Beer in Review 2015

Discussion in 'Canada' started by schopenhauerale, Jan 3, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. schopenhauerale

    schopenhauerale Initiate (0) Dec 6, 2011 Arizona

    Other members have posted this thread in 2014 and 2013; I didn't see one up yet so I thought it would be enjoyable to hear what the Canada forum has gotten up to in the past year (hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes - all credit to rudge75 for the idea and template).

    Copy and paste, fill in the blanks!

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER

    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
     
    thehyperduck likes this.
  2. CanadianBacon

    CanadianBacon Pooh-Bah (2,003) Aug 26, 2015 Canada (QC)
    Pooh-Bah

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    Le castor/Dieu du ciel... its a tie
    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    Beau's all natural brewing company.
    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    Le Castor Yakima IPA
    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    Westmalle tripel
    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    Le Castor.
    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    Smuttynose
    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
    Getting most of my areas barrel aged limiteds...
    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    Brasseurs de Montreal
    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
    Central City.
    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER
    St-ambroise double ipa (tasted like an apricot ale)
    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
    Matt's sleepy time (beaus imperial stout)
    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
    Westy 12 my chances are small XD
     
  3. Northern_Beer

    Northern_Beer Initiate (0) Dec 5, 2015 Canada (ON)

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    Nickel Brook
    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    Sawdust City
    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    Bolshevik Bastard
    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    Until Proven Guilty
    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    Innocente
    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    Sleeping Giant
    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
    500 Beers reached
    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    Innocente
    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
    Stack Brewing
    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER
    Fracture IPA
    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
    Russian Gun RIS
    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
    Anything Barrel Aged from Bellwoods
     
  4. LarryAppleton

    LarryAppleton Initiate (0) Dec 1, 2012 Canada (QC)

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    Les 3 Mousquetaires

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    Hill Farmstead

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    Castor Yakima

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    Cigar City Jai Alai

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    So many new Brewpubs, bars. like Isle de Garde, Harricana

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    Auval. I just hope they start producing more

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)

    Need to get my hands on some Treehouse in 2016
     
  5. Sammy

    Sammy Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,744) Dec 1, 2003 Canada (ON)
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    too many questions. 2015 I had high quality beers even though I gave a number of new upcomers a chance, my average beer for the year was about 3.95 (3.8 my rate) and best Canadian beer was only my 36th best rated of the year.
    Upcomers locally: Rainhard and Manantler, with Forked River and Folly showing some promise. Best local was Great Lakes, again. Bellwoods did what Bellwoods does.
     
  6. ckoop

    ckoop Aspirant (282) Apr 2, 2014 Canada (ON)
    Trader

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY

    I'd love to say Nicklebrook since they brew my favourite beers, but since they don't release them regularly, it has to be bellwoods with their great array for releases.

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER

    Jester King. I'm lucky that I have a friend that sends me most of their releases quarterly so I get to drink one the finest brewers of farmhouse beers on a regular basis.

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER

    I really loved this year's Lambda from Bellwoods and Nicklebrook's immodest and malevolent are always favourites.

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER

    Impossible to name just one. Jester King's Repose was incredible. Shared my double barrel hunahpus with some good friends over the summer and it was incredible. Really enjoyed Prairie's Apple Brandy Noir as well. My favourite IPA of the year was headroom from Trillium.

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY

    None

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER

    Trillium in Boston. Their IPAs are exactly what I want and now i can't get them and no ipa I can get locally tastes as good anymore. It's been a real issue in my life since August.

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT

    First beer/snowboard trip to Vermont.

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH

    I have my fingers crossed that this new brewery in Niagara-on-the-Lake called the Exchange will be good. They are focusing on sours (supposedly) so hopefully they do them well. Hopeful, but skeptical based on the rest of the alsorans in Niagara.

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER

    Who knows.

    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER

    Amsterdam's QC. Had two beers from them this fall that were infected (Shape Shifter and 5 Boroughs). Also, everyone in Niagara. The stream of average and inoffensive beers from these guys is just ridiculous.

