A Visit to Barnstormer Brewpub

In March, I received three cans of Flight Delay IPA from Barnstormer Brewery and did a post on it as part of my Beer of the Week. I really enjoyed it, so when vacation time came around, Teena and I did an overnight last night and explored the lakefront area. On the way home today, we stopped into Barnstormer for lunch.

Teena was nice enough to take the designated driver duties (thanks, Honey!) so I could try a couple of beers.

We entered through the swag and bottle shop.

Here's what I had to chose from.

The area on the walls and between the booths is decorated with antique plane equipment.

I really like the way this place is set up. It was very warm and the staff extremely friendly. Missy and Sarah did a great job looking after us and answering all our questions.

The brewery area is in the back.

I started with a Windshear Watermelon Ale. It pours a yellowish/straw colour with a white head. I really noticed watermelon in the aroma, interesting as I have never found watermelon to have much of a smell. The watermelon really comes through when I sip, then fades to light golden ale flavour before the watermelon returns for the finish. It's not a sweet beer, nor bitter. It is a very nice, tasty and enjoyable brew.

For lunch, Teena had pizza,which she enjoyed enough to bring some home, and I had Cap'n Mac N' Cheese. The salad was so refreshing and the mac n' cheese very bacony and tasty.

My next beer was a Cirrus Session Pale Ale. It pours an amber colour with a white head which takes its time to dissipate. At 4.5% apv, it is considered a light beer but is full of flavour. It starts off a little sour before the bitter citrus comes through. Enjoyable enough that I brought a bunch home.

Even the washrooms were fun. I love that it's a Miller keg.

As I said, I came home with a bunch of cans of Cirrus Session, plus some Flight Delay IPA which I had tried before. The next time Teena and I go to Barrie, we will be having supper and a couple of beers at Barnstormer.

My April 2016 Amazing Clubs Canada Beer of the Month Delivery

Tonight I came home and found that my April Beer of the Month Club package had arrived. On her way home from work, Teena swung by the post office to pick it up. Thanks, Honey!

So what was in this month's box?

There were three bottles of Cream Ale from Pepperwood Bistro and Brewery. Teena and I have planned to take the GOTrain to Burlington to try out this place this summer. The brewery also sent along three bottles of Monkey Brown Ale. Fun name!

Also in the box were six bottles from StoneHammer Brewing. Three are Red Maple Ale and the other three are Queens English Mild Ale. Yes, that's Freddy Mercury on the label.

Lots of fun beer to sample!

Beer of the Week - Barnstormer Brewing Flight Delay IPA

In this month's Beer of the Month package, there were three cans of Flight Delay IPA from Barnstormer Brewing in Barrie, Ontario.

Barnstormer Brewing started brewing in 2013, and opened their retail store in December of that year. Planned as a brewpub, the restaurant part opened later on, I found the restaurant receives great reviews for its pizza.

On this season on CBC's Dragons' Den, the owners of Barnstormer make a pitch to the five dragons. It has yet to air, It should be interesting to hear Dragon Manjit Minhas' take on their operation as she is the the co-founder and co-owner of Minhas Breweries.

The brewery is themed after the aviation industry of the 1920s and 30s. I like the can and how the stats about the beer are displayed on aircraft dials. I also love the flight themed old style labeling.

And the beer?

Flight Delay IP pours a golden colour with a full white head that takes it's time to settle down. Citrus really comes through in the aroma.  I love west-coast IPAs, how they are so citrusy and bitter and this one does not disappoint. The first sip starts with some citrus, then the bold bitter citrus follows and stays throughout the finish.

This is a really enjoyable beer that I hope to have again. I can picture an overnight stay in Barrie sometime this summer, with dinner and beers at the microbrewery restaurant.

Good luck in Dragons' Den!

Beer of the Week Stats

Beers Profiled 309
Breweries 277
Countries 45

My March 2016 Amazing Clubs Canada Beer of the Month Club Delivery

Today I had two surprises to come home to. The first was my Beer of the Month Club package had arrived.

