My holy grail quest...

[fundonny]

This past Thursday, myself and two of my closest bros began our ultimate quest. The Pub Italia on Preston St. has, at the time of printing our beer passports, 184 beers. We put together our own passports in a Stella Artois leather folder (I'll post pictures soon, pretty freaking cool). We head out every Thursday night and we'll knock off up to 4 each Thursday.

This past Thursday I knocked out:
1. Delirium from Belgium - an amazing beer, I was very impressed 8/10
2. Saku from Estonia - really enjoy this one, sweet tasting, gave it a 6/10
3. Tusker from Kenya - was scared but by golly it was delicious! 8/10
4. Amstel Light from Holland - One of the best light beers I've ever had 7/10

[fundonny]

Here are some photos of our custom made passports...

[John]

Mmmm Delirium Tremens? Pink elephants on the bottle. One of my faves, drink enough of those and you are in for one hell of a drunk.

[jonf]

Cool idea. Here's my question. What's the point scale? Basically, have you ever had a 10, and if so, what was it.

[fundonny]

Cool idea. Here's my question. What's the point scale? Basically, have you ever had a 10, and if so, what was it.

Good question Jon! The best beer I've ever had, and I continue to have, and I'm sure some will roll their eyes, is Stella. Hence our passport covers. So Stella is a 10/10. If i happen to encounter something better, it'll be an 11/10. lol

[fundonny]

Mmmm Delirium Tremens? Pink elephants on the bottle. One of my faves, drink enough of those and you are in for one hell of a drunk.

John, that's the stuff. WOW. Did you know that's the house beer of Delirium bar in Brussels? 2000 beers. Makes Pub Italia look like a day care.

[Paulio]

That is a very neat idea. As a Stella fan myself (it is also MY favorite), let me know if you get something that tops it. I am a pale ale guy, so, would love to try something new that I have yet to discover.

[Kilroy]

That is so ultimately Canadian. As a country we love the suds, and true Canadians would love to test as many as possible... but this is taking it to a new level eh!

[jonf]

Good question Jon! The best beer I've ever had, and I continue to have, and I'm sure some will roll their eyes, is Stella. Hence our passport covers. So Stella is a 10/10. If i happen to encounter something better, it'll be an 11/10. lol

Well, I do roll my eyes a bit, but its a very subjective thing. If you're going to find something to surpass it, I imagine it will be from either Belgium, Germany, or Czech Republic. My personal fave is Paulaner, but I think that's mostly sentimental - that was my tent at Oktoberfest.

I was on a quest when in Europe to figure out which country made the best beer. Conclusion? None. They all make some awesome stuff, depending on your taste. Can't beat the UK for traditional ales. The Czechs make some of the best pilsners (they did invent them after all). The Germans know their lagers (and you just can't beat the Bavarians). And then the Belgians have a category all their own with the trappist ales...12% and they still taste like heaven.

[mpare]

If you're searching for great beer, you have to visit Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Portsmouth Brewery (http://portsmouthbrewery.com/) makes unbelievably delicious beer. While I've only tasted a few, my favourite is Portsmouth Kate The Great - Russian Imperial Stout.

As a golfer, though, on a hot summer's day there is no better beer to quench your thirst than Rolling Rock. After all, it's brewed in Arnie's back yard. It's pretty tasty with a bit of seafood. Here's a picture that proves my point.

[Wilster]

Ahh Delirium , i was fortunate to taste this bad boy whilst working in Belgium for 6 months , quite the sore head the next day if you drink enough of those. Its funny that you rate Stella as your highest , when its considered a domestic beer (and not the most popular by the locals) in Belgium. I like Stella also but my fave in Belgium was Jupiler , which again was a popular domestic beer.
The Delirium bar that you speak of with the 2000 beers , i think i may have been there , but lets just say we were a little worse for wear at that point in the evening.
Belgium had some great beers , but my fave remains a Canadian brew , Sleemans cream ale.

[Weazl]

There use to be a pub on the market called Alfie's, a small little dark pub where we could play darts that had a beers of the world passport and if you drank em all you got a t-shirt. That was fun. Much of my my misspent youth was spent there drinking beer and oplaying darts. Those were the days....

[Sakuraba]

Another great beer thread

Donny, have you visited www.ratebeer.com ? You can spend a long time on there.

[fundonny]

Going to take my first look at it now....

Mmmmm..... beer. ...

[LobWedge]

If you're searching for great beer, you have to visit Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Portsmouth Brewery (http://portsmouthbrewery.com/) makes unbelievably delicious beer. While I've only tasted a few, my favourite is Portsmouth Kate The Great - Russian Imperial Stout.