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER

    Was pretty disappointed with Sucaba just because I love BCBW so much. Sump is way overhyped as well for how hard it is to get and cost, I'd take peche mortel over it all day, any day. Not bad beers by any means, just not worth the effort.

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)

    Looking forward to trying my sampling of SARA that just came in the mail! Some breweries I'd like to try this year are Casey, Hangar 24, and Fremont.
     
  7. schopenhauerale

    schopenhauerale Initiate (0) Dec 6, 2011 Arizona

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    Historically Driftwood but I must say that Four Winds is incredible. If I didn't live on the Island I'm sure they'd capture my top spot. Moon Under Water continued to deliver high quality one-offs. I get Brassneck on tap whenever I find it.

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    In Canada, Bellwoods, with honourable mentions to Dieu du Ciel and Le Trou di Diable. Further afield, I was really impressed by the beers I had from Almanac, Ballast Point, Boneyard, Cascade, and Stone. Sierra Nevada, Cantillon, and Schneider are perennial favourites.

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    I think 2015 was an exceptional year for BC. Four Winds gave us Nectarous, Vexillum, and Operis, Moon Under Water scored a hat trick with Sang du Merle, Tempus Corvi, and especially Goldamsel, and Driftwood managed to outshine a good vintage of Sartori with the phenomenal Raised by Wolves. This list wouldn't be complete without noting Yellow Dog's Play Dead IPA and its pineapple variant served at the Garrick's Head/Churchill Out of Towner event following GCBF. Loved all the Berliner Weissen we got this year, especially Four Winds' passionfruit.

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    My Top 25: Almanac Dogpatch Sour and Heirloom Pumpkin Barleywine, Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin and Victory at Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter, Bellwoods Motley Cru 2015, Boneyard Hop Venom and RPM, Brekeriet Barrique Rox, Cantillon Saint Lamvinus and Vigneronne, Cascade Sang Royale and Apricot, Dieu du Ciel Moralité, FiftyFifty Eclipse (Java Coffee) and (Rittenhouse Rye), Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout, Le Trou di Diable Le Herisson and La Buteuse Brassin Spécial (Apple Brandy), North Coast Old Rasputin XVIII Aged in Rye, Prairie BOMB!, Schneider Mathilda Soleil, Sierra Nevada BA Bigfoot and Harvest Wild Hop Neomexicanus, and Stone Enjoy By and Ruinten. Highest praise to the Saint Lamvinus and Motley Cru.

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    Gladstone and Cumberland are doing interesting things in the Comox Valley. There's a new brewpub in Nanaimo.

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    Bellwoods! Seriously, I can't say enough good things about that place and their beer. Brouwer's in Seattle is a very cool beer bar with an extensive cellar. Special Brews in Lynnwood is a great place to shop.

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
    I attended and passed RCAF Aircrew Selection in Trenton ON this summer and had a spare day in Toronto - drinking Motley Cru at Bellwoods out of a beautiful Motley Cru-branded snifter was one of the highlights of my year. Otherwise, finally landing BCBCS at the end of the year.

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    Yellow Dog for sure. Longwood's new production brewery is allowing them to get creative (raspberry/cascade berry sour aged 2 years? Give me more stuff like that!). What I have had from Doan's and Strange Fellows was compelling. The people behind Callister seem like they could accomplish some great things. I think the old brewmaster from Tofino is involved with a startup in greater Victoria? If he was the mind behind Dawn Patrol, Hoppin' Cretin, and Cosmic Wave, sign me up for more.

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
    I never know what to answer for this one since I don't really keep my ear to the ground about breweries outside of BC. Dandy Brewing in Alberta maybe? Brekeriet from Sweden?

    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER
    A glut of new fresh hop beers of middling quality. Most of Postmark's stuff. The absolutely vile Lapsang Suchong version of normally awesome Pothole Filler. I love ESBs and the history of craft brewing in BC so I was pretty disappointed by Hoyne Appleton's ESB. I would also like to convey some stern disapproval to the BC provincial government and the BCLDB for their duplicitous, bumbling, and out-of-touch behaviour, which was even worse than usual this year.