It's the perfect gift for any beer lover! Each month we'll deliver 12 full-sized bottles of hard-to-find, specialty microbrews from award-winning breweries. Each shipment will include up to four different varieties of premium, hand-crafted beer carefully selected by our experts and brewed in limited quantities by master brewers. We sample hundreds of microbrewed beers every year and only the best-of-the-best become selections of the Beer of the Month Club.

This club mixes it up each month. Sometimes I receive beer from two breweries with each supplying two different kinds of beer. Sometimes they send four bottles or cans from three different breweries.

So what did I receive?

Inside the box were four bottles of Highlander Stout from the Highlander Brew Co., just on the northern edge of Algonquin Park. I had their scotch ale four years ago and wrote about it.

Along with it were four pale ales from Black Creek Historic Brewery. This brewery uses recipes and equipment that were used back in the 1860s. I have written about this brewery and beer before and really enjoyed it.

Completing the package were four cans of Dartmouth Common Dampbier from Kichesippi Beer Company. I have done a post on this Ottawa brewery before but this is a new style of beer for me.

Looks like it's going to be a tasty beer month.

My February 2016 Beer of the Month Club Delivery

Yesterday I had a beer delivery and tonight came another one. This one is from the Amazing Club Canada's Beer of the Month Club.

It's the perfect gift for any beer lover! Each month we'll deliver 12 full-sized bottles of hard-to-find, specialty microbrews from award-winning breweries. Each shipment will include up to four different varieties of premium, hand-crafted beer carefully selected by our experts and brewed in limited quantities by master brewers. We sample hundreds of microbrewed beers every year and only the best-of-the-best become selections of the Beer of the Month Club.

This month featured two breweries. Barnstorm Brewery had three cans of Flight Delay IPA and three cans of 400 Blonde Ale. Syndicate Brewery had three bottles of Dark Deacon Porter and a 5.5% ESB.

More fun beers to try!

Beer of the Week - Birra Morena

In my latest delivery from the Beer of the Month Club, there are four bottles of Birra Morena from Drive Beer Brewery that produces Morena Beer, located at the foot of a valley in Lucania, Italy.

There are pictures of the brewery on their website and the location is quite scenic. It's too bad I could not find one to copy into this post. For some reason, it was an Austrian prince, Windisgraetz, who built the original Italian brewery back in the 1980s. In 1999, the brewery was taken over by the Tarricone family.

Birra Morena is a 4.6% lager that according to the newsletter that came in the package pairs well with Havarti, Monterey Jack, salmon, trout and tuna.

So, how does it taste?

Birra Morena pours a golden colour with a white head. The head takes its time to settle  There is grass in the aroma, which is not unusual for a lager. I have found Italian lagers to be sweeter than their European counterparts, which are much more bitter, and this lager follows the same trend. It is a little more sweet than I like throughout with a soft bitterness in the finish.

I'll have no problem in drinking the other three but is not a beer I would get again. Those who like a sweeter lager with toned down hops would enjoy this and should give it a try if you have the chance.


Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 304
Breweries 272
Countries 45

My January 2016 Beer of the Month Delivery

My Beer of the Month package arrived today.

It's the perfect gift for any beer lover! Each month we'll deliver 12 full-sized bottles of hard-to-find, specialty microbrews from award-winning breweries. Each shipment will include up to four different varieties of premium, hand-crafted beer carefully selected by our experts and brewed in limited quantities by master brewers. We sample hundreds of microbrewed beers every year and only the best-of-the-best become selections of the Beer of the Month Club.

This month The Frosted Mug newsletter has not only the description of the beers in the package and a beer fact, this month was on the invention of beer caps but also contained a recipe for Beer Beef Stew (I would leave out the turnip though. I hate turnip).

In this month's pack, I received 4 bottles of Nickel Brook's Half Bastard Stout, 4 cans of Collective Arts, Stash Straight Up Ale and 4 bottles of Morena Classica Pilsner that came all the way from Italy's Bira Morena Brewery.

