So I uh.. I kinda like beer. In fact, my roommate and I have been brewing our own since September (well, he's been at it for four years). Right now we have a heffy, Tankhouse clone, porter, pumpkin (bottling tomorrow), and imperial IPA.
But this was my fridge when I first got back to St. John's in August. I bought most of it in Calgary and BC, then picked up a bit more while driving here through the states.
Some breweries I've had lately:
Europe
BrewDog (Scotland) - excellent IPAs and very good at everything else they do. Famous for ludicrous-strength beers like Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink the Bismark (30-50% abv).
Chimay (Belgium) - I like all the Trappist breweries (even got my hands on some Westvleteren), but Chimay Blue was my first beer love.
Fullers and Wychwood (England) - I'm a sucker for typical English ales like London Pride and Hobgoblin. I like ESBs as well, which Fullers does well.
Porterhouse (Ireland) - Their oyster stout is probably my favourite stout. It's so damn smooth!
Leffe (Belgium) - About as close to a macro as I'll get (in fact, it kind of is, seeing as it's owned by InBev), but I love the brown. The blonde is good too (nearly identical to our own hefenweizen), but it's not at the same level. Unfortunately, while the blonde is available pretty much anywhere in Canada, the brown is really hard to find (though oddly enough, it's easy to find in Ontario).
Pilsner Urquell (Czech Rep.) - The classic (real) pilsner, and I love it.
USA
Lagunitas (California) - Outstanding brewery all round, but I dies for their IPA.
Stone (California) - Haven't had much other than a couple IPAs, but they were ridiculously good. Unfortunately, they seem hard to find in Canada still.
Rogue (Oregon) - Overpriced and overhyped (especially the former), but they do know what they're doing anyway. I'm fond of their hazelnut brown ale, but the voodoo donut (maple bacon ale) is one of the grossest things I've tasted.
So many others that I've had and loved, but don't really drink enough of to know what to say about them.
Canada
Lighthouse (Victoria) - Belgian Black is the beer of the summer for me. Their Switchback IPA was also really good (much better than the regular Beacon). Lighthouse is really just one of many crazy good Victoria breweries, along with Driftwood, Phillips (worsening), Hoynes, and a few more. It's the one I'm most familiar with though.
Tree (Kelowna) - Hop Head is okay, and Duke's cider isn't at the same level as Rock Creek or Lonetree, but the Tree product that surprised me the most this summer was a pineapple beer that was really well done. I don't normally like fruit-flavoured beers, but the pineapple was subtle and not just used to mask blandness.
Howe Sound (Squamish) - Love, love, fucking love!! King Heffy is a staple of mine when I'm in AB and BC, and they had some pretty potent seasonals this summer (I think they were seasonal, anyway). Pothole Filler (imperial stout) and Total Eclipse of the Hop (imperial IPA) were among the best drinks I've had this year.
Big Rock (Calgary) - Okay, hometown bias here. I like Trad. BR isn't at the level of most of the above breweries, but they seem to be branching out a bit and are certainly more drinkable than any macro. Unfortunately not sold in Newfoundland any more for whatever reason.
Wild Rose (Calgary) - Velvet Fog was the first Calgary beer that made an impression on me, and I still drink a fair bit of it when I go home. I don't drink much of their other stuff.
Village (Calgary) - I always head to Willow Park to grab a growler of Village Wit when I go home. It's tasty, and god damn it, there's just something special about sitting around a kitchen (winter) or fire (summer) passing around a growler of local beer with good friends. Special moments have been made over this one.
Paddock Wood (Saskatoon) - Surprisingly good IPA (606? 909? It's a numbered name, anyway). I didn't try anything else from them in my two weeks in Toon Town this summer, but I will when I get an opportunity.
Mill Street (Toronto) - Tankhouse is a staple for me. It's decently strong and easy to find. As I mentioned, we did a clone of this in September (But added more hops). In their halloween/fall seasonal pack right now they have a pumpkin beer and an Octoberfest beer. The former is way, way too spiced; it's like drinking pumpkin pie, and I cannot do more than one. The Octoberfest brew is very solid.
Unibroue (Chambly, QC) - If Chimay Blue was my first beer love, La Fin du Monde was my first Canadian beer love. Unibroue can do no wrong; even their ephemere is outstanding. We'll be doing a 'Fin' clone at some point this year.
Storm (St. John's) - It's just a shame their output is so small. They only brew one beer at a time and in limited amounts. The coffee porter they did last winter was amazing. Possibly the best porter I've ever tasted.
Yellowbelly (St. John's) - A brewpub and restaurant downtown (their basement is my favourite bar in the city) that's working on new facilities to expand output. Hopefully this means they'll expand their selection or get more creative with seasonals. Of the four regulars (a stout, pale ale, wheat ale, and red), the St. John's Stout and Pale Ale are the best. The frustrating thing about Yellowbelly is that they clearly know how to brew good beer, but their seasonals are often so close to one of the regulars it's ridiculous. I'm pretty sure the current one (another pale ale) is the same recipe as the regular, but with Newfoundland hops instead of Cascade. So okay, it appeals to Newfoundland pride (and it's called Republic Pale Ale and the tricolour is on the label), but it's a shame they aren't more adventurous. The IPA they did last winter was very well done. Hopefully something like that becomes a permanent fixture on their taps once they have the ability to brew more beer.
Prev
), it might be nice to have the option of trying some real beer, be it German or Canadian.
Linear Mode
