Angkor: My country, My beer!

Angkor is the most widely distributed beer in Cambodia. Clear, crisp, refreshing, not too light not too heavy it can be the perfect weapon to combat the hot and humid air of Cambodian big cities. It's price varies from roughly 45 cents to 3$ USD in a can or bottle and it can be sold as cheap as 25 cents a pint on tap. The beauty of it is that you can find some everywhere litterally, almost everyone sells some, either in a bar, convenience store, out of someone's garage, bicycle, car or rolling cooler. Be sure to dig deep in the cooler in order to get the coldest ones and don't hang around too long in one spot because the beer has a tendency to climb in temperature as you keep ordering it. They run out of cold ones fast enough. The brewerie is in Sihanouk province near the ocean side but ironically , probably because of all the tourism it is there that I found it to be the most expensive. People drink it with a straw in order to get it down faster (before it gets hot) or to avoid putting their mouths on the sometimes filthy can rims. Either way a clear golden yellow beer with the right amount of bubbles makes it my favorite as it is Cambodias favorite beer. My country, my beer is their moto.

9.0/10

Shawinigan Handshake 6.5%

This self proclaimed pugnacious strong ale brewed by Le Trou Du Diable in Shawinigan is clearly in the top 5 of the worst beers I ever drank. I really had a hard time finishing it and even shared a glass... I don't even feel like going into the details, who cares about its colour. No real need to comment more, this is after all an appreciative blog. A long and lingering aftertaste and a hoppy bitterness flavour that almost seem artificial it is so perfumed. On top of that the labelling uses so much adjectives to define its product is becomes meaningless. On the upside the bottle is very nice and the label quite funny with a cartoon of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien with glasses sideways hanging on to the devil himself. On the bright side, I had a great time making this years batch of homemade pickles while drinking this awful beer. I wonder if Jean Chrétien actually ever tasted this beer before he agreed to lend his image.


3/10

L'Aviateur

L'Aviateur brewed by la Tour à Bières in Chicoutimi is a micro-brewed ambered blond. In 660ml glass bottles with 6% alcohol content, this more red than yellow ale is quite simple witch actually makes it quite charming for your taste buds. It kind of smells like O'keefe. It is quite bitter as the label warned us. The aftertaste is quick and smooth, but there is still this very recognizable hoppyness that seem to haunt alot of micro-brewed beers. There is a wonderful texture to it, the creamyness is very appreciated. For some reason this beer is not even on their website anymore.


7.6/10

Rickard's Shandy

A nice light summer drink, fine and refreshing at 4.5% alcool. The thing is I am under the empression that this type of lemony beer comes out every now and than under a new name. Of course home made shandy is often better tasting and can be personalized to anyone's liking. I am more of a wine cocktail guy than a beer cocktail dude but since it is summer and the weather and good company enhances the taste of this Shandy, I kinda like it. Enjoy it while it lasts, and don't be afraid of trying a variety of beer cocktails. To my taste this one is better than a Michelada héhéhé...

8.3/10

Picaroons Maple Cream

Picaroons Maple Cream is a brown beer my friend got me in New-Brunswick, the land of expensive beer! The colour reminded me of Newcastle. The bottle format is nice, I don't know if it is easy to redeem tough. Its 5% alcohol volume is low for a beer of its kind. Its smell is intriguing kind of like maple water. A light smokey taste that is similar to burnt maple taffee is recognizable. A sweet beer in general with a dose of creaminess and mild carbonation. A bitter-sweet symphony is what it is!

6.9/10

www.picaroons.ca  Richibucto Road New Brunswick

Narragansett Lager

This is a very tasty, slightly creamy lager with 5% alcohol. Made on honour, sold on merit. It has a common lager taste bold and beautiful. Crisp with nearly no aftertaste, Narragansett pulls away from the pack because of its simplicity. This beer has a long history of sponsoring the Boston Red Sox and the Gansett Rock Festival among others. A favourite of Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra, this is a solid, all occasion beer that can be enjoyed by all types of beer lovers. During the prohibition it was sold as medicinal beer, wow, medicinal beer I need myself some of that! Tonight I enjoyed it with some delicious crab flavoured by lemon and cayenne. Their website is quite entertaining : www.narragansettbeer.com

8.5/10

Narragansett Brewing Company, Providence, Rhode Island

Why do you train?

