Electros needs a break from trying to keep the forum alive. Let's use his paddles to revive things the old school way: Fill in the blanks for the Canada Forum's annual beer in review! 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!)
Here we go... FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY This is easy, Trailway. It's two minutes from my door and always has something solid waiting. FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER Canada: I drank a ton of Driftwood, I liked it. US: didn't have a lot last year, but Eclipse and Epic made an impact. World: gotta tip my hat to the reliable Chimay. FAVORITE LOCAL BEER Gotta go with Hu Jon Hops. FAVORITE BEER - OTHER I had a Chimay Barrique last year that was phenomenal, so much so that I bought a bunch more. NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY Localish. Bogside Brewing on PEI gave me a pleasant surprise. Their Shucker's Select WC IPA was a real treat. NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER The world was smaller this year, so it's tough. I think it was a rediscovery of sorts for me. I spent the summer traveling around the Maritimes enjoying the local beer and community. It's nice to be home. NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT Sort of weird, but it was reducing my intake and being selective about what I tried. LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH This is a tough one for me. Most of the places in Fredericton are pretty well established. I'll go one province over and say Lone Oak in Borden PEI. BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER Dunno LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER Moth Lane (PEI). Very popular on the Island, but their barrel aged beers are intolerable. $30 for a sour metallic stout with no noticeable barrel. BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER I'm going to leave this one wide open: too many Ontario craft beers don't meet the hype. Brewers that blew me away in the past, turned around and made me sad last year. MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) Anything from Outside of Canada, preferably on site. Maine is a short jaunt away, Portland is awesome. We had a trip to Europe planned, so kind of hoping that will work.
FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY- Easy one for me.....Hell's Basement.....stop there twice a week for a pint or two! FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER- Two come to mind....enjoyed plenty of exciting flavorful beers from Belching Beaver and Rochester Mills! FAVORITE LOCAL BEER- Gotta go with Barrel Aged Let Willie be Willie, but Deep Roots and Ryes Against the Machine are close seconds. FAVORITE BEER - OTHER- Probably Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Milk Stout NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY- For me, it was my favorite local beer of this past year, the Barrel Aged Let Willie be Willie NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER- Participated in the Fall beer trading program with fellow Canadians this year....I have and still am enjoying a slew of new, previously unknown to me, Ontario made beers! NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT- Nothing too interesting....passed my 800th full review here on the site LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH- Theres only 3 in town here where I live, but Travois puts out some outstanding brews! BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER- Coulee Brew in Lethbridge is a great brewpub....their Nut Brown Ale is amazing! LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER- Hell's Basement Glitter Boots & Guitar Roots Ginger Lime Ale.....this is more like a summer tequila mixer than a beer...sorry but it's not good! BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER- I didn't have a lot of bad beer this past year, but.....Loose Lips Vienna Lager from Longslice Brewery.....this is not a Vienna style lager imo and is only so according to the label....buy and enjoy it if you like an expensive version of a macro! MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)- Still wanting to try Pliny the Elder
FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY City based - Clifford - That might be a bit of time bias as they tend to release their barrel aged stuff around this time of year (now a Tennessee Whiskey and a Jamaican Rum aged series) but even though I don't get out there enough, Clifford remains a consistently great brewer that hasn't fallen victim to IPA or Sour of the month club. Regionally it's Wellington - They never abandoned their solid core lineup and they are brewing stuff like the UVB 76 series and rebrewing great offerings that were one offs. Love these guys. FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER Sawdust City - A lot of people have long spoken well of them, and it's taken me a while to get into some of their stuff, but as of late a lot more of their stuff has started to appeal to me. FAVORITE LOCAL BEER City based - I suppose Clifford Porter. It's just all around solid, that they age it, that they've made an imperial version, that they seem to do a lot with it pleases me greatly. That said, I generally don't go back to this well too often. Too much out there to try. Regionally - Wellington Arkell - Always look forward to my trip up to Sauble and stopping in at least once to pick up 12, since the pandemic but a halt to Growlers. FAVORITE BEER - OTHER This Year was Sawdust City's The Revenge of Cthulhu, which I sincerely hope gets brewed again. That said, all time remained Unibroue's La Fin du Monde. I