The Bar Towel

For the local beer history buffs, here's a vintage beer dinner menu from Orso Restaurant - a dinner organized by John Maxwell and hosted by Michael Jackson. Quite something to see what were the fancy local beers of the day.

Thanks to Gary Gillman for sharing!

Wow, that's something. We've cime a long long way

I do miss that Conners Stout.

Yes, good memories of Connors Stout, and also Gritstone.

I don't recall Burlington Light. Anyone know who made it? There was a Halton County Brewery in Burlington in 1988. Not sure they were still around in 1990.

And I have to ask....how many of you young bartowellers were drinking out of baby bottles or sippy cups in 1990?

Nice to see that put up, thanks! Actually the menu is from John Maxwell (of Allen's, Dora Keogh's) who used to own Orso, and John kindly consented to the menu appearing here.

John was one of the founders of the Toronto Gambrinus Society, an early beer appreciation group here. I was a member. I helped with the arrangements for the dinner including viz Jackson's appearance and the beer list.

Can't recall any details on Burlington Light at the moment. Sculler was a good all-malt lager from Ste. Catherine. The Connors stout was excellent, its best beer I think.

Good memories!

Gary

S. St. Jeb wrote:Yes, good memories of Connors Stout, and also Gritstone.

And I have to ask....how many of you young bartowellers were drinking out of baby bottles or sippy cups in 1990?

I miss Gritstone too.

I was in the middle of high school in 1990. The only beer that I had up to that point was whatever shitty macro crap my dad was drinking. That played a large part in my not drinking beer until my mid-20's when I got introduced to Algonquin Honey Brown and KLB Raspberry Wheat.

S. St. Jeb wrote:
And I have to ask....how many of you young bartowellers were drinking out of baby bottles or sippy cups in 1990?

I was already old enough to have travelled, tasted better and come home to the disappointing choices (or lack of) we had.

Thinking back to those days, this is all of the menu I remember.

- The already mentioned Connors Stout, and also the decent Bitter
- Upper Canada and their Rebellion line
- Yes, Gritstone
- Stuff on tap at Dennison's, Amsterdam/Rotterdam, Spruce Goose (pretty poor) and the up and coming Granite
- Creemore
- I can't recall when Formosa as well as Wellington came on the scene, but I vaguely guess it was about then.
- Hart was a bit later, but got my attention with Dragon's Breath

Hell, even some of the President's Choice stuff was a break from the swill of the day. Ironic for a spokesman who didn't drink.


Earlier still, Northern and Brick had a few offerings to get me through college and they were often cheap too. How many good (or at least drinkable) but affordable student beers have you come across?

Ahh 1990 - I had been working a year in Toronto already!

And I had a taste for good-ish beer, drinking Connors Best Better, Gritstone, Niagara Trapper and Algonquin Lager, and Pilsner Urquell tasted really good back then from the bottles at The Rivoli, if I'm not mistaken. I sort of knew at the time Upper Canada was hit-and-miss (or hit and shit?), and I also sort of knew Red Baron and stuff like that was middling.

The first real 'beer' trip to Bavaria in Germany - with amazing lagers and fresh delicious Hefeweizen - was like a nuclear explosion in my brain around 1994, but that was still ten years before I found BarTowel & Ratebeer, thank you The Internet. I think Weissbier originally got me interested in Belgian Wit and, by extension all Unibroue products and all Belgian beers. It only got more insane thereafter. Thank you Cass & Greg!

I was big into root beer floats in the summer of 1990. I was also six.

Tapsucker wrote:I was already old enough to have travelled, tasted better and come home to the disappointing choices (or lack of) we had.

Thinking back to those days, this is all of the menu I remember.

- The already mentioned Connors Stout, and also the decent Bitter
- Upper Canada and their Rebellion line
- Yes, Gritstone
- Stuff on tap at Dennison's, Amsterdam/Rotterdam, Spruce Goose (pretty poor) and the up and coming Granite
- Creemore
- I can't recall when Formosa as well as Wellington came on the scene, but I vaguely guess it was about then.
- Hart was a bit later, but got my attention with Dragon's Breath

Hell, even some of the President's Choice stuff was a break from the swill of the day. Ironic for a spokesman who didn't drink.


Earlier still, Northern and Brick had a few offerings to get me through college and they were often cheap too. How many good (or at least drinkable) but affordable student beers have you come across?

Wellington was well-established by then, and their County Ale and, to a lesser extent, Arkell Bitter were the best beers available for a brief period in Toronto (IMO), especially when served cask conditioned at the long lost and lamented Hop and Grape ("Hope and Grope") on College just west of Yonge.

Craig wrote:I was big into root beer floats in the summer of 1990. I was also six.

Haha...ya....it was a few years after this event when I had my first beer. Never a fan of root beer floats though...just straight up root beer.

Here is a rare photo from the event!



RIP Michael.