The Bar Towel

Omnipollo Prodromus — Over the top as expected. I was done after a quarter can. Something about the coffee-vanilla and burnt malt-caramel notes put me off. Quite boozy. After much sniffing and sipping I concluded it tastes and smells like a mix of Kahlua and Maltesers.

Judging by the ingredients listed, I think this canned batch is different from the one that was first released on tap.

Samuel Smiths Organic Chocolate Stout, this to me is medicinal and weirdly fruity, no balance in the flavours. I did enjoy other Organic series Smiths beers. How odd!

Spencer Trappist Ale, now don't expect Koningshoeven Tripel or Orval here but this is a very respectable golden Belgian Ale with a nice minty-dry hop signature. And it supports a Cistercian monastery so to me it's worth a go.
** Edit ** coming back to this again, I find it really nice. Certainly Belgian-style in the overall character, however it is fairly distinct and should stand its own as a classic in its own right. Well worth what is essentially 3 pours for ten bucks.

Also recently tasted the GLB 25th anniversary BARIS, I must say it is quite refined and tasty so if you were thinking of grabbing a bottle or three I imagine it will age well for a few years & it should drink very well right now.

Had a few beers over the holidays (obviously):

Muddy York Prost! Dunkelweizen: Wanted to like this one more, had a nice toasted nuttiness along with banana fruitiness, but there was a distracting dusty note and medical aftertaste that didn't work for me.

Forked River Full City Coffee Porter: Thought I'd re-try this now that it's in cans, but I felt it actually got worse this year. Thin and one dimensional, without the coffee the base porter is very unremarkable.

MacLean's Luck & Charm Oatmeal Stout: Another one that suffered from being too thin, seriously it seems so difficult to find a good solid stout or porter sometimes. Very unbalanced too, lots of charred notes that needed sweetness and body to round it out.

St-Feuillien Brune: From the last LCBO release, still have a couple bottles tucked away. Bit of a gusher but once it settled an enjoyable dubbel. Fruity notes of apple, bready malts and caramel- kind of tastes like candy apples. Drinks surprisingly light with no pronounced alcohol for an 8.5% beer.

Great Lakes Winter Ale: Honestly not my favourite or anything, but I still like to buy a bottle every Christmas for nostalgic purposes. Decent winter warmer, pronounced spiciness with a hint of orange on the finish. My alternative to the mulled wine everyone else was drinking.

I've definitely had some beers that I really loved over Christmas, but I guess I didn't take notes on my favourites for whatever reason.

Man! You re all so detailed in your tasting notes. I am not going to come anywhere near these.

Last night at Relish on the Danforth I enjoyed some really fine beers which were all great in their own way.
-Blood of Cthulhu imperial stout from Sawdust City. Rich, deep, strong beer - I would have called it a trippel or a quadruppel. Came in a U.S. pint glass -- would have tasted better in a tulip. Could probably have charged me more if rented in more delicate stemware, too.
-Oast House wet-hopped ale, I think it was RR#6. Apparently this is the house beer of the Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls. Lovely nose -- fresh, floral and pleasant -- and mild on the palate. For a dad on his night out. (That's me.)
-Henderson Brewery UPA -- dedicated to the Union-Pearson Express. No doubt Metrolinx is appreciative. (Although it's kind of like dedicating a beer to unelected, unaccountable government. What's next? Niagara Parks Authority Lager? Metro Council Cream Ale?) More aggressive on the palate, hoppy, more confident in its flavours. Lovely. Enjoyed two.

Rochefort 10. This one stands the test of time for me. No matter how many new beers I try, or how much time has passed, whenever I go back to this I immediately recognize it as one of the best beers I've had. Equal to Westvleteren 12 IMO, although ranked one slot below on BeerAdvocate's Beers of Fame.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/lists/fame/

Cameron's Where the Buffalo Roam. It's pretty good, with a nicely disguised heat for a 13% beer, but I find the hops bitterness a little aggressive for my tastes at the moment. I have high hopes for this with some age on it and it is a bargain at the price. I'm going to tuck a few away for next winter.

Samichlaus. When I first tried this about fifteen years ago, I disliked it because of the cloying sweetness. Today, I still dislike the over the top sweetness, but have a somewhat better appreciation for the dark fruit tastes. Nonetheless, I don't need to ever drink this beer again. Like ST Crème Brulee Stout, Lindemans Faro, and Kasteel Donker, it's just overly sweet for my personal taste.