Looking forward to cracking some this weekend.

Beer of the Week - Hop-Happy Haymaker Double IPA

I reviewed a beer 1812 Independence Pale Ale from Strathroy Brewing in October of 2014. In this month's Beer of the Month package came another from the same brewery, 1815 Hop-Happy Haymaker Double IPA.

Strathoy Brewing opened in August, 2014, in a historic old flour mill that has been around at least since the 1930s. It is a very War of 1812-themed company with its website containing a Heritage Minute by Historica Canada, that used to air on between shows on TV, on an action during the War of 1812.

So, how's the beer?

The beer pours amber in colour with an off-white head. It is cloudy, with some yeast residue left in the bottom of the bottle due to it being bottle conditioned. Bottle conditioning is where the brewer adds a small amount of yeast to the bottle to allow additional fermentation and matures the beer while in the bottle. This gives the beer a more character and flavour, and natural carbonation.

There is a little citrus in the aroma and lacings are left on the inside of my glass as it empties. The Hop-Happy starts with a citrusy bitterness, perhaps a little grapefruity, which intensifies into a very nice long finish. At 5.5% I wouldn't call this a double IPA, as they usually begin around 7.5% APV, but I would call it delicious.

The only shame is that it currently not available at the LCBO. Hopefully in time it will be.

Beer of the Week Stats

Beers Profiled 300
Breweries 269
Countries 45

My December 2016 Beer of the Month Delivery

I have to work this week while Teena has the week off. Lucky Teena!

I was thrilled to receive an email from her this morning saying my Beer of the Month package had arrived. Fun mail!

Every month I receive 12 beer, sometimes four of a brand from three different breweries, and sometimes it contains beer from two breweries with each providing three bottle each of two of their brands. This month I received the latter,

Inside the box were three Hop Shot Auburn Ales and three Orange Zest Lager from Cameron's Brewing. Accompanying them were three bottles of Hop-Happy Haymaker Double IPA and three Peacemaker Belgium Brown Porters from Strathroy Brewing.

This weekend is a four-day weekend for me. Sounds like it will be a tasty one!

Beer of the Week - Microbrasserie Alchemiste India Pale Ale

In this months Beer of the Month Club package were three India Pale Ales from Microbrasserie Alchemiste's. I really love IPAs and was looking forward to trying these, but first a little about the brewery.

The original brewery was opened in 2001 as a brewpub in downtown Joliette by owner Carl Dufour. At first the brewery's beer was only available on tap at the pub. Due to demand though, the brewery starting selling it's bottles at local stores, first in large bottles, then in regular size bottles. By 2006, demand was so great the brewery part moved to an industrial park in Joliette to increase production.

And the IPA?

The ale pours brown in colour with a light brownish head. I had expected hops to be present in the aroma but was surprised to find it quite malty. The ale had a nice head, and nice lacings were left behind as I sipped.

It was quite interesting the way the taste changes during a sip. At first I was met with a very nice hop bite that disappeared rather quickly. The ale seems almost tasteless at that point and there is no finish. However, seconds after I swallow, an excellent surge of hoppy bitterness comes fighting back. This happened sip after sip after sip and was the same with the second bottle.

I really enjoyed this IPA and the next time I'm in Quebec, I'll be on the search for this. I think it would be also very interesting to try on tap.

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 298
Breweries 268
Countries 45

Fun Mail - My November Beer of the Month Delivery

 It has been a busy week.

How busy?

My November Beer of the Month Club box was delivered on Tuesday but we weren't home to sign for it. It wasn't until today that we (meaning Teena on her way home from work) were able to pick it up.

This month I received three each of four different beers from two different Quebec breweries. From Microbrasserie Alchimiste I received three India Pale Ales and three Bock de Joliette. Also in the box were three Boreale Doree and three Boreale Rouse from Les Brasseurs du Nord.

