March 19, 2011

107)  Cloak and Dagger in Toronto:  Lug Tread Lagered Ale by Beau's all Natural Brewing of Ontario:  **;  top fermented like an ale, aged like a lager;  a year-round beer; 

108)  Caplanski's Deli in Toronto:  Dunkel by Denison's of Ontario:  **;  a revival of a beer I used to enjoy at the late, lamented Growlers brewed by the original brewmaster;  a dark Bavarian style lager. 

109)  Burger Bar & Tequila Tavern in Toronto:  XXX by County Durham of Ontario:  **;  on cask;  very English;  a hearty convival brew;

110)  Burger Bar & Tequila Tavern:  Robust Porter by Cheshire Valley of Ontario:  **1/2;  a rich and hearty porter;

111)  Harbord House in Toronto:  Blak Katt Stout by County Durham of Ontario:  **1/2;  to my taste this one sits on that hard to define border between a porter and a stout;  a bit thin for a stout but very flavourful;

112)  Harbord House:  Winter Brewed Coffee Infused Ale by Beau's:  **1/2;  Unlike most coffee beers this is an ale, not a porter, not a stout;  you know you are drinking beer;  fresh coffee flavour, no bitterness up front or as an after taste;  Nicaraguan coffee is added very late in the brewing process to achieve this;

113)  Victory Cafe in Toronto:  Scotch Ale by Nickel Brook of Ontario:  *1/2:  a typical Scotch ale but a nice find on cask;

114)  Burger Bar & Tequila Tavern:  Sham-Bock by Railway City Brewing of Ontario:  **1/2;  Yes, I went back when I heard that I had missed this one and I am glad of it, besides, I'm crazy about this place;  a doppelbock brewed with Ontario maple syrup;

Today was the mid-point between Toronto Beer Week 2010 and 2011 and it was marked by two six-month countdown pub crawls.  I chose the Kensington Market/Annex crawl.  I noticed that they have Molson Stock Ale at the Cloak & Dagger which merits a repeat visit.  It was the first stop of the day and I was pacing myself (half pints only) with root beer at Caplanski's and club soda at the Victory.  Besides, I cannot be certain how 40 or so cask ale enthusiasts/snobs would react to the sight of me with a bottle of Molson anything in my hand.

I certainly did myself a favour by pacing myself and it didn't hurt that I walked to the crawl from Union Station (detouring to the LCBO at Queen's Quay to buy a bottle of Bitter & Twisted) and then back again.

A side note:  in spite of how great it smelled inside Caplanski's or how posh the Harbord House was, everyone I saw eating today was eating at the Burger Bar and Tequila Tavern. 

Today is the feast of St. Adrian