The Fireside

Well, it's time of year  a change in the beer season! Herein I name some winter / Christmas beers worth checking out.

The weather has gotten warmer, and we are now well into June, which most people seem to think summer is here! Even though summer begins June 21, and ends in September...either way, for a beer drinker, this is good news. The summer seasonal beers are now here. First up, from Mill St is their summer seasonal sampler mix pack.   Inside this year's pack, you get: Palomar Ale, 100th Meridian Organic Amber Lager, Belgian Cherry IPA, Belgian Wit, Tankhouse Ale, and Organic Lager. I haven't tried the 100th Meridian, Palomar, or the Belgian Cherry, so I'll definitely pick this mix pack up at some point.  Now, onto Beau's. It is time again for Festivale, their summer seasonal. They describe it as: Festivale Altbier • 4.7% alc/vol Festivale is based on a rare German style of ale, know as Alt (German for old, referring to how long this style has been in existence.) It originates from the northern part of the Rhineland, and is something of a cousin be...

It's that time of year again - new season, means new beers get rotated.  There a re a few offerings by both Beau's and Mill St. Beau's is now offering the "Beaver River", which is their standard spring seasonal IPA. It is quite good, and as most real IPAs go, bitter. But not overbearingly so. This one of the IPAs that got me to be able to drink them. Some can be too bitter if you're not used to IPAs, but this was a great 'gateway'. It's available at the brewery, on bybo.ca , or the LCBO. For info on it, head to here:  http://www.beaus.ca/beer/seasonals/beaver_river Also, Mill St is offering their Spring Seasonal Mix Pack, which features two types of beer: The Portage Ale (made here in Ottawa, and for a while was exclusive to the Ottawa brewpub, nut now can be purchased in this mix pack), as well as the 'Spring Thaw Maple Ale.' It's good, but not 'maple-y' enough. I recommend the mix pack, but if you cou...

Winter is here. For me, aside from (occasionally) nice winter weather it also means a change in the beer season.   There are three worth noting, however, in the winter stouts are in 'season' whereas in the summer it's usually blondes.        Anyway, Beau's has 'collected' their 4 best of the year and released it in a mix pack. They are Screamin' Beaver, Doc's Feet Dubbel, Burnt Rock and Rudulphous VI . Go here for more info and beer detail : https://www.beaus.ca/beer/ best_of_beaus       Not quite seasonal beers like the Oktoberfest mix set, this is more of a 'year end' event. But their seasonal, Bogwater , is out now: https://www.beaus.ca/beer/ seasonal/bog_water   A reminder that you can buy Beau's online through their site here, part of the BYBO program : http://www.beaus.ca/store/beer       Finally, there's the Mill St Seasonal Sampler . You get : Organic La...

Some of my friends and family know that I like to drink. I wouldn't consider myself a drunkard or an alcoholic, but I like the taste of beer, and usually have it with food and / or in a social setting. That being said, I do have preferences of what I do like to drink.