A wacked-out beer tasting!

CANada's Capital Chapter held their 19th Annual Thousand Islands Mini-convention in Gananoque on May 1 and 2 this year. This is a great opportunity for breweriana collectors to get together and have some fun!

For the last few years, many of us have been arriving early to have more fun (and get a jump on the trades!).

This year, Ray P. thought it would add to the fun if we had a beer tasting on the Thursday night before the official start of the Convention. So we went through the corridors announcing a beer tasting was set for 8:00 PM.
We assembled all the beers in my room and thankfully, Jay D. jumped in to organize them in some kind of tasting order.

The list: Samichlaus; McAuslan Stout; Snowshoe Grizzly Brown Ale; St. Ambroise 2009 Vintage; Rogue Brutal Bitter; Aventis Eisbock; Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA; Dogfish Head 120-Minute IPA; and a 2008 Thomas Hardy Ale.

What follows is the wacked-out part - people floated in and out of the room, trying 1 or 2 beers and giving opinions and then leaving! So there is absolutely nothing scientific about this! But we had fun, which was the idea anyway.

If you're still with me, here are some comments. I did my best to record them, but it became increasingly difficult as the beers got stronger! (up to 18%)

Samichlaus: Kerry W. - sipping beer; Ken K. - good in the hood (?); others - sweet and malty.
Score: 7.5 (out of 10)
McAuslan Stout: general comments - smoky, on the thin side
Score: 4.0
Grizzly Brown Ale: had an off taste, but the Americans liked it (?)
Score: 5.0
St. Ambroise 2009: general comments - brewed to perfection; well-balanced
Score: 7.5
Rogue Brutal Bitter: general comments - hoppy and bitter; well-balanced; good head
Score: 7.5
Aventis Eisbock: general comments - sweet with a taste of cloves
Score: 2.5
90-Minute IPA: general comments - hoppy and smooth; Al D. says it's the best he's had so far
Score: 7.2
120-Minute IPA: general comments - too sweet; fell short of expectations
Score: 3.0
Thomas Hardy Ale: general comments - a little young; needs further aging
Score: 6.0


The participants that were still in the room were asked for their favourites:
Ken K. - 90-Minute IPA; Al D. - Thomas Hardy; Dick P. - Brutal Bitter; Ron A. - 90-Minute IPA; Ray P. - Brutal Bitter

BTW, I did get some pictures of this event, but the images were blurry and unusable. I must get my camera checked out!