Bellwoods Brewery

[Coronaeus]

I don't know. I think Bring out Your Dead, Motley Cru 2015 and Grandma's Boy were all great beers, and I really liked Skeleton Key too though I know others didn't. Worth the price? The price certainly wouldn't distract me from buying any of those again, so I suppose I would say yes. I'm hoping 3 Minutes to Midnight joins that list for me after I try it some time next week. We seem to have different tastes though because I found both the Cherry Hoarder and the Magical Raspberry fruitcake to be pretty unremarkable. Different strokes for different folks.

[jp_jkl]

I'm not astute enough to get into the intricacies of reviewing beers but 3 Minutes to Midnight was very enjoyable. I did find it a touch too sweet and boozy, but I think both of those things could be solved with aging. I felt the same way about Skeleton Key when it was fresh. When I drank my second bottle nine months later, it had really improved into a perfect barrel-aged imp stout.

[-Liam-]

I don't understand why Lambda sits around either...

Because St. Bernardus Abt 12 is $9.10 for a 750ml bottle. Why would you not go for that option?
I kind of feel bad for not supporting Bellwoods as much as I would like to, but their beers are inconsistent and largely underwhelming considering their pricing. I would prefer to spend my money there if they put a realistic price tag on their offerings.

[portwood]

I don't understand why Lambda sits around either...

Because St. Bernardus Abt 12 is $9.10 for a 750ml bottle. Why would you not go for that option?
I kind of feel bad for not supporting Bellwoods as much as I would like to, but their beers are inconsistent and largely underwhelming considering their pricing. I would prefer to spend my money there if they put a realistic price tag on their offerings.

Not to suggest $12 for a bottle of beer isn't expensive (it is) ... but ... let me put a little perspective on things.

500ml of beer at 10% abv = ~50ml pure alcohol
750ml of whisky at 40% abv = 300ml pure alcohol
so 6 bottles of beer (or $72) = 1 bottle whisky

I challenge any whisky nerd (esp Scotch) to come up with a bottle of equal quality to the Bellwoods beer, for less than $72!

long story short, even at $12 per bottle, craft beer (how ever one defines the term) offers much better value than high quality sipping spirits.

[skaghevn]

I challenge any whisky nerd (esp Scotch) to come up with a bottle of equal quality to the Bellwoods beer, for less than $72!

Scotch - Aberlour 12YO @ 59.95
Irish - Redbreast @ 69.95
American - Blanton's Original @ 64.90
Canadian - Alberta Premium Dark Horse @ 27.95 [until Nov. 8th]

That was easy.

[nickw]

I found that the Barrel-Aged Monogamy was the only real "miss" for me in terms of special releases in recent memory. I may like the Bellwoods house taste more than some, however.

[portwood]

I challenge any whisky nerd (esp Scotch) to come up with a bottle of equal quality to the Bellwoods beer, for less than $72!

Scotch - Aberlour 12YO @ 59.95
Irish - Redbreast @ 69.95
American - Blanton's Original @ 64.90
Canadian - Alberta Premium Dark Horse @ 27.95 [until Nov. 8th]

That was easy.

Sorry to disagree, but I (and most whisky geeks) wouldn't put any of those* in the league of high-end "craft" beer, relatively speaking. The whiskies you mention are good starter whiskies in the same way beer drinkers might start with pseudo micro/craft brews (brands put out by the majors to appear crafty). I know many people like Dark Horse but, IMO, its equivalent to a Alexander Keiths/Moosehead/etc.

Aberlour 12 is to beer drinkers what Sleeman is to whisky drinkers ... acceptable options that are better than avg bottom-shelf swill.

I'll follow BakaGaijin's advice and "play nice" so, that's all I'll say on the topic.

*funny enough, just as I was typing the original comment I thought of Blanton's and a few other Bourbons as a possible exceptions.

[AugustusRex]

I challenge any whisky nerd (esp Scotch) to come up with a bottle of equal quality to the Bellwoods beer, for less than $72!

Scotch - Aberlour 12YO @ 59.95
Irish - Redbreast @ 69.95
American - Blanton's Original @ 64.90
Canadian - Alberta Premium Dark Horse @ 27.95 [until Nov. 8th]

That was easy.

Sorry to disagree, but I (and most whisky geeks) wouldn't put any of those* in the league of high-end "craft" beer, relatively speaking. The whiskies you mention are good starter whiskies in the same way beer drinkers might start with pseudo micro/craft brews (brands put out by the majors to appear crafty). I know many people like Dark Horse but, IMO, its equivalent to a Alexander Keiths/Moosehead/etc.

Aberlour 12 is to beer drinkers what Sleeman is to whisky drinkers ... acceptable options that are better than avg bottom-shelf swill.

I'll follow BakaGaijin's advice and "play nice" so, that's all I'll say on the topic.

*funny enough, just as I was typing the original comment I thought of Blanton's and a few other Bourbons as a possible exceptions.

What about Laphroaig Quarter Cask? Wouldn't that be equivalent to 3 Minutes to Midnight in terms of quality? I have had numerous Bellwoods stouts, and their base beer is no Ten Fidy.

