Block Three

There's a new brewery in St. Jacobs called Block Three and, well, it's pretty fantastic.

Admittedly, I've only had one beer there, the King Street Saison. It was quite tasty. I am eager to try the Sugar Bush Brown.

But, here is the problem (and I hate to say there is a problem). They keep running out of beer!

They do make things in small batches, which is part of the problem. They're in a tourist town and there's lots of interest in craft beer, so it's not a surprise people are checking them out.

I can't wait for them to expand so they don't run out anymore!

Still, if you're in St. Jacobs, you'll want to stop by (if they're open) and pick up a little something (if you can).

Mill Street's new beer hall

Jeff and I met up with some friends at Mill Street's new beer hall in the Distillery District in Toronto.

It was meh.

The food was still the same, the beer the usual Mill Street offerings.

I ordered the coffee porter bierschnaps, knowing full well what I was trying, but the waiter was a bit condescending, asking if I really knew what I was ordering.

When it arrived, I'll admit it, it was strong. Too strong for me. I remembered Jeff talking about schnapps in Germany and how it was delicious and smooth. I thought this would be similar.

Now, Jeff also likes Scotch, which I do not, so perhaps our opinions of "delicious and smooth" differ wildly.

But after Jeff tried it, even he said it wasn't even close to anything he'd had in Germany. He did, however, purchase a bottle of the Tankhouse bierschnaps, which has been in our freezer ever since.

(He saw me blogging so he went to try some. He said it wasn't as "offensive" as the coffee porter one I had, but it still "smells like dirty tequila ... the smell is just bad. Why would you ever drink this instead of scotch?" Then as he finished it, he said, "Blech, yeah, that's not good." So, not a homerun.)

If you like Mill Street, you'll probably enjoy the new beer hall (which is attached to their regular restaurant). And you'll probably try the bierschnaps because, hey, it's new and different and you should at least try it for yourself.

But for us, I think Mill Street will be an OK place to meet up with people if we happen to be at the Distillery District, but there are so many other places to get wonderful beer in Toronto, we won't make a trip specifically to go to Mill Street. And if we're there, we'll probably try to eat elsewhere.

BTW, if you haven't read it, check out this Toronto Star review of the beer hall (spoiler: it's not favourable). But Jeff tells me I should point out they have made some changes since that review.

BTW #2 - the new Mill Street website is awful.

Atlantic Bar Harbor Real Ale

My co-worker and friend Chris was recently on his honeymoon in Maine and when he returned, he brought back some Atlantic Bar Harbor Real Ale. And because I have given him a beer once or twice, he brought a bottle in for me.

At the risk of sounding like a teenager, "O.M.G."

This beer is fantastic. I really liked it. I said to Jeff that it was like having a pop - it was smooth and just great flavours. (Jeff said it was like a "wobbly pop.")

The brewery says this was their first beer in 1991 and they wanted to make it smooth and easy-drinking. Check.

They say there are nice caramel tones. Check.

They say they wanted a balance of hops and malt. Check.

This is a beer that, if I saw it on a draft list, I wouldn't even think - I'd just order it. I'd love to have this beer again! (I'm also itching to try their Cole Porter!)

Thanks, Chris!