Posts Tagged ‘beer’

Five excellent craft beers await at the Clock Tower

There are actually three Clock Tower Brew Pubs in Ottawa, however, I had the pleasure of drinking their fine selection of beers at the Bytown location on Clarence Street. This really is a great place to drink quality micro-brewery beer and eat really good food. They have five beers to choose from making the decision as to which one to try next extremely stressful!

All their beers are ‘cask conditioned’ giving them a ‘sparkle’ as opposed to a bubble (their words) and here’s how they describe each one: (more…)

Fullers London Pride Beer

What's your top 10 mass produced beers?

Even if you’re an avid craft beer drinker like me, at times you have to choose a ‘mass produced’ beer instead. Now depending on which country you’re from the list will be different but it would be really interesting to know what would make your top 10 list and see what beers have the most universal appeal.

I live in Western Canada so here’s my list (this took me a while to figure out!):

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A fine craft lager from Whistler Brewing Company

I have been trying a ‘character pack’ from a micro-brewery based in Whistler, British Columbia where the next winter Olympics will be held in February 2010.

The Whistler Brewing Company’s case of 12 beers includes three of each of the following beers:

  • Black Tusk Ale
  • Classic Pale Ale
  • Altitude Honey Lager
  • Premium Export Lager
  • Surprisingly, it was their Premium Export Lager that stood out for me . I’m usually disappointed by most breweries lagers but this is a very good beer. The beer is aged for up to 6 weeks and, as the Brewmaster’s notes point out on the Whistler Brewery web site, it has a crisp, clean taste that’s slightly sweet with a full creamy body.The recipe is apparently unique as it includes two specialty malts and a unique yeast strain.

    If that sounds good, you’d be right. In fact all the beers are of a good quality and are well worth a try

    A nice discovery and certainly worthy a gold medal in my book.

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    On a recent business trip I was very fortunate to find myself in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island (PEI), the extreme east coast of Canada. Always on the lookout for great local beers I discovered that there was only one brewery on PEI, The Gahan House Pub & Brewery.

    Located on Sydney Street, ‘Gahan House’ is in the older part of Charlottetown and was built in 1880 by a prominent merchant John Gahan. It’s a very special building that later in its life became home to the ‘Sisters of the Precious Blood’ before becoming a pub/brewery. As soon as I saw the 19th century building I knew things were going to be good, maybe even a religious experience? I mean how could anyone brew bad beer in such a great place? The good news is they don’t, the beer is excellent.
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    On a recent business trip to Denver, Colorado I was fortune enough to literally stumble upon a wonderful old pub called the ‘The Blake Street Vault’ and discover one of Colorado’s finest beers.

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    The Blake Street Vault Denver

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    I had the pleasure of going to a Seattle Sounders soccer match a few weeks ago to see them play the Columbus Crew at Qwest Field. As a Liverpool FC supporter I was curious to see what the standard of football was like in the MLS as well see how U.S. soccer fans supported their team.

    qwest_field

    Qwest Field - home of the Seattle Sounders

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    It’s a fact. Whichever airline you fly they serve low quality, mass produced, beers like Coors, Heineken, Miller et al. It’s painful, especially when you’re on a long flight. But there is at least one airline that has embraced it’s roots and proudly serves a local craft beer and in a beer bottle too! I congratulate them wholeheartedly!

    Alaskan Amber

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    One of things I love about craft beer is their unique and often tongue in cheek names. Dead Frog Brewery has certainly embraced this concept wholeheartedly and as a result is both one of my favorite brewery names and beers.

    A fresh pint of Dead Frog Pale Ale

    A fresh pint of Dead Frog Pale Ale


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    I had the good fortune to try a new beer at weekend which is brewed by ‘The Red Truck Beer Company’ based in Vancouver, BC. Why Red Truck? Because it’s delivered locally in a 1946 Red Dodge Powerwagon truck. A literal, yet simple, name for a simply first class beer.

    red-truck-ale-image (more…)

    It’s an indisputable fact – the majority of beer in Las Vegas is downright awful. It seems every hotel or bar you go to sells nothing but dreadful ‘beer ‘(I use the term reluctantly) like Bud Light & Michelob in bright metal beer bottles no-less. At least the packaging looks bright. I honestly would rather not drink at all if this was my only choice. (more…)