beernesday

Coast to Coastless Collaboration Beer June 25th, 2015: This Canada Day Canadians in every province will have the opportunity to celebrate with a very special beer.  It's  called the Coast to Coastless Imperial ESB, and it's a collaborative effort from four Canadian brewers to celebrate the spread of the craft beer movement from coast to coast--and all of the provinces in between. Garrison Brewing Co. (NS), Microbrasserie Le Trou du Diable (QC), Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery (ON) and Phillips Brewing Co. (BC) all participated in the 'quad-laboration', coming together to craft a recipe designed to reflect Canada itself.  It is an Extra Special Bitter, a style with roots that trace back to England, but as an amped up imperial version it has a strong spirit that is purely Canadian.  A hefty body, full of biscuity and caramel malts is edged with earthy tea-like hop character. It is robust enough to pay tribute to the size of our country with the creative...

managed to make it out to the railway club for the cask again last night central city's oaked esb which for the most part i really enjoyed but there was an odd flavour that came out as it warmed up not unpleasant per se, but definitely odd anyway, the camra cask meet ups seem to be going well some of the usual suspects were there and a couple of unusual suspects joined in too i hope it continues, it is nice to socialize with other beer geeks at a relaxed drop in event and the railway club has a new menu not a whole lot of veggie options (and a couple of spelling errors/typos - yes, i am THAT guy) but people were saying they liked what they tried last night (which were the thai coconut rice bowl and the flank "stake" tacos)  

the next elysian beer of the apocalypse: driftwood's naughty hildegard:

can i just tell you what a lucky gal i am? i went to not one but two christmas keggers on saturday! i love being a beer geek and knowing other beer geeks! the first party featured r&b's esb the second storm's scottish ale bliss!

i had never been to the main before but a friend was performing there so i dutifully traipsed on over and checked out their beer list and i was not disappointed its not bad! there's something for everyone: i'm not gonna lie to you we had pitchers of the red racer esb what a tasty way to spend an evening!

deliciousness abounded at the railway club last night! holy crap, did i ever enjoy the central city sartori dry-hopped esb cask beer i must have had four pints of that ambrosia before i stumbled my way to the alibi room for more casky hoppy goodness... that ambrosia must have been a good 9%... bitter, full of flavour with hop particles suspended in the glass, sparkling in the light making the beer look as good as it tasted everyone went back for more (but probably not quite as much as we did...) see how it sparkles in the glass hoppy hallowe'en

and for my next trick, drinking a six pack of Propeller 's ESB! okay, not all in one go... not all today... not that i couldn't do it - don't you doubt my abilities!  i just don't NEED to drink it all today, okay? pours with an incredible head, lovely coppery brown colour, some hop aroma. a good canadian beer, this one is brewed by the John Allen Brewing Company in nova scotia.  5% and preservative free. they say:  "Brewed with carefully selected malts and hops, this copper coloured, English-style ale is our best seller.  Smooth, full-bodied, and non-pasteurized, like all our beers.  Drink fresh." i find it delicious, but a bit on the subtle side.  i think i'm getting far too used to the big, brash, hoppy ipas and esbs that i've been drinking.  this one almost falls flat in comparison.  but, if i spend a little time with it (thank dog for that six pack), i can see its allure.  and i'm getting assimilated.  tasty stuff, my frien...

Driftwood Brewery 's Naughty Hildegard is an extra special bitter.  as such it has a more than healthy dose of hops and therefore fits very nicely into my hops obsession. immense head on the pour, with a lovely hoppy aroma, nicely balanced with the malt.  fabulously naughty label featuring a radiant nun in fishnets and red heels!  but wait, who is this naughty hildegard?  why does she deserve such a fabulously hoppy beer named after her? the bottle says:  "Brewed to honour Hildegard Von Bingen, a 12th century Benedictine nun who allegedly was the first to record the use of hops as an ingredient in beer.  While this is open to debate, we like Hildegard's style and we can't imagine beer without hops.  This Extra Special Bitter has lots of hops - Hildegard would be proud.  We are!  Cheers Hildy! weighing in at 650 ml of 6.5%, this lives up to both its naughty moniker, and the "strong beer" claim on the label.  craft brewed in lovel...