What're you drinking right now?

[cratez]

Over the long weekend at Bellwoods Hafis, Bar Hop, Bar Hop Brewco, and beerbistro:
Bellwoods Paper Tiger (draft)
Bellwoods Blood Orange Gose (sample)
County Durham Punter's Gold (cask)
Oxbow Farmhouse Pale Ale (draft)
Left Field Passionfruit Day Game (draft)
Collective Arts Dry Hop Sour (draft)
Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale (draft)
2010 Brooklyn Monster Ale (sample)
2014 De Halve Maan Straffe Hendrik Heritage (sample)

[Bytowner]

A few from the Across the Nation east coast 6 pack. Sometimes i forget the target market for this thing is the molbatts drinker who wants to take some baby steps wading out of the shallow end. So far its coming off like Beer Camp with Kamp Krustyesque councillors.

Quidi Vidi Hefe collab: seemed watered down. Weak Hefe with pineapple notes that seem to overpower what was a standard at best base beer. My expectations were low considering the partner and they were met.

PEI Honey Biere de Garde: drinks like something Brickman would have put out in 2004. Drinks like a standard stock ale with a whackload of honey. As much a biere de garde as I am a billionaire.

Garrison Scotch ale: very smokey, otherwise prettymuch hits the right notes for a scotch ale. A couple steps down from Dirty Bastard etc. But id reach for another one.

On a much happier note: Left Field Laser Show. This is legit. Vermont style is tossed around like a frisbee these days but this one delivers.

I think that's probably more true of the East Coast pack than the West Coast. Unfortunately the Atlantic Canada breweries are... not the best. But I thought the Left Field and Beau's contributions were both very good. Enjoyed pretty much everything from the West Coast set, particularly the Keller.

[darmokandjalad]

New beers within the last week and a half:

-Muskoka Ruff Draught Tropical Blonde Ale - LCBO tallboy, 5.0%. Halfway between a blonde ale and an APA, being more hop-forward than the former, but less so than the latter. The aroma and flavour both feature fruity hops, citrus, pineapple, white grape and some resiny, floral bitterness towards the finish. A respectable effort, if unexciting.
-Big Rig Big Boot Hefeweizen - LCBO tallboy, 4.8%. Looks a little flat, with no head retention whatsoever. Tastes of bready grains, ripe banana and maybe a hint of citrus; clove spice and yeastiness round out the back end. Seems a bit thin. A serviceable wheat ale, but not on par with most of the exported German hefes.
-Silversmith Black Lager - LCBO bomber, 5.0%. The aroma kind of reminds me of a porter, but the flavour profile is closer to a schwarz/black lager: toasted bread and subtle caramel/molasses sweetness, with notes of dark chocolate and lightly roasted coffee beans. Dry finish. Very good; one of the better Ontario dark lagers I've had over the years.

And a few new brews from those Red Racer Across the Nation Collaboration mixed packs:

-Half Pints Land of Rice and Honey (Saison) - LCBO bottle, 5.8%. Fruity aroma, with apple, peach, pear and banana, as well as some grassy hay and yeasty spice; the flavour is much the same. A good saison, but I don't get the impression that the honey and rice made much of a difference.
-Quidi Vidi Hop to the East (Hopped Hefe) - LCBO bottle, 5.5%. The aroma reminds me of a Belgian IPA, almost. Tastes of grainy malts, cracker sweetness and subtle pineapple and grapefruit. Faint hints of underripe banana, grape and clove spice. Just ok; neither the bitterness nor the fruity flavours mesh well with the base wheat ale.
-NWT Brewing Miners' Refresh (Grissette) - LCBO bottle, 4.0%. Wheaty grains, bread, apple skin and lemon, followed by a peppery, yeasty finish and dry aftertaste. An understated beer, but it's well brewed and a pleasure to knock back.
-Beau's Upper Reaches (APA w/peaches and spruce tips) - LCBO bottle, 6.0%. I don't know why they thought peaches and spruce tips would go well together, because they really don't. A muddled, non-cohesive beer that I didn't mind personally, but I can understand why others would find it unappealing.
-Four Winds Left of the Divide (American IPA) - LCBO bottle, 6.0%. Lovely aroma of bergamot tea, stone fruit and pine resin, with a pronounced caramel malt backing. Intensely resiny and bitter on the back end. Quite pleasant, and still in decent condition considering it's already 3 months old.

[cratez]

Over the weekend at Milos' Craft Beer Emporium and some gatherings:
Burdock NULA (draft)
Beerlab Porter Version 7 (draft)
Cameron's & Redline Going Going Back Back To Cali Cali (draft)
Blood Brothers Osho (draft)
Muskoka Ruff Draught Tropical Blonde Ale (can)
Great Lakes & Amsterdam Ezra: Cider Barrel-Aged Farmhouse Ale (sample)
Great Lakes Miami Weiss White Pale Ale (can)

[Kish84]

Cameron's & Redline Going Going Back Back To Cali Cali (draft)

I've seen/had this beer on a few occasions now, I think this is the first time I saw Cameron's mentioned. This includes seeing it on tap at Redline.

[cratez]

Cameron's & Redline Going Going Back Back To Cali Cali (draft)

I've seen/had this beer on a few occasions now, I think this is the first time I saw Cameron's mentioned. This includes seeing it on tap at Redline.

Just going by the RB name, as I find their beer listings are usually more accurate than BA, Untappd, etc. Only Redline was listed at Milos', so it could be that Cameron's had nothing to do with this one. Whoever did or did not brew it, it's a really good West Coast IPA.

