Beer: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

[BCExpat]

Try McAuslan's St Ambriose Apricot Wheat Beer

Is this available in Canada? Or just in the US?

[BCExpat]

Blue Moon is better than Rickards White - they are both Belgium Wheat Ales, but that about where the similarity ends. I enjoy Blue Moon with a slice of orange.

I would agree with you since ive only had Rickards White on that one occasion and it wasnt too good, but you can do a search and find out for yourself.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/blue-moon-belgian-white-ale/2228/

"Editor’s Note: Much of this beer’s production now comes from the Molson brewery in Toronto. A small portion of Denver draught production comes from the SandLot brewery. Still other product may continue to hail from Golden. 7/19/08."

Rickards is a Molson brand so you can put 2 and 2 together here.

Other sites state flat out that they are the same product but from my experience they were quite different.

Wow - I didn't know Molson made Blue Moon in Toronto. I was aware that Molson and Coors are now the same company, but I thought that Blue Moon was made in Colorado. I'm going to bring some Blue Moon back with me, next time I go down to the USA and compare it directly with Rickards White.

[Arachnid]

Try McAuslan's St Ambriose Apricot Wheat Beer

Is this available in Canada? Or just in the US?

It's from Montreal so availability may vary...It's quite popular here in the Summer...a great Quebec brewery that you should look for (other than the excellent Unibrue) is Dieu du ciel

http://micro.dieuduciel.com/en/beers.php

Great label artwork and plenty o' Belgian hops...

Rigor Mortis is da bomb!

[Topper]

Try McAuslan's St Ambriose Apricot Wheat Beer

Is this available in Canada? Or just in the US?

surprising widely distrubuted in BC

The Oatmeal Stout is the Rats ass.

Pale Ale is tough to find in BC, but very nice.

[KeyserSoze]

How bout dem local brews?!

I like most of what I have tried from Howe Sound Brewery.
The Rail Ale Nut Brown is one of my favorites.

I recently tried some of Russell Brewings Blood Alley Bitter (part of their Brewmaster series), and was surprised how good it was. (and a slick painted label to boot)


Most of GIB's beers are decent.
I really like their winter ale (people seem to love it or hate it), and their hef is pretty solid.

What do people think about Phillips beers?
I've tried the Blue Buck and liked it, but that's all I've tried from them...

Who's going to start the wine thread??

[Rayxor]

Try McAuslan's St Ambriose Apricot Wheat Beer

Is this available in Canada? Or just in the US?

It's from Montreal so availability may vary...It's quite popular here in the Summer...a great Quebec brewery that you should look for (other than the excellent Unibrue) is Dieu du ciel

http://micro.dieuduciel.com/en/beers.php

Great label artwork and plenty o' Belgian hops...

Rigor Mortis is da bomb!

Dieu du ciel is my favorite brewery for the reasons you list. They also have several additional craft brews which are excellent as well. I really liked the Hemp beer Fumisterie, and Aphrodisiac (with habiscus i think)

I have had the St Ambrose. Not too common but we have one store that carries a wide selection and its usually there. If you want something similar, Alley Kat Brewery out of Edmonton has one called Aprikat which is not too bad as well and probably more likely to be found in your typical beer store, at least in Alberta.

[Sick Bunny]

Manchester, Phoenix Pilsner.

Mmmm, a pleasant surprise, and a reminder that Manchester does have its redeeming qualities.

[dbr]

How bout dem local brews?!

Now we're talking, I tend to stick to BC breweries for the most part.

I like most of what I have tried from Howe Sound Brewery.
The Rail Ale Nut Brown is one of my favorites.

Really like the Rail Ale as well, I've tried the Devil's Elbow IPA (I'm not a big IPA fan but it was alright) but not much else.

I recently tried some of Russell Brewings Blood Alley Bitter (part of their Brewmaster series), and was surprised how good it was. (and a slick painted label to boot)

I haven't seen this one but I'll have to keep an eye out. I enjoyed their Angry Scotch Ale when I tried it.

Most of GIB's beers are decent.
I really like their winter ale (people seem to love it or hate it), and their hef is pretty solid.

I love the Winter Ale personally, but I don't really enjoy most of their other offerings. Every now and then I'll buy a sampler and I'm usually mildly disappointed - although it's better than kokanee/canadian/etc.

What do people think about Phillips beers?
I've tried the Blue Buck and liked it, but that's all I've tried from them...

I've really enjoyed most of the big bottles I've tried, Long Boat and Skookum in particular.

Lots of other nice local beers - Mt. Begbie Cream Ale, Okanagan Springs makes some nice dark ones - and a whole boatload of beers that are great ice cold but not terribly memorable (Lighthouse Beacon and Race Rocks; Dead Frog Ale, Tree Brewing's Ales and Lager, even Bowen Island has a couple beers that punch above their weight class..).

Thinking about all of these makes me want to head down to Steamworks for a sampler or three..

[BladesofSteel]

Thumbs up for Howe Sound here, but I wasn't too partial to the Elbow. The Honey otoh...

[BladesofSteel]

Granville Islands Pale Ale is one of the best Local Pale's you can find on draught.

Come to think of it, Granville Island beers have made a series leap to the forefront in the market these past 5-6 years. Just about every Vancouver restaurant/Pub who's anyone has some kind of GI on tap.

Must be owned by Molson.

[CFP!]

Had a friend come over from AB and he was VERY surprised at all the local beer in our stores.

He wanted to try everything.

I love my own prarie wheat beer but really like Phillips Blue buck/Phoenix and their wheat beer as well.

[Topper]

Red Racer IPA is my summer quaff.

[colonel_korn]

Red Racer IPA is my summer quaff.

Good choice Their pale ale (blue can) is also really good if you want something a little lighter.

I've gotten really into BC beers the last couple of years... we have a lot of really good craft breweries established here. Howe Sound makes tons of good stuff, as does Driftwood (Victoria), Central City/Red Racer, Tree (Kelowna) and Phillips (though Phillips is a little hit-or-miss, I find...)

Anyone who likes wheat beers owes it to themselves to grab one of those big bottles of Howe Sound's King Heffy at the liquor store... the name's a little silly but it's great and has pretty much ruined me for other hefs/wheat beers... just don't try to drink the whole thing in one go!

[LotusBlossom]

Was up in Whistler this past long weekend, and ended up at Blacks (a regular haunt) to check out some live singer Saturday night and kept dry from the rain that evening.

SInce we're talking about beer, and some of us are on another thread talking about how wheat is bad for you, I managed to encounter a gluten-free beer. I was hesitant at first, so I started off with a Kriek, but tried it and I really liked it.

Very crisp, with hints of citrus but with no wheat, it's rice based. I was pleasantly surprised.

http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/gluten_free.html It's available in Ontario more readily than any other province, but I'm hoping to find a place besides Blacks Pub in Whistler that carries this stuff.

Brewed by Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, WI

[Benjo]

German beer I get sometimes in BC liquor stores, pretty tasty.