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spinrsx wrote:3 new beers from 1 brewer at the lcbo is a good start, let's not push our luck
-Liam- wrote:Do the LCBO have plans to get in any of the other Stone beers? I was pretty underwhelmed by their IPA and Arrogant Bastard. I did however have their Ruination 2.0 recently and it is killer!
Give them a chance to sell really well, then when the Lazy BO decide there are "too many SKU's…"
I have a feeling we're doomed anyway. Ontario is over. Finito. Might as well drive a Trabant, bring back the Wooly Mammoth…
jeremyg wrote:Was talking with my dude at my local lcbo (cornwall, oakville) and he was saying stone should be arriving storewide at the end of the month
PeenSteen wrote:Brewdog Punk tall cans
NB Cause & Effect tall cans
La Chouffe
Lake of Bays 10 Point tall can
Mill St. 100th Meridian tall can
TDD les quarter surfeurs de l'apocalypso
In the last year we've had Detour, Brakeman's Session Ale, Cruiser, State of Mind Session IPA, Saint of Circumstance "Anytime" Blonde Ale, Genius of Suburbia ISA, Sam Roberts Session Ale and Red Racer ISA hit LCBO shelves.
Have we reached peaked session ale?
Last edited by jp_jkl on Wed Jun 17, 2015 3:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I'd say yes, especially for these thin gruel, C-hop dominated varieties of "session IPA" that appear to be in vogue. None of them comes anywhere close to being as satisfying as a well made English-style bitter in the same ABV range, at least for my money. Trying to think of an Ontario example. Neustadt Mill Gap Bitter perhaps? That long-lamented Scotch-Irish beer fit the bill perfectly, for a couple of years.
EDIT: others I have liked better than any of the ISA's, at 4% or less ABV (though admittedly not pale ales, just saying these tend to be more satisfying even at low ABV): GLB Simple Porter, Neustadt Ever Ard Mild, Barley Days Shucker Paddy Oyster Stout.
In the last year we've had Detour, Brakeman's Session Ale, Cruiser, State of Mind Session IPA, Saint of Circumstance "Anytime" Blonde Ale, Sam Roberts Session Ale and Red Racer ISA hit LCBO shelves.
midlife crisis wrote:I'd say yes, especially for these thin gruel, C-hop dominated varieties of "session IPA" that appear to be in vogue. None of them comes anywhere close to being as satisfying as a well made English-style bitter in the same ABV range, at least for my money. Trying to think of an Ontario example. Neustadt Mill Gap Bitter perhaps? That long-lamented Scotch-Irish beer fit the bill perfectly, for a couple of years.
EDIT: others I have liked better than any of the ISA's, at 4% or less ABV (though admittedly not pale ales, just saying these tend to be more satisfying even at low ABV): GLB Simple Porter, Neustadt Ever Ard Mild, Barley Days Shucker Paddy Oyster Stout.
I agree completely. Even the best ISA I've ever had has just tasted like a watery IPA. They're fine and all, but I've never had one and not thought how much I'd rather just have a real IPA.
A nice bitter, or even a mild, is more my style if I want something low-ABV.
midlife crisis wrote:I'd say yes, especially for these thin gruel, C-hop dominated varieties of "session IPA" that appear to be in vogue. None of them comes anywhere close to being as satisfying as a well made English-style bitter in the same ABV range, at least for my money. Trying to think of an Ontario example. Neustadt Mill Gap Bitter perhaps? That long-lamented Scotch-Irish beer fit the bill perfectly, for a couple of years.
EDIT: others I have liked better than any of the ISA's, at 4% or less ABV (though admittedly not pale ales, just saying these tend to be more satisfying even at low ABV): GLB Simple Porter, Neustadt Ever Ard Mild, Barley Days Shucker Paddy Oyster Stout.
I agree completely. Even the best ISA I've ever had has just tasted like a watery IPA. They're fine and all, but I've never had one and not thought how much I'd rather just have a real IPA.
A nice bitter, or even a mild, is more my style if I want something low-ABV.
Couln't agree more with both of you. I like hops as much as the next guy and I prefer my hopy beers to have a dry crackery malt base, but I almost feel that for hops to shine they need a minimum amount of subtle sweetness backing them up that, for whatever reason, doesn't exist in low ABV hoppy beers. IMO, despite smelling great, ISA's come off as less than the sum of their parts, having less hop flavor than I'd expect given the hopping regimen and especially lacking that "juicy" mouthfeel that I crave in a hopy beer. Although Malt is more of a key ingredient in beer than salt is in cooking, I equate the non-existant malt profiles in most ISA's to underseasoning food.
Craig wrote:
...Even the best ISA I've ever had has just tasted like a watery IPA. They're fine and all, but I've never had one and not thought how much I'd rather just have a real IPA.
This is exactly how I feel. The 'problem' is that you get used to drinking a 6.5% or 7% IPA, then anything less than that just seems to lack the body and feel that you're accustomed to. It almost happens to standard IPAs as well, when you drink Imperial IPAs for a while. You drink NB's Immodest for any period of time and then their Headstock starts to taste like a session IPA!
midlife crisis wrote:I'd say yes, especially for these thin gruel, C-hop dominated varieties of "session IPA" that appear to be in vogue. None of them comes anywhere close to being as satisfying as a well made English-style bitter in the same ABV range, at least for my money. Trying to think of an Ontario example. Neustadt Mill Gap Bitter perhaps? That long-lamented Scotch-Irish beer fit the bill perfectly, for a couple of years.
EDIT: others I have liked better than any of the ISA's, at 4% or less ABV (though admittedly not pale ales, just saying these tend to be more satisfying even at low ABV): GLB Simple Porter, Neustadt Ever Ard Mild, Barley Days Shucker Paddy Oyster Stout.
I'll 4th (or 5th or whatever) wanting to have some bitter/mild options. Someone from Grand River said on here a few months ago that they've submitted their Mill Race Mild to the LCBO several times and keep getting rejected. ISAs are cool now, milds and bitters aren't, so it seems the LCBO isn't interested. Pompous Ass is a great beer and usually ends up being my stand-in when I would rather have a mild. Maybe I'm just nit-picking since it's only 4.2%.
