The Bar Towel

Thought I would start a new thread, since Boney's post might get lost in the "What are you drinking now?" one.

Like Boney, we are moving to Hamilton. We land there in 3 weeks. Looking for your suggestions on the best LCBOs for beer, and suggestions for good pubs. I've been to The Winking Judge several times, and I think The Casbah has a lot of craft beer on offer. Anywhere else?

I would enjoy meeting up with the Hamilton crew for pints.

Cheers.

I'm definitely down for meeting a few fellow Hamilton BT'ers for a few pints.

I moved into a place about 2 blocks from Augusta. Could be a little dangerous. I've been to the Winking Judge 3 times in the week I've been here. Haven't been to the Ship or anywhere else yet, but looking forward to checking out some of the new places that have opened up since I moved away from Hamilton in 2009.

If you ever see a white dude with a shaved head drinking at a craft beer joint, chances are pretty good it's me. Stop by and say "howdy".

Chester's still have those 1993 Thomas Hardy's?

Cheers,
Jay

The LCBO at Dundurn is tiny but packed with craft beer.

I would say Dundurn as well, another one I always find shocking (usually by checking drinkvine) is the Maple and Fairview one in Burlington. I found Fresler, Westmalle and Panil there long after they had disappeared from other LCBO's. But overall it doesn't have a great selection if you are just dropping in. The other beer bar I've heard of is The Brain, 199 James Street North, haven't been there yet.

phirleh wrote:...The other beer bar I've heard of is The Brain, 199 James Street North, haven't been there yet.

I've also heard of it, and it gets some good reviews for its beer selections.

So between Winking Judge (and The Ship next door), The Brain, The Casbah, a list is building.

Pub crawl, anyone?

zane9 wrote:

phirleh wrote:...The other beer bar I've heard of is The Brain, 199 James Street North, haven't been there yet.

I've also heard of it, and it gets some good reviews for its beer selections.

So between Winking Judge (and The Ship next door), The Brain, The Casbah, a list is building.

Pub crawl, anyone?

Keep an eye out for the Casbah's craft beer nights, they have FREE BEER (usually a glass or so) between 7 and 9, usually a rep from a brewery is showcasing a new beer, I was there for the Beau's Gruit and the Camerons Rye PA.

Upcoming:

THURSDAY JULY 26th
WELLINGTON BREWERY's TAP-TAKEOVER & BEER TASTING
When: Thursday July 26th, 7pm
What: a free tasting of Welly's "BOOT CHUCK IPA", plus a tap-takeover in our lounge with 3 of Wellington's brews at a discount price of $5 per pint, all-night!

Looks like you guys have pretty much covered it. In summary:

Winking Judge
The Ship
The Brain
The Casbah
Chester's Beers of the World

And don't forget Homegrown Hamilton on King William across from Jackson Square. It's a bit of a hipster coffee joint hangout, but they have Grand River on tap, and I believe they've recently been serving a (one off?) Coffee Porter that GR brewed up using coffee roasted on the premises.

And surprisingly a few of the local restaurants have started serving some craft. For instance I believe One Duke has had Boneshaker on tap.

Oh, and if you're looking for events, Cameron's also does a "Cask Day" on the last Thursday of each month featuring special one off experimental brews and food samples from local stores/restaurants.

Only thing I would add is that if you happen to be by or at the university, The Phoenix is a surprisingly decent campus bar that's well worth checking out. Len and I didn't get asked for McMaster ID when we last visited.

Holy crap. The beer scene has changed quite I bit since I was last in Hamilton. Definitely for the better. Thanks for all the info guys!

I'll have to check out the Welly event at the Casbah on the 26th.

Mad love for the Phoenix. I've spent way too much time there. If I recall correctly, they were one of the first places to support Grand River and their summer beerfest was always outstanding. I think it's moving out of Wentworth House and into the Refectory building at some point this summer. Dont't know the exact date though.

The Casbah has definitely stepped up their game with all craft taps and a variety of smaller beer events and larger beer fests. The main issue is that it's pretty much just a music venue, so it's not really a place to can just meet up for pints. Great place to catch a show though. They used to have "craft beer service" every Wed-Sat from 7-10pm or something like that, but I can't find any evidence of it still going on. I don't think it was much of a success.

The Brain is good for Beau's and Nickel Brook one-offs. They get pretty much every beer Beau's puts out, including Greener Futures bottles. The bottle selection is almost entirely LCBO offerings (but a hell of a lot of them) but sometimes you find a gem.

The Ship is the best option (IMO) for beer + food. Southern seafood inspired food for the most part (catfish, alligator) and you can rely on Boneshaker always being on tap, and sometimes Crazy Canuck, Smash Bomb, Mad Tom, Welly One-offs, Sam Adams seasonals, and recently they had the GLB/Amsterdam Farmhouse.

Chester's is weird. They still have the '93 Thomas Hardy on the menu but lord knows if it's actually in stock. Always have about 3-5 backup choices if they don't have the first one. We go extremely rarely, but I've definitely had some good times and good beers there. Would be interested in another Chester's gathering.

Dundurn is a good LCBO, but like others have said it is tiny, and serves a lot of craft beer drinkers. Popular stuff goes FAST. My favourite is generally University Plaza. They get all the seasonals and in large quantities (often 100+). Although unfortunately they didn't get any of the recent Red Racer shipment. Centre Mall is the only place in the area you can buy Southern Tier IPA, and they always keep it in the fridge, along with everything else. Nice setup but they don't get a lot of the seasonals. Meadowlands is another good location but a huge pain in the ass to get to. But the best way to find out which store is best for you is to fire up Drinkvine.

Oh and you're very close to Nickel Brook Brewery. Naughty Neighbour is a fantastic summer beer! I believe they're accessible by public transportation from Hamilton.

Cale wrote:
Chester's is weird. They still have the '93 Thomas Hardy on the menu but lord knows if it's actually in stock. Always have about 3-5 backup choices if they don't have the first one. We go extremely rarely, but I've definitely had some good times and good beers there. Would be interested in another Chester's gathering.

Sounds like it hasn't changed a bit.

Cale wrote:
Oh and you're very close to Nickel Brook Brewery. Naughty Neighbour is a fantastic summer beer! I believe they're accessible by public transportation from Hamilton.

Well, well. Looks like I may have a goal for the weekend.

Any body in town put on the occasional cask ale? I know the Judge used to, but forgot to ask if they still do. I seem to recall Pepperwoods having cask as well.

Pepperwood's has become grossly inconsistent since Paul Dickie moved on. Last experience the staff knew nothing of the beer available, several listed house brands were n/a, and what house brands they did lacked the quality I remember

boney wrote: Any body in town put on the occasional cask ale? I know the Judge used to, but forgot to ask if they still do. I seem to recall Pepperwoods having cask as well.

The Judge had Lake of Bays IPA on their cask engine Friday evening. I think it's pretty much the only option in the city for cask.

Streets wrote:

boney wrote: Any body in town put on the occasional cask ale? I know the Judge used to, but forgot to ask if they still do. I seem to recall Pepperwoods having cask as well.

The Judge had Lake of Bays IPA on their cask engine Friday evening. I think it's pretty much the only option in the city for cask.

There was cask Lake of Bays at Cloak and Dagger, but they insisted it was an APA.

phirleh wrote: another one I always find shocking (usually by checking drinkvine) is the Maple and Fairview one in Burlington.

I second this.

The rest of Team Hamliton seem to have pretty much covered all the bases, so I'll just say welcome to the city, hopefully we'll get some pints in soon. I'm a short ass dude with a big moustache and glasses. Your best chances of spotting me are at The Brain, Judge or Ship.