Beer & Brewing Critiques & Pet Peeves

[BartOwl]

I also miss Antwerp style pale ales, like DeKoninck and Palm. It would be nice to see some local breweries use that house yeast strain, as it makes for a complex beer I find.

[Tapsucker]

Hi Gary,

Ingredients on hand can be a good source of surprise. Long ago I substituted Hallertauer Mittelfrüh with new world Mt. Hood in one of my continental lager homebrews due to availability. It may have not been the only variable, but the result was spot on for the style I was pursuing and I've continued to use it. I doubt any commercial brewer doesn't leave themselves some wiggle room in sourcing.

[Tapsucker]

One persistent peeve is the ubiquity of Guinness at bars, often as the only dark beer. It's a respectable beer, and I like that they ensure it's always served correctly. But it's boring and often way overpriced. I find myself drawn to any bar with a non-Guinness dark beer. St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout has seemingly disappeared from Toronto bars (still at LCBO).

I definitely have had Guinness fatigue for quite some time. I'm always a bit excited when I find the rare establishment with Murphy's on tap. Far superior IMHO.

Note to self - go have a pint of Keefe's to help keep that tap flowing.

[Cass]

One persistent peeve is the ubiquity of Guinness at bars, often as the only dark beer. It's a respectable beer, and I like that they ensure it's always served correctly. But it's boring and often way overpriced. I find myself drawn to any bar with a non-Guinness dark beer. St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout has seemingly disappeared from Toronto bars (still at LCBO).

I definitely have had Guinness fatigue for quite some time. I'm always a bit excited when I find the rare establishment with Murphy's on tap. Far superior IMHO.

Note to self - go have a pint of Keefe's to help keep that tap flowing.

Being in Oakville I've seen first-hand how regular, everyday suburban drinkers have a strong loyalty to Guinness. It's the go-to "dark beer", not just as it's usually the only dark beer available, but as if no others existed, within the stout family or otherwise.

There's a local sports bar I go to as I can walk and I once wrote a long email to the owners at the behest of the bar staff when I talked about the beer selection. They replaced Goose IPA with Keith's Amber At least they have Cowbell Hazy Days. The beer culture out here is a hard one to change.

[MatttthewGeorge]

British IPA is one of my favourite styles, so having it make a comeback would be nice. Fuller's had a double IPA, which was British, and I liked it quite a bit. It was at the LCBO a few years back. I would like to see more of that type of beer...

THIS! ALL OF THIS!

[Craig]

I bought a ton of landlord when it was on my local shelves. It hasn't been around in a bit though, sadly.

[MatttthewGeorge]

I bought a ton of landlord when it was on my local shelves. It hasn't been around in a bit though, sadly.

Yeah I've bought it many times as well. Delicious.

I still say Macleans Pale Ale is the best/most readily available English style beer in Ontario. Just wish there were more.

[sofakingdrunk]

I bought a ton of landlord when it was on my local shelves. It hasn't been around in a bit though, sadly.

I’ve been buying tonnes of Landlord since we’ve been lucky enough to have it the last few years. There used to be 2 lcbos in Guelph that would regularly stock it, now it’s just the one…that is also the furthest away from me of course. When I’m in that store, it’s a guarantee buy for me.

[Craig]

Ha, me too. Hoping it comes back to Scottsdale soon.

[G.M. Gillman]

Hi Gary,

Ingredients on hand can be a good source of surprise. Long ago I substituted Hallertauer Mittelfrüh with new world Mt. Hood in one of my continental lager homebrews due to availability. It may have not been the only variable, but the result was spot on for the style I was pursuing and I've continued to use it. I doubt any commercial brewer doesn't leave themselves some wiggle room in sourcing.

Hi, and certainly agree. Inevitably some brewers will dispute what is a British I.P.A., just as sometimes today the line between West Coast and hazy can be , well, hazy. But certainly markers can help in total distinguish British IPA from IPAs that clearly are in the American camp. The important thing is to start trying, putting out products so-labelled, that broadly stick to the B.A.'s definition.