The Bar Towel

Currently drinking coffee and recovering from an awesome weekend at the two best beer bars in the area, Chancey Smith's and King Edward Restaurant & Pub. Got an early start on Thursday when Milos and I had the honour of sharing a few pints with Mr. Rob Creighton. What a great time! Over the last three days and with the help of some good company, I worked my way through the following:

Phillips Hop Circle IPA (bottle)
DDC Corne Du Diable (bottle - thanks Christian!)
Southern Tier Oak Aged Un*Earthly (bottle)
Samuel Adams Winter Lager (draught - thanks Milos!)
Grand River Highballer Pumpkin Ale (draught)
Grand River Plowman's Anniversary Ale (draught)
Black Oak Nutcracker Porter (bottle - thanks Milos!)
Black Oak Summer Saison (bottle)
Grand River Mill Race Mild (cask)
Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest Lager (draught)
Stone Hammer Dark Ale (draught)
Fuller's London Pride (draught)
Church Key Like Water For Chocolate Porter (draught)
Church Key West Coast Pale Ale (draught)
Central City Red Racer IPA (can)
Southern Tier IPA (bottle)

mintjellie wrote:Hirsch Neuschwansteiner. Clean, malty, and balanced lager. I wonder what Pootz thinks of this one?

Its not bad, some nice saaz hopping although the malt finish is just a shade sweet. Its an alright beer, but nothing to write home about

Big Rock Magpie Rye Ale. Don't usually go for any BR beers, but this is a special one off for now, and was a really nice, grainy sweet rye, with a nicely bittered finish.

icemachine wrote:

mintjellie wrote:Hirsch Neuschwansteiner. Clean, malty, and balanced lager. I wonder what Pootz thinks of this one?

Its not bad, some nice saaz hopping although the malt finish is just a shade sweet. Its an alright beer, but nothing to write home about

Reminds me of bread and honey. I kind of like the sweetness.

Nogne #100. Flavour in spades.

Bell's 25th Anniversary Ale - This has a huge nose of cherries, plums, raisins and caramel backed by some grassy hops blended with just enough american citrus and bitter grapefruit.
It strikes between a very dry-snappy quad, american barley wine, and double IPA. The body is rich, and holds so much of the malt flavour and just enough bitterness to compliment the dryness. The sugars of cherries and raisins really dance on the tongue with it's fairly high carbonation and leaving a lasting sugar on the palate.

Every sip brings out something new.


I just have to mention how beautiful the colour of this beer is. It is just a beautiful ruby red, in the depths of the glass it's has this light brown going on. The head has remained 1/3 centimeter thick and I'm halfway through the glass.

This is the reason I love Bell's!

Thanks to Iain for this one. Damn, I am forever greatful!

I was miserably trying some very good Quebec brews, hoping for a nasty strange one, when I finally tried a few Schoune beers...

Now I can be happy!

Last night shared
Hoppin Frog Mean Manalishi
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale
Great Divide Hercules DIPA
Bells Hopslam
Founder's Red's Rye Pale Ale
Hirsch Neuschwansteiner

Alley Kat 15th Anniversary Apple Wit.

Black Damnation!

Ecaussinnes Penneffoise. Wierd stuff. A plum beer that ends up being a cross between a Biere de Garde and a sour ale.

Gavroche, from Les Trois Monts in the far north of France. It's a top-fermented beer, over 8% ABV, designated as a Biere de Mars. I've read different things about what this means, but I believe it means a beer intended for aging 6 months or more, made strong and hoppy to last the journey, and indeed this beer meets all those requirements. It is quite malty yet bitter, not flowery-bitter but in a mineral-like way, and is bottle-conditioned to gain condition and evolution in the flavour. It tastes half-way between a saison and a good English ale, and a cherry note from the top-fermentation is quite evident. This can age clearly for a long time but I think the one I had is about 8 months old. In the past I found many of the bieres de garde had a musty taste, for which I've read different explanations, but this one tastes clean and rich and is in top shape. Only $6.80 for a large bottle and the depanneurs (in Montreal I mean) carry it quite often. I also bought the 2010 Nouvelle Biere from the same brewery but passed on Les Trois Monts itself.

Gary

DFH Indian Brown Ale

Weekend:
ST IPA
Stone Imperial Russian Stout (yum)
New Holland Dragons Milk
Ithaca Cascazilla
DDC Solstice d'hiver

Tonight - homebrew saison dry hopped with amarillo

YUM!!!