The Bar Towel

While I appreciate its massive and complex aroma, I find the Samichlaus to be sickly sweet, and therefore undrinkable. I've tried several times to approach this "classic" with respect and an open mind, but can never choke down more than a couple of sips. Just way too sweet and boozy for my liking. Anyone else not understand the widespread love for this one?

I'm like that too. It always makes me gag. I get a similar reaction from Wee Heavys, generally.


But, you know, to each their own and all that.

The first time I had it I felt the same way, and poured 3/4 of it down the drain. I did buy two bottles at the time though, and kept the second for about two years. I finally opened that bottle on an Xmas Eve and quite enjoyed slowly sipping away in it for an hour. Now I'll buy one a year, and sit on it until the following year. It works for me

Craig wrote:I'm like that too. It always makes me gag. I get a similar reaction from Wee Heavys, generally.


But, you know, to each their own and all that.

Yeah scotch ales are my least favourite style for sure, but I'll still give them a try. Few exceptions have changed my opinions on them. Backwoods Bastard when it was up here a handful of years ago... but that was barrel aged. And more recently Second Wedge's Monday Night Piper. Thought it was muted and earthy and I really enjoyed it.

Put me in the other camp when it comes to Samichlaus. I love this beer and its sweetness isn't a problem for my palate. I even prefer it with a couple years of age, which makes it a little sweeter if anything. Definitely not a beer I crave all the time, but when the mood does strike me there are no real parallels.

Old Rasputin, Stone Russian Imperial Stout, Stone Xocoveza and Stone Double bastard were all added to the LCBO database!

No sign yet of Orval or Westmalle.

Also a Silversmith Black Lager from NOTL.

GtownRandy wrote:Old Rasputin, Stone Russian Imperial Stout, Stone Xocoveza and Stone Double bastard were all added to the LCBO database!

No sign yet of Orval or Westmalle.

Also a Silversmith Black Lager from NOTL.

Silversmith black lager is ridiculously popular in the Niagara Region. It's a good beer but style wise I like 8th sin better.

picked up 13 bottles of westmalle dubbel today and just tried one. fantastic! the first thing i noticed is the bottle is the same one used by Westvleteren. so if you ever wanted a westy bottle, soak the label off and enjoy the 2nd highest rated dubbel on ratebeer for the bargain price of $3.50 and get a westy bottle to boot

GtownRandy wrote:the first thing i noticed is the bottle is the same one used by Westvleteren.

The last time I had a Cuvee des Jacobins I happened to notice some embossed lettering on the empty bottle. I take a closer look: Trappistenbier (or something like that). I looked at another one--from the same batch, probably the same case--and it was a different bottle entirely. Now that's real recycling.

Yes brewers at Westmalle and Westvleteren have used each others bottles interchangeably for a long time. All that matters is the label or cap.

Bottle re-use gets taken a little more seriously in Europe. For example all plastic bottles have a substantial deposit to discourage their use a bit, and there are automated bottle refund machines in supermarkets. Also you can buy cases of 750ml glass-bottled drinking water (still or sparkling) pretty affordably; people buy them in the heavy-duty molded plastic cases and bring their glass water empties back for full replacements instead of stuffing their blue bins with glass and plastic like we do here. This way nearly all materials get re-used many times and even caps are scrupulously recycled with other aluminium - residents don't dare mix waste.

Other than our LCBO and Beer Store, our province has abandoned most re-filling of bottles in favor of convenience & profit margin. Our landfills really show the secondary cost of doing that; many blue-bin materials other than metals (plastics, mixed glass) are not profitable to recycle much of the time & are managed in 'clean fill' sites where nobody wants to buy them for more than they could make out of them. Our programs spend money to lose money, in other words.

All to say it's wonderfully quaint bottles are re-filled at all. Maybe we can go back to it more?