ok - so did anyone else know you can buy singles from open six packs at the lcbo? This changes everything. This only applies to open topped six packs, like Mad Tom. I just walked out with 2 Mad Toms, 2 Southern Tier IPAs and 2 Smashbomb Atomics. I. Get. to. make. my. own. six. pack. this is awesome, how did I not know this... I think I'll have myself a little IPOff this week, and write about it. What six pack will you make yourself?
Not much else to report, though there's a lot in the works. Probably won't post much until after the holidays, so happy hannukah and merry christmas to you all!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
About last night... St. Ambroise and Muskoka Mad Tom (again...)
Last night was an interesting night, beer wise. I had two beers, both of which I had definite pre-conceived notions about, and both of which blew those ill-conceived notions out of the water.
The first beer I tried was St. Ambroise Stout Imperiale Russe (9.2%). As you probably know, I'm not crazy about stouts. Right off the bat, this beer had that strike against it. As well, it's from St. Ambroise, a Monteal brewery that makes decent, fairly easy-drinking beers like their Pale Ale (good) and their Apricot Wheat (not my style, I guess, unless it's 400 degrees outside). I've heard their Oatmeal Stout is good too, but I've so far shied away from it due to my stout aversion. Or, should I say, my past stout aversion. Drinking this Imperial Stout was one of those rare transcendental beer experiences that you get once in awhile, that make this whole beer quest worth it. This beer shattered all my preconceived notions about stouts and St. Ambroise. This beer is one of the best beers I've ever tasted - certainly it's the best beer that's not from Belgium that I've ever tasted. And this is coming from a hop head who loves IPAs. And if I'd let those biases get in the way, I never would have had a chance to let this beer shatter them.
An imperial stout is essentially to stout what an ipa is to a pale ale. It's a "bigger" version. Just as an ipa was originally heavy in ABV and hops to withstand the voyage from England to the troops in India (India PAle Ale), an imperial stout was heavier in ABV to withstand the voyage all the way to the czar of Russia. (alcohol and hops act to preserve the beer.) This beer is expensive (nearly $6 for a regular sized bottle), but is worth ever penny. I bought two, one for last night, and one for the cellar since this beer is meant to age well. I'm considering buying more...
The other beer I tried last night was Muskoka's Mad Tom IPA. It wasn't my first time at this rodeo - I was pretty high on this beer this summer - but I decided to give it another shot. I had pretty much closed the books on this beer as a run of the mill IPA, to be had if Smashbomb Atomic isn't around. Pretty hoppy but one dimensional. A solid standby. I wanted to give it another try, since it was pretty new when I used to drink it, and I thought, maybe it's gotten better (And my palate has most certainly gotten better since then too...). I found that it HAD changed, it WAS much better. Far from being a second fiddle to other IPAs, I found that this beer had grown to even rival such big shots as Red Racer IPA. In the same way as Red Racer, this beer is cohesive, with a slight nectarine tinge to it up front. The bready malts form a subtle backbone to the intense hops. If I hadn't gone back to give it another try, I never would have realized how much it had improved. Brewers tinker, and brewers improve their processes and recipes, so (life lesson alert!) don't assume beers are static entities. They're alive, and they grow. And give beers a second, or third, chance.
Tasting Notes for St. Ambroise Stout Imperiale Russe, 9.2%
Expensive and not crazy about stouts, but this beer had a lot of buzz surrounding it, so let's see... HUGE head, coffee tinged. Nearly pitch black colour. Aroma of heavy smokiness and meatiness (charcuterie?). Tastes: very rich, super thick. This is quite something. Mouthfeel is unbelievable - so smooth and thick. Bitter afterbite, more hoppiness than I'd expected (sure enough, it has cascade hops! mmmm!) Not overwhelming, slight booziness, lot of complexity. chocolate, coffee, hops, vanilla... WOW!
The first beer I tried was St. Ambroise Stout Imperiale Russe (9.2%). As you probably know, I'm not crazy about stouts. Right off the bat, this beer had that strike against it. As well, it's from St. Ambroise, a Monteal brewery that makes decent, fairly easy-drinking beers like their Pale Ale (good) and their Apricot Wheat (not my style, I guess, unless it's 400 degrees outside). I've heard their Oatmeal Stout is good too, but I've so far shied away from it due to my stout aversion. Or, should I say, my past stout aversion. Drinking this Imperial Stout was one of those rare transcendental beer experiences that you get once in awhile, that make this whole beer quest worth it. This beer shattered all my preconceived notions about stouts and St. Ambroise. This beer is one of the best beers I've ever tasted - certainly it's the best beer that's not from Belgium that I've ever tasted. And this is coming from a hop head who loves IPAs. And if I'd let those biases get in the way, I never would have had a chance to let this beer shatter them.
An imperial stout is essentially to stout what an ipa is to a pale ale. It's a "bigger" version. Just as an ipa was originally heavy in ABV and hops to withstand the voyage from England to the troops in India (India PAle Ale), an imperial stout was heavier in ABV to withstand the voyage all the way to the czar of Russia. (alcohol and hops act to preserve the beer.) This beer is expensive (nearly $6 for a regular sized bottle), but is worth ever penny. I bought two, one for last night, and one for the cellar since this beer is meant to age well. I'm considering buying more...