[-Liam-]

Not to suggest $12 for a bottle of beer isn't expensive (it is) ... but ... let me put a little perspective on things.

500ml of beer at 10% abv = ~50ml pure alcohol
750ml of whisky at 40% abv = 300ml pure alcohol
so 6 bottles of beer (or $72) = 1 bottle whisky

I challenge any whisky nerd (esp Scotch) to come up with a bottle of equal quality to the Bellwoods beer, for less than $72!

long story short, even at $12 per bottle, craft beer (how ever one defines the term) offers much better value than high quality sipping spirits.

I think you're comparing apples and oranges here; Whiskey distilling is a different process that requires special aging for years and can easily justify its price range. It's also a different drinking experience, as a bottle of spirits can be opened and enjoyed for many months to come. It isn't about comparing the amount of alcohol that is in said liquid.
$72 for a sixer of beer from a brewery that isn't even the best in ontario, never mind North America (and I won't even embarrass them on a world scale) is absolutely absurd.

[TheSevenDuffs]

$72 for a sixer of beer from a brewery that isn't even the best in ontario, never mind North America (and I won't even embarrass them on a world scale) is absolutely absurd.

There are a lot of people, myself included, that would disagree with you on both of those points.

I don't know that I have ever heard anyone on here claim that Bellwoods is the best brewery in North America (so we can agree there) but I would love to hear who you think is a better Ontario brewery than Bellwoods.

[gordonpeterwiebe]

GLB, sawdust and nickelbrook (unfortunately, not recently for nickelbrook though) are all far better imo.
I just don't get the fanboyism for bellwoods. I love that they put out a tonne of different beers... but, it all tastes a little amateur to me.

[MeltedOzark]

GLB, sawdust and nickelbrook (unfortunately, not recently for nickelbrook though) are all far better imo.
I just don't get the fanboyism for bellwoods. I love that they put out a tonne of different beers... but, it all tastes a little amateur to me.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I think Witchshark is the best DIPA around the city, though I've yet to try the one from Rainhard. I think them selling out all the time helps them a lot as the IPAs are usually quite fresh. I've bought way too many old IPAs from the LCBO. I also don't think too many Ontario brewers can compete with them on sours either.

But hey, GLB is great too. Drink that if you prefer it. I haven't really gotten my hands on very many Sawdust special releases. We should feel lucky that we even get to argue about this, the amount of great beer available to us is astounding compared to anywhere else in Ontario or even compared to around here 3 years ago.

[Coronaeus]

As MeltedOzark says, different strokes for different folks. That said, I can't say I have ever heard anyone refer to Bellwoods as tasting "a little amateur." I can think of a whole host of Ontario breweries that fall into that category from time to time (5 Paddles, Block 3, Manantler, Northwinds...) but I don't think I've ever thought that about a Bellwoods beer, even the ones I haven't really liked that much I wouldn't call amateur (Warp and Weft, Barn Owl 2). I just don't really like them.

I quite like Great Lakes and Nickel Brook too. Great Lakes primarily for the pale, hoppy stuff though. Nicklel Brook has a few I enjoy too. That said, they are the only local brewery that I've ever been taken aback by the pricing (If the Barrel aged stuff from Bellwoods is overpriced, the pricing of the Kentucky Bastard is surely robbery!).

I think what generally puts Bellwoods at the top of the heap for me (at least over the past couple years), is that they do a wide variety of styles well. Perhaps none of their beers are the best of any particular style, but many of them are pretty close. No other Ontario brewery can say the same, to my tastes. Other breweries do make some very good stuff, but in most cases a lot of their offerings are middle of the pack at best (Sawdust City, Amsterdam, Beyond the Pale, Flying Monkeys).

Who knows, maybe I am letting my tastes be impacted by the demand for Bellwoods I get from my trading partners. I mean, I don't think anyone would send me a loon for a bottle from another local brewery. From Bellwoods? It has happened...

[TheSevenDuffs]

GLB, sawdust and nickelbrook (unfortunately, not recently for nickelbrook though) are all far better imo.
I just don't get the fanboyism for bellwoods. I love that they put out a tonne of different beers... but, it all tastes a little amateur to me.

It's funny how much opinions can vary on this subject. For me, Sawdust isn't even top 3. Maybe not even top 5.

No point in debating what is a matter of personal preference. You can continue to enjoy Sawdust and I will do the same with Bellwoods.

[atomeyes]

GLB, sawdust and nickelbrook (unfortunately, not recently for nickelbrook though) are all far better imo.
I just don't get the fanboyism for bellwoods. I love that they put out a tonne of different beers... but, it all tastes a little amateur to me.

that's probably the funniest thing i've read in a while.
FYI, when i go to Belgium, all they want is that amateur Bellwoods stuff. trading with the states? they want Bellwoods.

i still put BW in my top 3 ontario breweries and def in the top 5 in canada. i think their barrel projects are ambitious, as are the styles they're brewing. they were using brett when few other Ontario breweries (Amsterdam and GLB would, on occasion, for keg releases) were doing it.

i had a pint of 3min on Saturday. i really, really enjoyed it. it's a perfect beer to have with chocolate. alcohol heat is low. fruit's at a perfect balance.