The Bar Towel

Belgian wrote:

Belgian wrote:Had a few low-ABV brews... the Godspeed Draught-lager style"Baby Svetly" (1.5%) is pretty acceptable for a crushable quaff,

and the Omnipollo KONX (0.3%) tastes almost like a good light sour pale but something in the taste goes very wrong, like it's spoiled or infected.

I'm not expecting the fulness and body of 'beer' in either of these, they are really something else than that to me, but there's no good reason the Omnipollo should taste spoiled.]

Had many fine cans of Omnipollo.
Lately gravitating to the Partake Pale and Partake IPA. ($2 at LCBO.)

When I get used to the (alcohol-free) light body of these Partake brews these are really nice. These don't 'count' towards the alcohol or calorie consumption of regular beer so I can have them any time.

Also from Rowe Farms I have found the Partake Stout to be pretty acceptable. The Red is light and simple yet surprisingly tasty. The Blond is bland but OK. I'll be putting more Red in the fridge... and some of the Partake Stout (Rowe Farms) and the Big Drop Stout as well (from LCBO.)

Have you tried the Big Drop stuff? I can recommend the galactic stout, remarkably good. There’s also a Paradiso Citra IPA that I haven’t tried but is also highly rated as a low alcohol. $2.45 in cans at LC.

I bought a case of Big Drop after seeing an ad on Untappd...I was a little disappointed, to be honest. (Also, the LCBO started selling them like a day after they arrived.)

But I might have a new fave: Mikkeller makes some great N/A beers, including the tropical Henry & His Science and shrub-like Limbo Raspberry. Although I hear the Limbo Blueberry is the greatest.

Happened to find them at Boxcar Social Riverside (Queen and Boulton), and I'm not sure about their Harbourfront or Summerhill locations. Be warned, though: it's six bucks for a short can, so you might want to save it for a nonalcoholic bender.

Until earlier tonight, I had not heard of Big Family Brewing in Sarnia. A friend brought me 10 different beers from there. Had their Scottish Kiss which was excellent. Really didn't notice the 7.8% alc.

dale cannon wrote:

Belgian wrote:Also from Rowe Farms I have found the Partake Stout to be pretty acceptable. The Red is light and simple yet surprisingly tasty. The Blond is bland but OK. I'll be putting more Red in the fridge... and some of the Partake Stout (Rowe Farms) and the Big Drop Stout as well (from LCBO.)

Have you tried the Big Drop stuff? I can recommend the Galactic stout, remarkably good. There’s also a Paradiso Citra IPA that I haven’t tried but is also highly rated as a low alcohol. $2.45 in cans at LC.

Yeah man I agree... The Galactic and the Big Drop are both worthwhile Stouts.
I mean these are great tasting products for the NA creations they are... The Galactic has a noticeable Black Malt note.

And just now I'm having my first Grüvi Sour Weisse (got 4-pack at Rowe Farms) and I can honestly say it's made with integrity - there's a Berliner Weisse vibe to this with tart apricot-like fruitiness and some yeasty bready and grainy notes just right for the style. Made with barley malt, oats and wheat, no fillers!

Also I'm liking the Partake Red way more than I thought... the naturally sweet and lightly toasty malts are great for this non-Alc version of a Red (a style I usually pay no attention to.) By comparison the Partake IPA seems super dry without alcohol (but great in hot weather, served medium-cold.)

I've just taken notice of the Weissbier NA sold at Loblaws - these are:

- Erdinger Weiss NA $10.29+tx / 6 pack 330ml

- Weihenstephaner Weissbier NA $13.99+tx / 6 pack 330ml

- Krombacher Weizen NA $10.99+tx / 6 pack 330ml

The Krombacher is highest-ranked of the three and has the best body to it, perhaps from added sweetness.
The Weihenstephner has the most layered and subtle Hefeweizen charm.

I'd like to see more of the world's best of this style appearing at various stores! Anybody know where to look?

What impresses me about these is the good condion these NA remain in without preservatives, and the easy-going price for something decent that is German-made. NA beers are certainly a different mindset.. many are considered good athletic isotonic drinks.

Red Racer IPA

Haven't had one in quite awhile. Takes me back to the first time I had this about 10.5 years ago. Still an excellent choice.

The collecte Arts BBA Porter. From the gift pack containing two 355ml cans and a glass. I must say, I prefer this smaller two can format vs the one larger bottle from
Last years. The beer itself is beautiful. So much barrel presence. I’m going to have to buy another couple of packs to get a good few more of the beer.

Prince Eddys BBA stout. Decent, if a bit underwhelming. The body felt a bit thin and the barrel wasn’t as pronounced as most others. It may have suffered, since I had the CA beer the night before and it was so great. Overall not a bad beer but I don’t think it’ll be a repeat purchase for me.

Post-COVID staycation in my hometown of London, Ontario:

At Storm Stayed Brewing:
Storm Stayed Sunburst - New England Pale Ale (draft)

At Wolfe Pack Company Bar:
Town Brewery Big Money - Helles Lager (draft)
Fairweather Silky - Oat Porter (draft)

At Curley Brewing:
Curley Pseudo Bohemian - Kveik Pilsner (draft)
Curley West World - West Coast-Style IPA (draft)

To-go from Milos’ Craft Beer Emporium:
Indie Alehouse Marco Polo - Italian Pilsner (crowler)
Heavy Seas Beer Hazy Cannon - NEIPA (crowler)

To-go from Beerlab! London:
Beerlab! & Bellwoods Beerwoods IPA (can)
Beerlab! City Gardens Porter (can)
Beerlab! IPA No. 3 (can)

All drinking very well, though the Curley pilsner did not impress out of the bottle last night

Gateway city Rye Pale Ale- my first beer from these guys and I really enjoyed it. Nice little kick from the rye, good amount of bitterness, lots of orange and marmalade action going on. I’ll definitely buy again.

Barncat Port barrel Rat Queen-tonnes of dried fruit flavours, prune and golden raisin. Perfect balance of sweetness and tannins coming through. Sticky lip-smacking finish on it. Far from my fav Rat Queen, but the bar is pretty high. Still a great beer.

Timothy Taylor landlord-it’s been years since I’ve had some landlord, but that first sip takes you right back. Still as fantastic as ever, even with the LCBO handling. I’ll keep buying it by the armful as long as it’s in the shelves.

Saison DuPont-‘nuff said

Tried the Timothy Taylor Landlord- I understand why it is appreciated around here. It's hard to pinpoint the exact 'wow' aspect, rather it's just an all around high quality beer that you don't want to stop drinking. Fresh bready malts, just the right balance from the hops with citrus and tea-like notes. Hopefully it sticks around as a regular listing, or at least comes back seasonally.

St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel. It's pretty good, really full of that dried fruit flavour. It's great.

Enjoyed the Blood Brothers Guilty Remnant last nite.

First time I have had a white stout.

Sam Smith oatmeal stout. Pretty much have to get a couple of these every December. As good as ever.

Craig wrote: ↑Thu Dec 09, 2021 9:38 am Sam Smith oatmeal stout. Pretty much have to get a couple of these every December. As good as ever.

Just opened one myself and am enjoying it. I also pick this one up and any other Samuel Smith's that come our way.

Bench Lincoln Lager