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
    Time for a bit of a beer rant: I think we're seeing a disproportionate increase in the price of limited release beer relative to the quality of said beer or its cost of production. I'm not griping about taxes or markup (the former is too high in BC but that's a different discussion). I recognize that the skill and extra resources involved (barrels, aging time, special yeast/hops, delicious adjuncts, etc.) are a valid reason to increase the price of a product. But I'm getting a feeling that some brewers are getting greedy. Economists will point out that any rate on a luxury item (make no mistake, beer is a luxury) the market accepts is by definition fair, so whale hunters like me are part of the problem (or the whole problem). When I got serious about craft beer in 2012, paying more than $10 for a beer was a big deal. In 2013, I was introduced to the world of aged and sour beers and gladly shelled out $20-30 for the really good stuff. By 2014, I wasn't batting an eyelash at paying up to $40 for BA stouts. In 2015, I'm asking myself how long I can keep going at this rate. I used to justify it by saying that a good beer can be just as complex as a bottle of fine wine, but I still don't drink Chateauneuf-du-Pape or Brunello di Montalcino once a week. $20-30 American six packs? $20+ for Belgian 375MLs? $20-30+ for 750MLs from Quebec? $40+ for Cascade and Eclipse? Now, whenever an exciting import is announced, I shudder to think at how it will be priced. Things aren't great south of the border either, where our American brethren is appalled at the price of bombers versus six-packs/growlers (at least that ratio isn't so awful up here): I made two trips to Seattle this year and paid on average $15/bottle, even for 12oz stuff. My moment of clarity came when I was trying to select my Christmas morning beer. Some Victoria stores had gotten a small allocation of Ale Apothecary, so I thought I would grab some Sahalie. Then I found out the asking price: $58! I understand that AA is a small operation using expensive ingredients and it's the owner's prerogative to price his/her products however he/she wants, but damn! If this is the shape of great beer to come, I might've priced myself out of the market with my "never drink the same thing twice" attitude and will have to spend the rest of my days drinking sixers of SNPA and Celebration Ale in winter (not such a bad fate).

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
    I'm going to be near Montreal January to April, so I'm looking forward to all those juicy Quebec offerings that don't make it West. April to September in Cornwall ON so I'll be making a Vermont weekend trip to Hill Farmstead and trying to drink some Alchemist and Lawson's while I'm down there. If I have time I'd love to do to a Boston trip for Tree House and Trillium. Otherwise I'm hoping I end up at Bellwoods again in 2016.
     
  8. yasky

    yasky Pundit (939) Dec 21, 2008 Canada (ON)

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY - Bellwoods

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER - Hill Farmstead

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER - Great Lakes Life Sentence

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER - CD15

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY - Rainhard

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER - 4 Quarters in Winooski

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT - my liver still functions

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH - Resurgence in Buffalo, Barncat in Ontario

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER - Deciduous

    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER - ill withhold comment

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER. Green Flash Silva

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!). Something from Treehouse, Casey or Side Project finally.
     
  9. Borbly

    Borbly Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2014 Canada ()

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    Easily Yellowbelly Brewery - their Deep South IPA is the best I've ever had
    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    Le Trou Du Diable - OMG, the best beer I have ever had!
    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    Deep South by Yellowbelly
    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    Le Castor: Yakima IPA
    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    N/A - NL is fairly bland in beer offerings
    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    Spindrift Brewing - A great new brewery out of NS, love their beer
    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
    Planned a beer based trip to Quebec in the spring!
    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    Yellowbelly, they keep on pumping out awesome beers!
    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
    Le Trou du Diable - So much creativity!
    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER
    Quidi Vidi anything - just no
    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
    Honestly, the arrival of St-Ambroise Pale Ale was quite overhyped in NL, did not think it was that great
    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)

    Peche Mortel - I HAVE BEEN DYING TO TRY IT!!!!
     
