threecb
01-10-2004, 02:08 PM
So my wife and I tried a bunch of different Torontonian beers on our New Year's trip to the city. Mostly I tried them, since she wasn't feeling well for a couple of days (and in bed, down for the count, all day one of them). To keep the length of the posts down, I'll break em down by venue, with brief thoughts on each...
New Year's Eve found us in C'est What's music venue Nia for a couple of bands (one "interesting"; one quite fun). A cozy basement venue with House Brews (though I don't think they're brewed on premises anymore) and a decent Ontario and beyond guest list. We had:
Al's Cask Ale: What A way to start out the beers of the trip. I'd say this one might've been my favorite beer sampled. We both started with this one and followed it with another of the same. It's a dry hopped cask conditioned ale -- I'd say very much like an ESB. Golden-orange in color, solid hop fruitiness (peaches/citrus) with an incredibly smooth, full-bodied mouthfeel. This is why I love real ale!
McAuslan's St. Ambroise Pale Ale: Very solid Pale, nicely hopped. A deep amber color. You get the hops as fruit on the nose. More tea-like on the tongue. Good mouthfeel, very drinkable with a solid malt backbone. But the hops are in the spotlight throughout this beer.
Denison's Wheat: This recipe is (I think) from the now-defunct Denison's Brewing, now brewed by Mill Street. The wife had this one, I just caught two quick sips, just before sampling the St. Ambroise. IIRC, this was a cloudy golden yellow beer. It was late when this was tried, so I'd rather not give my detailed opinion as it was clouded with drink and a smokey atmosphere. My wife seemed to enjoy it though, and she's a fan of Hefe's and other wheats.
On a return trip 2 days later we stopped by the pub side and, while the wife shook off the end of the flu and sipped a soda, I tried:
C'est What Rye Beer: This was a deep amber color, malty and sweet. Good body with a head that disappated quickly to a fine ring. It was a decently crafted beer, but it made me wish I'd gotten the Coffee Porter, which I'd heard raves about. Wish I'd had time for one more...
This one is where I had the most, so I promise that the rest of the posts on TO will be a bit shorter!
New Year's Eve found us in C'est What's music venue Nia for a couple of bands (one "interesting"; one quite fun). A cozy basement venue with House Brews (though I don't think they're brewed on premises anymore) and a decent Ontario and beyond guest list. We had:
Al's Cask Ale: What A way to start out the beers of the trip. I'd say this one might've been my favorite beer sampled. We both started with this one and followed it with another of the same. It's a dry hopped cask conditioned ale -- I'd say very much like an ESB. Golden-orange in color, solid hop fruitiness (peaches/citrus) with an incredibly smooth, full-bodied mouthfeel. This is why I love real ale!
McAuslan's St. Ambroise Pale Ale: Very solid Pale, nicely hopped. A deep amber color. You get the hops as fruit on the nose. More tea-like on the tongue. Good mouthfeel, very drinkable with a solid malt backbone. But the hops are in the spotlight throughout this beer.
Denison's Wheat: This recipe is (I think) from the now-defunct Denison's Brewing, now brewed by Mill Street. The wife had this one, I just caught two quick sips, just before sampling the St. Ambroise. IIRC, this was a cloudy golden yellow beer. It was late when this was tried, so I'd rather not give my detailed opinion as it was clouded with drink and a smokey atmosphere. My wife seemed to enjoy it though, and she's a fan of Hefe's and other wheats.
On a return trip 2 days later we stopped by the pub side and, while the wife shook off the end of the flu and sipped a soda, I tried:
C'est What Rye Beer: This was a deep amber color, malty and sweet. Good body with a head that disappated quickly to a fine ring. It was a decently crafted beer, but it made me wish I'd gotten the Coffee Porter, which I'd heard raves about. Wish I'd had time for one more...
This one is where I had the most, so I promise that the rest of the posts on TO will be a bit shorter!