Reviews

Barking Squirrel

Tyler — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:22:22 +0000

Ok the Blog on Barking Squirrel was long and this will have none of the atmosphere and random ramblings I went on.

The beer

The beer is a craft beer that is meant to be a craft beer without all the glitz and glamour. Barking Squirrel Lager is brewed by The Hop City brewery it has a darkish orangy colour with a hoppy taste and a fruity finish it is a %5 lager that is again only available at pubs and restaurants. Hop City is also coming out with another beer I here soon called lawn chair “Classic” Weisse so I look forward to trying it. A link to their location finder is also going to be posted on the bottom of this review.

Country: Canada

Type: Lager

Alcohol: %5.0

Rating: 9/10

http://www.hopcity.com/find-our-beer/

Cheers

Tyler

Barside Beer Reviews

Kichesippi

Tyler — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:14:25 +0000

So I’am running a trend this month it would seem 2 beers in the last 2 weeks that are only available in pubs and bars and 2 local breweries that are just starting out. Kichesippi is a family owned brewery in Ottawa, Ontario, that was founded last year. I was at a friend’s birthday dinner at Johnny Farinas on Elgin St. Another friend who works there knows about the website and asked the bartender to get me something that he would recommend or would like to see on the site. He handed me a Kichesippi. Well the waitress handed it to me but I’am fairly certain that he was involved in the handling process. It’s a %4.9 IPA (this is from memory of the menu) It has a dark colour and a clean crisp taste. With a very nice bitter finish like a proper IPA, it went very well with the Lasagna that I had and it was a great addition to the evening. I would definitely try it out now it’s only available in the Ottawa Area. A link to there location finder is going to be posted at the end of the review. The name Kichesippi is what the Ottawa River was originally called by the first nations. It seems a fitting name for a brewery that seems dedicated to the Ottawa beer drinking community.

Country: Canada

Type: India Pale Ale

Alcohol: %4.9

Rating: 9/10

http://www.kbeer.ca/where.html

Heritage Premium Lager

Tyler — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:53:49 +0000

Now I picked this up 2 minutes before closing at my local LCBO I've had the dark ale from this brewer but haven't tried the lager. Heritage Brewing Limited is a relatively new craft brewer from Ottawa, Ontario and so far I've only seen 2 beers come out of there brewery. From their facebook page they also are either affiliated with the Scotch Irish Brewery out of Carleton Place or the companies are social friends since they are both pretty small at the moment. I wasn't able to find any history on this brewer other than they came to Ottawa in 2007 I think there's a Ottawa Citizen article in Google but its a dead link. Ok the beer Its a %4.5 lager with a refreshing taste a little bitter with a hoppy finish. It has a light golden almost coppery colour and a bit of a fruity aroma. It went very well with steak and baked potato. I would definitely give it a try and if your in the Ottawa area help support a local brewery.

Country: Canada

Type: Lager

Alcohol: %4.5

Rating: 8/10

Cheers

Tyler

Barside Beer Reviews

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Tyler — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 02:02:08 +0000

Samuel Adams Boston Lager is a %4.8 Lager and probably one of the most famous brands in the world. If you remember Pawtucket Patriot from Family Guy this is the beer that spawned the parody in brand names. It has a very distinct flavour quite hoppy with a bitter taste and aftertaste. Named after Samuel Adams one of The United States more famous fore- fathers, first started brewing in Boston in 1984. Now most of the production is produced in their Cincinnati brewery. I personally didn’t like this beer I found it quite harsh tasting and I like bitter but this was a bad combination of Hoppy, Bitter and Yeasty.

Country: United States of America

Type: Lager
Alcohol: %4.8

Rating: 4/10

Cheers

Tyler

Barside Beer Reviews

Rickard's White Ale

Tyler — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:25:38 +0000

So after a bit of a hiatus the reviews are coming back.

Rickard’s White Ale is a %5.4 unfiltered wheat ale with some serious hints of citrus. It has a clean crisp taste with little or no aftertaste to it. It has a bit of a sweet fruityness to is that is pretty nice. It goes very well with seafood and it is supposed to be a good replacement for wine to complement a meal. Overall it’s a pretty good beer and I would definitely give it a try.

Country: Canada

Type: Ale

Alcohol: %5.4

Rating: 7/10

Cheers

Tyler

Barside Beer Reviews

Piton Beer Of St. Lucia

Tyler — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:35:03 +0000

Well my grandparents just came back from St. Lucia and brought me a 6 pack of the local beer there named after the Piton Mountains in the Caribbean. Piton is brewed by the Windward and Leeward Brewery in St. Lucia. My grandparents said that the only 2 beers on the island available were Heineken and Piton. After a little digging I found that the Windward and Leeward Brewery was founded by Heineken in 1974 and started brewing in 1975. Piton Beer is a %5.0 pilsner lager with a very crisp and refreshing taste. With a bit of a flowery hoppy aroma, I had a bit of a citrus taste to it but that just could be me. Now unfortunately this is not available in Canada or the US but if you are ever in the Caribbean this is a must have must try.