  10. JonnyBeers

    JonnyBeers Savant (1,211) Oct 24, 2012 Canada (BC)

    Taking the short route. I'm happy there is starting to be a very obvious division among BC Breweries for the best and the rest. So many have opened so quick, but we're now really starting to see who knows their stuff. Four Winds is killing it, as are others mentioned above. Looking forward to the Strange Fellows Fellowship only beers. Farmhouse Saison & Wild Ale Festival was ok I guess :wink:

    Not local but close enough - Fremont and Holy Mountain. Impressive. And Bellingham, that place is quickly becoming a destination!
     
    westcoastbeergeek and Mlkluther like this.
  11. Beervana

    Beervana Initiate (0) Apr 15, 2014 Canada (BC)

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    Just moved from Victoria to Calgary, so respectively; Driftwood (for obvious reasons) and Last Best (have yet to have a disappointing beer from them).
    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    Cantillon, always amazing.
    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    Raised by Wolves blew me away this year. Also, really enjoyed the BA imperial stout from Brewsters, a nice surprise.
    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    Fou Foune remains my top dog, got to have it a couple more times this year. BA Peche and some of the BA Fremont beers sure did come close though.
    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    Localish to Victoria, Brassneck in Vancouver puts out some really delicious beer and I'm a big fan of their low-key taproom. Best discovery in Calgary so far is the growler bars out of the liquor stores, I've found some really solid, really fresh beer on them.
    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    I'm going to say Fremont out of Seattle. Great range of beers and their barrel aged stuff is out of this world.
    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
    1000 beers rated I suppose. Started trading beer this year as well. A couple great beer road trips through the PNW too, managed to make it to a ton of breweries this year.
    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    Machine Ales out of Vancouver put out one of the best IPA's I've ever had, I'd keep my eye on them. Blindman Brewing out of Lacombe really impressed me with the first offering I tried from them, looking forward to tasting more.
    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
    Breakside seems to be growing at a solid clip and all of the beers I've had from them have been more than impressive. Hope they expand out to AB soon.
    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER
    Parallel 49's Brews Brothers collabo pack was chock full of mediocre beer, expected more there. A bunch of underwhelming kettle sours from BC too trying to catch the trend. I haven't been here long but no disappointments beerwise in Calgary thus far, mostly just the lack of beer culture.
    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
    Hate to say it but I thought the sours from de Garde are a bit overrated, especially since I loved their brewery out in Tillamook. I'm an absolute sour-head but I think most of their stuff is over the top lacto-acidic, a bit one-dimensional.
    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
    Looking forward to exploring the nooks and crannies of Calgary's beer scene. Also looking forward to trying all of the new breweries popping up in Western Canada. Would also like to try more east coast IPA's this year, it seems theres a bit of a revolution going on in the NE. Most importantly, I'm hoping to start homebrewing this year so I'm looking forward to trying a beer that I brewed myself.
     
  12. Coronaeus

    Coronaeus Grand Pooh-Bah (3,744) Apr 21, 2014 Canada (ON)
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    Overall, Bellwoods. Even beers like Double Polaris which was not my favourite are still pretty good. I also like almost everything I have had from Great Lakes this year, and not only the IPAs. I've liked Burdock's early offerings, escpecially the Peach and Apricot and White Peach berliners. I see good things ahead. I thought the couple things I had from Clifford this year were very solid and excellent representations of their styles, particularly the Porter.

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    I've had so much new to me, good, out-of-market beers this year it is difficult to say. I've loved the beers I've had from Four Winds and always look forward to receiving bottles from them. Le Castor can do no wrong in my books, and the big beers I have from them in my cellar are being saved for the right moment.

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    Bellwoods Montmorency Cherry Farmageddon and Great Lakes Thrust! topped my ratings list this year for local beers.

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    Some great first time beers for me this year included: Heady Topper, Second Fiddle, Borubon County Vanilla Rye, Nectarous, Victory at Sea.

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    A lot of new breweries this year. The aforementioned Burdock was my favourite, overall. Rainhard makes some nice IPAs.

