Tuesday, 2 September 2014
December 24, 2013
321/970) Someone else's home: Black Lager by Guinness Ltd. of Ireland: *; 4.5%; mildly roasty nose; touch of sweetness roast; finish is dry roasst;
December 23, 2013
320/969) Home: Cat Lady IPA by Bellwoods Brewery of Ontario: **; 7.3%; strong, earthy hop forward nose; dry, bitter earthy flavours with a bitter finish;
The result of a recent visit to the Brewery. Make your own hipster comments.
The result of a recent visit to the Brewery. Make your own hipster comments.
Monday, 1 September 2014
December 22, 2013
318/967) Home: Crabbie's Spiced Orange Alcoholic Ginger Beer by John Crabbie & Co. of Scotland: **; 4%; powerful ginger nose and flavours; fresh orange notes; very refreshing indeed; I hope it will still be available when summer rolls around;
319/968) Home: Burnt Rock Vanilla Porter by Beau's All Natural Brewing of Ontario: **; ProAm Series No. 5; 4.9%; brewed with organic vanilla extract; nose is malty vanilla; sweet vanilla offsets the smokiness; a burnt rock is a curling term referring to a stone that has been inadvertently touched by a player;
From the Best of Beau's 2013 four pack.
319/968) Home: Burnt Rock Vanilla Porter by Beau's All Natural Brewing of Ontario: **; ProAm Series No. 5; 4.9%; brewed with organic vanilla extract; nose is malty vanilla; sweet vanilla offsets the smokiness; a burnt rock is a curling term referring to a stone that has been inadvertently touched by a player;
From the Best of Beau's 2013 four pack.
December 21, 2013
A couple of C'est What related notes.
The nearby Jersey Giant (named for a breed of chicken) was advertising pints of Molson Stock Ale for $5.00. This is definitely getting the same treatment Black Label received in the 1980s - trendies think it is a fashionable working class beer. It's about the only Molson product I can tolerate. Perhaps my son is right. Maybe I am a hipster.
Yesterday I read the owner's opinion that "Whiskey is, basically, a distilled unhopped beer". I am going to have to think about that one.
The nearby Jersey Giant (named for a breed of chicken) was advertising pints of Molson Stock Ale for $5.00. This is definitely getting the same treatment Black Label received in the 1980s - trendies think it is a fashionable working class beer. It's about the only Molson product I can tolerate. Perhaps my son is right. Maybe I am a hipster.
Yesterday I read the owner's opinion that "Whiskey is, basically, a distilled unhopped beer". I am going to have to think about that one.
December 20, 2013
315/964) C'est What: Manitoba Mouse Trap by Junction Craft Brewing of Ontario: **; 4.2%; on cask; a dry hopped English bitter; earthy hop nose; refreshingly bitter with a strong hop presence; I am uncertain about the significance of Manitoba and mice but it may be a reference to the fact that (evidently) the province is over-run with said rodents;
316/965) C'est What: Friar Buck's Sarrasin Buckwheat Ale by Church Key Brewing of Ontario: *1/2; brewed with toasted buckwheat and lactose; sweet grainy nose; notes of honey up front with a candi sugary sweet after taste; described as a Quebec/Belgian style brew'
317/966) C'est What: Jamaican Fire by Spearhead Brewing of Ontario: **; 8%; brewed with coffee, mango and scotch bonnet peppers; the nose is like a caffeinated hot sauce; I don't often laugh out loud on my first sip of the night's third beer but the idea that someone would think of something like this tickled me; bitter coffee, hints of chocolate with a fiery aftertaste; Oh yes, I would try this one again; it occurs to me that this would be a great beer to cook with it as well;
The purpose of this visit, prior to an evening of Medieval music for the season, was to cheer myself up. I had begun the day in a magnificent sweater but before it was over I had "won" the office ugly Christmas sweater contest, judged by our new Purolator driver. What does he know?
Anyhow by the end of the evening I couldn't stop thinking of a line by Captain Beefheart, "My smile is stuck. I can't go back to your Frownland."
316/965) C'est What: Friar Buck's Sarrasin Buckwheat Ale by Church Key Brewing of Ontario: *1/2; brewed with toasted buckwheat and lactose; sweet grainy nose; notes of honey up front with a candi sugary sweet after taste; described as a Quebec/Belgian style brew'
317/966) C'est What: Jamaican Fire by Spearhead Brewing of Ontario: **; 8%; brewed with coffee, mango and scotch bonnet peppers; the nose is like a caffeinated hot sauce; I don't often laugh out loud on my first sip of the night's third beer but the idea that someone would think of something like this tickled me; bitter coffee, hints of chocolate with a fiery aftertaste; Oh yes, I would try this one again; it occurs to me that this would be a great beer to cook with it as well;
The purpose of this visit, prior to an evening of Medieval music for the season, was to cheer myself up. I had begun the day in a magnificent sweater but before it was over I had "won" the office ugly Christmas sweater contest, judged by our new Purolator driver. What does he know?
Anyhow by the end of the evening I couldn't stop thinking of a line by Captain Beefheart, "My smile is stuck. I can't go back to your Frownland."
December 19, 2013
314/963) Home: 100 Mile Ale by the Ontario Beer Company of, well, Ontario: *1/2; 5.4%; "The Original All Ontario Brew"; brewed in association with Duggan;'s Brewery, among others, using Ontario grown hops and barley; nose is malty, grainy; mildly hoppy; it's sort of a dumbed down version of a beer from a Cask Social at Get Well a while back; it's certainly not uncommon for brewers to try things out at cask events or for regulars;
December 18, 2013
The twelfth and final installment of my series about pubs I miss returns us to Brampton and the Hare & Hound. This corner was rumoured to be cursed. Nothing lasted long, not even good places, then a pair of brothers opened up the Hare & Hound. And get this: their surname was Pynts.
In a similar vein, the Hare & Hound was almost too good to be true. I can say without word of a lie that I would go there for the food. The chef had a deft hand with spices and the house made soups were outstanding, even when they sounded odd. Bacon, lettuce and tomato soup anyone? The specials were great and so, too, was the standard pub fare.
But of course we are here for the beer and they had a terrific selection of ales I don't see so much anymore. Used to be you could find Newcastle, John Smith's Yorkshire Bitters and the like all over Toronto.
They couldn't do a thing wrong. Even Valentine's Day ran smoothly with a special menu and fast service.
After a number of years, it was time to move on. The Pynts brothers sold the business and the location reverted to the old pattern. It's on at least its third set of owners and as for the curse, rumour has it the most recent time it sat empty came about after a Simcoe Day weekend when a co-owner died trying to pull of a showy dive into Georgian Bay.
These days it's a not particularly busy outlet of the Wild Wings chain.
In a similar vein, the Hare & Hound was almost too good to be true. I can say without word of a lie that I would go there for the food. The chef had a deft hand with spices and the house made soups were outstanding, even when they sounded odd. Bacon, lettuce and tomato soup anyone? The specials were great and so, too, was the standard pub fare.
But of course we are here for the beer and they had a terrific selection of ales I don't see so much anymore. Used to be you could find Newcastle, John Smith's Yorkshire Bitters and the like all over Toronto.
They couldn't do a thing wrong. Even Valentine's Day ran smoothly with a special menu and fast service.
After a number of years, it was time to move on. The Pynts brothers sold the business and the location reverted to the old pattern. It's on at least its third set of owners and as for the curse, rumour has it the most recent time it sat empty came about after a Simcoe Day weekend when a co-owner died trying to pull of a showy dive into Georgian Bay.
These days it's a not particularly busy outlet of the Wild Wings chain.
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