Zwanze Day 2015

[J343MY]

i won't name the brewery, but a certain Toronto brewery had one beer on tap that was literally one of the worst things i've had to drink in a long time. and i've been going to Funk events at Volo since the beginning (when Shicky Micky was head and shoulders above everything else b/c everything else tasted like cat litter or vomit). it was literally like drinking a baked potato slathered in pounds of sour cream. it was laughably repugnant. it was that Kids in the Hall "Shitty Soup" sketch. we were passing around the glass to taste how vile this beer was and we were all laughing. i was told by a friend that this beer's making its way around the city at various bars and i have no idea how the brewery could release that beer to the public. i told the bartender about it, she tried it, and minutes later, it disappeared from the taplist. thankfully.

So tell us what beer it was. Breweries need to be accountable for putting out bad beers.

[napoleon]

i won't name the brewery, but a certain Toronto brewery had one beer on tap that was literally one of the worst things i've had to drink in a long time. and i've been going to Funk events at Volo since the beginning (when Shicky Micky was head and shoulders above everything else b/c everything else tasted like cat litter or vomit). it was literally like drinking a baked potato slathered in pounds of sour cream. it was laughably repugnant. it was that Kids in the Hall "Shitty Soup" sketch. we were passing around the glass to taste how vile this beer was and we were all laughing. i was told by a friend that this beer's making its way around the city at various bars and i have no idea how the brewery could release that beer to the public. i told the bartender about it, she tried it, and minutes later, it disappeared from the taplist. thankfully.

Funny, I heard some great snippets of conversation that must be the same beer, although I found to desire to foul my palate. Someone described it as "cream cheese flavored with gym socks."

Overall, I enjoyed the event. They had some really nice bottle offerings from Jester King and Del Ducato (& collabs) for $8 per 4 ounces. I think everyone spent a lot more than planned as the 50% price increase for Cantillon was not announced. The Iris was quite nice since the Fou Foune wasn't on tap, although one bartender made an oblique reference that made it sound like they actually had a keg of it. No idea if that was true or not.

Place was crowded, but manageable. Crazy lines, but people seemed a little less frenetic to try everything before it kicked and sometimes even paused to socialize this time.

[napoleon]

A Rant on the topic of LINE ETIQUETTE:

OK folks this happens often at beer events, but seemed especially bad today. There is a line. People that are attending the same event often don't arrive at the same time. It's one thing if everyone in the line will get in and the line only means that someone will get their Zwanze beer 5 minutes earlier than the next, but yesterday if you didn't make the first round you got to stand outside in a downpour for several hours until someone finally left. Sucky, right?

So, when is it OK for people to join you in line?

Probably Yes:

• You're one person standing in line waiting for your best friend/spouse/etc. You got there an hour and 45 minutes early and the partner will arrive in the next 5-10 minutes. Two people have gotten in line behind you, and you ask them if it's ok.
• You're a group of 3 waiting for one friend who's late. He joins you when it's still an hour before the event and everyone waiting in line will clearly get in.

Probably Not:

• You're one person in the first 10 people in line. You have an additional 3 friends join you over the time you wait with the last one joining you half an hour before entrance when the line is definitely already longer than capacity.
• Basically anytime the line is near capacity and the size of your group more than doubles.

Definitely Not:
The two people who joined a friend at the front of the line 30 seconds before they started letting people in. Even though people booed you, you just kept going in. The people you displaced ended up waiting 2 hours in the rain. If I knew your BarTowel nicknames or had pictures, I would definitely publicly shame you as well as the person you joined in line who thought it was OK.

Anyway, feel free to comment. Please don't be a jerk in the future at events. I got in in the first round, but I felt really bad for those who had waited a long time and didn't!

[ercousin]

hear hear

not to mention the crowd of 10 people that joined their friend at front of line 30 seconds before door opening

[sprague11]

i won't name the brewery, but a certain Toronto brewery had one beer on tap that was literally one of the worst things i've had to drink in a long time. and i've been going to Funk events at Volo since the beginning (when Shicky Micky was head and shoulders above everything else b/c everything else tasted like cat litter or vomit). it was literally like drinking a baked potato slathered in pounds of sour cream. it was laughably repugnant. it was that Kids in the Hall "Shitty Soup" sketch. we were passing around the glass to taste how vile this beer was and we were all laughing. i was told by a friend that this beer's making its way around the city at various bars and i have no idea how the brewery could release that beer to the public. i told the bartender about it, she tried it, and minutes later, it disappeared from the taplist. thankfully.

I know exactly which beer you were talking about. The vomit aroma was so bad i refused the sip i was offered.

Nice event, though Volo doesnt have the space indoors to accomodate that kind of line. The 10 guys cutting in line were about 6 people infront of me. I called one of them out on it inside volo and was greeted with "well, youre in, whats the problem?"

[atomeyes]

i won't name the brewery, but a certain Toronto brewery had one beer on tap that was literally one of the worst things i've had to drink in a long time. and i've been going to Funk events at Volo since the beginning (when Shicky Micky was head and shoulders above everything else b/c everything else tasted like cat litter or vomit). it was literally like drinking a baked potato slathered in pounds of sour cream. it was laughably repugnant. it was that Kids in the Hall "Shitty Soup" sketch. we were passing around the glass to taste how vile this beer was and we were all laughing. i was told by a friend that this beer's making its way around the city at various bars and i have no idea how the brewery could release that beer to the public. i told the bartender about it, she tried it, and minutes later, it disappeared from the taplist. thankfully.

