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Was a lurker here since late last year and this place is great to find out about good beers in Ontario. For the last couple of months I've been getting a little tired of the selection at the LCBO and I don't think I'll ever see anymore Peche Mortel or get a chance to try some Orval. I don't really want to get another Schneider's Organic Wiessen and I was disappointed with the Hopfen Weisse.
My usuals/favorites
Victory Prima Pils (I don't think anymore is coming back to my area )
anything by Rogue
Aventinus
Hacker Pschorr Weisse Bier
Ephemere Apple
DDC Peche Mortel
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
I do research beforehand with sites like RateBeer and BeerAdvocate. Most the new beers (summer selection) in the LCBO though have been getting some very meh reviews which make me stay away.
Number8 wrote:Was a lurker here since late last year and this place is great to find out about good beers in Ontario. For the last couple of months I've been getting a little tired of the selection at the LCBO and I don't think I'll ever see anymore Peche Mortel or get a chance to try some Orval. I don't really want to get another Schneider's Organic Wiessen and I was disappointed with the Hopfen Weisse.
My usuals/favorites
Victory Prima Pils (I don't think anymore is coming back to my area )
anything by Rogue
Aventinus
Hacker Pschorr Weisse Bier
Ephemere Apple
DDC Peche Mortel
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
I do research beforehand with sites like RateBeer and BeerAdvocate. Most the new beers (summer selection) in the LCBO though have been getting some very meh reviews which make me stay away.
Any recommendations is greatly appreciated.
Peace
Try to get your hands on some Skjalfti before it's gone. This was IMHO the sleeper beer of the summer release. A pleasant surprise to find a well crafted amber lager with ale hop bite to it.
Number8 wrote:Victory Prima Pils (I don't think anymore is coming back to my area )
There are still some floating around, ask your local LCBO to do a store transfer of a case. The Orval should be coming back (on the general list), and with a possible spotlight on DDC this year, you can expect more Peche Mortel (I think it may also be on the general list)
My faves (in addition to the Skjalfti) that correspond to some of your likes, and all local too:
Creemore Kellerbier (available all over)
Hoptical Illusion (a great APA)
King Pilsner (one of the best local pilsners)
Muskoka Hefeweissebier
@ pootz - Yikes! Better try to get some Skjalfti, then. Didn't realize there were not so many bottles around. One LCBO seemed to have plenty the last time I visited, but now they are not even listed as having any. Thanks.
@ phirleh - Heard some good things on this board about Hoptical Illusion and Creemore Kellerbier. If I do find any I will definitey try them. The only way I will be able to try King Pilsner and Muskoka Hefeweissebier is if I get lucky, or order some. King Pilsner shouldn't be a problem at the moment though. I'll definitely check out all your recommendations and the next time around if there are any VPP left in the system I'll give a local LCBO a call and ask them to order me some. Thanks to you as well and very nice Flickr.
If anyone else has any recommendations don't hesitate on posting in this thread.
Christoffel Nobel should still be around. Their Blond is worth a shot too.
If you like the German wheats, find a bottle of the Schneider Organic Wiessen Edel-Weiss (green bottle), or the hopfen-weiss (yellow bottle). Though the latter is not to everyone's taste.
I tried the Nobel a handful of times and it is not a beer I can get behind and make it an instant purchase if I ever see it again. I'll put the Blond on my list though.
About the Organic Wiessen. I've had a few dozen bottles and its a beer I grew tired of quickly. Only a handful of times the beer seemed to actually be great and I really enjoyed it. The rest of the time...eh....not so much. My experiences with the Hacker and Weihenstephaner wanted me to drink and buy more and more after first sip.
My recomandations:
Southern Tier's IPA.
Innis and Gunn Canadian Cask
La Fin Du Monde, Muadite, Trois Pistole
HITACHINO GINGER Beer
Chimay, white cap & premiere
Leffe
Gouden Carolus Classic
Oh and I recommend you not taking the site ratings too religiously and give less than stellar rated beers a try once in a while. For starters, many raters come from places where most of the premium beers are available year round so they're kind of spoiled. I remember trying La Trappe Quad a few winters ago and thought I was in heaven. Yet the ratings for it were quite average.
Thanks Lukie and everyone else who replied with some recs
So far I've only tried the Hoptical Illusion, but it was fantastic. Real good stuff. I definitely will come back to this thread and make a good list for future buys.
Number8 wrote:Thanks Lukie and everyone else who replied with some recs
So far I've only tried the Hoptical Illusion, but it was fantastic. Real good stuff. I definitely will come back to this thread and make a good list for future buys.
I'm going to have to try the Hoptical Illusion once again.It seemed watery and not so hoppy at all. It couldn't hold a candle to say, ST IPA in terms of hoppiness, but maybe that's not what the brewer intended. Still, I feel the name is a misnomer. Its safe to say I was disillusioned at my first tasting.
Number8 wrote:Thanks Lukie and everyone else who replied with some recs
So far I've only tried the Hoptical Illusion, but it was fantastic. Real good stuff. I definitely will come back to this thread and make a good list for future buys.
I'm going to have to try the Hoptical Illusion once again.It seemed watery and not so hoppy at all. It couldn't hold a candle to say, ST IPA in terms of hoppiness, but maybe that's not what the brewer intended. Still, I feel the name is a misnomer. Its safe to say I was disillusioned at my first tasting.
Why would you judge it as an IPA when it isn't meant to be an IPA?
Number8 wrote:Thanks Lukie and everyone else who replied with some recs
So far I've only tried the Hoptical Illusion, but it was fantastic. Real good stuff. I definitely will come back to this thread and make a good list for future buys.
I'm going to have to try the Hoptical Illusion once again.It seemed watery and not so hoppy at all. It couldn't hold a candle to say, ST IPA in terms of hoppiness, but maybe that's not what the brewer intended. Still, I feel the name is a misnomer. Its safe to say I was disillusioned at my first tasting.
Why would you judge it as an IPA when it isn't meant to be an IPA?
I did not judge it as an IPA. As I've hinted, the brewer was not going for this, as its an APA. I've made references to an IPA just to point out that its name implies lots of hops (reminiscent of IPAs) and yet doesn't really deliver them. Perhaps, it contains adaquate hops by APA standards, I don't know.
However you want to compartmentalize the beer, my overall first impressions of it were not so good, is what I was trying to get at. True enough, I know comparing between styles can lead to some cardinal errors, but my experience with these beers is not deep enough to make a within style comparison. So I do what any noob does: Asks himself the basic question of whether this is likeable or unlikable. For this beer, I chose the latter. It wasn't offensive, just unremarkable in my opinion.
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