As a golfer, though, on a hot summer's day there is no better beer to quench your thirst than Rolling Rock. After all, it's brewed in Arnie's back yard. It's pretty tasty with a bit of seafood. Here's a picture that proves my point.

Holy cow Mike! You guys got enough food there?

I see deep fried clam strips. Is that crab or lobster bisque? Or is it chowder? Either way, droooooool!!

BTW folks, take a look at how thick his wallet is. That's the guy you stay away from on the golf course. Most guys around here learned the hard way.

[LobWedge]

Oh yeah, beer.

I'm partial to an ice cold Pilsner Urquell in the summertime, or Hoegaarden.

Other than that, it's usually Guinness, Steam Whistle, anything by Big Rock, Sam Adams, or Mill Street Coffee Porter.

[fireice]

Loved Alfie's as well!

There use to be a pub on the market called Alfie's, a small little dark pub where we could play darts that had a beers of the world passport and if you drank em all you got a t-shirt. That was fun. Much of my my misspent youth was spent there drinking beer and oplaying darts. Those were the days....

[jeffc]

Oh yeah, beer.

I'm partial to an ice cold Pilsner Urquell in the summertime, or Hoegaarden.

Other than that, it's usually Guinness, Steam Whistle, anything by Big Rock, Sam Adams, or Mill Street Coffee Porter.

Rich, I like the cut of your jib!

[Chambokl]

Donny, on your Thursday night weekly trip... as you have Friday off, don't try to fill your book in 1 night. You might be out of commission until Saturday...

[fundonny]

Just found it we're not going this Thursday, one of the lads is moving Friday (half his stuff is in my basement lol), and he wants to start Thursday after work. But he's heading to the LCBO to pick up few exotics we can drink at his new place.

[LobWedge]

Here's one of my favourite places for beer. It's located in the Prater in Vienna. A Hintere Schweinsstelze (roasted pork hock) and a few quarts of brew. Heaven!

http://www.schweizerhaus.at/1024/eng/index.html

[fundonny]

With the World Cup happening, we've been having fun matching our beers to the countries. This past week for instance we honoured some of the losers that have been sent home. XO from France (8%, rasberry flavoured). Faxe from Denmark (pretty good). London Pride from England (also pretty good). And Kirin Ichiban from Japan (so-so).

It's been really fun so far! With some very pleasant surprises. I've yet to have a sub-par Belgium beer.

[sillywilly]

masala mama, from my home country.. india

give it a try, its amazing. its not on my top 10 list because its from india but because its that good.

but my absolute FAV beer is arctic barley wine!!! 13.2% giggdy!!

[sillywilly]

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” - Benjamin franklin



one of my favorite quotes

[fundonny]

I had Kingfisher which i believe is from India. Delicious!!!!!!!!!!

[sillywilly]

yes, its it. so good. i also like taj beer. but king fisher is the best mainstream beer in india

[sillywilly]

Tutankhamun Ale – $52 per bottle
This expensive beer has a peculiar history. It’s brewed in a Cambridge laboratory from a recipe discovered in the Queen Nefertiti’s Temple of the Sun in Egypt. The beer is named after the queen’s stepson, more commonly known as King Tut. The temple, which housed a brewery, is believed to have been built by King Akenhaten, Tut’s predecessor and likely father. This beer is also limited and may be purchased for $52 per bottle.


Samuel Adams Utopias – $100 per bottle


Vintage No. 1 may be four times as expensive as Samuel Adams/Boston Beer Company’s Utopias, the former most expensive beer, but Utopias still holds a Guinness World Record for being the strongest beer at 50 proof.
Utopias was brewed with a blend of high-quality hops and sold in an ornate copper-plated brew kettle and offers a flavor unlike any other expensive beer or beverage in the world. The sweet flavor is richly highlighted with hints of vanilla, oak and caramel. The expensive beer is non-carbonated and should be served at room temperature.


Brewdog’s “The End of History” – $765 per bottle

Well, PETA is going to have a field day with this one. Scottish brewery BrewDog has produced a beer served in bottles as shocking as the beer’s extremely high alcoholic content.
Only eleven bottles of this expensive beer, named after a book by philosopher Francis Fukuyama, were produced. The blond Belgian ale, infused with nettles from the Scottish Highlands and fresh juniper berries, is 55 percent alcohol and will be BrewDog’s final high ABV beer.
The bottles, however, are the beer’s most striking aspect–each one is encased in a squirrel or weasel stuffed by a gifted taxidermist. The four grey squirrels and seven weasels selected were all roadkill, however, so their immortalization as beer bottles may actually be considered more respectful than ignominious roadside decomposition.