Country: St. Lucia

Type: Lager

Alcohol: %5.0

Rating: 9/10

Cheers

Tyler

Barside Beer Reviews

Sol Beer

Tyler — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:46:17 +0000

Ok been putting trying this beer off since the freezer incident I have always liked Sol but in the “The things that make you go hmmm” Blog I had hit a wall with Sol basically it was a wall of fear. Sol was originally available in the 1890’s in Mexico, brewed by Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery when it comes to the podcast I am so gonna butcher that name. Anyway they produce beers such as Dos Equis and Tecate founded in 1890 by Jose Muguerza in Monterrey. During the Mexican revolution the breweries family backed the wrong horse and ended up fleeing to Texas. Which has to this day been a strong tradition in the Mexican culture, I’am so getting a bunch of angry emails on that one. They eventually got the brewery through Russian and American diplomatic intervention. On January 11, 2010 Heineken announced that they will be acquiring the parent companies that own Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery.

Ok the beer

It’s a %4.5 lager like Corona it really goes well with a lime and TexMex food. Its very smooth and has a nice clean and crisp taste with a hint of citrus in it. It has a pale golden colour with a pleasant aroma. I would definitely try it out. I got another 6-pack and again tried to freeze a bottle in someone else’s freezer and again no ice the bottle had a wack of frost on the outside but the contents didn’t freeze. If you can past this it’s a very good beer and I will continue drinking it this summer. I am told there will be a Sol Lime out next year so there is definitely going to be a comparison between Sol with a lime and Sol lime when it comes out this summer.

Country: Mexico

Type: Lager

Alcohol: %4.5

Rating: 7/10

Cheers

Tyler

Barside Beer Reviews

Tuborg Gold

Tyler — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:20:08 +0000

Ok heres a request that I’ve gotten and a story so first the story from Jim of Ottawa

The Story

1985, my wife and friends Dave and Joyce are travelling the countryside in Portugal when we come across this beautiful cobble-stoned town, famous for shoes.

Only interested in beer, Dave and I send the girls on their way with coin, a kiss and a promise to remain put at this very old outdoor cafe. Dave says "Don't forget us', HUH, I got the keys.

What can I serve you, the owner said In broken, but understandable English.

Two beers, what type? SURPRISE us, I will return in a moment gentlemen. Gentlemen!! (if he only knew)

TUBORG GOLD, remember that name. 11/2 hours later, 4 BORG'S each and still no sign of the girls. OH, oh, here they come bags in hand, quick order a couple of travelers (after all neither one of us can drive in this condition).

One of the smoothist and most distinctive tastes I can ever recall. The Beer Store does carry a couple of varieties and I do recommend picking up a 6 pack or two.

Ok so here is a little on the history of the brewery and beer.

Tuborg Brewery was founded in 1873 by Carl Tietgen originally it was producing a pale lager. In 1894 it was then merged with United Breweries, which had a profit sharing agreement with Carlsberg at 1903. Carlsberg bought United Breweries in 1970.

The Beer

The beer itself is a %5.5 lager and has a nice pale golden colour to it, with a bit of a hoppy taste. It has a little bit of a bitter aftertaste but that’s common in many Danish beers and it is a good thing. Very smooth with a pleasant aroma, I agree with Jim that you should go and get at least one 6 pack. I tried this with a nice T-bone steak and baked potato I also used a little bit of it to marinate the steak. It did very well in this regard but I wouldn’t relegate it to marinating duty since it is a very fine beer for drinking indeed. I have yet to taste a bad Danish beer. Tuborg Gold definitely gets high marks.

I appreciate the story Jim and I hope to see more from people you never know it might get put up on the website or read during the podcast.

The Rating

Country: Denmark

Type: Lager

Alcohol: %5.5

Rating: 9/10

Cheers

Tyler

Barside Beer Reviews

Bavaria of Holland Light

Tyler — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:48:26 +0000

Ok this is going to be short since I’ve done the history of the brewery already for this company. Bavaria Light is a %4.0 lager that is smooth, crisp tasting and refreshing. Being a light beer it is a little watery but not overly such. Basically like Bavaria regular its cheap it comes in Tall Boys and its everywhere and it will get you there. That’s basically it unfortunately. This will also be the podcast beer this week since I don’t have anything else in the apartment at this time and I used the Maclay’s for the rabbie burns day podcast on Monday.

Country: Holland

Type: Lager

Alcohol: %4.0

Rating: 6/10

Cheers

Tyler

Barside Beer Reviews

Maclays

Tyler — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:24:30 +0000

So I mistakenly called this a lager during the podcast I did put an correction in the podcast since I caught it during editing. So please stop emailing. I’am also aware that this beer is brewed under license in Canada by Sleeman’s and you are correct but the LCBO has the imported Maclay’s brewed under license by Belhaven Brewery which is in Scotland and currently owned by Greene King. Ok the history of the Brewery is gonna be short this week. In 1830 James Maclay founded James Maclay, Ale, Porter, Table and India Beer Brewer of Alloa after passing away in 1875 his two sons took over then sold the company in 1896 to a family grocer chain in 1994 the company stopped brewing its own beers and licensed out the beers to be brewed by Belhaven Breweries in Scotland and by Sleeman Breweries in Canada. The Original brewer in Alloa has been demolished and a has been replaced by a strip mall and some flats. That’s it that’s all I could find.

Maclay’s is a %5.0 India Pale Ale and has a really clean and crisp taste. There are lots of brewers that go for a unique taste that appeals to people since its good and unique. Maclay’s seemed to have focused on straight up smoothness and refreshing. This beer is one of the smoothest I’ve ever had. There’s no after taste theres no bitterness or harshness to it. It’s simply a smooth refreshing beer. Give it a try

Country: Scotland

Type: India Pale Ale

Alcohol: %5.0

Rating: 8/10

Cheers

Tyler

Barside Beer Reviews