Looks like I have some tasty fun ahead of me. 

Beer of the Week - Kichesippi Logger Pennsylvania Porter

In my October Beer of the Month delivery, I received four tall boys of Logger Pennsylvania Porter from the Kichesippi Beer Co. I was wondering why a Canadian brewery would name a beer after a U.S. state so did some research.

Pennsylvania Porters are a style of beer that was brewed mostly out of Philadelphia back in the 19th century but using lager yeast instead of the ale yeast used by British breweries. Porters were very popular back in that time, in England as well as the U.S.

An influx of German immigrants brought lager beer to the United States, yet porter was so popular that even German brewers were producing a bottom-fermented version as part of their portfolio throughout the 19th century. The logic behind porter production at lager breweries was to cater to the Anglo-Saxon and Welsh populations of the mid-Atlantic states, who initially preferred the porter style over lagers.

I like how Kichesippi was cute with the name, using Logger instead of lager due to the logging history of the Ottawa area back in the 19th century.

So, how does it taste?

Contrary to a regular porter, this pours a deep brown colour, not black like other porters, with a light brownish head. The brown of the porter is clear and I was able to see through it. There are lots of lacings when I sip. There is a little caramel to the nose.

My first sip starts a little watery but then tones of coffee and a little chocolate come through. Porters are delicious and full of flavour. The Logger too is delicious but with the flavours backed off a little making it much lighter tasting.

It's currently not available at the LCBO or the Beer Store. If it was, I certainly would be buying it!

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 294 
Breweries 265 
Countries 45

My October 2015 Beer of the Month Delivery

When I got home tonight, Teena had good news and bad news for me.

The good news was that my Beer of the Month delivery had come this afternoon. The bad news ... she had just missed it.

After having dinner with some buddies up in North York, I stopped into the post office and was glad the package had already been dropped off there.

Inside were four bottles or cans each from three different breweries, along with the monthly newsletter. The newsletter had an interesting fact in it. Hammurabi's code, written in 1792 BC, made special mention of beer parlours. Owners who overcharged customers were to be drowned; high priestesses caught in a beer parlour were to be executed by fire.

Harsh penalties indeed!

So what did I receive this month?

Barley Days had four bottles of Royal George Brown Ale which was soaked almost a year in American Oak barrels

Church Key Brewing had four bottles of Oktoberfest, which is a Kolsch style ale.

Kichesippi Beer Co. had four tall boys of Logger Pennsylvania Porter

Looks like I have some fun tasting ahead of me!

My September 2015 Beer of the Month Delivery

Teena worked from home today and when I arrived home from work, I was surprised to find that this month's Beer of the Month package had been delivered. If she was not at home, I would have had to wait and pick it up from the post office. As usual, a dozen beer await tasting. Two breweries each sent two styles of beers each.

Taps Brewing Company sent three bottles of Red Cream Ale and a very interesting three bottles of Rye Knot Pale Ale. Brasserie des Quatre Lunes from Oakville sent three bottles of Pumpkin Saison, I love saisons and have never had a pumpkin one, and three bottles of Begium Brun.

And in the Did You Know section is the states that the Czech Republic has the largest per capita beer consumption in the world. At a whopping 132 litres annually per capita, they consume at a level that is almost double the yearly level of Canada, which stands at a mere 68 litres per capita.

Interesting.

Looking forward to getting a chill on these and giving them a try.

Beer of the Week - Biker Beer Lager

In my August Beer of the Month package, there were four bottles of Biker Beer Lager from the Biker-Beer Brewing Company, a Burlington brewery that I have not heard of before. It turns out that the brewery has been around for five years.

Back in 2010 husband and wife team, Trevor and Jan Telford, decided to create a beer aimed at Ontario's motorcycle community. According to Zoom info: Biker-Beer Brewing Company Inc. is to provide a quality beer for those of us who ride motorcycles, and those that wish they did. The large beer manufacturers do not think that the niche market of motorcycle riders is worth developing a brand of beer for ... but we disagree.

