Mill Street does it again with Seasonal Sampler

My Name Is Lyall... and I sell beer.

As I mentioned a couple of blogs ago, I have a couple of new co-workers at my store - Ryan, a former pro football player who I likened to The Mountain on Game of Thrones and Lyall, who looked like someone that I, well, couldn't quite put my finger on.

Like me, he has longer hair (minus the, uhh, ash-blond at the temples), which he usually subdues by knotting it in the back. But the other day, he went Full Mane, causing Ryan to instantly rhyme-quip, "Whoa, bro, goin' for the flow!" That's when it struck both me and Ryan who Lyall resembled.

"Ryan," I asked, "What was that Earl show?"
"That's it!" Ryan laughed. "My Name Is Earl!"
It was at that exact moment I was glad I didn't ask "What was the name of that Earl show?" because there's nothing quite as embarrassing as asking a question with the actual answer in it. You know, a little like: "What's the name of that movie where Harold and Kumar go to White Castle?"

And Mill St Brewery does it yet again... another great mix...

Lyall confessed that before he went full beard, he had a full-cheese 'stache, much like actor Jason Lee in the TV show and was constantly being told of the resemblance. That's okay, I told him, I get George Clooney all the time - you learn to live with it. (And by "all the time", I, of course, mean "never, not even once.") I knew Lyall lived in Oakville so one day, I asked him whereabouts. He pointed to the church across the street and said, "See that fence at their parking lot? That's my fence, too." Right across the street - sweet deal! Of course, that made it even funnier when he came in the other day a few minutes late and the boss scolded him. "Yeah," he said in his dry, laconic style, "I got caught at the light," meaning the traffic light directly in front of our store. I suspect nothing takes the sting out of a boss' wrath quite like me howling like a stoned hyena...

If I commissioned a statue-maker to do one of
my Guardian Angel, it would look a lot like this

Co-worker Marie is pretty much in the same boat, living in the town-houses directly behind our mall. When she wandered in late recently, our young Italian Stallion co-worker (who's bucked his shyness and is seriously getting funnier every day) Robbie deadpanned: "Was traffic bad?" We were in the back and I laughed so loudly (further causing Robbie to laugh at my laugh) that a customer said to a cashier, "Wow! Someone's having fun." Depending on who the cashier is, the answer to that is usually, "Yeah, that's Donny. He might be high. Might not. We're never quite sure..."

Okay, as co-worker Gordo is fond of saying when he unexpectedly pops into the patio at Donny's Bar and Grill, "Beer me, bitch." Let's get to this little slice of Oktoberfest, then. Nobody - but nobody - has a better handle on releasing sampler or mixed six-packs quite like Toronto's Mill Street Brewery. It's like they have a new one every month. Well, their latest Seasonal Sampler has three I've enjoyed in the past - their outstanding Tankhouse Ale, as well as their Organic Lager and Belgian Wit, both solid beers. To these, they added their amber Palomar Ale, their amber organic 100th Meridan lager and their Belgian Cherry IPA.

This heart-warming three generational
Father's Day moment has been brought to
you for free, courtesy of Brew-Ha-Ha!

Okay, off the bat, don't bother with RateBeer on these, which is notoriously punitive on lagers, mild ales and British-style IPAs. Ignore the scores, so to speak, and let your taste-buds decide - not someone else's. I quite enjoyed the 100th Meridian, feeling the amber added a little "oomph" to their regular Organic. Grainy on the nose, the lightly-used Cascade hops give it some bitterness in the finish. The Palomar is a mild ale with a slightly smokey aroma but they added chipotle pepper spice to the caramel malt taste - not overwhelming so - but just enough that you can sense it, lurking there. A light amber ale, again, pretty good. Beer Musketeer Cat bought the six-pack same time as I did and like me, she had long ago tried the three I mentioned previously. She got to the Belgian Cherry IPA and was impressed. It's 7% so I was kinda hoping it would be the hoppy American style IPA, rather than the malty British one. Alas, it was neither Belgian or hoppy IPA-ish.  But still, it was quite tasty. Definitely a summer beer, as well as a "one and done", it was the kind of brew that was fun to try but no way could you drink it all afternoon. Cherry on the nose and much milder cherry on the tongue, it has a warm, bitter (but not unpleasant) taste that I would attribute to its alcohol level. Of the three newbies, I did enjoy them all - perfect patio beers - but I dug the 100th Meridian a bit more than the challengers. That said, I salute any beers that have the cajones to get into a Mix-Six with the outstanding Tankhouse Ale. You can read about my Man-Love for Tankhouse at the end of this one. You know... if you have time to kill, are not washing your hair and seriously can't find anything better on TV.... seriously, even an infomercial on a new revolutionary orange juicer.

