The Bar Towel

Last night was a pretty good lineup

Blanche du Paradis
Wychwood Wychcraft
Rogue Santa's Private Reserve
Cannery Blackberry Porter
St. Ambroise Russian Imperial Stout

Cannery Blackberry Porter as well. Loved that!

sippin' a pint of Creemore Springs Kellerbeer - wonderfully delicious. I've turned into a bit of a hop-head this past year--love Chauncey Smith's offerings indeed--10 Years Bitter freaked me out. London LCBOs shelves are bare of anything hoppy--Keller was the only friend I could find. Last week I bought some European beers claiming to be bitter, but the freshness of local is probably a factor and my Euro/Belgian phase will probably hit in 10 years or so--mid life crisis sort of thing. Now I'm 41 and just friken bitter! I bought the last 6 Dogfish Head 60 min a while back. Looking forward to Corne du Diable on Thursday at Chauncey's!!
Gordo

Mikkeller Black Hole Barrel Aged Edition Whiskey

If I closed my eyes I would not know there was any beer at all....just like sipping on a scotch. (Similar to Ola Dubh 40)

Of the LCBO-available European pilsners and pale lagers I've tried, I would have to say the Pilsner Urquell has the best hop character. Radeberger is a bit more bitter, but doesn't have as nice a flavour or aroma. Usually when I buy Urquell I'll buy one or two comparable beers for the sake of trying something else, and I've always found the Urquell more enjoyable. I've also had Golden Pheasant, Czechvar, Radeberger, Bitburger, Boris Bio, Berthold Keller (not a kellerbier, its just a brand name), Peroni, Liviske, Ciuc, Baltika 7, DAB, Harp, Baltika 5, Baltika 3, Gosser, Holsten Premium, Heinekin, and Konig Pils. This in addition to a smattering of comparable North American lagers.

Urquell has a pretty firm bitterness, and as would be expected, so do the German pils listed. Less expected is that, in terms of hoppiness, I would actually place Harp near the top of that list too. I'll pick up the occassional can of it if I find it lying in the singles bin.

And of course, Prima Pils buries them all in terms of hoppiness. That beer seems like its own beast when compared to its old world ancestors. I actually never compare other pils against Prima, for what its worth.

And yes, I realize I just lumped a bunch of Czech and German Pils, Euro lagers, a couple dortmunders, and a Munich helles into one list. Probably not the most fair of comparisons.

Montreal's Ghostown, from Brasseurs de Montreal. A well-made dryish stout flavoured with herbs and absinthe. Excellent beer which I think would benefit from 6-12 months cellaring. I tried blending this with Trafalgar Oatmeal Stout, 1:2, and that worked well, it softened the Ghostown profile but you can still taste the herbs and absinthe.

Gary

mahcinesquad wrote:Just has Cheshire Valley's ESB at the Woolwich Arms in Guelph. Holy crap was it good.

I hope this guy gets the opportunities he deserves to get a foothold in the market. He deserves it on this product alone.

I can't wait to try what else he has brewing.

couldnt agree more. had 1 at Brydens on Friday, wasnt sure what to expect and ended up really impressed by it. Hope to have it again sometime.

Had a pretty good lineup yesterday:

Great Lakes Lackeys Flaskey
Duggans #9
Green Flash Hop Head Red
Green Flash West Coast IPA
Great Divide Titan IPA


About to try the Cannery Blackberry Porter in a few minutes.

Zuma wrote:Mikkeller Black Hole Barrel Aged Edition Whiskey

If I closed my eyes I would not know there was any beer at all....just like sipping on a scotch. (Similar to Ola Dubh 40)

A group of us all said the same thing 2 weeks ago while sharing a bottle of Tactical Nuclear Penguin, "this is just carbonated, black scotch."

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel.

