Tuesday 10 September 2013

September 10, 2013

This installment of places I miss takes us to the Hop and Grape formerly at Yonge and College.  The Hop and Grape was introduced to me by the same fellow who first took me to the Spotted Dick on Bloor East of Yonge.  Like the Spotted Dick, the Hop and Grape featured a wide variety of clientele, not quite so wide, but still pretty varied. 

It was near the Carlton Cinemas which made it a great place to sit and ponder the foreign language film I just saw.  They used to have Tusker back in the 1980s which was pretty exotic at the time.  In the evenings it must have been a different type of place than in the afternoons when I went - I have since heard it referred to as the Hope and Grope but for me it was just a quiet, low key place with a reasonable selection of beer, wine and spirits. 

September 9, 2013

197/845)  Home:  Canada Southern Draft by Railway City Brewing of Ontario:  *1/2;  4.3%;  this would probably work well in an old school taproom;  a little bit sweet and malty;  basically a light beer and a reasonable one at that;

September 7, 2013

195/843)  Home:  Delirium Nocturnum by Brewery Huyghe NV of Belgium:  **1/2;  8.5%;  fruity (dried) brown sugary nose;  notes of dried fruit and burnt sugar with a sweet finish;

196/844) Home:  Baba Black Lager by Uinta Brewing of Utah:  **;  brewed in Salt Lake City of all places;  certified organic;  a little bit sweet with a hint of chocolate;  "the label reads, Earth, Wind and Beer";  I have to admit the idea of a beer brewed in Utah intrigued me but the fellow at the Beer Table recommended it which sealed it for me;  I have enjoyed every one of his suggestions;

Toronto Beer Week can't come too soon.  Looking back it has been a while since I've been out.

September 6, 2013

Toronto Beer Week 2013 begins next Friday, the thirteenth.  Visit http://torontobeerweek.com/ to see what all the fuss is about.  I am hoping to get out to C'est What's 25th Annual Festival of Craft Breweries and, with luck the official pub crawl a week later.  I will see what else I can get up to in between.

September 5, 2013

193/841)  Home:  Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout by North Coast Brewing of California, U.S.A.:  **1/2;  9%;  nose has mocha, coffee;   roasty with a touch of mocha sweetness and a bite of alcohol.;  dark coffee-like finish;

194/842)  Home:  Nitro Milk Stout by Left Hand Brewing of Colorado, U.S.A.:  **;   6%;  the cap reads "Keep Cold Pour Hard" (and the bottle recommends this in order to get a rich head);  the usual four ingredients plus flaked oats and lactose;  sweet mocha nose;  rich milk chocolaty notes;  mild but not over-powering;

September 2, 2013

192/840)  Home:  Butler's Bitter by Niagara College Teaching Brewery of Ontario:  **;  4.4%;  "the drink that fuelled the British armies in 1812";  proceeds support student learning;  I thought I detected a bit of rye in the nose;  a rich malty, bready ale;

Monday 9 September 2013

September 1, 2013

191/839)  Home:  Torpedo Extra IPA by Sierra Nevada of California, U.S.A.:  **1/2;  7.2%;  brewed "with a little magic from our 'Hop Torpedo' - a revolutionary method of dry hopping";  this would have been great on tap at LaGuardia;  hoppy nose;  refreshingly hopped flavour without over-powering bitterness;

August 31, 2013

190/838) Samuel Adams' Boston Lager by Boston Brewing Company of Massachusetts, U.S.A.:  *1/2;  malty nose;  grainy and malty with a Czech style hop bite;

This is best remembered as the first beer Jim Koch brewed back in 1984 when we were using terms like "micro-brewery".

Sunday 1 September 2013

August 30, 2013

With my favourite time of year coming up we are already beginning to see some of the reasons I like autumn so much.  I spoke of Cardigan a couple of days ago and now pumpkin beers are starting to show up at the LCBO.  I have some Black Creek and Highballer (by Grand River) and the Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale is out there, just not anywhere I have been yet. 

August 29, 2013

189/837)  Home:  Porter by Sinebrychoff of Finland:  **1/2;  checks in at 7.2%;  along with the usual four suspects, starch is used as an ingredient - I am not entirely certain what that brings to the party;  nose features strong alcohol notes., raisins, dates;  among the alcohol and raisin flavours there is a sweetness in the background;  very bold tasting: a Baltic Porter with a vengeance;

August 28, 2013

188/836)  Home:  Brooklyn Brown Ale by Brooklyn Brewery of New York, U.S.A.:  **;  roasty, chocolate nose;  touch of mocha flavour;

My son returned from Brooklyn bearing gifts, including, yes, Sierra Nevada Torpedo.  What's more, it turns out that Terminal B at LaGuardia, which is where Air Canada flies out of, does have a duty free shop.