Sunday 17 July 2016

June 28, 2016

119/1704) Home:  Sweet Pete's Ride On, Radler by Henderson Brewing of Ontario:  **;  3.8%;  lemony, not grapefruit as is most often the case;  refreshing, not sweet in spite the almost soda-ish flavours;

This was designed in collaboration with Sweet Pete's Bike Shop.  It's a touching story.  A friend of one of the staff was afflicted with ALS and solicited help from a number of bike shops with regard to setting up his bicycle so that he could continue cycling.  Only Sweet Pete's got back to him and with their assistance he was able to ride until only a few days before he died.  Sweet Pete's has three locations and if I lived in Toronto I wouldn't go anywhere else for my cycling needs.

I also bought this at the brewery tour.  Their four-pack case is pretty cool.


June 27, 2016

118/1703) Home:  Illiterate Librarian Grapefruit IPA by Refined Fool Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **1/2;  5.7%, 70 ibu;  sharp, fresh grapefruit nose;  sharp grapefruit bite to the palate;  bitter grapefruit zest after taste; described as "an IPA with some grapefruit";


June 26, 2016

117/1702) Home:  Dear Toronto, You Suck, Love Vancouver by Henderson Brewing of Ontario:  **;  a 6.5% West Coast IPA;  earthy rooty nose, touch of lemon;  dry and earthy;


June 25, 2016

116/1701) Home:  Clutch American Pale Ale by Redline Brewhouse of Ontario:  **1/2; 4.8%, 42 ibu;  brewed with barley malt and flaked oats, Centennial, Citra, Amarillo, Mandarina and Bavaria hops;  strong tropical and pine nose;  delicious citrus and tropical flavours;  a winner - I hope to see more from Redline;

The brewhouse also has a beer called "Check Engine".


Thursday 14 July 2016

June 24, 2016

114/1699) beerbistro:  Shattercone IPA by Stack Brewing of Ontario:  **;    5.5%;  piney nose;  soft muted pine notes;  bitter after taste;

A shatter cone is an uncommon geological feature which forms in bedrock (as opposed to Bedrock...) where meteorites have struck the earth or from the shock of an underground nuclear detonation.  It is believed that the Sudbury area has been hit by meteorites at least twice.  Stack also has a beer called Impact;

115/1700) Thirsty and Miserable:  Bitter Beauty by Sawdust City of Ontario:  **1/2;  a 9.0%, 90 ibu Imperial IPA brewed in collaboration with Canadian song and dance man Jason Collett;  opaque;  very strong piney nose;  not nearly so excessively bitter as Twin Pine dies to a strong malt presence;

This came in a can, though I have since had it here on draught.

I learned today that the television set I spotted last time was inherited from the previous owner and they do not subscribe to cable.  Katie has further reduced her non-beer selections as per her chalkboard, "Booze:  Jameson (yup, that's it!) $6 1 oz shot  Mix your whiskey with pop $6.5 (if we like you) $7 (if you're douchey)".  I like Katie a whole lot.

As is my habit I took St. Jean Baptiste day off.  I did find time to drink a couple of beers from Quebec.

June 21, 2016

113/1698) Henderson Brewing:  Food Truck Beer by Henderson Brewing of Ontario:  *1/2;  4.5%, 19 ibu;  a blonde ale, "designed to be an easy drinking crisp beer";  the brewer said it was designed to accompany food;  malty nose;  easy drinking;  the beer list suggests pineapple notes but I could only detect a touch;  

I have mentioned earlier how I won the lottery the day I was married and here is another example. My wife let me know a couple of days earlier to save the date as she had booked a tour of the brewery.  Henderson Brewing is named for Robert Henderson, Toronto's first brewery owner.  It is located in the Junction Triangle.  The GO train I take to Union Station passes just south of the brewery.  It is a terrific, open concept plant with a bar and snacks and it's filled with memorabilia.  I have taken a few brewery tours but this was the best yet.

They also make an excellent root beer but they report that they can scarcely make enough to meet the demand from people walking in.  Until they have more capacity only their beer is available for take away and not their root beer.




