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