The Great Canadian Beer Thread

[niwell]

^There's a bit of a trend lately to revisit German style lagers and pilsners. That one looks particularly interesting and I'd be interested in trying myself!

[eemy]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I can't recall whether I've posted it before, but there is a new(ish) craft brewer in New Hamburg, ON (a lovely small town midway between Kitchener and Stratford) called Bitte Schön Brauhaus. http://www.bitteschonbrauhaus.com/about It's located in a beautifully renovated former hotel dating back to 1872. As the name would imply, they are focussed on German-style beers, which strikes me as interesting given all the emphasis on hoppy ales these days.

I have no idea when I might get down that way to check them out, so if there is anybody out that way who has sampled the product, I'd be interested to know if it's worth a stop on the way to/from the Festival.

I stopped there earlier this fall with a friend of mine and picked up a growler each of (I think) a bock and dubbelweizen. I enjoyed them both, the bock slightly more as I recall, but I'm not a particularly sophisticated beer drinker. I really love their logo:

[240glt]

Picked this up on a whim today. brewed in Grande Prairie by GP Brewing, very light & clean, fairly bitter. surprisingly good

[andthebee]

The Okanagan is killin it as far as craft beer goes. I wrote a complete Craft Beer Guide to the Okanagan/Shuswap.

Check it out here: http://www.andthebee.com/craft-beer-...anaganshuswap/

Craft Beer Guide to the Okanagan/Shuswap
written by me
January 26, 2017

[urbandreamer]

My current fave is Muskoka Brewery's Shinnicked Stout.

[niwell]

This is kind of old news now but the rate beer awards for 2016 are up: https://www.ratebeer.com/ratebeerbest/

Only top breweries on the list from Canada are;

Bellwoods brewery (Toronto), Dieu du Ciel! (Montreal), Brasserie Dunham (Dunham, QC), Brasserie Auval Brewing Co (Val-d'Espoir, QC)

Surprised DDC is on there still to be honest - they are a classic though. Nothing from the west coast either. Bellwoods is far and above the best in Ontario though, and with a second brewing location is managing to maintain quality.


I feel like there isn't enough representation from Canada in general and it's not due to quality. For instance they don't have any tap rooms listed for Canada and there are plenty that could qualify. I guess it relies on reviewers so there may just not be as many doing that here.

[Airboy]

So on the 2 week trip to BC I had a chance to partake of numerous beers.
Stops in Banff - Canmore beers, Kamloops- Red Collar and Noble Pig, Vancouver - way to many to name here, Victoria see attached photos, Jasper Brewing and 3 range in Valemont.

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[SignalHillHiker]

Tried the Port Rexton porter again at Fifth Ticket tonight. Still great. I think, objectively, it's one of our best-ever beers and probably would be a 5-6/10 by most unbiased measures.



Went with Mill Street growlers for tonight. I imagine the recipes are the same everywhere and just locally branded, but either way I got:

Black Bart’s Brown Ale.
Our take of the American Brown Ale in honor… or dishonor of the infamous pirate, Black Bart, who terrorised the shores of Ferryland and Trepassey in 1720. Malt aromas reminiscent of caramel, almond and a slight chocolate taste. Quick finish leaving you wanting more. ABV 5.5% IBU 27. Enjoy

It's delicious. Not as good as the porter, and not a strong flavour overall, but what taste does exist is really very, very nice.

[niwell]

I'm interested in the first one for sure - but Mill street....

[speedog]

Originally Posted by niwell

This is kind of old news now but the rate beer awards for 2016 are up: https://www.ratebeer.com/ratebeerbest/

Only top breweries on the list from Canada are;

Bellwoods brewery (Toronto), Dieu du Ciel! (Montreal), Brasserie Dunham (Dunham, QC), Brasserie Auval Brewing Co (Val-d'Espoir, QC)

Surprised DDC is on there still to be honest - they are a classic though. Nothing from the west coast either. Bellwoods is far and above the best in Ontario though, and with a second brewing location is managing to maintain quality.


I feel like there isn't enough representation from Canada in general and it's not due to quality. For instance they don't have any tap rooms listed for Canada and there are plenty that could qualify. I guess it relies on reviewers so there may just not be as many doing that here.

