Posts Tagged: Styles
Why Do Names For This New Beer Style Kinda Suck?
Posted by on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 in - 11 comments
Forget the question of whether styles are real and essential. Forget the question of whether beer styles have been accurately described and traced historically. The real issue is that the names of beer styles are a mess and cause consumer confusion. Andy raises the question of the name of one … read more »
Ontario: Dark Ale, Muskoka Cottage Brewery, Bracebridge
Posted by on Friday, June 25, 2010 in - leave a comment
Just learned that my camera died. Also just learned what a crappy camera I bought my kid last birthday. No focus. No warm tones. The corner of the cold room looks like the corner of a cold room. Sad. • Today for Ontario craft beer week, I went out to the LCBO and bought a few cans of beers that … read more »
Ontario: Stock Ale, Mill Street Brewery, Toronto
Posted by on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 in - leave a comment
Where was I? The 1830s and 40s? About there. Local breweries popping up as settlers move west, filling up southern Ontario right up to the Lake Huron coast. Familar names start popping up. In 1835, James Morton is operating out of the old Molson brewery on the Kingston waterfront. John Sleeman …
More Thoughts On That Pesky Albany Ale Question
Posted by on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 in - 11 comments
I have been thinking more about this pre-1850 invention called "Albany ale" and I am a bit surprised to find so many references to it of one sort and so few references of another. The stuff was made in volume, transported and traded over great distances but now seemingly forgotten to memory. As we …
Star Island Single, Smuttynose Brewing, New Hampshire
Posted by on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 in - leave a comment
Smuttynose calls this an eminently sessionable, abbey-style ale. Which may make it Belgianesque, I suppose. The colour of aged pine with white froth and rim. The aroma is more grainy than spiced which makes me worry a bit about FBS - false Belgian syndrome. There is, however, comfort in the …
Extreme... X-Treme... X-Tre-m... XTRM... ?
Posted by on Sunday, March 29, 2009 in - 2 comments
Hub-bub. That is what is going on. There is hub-bub afoot these days about "extreme" beer. Here is what I know, though things may be changing on the fly, minute-by-minute as it were: • The Independent in England goes all yikes over BrewDog and other new strong beers even categorizing their …
Being A Beer Hound Without Any Sense Of Style
Posted by on Sunday, March 15, 2009 in - 7 comments
When I was a lad and knew a thing or two about hoofing a ball, we would arse around by playing "soccer without style" - playing the game without any of the conventions which quickly collapsed into just arsing around. I think I do the much the same thing when I think about beer as I am not really …
[Insert Beer] Wins [Insert Beer] Style Award
Posted by on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 in - 5 comments
I have no real complaint over the 12,474,832 awards that are handed out for beers every year. I have never paid any attention to these things when making beer selection decisions - though, to be fair, when a label mentions a claim to one of them I think of it as red flag worthy of further …
Craft Or Kraphtt: Sam Adams Scotch Ale, Boston Beer, MA, USA
Posted by on Monday, December 10, 2007 in - 3 comments
Stan was rightly giving me grief the other day or at least a lesson in life when I spoke of the Sam Adams line of beers. I didn't mean to be mean and I am a delicate flower in the face of such dressings down - but, as you all know, I am working with what I am thinking about beer pricing and value …
Josh Examines Pumpkin Ales Just In Time For Thanksgiving
Posted by on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 in - leave a comment
“"Let the Pompion be beaten in a Trough and pressed as Apples" - An anonymous recipe for pumpkin ale appeared in the papers of the American Philosophical Society in February, 1771¹” • Pumpkin Ale is a much maligned form of beer, but I doubt that any Belgian would deny it beerhood. My wife and I …
