Beer of the Week

We're here at beer day headquarters celebrating the Christmas season and tonight one of the throngs of beerday fans have brought Keith's Red Amber Ale. Of course this means that I don't have to go out and buy my own "Beer of the Week".

I've had a couple of MGD's to cleanse my pallet and I'm just about to do the pour. The pour is dark, brownish red...I'm expecting a heavy beer, let's see what the first taste is like.

I'm enjoying the taste, but I'm having trouble distinguishing between the flavours...likely because my pallet has been damaged by the ice cold MGD. It's definitely not as heavy as I was expecting.

If you are going to a winter cottage then this is the beer to take. It is absolutely a comfort beer.

Enjoy the holidays and try a Keith's Red Amber Ale.

This week's "beer of the week" isn't a beer at all, but let me explain.

You see, it's very quiet tonight at Beer Day headquarters. The kids are off with Daddy for the weekend and the wife to be is off south of the border trying to get the most out of her Christmas Canadian dollars. That leaves me, alone at home, with the same old beer in the fridge.

So, instead of having another Molson Canadian, or Coors Light I think I'll make an attempt at the perfect Caesar.

Since the wife to be is away, my perfect Caesar starts with the perfect vodka - Grey Goose. Grey Goose is imported from France and I'm sure there are people out there cringing at the thought of me mixing Grey Goose with Clam Cocktail. Did I mention that I am doing this because I am too lazy to drive out to the beer store in Orangeville and buy myself some specialty beer?

Ok, mixing is out of the question at this point, so here it goes.

Ice (4 cubes)
Franks extra hot (a few splashes)
Clam Cocktail (not full)
More Franks extra hot
Grey Goose Vodka
More Clam Cocktail
more Franks extra hot
Salt
Pepper
Stir
Drink...ok, now you've all caught up with me. I must say, for an unplanned, unmeasured drink this is nicely pleasing. The Franks (extra hot) is giving it just enough heat and I can barely taste that fine Grey Goose vodka. Well, I'm off to finish my Caesar. If there isn't a post next week you'll know that the Fiance killed me for cracking open her bottle of Grey Goose and mixing it with Clamato!

This week's beer of the week is Red Cap, by Brick breweries in Waterloo, Ontario.

For some reason I seem to remember Red Cap being brewed by Carling, but Carling breweries is long gone (swallowed up by Molson). Anyway, I decided to try out a red cap with my beer of the week buddies and here is the result.

A typically Canadian beer, a bit heavier than American, but lighter than most German. I found Red Cap to be quite similar to Molson Export or Molson 50. I had no trouble finishing it and would drink it again if offered, but not my first choice on any given day.

I prefer other offerings from Brick breweries, including Waterloo Dark and the new Waterloo Wheat beer.

This weeks beer of the week is Lezajsk, a tasty little treat from Poland. Mine came in 500ml bottle with the following on the back.

The brewing traditions of Lezajsk beer go as far back as 1525 when king Zygmunt Stary gave the exclusive rights to brew beer in the lezajsk. For generations it's brewmasters have perfected Lezajsk beer, which has become on of the most renowned beers in Poland. Lezajsk beer is brewed with the best natural ingredients and purest spring water.

After last week's Oktoberfest activities you'd think that I'd have trouble drinking another beer, but I'm finding this Lezajsk quite good. Also good is the Market Hill Cafe pizza which is sitting upstairs waiting for me. If only I could send one of these to somebody at Google so that they could re-list this web site

This week the beer of the week is Innis and Gunn, oak aged beer. At first taste I didn't really like this beer, my buddy and I were trying to figure out if it really tasted as good as the bottle said it should. We over analyzed the beer...then something happened. Another guy started telling a story and as we started listening to the story we just started drinking the beer.

By the time the story was done I realized that I had finished my beer...and I would say that I enjoyed it. This is my first official Beer Day "story beer". It'd be nice by a late night campfire on a cold night, or perhaps in a pub where stories are popular.

Here at Beer Day headquarters we spend a lot of time picking the beer of the week. First of all, we need to figure out that the beer fridge needs restocking. Then there is the drive into town to either the "Beer Store" or the "Liquor Store". Once we arrive, then we need to select the beer of the week candidate. This week it was Old Speckled hen.

I chose OSH or Old Specked Hen because of the colour of the beer. It had a really nice red hue to it and I thought it would make a nice change from the lighter fare that I'd been reviewing lately. Old Speckled didn't disappoint in that department.

Beer Review Hint #1
Do not have 8 beers before going into your review of a heavy beer.

Unfortunately by the time I got around to my Old Speckled Hen I had already eaten a big meal and had a bunch of MGD (Miller Genuine Draft). It took me about 2 hours to get through my 500ml bottle of Old Specked goodness. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the beer, but clearly it is not and end of the night beer...at least not for me.

Beer Review Hint#2
Here's where I use big words in my review like "taste" and "good" and "like"

Old Specked Hen tasted to me a little like Boddingtons (remember I was 3 sheets to the wind by the time I got around to sampling it). So, I liked it...it tasted good.

The old specked was actually last week's beer, but this weekend I'm heading up to cottage country for Canadian Thanksgiving and while I'll be drinking, I won't be writing any reviews about it. I'm going to sit by a big bon fire, drink some ice cold beer and enjoy some good company.

If you're Canadian, Happy Thanksgiving, if you're not, get back to work!

