liamt07 wrote:Malcolm wrote:I dunno, is there an issue with pint glasses? Of the many I've raised I haven't had a problem, save for the odd dishwasher\soapy smell. But if it's affecting the beer taste, it's quickly replaced.
Being served imperial stouts (Wellington's) in a pint glass is bit much, no? And the half pints are just smaller, thicker pint glasses. So much for sensory perception on a beer (and I'm sure there are others) that has quite a bit going on in it!
Gimmie a tulip instead any day... (a la Volo - for the half pints)
I think that has more to do with their respective atmospheres. Volo has the image of serving a great selection of beers and they are serving them in "proper" glassware and it is an experience to be there, where CW is just a great pub with a great selection and it's also an experience to be there, just a different one.
I wouldn't expect a gastro pub to serve their food the same way a fine dining restaurant would, because it's a different atmosphere. The same meal at the different restaurants would be presented differently, on different plates and likely the actual service would differ quite a lot as well.
If I'm in the city and want a night with my girlfriend just the two of us hanging out trying some really unique beers, we'll go to Volo, if I want to meet up with a group of friends from college, I'd go to CW, because I can still have my selection of cool beers and it has a more relaxed vibe that my soon to be ex-non-craft drinking buddies are into.
I suppose the argument could be made that because CW has such a large line up of beers on tap, cask and in bottle, some of which are fairly standard to the average craft drinker and some of which are true gems, that it's doing more than most to support the local beer culture, because it's more accessible to non-craft drinkers than other 'cutting edge' bars. Therefore, it helps introduce many people to the world of craft. I always get my friends to go there after a hockey or baseball game and they've all since converted, in some capacity or another, to craft drinkers.
I'm not making that argument, just pointing out an observation. I'm not putting down Volo or any other awesome bar (Beer Bistro, Burger Bar, Only Cafe, Smokeless...the list goes on) in the city either. I love visiting Toronto for the great options it presents me with. I wish I had the problem of deciding which of all my local bars was the most cutting edge, had the best tap list VS bottle list, etc. I'm just happy to find bars here that have good craft on tap. Forget about boundary pushing bottle selection. Hopefully more of my locals take a cue from any of the fantastic places mentioned above and pick up the slack.
I don't always drink beer ... because sometimes my friends win and we have to go to macro-only establishments.