[Napalm Frog]

It's definitely a collab: http://www.redlinebrewhouse.com/the-bee ... cali-cali/

I haven't had this one, cans seem to go out of stock the same day I show up to whatever bar -_-

Cameron's last few limited releases have been pretty good, and I like most of Redline's stuff, so I'm really interested in it.

[sofakingdrunk]

2013 Motley cru-bottle#295 of 599. I think this may be a bit past it's best, but it's fucking delicious. It opened with very little action,and it pours with hardly any carbonation left. The colour is gorgeous reddish brown with literally no head. The taste is completely dominated by morello cherry and leather. Some lovely oaky undertones and some fig. Absolutely no sourness or brett flavours whatsoever, for me. I suppose there may be some residual sourness kicking around, as this beer had all the quad flavours but the sweetness is kept in check. The 11% is un-noticeable entirely. An exceptional drink, if even past it's prime. I wish I had also tried it fresh. My only issue with it(now probably) is that it's a bit overwhelming towards the end, to get through the 750ml alone. I actually had a glass as I was putting the kids to bed, then had a collective arts IPA #3 with dinner, and came
Back after and finished the Motley. To be honest though,it seems like it would have been more suited to a cool fall evening than a hot summers night.
I missed out on the 2014,But I've got a '15 and '16 sitting in the fridge that I'll make a point to drinking before they're past their best.

[cratez]

Over the weekend at the Craft Brasserie & Grille:
Indie Alehouse Instigator Pale Ale (draft)
Junction Craft Hey, Porter! (draft)
Bandit Cone Ranger IPA (flight sample)
Muddy York Gaslight Helles (flight sample)
Beau's Full Time IPA (flight sample)
Bandit Wizard of Gose (flight sample)

Over the week at home:
Wellington Upside IPA
Le Trou du Diable La Mellifera
Collective Arts IPA No. 3
Radical Road Sling Shot California Common

[sofakingdrunk]

I've had a couple cans of wellingtons Upside IPA over the weekend and it's a nice tasty beer. It's a good attempt at a NE style IPA, even if not totally spot on. It's fairly hazy although not hazy enough I think, with lots of citrusy notes as well as some apricot and other stone fruit. A wee bit of tropical pineapple-y undertones and even a bit of guava. The mouthfeel doesn't feel right for me, it doesn't seem "juicy" enough and it's a little bit unbalanced. Still, the best IPA, far and away the Wellington have produced, and a really easy, tasty drink. I'll come back to this fairly often now that it's a regular in their lineup. Hopefully, it can replace some of the SPA taps that almost every place in town has and offer a little variety.

[cratez]

I've had a couple cans of wellingtons Upside IPA over the weekend and it's a nice tasty beer. It's a good...IPA. It's fairly hazy although not hazy enough I think, with lots of citrusy notes as well as some apricot and other stone fruit. A wee bit of tropical pineapple-y undertones and even a bit of guava. The mouthfeel doesn't feel right for me, it doesn't seem "juicy" enough and it's a little bit unbalanced. Still, the best IPA, far and away the Wellington have produced, and a really easy, tasty drink. I'll come back to this fairly often now that it's a regular in their lineup.

I basically had the same impression. They could of just called it an American IPA as it's not quite NE style. But yeah, I was equally impressed (despite some minor flaws) and gave it a solid 3.75/5 on Untappd.

[Belgian]

(Thu) Enjoying another of the Ritterguts Gose, amazingly nice 'trendy' brew style for a classic German brand. The tart fruit and gentle saltiness are very summer-friendly.

(Fri) Having a nice 2006 Chimay Bleue ('Blue Cap') which is now a big fat old BSA and showing beautiful smooth fruit and rich winey notes hinting at acidity, some chocolate and black cherry, heavenly bready and mature fruit aromas, texture very smooth at close to 11 years of age and lightly carbonated in this particular bottle.
I'm sticking another one in the fridge for later. * -update - * 2nd bottle is same carbonation and flavors, extremely mellow.

[S. St. Jeb]

Steamworks Pale Ale

This had a bit of a perfume, Earl Grey tea character to it. Reminded me a lot of when I first had Mill St. Tankhouse Ale about 10 years ago. I don't find that in Tankhouse anymore; I'm sure that beer has changed.

[Belgian]

- Rest of second bottle 2006 Chimay Blue Cap that I opened, nice

- Boulevard 2015 Bourbon Barrel Quad, a gift to me found in back of fridge, nice! Wow this features the bourbon notes nicely, and the tart-dry-sweet aspects of the Belgian ale support these really well. 2nd of two bottles purchased. This was an exceptional LCBO release despite the lack of fanfare. The final cherry ageing (to replace the 'angels share' of cask evaporation) adds to the wine-like character and it compliments the figgy and bready aspects well. Astounding value.

- 2006 Thomas Hardy's Ale out of production - I'm liking this more now that it's settling down. Will look forward to more of these... and I have a few later vintages if I want to do a small Vertical.

[Belgian]

Mikkeller Frelser (Bock) from spring of 2012, I wasn't sure at first but this has held up well! Hops are flatter but overall strong profile is nice.

^ 18 June 2016. Just a year later the 2012 Mikkeller Frelser is holding up fine, amazingly. This is my last one.

I needed some beer for the sauerkraut and brats. Although first thing I opened was a 2016 Schneider Weisse Tap X Marie’s Rendezvous. This was listed Nov 2012. It's absolutely delicious but too rich for the Kraut so I also opened the Frelser & I pitched in an old bottle of Petrus Oud Bruin as well. The Petrus (Expiry 2006?) was a little tired at this stage but fine for cooking! It smells like everything is proceeding well...