The Bar Towel

Belgian wrote:

sofakingdrunk wrote:I'm also usually skeptical of Beaus(rightly so) but I've heard some good things about Full Time ipa

Well Ive always liked Kissmeyer Nordic Pale Ale. Some Beaus beers are not so good without food (the sweeter ones may go well with BBQ) but this one stands alone, and it used to be cheap on tap at The Comrade.

Having a great bottle of Aphrodisiaque. Puffy head, cacao dark fruit light coffee roast and vanilla on the end. I will have to go to DDC soon.

Earlier had a de-alco Weizen from Valentin's. You can buy at Brandt store.

Agreed, I like the Nordic pale ale. I've also
Enjoyed their dark helmut,a coffee amber wad also really nice can't remember the name. I enjoy the 80 shilling as well.

Shawn & Ed Lagershed Valley Wheat - Very good beer. I'd recommend giving this one a try. Almost as good as Side Launch.

At Bar Hop:
Halo Zero Hour (draft)
Amsterdam & House Ales Left Of The Dial Mild (draft)
Granite Brewery Summer Ale (cask)
Redline Double Clutch (sample)

Over the week at home:
Bellwoods Stay Classy
Great Lakes Over My Dad Body Pilsner
Bellwoods Farmhouse Classic
Indie Ale House Love Triangle IPA

Within the last week and a half:

-Forked River Catch 23 Northeast Style IPA - Bottle from the brewery. I'm not a big proponent of FR's pale ales but this is one that I enjoyed. Hazy appearance with lots of lace, and a fruity, juicy aroma. Citrus, melon, stone fruits and tropical fruits are all present, with a touch of resiny bitterness at the finish that quickly fades. Soft, near-creamy mouthfeel.
-Clifford Pinball Wizard - LCBO tallboy. I wanted to like this one, but there was an unmistakable hint of buttered popcorn that kind of ruined it for me. Other than that, the malt backing is robust and the citrusy, resiny hops are pleasant. Would like to try this one without the diacetyl, because it seemed promising.
-Old Tomorrow Honey Ginger Shandy - LCBO tallboy. Tastes more like a ginger ale mixed with lemonade than a beer. No ginger spice/root heat whatsoever. Watery and thin, but at 3% I'm not sure what else I was expecting. You could do worse if you're looking for something light and barely beer-like to drink this summer, but I don't think I'll be returning frequently.
-Old Tomorrow Light'Er Up Canadian Craft Lager - TBS tallboy. A very basic light lager. Tastes like it's all-malt, but I can't say for sure. Better than most light lagers, at least. If I may borrow Steelback's marketing slogan - it is what it is.
-Mill Street Welterweight Session IPA - LCBO tallboy. Meh. Drinks like a light version of their Rodeo Monk. I liked the fruity elements of the flavour, but Belgian yeast always bugs me when it's in an IPA. YMMV.
-Anderson Cream Ale - Can from the brewery. Actually a very nice cream ale. This is a beer I will probably keep on hand this summer, to offer to visitors who don't typically seek out/appreciate craft brews.

Drinking a Granville Island, English Bay Pale Ale.
I can just keep putting them down, wow!

darmokandjalad wrote:Within the last week and a half:

-Forked River Catch 23 Northeast Style IPA - Bottle from the brewery. I'm not a big proponent of FR's pale ales but this is one that I enjoyed. Hazy appearance with lots of lace, and a fruity, juicy aroma. Citrus, melon, stone fruits and tropical fruits are all present, with a touch of resiny bitterness at the finish that quickly fades. Soft, near-creamy mouthfeel.
-Clifford Pinball Wizard - LCBO tallboy. I wanted to like this one, but there was an unmistakable hint of buttered popcorn that kind of ruined it for me. Other than that, the malt backing is robust and the citrusy, resiny hops are pleasant. Would like to try this one without the diacetyl, because it seemed promising.
-Old Tomorrow Honey Ginger Shandy - LCBO tallboy. Tastes more like a ginger ale mixed with lemonade than a beer. No ginger spice/root heat whatsoever. Watery and thin, but at 3% I'm not sure what else I was expecting. You could do worse if you're looking for something light and barely beer-like to drink this summer, but I don't think I'll be returning frequently.
-Old Tomorrow Light'Er Up Canadian Craft Lager - TBS tallboy. A very basic light lager. Tastes like it's all-malt, but I can't say for sure. Better than most light lagers, at least. If I may borrow Steelback's marketing slogan - it is what it is.
-Mill Street Welterweight Session IPA - LCBO tallboy. Meh. Drinks like a light version of their Rodeo Monk. I liked the fruity elements of the flavour, but Belgian yeast always bugs me when it's in an IPA. YMMV.
-Anderson Cream Ale - Can from the brewery. Actually a very nice cream ale. This is a beer I will probably keep on hand this summer, to offer to visitors who don't typically seek out/appreciate craft brews.

