Top 10 Canadian Beers

Since my last post earlier this evening, a couple friends asked me about top beers in other areas of the country. So here is a quick list of my top 10 Canadian beers. This is regardless of when they came out.

10. Black Oak Ten Bitter Years (Ontario)
(look at post below for details) Only Ontario beer to crack my top 10, coming in at last spot. This was not available at all in the LCBO, brewery only sales plus in craft beer bars on tap/cask.

9. Phillips Skookum Cascadian Brown Ale (British Columbia)
Formerly known as Black Toque India Dark Ale, this is in the Cascadian Dark Ale category. Hoppy and roasty.

8. St-Ambroise Stout Impériale Russe (Quebec)
A Russian Imperial Stout that came out in late 2009. I have a bottle of the 2010 version that I haven't tried yet.

7. Garrison Imperial IPA (Nova Scotia)
Unlike Keith's, this is a real IPA from Nova Scotia. Thanks to Free Our Beer for bringing this into Ontario as a private order, eventually opening the way for the LCBO to bring it in as part of their fall seasonal release.

6. Half Pints Humulus Ludicrous (Manitoba)
My favourite Canadian double IPA. I believe the name is latin for hops.

5. St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout (Quebec)
The little brother of the RIS mentioned earlier. This is possibly the best oatmeal stout in the world, and it is regularly available in Ontario.

4. Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel (Quebec)
An imperial coffee stout. If you like stout and like coffee, this is heavenly. Try it on cask if you get the chance.

3. Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Lupulus (Quebec)
A beautiful Belgian IPA from one of the best breweries in the country. This was somewhat expensive at $15-$20 per 750mL bottle, but completely worth it.

2. Central City Red Racer IPA (British Columbia)
Easily the best IPA in Canada. Can stack up against any American IPA.

1. Simple Malt Impériale Stout (Quebec)
Amazing imperial stout from a relatively new Quebec brewer.

Do you notice a trend here? In Quebec, where a brewery can sell in any corner store, clearly leads the country in craft beer. Getting into the provincial liquor monopoly stores in many provinces is quite a difficult process. There is a huge hurdle to climb to get a product listed, that it limits risk taking, and as a result you end up with blander beer (as Bill Davis said, "bland works"). If a beer doesn't sell in Quebec, no problem, take it off the shelves, come up with a new recipe, then put that in the stores (or even a single store as a test) in a month or two. Innovation is not impeded by government hurdles. In Ontario, you'd have to apply for a completely new listing, go through LCBO lab BS, then hope it gets approved (and it may not). Hopefully the next 10 years for the Ontario beer scene won't be so bitter (though I hope the beer is).