So this marks the first in a series I’m calling “Ales Bells,” seven ales in seven days. Seven different ales from seven different producers, each from a different providence, with different twists. With so many choices of where to start, I elected to start with a recent purchase from the LCBO from a brewery you already know that…
Ales Bells ~ a special series
The world of beer drinking is quite fundamentally a pretty straight forward and simple indulgence which is probably one of the reasons it appeals to so many people. Indeed, a shade more than 50% of Canadian drinkers reportedly claim beer as their beverage of choice. If you’re over the age of 30, you probably grew…
County Memories
Some places are so big that they can create a moment. Some moments, special in their second, create lifetimes. Every year, I along with my wonderful and very dear friends from Ottawa (and a few from the “Greater Ottawa Area” which, for the purposes of this blog, now includes Toronto) descend 3 hours south into…
Karlo Estates – Frontenac Gris Rosé (2011)
Nothing quite says summer heat like a good rosé. It’s the wine I reach for when I’m hot and parched but still want wine. While I’d almost always prefer a good red, in the heat of the summer, when the ambient outdoor temperature will warm a glass of red before you get through a few…
“Rhyme & Reason” (Extra Pale Ale) Collective Arts Brewing
To be great doesn’t make you good; to be good, however, requires greatness. So that’s my paradoxical aphorism for the month of May, inspired by a company that, to look at the box and the bottles within, already has greatness written all over it. And I mean really impressive greatness. This is a six pack…
“Original Organic Lager” Mill St. Brewery
Continuing with my lager exploration, I’ve circled back to one that I first tried soon after it was introduced, one that I drank on location at the original Mill Street Brewery in Toronto’s “Distillery District.” The brewery first started production in 2002 and was one of Toronto’s first craft brewers and deserves recognition for being…
Keint-he Winery – Chardonnay (2009)
Moving to another burgeoning wine region of the country, Prince Edward County. This hidden peninsula is quietly tucked away between where Lake Ontario gives its final gasp and becomes the head waters of the St Lawrence, this is a relatively young wine producing region with some delicious secrets that I’ve quite grown to love…
“Amber Ale” (Amber Ale), Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery
Change is inevitable and good can certainly come of bad. Such is my experience with Ontario’s Beer Store which I had previously panned for not only its disappointing selection but its poor selection of local craft brews. Apparently they’re listening to their customers. Or perhaps they’ve been taking a page out of Flying Monkeys pages…
“Rudolphus VI” (Belgian IPA) Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company
Most good things must eventually run their course … and this concludes my “Best of Beau’s” series featuring the four beer in their “mix pack.” This final comer is, again, Beau’s Brewery’s play with a defining but yet less mainstream beer style: the Belgian IPA, something I didn’t know that existed as a “style” before…
“Burnt Rock” (Vanilla Porter) Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company
Hmm … Yes, hmm… Not exactly the way one starts a great tasting. It’s taking many sips to figure this beer out. I’ll grant you, I was confused out of the gate by the incongruence of this being a porter that only weighs in at 4.9%. While I did drink a lot of Porters while…