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    Took a trip to Pittsburgh and 'discovered' a few breweries that really weren't on my radar before including Draai Laag, Fat Heads and Voodoo.

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    Obviously, the soon to be opened brewery in Toronto by Bim Lafontaine of Dieu Du Ciel fame.

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
    Not your Father's Root Beer was bad. Bad as a 'beer.' Bad as a root beer. I like root beer, so this was disappointing.

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
    I was lucky enough to try so many beers from my want list in 2015 that this is a tough one. I've liked all the Bourbon County I have tried but have not had the Coffee yet and would love to try it. I'm hoping to make at least one beer related vacation/trip this year that will allow me to try yet more new delights.
     
  13. markaberrant

    markaberrant Savant (1,043) Jan 9, 2006 Canada (SK)

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    Tie between Black Bridge and Nokomis.

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    Fat Heads (Portland, OR), Crooked Stave (Denver, CO), Odell (Fort Collins, CO) and Cascade (Portland, OR), were my favourites I visited this year.

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    Tie between Black Bridge Double IPA and Nokomis Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    Sip of Sunshine IPA (Warren, VT), Lone Pint Yellow Rose IPA (Magnolia, TX), Community Mosaic IPA (Dallas, TX)

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    I discovered that prairie folk love fresh quality beer,

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    Just how crooked and vapid the corporate beer industry is.

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
    Releasing 2 batches of very sour beer, plus 3 batches of kettle sour beer, and having people actually like them and sell like crazy.

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    I continue to expect great things out of my friends at Black Bridge and Nokomis.

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
    Really looking forward to seeing what happens in Manitoba this year. And hoping that Alberta continues to improve.

    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER
    I am disappointed by some pubs that market themselves as local and/or focused on beer, yet don't carry local beer and/or don't promote it. Though this is definitely the exception, not the rule!

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
    Tasting BCBS side by side with Rebellion Bourbon Barrel Double Oatmeal Stout.

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
    Whatever comes out of the foeder that Black Bridge installed this fall.
     
    #13 markaberrant, Jan 3, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2016
  14. thehyperduck

    thehyperduck Grand Pooh-Bah (4,980) Feb 26, 2006 Canada (ON)
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    - Forked River
    . Their LCBO releases thus far have been mostly unremarkable, but they are doing some really nice stuff with wine/bourbon barrel-ageing right now.

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    - Black Swan
    . A little too far away to be considered 'local', but I've been impressed with almost everything I've tried from them thus far. Their porter and Wild Child Berliner Weisse are both excellent. Honourable mentions to Block Three and Innocente.

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    - Guess I'll go with Forked River's Hansel & Brettel. A very light, sessionable saison that has been soured in white wine barrels. Beautiful stuff; I really would have rather seen this in the LCBO over Mojo.

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    - Going purely by rating/grades (and excluding beers that I tried prior to 2015), Schneider Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock narrowly beats out Orval. I finally had a chance to try both of these beers last year and was blown away both times. I really hope that the LCBO continues to bring them in every year. Ditto for that Petrus Aged Pale!

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    -
    Refined Fool released a rosemary gose earlier in the year called You're Lazy, Susan. I wasn't expecting much, but found it to be highly enjoyable. Their Second Breakfast imperial stout was also quite nice.

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    - Royal City Brewing
    in Guelph. I'm not real big on any of their year-round beers, but they have put out some really interesting seasonals & one-offs over the past year. There was a kombucha/beer hybrid, an autumn ale brewed with sweet potato and squash, a hibiscus saison, and several soured ales - I only had the chance to try one of the latter beers, but it was surprisingly approachable.

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
    -
    Finally reached 1000 reviews. Seemed like an insurmountable number back in 2006, but the beer scene in this province has changed a lot since then - entirely for the better.