I had a couple cans of the pinball wizard myself that I was looking forward to, and was also disappointed. I can't remember exactly what I didn't like, as it was almost a month ago.....but they just weren't very enjoyable.

Same, if i recall it was bitter but didnt enjoy the hop flavour as i do with GLB IPA's

You know what I like about this thread?

Obviously for one, it has now got over a thousand posts. Pretty good.

But, what I really like is how many posts are at, like, 6:20 AM. What am I drinking right now? Coffee...

On my 3rd Collective Arts/Project IPA #2.
WOW!!! bitterness, Tartness, Dryness, over the top, I'm loving it

Beau's Full Time IPA
I'm not a fan of Beau's but I'd buy this one again ... if it was packaged in smaller cans/bottles

Yes, I've heard/read good things about
The beaus IPA....the bottle format will likely make it a very occSional buy for me

At Milos' Craft Beer Emporium:
Bellwoods Jutsu (draft)
Forked River The Groove (draft)
Wellington Home Town Porter (draft)
Folly Inkhorn (draft)

Courtesy of a friend:
Deschutes The Abyss (sample)

Last night at home:
Indie Ale House & Bar Hop Rabbit of Caerbannog

New stuff over the last week:

-Anderson Brown Ale - From a sixer picked up at the brewery, 4.6%. Decidedly malt-forward, with notes of milk chocolate, toasted nuts, espresso, cocoa and brown sugar. A very good example of what is (locally) an underrepresented style. I haven't tried anything particularly adventurous from Anderson yet, but they seem to have a solid grip on brewing quality session ales.
-Ace Hill Vienna Lager - LCBO tallboy, 5.0%. Toasted grains and bread, caramelized malt sweetness and a brief hint of grassy noble hops on the back end. A pretty decent Vienna; I liked this more than their pilsener, fwiw.
-New Limburg Belgian Blond - LCBO bottle, 7.1%. This is the first New Limburg beer I've tried and I wasn't disappointed. Looks amazing in the glass - very Duvel-esque. Grainy pale malts and white sugar sweetness, with grove/orchard fruit esters mid-sip (banana, apples, lemon). Finishes spicy and yeasty. A little overcarbonated, but otherwise it's a nice, strong blonde ale.
-Mill Street Jigger's Delight - LCBO bottle from their latest summer sampler, 5.0%. Very bland and disappointing. It's supposed to be a steam beer, but it drinks more like a regular pale lager. More hops, plz. Other than drinkability, this has nothing going for it.
-Mill Street Stone Mason Ale - Ditto, 4.8%. Described as an English bitter, this one was also rather underwhelming. Wheat, toasted grains and biscuit, with leafy, earthy hops towards the finish. Watery and thin with some metallic-tasting notes. Passable, but outshone by most of the UK exports we see here.
-Mill Street Honest Bucker Pale Ale - Ditto, 5.9%. A Mosaic-hopped APA, this was easily the best of the bunch IMO. Had an unusual aroma, reminiscent of blood orange, which I really liked. Juicy tropical fruits, peach and citrus, with resiny/floral bitterness rounding out the profile. The only one of their four "brewpub" beers that I want to drink again.

