Ten-Penny: Another Maritime Canadian Beer Disappears

When I was in undergrad in the early 1980’s, just before New Brunswick’s Hans Haus sorta failed at lift-off and Nova Scotia’s Granite Brewery took off, I mainly drank beer made by two breweries that made beers that were pretty much like beers in the rest of Canada, except they were made by Moosehead’s Dartmouth brewery and Oland’s in Halifax’s north end. The brands we bought were local and we were loyal to the beers of our province like Old Scotia, Schooner, Keith’s and Oland’s Ex. One beer me and my pals did not have such fondness for was Moosehead’s Ten-penny ale but we no longer have to fear this beer as Halifax’s Daily News reports:

A Maritime brew is heading for extinction, but it won’t leave many drinkers crying in their beer. Ten-Penny Old Stock Ale is soon to be a memory in Nova Scotia. Bottled by New Brunswick-based Moosehead, Ten-Penny is already off the shelves at most Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation stores. But at what seems to be one of the last bars in HRM to sell Ten-Penny, it’s not exactly flying out of the cooler. “We have 26 left and we put it on our sign outside, so we’re trying to trick people into coming in and buying it before it’s gone,” said Kendall Burton, general manager of the Lion’s Head Tavern and Grill.

If you can’t sell Ten-Penny at the Lion’s Head, believe me, you have an issue…justsayin’. And don’t order the salad. Anyway, if old style Schooner was the beer your uncle drank (or at least he did before that day when it magically began to taste exactly like Labatt Blue) Ten-Penny was the beer your grandfather drank because it smelled like his shed. The professors at my small undergrad bought it, one suspects for the same reason that anyone did: so no one would steal one on you. It was musty and even musky stuff with a pale malt funk that has the power to catch on the gag reflex even as a 20 year old memory. While it is enjoying strong US sales, the Moosehead brewery in New Brunswick is the remaining rump of the east coast empire after the Dartmouth branch ceased operations in the 90s. The brewery describes the beer in this way:

Ten-Penny Old Stock Ale: Ten-Penny is a robust ale brewed using top fermenting ale yeast, more malt and hops for extra body and higher alcohol content (5.3% alcohol by volume). Its unique flavour has made it the choice of Maritime traditional ale drinkers for decades…

That description is almost as kind as the decision to cease production.And while the two whole reviewers at BeerAdvocate say it was not anything to look forward to in its last incarnation either I am sure there are those that will regret this decision and if you are one of them feel free to vent. I make no judgment. We are here to help.

The Most Wednesdayish Wednesday

Humid night. Bad sleep. What to write about. I write this to write every morning, you know. That is about it. Waking up habit. Things could be worse. If what the not-convicted two in Britain are right, the face another trial while they try to explain how they were tricked by the others into being bombers and quit as soon as they found out. What if that is true? Conrad may be facing a retrial as well. Being accused is drag enough but being possibly falsely accused and a jury not being able to make up its mind would be an uber-drag. Or is this most drag? Or this? Humidity makes everything draggly.

But thankfully we are protected by leaders with gut…not guts…gut. That is not dragg-ed at all.

Group Project: Use It Or Lose It

I wonder what the real risk is? If I was in Afghanistan, would I be pleased with the huge outlay for military stuff that will never be used?

“Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty in the Arctic; either we use it or we lose it,” Harper said. “And make no mistake this government intends to use it. Because Canada’s Arctic is central to our identity as a northern nation. It is part of our history and it represents the tremendous potential of our future.”

Sadly, we are investing 7 billion plus on 4 month a year presence which will add about a -25 factor to the argument. Where is the promised Arctic paratrooper base? Where are the frigid concrete mining towns that worked out so well in Siberia? What about mandatory northern service as an alternative to conscription?

What would you do to the North to keep it safe from, what, Peru?

Making Pals Worldwide

Benny’s just doing a great job to reach out and make the world a better place:

The Vatican said Tuesday that Christian denominations outside the Roman Catholic Church are not full churches of Jesus Christ. A 16-page document, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Pope Benedict used to head, described Christian Orthodox churches as true churches that suffer from a “wound” since they do not recognize the primacy of the Pope.

We never invite him over to the BBQ, too. No doubt the Anabaptists, Campbellites and Moravians are shattered at the news. Time to rumble? Gee-wiz, sane Protestants never get to rumble anymore.

