I've realized how ignorant I am about beer, and decided that this is a failing that demands a remedy. So I must bite the bullet and drink more beer!
Up until now I've been drinking mostly lagers and pilsners, with European ones (mostly German and Dutch) being my favorites. But to be 55 years old without ever having tasted, for example, an English beer style, is unforgivable. (Sure, I've had Guiness and several Scottish beers, but I tasted my first Newcastle Brown Ale just today ... now that's scandalous. It was pretty good, BTW.)
Anyway, I went to the LCBO (Ontario liquor store) because they make it easy to mix and match individual cans of beer. I wanted to sample widely, though of course I chose the day after New Year to make this trip. This was less than brilliant -- they were pretty picked over. Here's what I got, though.
Bottles (six packs)
Cans (500ml)
It would help me if some of you more experienced beerists would point out big categories that I missed. For example, I didn't get a Bitter or Porter in there, and I don't know what would be good brands. One problem I have is that when Americans talk about their favorite beers, they usually talk about beers from microbreweries that don't ship to Canada, and I have no hope of finding them. So the more common import brands or Ontarian/Canadian micros would be helpful if anyone knows them.
I have a feeling that I might like, well, every kind of beer ... but this inquiry is for the sake of science
Up until now I've been drinking mostly lagers and pilsners, with European ones (mostly German and Dutch) being my favorites. But to be 55 years old without ever having tasted, for example, an English beer style, is unforgivable. (Sure, I've had Guiness and several Scottish beers, but I tasted my first Newcastle Brown Ale just today ... now that's scandalous. It was pretty good, BTW.)
Anyway, I went to the LCBO (Ontario liquor store) because they make it easy to mix and match individual cans of beer. I wanted to sample widely, though of course I chose the day after New Year to make this trip. This was less than brilliant -- they were pretty picked over. Here's what I got, though.
Bottles (six packs)
- Tsingtao
- Dragon Stout (Jamaican)
Cans (500ml)
- 4 Newcastle Brown Ale
- 4 Amsterdam Nut Brown Ale
- 4 Alexander Keith's Premium White
- 4 Alexander Keith's IPA
- 2 Holsten Festbock
- 2 Holsten Maibock
- 1 Abbot Ale
- 1 Yankee Jim's Ice Bock
- 1 Wells IPA
- 1 Caledonian 80 /-
It would help me if some of you more experienced beerists would point out big categories that I missed. For example, I didn't get a Bitter or Porter in there, and I don't know what would be good brands. One problem I have is that when Americans talk about their favorite beers, they usually talk about beers from microbreweries that don't ship to Canada, and I have no hope of finding them. So the more common import brands or Ontarian/Canadian micros would be helpful if anyone knows them.
I have a feeling that I might like, well, every kind of beer ... but this inquiry is for the sake of science