Know what I like? Beer. I think that goes without saying. I am particularly fond of Cheshire Valley, the “virtual brewery” of Paul Dickey (his words). Paul makes some of my favourite beers in Toronto. His mild might well be my desert-island beer now. It’s that good. His Robust Porter (which will be arriving at your local bar this week, if your local bar doesn’t suck) is just amazing. I could go on. So when I started planning the beer selection for my mother’s 64th birthday (which she had decided would be her “big” birthday, as opposed to 60 or 65, “Will you still need me? Will you still feed me? When I’m 64″.) an immediate thought was “I wonder if I can get a cask of Cheshire Valley?” So after an email conversation with Paul, it was all settled. One 20 litre cask (a Pin, in our vernacular) of Robust Porter. Until Paul emailed me to say he felt like doing a pilot batch (a small batch) and was wondering if there was a style my Mum was fond of. And there was. She loves red ales. Paul said he would see what he could do, and duly emailed a few days later to say it was in the fermenter. So with excitement akin to Christmas morning, I headed out to Black Oak on Saturday to pick up the beer and transport it to the party location. I must admit to having a lot of pints of this last night, and while I certainly took some quality time with it then, I thought I ought to do a review proper today. And here it is!
Cheshire Valley Irish Red
I regularly describe myself as an "ardent supporter of beer", which pretty well sums it up. While I'm not working or busy being a husband and dad (okay, honestly, sometimes while I'm doing those things), I am drinking beer, attending events, visiting pubs, and thinking about beer. I work at Castro's Lounge, my local bar in the Beach, where I host beer events and take part in most things beer-related.