According to their Twitter page: The Biker Beer Brewing Company Inc. is trying to raise money to build our own brewery. We need $1,750,000 and are looking for $2 donations. Follow our story.

The problem is that the link to their website on the Twitter page no longer exists and they do not have a Facebook page. The brewery's Twitter page shows as being open in October 2010 but their last tweet is from January 7, 2011. On Untapped, many people are posting up to 18 hours ago that they are drinking a Biker Beer Lager.

According to a 2010 article on Canadian Beer News,  the company was contract brewing out of Nickel Brook Brewing. The LCBO apparently had all kinds of problems with the Biker Beer label and told the owners straight out they would never allow beer with that label to be sold out of their stores. The bottles I received still had the original labeling, which is a label most obviously aimed at the biker market.

And the beer?

It pours a golden colour with a nice white head. Bubbles continually flow up from the bottom of the glass as this is well carbonated. I smell grass or maybe bread in the aroma. I like a bitter bite in a lager, which is why I lean more towards pilsners instead of regular lagers and find this lager a little sweet for my taste buds. Mind you, I will have no problems in drinking the other three bottles.

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 289
Breweries 260
Countries 45

My August 2015 Beer of the Month Delivery

About ten minutes after I got home from work, the doorbell rang. I opened to find the postman holding this month's Beer of the Month package from Amazing Clubs. Always exciting!

Each month we'll deliver 12 full-sized bottles of hard-to-find, specialty microbrews from award-winning breweries. Each shipment will include up to four different varieties of premium, hand-crafted beer carefully selected by our experts and brewed in limited quantities by master brewers. We sample hundreds of microbrewed beers every year and only the best-of-the-best become selections of the Beer of the Month Club.

Inside were twelve beers from three breweries and a newsletter describing what I had received along with a recipe and a couple of beer facts.

Here's one of the beer fact: The first six-pack of beer was produced by the Pabst brewery in the 1940s. The brewery conducted numerous studies, which found that six cans were the ideal weight for the average housewife to carry home from the store. Never knew that.

So what did I get?

Four bottles of 1815 Lockstock Ale from Strathroy Brewing Company. I have written about them before. Also included were four bottles of Niagara's Best Belgium Wit,. I have featured another one of their beers before as my Beer of the Week. The third beer has the funniest label and brewery name, Biker Beer Lager from Biker Beer in Burlington, a brewery I have not heard of before.

Can you judge a beer by its label?

I'm looking forward to trying them all!

My July Beer of the Month Delivery

With the end of each month comes a fun delivery to our door, my Beer of the Month box of assorted beers. Every month I receive a dozen beers from Amazing Clubs.

This month I received four bottles of Grizzly Beer, which is a lager from Cheetah International Brewers. Also in the box were four bottles of Ginger Beer from Trafalgar Ale and Meads. That should be interesting. Last but not least comes an offering from Cameron's Brewing in Oakville of four Vanilla Cream Ales.

Lot's of interesting beers to try in the dog days of August!

Beer of the Week - Santorini Blonde Pilsner from Volkan Brewery

In my latest Beer of the Month delivery, I received three Santorini Blonde Pilsners from Volkan Brewery in Greece. It seems that there is a lot to write about regarding this particular lager.

First, let's start off with the owner Peter Nomikos, very much a Greek nationalist. His Santorini line of beers contain 100% Greek ingredients but more about them later. Greece has been in the news for the past five years regarding their debt. Nomikos, opened the brewery in 2011 and also started Greece Debt Free.

GREECE DEBT FREE (GDF) accepts donations for the purpose of buying Greek government bonds in international markets at prices much lower than the amount owed by the Greek government. GDF will then help reduce the debt through the cancellation of these bonds, helping to reduce the Greek national debt to sustainable levels.

Volkan Brewery donates 50 euro cents for every 1 euro of profit it makes to GDF and this is on top of the taxes it already pays. That is surely putting your money where your mouth is!

