ottawa foodies

based on results from Ontario Brewing Awards 2013:

- Mill St.
- Clocktower
- Big Rig

All won multiple awards - really

See www.ontariobrewingawards.com

???

I have always liked Mill St, the other two....well what could one say in a public forum.

You should at least consider Zym's house and my house in the list as well ;)

It's pretty cool that we can even have a discussion about 'Ottawa's Top 3 Breweries'. That's not something that was possible a while ago.

I guess I have to give the Clocktower another try. I've only been there once, many years ago and wasn't too impressed with what I tried. I do like what I've had at the Big Rig and I've been there quite a few times.

It might be reading into things a bit much though, to call them the "top 3" after looking at the list posted in the link. I'm not even sure that any of the Mill St. varieties on the list are those brewed in Ottawa, versus their Toronto location. Do we know what was submitted by Kitchsippi, Beyond the Pale, Broadhead, Hogs Back etc.

Inkling I can't speak for all the Clocktower locations but I have been to the one on Bank Street in the Glebe and I find their beer is top notch. Apparently they had a shakey start when the pub first opened but their present brewmaster Patrick has been getting praise for his beers since his arrival at the pub a few years ago. If you went to the one in the Glebe pre-Patrick days it might be worth giving them a second chance...

It was the Glebe location and I'm sure it was pre-Patrick as it was ages ago. Thanks for the heads-up, I will have to give it another try.

Yeah Patrick has made a huge difference there. He still struggles with that damned ringworm yeast or whatever the heck it is called (not sure why they keep using it) but he works wonders with it. He has a brewing degree from Edinburgh if I'm recalling correctly.

And the beer brewed on Bank St goes out to all the locations.

Oh, and meanwhile they also have a former brewer from Brick Brewing on staff ...

Ringwood Zym...Ringwood!

Some people may like the worm in a bottle of Tequila but I am pretty sure they do not want to find a ringworm in their beer ;)

is this a joke?? beer of the year amsterdam spring bock

labatt tossed in there too....as best wheat....wow

btw....clocktower's new brew "white stout" is not worth trying. couldn't even finish the tiny sample glass i tried

How did Krusty brand beer not make the list? I think these awards are fixed. Hey Krusty does this shameless promotion of your brew help me earn any promotional samples(wink, wink,nudge nudge , knowwhatimean, )

It costs the breweries $75 per beer to enter the award judging and the have to supply the beer. It's not meant to be an award that judges all the beers out there. For some of the smaller breweries it might not be worth the hassle - I imagine the smaller guys like Beyond The Pale would love the publicity but are already struggling to meet demand as it is.

Just a thought. I dunno. :)

Not to derail the discussion too much, but there is no such thing as "a ringworm."

Ringworm is a fungal infection.
Ringwood is a place in England.
Wormwood is a plant.

Kingdom Fungi contains both ringworm and Ringwood yeast.
Wormwood is conspicuous by its absinthe.

:D

SmokerGuy.....

It is all part of my 'good neighbor' marketing budget.

BTW BobTheNeighbor thinks we should have wing nite in the hood. My fav wing place described their process.....big meaty wings, dip in flour, deep fry for 5 mins, redip in flour and deep fry till finished.

Now need some sauce recipes and a date.

Oh warby ... it was a play on words. Ringwood is also a very well known and much maligned strain of yeast used in breweries. I knew the proper name in my post above - just chose "ringworm" to underscore how maligned the strain is in many beer circles.

I had a couple of white stouts the last time I was at the Clocktower in Westboro. It was alright, but not quite...not quite my thing? I was a bit put off by the "flavour and aromatics of a white, with the texture of a stout" thing that was going on.

The beer at the Clocktower has always been good, nothing mindblowing. Never had the beer from Big Rig. Have had the beer from Mill St, and again, it's good... but excellent? The best in Ottawa? Hmm...

ANYway, back to the subject at hand. I'm loathe to put much stock in voluntary awards competitions with entry fees.

Don't get me wrong, I love Mill St. and Clocktower beer (I haven't had anything from Big Rig).

But if I'm buying beer direct from the brewery for home consumption, it's far more likely to be from Beau's, Broadhead, or Beyond the Pale than any of the ones that actually won.

Congrats to the winners I guess, but I don't give much weight to these awards.

Steelback won several of these when they were still around, so...

Why exactly is ringwood yeast maligned?

Oh just because it has a very strong character and there are also some odd licensing arrangements with it if I recall correctly

Ringwood yeast is supposedly very active and can mutate easily. It is much preferred by people brewing hoppy English style beers.. Some people struggle with it's, um, pro biotic effects ;-)

It's as much praised as maligned. It imparts a buttery character that some brewers think is cheating, but it's got a proud history and English ale aficianados appreciate it.