Ontario: Sgt. Major, IPA, Scotch Irish Brewing

smipa-1aNothing like a six of stubbies if you’re over 40 and a Canuck. I wrote about this beer in March 2005 and again in March 2006 when it compared very nicely in a side-by-side with Victory’s HopDevil. Careful sifters of clues will note however, that the address on the six-pack box above shows a different address from that mentioned in the previous two reviews. That is because for the last year or more Scotch Irish Brewing has been a branch or division or whatever of Heritage Brewing of Carleton Place, Ontario makers of interesting or at least daring seasonals especially that Maple Bush Lager. But the word was it was not so whatever-it-had-been now so I thought it was about to to try it again to see how things were going.

Starting with some non-fluid related observations, first thing I notice is that I like that they package has a lot number on it, in this case F077, which I understand means it is their 77th lot of the year and it was made in June. Someone will correct me I am sure but I am operating under the illusion that this beer is fresh. Next, I like the stubby. For those of you who are not aware, for people of a certain age, the stubby which ruled Canadian brewing for around 20 years from the mid-60s to the mid-80s is a bit of an icon for we of the Great White North. smipa-2But one things that concerns me is the panicked look in the face of Mr. Sgt. Major. Look at him. While the last lad had a dull if determined air about him, this lad looks quite nervous, as if someone knew something about him and that that something was bad. We’ll have to find out if it relates to his job for the brewery and the beer or something in his private life like, say, a Zulu attack.

As for the beer, it left a lot of lace after the fine creamy head subsided and had a nice orange-amber hue all of which which is comparable to the 2006 picture and both sets of notes. As well, there is the soft water and pale malt graininess that I remember from before. The malt also is very much their with bread crust, sugar cookie and sultana raisin. What is different is perhaps a notch less hopping. While it is still a sharp shock of sour white grapefruit rind goodness, it does not seem to have quite the stomach ache producing acidity that I recall, less of the green hop fire in the finish.

But is that such a bad thing, if I am recalling correctly? For me, compared to many of the hard water beers of south western Ontario, that softness is something I would compare much more to the moreishness of many central New York micros. If you are a hard water fan, this might make it seem flabby but for me it is all good, giving a richness you might not find elsewhere in Ontario pale ales of any degree. So all in all a good experiment again. I will have to check-in in another year or so to see how this beer is doing.

Sour Beer Studies: Barriquée, Panil, Parma, Italy

A few weeks or maybe months ago I received an email from a reader asking that I do not use the “Week Of…” format anymore as RSS could not deal with a constantly growing post. I resisted the idea but the more I thought about it, the more I thought that perhaps in addition to the RSS issues, the “Week of…” posts were not as useful as they might be, might not add up to more than a set of notes on a style that are not often used by either me or you, the reader. So I am going to change things around and group some separate posts by themes for a while.

The first topic has been one I have also been thinking about – the sour styles of the low countries. Prior to last year I don’t think I had had a true dry lambic and when I had my first Flemish red, a Rodenbach Grand Cru in December 2004, I called it “the best malt vinegar you will ever taste.” I ended up being nicer in the full review but, by contrast, I was not nice at all when I had a Cantillon last year:

Quite plainly watery at the outset then acid and more acid…then one note of poo. Not refreshing to slightly sub-Cromwellian stridency. Annoying.

I’ve been goaded, guided and chastised. I’ve been told that I miss the point. There is one point that I have been wondering about, however, is how these traditional sour beers developed in “ye olde medieval tymes” when there was no tradition of storing beer before a certain point. Beer was made to be consumed quickly or at least within a season. Storing a cask for years is an act of luxury. When did the era of cask storage arise and who did the storing? You have to be careful about these things as we learned in Farmhouse Ales by Phil Markowski in his discussion of biere de garde which might seem a traditional style but it is one that was framed in its high alcohol form through adoption by students in Lille, France in the 1970s. So one has to ask how it is these things came to be with a wary eye, especially when luxury is claimed…can its cousins snobbery and price inflation be far behind?

