrilling bourbon and oak vanillin & I think it cost under ten bucks in NYC. So intense I had to share the bottle. The second larger bottle a few years ago was really good but not nearly as intense in the BB flavours. I still look forward to having it again.
In Beerum Veritas