The Bar Towel

distr0 wrote: this was posted today and mentions it - http://collectiveartsbrewing.com/winter-beer-releases/

" Releasing in bars, restaurants, LCBO + USA, Western Canada: February, 2018"

This must've come online right after I posted, as there was no mention of the No. 5 when I was poking around on the site earlier in the day. Glad to see it's still coming to the 'BO in February, as I've enjoyed all of the previous numbered IPAs from CA (though I missed out on No. 2).

beerstodiscover wrote:

spinrsx wrote: Unibroue 25th Anniversary
LCBO#: 548826 | 750 mL bottle
$9.95

I may have to grab a couple of these. I can't imagine Unibroue making anything less than great for their 25th. I can't find the ingredients, but I'm guessing it's brewed with cherries.

Brewer's description:
To celebrate our twenty-fifth anniversary, we created a unique sumptuous ale and renewed with our tradition of brewing Unibroue anniversary beers. Our master brewer unleashed his creativity to dream up this special brew, with this idea in mind: ‘’you can’t have an anniversary without a cake’’. This anniversary brew offers roasted malt aromas, dark chocolate flavors and delicate fruity accents that lead to a slightly tart finish. Our liquid ‘’Black Forest’’ is bound to offer a tasting experience made up of pure delight. Let’s toast to this celebration.

I'm finding Unibroue 25 more enjoyable than you did, but my palate did have to adjust to the slightly clashing cherry VS hop bitterness.
I am getting the chocolate and the spicy Belgian Ale aspects and the nicely fruity albeit tart cherry - and it's robustly carbonated! I poured it vigorously and it has a ridiculous head that I scooped aside, this helps the presentation of the beer.

I agree with the other chap this does have 'candidate for cellar ageing' written all over it. This ain't bad, although with time it could go either way. What will help cellar ageing very much is the aggressive bottle conditioning (which excludes oxygen) and the apparent hop addition. So it's a dilemma - will it be a train wreck or something much finer than its slightly rugged presentation right now. My money is on it improving, I'd take a small leap of faith on this one. Glad I tried it, there's definitely some cherry chocolate and spice in here!

enjoyed the unibroue 25.

the only reason i go to the beer store is to drop off empties and grab some maudite. unibroue rules.

Went today, $43.50 in empties. People were not amused.

Yetti on shelves now. Also saw the Rodenbach vintage as wrll

Masterplan wrote:Went today, $43.50 in empties. People were not amused.

SO... am I wrong in thinking that the St-Ambroise RIS used to be quite a bit more expensive than the $3.85 I just bought some at? And has it been a year or two since it was last here? Are they brewing way more or something?

Blasphomet wrote:SO... am I wrong in thinking that the St-Ambroise RIS used to be quite a bit more expensive than the $3.85 I just bought some at? And has it been a year or two since it was last here? Are they brewing way more or something?

I'm not sure, but this price seems like a steal to me. I picked up the last 4 bottles in store on Saturday. Opened one up last night and, agree with some previous posts I've read on here that it needs some time. It's big and brash right now, really rugged and rough around all the edges. Not for the faint of heart, but some of the flavours are great. Strangely, over the 45 mins or so that I was drinking it, I found myself changing my mind 2 or 3 times on whether or not I was enjoying it. I think it's got absolutely fantastic prospects for laying down for a couple years and refining itself. At this price I'll pick up a good few more if I see it.

LCBO will probably fix the price right after it sells out. Early reports of the winter beer release had it listed at $5.95 per bottle.

sofakingdrunk wrote:

Blasphomet wrote:SO... am I wrong in thinking that the St-Ambroise RIS used to be quite a bit more expensive than the $3.85 I just bought some at? And has it been a year or two since it was last here? Are they brewing way more or something?

I'm not sure, but this price seems like a steal to me. I picked up the last 4 bottles in store on Saturday. Opened one up last night and, agree with some previous posts I've read on here that it needs some time. It's big and brash right now, really rugged and rough around all the edges. Not for the faint of heart, but some of the flavours are great. Strangely, over the 45 mins or so that I was drinking it, I found myself changing my mind 2 or 3 times on whether or not I was enjoying it. I think it's got absolutely fantastic prospects for laying down for a couple years and refining itself. At this price I'll pick up a good few more if I see it.

Had a 2014 last week and it was one of the better Imperial Stouts I've had in a while, FWIW

I drank a bottle the other night and thought it was excellent. I stopped cellaring beer for extended periods. Was getting too pricey, especially if you want to do verticals, and never found enough of a difference or improvement in any beer really. I personally find it overrated, but that's just me.

Anyways I thought the St-A RIS to be drinking just fine and dandy as is. One of my fave beers.

http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo/product/nickel ... mIyZHmJjR0

In a 500ml Bottle now too

spinrsx wrote:http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo/product/nickel ... mIyZHmJjR0

In a 500ml Bottle now too

I'm so glad this is back. It came out a couple weeks before KBS hit the shelves last year and I thought it was a bit better than KBS.

Blasphomet wrote:I stopped cellaring beer for extended periods. Was getting too pricey, especially if you want to do verticals, and never found enough of a difference or improvement in any beer really. I personally find it overrated, but that's just me.

The late beer guru Michael Jackson said 'if you see a beer do it a favor and drink it.' It's a decent general rule to observe.

Still, exceptions... some beers last a long time without real change or degradation (various sours) and some may really benefit from age (some BSAs, RIS, Barley Wines, Samichlaus, Biere du Garde / Vieille Provision.)
Some brewers would say barrel-aged beers already ARE aged for you, and you should drink them fairly soon.

Far as price goes, I guess beer is still a joke. If we walk by the locked display case in Vintages, there are 1k-plus bottles in there that don't even make a moderately serious collector blush at the price. We are the poor cousins of wine and spirits aficionados. Beer remains a cool hobby with little risk involved. Cheep cheep!

Belgian wrote:

Blasphomet wrote:I stopped cellaring beer for extended periods. Was getting too pricey, especially if you want to do verticals, and never found enough of a difference or improvement in any beer really. I personally find it overrated, but that's just me.

The late beer guru Michael Jackson said 'if you see a beer do it a favor and drink it.' It's a decent general rule to observe.

Still, exceptions... some beers last a long time without real change or degradation (various sours) and some may really benefit from age (some BSAs, RIS, Barley Wines, Samichlaus, Biere du Garde / Vieille Provision.)
Some brewers would say barrel-aged beers already ARE aged for you, and you should drink them fairly soon.

Far as price goes, I guess beer is still a joke. If we walk by the locked display case in Vintages, there are 1k-plus bottles in there that don't even make a moderately serious collector blush at the price. We are the poor cousins of wine and spirits aficionados. Beer remains a cool hobby with little risk involved. Cheep cheep!

Agreed, it's never a bad time to open a beer...
I've adopted a rule this year that I will not buy any beer I've bought previously.
The reason is to help me drink up some cellared stuff that is due/overdue to be enjoyed, plus I also want to spend less on beer this year, as I want to save for other things. I wouldn't say I am "feeling the pinch" as some people may be, but I am buying only 1-2 bottles of new beers that I might have bought 3-4 of before too. It is really just a case of wanting to enjoy what I have already more than anything!