It's been a long time since I've done a beer of the week, mostly because we dropped off the face of the search engines. However, for the last day or two we have regained the top spot for "Beer Day" and it's time to celebrate. I will do most of my Friday night drinking this week at my buddy Craig's house. He's the guy with the beer fridge which maintains perfect temperature.

Anyway, this week's beer of the week is Moosehead. Moosehead is a Canadian beer from Canada's oldest independent brewery...Moosehad Breweries in Saint John's New Brunswick. Surpisingly, given the name, Moosehead is a nice light beer. It is not unlike a Labatts Blue or Molson Canadian, but is much better tasting (in my opinion). I don't detect any significant after-taste with my Moosehead. I could see myself drinking this beer at the cottage, on a hot summer day or at a beach-side bar....mmmm beach-side.

Well, enjoy your Friday. I'm going to finish my Moosehead and then head over to the magic beer fridge...I mean over to Craig's

If you're looking for a nice cold beer on a hot day, then Brahma may be the answer. I liked this beer better than Corona. Some that I've talked to have mentioned that they thought Brahma was slightly creamy...hmmm. I didn't notice that, but I did notice that it was light and refreshing and came in a cool curvy bottle. If you've ever seen a Brahma beer commercial (if not, look elsewhere on this site) then I think you'll understand the subtle marketing to the curvy bottle

There are a lot of Guinness mixes out there. My Chef friend Erik introduced me to one this weekend. I think he just called in 1/2 and 1/2, but I can't remember. What I do remember was that it tasted great. Occasionally I like a Guinness, usually during the fall or winter, but not in the summer on a hot day. Mixing the Guiness with Hoegarrden was a refreshing change. The Hoegaarten has a slight citrus flavour and played nicely with the Guinness.

The drink was layered with the Hoegarrten on the bottom half and the Guinness poured over a spoon, much like you would with a layered shooter.


1/2 and 1/2 Guiness recipe

1/2 Guinness 1/2 Hoegaarten, layered with Hoegarrten on the bottom

I wish I had taken a picture, but the one shown (made with Guinness are Harp should give you the idea).

I've been a little lax about putting up "Beer of the Week" candidates lately. Well, that's because Google in their infinite wisdom decided that I should be ranked about 500 places lower than I've been for the last 6 months...grrr. Anyway, nothing brightens the spirits more than trying out a new beer. This week that beer is Keith's Red Amber:

I tried Keith's Red Amber at a local eatery (The Market Hill Cafe) earlier this week. It was smooth and flavourful. A nice beer to have with a meal, or afterwards. I didn't try a second Red Amber, so I'll need to indulge a little more to decide if it's a "poker night" beer, a "camping " beer or a couple at the pub beer. I'm thinking pub.

That's it for today, remember; try a different beer every week, you never know what you'll find.

Well, let me tell you, I was told that there was cold pizza in the fridge. So, I go downstairs, grab a Corona and get ready to enjoy some left over pizza with an ice cold Corona.

That's right, you guessed it...there is no pizza in the fridge. So, I'm left drinking this ice cold Corona and boy is it tasty. Corona is one of those beers which you either like or you don't. Me, I like Corona all summer long, then in the winter it reminds me of a dead skunk. Today is a Corona day for sure. Light, tasty, refreshing and 4.6% alcohol.

Let me check the fridge again for that pizza...got it. It was right in front of me, it's bacon, green peppers and mushrooms. Yes, I was right, the Corona and pizza really taste great together.

I'm not going to call this a beer of the week review, or even a review. I just want to mention that I went to a restaurant last night and enjoyed a nice cold Stella Artois. This Stella was on tap, not from a bottle. It was served in a big Stella Artois glass and was uber frosty!

My mother always told me "if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing". With that in mind, I'll keep this review short and sweet.

I tried Warsteiner with two drinking buddies of mine. Combined we have over 75 years of beer drinking experience. Warsteiner rated two thumbs down and a "it's not that bad". I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there who enjoy Warsteiner, just not us.

This week's beer of the week is a new one to me, Zubr. It has a green and gold label with a buffalo on the front. Here's the description on the label:

Brewed for over 200 years on the edge of the Bialowieza Forest in Poland, our golden beer is made from only natural ingredients and the purest water. The kno-how and expertise of our brewmasters ensure uncompromising quality with the rich and full taste of real beer.

It's worth noting that my Zubr came in a 500ml bottle and had 5.8% alc/vol.

There is a slight aroma to the beer, comforting and not offensive. My first taste was surprising, for a beer which is 5.8% alcohol, it is remarkable light in flavour. Ahhh, the second taste (a slightly larger gulp brings a slight but pleasant aftertaste. Sip #3 tells me that this is a high quality beer. One that I could drink a couple of without trouble.

Off I go to find a picture...hey, my extensive research (looking for a picture) tells me that Zubr means Bison (aka Buffalo)...cool.

Well, I must say that I might need to change the "Beer of the Week" to be some sort of more frequent title...either that, or slow down my consumption.

Today I tried a Rickards Pale. This comes to us from Molson Breweries and is a nice smooth easy drinking "Pale" beer. I really enjoyed this beer, it reminds me a bit of the Sleeman Clear I had last week. I'll put this in my "buy it again" category.

Note: I have no idea if they sell Rickards Pale in a bottle...I had my Draught style.