Anyone who honestly give that list even some merit needs their head checked, it is just another lost heavily weighted in favour of those that populate that web site. If people actually believe that list and think that there are not quite a few more great beers out of Europe and other regions in the world, then we all lose.

It's kind of like the best communities of the year list that comes out in Calagry every year, it's a complete joke - the worst trailer park in the city could top that list if said residents took the effort and time to vote in the so called fair poll.

Take that beer list for what it is, I'm not denying that there may not be great beers on that list but in reality it's a farce. Maybe it's not though, I mean the MLB World Series does really represent the world, right?

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Tried the Port Rexton porter again at Fifth Ticket tonight. Still great. I think, objectively, it's one of our best-ever beers and probably would be a 5-6/10 by most unbiased measures.

Went with Mill Street growlers for tonight. I imagine the recipes are the same everywhere and just locally branded, but either way I got:

It's delicious. Not as good as the porter, and not a strong flavour overall, but what taste does exist is really very, very nice.

Port Rexton Brewery has received praise from out-of-province drinkers as well, you could probably bump it up to a 6-7/10. I think their IPA is their highest rated beer, but pretty much all of them are rated near the same. Still haven't had a chance to try any yet, but all I hear is praise.

The brewer at the pub actually gets to create their own recipes, so it's actually unique to here. Most of the Mill Street generic beer is brewed at the Labatt brewery, but they do have a smaller brewery at the pub for stuff like this.

Most of the unique St. John's Mill Street beers fall flat into that "okay" category; nothing offensive about it, but nothing to get you real excited. I had a growler of their St. John's ESB last month and it was real middle of the road. Definitely needed a bit more body, and was really lacking those caramel flavors you'd expect in the style.

As a beer aside, Yellowbelly Brewery will be releasing this years St. Paddy's Day brew very shortly. Much like their annual Mummer's brew, it changes style every year. Last year the St. Paddy's Day brew was an all Cascade hop American Pale Ale (which also fell solely into the okay category), I wonder what it'll be this year. It's been a long while since they've brewed a Belgian style or a Farmhouse ale, maybe it's time for them to give it another go

[eemy]

I would think that craft beer consumption patterns are so local now that a rating site like that is going to be heavily biased to where it's users come from.

[speedog]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

I would think that craft beer consumption patterns are so local now that a rating site like that is going to be heavily biased to where it's users come from.

Nag reed, lists like that are not worthy of being linked to because of their bias.

[OutOfTowner]

For anyone in the MTL area I have over 1000 different QC microbrasserie bottles and cans (empty) available to a good home. All are in near perfect condition (labels), rinsed, with original caps, corks, porcelain, wax tops, etc. All date from 2012- present. Worth over 200$ deposit alone.

Don't ask me why I began saving them because I honestly don't know!

If you or anyone you know are interested, pm me.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by speedog

Anyone who honestly give that list even some merit needs their head checked, it is just another lost heavily weighted in favour of those that populate that web site. If people actually believe that list and think that there are not quite a few more great beers out of Europe and other regions in the world, then we all lose.

It's kind of like the best communities of the year list that comes out in Calagry every year, it's a complete joke - the worst trailer park in the city could top that list if said residents took the effort and time to vote in the so called fair poll.

Take that beer list for what it is, I'm not denying that there may not be great beers on that list but in reality it's a farce. Maybe it's not though, I mean the MLB World Series does really represent the world, right?

Like many lists it is good in context, but yeah, I agree with the majority of what you said. For the U.S. it is seen as the authoritative list on beer, but outside of that bubble things fall apart.

Dunham and Bellwoods are probably the best breweries in Canada but it fails on recognizing the dozens of other great ones that are just slightly below that standard. And would stack up to anything below the top 10 in the U.S. IMO.

[TorontoDrew]

When did Mill Street branch out to NFLD.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

When did Mill Street branch out to NFLD.

Brewpub opened last spring I believe. It's attached to Cara Bier Markt.

[OutOfTowner]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

When did Mill Street branch out to NFLD.

When it was taken over by Labatt. The only way to gain access the entire Canadian market is to be purchased by one of the Big 3 foreign multinationals.

[urbandreamer]

I'm currently craving a Men in Night paired with some Tanjo beef summer sausage

[SignalHillHiker]