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    - Refined Fool
    . Considering that there are only like 2 breweries within 100 km of me, there aren't very many to watch. Refined Fool has managed to get a handful of their beers into TBS and LCBO outlets this year, and from a financial standpoint they seem to be doing quite well - they added an actual pub to their premises (instead of just a couple of stools around the cash register), and also expanded their brewing capacity. Most of their beers are at least serviceable, and they seem to release a new one almost every other week.

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
    - Wellington.
    I've never been a big proponent of their year-round stuff, but the brewery is expanding its capacity this year, and they have had a number of pretty good one-offs, too. St. John's Wort and their Farmhouse IPA immediately come to mind, amongst a few others. I've also got high hopes for Nickel Brook, Collective Arts, and Sawdust City for 2016.
     
  15. Yardsale

    Yardsale Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2015 Canada (SK)

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    A cut-throat battle between Rebellion, Nokomis, and Black Bridge is currently underway. So long as they keep outdoing each other, I'll be happy.

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    Central City and Driftwood.

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
    Nokomis Barrel Aged Imperial Stout and Rebellion Strawberry Tart or DIPA.

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    LTM- Porter Baltique Edition Speciale

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
    I would argue all the new SK brewers. They are all just over a year old and already destroying my wallet.

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    Blindman Brewing in Lacombe or Six Corners in Okotoks.

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
    Having my first BCBS and Heady. Doing a wicked Rebellion/Nokomis BBA Stout head to head. I also make other people try my beers before they crack the ol' Great West or Pil. Some have switched allegiance to the Brewers of Real Beer.

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
    Black Bridge for sure, also the sours at Rebellion has been steadily picking up steam.

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
    All of them, then decide.

    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER
    As much as I hate to say it, Paddock Wood has been pretty stagnant, though I hear thing are changing.

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
    A handful of Evil Twin brews.

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
    Whatever comes out of the foeder that Black Bridge installed this fall (Shamelessly stolen from markaberrant).
     
  16. Derek

    Derek Grand Pooh-Bah (3,107) Apr 2, 2005 Canada (BC)
    Pooh-Bah

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY - Four Winds - BC, though not exactly local

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER - Bellwood's

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER - Juxtapose

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER - La Buteuse

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY - BNA in Kelowna

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER - Bellwood's

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT - OkBrewers local homebrew club hit 80 members!

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH - Bad Tattoo


    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER - Innocente

    LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER - lots... and frequently from a barrel.

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER - same as above

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) - a scotch ale that I just brewed!

    I kept that all Canadian, but enjoyed a number of other brews as well. Fiftyfifty's Imperial stouts would be at the top of the list.
     
  17. pirate99gs

    pirate99gs Initiate (0) Nov 9, 2014 Canada (QC)

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY

    Auval: They've been a slam dunk from the beginning. I can't wait for them to up production numbers so they are more available.

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER

    Bellwoods: Here's to dreaming that one day they start making their beer available in LCBOs

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER

    Auval Arcane 17 or Super A

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER

    Sip of Sunshine or Trillium double dry hopped Fort Point

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY

    Mabrasserie: associated with Pub Brouehaha, they just started canning this fall. Their IPA and DIPA are delicious

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER

    Trillium: I passed by this summer while on vacation in Cape Cod, and the hype is more than justified.

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT

    Finally trying Cantillon

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH

    Le Castor: They are expanding their facilities in 2016. Their sour/wild ale program is great, and their experiments in their foudres could yield some crazy beer this year

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER

    Grimm Artisan Ales: if they ever decide to build their own facilities, look out.

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED

    For me, it the growing "beersnob/asshole" culture I'm beginning to see here in Quebec. I am growing tired of the beer trading crowd who treat beer like currency, chastize those who don't agree with their opinions and finally mule the crap out of limited releases just so they can have more "money" for trade.

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY)

    Looking forward to Alchemist's 2nd brewery to open this year, making Focal Banger more available. I must get more Trillium in my life!
     
  18. MCBanjoMike

    MCBanjoMike Initiate (0) Aug 7, 2014 Canada (QC)

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY

    I can't claim to have a favorite local brewery right now - there are lots of quality contenders, but nobody stands out to me. DDC, Pit Caribou, Dunham, Benelux, maybe now Isle de Garde...

