What're you drinking right now?

jprime · Post by **jprime** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 3:00 pm

Had a (mostly) sour weekend with my sisters boyfriend from New Brunswick.

Allagash Prince Tuesday
Boon Framboise
Evil Twin Justin Blabaer
Cisco Lady of the Woods
Amsterdam De Wallen
Cantillon Fou Foune
TDD Volo 25th Anv.
Grassroots Artic Saison
Cascade Buleberry
Almanac Dogpatch Sour
Wellington Rhubarb Saison
Seirra Nevada Brux
Hill Farmstead Edith
Almanac Farmer's Reserve Pluot
Unita Birthday Suit Sour
Cascade Strawberry
Anchorage Galaxy
Russian River Suplication
Almanac Golden Gate Gose
Matt's L4
Allagash Tiarna
Almanac Blackberry
3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze
Lost Abbey Red Poppy
Jolly Pumpkin Biere de Mars
DDC Solstice D'ete
Bruery Sour in the Rye
Bruery Rueuze
Mikkeller Blondeaux
Great Lakes Disturbing the Peach
Bruery Ouds Tart

Today: gutrot.

velovampire · Post by **velovampire** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 3:27 pm

boney wrote:I'm likely in the minority here. Yep, Nickel Brook 750's are way too expensive, but I don't have a problem with the beer. The 11,05 or whatever it was, wasn't a barley wine, but who cares. It was interesting. The saison isn't really a saison, but no one in all of Ontario brews a classic Belgian saison. Or even a terribly good interpretation. The Bastard line, Naughty Neighbor, Bufcafe, Malevolent and Immodest are all better than average-to-excellent. But tastes differ, so it's just my opinion.

I'm with you, Boney. Agree that the 750s are too pricey (as are pretty much ALL Ontario beers in this format), but I quite like their beer. Headstock is one of the best (IMO) IPAs in the province, and the Berliner that just hit shelves is a really nice summer quaffer. NN is my stock APA. Yeah, tastes differ, I guess. Didn't realize there was this much animosity towards NB. Here I thought they were one of the more highly regarded Ontario breweries. Eh, what do I know? I'll just keep drinking what I like.

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 3:43 pm

You can count me in as a NB fan too.

S. St. Jeb · Post by **S. St. Jeb** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:39 pm

velovampire wrote:
boney wrote:I'm likely in the minority here. Yep, Nickel Brook 750's are way too expensive, but I don't have a problem with the beer. The 11,05 or whatever it was, wasn't a barley wine, but who cares. It was interesting. The saison isn't really a saison, but no one in all of Ontario brews a classic Belgian saison. Or even a terribly good interpretation. The Bastard line, Naughty Neighbor, Bufcafe, Malevolent and Immodest are all better than average-to-excellent. But tastes differ, so it's just my opinion.
I'm with you, Boney. Agree that the 750s are too pricey (as are pretty much ALL Ontario beers in this format), but I quite like their beer. Headstock is one of the best (IMO) IPAs in the province, and the Berliner that just hit shelves is a really nice summer quaffer. NN is my stock APA. Yeah, tastes differ, I guess. Didn't realize there was this much animosity towards NB. Here I thought they were one of the more highly regarded Ontario breweries. Eh, what do I know? I'll just keep drinking what I like.

Not meaning to be biased because I live in Burlington, but I too was a little surprised to hear the negativity towards Nickebrook, especially because there have been some very positive comments about them on this site over recent months. Naughty Neighbour, Headstock, Bolshevik Bastard, Malevolent and Immodest are all great beers IMHO, and have all received accolades on this site.

On the flip side, I certainly haven't tried all their special brews in 750 ml bottles, often because many of them are not styles I'm overly interested in. And I won't make any arguments about the pricing.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:13 am

squeaky wrote:You can count me in as a NB fan too.

+1 they are a pet fave for some of the beers they've done, and for their striving and potential. Mostly tap so far. And I won't make any arguments about Ontario's pricing of 750mls. * reaches into a case of Saison Dupont. * < Toleja to buy more!!

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 5:26 pm

S. St. Jeb wrote: Naughty Neighbour, Headstock, Bolshevik Bastard, Malevolent and Immodest are all great beers IMHO, and have all received accolades on this site.

While a lot of their beer is "Ontario good," they aren't "North American good." It's really tough to argue that these are great beers when you juxtapose them to beers across the continent in the same styles.

Some people just hold their standards higher than other I guess.

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 7:08 pm

liamt07 wrote:Some people just hold their standards higher than other I guess.

