Any other beer snobs in the audience?

[Drunk Skunk]

I'm not sure how widely available US micro-brews are up North, but if they're not, I offer my pity. I had a great weekend, scored a few high 90's rated brews(ratebeer.com), and even landed a 100 with a Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. Here's a run-down of the weekend's bounty -
Dogfishhead Chicory Stout
The Duck Rabbit Porter
Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot barley wine
Goose Island Pere Jacques
New Glarus Unplugged Belgian Quadruple
Three Floyds Gumballhead
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster Imperial Red Ale
Three Floyds Alpha King
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Some of them, namely both Goose Islands, the New Glarus Quadruple, and the Dogfishhead will be going into my beer cellar. Five years from now, they should be ready

[BlackEleven]

19 of the top 20 in Canadian beers (according to that site) are Quebec breweries:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/TopB...p?CountryID=39

Not a surpirse to me, Quebec has a lot of really good beer. I was, however, very pleasantly surprised to see two Dieu du Ciel beers at the top of the list. Its been a longstanding favourite pub of mine.

[Bobblehead]

This is one I want to try:

Innis & Gunn

[Temporary_User]

Canada or atleast Alberta as I find it is really lacking in choice of beers.
I find most liquor stores seem to only carry the major brands from each country while throwing in the odd find every once and a while.
Of course a few pubs around town have a good selection on tap to keep you busy.
Of the top 40 canadian beers posted above, I don't think I've seen any of them in a liquor store near me.

[Drunk Skunk]

Originally Posted by BlackEleven

19 of the top 20 in Canadian beers (according to that site) are Quebec breweries:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/TopB...p?CountryID=39

Not a surpirse to me, Quebec has a lot of really good beer. I was, however, very pleasantly surprised to see two Dieu du Ciel beers at the top of the list. Its been a longstanding favourite pub of mine.

I've tried several Unibroue brews(Trois Pistoles, Maudite, La Fin Du Monde), but haven't been able to find Dieu du Ciel yet. A friend of mine still rubs it in that he's had a couple bottles of their Imperial Stout.

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by Drunk Skunk

I've tried several Unibroue brews(Trois Pistoles, Maudite, La Fin Du Monde), but haven't been able to find Dieu du Ciel yet. A friend of mine still rubs it in that he's had a couple bottles of their Imperial Stout.

I think your friend is lying to you. Dieu du Ciel is the name of a pub in Montreal and they only sell beer by the pint (or half pint) in their pub, where they also brew it. And there's also no guarantee they'll have a particular beer on tap when you go there. They usually have about 10 of their beers available on a given day.

Its not bottled at all, at least as far as I know.

Unibroue is not bad, but I far prefer Dieu du Ciel beers.

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

This is one I want to try:

Innis & Gunn

Fantastic beer Bobblehead. Strong, but doesn't taste alcohol-ly, and has a nice "oak" type taste to it. Really good.

There are some great beers from the brewing district in Toronto right now. My favourite is the Mill Street Brewery. They have an organic beer which is great, but I really love their Tankhouse Ale. Darker beer and just full-flavoured, yet smooth.

[worth]

i just like to drink beer...i don't really care where it comes from, it all tastes pretty good to me. i think i'm a beer slut, not a beer snob.

[FLAMESRULE]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

Fantastic beer Bobblehead. Strong, but doesn't taste alcohol-ly, and has a nice "oak" type taste to it. Really good.

There are some great beers from the brewing district in Toronto right now. My favourite is the Mill Street Brewery. They have an organic beer which is great, but I really love their Tankhouse Ale. Darker beer and just full-flavoured, yet smooth.

Went there last week with my fiance to see few Jays games. Headed over there and had dinner at the Mill Street Brewery.

I cant remember the names of the beers I had there, but I had the Coffeehouse Stout, Orange White Ale (Wit Ale??), and their Pilsner.

All very very good beers. And yes Alberta is seriously lacking in the micro brewery department. Wildwood is solid, had a very good from the 'Chuck as well called Maverick.

[@theCBE]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

This is one I want to try:

Innis & Gunn

Great beer... I have an easier time finding it in Calgary though than in Edinburgh. I have only ever seen the blonde version on tap in any pubs.

Its actually brewed by the McEwans brewery.

[burn_baby_burn]

Wow! Even beer drinking is turning gay.

I kid. Kind of.

[skins]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

This is one I want to try:

Innis & Gunn

It's pretty good. You can get it at the Kensington Wine Market in a 4 pack. It's almost a little too sweet for me.

[Drunk Skunk]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

Wow! Even beer drinking is turning gay.

I kid. Kind of.

I welcome anyone to continue drinking the mass-produced swill that passes for beer to most people. I prefer taste. I also prefer my beer to have more alcohol in it then Kool-Aid does

[flylock shox]

Some other solid Canadian brews:

Muskoka dark (Ontario)
Kawartha Lakes Brewing Nut Brown Ale (Ontario)
Mt. Begbie Brewing Tall Timber (Revelstoke)
Vancouver Island Brewing Hermann's Dark Lager (Victoria)
Vancouver Island Brewing Wolf's Scottish Ale (Victoria)
Steamworks' Heroica Oatmeal Stout (Vancouver)
St. Ambroise (or maybe Nelson, I can't remember) Apricot ale.

Generally speaking, the East is where it's at for good beer. Next time you're going through Revelstoke though, pull just off the highway on the way into town and check out the mom and pop pizza and steakhouse just under the overpass. They do Tall Timber by the pitcher, and it's still about the best beer I've had in BC.

The Quebec brews (Maudite, Fin du Monde, etc.) are good, but that's in large part to the type of beer they represent. You don't get that brewing style elsewhere in Canada. I'd still take their Belgian counterparts over the Unibroues.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

I wonder if a high-end beer store, catering to exotic beer snobs would do well in Calgary?

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

I wonder if a high-end beer store, catering to exotic beer snobs would do well in Calgary?

Problem is that for most people they won't go out of their way for better beer - they'll just find the best they can at the nearest liquor store.

The store I used to go to on 4th street would typically have one or two beers that I had never seen before. They would bring in different types all the time. The only problem is that when you tried one and REALLY liked it - you'd rarely see it back there again.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Yeah I could see that you would need to differentiate yourself by only stocking the really outstanding beers from across the world and keeping a consistant inventory.

Question is would enough beer-snobs pay $24 for a six pack?

[Drunk Skunk]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

Yeah I could see that you would need to differentiate yourself by only stocking the really outstanding beers from across the world and keeping a consistant inventory.

Question is would enough beer-snobs pay $24 for a six pack?

The key is to mix a grocery store in with it. There's a store within an hour of me that carries between 300 and 400 kinds of beer. That isn't where they make most of their money, but the money they make off of it more then compensates for what they have to spend.

If the beer is good enough, I'll spend $24 easy for a six pack. A friend of mine dropped $100 for a six pack of a beer that is only sold once a year.

[CMPunk]

Most stores will bring in a case of a beer if you want to try it. Also, ask if you can look at there Connect Logistics cataloge, as that has a listing in it of all the import beers available in alberta. Just because you see it anywhere else doen't mean you can get it here

[Bobblehead]

I've asked the local co-op liquor store to order specific wines for me, which they were happy to do.

Usually there are enough different beer that there is something I haven't tried. But like Jiri mentioned, those unique beer rarely stay in stock very long.