Now to the ingredients in this beer. Although the brewery is located in Argos, Greece, its ingredients come from the Greek islands of Santorini and Naxos.

Santorini honey is a very rare ingredient and only harvested once a year. Santorini has a very dry climate and volcanic soil. As flowers only bloom for a very short time in winter, the bees must feed on pistachio trees, fava beans and grapevines. At the end of summer, though, vintners of the islands sweet wine leave out tons of grapes to mature. The bees love it and feast on them creating a grape honey, one of the ingredients of this beer.

The other unusual addition to the Santorini Pilsner is Cirtus Medica. This species is so old that its seeds have been discovered in Mesopotamian excavations from sites dating to 4,000 BC.

Citron, often green when ripe, has very little juice but a powerful aroma and taste, distinct from other citruses. The citron essences for VOLKAN brews are harvested by local artisans from the roughly two thousand trees remaining on Naxos, using methods that date back several centuries.

Until now I have never heard of it, but it's in this beer, the first beer in the world to use this fruit.

And the taste.

The beer pours golden in colour with a nice white head, which took its time in dissipating. When it comes to the aroma, there is an added feature. At first a little grassiness comes through but is followed by something I have never smelled before. It must be the Citrus Medica. It's not a bad thing, just different.

As I knew there is honey in this, I was surprised that it was not a sweet lager. It also lacks that crisp hop bite that usually finishes a European style pilsner but this is not a bad thing. The beer starts like a light lager but then, after maybe just a second, the flavour of the Citrus Medica makes itself known. It actually is a very nice taste, a little sour, not overpowering, but quite different.

If this was available in Ontario, it would be a regular visitor to be beer fridge. Right now I can only enjoy the two that I have left.

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 281 
Breweries 251 
Countries 45

My June Beer of the Month Delivery

On her way home from work today, Teena stopped off at the post office and picked up my latest Beer of the Month delivery.

One of the breweries, Gold Crown, is from Ontario and I have written about them before. They sent three Weissbiers and three IPAs. Volkan Brewery sent a couple of styles beers all the way from Greece.  In the box were three Santorini Blonde Pilsners and three Santorini Black Lagers.

I love getting fun mail at the end of the month.

Beer of the Week - Garden Brewers Green Thumb IPA with Ginger Root

This week's Beer of the Week is an IPA with an unusual twist. It has ginger root added to the brew.

Garden Brewers, a contract brewery working out of Black Oak Brewing, released their first beer, Piperales, which is a smoked ale infused with crushed black peppercorns in the summer of 2014. The owners, Victor and Sonja North, hope to one day make their brewery a bricks and mortar operation somewhere in their hometown of Hamilton.

Victor previously was a brewer at The Ship in Hamilton and the head brewer for the 3 Brewers Oakville location. He also is a certified BJCP beer judge. Sonja, who is also a beer judge, worked as a coordinator for Black Oak before taking on the sales and marketing duties at Garden Brewery.

Green Thumb is a variation of a beer Victor once brewed for The Ship. It is an unfiltered beer that has fresh ginger root steeped in the beer after the fermentation process. This beer took the Bronze Medal at this years Ontario Brewing Awards Vegetable Beer division.

And how is it?

Green Thumb pours amber in colour with a white head. I was expecting ginger to be in the aroma and was surprised by it's absence. Ginger is not missing in the flavour profile however. In the first moment, there is no ginger but then the ginger comes into play very nicely, filling my mouth with flavour then giving my tongue a slight burn. The ginger backs off but is present throughout the finish.

This is a nicely unique beer and quite enjoyable. Although the ginger is not overpowering, it still is not a beer I could sit down and have a few of. The 7.2% APV also makes it not a sessionable beer but having one here and there would be quite nice.

I just getting over bronchitis which has had me down all week. I've read that ginger is is excellent in combating that ailment, so my timing in having this beer is perfect. Gotta love a beer that's medicinally good for you!

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 280 
Breweries 250 
Countries 45