Ratsofrass

Pub Makes Amends and Proves the Personal Touch can Still be Found in Calgary

Address: 5340 2nd St. SW Calgary

I love management that actually cares about what people think of their establishment. They know that word of mouth can be the kiss of death or the hot inside tip that spreads like wild fire. In these days of blogging, a new twist has been thrown in: managers can comment back on blog entries rather than just hoping for the best with old-style word of mouth.
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Suburban Pub Tries to be all things to all people

Address: 8294 Centre Street NE Calgary (403) 275-6601

A pub located outside of the normal inner city circle, Paddy O’Leary’s is a growing trend in the last few years for some pubs to locate out in suburbia, where it is handy to visit from home rather than from work, which most of the first - generation pubs in Calgary seem to have focused on. Having visited this pub on several occasions, this review is somewhat of a general view from those visits.
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Interesting House converted into a Pub - Ruined by bad Service

Address: 5340 2nd St. SW Calgary

Edit: You may want to check out my newer review, which comes on a re-visit with much better service

A bit tricky to find, this is a house converted into pub located on a back street just east of MacLeod Trail. There is a charming, quiet outdoor area with actual picnic tables. A nice pub decor greets you on the inside. However, this is yet another Calgary establishment that tries to be both a sports bar and a pub. The huge big screen TV in the middle of the main sitting area is just annoying if you don’t care to watch whatever sports event is on at the time. At least they keep the volume down. I would also note that the washroom area could use a bit of cleaning and renovation.

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I remember when Melvin/Bug/Zarq brewed “Hi Honey I’m Drunk” and “Black Hole Brew”. Individually, they had serious flaws (sickly sweet and bitter beer face bitter) but together, they were something fantastical.

Well, I have discovered my own version thereof. My Halloween Brew, mixed 50/50 with my “Dirty Blonde” is actually more pleasant than either on it’s own, especially the DB brew. It comes out mixed with a subtle hop and tinge of lemon, like squeezing a lemon into a Corona and mixing it with a New Castle Brown.

My only problem is, I’m down to my last three bottles of Halloween Brew. Drat!

My current home brew I have just started drinking dubbed “Dirty Blonde” has been a bit of a disappointment.

It comes off with a strong lemon flavor, finishing on a grapefruit note, minimal hop flavor. The left over yeast has a strange “sour yogurt” type of taste, best left behind on the bottom of the bottle.
I started with a Brew Canada kit, adding Munton’s light spray malt to firm up the body. I up the sugar content too, so it’s not like I’m brewing by the instructions here.
I’m going to point the finger at the Brew Canada kit here - the flavor was not as nice out of the can, and the hops had a harsh bitter edge, not much of a floral theme, and not much in terms of malty taste either. I thought the hops was a bit coarse as well, not good for imbibing the beer with flavor.

It’s not like Brew Canada is really cheap either, it is however available in grocery stores. I would just say don’t expect killer beer from these kits, however, it might be just fine if you follow the instructions - but I wasn’t looking for that type of beer anyways - for what I’m trying to do (Belgium style light beer) it didn’t even come close.

The name I picked is apt though - the yeast takes FOREVER to settle out of this one, I find it best to leave a good cm on the bottom to prevent the icky tasting yeast of this one to come out, otherwise, it’s dirty blonde color, rather than a bright blonde. Next time, I’ll try a Munton’s light beer product for a summer beer, it might put out a better flavor than Canadian version.