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER

    Hill Farmstead - I finally found one or two of their beers that I love as much as everyone says I should. Not everything they do is transcendent (although it's all very good at least), but their best is really something else.

    FAVORITE LOCAL BEER

    By volume, Moralité. I haven't been able to find a solid DIPA that I can get consistently, though.

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER

    HF Society & Solitude #4 is my new coup de coeur. Only had it once, but I'll definitely track down more next summer to see if it holds up.

    NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY

    Mabrasserie/Isle de Garde - Two places I visited in the last week! Mabrasserie will be opening up a tap room with 48 lines and they are mere blocks from my house. And I was really wowed by Isle de Garde's double IPA (collab with l'Hermitage), so I'll definitely keep my eye on them in the future.

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER

    Got to try Four Winds when I was out west and I was quite impressed. I only had their IPA, but it was excellent.

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT

    Managed a big HF run during the summer, lucked into a full case of Heady Topper nearly by accident, got to try Westy XII, made major advances to the quality of my homebrew IPA.

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH

    Isle de Garde - They'll be selling cans down at MaBrasserie before long, and I fully intend to buy some as soon as possible.

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER

    Don't think I have anything good to suggest here.

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED

    Westy XII is a great beer, but Rochefort 10 is comparable and is 1000x easier to find. Overhyping in general is terrible for beers, it makes them expensive and/or impossible to find, and nothing could live up to the reputation that some of these beers have. There's usually a much more obtainable option that's 95% as good as the beer you have to wait 5 hours in line to get 1 day a year.

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY)

    I agree with whoever said Focal Banger, I hope that the 2nd brewery makes it possible to grab some in the future. I also have friends moving to Boston and central Mass, so I'm praying that 2016 will bring me some Trillium and Treehouse.
     
  19. pirate99gs

    pirate99gs Initiate (0) Nov 9, 2014 Canada (QC)

    I think you mean L'Hermite, and I couldn't agree with you more. I have yet to dislike a beer from L'Hermite, and I've heard thru sources that they'll be canning this year, which is super exciting if true
     
  20. rudge75

    rudge75 Crusader (422) Mar 12, 2003 Canada (MB)

    Just to clarify, this is Hoser's list of questions, so credit where credit is due!

    FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
    With 22 in the works for Manitoba, I'm looking forward to answering this one next year. The Manitoba Brewer's Association email list grows monthly and thankfully the changes we've made/continue to push for have made room for more open competition, not less.

    FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
    Jester King - having visited this year, it is all that AND a bag of chips.

    FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
    Lone Pine's Yellow Rose - holy moses this is an amazing beer. Thanks to BA member ChuckHell for hooking us up.

    NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
    Enjoyed a few meals at Nick's Sandwiches here in Winnipeg this year, picked up some brew supplies from a new shop called Grain to Glass here as well.

    NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
    Trip to Austin, TX for taproom research went very well. Thankfully, avoided the hipster BBQ joints and won a few rounds of spot the man bun against our hosts. Visited the home of Chicken Shit Bingo and drank an equally shitty Lone Star simply because "when in Rome". Enjoyed fresh Sour Wit at Adelbert's, drank Sweep The Leg in a brewery decorated with pallets, and met the nice folks at Zilker while enjoying a Honey Saison in their taproom.

    LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH

    Barn Hammer or Oxus Brewing Co.

    BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER

    Black Bridge Brewing, Swift Current, SK. Not just cause we did a collab beer this year, but they're genuinely nice folks who seem to have their heads screwed on straight when it comes to brewing tasty craft beer without pretentious bullshit.

    BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
    Oasis, TX Brewing Company. 10 samples, 9 drain pours, total waste of time aside from my shuffleboard win.
    Mikkeller anything.

    MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)

    Beer from the source at Unfiltered Brewing Company.
    Real beer from locals everywhere who put their money where their mouths are.
    My first beer in my own tap room.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.