Someone asked me, this weekend, why do I train? I am still not sure about the precise answer. Why wouldn't I? The easy response was to say because I want to be a better football player. If you consider the different types of training I use you couldn't say its all specific to this sport therefore football is one of the reasons I train but certainly not the only reason. For health reasons? Yes but if you consider the lifestyle I live this reason is also a part of the answer but certainly not the whole reason. Than why do I workout even when I don't feel like it? Its a lifestyle I guess, its a social phenomenon. Maybe its because of the great people I met over the years while playing sports or exercising. I happen to train alone, but I often compete against others or help others train. It is a way to challenge myself, Its a FUN way to challenge myself. I love to try new sports or new training methods even tough I understand a certain amount of repetition is necessary. Results, accomplishment and progression is my main motivation I guess. Because of the bragging rights you get for working out day in day out? Its about something to look forward to, a game, a race, and event or a project.  Its hard to verbalize the reasons why I workout because I never had to think about it. I guess its all about the feeling I get when I sit down afterwards. The great memories of the fun times I had exercising, the great memories of the pain I endured on the bad days. Its also because I guess I like the good pain! Why do you train?

Today I was kind of hungover, I ran 5k with my girlfriend 23mins 39 secs good, not great!

Miller Lite

Haven't had a beer in a while so pretty much anything would taste good at this time. I'm falling more and more for light beers lately. Smooth, crisp, light and still tasty. Excellent pilsener taste, slightly perfumed but fresh smelling beer. It has a very clear goldness to it, almost like creek water. This edition was the punch top can, I really didn't see the difference. Its a little hole you puncture with a key on the top of the can.1- Crack open. 2- Push second tab. 3- Its Miller time. Unlock the smooth pour of great pilsener taste it says, I don't know how it really affects the taste having tried it in different ways. All around its a fine beer. It would be a nice beach beer, probably why it was designed. Special thanks to a certain someone who got me some Oaxaca cheese for the pizza!

4.1% alc.

7.0/10

Ballantine XXX Ale

America's Largest Selling Ale is a fine cream ale with a little more bitterness than the other in its category.The smell is not the best. A beautiful clear light yellow colour and a nice creamy head that stays for a good moment before fading away if properly poured. It has a good level of carbonation despite the creaminess. An interesting dosage of hoppyness and other grains flows trough your mouth. Better enjoyed at room temperature it can also be made into a Ballantini (beer martini) This beer is often mentioned in Hunter S. Thompson's letters witch made me fall for it in the first place. It was also enjoyed by Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio,R ocky Marciano and Frank Sinatra among many. My expectations where higher but not a bad beer in general. Falstaff brewing corporation, Purity, Body and Flavour.

http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/ballantine_ale.htm

4.8% alcohol

One pint, (16 fl. oz.) ,Half Quart

7.9/10

Coup de Grisou

Definitively a don't go there! Extremely perfumed smell,very sweet and tastes quite artificial, there is something unorthodox to it! Of course, you can't drink more than one of these quite cloudy beers, even if you are really thirsty. It comes in a bottle witch is cluttered with purple foil around the neck.The idea of a buckwheat beer is fine, but this one is quite hard to drink. The name means some type of methane explosion feared by miners. Really cleaver ... Of course everyone wants to drink liquid methane! Really tried to enjoy this 5%  but C'mon Man! Hope I don't get the beer shits from this! This picture is from this summer when I biked to my cottage where I found a place that sell the Photo Police newspaper witch I find very comedic with all the miscellaneous stories it focuses on.

8.99$ for 6 x 341ml in Quebec

4.5/10

Molson Canadian

Molson Canadian is a lager who is sometimes brewed at 4.9% and sometimes 5%. It is very light tasting. Goes down easy, it is a little watery. There is a hint of cereal but nothing too much. The carbonation level is fine to my taste, a little more than other lagers. I am happy that it is now widely available in Quebec.Canadian water, prairie barley and no preservatives seems to be a great recipe. Crisp and icy, my review might be biased because I love this one. Funny review I read was commenting on the aspect of the labelling indicating that it is made with Canadian water. Water from the sewer, from lake Athabasca or from the tap? Anyways, ideal for a fishing trip, skiing , a hockey or football game or just a regular night with the guys, this beer often makes my day.    