This New Zealand brew encouraged me to try barley wines!

One of Beer Musketeer Stevil St Evil's more recent happy-finds in New Zealand (where he was deported to - I think Canada forgot it was actually Australia where the British banished their convicts and bad-asses to way back when) was Panhead Custom Ale's Black Sabbath barley wine. Stevil, who like all the Beer Musketeers loves to explore new brews (though living in the craft-beer mecca that is Wellington, he has a huge head-start), has had barley wines before - a fancy handle for beer that exceeds a certain alcohol level, thereby pushing it closer to wine. Stevil liked the beer style just fine... but tellingly, didn't really rave. Until he found the Black Sabbath which is hopped to the proverbial gills. He noted it was the first barley wine he has had that make him say: "Must have more!"

Well now... that's a neat trick, Great Divide Brewing Co.
"Marty, we have to go back!!! Back to the Future!!"

So during my last visit to beloved locals, Nickel Brook, whilst filling my growlers with Headstock IPA, I snagged a bottle of the collaborative Nickel Brook/Sawdust City Brewery's 1106 Barley Wine. They collaborated on it because both breweries began (in separate years) on November 6th, the alcohol level is 11.06%, as well as the fact that the owners of both breweries happen to stand 11-feet, six inches tall - but only if one is standing on the shoulders of the other. Fair warning - it's pricey at $17 for a 750-ml bottle. The 1106 is very dark fruit-driven with both the aroma and taste of plums and prunes. Much more malty than hoppy, much more winey than beery. I enjoyed it but this is not a warm weather beer unlike the hop-laden madness that is Black Sabbath. I will keep looking. Stevil thinks he's tracked down a hoppy winner for me from Central City Brewing (Surrey, BC) going by the name Thor's Hammer. Odin, be praised - on my To-Find-And-Rapidly-Consume List...

Actually, Stevil has a valid point. Who spawned Max?

And speaking of the Good Ship St Evil, I was recently talking to Stevil and invoked the name Max and Goofy, the long-running Disney cartoon and subsequent movies that my son David and I used to watch religiously. Quickly realizing that Stevil probably had no idea who Max was, having moved to New Zealand nearly 15 years ago, I explained that Max was the cartoon son who was continually embarrassed by the antics of his Dad, Goofy. The show emphasized that even if your Dad is an idiot, you have to love him anyway. I felt that was important for David to know...

There was a bit of a pause on Stevil's end before he replied: "Okay... who f**ked Goofy?"

Courtesy of my pal and Kate Upton's next BF, Joe...

Well, Milestone Day here at Brew-Ha-Ha! It was June 22 of last year when the first Brew Ha Ha hit the interwebs. And it has been a wicked-ass ride. I have learned more about beers in the past single year than, well, I knew for the totality of my Labatt Blue-drinking life up to that point. And that's gonna keep going. I have two people to single out. First up is my Danish buddy, Kevin, who encouraged me to get back into writing more than just funny Facebook statuses. He wasn't the first to gently nudge me back towards writing... but he was, in fact, the last. I don't even remember what exactly he said... but clearly, he put the right words in the right order. So really, what can I say beyond this... blame Kevin.

And of course, Stevil St Evil, who very patiently walked me through setting up a blog... and then giving me a name for it (the Tyrion-inspired "Lord of Tits And Beer" came a close second to "Brew-Ha-Ha!")... and then creating a blog head banner and a blog sign-off.... as well as several dozens of suggestions for beer to try. Without Stevil, this thing never even starts. Again, what can I say? If you can't find Kevin, blame Stevil... And right, my professed Man Love for Tankhouse can be found here at: If You Love Tankhouse Ale So Much, Why Don't You Marry It?

Okay, guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here... Until next time, I remain...