That all being said, this is a study of single beers as well as broader phenomena and the first I am looking at, Panil Barriquée, can only be described as a gift from the kind people at Ontario beer and wine distributors Roland and Russell. I am informed that what I received was the slightly more sour version for North America – Stonch and Knut discuss the various grades of this beer over here. The beer pours a fine tan cream foam with heavy lacing over cloudy deep caramel ale. The ale is sweet, fruity and tart – not unlike a tarty apply tart. In the mouth, it is brisk, vinegared, juicy stuff. Plenty of fruit like raisin, cherry, passion fruit and apple but under a sub-astringent tangy acidity. In the finish there is pink grapefruit, hard wood, cherry, vanilla and biscuit and some refreshing lightening up on the acid. I like it like I like rhubarb pie or strong blue cheese, both of which might go with it. Smacky more than puckery.

Knut visited Panil last spring and told us about it at this post. The BAers tell me about what is going on here and all five like it. I like this BA reviewer’s observation “stewed apple amongst mixed coarse Indian spices in ghee” because it is sort of that, too. All in all it is both an approachable Flanders Red and a complex one. It is a lovely thing so I am happy to report that the Sour Beer Studies has started off promisingly. For a first class, that is enough.

Review: Sports Picks

Well this is interesting. Sometime ago I signed up for ReviewMe, a paid review service over at A Good Beer Blog and once in a while have received a small but useful amount for a short and somewhat useful review of a web site. I got an email last night for this web site called Sports Picks and I thought “what has this got to do with beer?”. I mean I have to have some integrity, right? I mean you work hard to get a web presence, some recognition and a following…and then you blow it, you know? But then I realized that the request was for a review to be posted here at Gen X at 40 and the issues disappeared.

So the first thought I had was what is it about this here blog that connects with sports betting? I am not a gambler because I am a Scots Presbyterian and a bad gambler. Not a high likelihood of grabbing my interest. Then, if you look at the specific claims of the site – and not the pneumatic lassie to the right – it gets a bit ripe:

Think of it this way … If you played 200 games a year and bet 5% of your bankroll each time (whether free picks or premium picks), started with a bankroll of $4,000 and hit 55% of all the plays, within six years you would have over $2,000,000.

…or you will end with a bankroll of zippo as well as associated gambling sourced issues.

The layout is sort of 1995 flat-layout-esque without much of the dynamic design I would think any nerd pretending to be a high roller with the college savings would need. To be fair, there is a handy Sports Betting Dictionary with more associated pneumatic lassies – but if you are a solo nerd wasting away the grocery money you are not exactly going to be speaking in tongues, as it were, with any new pals. Perhaps the intention is that you will somehow converse with “SPORTS HANDICAPPING PROFESSIONAL MARK MILLER” and need to know the patiois. Nicknamed “The Shark,” you can find out more about the guy behind the choice of pneumatic lassies here:

Mark has been handicapping for over 30 years with his roots in horse racing at Santa Anita Park. He has been handicapping ever since and built his reputation with honesty, hard work and telling his clients like it is, whether win or lose. No false advertising. No sales pressure. Mark leads with results. Maintaining a small operation allows Mark to not only stay in close touch with his clients, but also allows him to build long term relationships…

Wow. Friendly…but ominously no mention that he will provide birthday party clown services in a pinch.

Once you can talk the talk there are still issues like the fact that when I click on the spot to get my major league baseball preview background advice – you know, the Miller touch – the page is blank. This, as far as I understand, is generally called “The Fatal Mistake” as in not being ready.

So, in the end, not only do I not understand what to make of the site, I do not really know what to make of the review request. I do not understand betting and have no desire to learn. If I did, I might need to swim elsewhere.

Bullets And Chat And Friday And Stuff

How will I remember this week? How will it sit in the past? I loaded and unloaded a canoe by myself this week. I bottled a hefeweizen. I ate well-roundedly and got a decent amount of sleep. If a nuclear holocaust were to come and I survive like those few in A Boy and His Dog or even Mad Max this is the sort of week I’ll miss. If not, I’ll have a hard time recalling it.

  • Update: Who is this “the left” that the Flea and some like the Babbler speak of, though the latter admits the truth? Cases would be much better made with out reference to boogie men. There is a distasteful and false presumption among those who elect themselves to speak for the equally vacuous “the right” that patriotism, security and common sense (despite all the evidence) is their sole inheritence. Given a recent pole [Ed.: see below] that says 40% of conservatives are against the war in Afghanistan, it is a meaningless broad brush. Name names. Focus the slur on the fringe. Admit the fluidity and undemarkated nature of the problem. Put up.

