Three New Yorkers and one each from England, Quebec and Ontario  •  Here are six dark ales which I have stuck away over the last while to describe some of the differences. This is a special message to Nils who I think can start his hunt for a beer he likes with some of these.  •  If you were …

Brooklyn Brown Ale, Ithaca Nut Brown Ale, Tröegs Nut Brown Ale  •  Brown Ale is a difficult style. It is really a bunch of styles from England, Belgium, Scotland and the USA. When you think of it...pretty much all beer is brown. And, really, so it ever was until someone figured out how to dry pale …

So we hit the road at 8:00 am and were at the fair at 10:30 am after a few stops - one of which was the Galeville Grocery. Unlike Pennsylvania and its restrictive distributor system, New Yorkers have some of the most civilized laws relating to the purchasing of ales. As in Quebec, any corner store …

As part of a continuing tradition of investigative reporting, I present five Pennsylvanians and one south central New Yorker:  •  Click on the picture for, really, nothing more than a slightly larger picture of the same thing.  •  I've give some detail as I pop a few of these starting with the …

Unlike my recent exposé on Belgian whites, this collection took at seven minute trip to the local LCBO and cost between $2.75 and $3.00 CND per 500 ml bottle. The seasonal selection of beers they bring in is quite good and you can find some nice choices in a single style to compare. These are all …

Hoegaarden, Ommegang Witte, Unibroue Blanche de Chambly, Brouwerij Sint-Jozef Brussels White  •  It's a tough job. Over the last month I assembled this collection of Belgian white beers which are cloudy wheat based ales flavoured with dried orange peel, corriander seed and other traditional spices …

I am fairly pleased to say I have only met one beer I did not like - Garrison Jalapena Ale. Mouth gets hot, take a drink, mouth gets hotter, take a drink, mouth gets hotter...you get the idea.  •  Belhaven Fruit Beer is not quite that but it isn't quite fruity either. When very fresh raspberries …

I was going to call this post Three Summer Ales in homage to the winter version but what with the current Molson ad running on the TV about why would you drink an American beer any more than you would buy a Morrocan snowmobile, I am compelled to point out that most Molson products have a little …

To the west of City Hall on Ontario Street there are a row of watering holes including the nearest, the Old Speckled Hen, which is a bit of a faux pub but not a bad faux pub in an 1809 building discussed earlier.  •  Sadly it does not even sell Old Speckled Hen, a loverly hoppy ESB now made by …