It started out as a day of boredom. I was sorting through stuff in my home office and came across a box of paper beer coasters. This was back in my bartending days, I felt it was my job to taste everything out there so I could be a knowledgeable server. As a reminder and a keepsake, as I tasted a new beer I would often keep a coaster which ended up in that box in my office. So I decided to see how many beers I had tasted. After a short bit of typing I had ended up around 200 or so beers, which I kept adding to. In the end, I was up over 600 different beers. However, a dead laptop took out the most complete copy of the file, leaving me with an old backup of which you see a screenshot above.
I like to open it up sometimes and look at some of the beers on there. Many do not exist anymore. (for some that is a good thing, others it is a crying shame) For instance:
Molson Naked: Yes... this was a product. Although a quick websearch would tell you otherwise, and leave me wanting to clear my browser cache... During the 1990's The big beer companies were obsessed with removing the "aftertaste" from beer. It was a product that was aimed more at the younger female demographic, and really didn't sell. I think Molson just wanted more women using the term "Naked" in a bar setting.
Also from Molson Was the trifecta of Ultra, Ultra Low Carb, and XXX Three high alcohol beers intended for younger drinkers and poor decisions.
Labatt had Ice, Extra Ice, and Maximum Ice. Yes I know sounds like soft drink sizes, But they were from the Ice Beer rage, where brewers partially froze the beer and then scooped out the ice crystals to elevate the alcohol percentage, a sort of cold distilling. Not to be outdone Molson Had Canadian Ice, there was Miller Ice, and Genesee Ice among others.
Labatt's big marketing scheme of the 1990's was the Labatt X and Y. Two red ales that were brewed slightly different from each other and then they asked their customers to call in or write in and vote on their favourite. The winner I believe was X and it went on to be produced for a year or so as Labatt Copper. Also from the Labatt Stable in this era was Twist Shandy, It was a beer mixed with Lemonade and one of the first "Ready to drink" beer cocktails that I remember. It hung around for a few years (and actually wasn't all bad...)
Other beers on this list make me sad. Bow Valley Brewing company was a brewery in Canmore Alberta and they produced an award winning lager called Bow Valley Lager (oddly enough...) It was hands down the best lager I had ever tasted. It's sister beer was Bruno's Mountain Bock, not quite as good as the lager but tasty enough. They eventually merged with The Banff Brewing company, and eventually folded. I nearly cried...
There are a million stories in my old file. The beers of the Grizzly Paw... also in Canmore, The Old Granville Island Brewery when it was still on Granville Island and not bought out by MolsonCoors. The Merchant Ale House in St. Catharines, Ontario. I enjoy coming here to my old file to reflect. And I am happy that it's younger sibling, the Blog, is continuing it's journey. I have reached thousands of people in over a hundred countries. I also look forward to doing it for another five years.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers
CJT
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