    Break slamming point of correction: And just like that the Flea did in most excellent fashion…

    A self-selecting group exhibiting the psychopathologies outlined above and related psychopathologies concerning the free market, crime and punishment and reality-testing deficiencies regarding the weather. The real left, the ones who continue to advance universal values of liberty and equality, do not exhibit these symptoms. Here I am thinking particularly of Christopher Hitchens and those of us who advance under his banner.

    I can heartily live with this as long as “the real left” includes those large number who see the same security ultimately in participating in a social welfare system as well as well-resourced police and military. I once came across someone flogging the idea that only persons of the right were in the military. Horse pucks.

  • Update: Sounds like leasehold improvements to me. Pay up, Royals.
  • A good week for baseball. The Sox gave a thumping to Tampa Bay and, due to the badness of scheduling, will play them 15 times from here on in. No wonder there is now the sort of talk that does one no good.
  • The Baseball Hall of Fame has a snazzy new website.
  • An interesting article in the NYT about the continuing random police checks that have occurred in that city’s subways since 9/11.

    Terrorism experts said the program’s effectiveness was not so much that it is a tight barrier to keep terrorists out of the subways, but that its fluid nature could keep any attack planners off balance. Trumpeting the program publicly is also a deterrent, they said.

    That and John Smeaton – the West’s best defences.

  • Brother Doug considers how to dequill.
  • In addition to Smeaton proving that Scots in fact are the toughest wee bastards in the worrrrld, Scots finalized their take over of the UK with the beginning of the government of Gordon Brown who has made a wise decision:

    British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday he had given orders for government offices to “fly the flag.” He said he had abolished a rule which allowed government buildings to raise the British flag, the so-called Union Jack, only 18 days a year. “It was because they listed the number of public events and on no other days would the Union Jack be flown,” said Mr. Brown, who has pushed for efforts to promote a British identity for all citizens.

    Good for Mr. Brown. I have to admit, I like that in the states more flags are flown and that they seem to represent each person not the government. We do well around Canada Day but, aside from the politics, the bi-colour is frankly just a little less eye catching. I had though the Red Ensign had recently be raised back to official status but can find now reference this morning. Viva Tanganyika, if you know what I mean.

A quiet week here but not so elsewhere.

White Stripes Road Trip

This is cool. My buddy Dave went to see them in the Yukon in a park. But that was sort of dullsville on this trip:

Any rock star who won’t get out of bed for less than 10,000 people should ponder the counter-example of the White Stripes. The duo from Detroit has played free shows for small groups of hastily assembled fans at nearly every stop on their “ocean to permafrost” tour of Canada. They’ve played youth centres in Burnaby and Edmonton, a park in Whitehorse and even a city bus in Winnipeg. In each case, the gig was arranged only hours in advance, with strict instructions from the band’s management not to tell the media. Ed Whitehead, who co-owns two bowling alleys in Saskatoon, returned a call on Saturday from the Stripes’ road manager, who wanted to know if it would be okay for Jack and Meg White to play a short set at the Eastview Lanes.

The trouble with the YouTube I-am-a-rock-star with 500 fans model is that no one cares. And no one cares because there is no performance. Sure there is a bar and a crowd and CDs being sold at the back and to hell with management and record companies and the whole Lavern and Shirley making it my way thing but at the end of the day Elvis and Johnny Rotten and Mick Jagger (when he was a decent age to actual mean anything) performed and made this civilization of ours take notice.

Isn’t Winning Us Keeping Schools Open?

…and not teaching them to kill us? Sure we need a better statement of purpose being enunciated by the government (a point well made by Ben here) but this makes it very difficult to see how I could vote Jack in the near future:

NDP Leader Jack Layton told a news conference today that Canada should pull its troops out of Afghanistan before more lives are lost in a war he says can’t be won. “What they are being asked to do now is participate in a mission that has no prospect of military success,” Layton said. “It will simply escalate and prolong itself until we realize that it is not going to accomplish its goals.”

I would like to know the factual basis for this assessment…or if one was undertaken at all.