The Bar Towel

Great to see more mainstream coverage of what we all know already. I do enjoy the spotlight (or beam of shame) being cast on Keith's. What a predictably lame response to suggest hopping the beer and making it a real IPA would confuse their drinkers...probably as much as calling it an IPA confuses us!

I sent an email to the NLC asking "What does the NLC recommend we drink for International IPA Day?"
I recieved this predictable response.
"I recognize that our selection of IPA's is limited (Keith's IPA being our main brand of this style)"
Limited? Non-existent!

Cagiva650 wrote:I sent an email to the NLC

Excuse my ingnorance (or perhaps just a blank mind at the moment). What is NLC?

Holy hops Batman, the NLC's on Google!

Cagiva650 wrote:I sent an email to the NLC asking "What does the NLC recommend we drink for International IPA Day?"
I recieved this predictable response.
"I recognize that our selection of IPA's is limited (Keith's IPA being our main brand of this style)"

I wonder how Keiths will keep up their ruse of calling their beer IPA when the brand credibility is in peril.

Belgian wrote:Holy hops Batman, the NLC's on Google!

Everything is on Google, but sometimes it's easier to be lazy and ask.

Thanks.

S. St. Jeb wrote:

Cagiva650 wrote:I sent an email to the NLC

Excuse my ingnorance (or perhaps just a blank mind at the moment). What is NLC?

Sorry about that. The NLC is the Newfoundland Liquor Corporation. I live in Torbay Newfoundland.

Cagiva650 wrote: Sorry about that. The NLC is the Newfoundland Liquor Corporation. I live in Torbay Newfoundland.

Any relation to the Newfoundland Butter Corporation?

According to Morana, “Sour is the next wave.”

Yeesh, we really are ten steps behind aren't we?

Oh, and insert obligatory Trafalgar joke here.

Bytowner wrote:

According to Morana, “Sour is the next wave.”

Yeesh, we really are ten steps behind aren't we?

Oh, and insert obligatory Trafalgar joke here.

Trafalgar has been pioneering sours in Ontario for years. Like many true visionaries, they are simply too far ahead of their time to be fully appreciated by their contemporaries. Thus, history could very well judge them quite favourably. Only time will tell.

Bytowner wrote:

According to Morana, “Sour is the next wave.”

Yeesh, we really are ten steps behind aren't we?

Oh, and insert obligatory Trafalgar joke here.

I think we are a long way from Ontario jumping on to the sour bandwagon. We are just starting to pump out decent IPA/DIPA. We still haven't embraced various Belgian Ale styles (although the presence of Unibroue might make that less of a void), Imperial Stouts and even to a degree regular stouts and porters.

In my opinion sours are not going to appeal to average beer drinkers, they are a style that is embraced by craft beer drinkers that have somewhat advanced and refined palates. If you introduced sours in to this market at this point, even if they were decent examples of the style, I am not sure that they would succeed.

Maybe I am wrong, but that is my $0.02.

TheSevenDuffs wrote: even to a degree regular stouts and porters.

This one has bothered me for a while, especially regarding unflavored versions. Outside of seasonal releases, I can only think of two good options available to me - St. Ambroise Oatmeal and Fuller's London Porter. I'd really like see some more local stouts and porters on the shelves.

Cale wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote: even to a degree regular stouts and porters.

This one has bothered me for a while, especially regarding unflavored versions. Outside of seasonal releases, I can only think of two good options available to me - St. Ambroise Oatmeal and Fuller's London Porter. I'd really like see some more local stouts and porters on the shelves.

Black Oak's Nutcracker Porter is exceptional (IMO) but it is seasonal and brewery only (at least for now). To my knowledge, Flying Monkeys, Great Lakes, Grand River & Beaus don't brew and bottle a porter or a stout (thought GR does have Russian Gun). At least Amsterdam has Two Fisted (brewery only) and Tempest (recently) so they are showing a desire to fill that void.

Cale wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote: even to a degree regular stouts and porters.

This one has bothered me for a while, especially regarding unflavored versions. Outside of seasonal releases, I can only think of two good options available to me - St. Ambroise Oatmeal and Fuller's London Porter. I'd really like see some more local stouts and porters on the shelves.

Do you not like Hockley Valley Stout? (I do)

S. St. Jeb wrote:

Cale wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote: even to a degree regular stouts and porters.

This one has bothered me for a while, especially regarding unflavored versions. Outside of seasonal releases, I can only think of two good options available to me - St. Ambroise Oatmeal and Fuller's London Porter. I'd really like see some more local stouts and porters on the shelves.

Do you not like Hockley Valley Stout? (I do)

Can't say I've ever come across anything but their Black & Tan around here, although I'm usually not much of a Dry Stout fan.

I certainly can't wait until Nutcracker Porter is back, as I always make the trip up to Etobicoke to get some. I can also get Welly RIS year-round, but it's the lack of the lower ABV stouts I really feel an absence for, as I can always stock up on the imperials. I'd love to see Flying Monkeys bottle their Birthday Cake porter, which is probably unlikely, or even an increase in kegs of the stuff. The only stouts I see on tap here in town (outside of winter seasonals) is the St Ambroise and Cobblestone, the latter of which has never impressed me. Mill St Coffee being the only porter I think I've ever seen, seasonals included. I'd love to see Cheshire Valley Robust Porter on tap sometime, as even the porters I've had and enjoyed that I mentioned above are still flavoured with spices, chocolate, fruit, coffee etc. Sometimes you just want a straight-up porter or stout.