Seriously?

kevinlater · Post by **kevinlater** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 10:38 pm

recently:

pyramid outburst
king pilsner
les trois mousquetaires porter baltique
st-ambroise oatmeal stout
rickard's white

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 10:57 pm

squeaky wrote:
liamt07 wrote:Some people just hold their standards higher than other I guess.
Seriously?

LOL Only if so taken. I think Nickel Brook's best pours measure up admirably to a lot of really fine USA stuff, at very least. Not saying all their beers were always perfect from day one.

That's OK Liam. I chortle at the notion my opinion of Nickel Brook lowers my standards among the thousands of beers I have thoughtfully compared & made notes about. But then, I often have given NB's brews more than one chance from an early-version or a free 1oz bar taster sample, or sniffing a bottle cap at a 40-bottle drunken tasting

.

^ Let's continue to trade hyperboles, it's fun. Meanwhile I'll open another Franziskaner, the perfect Hefeweizen in my clearly stupid opinion.

I love you all by the way and say this with a grin here, no hard feelings.

PeenSteen · Post by **PeenSteen** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 6:37 am

squeaky wrote:
liamt07 wrote:Some people just hold their standards higher than other I guess.
Seriously?

Yes, some people hold themselves to a higher standard of drinking something that is of better quality than NB. It is his own personal opinion on his own personal tastes. No need to take offence it's not like you own the brewery or make the beer in question.

iguenard · Post by **iguenard** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 7:14 am

I remember when it was fun and exciting to drink something good.

Now I dont find that fun anymore. I need to drink something greatester, or I dont have any fun.

If you have fun drinking swill on the bottom-part of the 99th or 100'th percentile on RateBeer, well thats just you I guess.

PeenSteen · Post by **PeenSteen** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:42 am

Beer is serious business.

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 1:10 pm

PeenSteen wrote:Beer is serious business.

The internet is serious business.

But let's be real. Nickel Brook isn't a top five brewery in Ontario (easily behind Great Lakes, Bellwoods, Sawdust City, Amsterdam and one of Left Field/Muskoka/Cheshire Valley/King/Beer Academy depending on how I'm feeling).

Why should I support a business that supplies something I'm not interested in buying? I'm all for trying new things (and certainly in greater quantities than "samples" or "sniffing bottle caps"

), but when you're consistently displeased with the offerings a brewery offers, what motivation is there to continue putting money in the hands of people who produce these things? It's a free market.

Further, why should I not hold an Ontario brewed saison to the benchmark set by those beer which define the style (Dupont, Fantome, HF Arthur/Anna, Lost Abbery Red Barn etc.)?

nickw · Post by **nickw** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 1:53 pm

It's funny that those who like a certain brewery's offerings (in this case NB's) say things like "to each their own" or "but tastes differ, so it's just my opinion", while those who don't like it offer no conciliation toward the other side or acknowledgement that beer tasting is a subjective exercise, and even come quite close outright insulting those who have differing opinions.

All of us here have had legitimately world class beers before (and appreciated their world classiness). While NB is far from perfect (I don't think that anyone has made that argument), why is it hard for some to acknowledge and accept that a lot of beer geeks actually like a fair number of their products? If you don't like it, fine, don't buy it. None of those who've liked it have said you have to. But to go out of one's way to actively judge and look down on someone who enjoys it...?

S. St. Jeb · Post by **S. St. Jeb** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:59 pm

liamt07 wrote:But let's be real. Nickel Brook isn't a top five brewery in Ontario

I don't think anybody said they were. But if someone feels that way, they feel that way.

liamt07 wrote:Why should I support a business that supplies something I'm not interested in buying??

I don't think anybody said you should.

liamt07 wrote:Further, why should I not hold an Ontario brewed saison to the benchmark set by those beer which define the style?

I don't think anybody said you shouldn't. Set whatever benchmark you want.

nickw wrote:It's funny that those who like a certain brewery's offerings (in this case NB's) say things like "to each their own" or "but tastes differ, so it's just my opinion", while those who don't like it offer no conciliation toward the other side or acknowledgement that beer tasting is a subjective exercise, and even come quite close outright insulting those who have differing opinions.

All of us here have had legitimately world class beers before (and appreciated their world classiness). While NB is far from perfect (I don't think that anyone has made that argument), why is it hard for some to acknowledge and accept that a lot of beer geeks actually like a fair number of their products? If you don't like it, fine, don't buy it. None of those who've liked it have said you have to. But to go out of one's way to actively judge and look down on someone who enjoys it...?

Well said.....IMHO

The Bar Towel

What're you drinking right now?

where did U get that preposterous hypothesis?