Tonight i have lined up:
Dominion City Sunsplit IPA
Westvleteren 8
GLB 30th Anniv Barrel Aged Imp Stout

have a great night guys!

Over the holidays while visiting friends and family:

At Craft Farmacy:
Tobermory Rattlesnake Rye PA (draft)
Block Three King Street Saison (draft)

At Milos Craft Beer Emporium:
Indie Ale House Table Beer (draft)
Bench Fieldwork No. 2 - Azacca Farmhouse Ale (draft)
Burdock West Coast Pilsner (draft)
Burdock IPA (draft)

At The King Edward Restaurant & Pub:
MacLean's Pale Ale (draft)
Wellington Helles Lager (draft)
Anderson Brown Ale (draft)
Wychwood Hobgoblin Gold (draft)
Fullers' ESB (cask)

At home and some gatherings:
Bellwoods Robust Porter w/ Vanilla
Storm Stayed Maelstrom IPA
St-Ambroise Stout Impériale Russe
Bellwoods Barn Owl Blend No. 10
Great Lakes H2 Squared Helles
Rainhard Harvest Brett Farmhouse Ale
Cowbell Doc Perdue's Boxing Bruin

Founders Mosaic Promise IPA
Founders Backwards Bastood BBA Scotch Ale - how're you guys liking this one?
Founders PC Pils

Belgian wrote:Founders Mosaic Promise IPA
Founders Backwards Bastood BBA Scotch Ale - how're you guys liking this one?
Founders PC Pils

I'm loving the shit out of the backwoods. Even more so, than the last time we had it....and i'm not a bourbon drinker. I do feel that the bourbon notes really play off well with a wee heavy. I kind of wonder why more breweries don't use different base beers more often, instead of stouts, for barrel aged beers.
I'm down at Mcmaster for an appointment tomorow and i'm going to slide into an lcbo down that way and grab some more backwoods, as theres no more left around here. I did give a few bottles away during the holidays and depleted a good portion of my stash.
I'm also still regularly picking up 6packs of the mosiac promise. Surprisingly, i was grocery shopping yesterday at the zerhrs by my place and it looks like they're now stocking Founders All Day

Backwoods is great. Loved it last time the LCBO brought it in, and picked up some extras this time.
Actually I think I'll go put one in the fridge now, to enjoy when I finish work.

Oscar Blues Ten Fidy, which finally made its way to my local here in Belleville. I really like this, particularly its full bodied texture and the bitterness.

Oud Beersel Oude Lambik @ Bar Hop (unblended, not the Gueuze)
Bar Hop "Heart of Glue" blended farmhouse raspberry
DDC Solstice D'Hiver 2014 sample @ Bar Hop
GLB White Egg Nog 'Stout' @ BH
Unibroue 25th Anniversary cherry thing
Prodromus extremely dessert-y graham chocolate thing

^ This was Sat. For SUN:

Rest of Unibroue 25th & Prodromus (both still tasty)
St. Ambroise oak aged RIS
Aecht Schlenkerla Märzen
Oude Beersel Geuze

Monday - Henderson's Best @ Comrades, an east-end watering hole I can recommend for a happy hour drop.

Tuesday - a fresh Samichlaus. Great beer, best served cold when hungry. Even better after a year.
- Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, a truly great Imperial Stout with both UK and USA stylings.

Over the last two plus weeks:

At the Antler Room:
Rainhard Unfiltered Pilsner (draft)
Halo New Wave IPA (draft)

At the Air Canada Centre:
Batch Porter (draft)
Lagunitas IPA (draft)

At Bier Markt Queensway:
Henderson Henderson's Best (draft)
Silver Smith Black Lager (draft)
Amsterdam Boneshaker IPA (draft)

At home:
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
Rainhard Lazy Bones IPA
Rainhard Keyboard Warrior
Stone Enjoy After 07.04.16 Brett IPA
Nickel Brook Mystery Beers A - D
Bellwoods Blood Orange Jelly King
Bellwoods Pale Ale w/ Citra, Mosaic & Ekuanot
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Bellwoods Monogamy - Simcoe