Beer
I have so much to learn... how exactly does the colour of the bottle affect the beer? I actually switched from Corona halfway thru the summer to Brahma... the Brazilian equivalent. Very cool shaped bottle (kind of like a Coke bottle), and it's brown glass, but not dark brown. I don't know exactly what you mean by "skunky" but I like the taste better, maybe its the lack'o'skunk.Zithal wrote:g2 wrote:I prefer lime... I guess that's only fourteen kinds of wrongZithal wrote:Now, while you won't catch me attempting to emulate someone who's drink of choice is a Corona with a lemon shoved in it... (*shudder*, that's fifteen kinds of wrong)
The fact that you care which piece of fruit you put in your beer to disguise the fact that it's served in a clear bottle and hence, naturally skunky, is the sixteenth kind of wrong.
Is this the brewery you mean? Does Guelph carry the Coffee Porter?Zithal wrote:g2 wrote:Zithal... I'm gonna need to stock up my beer supplies when I move into my new place in the fall. Any suggestions would be appreciated... and I'm willing to drive anywhere in KW to buy it.
/g2
What I'm (locally) drinking...
1) Tankhouse Ale - OMFG it's finally made it way into our market. Took long enough. I've been driving to Guelph to pick up cases of this stuff. This is a quality Ale from a very good brewrey (they do lose marks for their Stock Ale and Organic lager -- f'n clear bottles, but make up for it in seasonals and other styles.) Tankhouse has a strong Malt flavour with a nice hop finish. Plus, the bottle's very cool. If someone can find me a beer store in KW that carries their Coffee Porter, I'll pay your buy-in to the next Bristol Event.
I enjoy Brick beers, but seem to tire of them after half a case. The amber tastes kind of watered down IMO.Zithal wrote:2) J.R. Brickman Amber/Honey Red - some nice new offerings from the Brick though I am beginning to get a little tired of them. Haven't tried the Lager. Brick traditionally hasn't done Ale's well, (most of what they do is in the Lager family), so this is a nice turnaround for them. I can only hope that the rumored creation of a Cascade only IPA is true.
Waterloo Dark is one of my favourite beers to have with a meal. What are your thoughts?
I'm not a big fan of IPAs in general. Keith's is crap, it just has a memorable name. But if all a bar has on tap is Blue, Canadian, and Keith's... I go with Keith's.Zithal wrote:3) Magnotta Classic IPA. Since Scotch Irish Sgt. Major IPA is not available in our market, this becomes the default "best" IPA. It's not a spectacular IPA, but it's nice. The hops are noticable and the bitterness doesn't overpower the sweetness of the hop flavour. If Ontario ever develops an IPA palette though, this'll be let in the dust. Keith's is not an IPA.
I'll have to try a stout... don't know if I ever have.Zithal wrote:4) Wellington County Russian Imperial Stout - usually only available in the LCBO (or at their brewrey, which is close), this is damn fine example of a British Style Imperial Stout. Over the last year, my tastes have gravitated towards American style Imperials, but if you're looking for some fine 8.5% Imperial Stout goodness, this is really nice. Spectacular if you can find it on tap.
Sounds trippyZithal wrote:5) Delerium Tremens - A Belgium strong Ale served only on tap at Castle on King. I think they ran out which is a crying shame.
mmmm yeah... I got this one from King Mob, who I am sure got it from you.Zithal wrote:6) Molson Stock Ale - The slumming beer of champsions. Yarrrrrr... it's got an anchor.
It was me who sparked the hijacking. My bad.Zithal wrote:7) Anything else from Wellington - really can't go wrong, though I am beginning to tire of them a bit. The SPA is a nice brew.
8) Gritstone Ale - nothing special, but quite nice.
The summer LBCO release was really crappy, but it looks like some fall stuff is coming in which should be fun. My private order of Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout and Hercules Double IPA have just arrived, so I'll be spoiling myself over the next couple weeks.
My apologies for hijacking my own thread... back to heads up action...
/g2
Comments
I believe that the bottom line is that clear bottles allow more light into the liquid, which can cause furthre / accelerated reactions in the beer. This will cause the bear to spoil (go skunky). Although this will happen in brown bottles as well, it takes significantly longer.
If you've never had a skunky beer, may I suggest something Mario and I did once? Go camping. Buy lots of beer, drink all but three. Forget about the three beer in the cooler, and allow cooler to sit ouside for a full year. Next summer, add more ice, and new case of beer. When people ask for beer, offer them freely, but tell them that three of them are from last year.
Sit back and watch the hilarity as people "discover" which ones are the old ones.
Mark
Idon't like the new Amber/Honey Red but the new JR Brickman pilsner is very good. I'm gonna miss living next to that brewery.
I picked up a 6-pack for a cottage weekend - thinking I could kill morning hangovers with what sounded like a miracel drink.
You are best to enjoy your beer malty if you are going to attempt the Porters.
Ever notice that most beer are served in brown bottles? There's a very good reason for this; it reduces one of the greatest natural enemies to beer... light! Light is evil because when it hits beer the light iteracts with hops and destroys the flavour and armoma, often leaving behind what some people describe as a skunky taste.
Some people actually get used to this off flavour, sometimes preferring it and considering it "normal" beer flavour. To me, I can't swallow it and have dumped many a brew I've tried out of a clear bottle.
Obviously if you keep clear bottles in the dark, or the beer uses a more "light-stable" hop then the beer should be fine. (But why not then just start with a brown bottle?) Well, for the most part, a clear bottle is nothing more than a marketing gimmick that many of the big brewries freely admit.