have doubts anyone will ever unseat this champion for me. NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY I haven't done one of these is a while, but Mosaic Beer Bar on Barton Street is a nice place to try some local beer. The area is a bit rough, but having met one of the owners due to my following of Forge FC soccer and the Voyageurs I really wish I saw more bars like this one. Love that they have Jamaican Patties and that next door is Dawson's Hot Sauce who are great proprietors of flavor boosting spiciness NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER Breweries in North Bay/Sudbury. I had the chance to go up to North Ontario to catch a Bulldogs game and was impressed that both cities now boast at least two breweries each, plus a distillery. Gateway City seems pretty awesome, yet to really delve too much into the rest though. NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT I got up to 998 beers at the end of this year, so I'm about to tick over to 1,000 different beers had, documented. LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH Fairweather Brewing - This brewery is very close to another Hamilton brewery called Grain and Grit. The former I felt brewed a bit pretentiously (always some hoity toity gimmick in the beer. Like Guajillo Chilis, or Chinese Pu'erh tea or Aged over Italian Hazelnuts) or that Belgian drink like a wine kind of vibe to it. Always your high class, high price affairs. They still do that, and sure some of good some are cases of not knowing when to stop, but every so often they make something simple and amazing. Something like Sweet Dreams or Donna Pilsner, something like a sour that's actually restrained. I would now place them as ahead of Grain and Grit, who has fallen into the trap for everything is Fruited at times it seems, and (perhaps by choice) never has a core lineup or go to. BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER Sawdust City - You probably already do, but if you don't, the sheer volume of stuff they brew at the level of quality they offer I think makes them Ontario's best answer to Dieu du Ciel! LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER Merit Brewing - I guess this is a bit unfair, as a Brew Pub they aren't quite in the same boat as other breweries and are probably having the roughest go as a result of the Pandemic. That said, they haven't produced anything I really liked in a while. I wish they would bring back South of Nowhere, I wish they'd stop with all the Wine Aged beers, I wish I'd never open that bottle of "Waves: Strawberry, Watermelon, Vanilla" that came across more as a terrible Wine Cooler then a beer. I just want them to brew something that appeals to me that I can get excited about. BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER Any and all Wine Aged beers, every single one of them. They all present the same issue. Why the heck would I drink this, when I could just drink wine. I don't know what it is about Wine barreling, but it overpowers the beer. Even Nickel Brook, a brewery I hold in high regard, made an Imperial Stout aged in a Wine Barrel, and again the Wine took over. I can only presume they are doing it because some winery gave them the barrels for cheap, and it sounds good to age beer in something else besides Bourbon (to which Innis & Gunn seems to have stopped doing, much to my dismay) but Wine is not it. Try Rum guys, try Cherrywood, try Canadian Whisky, just stay away from Wine. MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) Beer 1,000 is going to be a bottle of Fairweather Wishing Well 2019 (Fairweather's yearly Kitchen Sink Stout as I like to call it, where every year is something different). Something from before the world went mad due to COVID. Just waiting for the right moment to crack it open, and it will be soon.
Contrary to popular belief, the West Coast of Canada does indeed exist: FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY Walkable = Brassneck. Bikeable = Superflux and Dageraad. If I have to hop in the car well I haven't really done that much locally tbh. But Twin Sails is a frequent purchase. FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER Canada - Kilter US - Floodland. Honorable mentions to Holy Mountain and Fremont. FAVORITE LOCAL BEER Based on volume, likely Superflux IPAs or Slow Hand Pils/Helles/Etc FAVORITE BEER - OTHER Floodland Hopped Saisons. Dear god. NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY A pleasant side effect of the pandemic has been all the crappy liquor stores actually starting to carry decent local breweries NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER Annual trip to Winnipeg revealed they still drink far too many poorly brewed German beers, but the hoppy stuff is getting so much better! NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT Cancelled numerous beer events again, thanks Covid! LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH Temporal, but maybe not for the sours BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER Nebuleus. I'm not telling you about it. LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER In general the whole scene has had to rely on what sells - BUT - I feel like there are far far too many crappy kettle sours still, smoothy milkshake fruitloop garbage, and a lack of attention to detail on barrel aging or blending. Of COURSE that Imperial Stout was intended to have Brett what are you talking about. BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER Not being able to pickup beers orders in the US all year. MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) Hosting a festival!
FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY Third Moon Brewing (Milton, ON) - Their stouts and hazy IPA's our out of this world. Haven't had their sours, but they are top rated. They don't do much else, but I have yet to have a bad beer by them. Their coffee stouts blow out Bellwoods. FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER Unfilterd Brewing (NS) & Driftwood (BC) have to be up there for me. Received a number of their beers during CANBIF and man they are amazing. FAVORITE LOCAL BEER I would have to say based off have how much I purchased, Flying Monkeys Chocolate Manifesto is up there for me. I don't typically buy multiple's of beers as there is so much to try, but this is one that I would go back to time and time again if I need someone I know I'll enjoy. FAVORITE BEER - OTHER Not really "favourite", but a new one that I really enjoyed and purchased a lot of was Rogue's Dead n Dead. An oakaged maibock (?) ... was so well done, not to overpowering or oaky. NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY I believe this was the year I discovered Third Moon Brewing. NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER Canvas brewing out in Hunstville is a nice place. They don't produce enough to leave the cottage country area, but they have a strong line up. NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT Started a beer cellar, but now I need to do more research to ensure they don't spoil through the winter or summer. LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH a very local brewy Red Tap on the east end of Toronto recently opened up and they have a 'bespoke' service where you give them an idea and they will make a beer for you, for an event. Their spot is nice, always brewing new beers. I can see them taking off in their location as that area needs a brewery like that. BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER N/A LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER IMO, Collective Arts have been overall a disappointment. On other online communities, they are highly praised and it took me a long while to finally determine that I don't like anything they brew. BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER To me, the hazy IPA style is overhyped & I'm sick of it. I need a malty and/or hoppy IPA. MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) Still looking to try out the Peche Mortel variants!
FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY Going to go with 2 crows, their solid lager program, and their support of homebrewers puts them over the top. FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER Godspeed made my favourite beer this year, Polotmavý Ležák 11°. So they get it. Even if this beer hadn't come out the rest of their czech lager program would've put them on top. Honourable mentions: Barncat, still is making the best big stouts around. Les Grands Bois, phenomenal lager program. Dageraad, everything these folk make is solid and feels like a thing they have always made. No brewery feels more actualized than Dageraad (with the noted exception of Godspeed). Everything from the tasting room décor to, the merch to the labels to the beer feels fully thought out. FAVORITE LOCAL BEER There have been a few this year. No one beer stands above all. North Sparrow, 2 Crows Dos Cuervos, Unfiltered Exile on North, 2 Crows Letna, Tatamagouche Darling (on cask) have all been in regular rotation. FAVORITE BEER - OTHER Godspeed's Polotmavý Ležák 11°. An amber czech lager not too far off a munich dunkel. Truly crushable and a beer worthy of contemplation. NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY Tusket Fall's opened a new spot in north end Halifax. A great space with good food and fun beer. Looking forward to spending more time here. NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER Finding a number of bottleshops across the country that ship to the Maritimes. Always on the lookout for more, let me know if you know of one. NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT Finally dialing in my best bitter recipe, brewing my first lager (a vienna), bottling a number of mixed ferm tablebeer that I have been very happy with. Brewing a delicious Thomas Hardy clone with my friend's nano brewery. LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH Tusket Falls. BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER I haven't travelled out of province in 2021. I have been hearing good things about Studio brewing in Burnaby, looking forward to checking them out in March. LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER Breweries still selling clear mistakes as finished product. Hazy breweries that completely avoid boil hops, did you know the best hazy beer in New England is bitter? Most of the classic NEIPA are actually bitter. A little bitterness will aid in the drinkability of your beer. True story. BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER Many popular beer styles seems to be brewed for people who don't actually like beer. Pastry stouts that just taste like wort and cookies. Smoothie sours that are basically just unfermented juice. MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) I dunno, decoction brewing? Writing the BJCP cider exam? Leaving this province for a little bit?