9.2/10

14.99$ for 12x 341ml in Quebec

Colt 45

Colt 45 is a malt liquor designed as a cheap intoxicant. It is now distributed by the Silver Creek Brewery from La Crosse Wisconsin but was originally introduced in 1963 by the National Brewing Company. The logo includes a kicking horse and a horseshoe in order to insinuate that it has an extra kick over the competitors. It is also printed on the back of the label so you can see it when you finish drinking the bevrage. The transparent bottle is unusual specially in the 40oz format. A gold, almost amber nectar has a dominant alcohol flavor. A surprising but expectable sweetness makes it resemble very dry ciders. Because of the 8% alcohol content it is not very carbonated. It is often mentioned in songs by Snoop Dogg and Afroman. Colt 45 was often accused of targeting under aged drinkers. Finally, it goes well with fried chicken, but use these two ingredients with caution.

7.1/10

Steam Whistle 5%

This fine Canadian pilsner has a rich golden colour. Consulting their very complete website I learned that Pilsener is a type of lager named after the city of Pilzn in the Czech Republic where it was first made in the 19th century. The FAQ section and the Recipes are my favourite. Three guys who formerly worked in a microbrewery witch was bought out by a national brewer and closed down where on a canoe trip when they decided to create Steam Whistle. On every bottle or can we can see the indication 3FG for 3 fired guys.The taste of barley stands out in the aftertaste. A nice clean feel and deliciously refreshing aroma is what I bargained for. Light enough for anybody with its own little particularities. Accompanied by this homemade Manila Clam Chowder on a sunny autumn afternoon made it all even better.

2.80$ for a 500ml can in Ontario

9.1/10

www.steamwhistle.ca

Butternuts Beer & Ale

Butternuts has to my taste awesome marketing and a very nice website. Another plus is that the beers have an estimated nutritional value. 150 calories, 8 grams of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of protein. Very estimated because these 4 beers indicate the same information.

Moo Thunder 4.9%

One of the most watery stouts I have ever drank, this is no necessarily a bad thing. Like alot of stouts it is relatively light, the creaminess is almost absent. Very dark, sort of looks like coke or pepsi, it is also rare to find stouts in the 355ml can format around here. I taste hints of dark chocolate. Has some traits similar to Murphy's.

Snapperhead 6.8%

Snapperhead is an all malt bevrage, the label doesn't show a snapper and is kind of a knockoff of Landshark.Very perfumed smell, I detect a hint of pine. A kind of sappy taste is present. Not too cerealy but there is a hoppy bitterness. The colour is almost opaque, its actually kind of cloudy copper. In general I find it to be more neutral than other artisan beers.

Heinnieweisse 4.9%

The logo has something that looks like a hop head witch is very similar to an alien. Again all malt. Its a cloudy blonde, almost white, very European. It has a clean feel and the bitterness this time is well doused.

Porkslap 4.3%

This is their house brew, their trademark. Once again very perfumed and bitter, very minor hints of sweetness. I prefer it to Snapperhead but very similar except for the abv. Hard to detect the ginger. The cereal gets into your breath real fast. 

15.99$ for 12x355ml in New York, its one of the most expensive American beers but alot cheaper than the beer around here.

http://www.butternutsbeerandale.com/                                                    Garratsville, NY

JR 6.0

It starts a little fruity and ends a little bitter. Some beers are good but you only appreciate them when you are near where they are made. Fine beer, but I will probably not drink anymore unless I am in Brampton, Ontario. For best results: pull tab (haha!). Its a good powerful Lager with nothing outstanding to it and an absence of particularity. The marketing is actually what attracted me to it. Nice logo and an intriguing sleek can witch resembles an energy drink. This days beer companies are really trying to get a piece of the pie of the energy drink craze. This is the one I found up to now to have the closest image. Both these industries are also trying to reach out to athletes not that there is anything wrong with this because at the end of the day people choose what they put in their own body. Personally, I rather the Michelob approach witch consists of printing the nutritional information on their product.