June 20, 2016

This is a whole lot of fun:  it's a TV ad from 1985, courtesy the Retrontario website.

http://www.retrontario.com/2012/06/22/molson-golden-molson-golson-1985/

June 19, 2016

111/1696) Home:  Red Coat Canadian Red Ale by Forked River Brewing of Ontario:  *1/2;  6.2%;  deep, dark red with a persistent stout like head - almost like a nitro pour;  nose is malty;  unpasteurized, unfiltered;  has stout like elements, in particular the mildly roasty malt flavours;


112/1697) Home:  Double-Double Doppelbock by Waterloo Brewing Company of Ontario:  **;  6.7%;  very dark;  mocha nose - surprising;  rich and malty with sweet coffee flavours;  this is very nearly a stout;



June 18, 2016

109/1694) Home:  Daywalker Vermont Session IPA by Rainhard Brewing Co. of Ontario:  **1/2;  3.9%, 35 ibu;  opaque straw colour;  citrusy nose;  refreshing notes of citrus;  an ideal session IPA;

110/1695) Home:  Session IPA by Big Rock Brewing Company of Alberta:  *1/2;  5.5%;  "unashamedly malt forward";  dry hopped with Yakima Valley cascade hops;  an English style IPA;  sweet toffee like maltiness to the nose;  tastes mainly of sweet maltiness with scarcely a hint of those hops;



A 5.5% "session" IPA?

Monday 11 July 2016

June 17, 2016

108/1693) The 3 Brewers, Adelaide Street:  Rhubiscus by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  **;  4.4%, 5 ibu;  brewed with rhubarb and hibiscus;  the nose is earthy hibiscus with the rhubarb most promonent in taste and finish;  it is refreshing and summery;


June 16, 2016

107/1692) Rainhard Brewing Company:  Sweetback's Milk Stout by Rainhard Brewing of Ontario:  **;  5.25%, 25 ibu;  brewed with cocoa powder, vanilla and lactose;  sweet, milky, mocha nose;    almost soda like mouth feel;  it is on the sweet side with mocha flavours;

The brewmaster considers this to reside at the border of a dry and a sweet stout.

People who have met me would agree that one way to ensure my attendance at your event is to call it "Bach and Beer".  This started out as a solo performance by cellist Steuart Pincombe, see http://www.musicinfamiliarspaces.com/ , but it turns out that he and local violinist extraordinaire Edwin Huizinga go back a bit and the event turned into a trio with the addition of keyboardist local Philip Fournier (who began tuning up ten minutes after the concert was scheduled to begin writes a fellow who dashed straight from the office and worked up a bit of a sweat in a shirt and tie getting there on time). Still, a great evening at a surprisingly good venue for music.  The fellows working in the back stuck around and it was fun to be in a room with people enjoying a variety of music they might not normally choose to listen to.

Each piece was introduced by the soloist and Jordan Rainhard would then suggest one of his beers to accompany the music.  I purchased a couple of bottles of which I will write more later.

I learned that J.S. Bach would frequent Zimmerman's Cafe which has been added to Brahms' hangout, the Red Hedgehog, among others, for my list of places to visit when I next go to Europe.

I was also interested to hear that I was close by George Bell Arena.  Could that be named for the American League's Most Valuable Player of 1987?




Wednesday 6 July 2016

June 12, 2016

106/1691) Home:  Bystander American Pale Ale by Innocente Brewing Company of Ontario:  **;  4.7%   the label calls this "a true guilty pleasure";  brewed with Australian Galaxy hops, and German malts;  very grassy nose - it sort of smells like my back yard which is to say like undried mint leaves;  leafy, grassy flavours;  very bitter finish;


Today is the forty sixth anniversary of Dock Ellis' notorious no-hitter in San Diego when he was strung out on LSD so naturally I took my wife and daughter to lunch at the Dock Ellis Sports Bar on our way to the Luminato festival earlier in the day.  Would you believe no one there was aware of the occasion?  I should also mention that while at first blush their sandwiches don't look like much, it turns out that they are very filling.

June 11, 2016

105/1690) Home:  John H. R. Molson 1908 Historic Pale Ale by Molson Canada of Quebec;  **6.8%;  this is the manufacturer as listed on the bottle but I think I mean to say Molson Coors;  unfiltered, no preservatives;  from a recipe found in the archives;  herbal, grainy nose;  bitter hoppy edge; actually quite nice;  I wish for more of the same;

Monday 4 July 2016

June 10, 2016

104/1689) Home:  Easy Stout by Walkerville Brewery of Ontario:  **;  5.5%;  a roaring 20s style stout;  sweet roasty nose;  the addition of lactose adds a richness and soft mouth feel;  still, it's very old school;  mildly sweet, with a grainy, roasty finish;

June 9, 2016

102/1687) The 3 Brewers, Heartland:  Down Under by The 3 Brewers of Ontario:  **;  on cask;  brewed with passion fruit, lime, papaya;  pale, opaque;  fruity, juicy tropical nose;  the fruit is not overpowering, it's almost entirely muted;  of the three, the lime is the least prominent, just a hint at the finish;

103/1688) Home:  Lambton Yard Brown Ale by Junction Craft Brewing of Ontario:  **;  4.0%, 20 ibu;  batch 16-115; hint of sweetness to the nose;  roasted grain nose;   dry malty flavours, almost burnt;  dry after taste;