And some repeats:
-Mill Street Walker's Blueberry Wheat - Ditto, 5.0%. I haven't tried this in close to a half-decade. I wasn't impressed back then and my opinion of it is even lower this time. I find most blueberry beers to be lacking, but this one is a genuinely weak effort.
-Radical Road Sling Shot California Common - LCBO tallboy. Bought this specifically to compare to the Mill Street Jigger's Delight (also because I couldn't find any Anchor Steam to use instead). It easily won. Not an exciting beer, but serviceable enough.
-GLB Sunnyside Session IPA - LCBO tallboy. One of the better session IPAs at the LCBO. I agree with those who have been saying that this year's run is tasting a bit better than the 2016 batch. Very citrus-forward - mostly lemon, with some grapefruit.
-Side Launch Wheat - LCBO tallboy. Still an excellent hefe, and the best Ontario-brewed one that sees any real distribution IMO

darmokandjalad wrote:New stuff over the last week:

-Radical Road Sling Shot California Common - LCBO tallboy. Bought this specifically to compare to the Mill Street Jigger's Delight (also because I couldn't find any Anchor Steam to use instead). It easily won. Not an exciting beer, but serviceable enough.

I really enjoyed this one, thought it was a nice example of the style and fares well against Anchor (though Anchor still wins in my books). Your notes about the Mill Street pack are discouraging though, just picked up the summer sampler for myself lol. Oh well, gotta try everything once.

darmokandjalad wrote:New stuff over the last week:

-Anderson Brown Ale - From a sixer picked up at the brewery, 4.6%. Decidedly malt-forward, with notes of milk chocolate, toasted nuts, espresso, cocoa and brown sugar. A very good example of what is (locally) an underrepresented style. I haven't tried anything particularly adventurous from Anderson yet, but they seem to have a solid grip on brewing quality session ales.
-Ace Hill Vienna Lager - LCBO tallboy, 5.0%. Toasted grains and bread, caramelized malt sweetness and a brief hint of grassy noble hops on the back end. A pretty decent Vienna; I liked this more than their pilsener, fwiw.
-New Limburg Belgian Blond - LCBO bottle, 7.1%. This is the first New Limburg beer I've tried and I wasn't disappointed. Looks amazing in the glass - very Duvel-esque. Grainy pale malts and white sugar sweetness, with grove/orchard fruit esters mid-sip (banana, apples, lemon). Finishes spicy and yeasty. A little overcarbonated, but otherwise it's a nice, strong blonde ale.
-Mill Street Jigger's Delight - LCBO bottle from their latest summer sampler, 5.0%. Very bland and disappointing. It's supposed to be a steam beer, but it drinks more like a regular pale lager. More hops, plz. Other than drinkability, this has nothing going for it.
-Mill Street Stone Mason Ale - Ditto, 4.8%. Described as an English bitter, this one was also rather underwhelming. Wheat, toasted grains and biscuit, with leafy, earthy hops towards the finish. Watery and thin with some metallic-tasting notes. Passable, but outshone by most of the UK exports we see here.
-Mill Street Honest Bucker Pale Ale - Ditto, 5.9%. A Mosaic-hopped APA, this was easily the best of the bunch IMO. Had an unusual aroma, reminiscent of blood orange, which I really liked. Juicy tropical fruits, peach and citrus, with resiny/floral bitterness rounding out the profile. The only one of their four "brewpub" beers that I want to drink again.

And some repeats:
-Mill Street Walker's Blueberry Wheat - Ditto, 5.0%. I haven't tried this in close to a half-decade. I wasn't impressed back then and my opinion of it is even lower this time. I find most blueberry beers to be lacking, but this one is a genuinely weak effort.
-Radical Road Sling Shot California Common - LCBO tallboy. Bought this specifically to compare to the Mill Street Jigger's Delight (also because I couldn't find any Anchor Steam to use instead). It easily won. Not an exciting beer, but serviceable enough.
-GLB Sunnyside Session IPA - LCBO tallboy. One of the better session IPAs at the LCBO. I agree with those who have been saying that this year's run is tasting a bit better than the 2016 batch. Very citrus-forward - mostly lemon, with some grapefruit.
-Side Launch Wheat - LCBO tallboy. Still an excellent hefe, and the best Ontario-brewed one that sees any real distribution IMO

I've had a decent amount of the new limburg....it's not a style I generally go for, but this is a really nice beer.
I picked up their Wit on the weekend(also a style I'm not huge on) and like it a lot. Less sweet than most wit beers, actually quite dry with a. Nice minerality to it. Reminded me a little bit of st Bernardus wit. Solid solid stuff