9.95$ for 6 x 355ml sleek cans in Ontario

6.9/10

James Ready Light

James Ready is a Canadian brewing company, they self proclaimed this beer the winner of the awesomest light beer in the universe, whatever that means. I wouldn't go that far but I wasn't all disappointed. First of all the clearness is incredible, I believe I have never seen a beer this clear, good?, bad?, I don't know. It kinda tastes like club soda. I think club soda says it all. There is no pronounced taste and its easy to drink.Its dry, watery and bubbly all good adjectives to describe a beer except maybe for watery depending on the mood. The marketing is nice, I love the ''dragonesque'' lion. It goes well with salty foods like chips or popcorn but rare are the beers who don't. Doesn't taste much and is a 4% product, probably better enjoyed after sports on a hot summer day. Just got back from a dek hockey game so, I might be biased. The 8-pack format is quite unusual, I wonder why beer companies are always changing the packaging sizes, they should stick to 6,12 and 24.

8 x 355ml for 12.95$ in Ontario

6/10 Can this be considered beer? At least its not disgusting...

Sir John A's

This honey wheat ale from P.-E.-I. is said to be a light golden brew with honey-ish notes on the nose and a rounded off dry and slightly citrusy body. It is the gold medal winner at the 2011 Canadian Brewing Awards. Brewed by Gahan, it is not pasteurized. At first I was struck by its beautiful colour, I tought it was surprisingly pale by my expectations. The honey-ish notes, I could not find them. It is nice and dry tough and feels very light. The wheatyness is there and never goes away. The packaging date is very evident and clearly indicated witch is a plus. The bubbles are a tad creamy but fade away really quickly. The smell was a terrific arrangement of everything nice, but overall this one is not one of my favourites. This beer has 4.5% alcohol.

3.60$ for 500ml in Prince-Edward-Island

6.6/10

Rickard's Cardigan

This is a 5.5% Autumn Lager. The colour of the label reflects the beer really well. The bottle cap is a cardigan button witch is kind of funny. Very spicy, the taste of cinnamon steps out alot. This harvest Lager tastes and smells like pumpkin pie. It actually smells like old cardigans found in the attic of a pottery barn ad. Its to my taste too aromatic. It tends to sweeten if kept in mouth for a while. Its colour is a pale ginger. Is it an old folk beer? Is it distributed in cans? All I know is that there is a certain lightness to it despite its high alcohol content. As it is shown on the label: COOL, TILT, POUR, FINISH, ENJOY. 

7.9/10

11.99$ for 6 x 341ml in Quebec... OVERPRICED!

Singha

Drank this beer again today to have a better idea of what it tastes like. Reminds me of this summer at the beach. Call me crazy but I can distinguish a hint of peppermint. I had said that last time I had tried it and recognized it again. With a 5% alcohol content this lager is not that bad, one of the reasons why I sometimes buy it is because it is one of the only beers that the SAQ keeps refrigerated. By the way I still don't understand why some stores keep their stock at room temperature, it is so bad for the beer's preservation. The fact that they give you some merchandising is often a tiebreaker when you don't exactly know witch beer to buy! Singha is from Thaïland, can't wait to go there. Downside, the beer is flat. They have been brewing it since 1933.

7/10

2.15$ for 330ml in Quebec

http://lastreetfoodfest.com/

www.singhabeer.com

Beach Chair Lager

This beer is an all natural lager from Prince Edward Island. Nice and light @ 4.5%.  No preservatives or additives, just pure PEI water, Canadian barley, hops, yeast and the skill of island brewmasters.At first it looks like a can of iced tea because of the cans colour. I don't know if the barley is roasted or something but the little aftertaste is wonderful. Sometimes when the barley flavours are too evident it makes the beer taste like saugy cereal. In this particular blend a subtile aroma is perfectly doused and created to make this beer so good. A strict bitterness is developped at beers end but once again is nicely doused. I guess these PEI brewers really are brewmasters. 

8.8/10

473ml (Ball)

peibrewingcompany.com