(Funny aside on this point: Sleemen does not serve beer in clear bottles in the states, only here at home. Clear bottles is largely a Canadian/Europe gimmick)
Yep. Mill St. Brewrey is the maker of Tankhouse and the Coffee Porter. The beer is available in Guelph, and I believe I went to the one on Silvercreek. They didn't have the Porter though. I've gotten it in Burlington before.
Waterloo Dark is a dark lager, and one of the few lagers I'll drink (if someone provides it to me, or it's the only non Molbatt product on tap at a restaurant).
Based on what you've said, I'd wager to guess that your palette is more in tuned with lagers. They are far more carbonated than ales, and I wouldn't be surprised if you're confusing lack of carbonation with the taste of it being watering down. If you call the Amber or Honey Red waterred down, but drink Braham or Coronas, there's something not right there. If you went as far as drinking a cask ale (also called real ale), you would likely consider it flat.
Which IPA's have you tried? It's a complete and utter fallicy to call Keith's an IPA. (Aside: Rickard's (a division of Molbatt) noticed that Keith's sells well and so turned Rickard Pale Ale into Rickard's India Pale Ale. Retards.) Keith's is more of a lager and is so far removed from the style of an IPA it's not funny. It's like calling a Big Mac thai food.
History lesson!! When Britian "discovered" India and started the shipping lanes to there, they needed a beer that would survive the months long journey. So, what they did was to take their ales, increase the alchohol content and add a ton more hops to the reciepe. Both these things improved the shelf life. Then was created the India Pale Ale.
The proper style of an IPA is between 6.5 to 7.5% alch. with a hop flavour that describe as strongly hoppy to exceedingly hoppy, and a colour that approached golden. (A double IPA is 7.5+ (often in the 8 to 9% range) and is described as exceedingly to absurdly hoppy)
Ontario (and most of Canada) does not have a palette for hops as there are no beers (with some exceptions, of course) that bring this forward. In my opinion, it's a case of beer drinkers not preferring it because they don't know it exists.
The inclusion of real IPAs will be the next major jump for the craft brewers in the next 3 to 5 years, mark my words. For the spring release, the LCBO brought in DogFish Head 60 minutes IPA and it flew off the shelves. You can be sure the smaller brewries are noticing this. There's a demand that is not being met by anyone currently.
It's something that I didn't have a palette for until a friend brought me to an IPA tasting. Now it's my single favorite style (Imperial Stout is close behind) and I've converted many a friend into a hop head. One you enjoy the taste of hops in your beer, you can't go back.
Stouts are an interesting animal in this country because Guiness is the only thing that comes to mind for most people when someone says Stout. Guiness is a british style mass marketed stout and I would rate it as a very average beer and quite watery. I like my stout full of body and taste and is another one of those things that once you aquire a taste for, going back to anything else is painful.
The Ontario market is FLOODED with Lagers because it's what most Molbatt drones have developed a taste for, so it's safe to sell. Brands like Rickards are a joke because they are also owned by Molbatt and they spend a great deal of money trying to convnice you that they're beer comes from a micro-brewrey. To 90% of the Ontario market Blue/Coors/Labatt is "beer". Everything else is not. Part of the problem is that our beer supply comes from a "store" that is own, via majority, by the companies pushing their fizzy yellow fizz. "The Beer Store" is a monopoly as is the main reason that Americans are now decades aheads of the Canadian market.
You want definate proof on how f**king clueless our country is and how dangerous it is to let Molbatt control our beer distribution. Go to the beer store's website and look for the area that describes "Beer Styles". See if you can spot the marketing gimmicks! I nearly cried the first time I read that page.
And don't even get me started on buck-a-beer abortions.
I LOVE this beer! I wish it was more readily available. When I bought the last 12 from the LCBO on Erb, there was a guy who drove in from Oakville to get this beer! He should've called first like I did!!!! I'm such a prick I didn't even give him one bottle! heeheehee!! Also, I gave a sip to Mario and I think he almost puked. Wussy Blue drinker!!!!!!
I can't wait until the holiday season when Rogue Chocolate Stout is available again!
I won't be sharing that either!!
Johnnie
ps..Don't hate me Rob, but tomorrow night I'm slummin' with Sleemans HB in CANS!!!
Wooooo, can't wait!!!!
BASTARD!!!! You should both be imprisoned for life!!!
He should he hailed as a king among men.
/g2
You risk skunky (besides, they were Mario's Blue... ugh)
Mark
Says the Moosehead man.....lol
jk bro.
They have 6s in stock at the Beer Store, Lincoln & Weber.
/g2
/g2
moosehead has to be the skunkiest beer on the market
Lucky with sexy roommates= unlucky with sexy beers, eh bro?
You're talking about the Organic Lagar, right? Nope, still haven't tried that.
Hey Specialk, I still have a Carlsberg in my fridge with your name on it. I guess you left it here in March or something. Don't worry, it's safe from consumtion in my house.
Johnnie
Thanks for turning me on to Mill St.
Also, just tried the Wellington beers and I have to say the Iron Duke and SPA dissapointed me a bit, I didn't think they were anything better then average and certainly not as good as the Mill St. top two.
I picked up a case of Cameron Auburn Ale for tonight, we'll see how that is.
I don't think you can get much better at the beer store then the Mill St. Coffee Porter and Tankhouse Ale.
Next Bristol if you want me to pick up a few cases for you I certainly will but for the last two months I have never NOT seen a good stock of Mill St. beers at my beer store!!!!!
Johnnie