The other beer I tried last night was Muskoka's Mad Tom IPA. It wasn't my first time at this rodeo - I was pretty high on this beer this summer - but I decided to give it another shot. I had pretty much closed the books on this beer as a run of the mill IPA, to be had if Smashbomb Atomic isn't around. Pretty hoppy but one dimensional. A solid standby. I wanted to give it another try, since it was pretty new when I used to drink it, and I thought, maybe it's gotten better (And my palate has most certainly gotten better since then too...). I found that it HAD changed, it WAS much better. Far from being a second fiddle to other IPAs, I found that this beer had grown to even rival such big shots as Red Racer IPA. In the same way as Red Racer, this beer is cohesive, with a slight nectarine tinge to it up front. The bready malts form a subtle backbone to the intense hops. If I hadn't gone back to give it another try, I never would have realized how much it had improved. Brewers tinker, and brewers improve their processes and recipes, so (life lesson alert!) don't assume beers are static entities. They're alive, and they grow. And give beers a second, or third, chance.
Tasting Notes for St. Ambroise Stout Imperiale Russe, 9.2%
Expensive and not crazy about stouts, but this beer had a lot of buzz surrounding it, so let's see... HUGE head, coffee tinged. Nearly pitch black colour. Aroma of heavy smokiness and meatiness (charcuterie?). Tastes: very rich, super thick. This is quite something. Mouthfeel is unbelievable - so smooth and thick. Bitter afterbite, more hoppiness than I'd expected (sure enough, it has cascade hops! mmmm!) Not overwhelming, slight booziness, lot of complexity. chocolate, coffee, hops, vanilla... WOW!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Ontario's Extreme Beer (EXTREME BEER PART 2)
As I mentioned in part I, extreme beer is beer with more of the traditional beer ingredients, or with ingredients outside of the traditional ingredients. The U.S. has a thriving extreme beer scene, with Dog Fish Head, etc. Quebec's scene is Belgium inspired - and the Belgians are kings of extreme beer. Ontario, unfortunately, is lagging behind. I'm not sure why it is, exactly-whether it's because we were founded by puritans, or because of our archaic liquor laws (it's not prohibition anymore!), or for whatever frustrating reason I don't pretend to be an expert in.
All I know is that our scene is behind the times. Fortunately, that's starting to change - our craft brewers are really starting to have some fun brewing some out there seasonals and one offs. This week, I had Great Lakes Saison with Citra Hops at Bar Volo (a Belgian style farm ale with American style hops) and it was great! But, generally, at the lcbo and Beer Store, I can only get, at the most extreme, a really hoppy IPA. Nobody here is doing Belgian well yet (on my same trip to Bar Volo, I also had a really terrible local Tripel from a brewery that will remain nameless.)
I can sense things the change is accelerating, too. Along with the local, established breweries that are venturing into extreme beer territory (I like Great Lakes (Toronto) and Flying Monkey (Barrie) a lot), there appears to be a mini-boom of new extreme breweries. I've mentioned Spearhead before. Their Hawaiian Pale Ale is wonderful. And I look forward to anything else they'll hopefully put out soon. In Toronto, there's also Indie Ale in the Junction (I tried their Belgian IPA at the same BarVolo trip (I don't get out that often, but when I do...) and it was very good - a hybrid extreme Belgian IPA. And there's Kensington whose Augusta Ale I've yet to find on tap, but have heard is good. This, I'm hoping, is just the tip of the iceberg we're heading right into.
But, still, I fear that these breweries, that are just starting to find their feet, will have to jump through such hoops to get their beer on the shelves, that it may curtail this boom. Lord I hope not. There's a great opportunity here, and I hope we seize it.. The Ontario beer drinker deserves it, and wants it. But let's get it on the store shelves, so that maybe next time I go to the lcbo, I can pick up a Spearhead rather than a B.C. Red Racer.
Thank you and good weekend.
I can sense great things happening in ONtario
All I know is that our scene is behind the times. Fortunately, that's starting to change - our craft brewers are really starting to have some fun brewing some out there seasonals and one offs. This week, I had Great Lakes Saison with Citra Hops at Bar Volo (a Belgian style farm ale with American style hops) and it was great! But, generally, at the lcbo and Beer Store, I can only get, at the most extreme, a really hoppy IPA. Nobody here is doing Belgian well yet (on my same trip to Bar Volo, I also had a really terrible local Tripel from a brewery that will remain nameless.)
I can sense things the change is accelerating, too. Along with the local, established breweries that are venturing into extreme beer territory (I like Great Lakes (Toronto) and Flying Monkey (Barrie) a lot), there appears to be a mini-boom of new extreme breweries. I've mentioned Spearhead before. Their Hawaiian Pale Ale is wonderful. And I look forward to anything else they'll hopefully put out soon. In Toronto, there's also Indie Ale in the Junction (I tried their Belgian IPA at the same BarVolo trip (I don't get out that often, but when I do...) and it was very good - a hybrid extreme Belgian IPA. And there's Kensington whose Augusta Ale I've yet to find on tap, but have heard is good. This, I'm hoping, is just the tip of the iceberg we're heading right into.
But, still, I fear that these breweries, that are just starting to find their feet, will have to jump through such hoops to get their beer on the shelves, that it may curtail this boom. Lord I hope not. There's a great opportunity here, and I hope we seize it.. The Ontario beer drinker deserves it, and wants it. But let's get it on the store shelves, so that maybe next time I go to the lcbo, I can pick up a Spearhead rather than a B.C. Red Racer.
Thank you and good weekend.
I can sense great things happening in ONtario
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