So tell us what beer it was. Breweries need to be accountable for putting out bad beers.

it's a small community, jeremy. i'd be more than happy to tell you via DM. but all breweries' brewers read this forum. at least 1 brewer's told me that he doesn't appreciate some of the calling out that goes on here. so i respect that.

[liamt07]

Amsterdam Sweet Nuthin might be the beer in question. Mozzarella cheese, gym socks and a number of other horrid smells and flavours. Gag inducing. Amsterdam has without a doubt had a track record of producing some of the best "wild" beers in Ontario over the course of the past few years, but this one was just unbearable.

Overall, the event was a bust in my eyes. Best beers I had (aside from the Cantillon draughts) were bottles of non-Ontario breweries. For years, I've wanted Ontario breweries to step it up and put on a real good showing at these Funk Nights, but these breweries (for the most part - there are 1-2 exceptions) continue to come up short. Couple this continued poor showing of local beers with terribly long lines, crowded bar space and the emergence of more and more asshole patrons at these events (line cutters, among other things), I'll likely never attend another Zwanze day or Funk Night in Toronto again. Going to gun for Blue Monk, HF, West Lakeview or something in NYC next year instead. I've done it for almost half a decade now, but I can't continue support days like this when the quality of the beverages and experience are so poor relative to the events being hosted elsewhere.

[PeenSteen]

I thought it was a good time and thought it went rather smoothly with a few exceptions. I was like 5th in line and the assholes that jumped in at the last second were not there with anyone, definitely not with the people in front of me and certainly not with liam and I. They were scoping the line and just cut in literally when the door opened, they were total assholes without question.

I was very disappointed with the offerings from Ontario that I tried, with the exception of the Stone City. Amsterdam Sweet Nuthin was an absolute disaster of a beer aside from looking pretty good it was absolutely repulsive to smell or taste. Also a cantaloupe BA blonde ale, just furthers my opinion that Indie Ale House is the measuring stick for average brewing.

The staff at Volo were incredible and worked their asses off and it was great to see some of the other guys on the forum in person.

[BakaGaijin]

I enjoyed the event and thought it went well. Lots of great offerings. Didn't try much Cantillon because of the price and the fact I have quite a few bottles at home. Couldn't resist the Iris, which was awesome. The Del Ducato beers were very enjoyable as was the JK offerings. Didn't try much from Ontario, but I couldn't resist having GLB Gilligan is Still Dead. I love that beer. Wish they would bottle that. Also had the Nickel Brook Raspberry Berliner which I thought was pretty good.

I heard that the Volo guys confirmed a Hill Farmstead event is happening at Volo in 2016. That should be awesome.

[Craig]

I tried that stone city one too and was very impressed. Very good beer, especially for such a new brewer out of Kingston. Obviously the loons and rare bottles were killer. I was also pleased with a variety of sour wheat beer with (insert fruit of choice) from Quebec. Seems like an emerging trend out of there.

[atomeyes]

I tried that stone city one too and was very impressed. Very good beer, especially for such a new brewer out of Kingston. Obviously the loons and rare bottles were killer. I was also pleased with a variety of sour wheat beer with (insert fruit of choice) from Quebec. Seems like an emerging trend out of there.

i find that Dieu du Ciel's sour wheat beer are horrible. they all have the same wheat bomb character that is incredibly unappealing, especially once the beer warms up. had a sip of a friend's just to see if things are the same, and yup, same old grainy flavour. not a fan at all

[napoleon]

I was very disappointed with the offerings from Ontario that I tried, with the exception of the Stone City. Amsterdam Sweet Nuthin was an absolute disaster of a beer aside from looking pretty good it was absolutely repulsive to smell or taste. Also a cantaloupe BA blonde ale, just furthers my opinion that Indie Ale House is the measuring stick for average brewing.

The staff at Volo were incredible and worked their asses off and it was great to see some of the other guys on the forum in person.

I agree the Volo staff were working very hard while being quite pleasant. I hope they get some bonus tip money out of the token sales because they definitely earned more than what they were getting.

What was the Stone City beer? I didn't have it. I'll second being super impressed with the Del Ducato beers and Jester King. Nice to see the bottle offerings making an appearance. I was also a little underwhelmed by the Ontario funky beers. I know Amsterdam and Great Lakes are capable of more. I've tasted it in the past.

[atomeyes]

the one point that peen and liam made is how ontario's brewers seem to be mailing it in.
if Funk Night/zwanze day is a big event, then maybe care a bit more.
leaves me a bit apprehensive re: cask days. hope breweries aren't all "just send them any shit we have kicking around"

[admviolin]

We showed up after 9pm. Walked right in, all beers except one or two gone.
The lines were almost non-existent until they closed the outside bar.
Everything I had was fantastic except for the DDC symbiose #5 : a weird cheerio/graham cracker flavour killed any real funk or bitterness.
Great night.

[J343MY]

it's a small community, jeremy. i'd be more than happy to tell you via DM. but all breweries' brewers read this forum. at least 1 brewer's told me that he doesn't appreciate some of the calling out that goes on here. so i respect that.

I get what you are saying, not wanting to offend anybody but do you think that type of attitude helps our local beer scene move forward? When a brewery knowingly releases a terrible beer, and then we can't talk about it because they'll get upset... We are just not doing ourselves any favours, you know?

I will say I really appreciate Liam and Pino speaking their minds.