After being disapointed by too many highly rated beers lately, this one is worth the hype. Although I have yet to try AleSmith Speedway Stout, this puts any other impy coffee stout I have ever had to shame. BGB Weasel is luxurious in every single way.

gordmit wrote:sippin' a pint of Creemore Springs Kellerbeer - wonderfully delicious. I've turned into a bit of a hop-head this past year--love Chauncey Smith's offerings indeed--10 Years Bitter freaked me out. London LCBOs shelves are bare of anything hoppy--Keller was the only friend I could find. Last week I bought some European beers claiming to be bitter, but the freshness of local is probably a factor and my Euro/Belgian phase will probably hit in 10 years or so--mid life crisis sort of thing. Now I'm 41 and just friken bitter! I bought the last 6 Dogfish Head 60 min a while back. Looking forward to Corne du Diable on Thursday at Chauncey's!!
Gordo

Hi Gordo. London LCBOs have a decent array of hoppy beers if you look in the right places. York & Ridout always has fresh sixers of Souther Tier IPA. The Corne du Diable and Derniere Volonte bottles are currently at the Richmond & Fanshawe LCBO. Anchor Liberty Ale, St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Schneider Hopfen Weisse, Headstrong Pale Ale, Fuller's ESB, Great Lakes Devil's Pale Ale, and Christoffel Blonde are available at several 'BOs in the city. All of them are fairly well-hopped compared to most other retail offerings. But you're correct in claiming that Chancey's is the best option for truly hoppy, private order beers. I'll be at the DDC Meet & Greet on Thursday. If you see a young bald guy with a grey Welly shirt on, be sure to say hi. Cheers!

boney wrote:Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel.

Although I have yet to try AleSmith Speedway Stout, this puts any other impy coffee stout I have ever had to shame.

You may need to watch your back after making such claims, there is a lot of love for DDC Peche Mortel.

I haven't tried Brunch Weasel, but I have tried Speedway. The Speedway is better than Peche Mortel. No contest.

[quote="cratez"][quote="gordmit"]sippin' a pint of Creemore Springs Kellerbeer - wonderfully delicious. I've turned into a bit of a hop-head this past year--love Chauncey Smith's offerings indeed--10 Years Bitter freaked me out. London LCBOs shelves are bare of anything hoppy--Keller was the only friend I could find. Last week I bought some European beers claiming to be bitter, but the freshness of local is probably a factor and my Euro/Belgian phase will probably hit in 10 years or so--mid life crisis sort of thing. Now I'm 41 and just friken bitter! I bought the last 6 Dogfish Head 60 min a while back. Looking forward to Corne du Diable on Thursday at Chauncey's!!
Gordo[/quote]

Hi Gordo. London LCBOs have a decent array of hoppy beers if you look in the right places. York & Ridout always has fresh sixers of Souther Tier IPA. The Corne du Diable and Derniere Volonte bottles are currently at the Richmond & Fanshawe LCBO. Anchor Liberty Ale, St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Schneider Hopfen Weisse, Headstrong Pale Ale, Fuller's ESB, Great Lakes Devil's Pale Ale, and Christoffel Blonde are available at several 'BOs in the city. All of them are fairly well-hopped compared to most other retail offerings. But you're correct in claiming that Chancey's is the best option for truly hoppy, private order beers. I'll be at the DDC Meet & Greet on Thursday. If you see a young bald guy with a grey Welly shirt on, be sure to say hi. Cheers![/quote]

The York St LCBO was out of a lot--last week there was a a single 5-pack of Southern Tier sitting all lonely, neglected and warm on the shelf. The Headstrong is very nice, but WOW!! out of the tap fresh from Galt...great example of cooperation fro a worthy cause--beer. At Chauncey's on Thursday look for an intellectual-looking mid-age guy with glasses, close cropped hair--I'll be the shaggy lout sitting next to him--probably in a hawiian shirt no doubt.
Gordo

matt7215 wrote:

dutchcanuck wrote:Its days like today that i love this forum.

Any want to mention some solid examples of saison?

Saison Dupont

Oddly I thought the Moinette (organic version of Dupont) was a lpt more non-descript, both on tap and in bottle - so much for 'classic' Dupont.

gordmit wrote: At Chancey's on Thursday look for an intellectual-looking mid-age guy with glasses, close cropped hair--I'll be the shaggy lout sitting next to him--probably in a Hawaiian shirt no doubt. Gordo

LOL, will do!

cratez wrote:

gordmit wrote: At Chancey's on Thursday look for an intellectual-looking mid-age guy with glasses, close cropped hair--I'll be the shaggy lout sitting next to him--probably in a Hawaiian shirt no doubt. Gordo

LOL, will do!

Me too! Looking forward to seeing you gord!