The Bar Towel

I'm fairly new to this so I'm looking forward to trying each of these beers.

John Aitken wrote:I'm fairly new to this so I'm looking forward to trying each of these beers.

Good attitude.

I'm going to try any new ones, just on principle. My sister can always finish them!

HefeWeizen seems to be the Pinot Noir of the Beer World, in that it seems to be a fussy thing to make a really consistent pleasing example, expressing the best traits.

They exist in mass, but not in North America.

The problem is getting these beers fresh. Hefe-weizens are so killer in Germany that comparing them to bottled versions is almost a guilty pleasure.

I have never tasted a wheat beer better then the Schofferhoffer I had in Weisbaden on tap. It was like drinking oatmeal, with chopped bananas. Crazy fruity and tasty.

iguenard wrote: The problem is getting these beers fresh. Hefe-weizens are so killer in Germany that comparing them to bottled versions is almost a guilty pleasure.

YESS! The Hefe's you get in Bavaria are excellent - in fact, Denison's Weisse is only #1 in North America because it is a fresh draught product.

RateBeer is essentially North American, you can get Weizen that's just as good as Denison's in Germany but it won't survive the long distance travel, it is too delicate.

The first 'great beer moment' for me was Bavarian HW, so I know!

I was in Germany a couple months ago and I sampled more than 20 different hefe's, about half of them were on tap.

They were slightly better/fresher than the bottles we get here, but the difference wasn't as stark as I thought it would be. Admittedly, my expectation was mainly based on my experience with the local Magnotta Wunderweisse, which was maybe only half as good in the bottle. Some of the German bottles we get here are at least 90% (maybe 95%) as good as their fresh counterpart.

I do have to say, Wunderweisse & Dennison's are both world-class (on tap)... and I'd take either one over any bottle!

And here's the reply I got from Jeff at Premier Brands regarding the Belhaven Blueberry (my question to him was "Is this a new beer, or have they just incorrectly named the Belhaven Fruit Beer that was available a year or two ago?") and the Fuller's Honey:

This is a new Belhaven product to the LCBO summer program. It is a seasonal brew and will be released on June 21st through the LCBO.

Also for this release we are proud to introduce Fuller's Organic Honey beer. Crafted by Fuller's of Chiswick, England this beer is 100% certified organic.

Jeff also had the following to say about the Headstrong Lager:

On another note, we have just introduced a new beer to the LCBO and on tap through out Ontario called headstrong munich lager.

It is inspired by the original, deep golden, rich malt and fully hopped Muncheners of the mid-1800's and fermented to 5.5% alc./vol., not the light straw coloured helles styles that we think of from Munich today.

We use only imported 2 Row Bavarian Summer Barley, Hallertau hops and a Bavarian Yeast strain. It is crafted in 50HL batches for us by Mike Stirrup at Wellington.

Thanks for getting clarification about the Belhaven, Greg. I post the lists that the LCBO gives me, but it did seem odd that they'd include a beer that didn't seem to exist. Looks like there will be another foreign beer in the RB database with about 20 ratings--all of them from Ontario. Lucky us.

Wheatsheaf wrote:Thanks for getting clarification about the Belhaven, Greg. I post the lists that the LCBO gives me, but it did seem odd that they'd include a beer that didn't seem to exist. Looks like there will be another foreign beer in the RB database with about 20 ratings--all of them from Ontario. Lucky us.

I don't know about that. Belhaven Fruit Beer was made with Blueberries and Blackberries as far as I know. Seems odd that they would create a new beer just dropping one of the fruits, though perhaps they weren't able to get blackberries anymore and the change was forced. The rep's response said it's new to the LCBO Summer release - a new name would make it a new release to the LCBO without it being a different beer.

And I'm probably just nitpicking here, but the rep's response seemed to ignore the prior knowledge of the person making the request - the Bar Towel has been talking about Headstrong Munich Helles for months now. Makes me a bit more sceptical about the Belhaven info.

Belhaven's Fruit Beer is--judging by the label I've got in front of me--flavoured with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and what looks like black currants (which could also be blueberries). So a blueberry beer would be different than what we've had before.

The real question is: will I be buying zero bottles of Fruit Beer, or zero bottles of Blueberry Beer? I'll have to wait and see.

