JBR - Beer Was Beer, Fish Was Fish

Beer: Lakeside Kolsh, Lake of the Woods Brewing Co, Kenora 

Name: Lakeside is one of Kenora’s first neighbourhoods with many of its homes situated on the shores of Lake of the Woods, spattered with small beaches, boathouses & docks. 

Details: Brewed using an old-world technique which produces a crisp, clean ale with lager characteristics. It is a delicate & subtle beer with a hint of malt & fruit in the nose. 

Fancy Numbers: 5% ABV, 6 IBU, 3 SRM

Date Tried: Thursday October 22, 2020 

Location: The Cornerstone Restaurant, Kenora, Ontario 

Meal: Good dinner but too much food! I had the local fish, Lake of the Woods Walleye - it tasted like fish.
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Not great, just like any other beer. Tastes a bit like Molson, which is not a compliment" 

Editor's note: Huge glass though, he was pretty tipsy by the end of it (I drove us back to the hotel after.)

JBR - Fahr Beer Pilsner

Beer: Pils, Fahr Beer, Turner Valley, Alberta

Details: This Black Forrest style Pilsner is unique to North America. Fuller bodied with less hop and bitterness, this beer stands out amongst other Northern German Pilsners more commonly found in Canada. This beer is filtered for clarity, has 5.0% alc./vol. and has a crisp finish. The Pils maintains flavours of crackers, floral notes, and a slight lingering bitterness to cut through the initial sweetness of the malt used. 

Awards: 2020 World Beer Awards Canada Gold Winner for Best Classic Pilsener Style Lager Beer

Recommended By: Sutik a few days earlier, he told us it was a really good microbrewery

Date Tried: Sunday October 18, 2020 

Location: Sky Bistro, on the summit of Sulphur Mountain, at the top of the Banff Gondola

Meal: A light dinner that was really delicious - Jason had the gnocchi and I had a mushroom and asparagus dish.
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Very clean, crisp, high quality. You can taste the German in it." 

Why it tasted German: The founder of Fahr Beer is Jochen Fahr, who was born and raised in Ebringen, Germany. The brewery also follows Reinheitsgebot, the “German Purity Law.” 

Editor's note: Was hoping a drink would help Jason on the gondola decent, he really isn't a fan of heights - it didn't, I think he was even worse going down than up. 

JBR - Lager With A Scary Story

Beer: Ghost Bride 

Type: Lager

Date Tried: Saturday October 17, 2020 

Location: Vermillion Room, Fairmount Banff Springs Hotel

Meal: An amazing steak dinner!
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "I don't know, fine." 

Another Custom Brew: This beer was also a limited edition made specifically for the hotel by Big Rock Brewery.
Editor's note: We heard the story last night during the Ghost Tour of the hotel.

JBR - But It Was Special

Beer: Banff Spring Lager, Big Rock Brewery, Calgary, Alberta
Date Tried: Friday October 16, 2020 during the bar's 'Rush Hour' so it was only $6, I ordered it for him while he was in the washroom
Location: Rundle Lounge, Fairmount Banff Springs Hotel
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Nothing special." 

Why It Was Special: Even though Big Rock now has a bottle shop and dining hall in Liberty Village, Toronto and does brewing out of Vancouver and Etobicoke, as well as, Calgary - this beer was obviously a limited edition made specifically for the hotel.
Editor's note: My drink came in a monkey! A 'zero proof' cocktail that was very tasty.

JBR - A Visit To Huntsville

Beer: Lake of Bays Brewing Company, on tap

Date Tried: Saturday March 7, 2020 

Location: Trading Bay Dining Company, Dorset, Ontario
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Yeah, it is fine."
Editor's note: It has never worked out that Kristen and Noah are heading to Huntsville at a time that we can join them. They have invited us a few times but we always miss out. Kristen's dad has a condo up near Deerhurst and they love it there, in all seasons. We got to go this past weekend and had a wonderful time. Went for a couple of hikes and did a tiny road trip a few minutes down the road to Dorset for lunch - at a restaurant filled with ski-doo'ers, I think we were the only people who arrived by car. I found an old Heritage Walking Tour of the tiny village so we made sure to do that too. It was a wonderful little winter weekend holiday!

JBR - Trainwreck Amber Ale

Beer: Trainwreck Amber Ale
Details: Flagship beer for The Pearl Street Brewery, an amber ale made using German-stye malts & hops. Its complex malt aroma evoke sweet bread, chocolate and dry-roasted nuts all balanced by a slight spiciness from the hops
Fancy Numbers: 4.7% ABV, 19 IBU, 16 SRM, FG 1.016
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "I had it last night, remember?"
Editor's note: Having visited a gin distillery first and tasted quite a few different types of gin and enjoyed a cocktail or two, I had not remembered that this was the beer he liked from the 5 tasted at the brewery we went to after the distillery.
Date Tried: Sunday October 13, 2019 (but first on Saturday October 12 apparently)
Location: Buffalo RiverWorks, Buffalo, New York (and the Pearl Street Grill and Brewery also in Buffalo, New York)

JBR - Cherry Beer

Beer: Nem vagyok én Apáca

Details: A fruit, specifically cherry beer, made at the Hungarian micro brewery - Kapucinus Sörfőzde
Date Tried: Thursday August 15, 2019
Location: BB'z, a ruin bar in Budapest Hungary
Comment after first sip: "Oh yes, this is great, tastes like Dr. Pepper"
Comment after a few more sips: "Nope."
Editor's note: Jason did not drink more than a quarter of the bottle after much initial excitement he stopped liking it pretty quickly.

JBR - First Craft IPA

Beer: First Craft IPA
Details: Hungarian Craft Beer
Date Tried: Thursday August 15, 2019
Location: Mazel Tov restaurant, Budapest, Hungary
General thoughts from Jason: "It is fine, no bad aftertaste."
Editor's note: Choosing this beer took a long time. There was much research and subsequent disappointment after discovering that many Hungarian brands were owned by Coors and other large beer companies.

JBR - Jason's Beer Review - Coming Soon

I am going to launch a new feature of Always Standing, Beer Reviews! This will be written by me involving quotes and the occasional grade/rating as provided by Jason. I still feel like he can't really tell the difference if he couldn't see the label and I will continue to host blind beer tasting contests to prove this.

However, especially when we travel, Jason takes trying local beer very seriously. So I might as well document it a bit because whenever content creation is easy it is best to take advantage. So stay tuned, first stop Hungary!