It’s not quite as dark as it looks in the picture but it does pour a pretty dark red with a nice frothy head which actually retains pretty well.

I am really proud of this beer. Sure, there are some issues with it, the body is a little thin and there are some very minor off-flavors that I can pick up on if I concentrate. I am sure a certified beer judge would have all sorts of negatives to point out. But it’s really good, I would actually pay for a 6 pack of this beer, and the best part is that it cost me less than 75 cents per bottle.

There is a definite hop character in there that some might not like, but I think its a perfect amount of hoppiness for the style. The cool thing is that I can actually taste the exact specific hop(s) I put in there (Columbus and Cascade).

I’ve learned a lot from this beer. It doesn’t matter how much you read or study up on, you are always going to discover things that don’t work for you or that need to be changed a bit for your setup. I can’t wait to start making more beer, I just know they are going to get better and better every time.

To steal a joke from a friend, this place was just the WURST.

This “German Beer Hall” has maybe 7 or 8 german beers, and 20 or so beer in total. You can order your beer in the following sizes:

- 200 ml
- 1/2 litre
- 1 litre
- 2 litre “boot”

For a 1/2 litre of beer (which is approx. a pint), the cheapest beer was $8.50, and thats for a local non-german beer, Big Rock Traditional. Any actual German beer will set you back a minimum of $9.50. If you want 200 ml of beer for some reason, which is less than a metric cup and basically considered a sample, you have to shell out 4 or 5 bucks.

The selection was fairly weak, too. They did have Ayinger Celebrator on tap, which I have never seen in this city, and is a great beer. Aside from that, they didn’t have much to impress. Koeningshoeven Trappist Tripel from Holland was also on the list, for $12 a pint I believe. A great beer as well but that’s about it. The place has a decent German vibe, with cafeteria style “beer hall” tables, but as far as music goes they switch between the odd German ditty here and there, mixed in with Journey, Elton John and various top 40 tunes.

Avoid.

I was cruising around on Beer Advocate as I do now and again, and I noticed a somewhat new feature in their ‘Top Beers’ section where you can filter by country. I was obviously immediately curious what are considered to be the top beers in Canada, as voted/reviewed by the beeradvocate.com community.

Although I don’t take really take the reviews on Beer Advocate to heart, there is still some very good information to be found on the website, and this list was definitely interesting to see.

Remember that when they say ‘Top Beers”, they just mean the beers that scored highest on average by a group of random people. These people could really range anywhere in expertise from casual beer drinkers, to experienced beer geeks, to certified beer judges.

First on the list is Péché Mortel by Dieu Du Ciel Brewery, which is really not surprising. Dieu Du Ciel has been hailed as Canada’s best beer for a while now. Péché Mortel is an Imperial Stout which is also one of my top Canadian beers for sure.

Obviously this list isn’t in line directly with my personal list (If I actually bothered to have one), but it’s good to know that I am not completely off base, and that one of my top Canadian beers, Trois Pistoles, is number 6 on this list. But Red Racer IPA in the #3 spot is just stupid to me, with Humulus Ludicrous all the way down at number 19. Philips doesn’t even show up until #59. Some beers seem to hold a high spot on the list because they deserve to be, and others might just be because of the hype. One perfect example of this is Westvleteren 12, which is considered #1 in the world. Meanwhile, they can only legally be purchase at the Trappist Abbey in Belgium and are extremely rare and sought after beer. I have no doubt in my mind that it’s a great beer, but there is definitely a level of hype there.

Anyway, although I love American Craft beer, and of course Belgian beer as well – I think it’s good to try to drink local as much as you can, or at least within your country. Not only will the beer be more fresh, but you are supporting a craft brewery that is more than likely struggling, and you are in a sense casting your vote for a better craft beer industry in your area.

I urge anyone to try out these beers, I know for a fact you can get all of the top 10 at some of the higher end liquor stores in Calgary.

You can check out the list HERE.

I am a big fan of Lagunitas, specifically their double IPA ‘Hop Stoopid’, but Censored is also a great session ale that I can drink over and over. 5.9% ABV, American Amber Ale.

Poured into my Corsendonk Tulip glass, coming out a nice rich copper color with massive head for this style.

Not a whole lot of aroma – kinda smells a bit Belgian-y which is weird. Maybe I’m going crazy.

Good balanced flavor with some sweet caramel malts and maybe just a little nutty.

A good regular drinker, this would please almost anyone’s fancy. Yeah, I just said that.

7.5/10

I hadn’t seen this before and a friend at work mentioned that it was great so I was on the hunt for it. Innis & Gunn is a classic favorite that everyone enjoys so I had high hopes for this one. The only difference to my knowledge is that it is aged in Rum Casks which should provide a sweeter taste I would think.

Poured it into one my favorite glasses, the Rogue Chalice.

I would say I was surprised by the darker color but the clear glass bottle doesn’t leave much to the imagination. A heavy pour produced maybe one finger of head, and it dissipated pretty quickly into almost nothing.

The smell and taste were both very very sweet, possibly too sweet, with some of those classic Innis & Gunn oak flavors of spices, caramel and molasses.

Not overly impressed with this one, but I am sure some people would love this.

6/10.