So much this. I'm tired of brewers making hazy everything that tastes like juice. Adding crap to beer to create the hazy look. I'll admit to preferring West Coast IPAs over haze, but come on...most places are cranking it out to make money, not good beer.
FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY Chronicle Brewing Company, Bowmanville, Ontario. FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER Third Moon Brewing Company, Milton, Ontario. Honourable mention; New Ritual, Oshawa, Ontario. FAVORITE LOCAL BEER Anthem Pale Ale, New Ritual Brewing Company. FAVORITE BEER - OTHER Une Boulette De Viande Epicee, Third Moon Brewing Company. NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY Ganaraska Brewing Company, Port Hope, Ontario. NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER New Indian Brewing Company, small start up not in full production with on a lager and British style IPA. I was shocked at how good they were. NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT All breweries that supported, A very CANBIF Christmas, mystery beer box for charity! LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH Absolutely New Ritual Brewing Company. BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER Little Beasts Brewery, Whitby, Ontario. LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER Brock Street Brewing, Whitby, Ontario. BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER --- MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) More offeringa from Wood Brothers Brewing Company, and Badlands Brewing Company. Only tried a few from each and they were money! Great idea @rudge75 Sorry for the late reply.
FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY Driftwood , Hoyne FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER House of Funk , Four Winds FAVORITE LOCAL BEER Fat Tug IPA , Raised by Wolves IPA , Dark Matter FAVORITE BEER - OTHER Juxtapose IPA , DBL Jux NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY Herald St. - Herald Street Brew Works , Ile Sauvage - îLE SAUVAGE BREWING (ilesauvage.com) , Whistle Buoy - Craft Beer in Market Square, Victoria BC | Whistle Buoy Brewing Co. – whistlebuoybrewing NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER Howl Brewing - Howl Brewing , North Saanich Beacon Brewing - Home - Beacon Brewing , Sidney NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT 54 of Canada's Top 100 (2021) 102 Styles tried 739 Beers added LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH Driftwood's new location Driftwood Brewery Opens New Location in Esquimalt, BC – Canadian Beer News BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER ? LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER Bones Brewing BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER New England IPA MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) Victoria BEER Week returns Victoria Beer Week Returning in 2022 – Canadian Beer News
FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY Godspeed, Bellwoods, The Granite FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER Bas Canada, 5e Baron, Silo, Live Oak FAVORITE LOCAL BEER Godspeed Sklepník ve Drevê Godspeed Kaede FAVORITE BEER - OTHER Anchorage ADWTD DO vanilla. Just a phenomenal Barleywine. NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY New Ritual. Something good made in Oshawa!? Who would have thunk? NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER Private Press. NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT I think I became a Poo-Bah in ‘21. LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH Godspeed keeps getting better and better and I look forward to everything the release. BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER Still Fields. I’ve yet to have anything yet, but it all looks top notch. Volo’s brewed beers. Again, I haven’t had any yet, but they sound great. Silo. Amazing lagers. LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED BEER I’m always astonished when I see praise for Flying Monkeys. With the exception of Invictus. There isn’t a beer from FM I’d ever want to drink twice. MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) I’d still really like to try Braumeister. I’m always on the lookout for great lager makers.
I’m lucky to live a 10 minute walk from the one in Toronto. The back patio/courtyard is the newest palace to enjoy a beer in the Province. Always having 2-4 beers in cask is a huge plus for me!
Tmappin said: I miss Granite Halifax. There were few things as honest and good as cask best bitter special. I love cask ales, especially bitters, but they are few and far between these days. I think the last time I had a cask conditioned beer was in Ireland 5 years ago. Here at home, it's closer to 10 years. Dammit, now I want a cask beer.
Cask is sublime when well cared for. Luckily here, besides The Granite, Bar Hop always has something in cask. Not that I’ve gone to either in a good while. The Granite has been offering cask in a box to go. I haven’t tried it yet, but a couple people who have said it was good.
Come to Halifax, The Freehouse pub usually has 6 casks on at any given time. Stillwell beerbar often has at least one on, and The Henry House has three engines that are usually full. Cask beer is alive and well in NS.