Bobbyok wrote:I don't know about that. Belhaven Fruit Beer was made with Blueberries and Blackberries as far as I know. Seems odd that they would create a new beer just dropping one of the fruits, though perhaps they weren't able to get blackberries anymore and the change was forced.

The ingredients included in the Belhaven Fruit are shrouded in mystery. There was no mention on the bottle of what was used, and the only info I could find online is this review that says it "is brewed using a variety of fruits - such as raspberries, apples, strawberries and blackcurrants." Given the fact that this new beer is specifically named Blueberry Beer, I suspect it really is a different beer.

Bobbyok wrote:And I'm probably just nitpicking here, but the rep's response seemed to ignore the prior knowledge of the person making the request - the Bar Towel has been talking about Headstrong Munich Helles for months now. Makes me a bit more sceptical about the Belhaven info.

Well, to be fair to Jeff, I specifically asked him for "any sort of information regarding your recent & upcoming imports" so I could include the info in the Bar Towel news feed. If he's not a regular Bar Towel visitor, he probably wasn't aware of the past discussions.

Wheatsheaf wrote:Belhaven's Fruit Beer is--judging by the label I've got in front of me--flavoured with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and what looks like black currants (which could also be blueberries). So a blueberry beer would be different than what we've had before.

GregClow wrote: The ingredients included in the Belhaven Fruit are shrouded in mystery. There was no mention on the bottle of what was used, and the only info I could find online is this review that says it "is brewed using a variety of fruits - such as raspberries, apples, strawberries and blackcurrants." Given the fact that this new beer is specifically named Blueberry Beer, I suspect it really is a different beer.

I could have sworn that it was just blueberries and blackberries in the bottle I had. Perhaps it's different with every batch - this one is just blueberries so they went with a different name?

GregClow wrote: Well, to be fair to Jeff, I specifically asked him for "any sort of information regarding your recent & upcoming imports" so I could include the info in the Bar Towel news feed. If he's not a regular Bar Towel visitor, he probably wasn't aware of the past discussions.

I wasn't intending to slight his response, more that his response was in basic enough terms that he could have expected the respondent wouldn't know any better about it being new.

Belhaven is kind of odd in terms of its ratings on RB - I'm in the top 5 raters for the brewery, with only 11 of the 32 beers listed, and have purchased every single one here in Halifax.

http://www.ratebeer.com/forums/topic.as ... hichpage=2

"The Belhaven Blueberry beer is not as yet available in the UK. We have presented it to some of the major UK supermarket chains but as yet there has been no confirmed listing of the product.
The beer will be going on sale in Canada in the summer months as we have an agreement with the state run liquor stores to stock the product."
Chris Anderson
Marketing and Brand Development Manager
Belhaven Brewery Co Ltd. "

Sounds like its a new beer. One explanation might be that the LCBO wanted the fruit beer back and the brewery didn't want to make that? who knows, im just speculating.

It really is a good bottled ale. Definatly one I have had success in getting Canadian/American family to like. Great for summer. Regarding Belhaven's new fruit beer (their regular one isn't that great, but ok) i suppose it does't help when the LCBO purchasing board does the wine as their primary occupation.. Whilst I know personally Broughton Brewery (don't anymore) and much better Cairngorm haven't sold here (yet) as LCBO weren't very accomodating, the LCBO do seem to get a reasonably good selection, for a monopoly. Plus, for a foregin brewers point of view, they don't often get as much (from the LCBO) but are at least guarenteed payment.

The official launch for this release is tomorrow, but some of the beers have shipped already and are appearing in the inventory on the LCBO site.

There are apparently plenty of bottles of Christoffel Blond, Fuller's Organic Honey Dew & Belhaven Blueberry Beer out there. The Shepherd Neame Goldings is only showing up at one store at the moment (Dundas & Dovercourt), and Floris Ninkeberry is listed but has no inventory yet. The Liefmans Frambozenbier and St. Louis Premium Kriek are still MIA.

Of course, one must always remember that just because it's at a store doesn't mean it's on the shelves. Best to call ahead if you're travelling far, or just stop by in person if it's convenient. I've had to get stuff dragged out of the stock room on more than one occassion.

Always, Always, Always, ALWAYS ask an employee if it is in, even if not on the shelf. Beer isn't rushed out to the shelves like a new vintage release or Food and Drink magazine. It could sit in the back for a few days before hitting the shelves.