murraythebastard.com - Celebrate what is good and bad about Murray

Bar	Märt	Märt Comment	Paul	Paul Comment	General Comment	Winner
Sneaky Dee's	Buzz Hemp	Just brushed my teeth. However easy drinking and not very malty considering how dark it is. Little character but easy to get along with; like Lovell.	Waterloo Dark	The dark colour and leaden carbonation can mean only one thing: Waterloo Dark. It matches the decor, class and taste of the servers. The first beer I puked on and still my fave in the right dives.	The Captain watches over us as we begin our scientific journey of discovery. Unfortunately, Matsoo takes a surprising win with his inspired choice of Buzz.	Buzz Hemp
The Thai Grill	Coors Light	Is this beer or water used to rinse pasta? O.K., I suppose 5 of 10 blind tasters would categorise this as beer.	Budweiser	This place cannot be beat and I'm solid in my choice: a beer as prefab as the place itself. The clueless staff don't know how much it costs, what they have or how to say the name of the stuff. Although the 20-year-old 'Amber Draft' handle got our hopes up, when the names were read out, Bud or Coors had to be had.	First people to ever have a beer under this management. It's called the Thai Grill; they have an Indian staff, a clueless front of house, they play Q107, the draughts don't work and they have lots of empty scotch boxes. The winner was tough, but a lightweight place like this could only have Coors Light as the winner.	Coors Light
El Rancho	Heineken	Dutch goes Latin? Moss calls the ball and got Corona. I suspect they have other "latin" beers but I pressured myself to get Heineken. I pretty much default victory to Sambla.	Corona	A tactical error: I've let the whole lime into my Corona. Far too sour, I'm afraid in this palace of mamba. It's darker here than I'd hope for the Corona; might be too dark?	Easily the classiest place we've been to; and will be to, I'm guessing. The smell is pleasing, the host charming. I may start dancing soon. The nice overpowering smell of Topps chewing gum makes the washrooms a treat. Great bread and hot salsa combo to start. Great break for food; the tapas platter was great, though maybe too much bread on calamari, but good stuff.	Corona
Bistro 422	House Tap	Bistro is a well-known dive and their house lives up to its place. Perhaps gone old? Has typical, cheap lager smell. Price is right but Labatt 50 is like mother's milk in comparison. (and that is saying something) Right beer for the bar.	Labatt 50	The house special is a dive, it's true, so it matches the surroundings. But 50 is 50. Visions of 70's tavern Canadiana are invoked by the bottle. "Me and the boys and our 50, me and the boys and our beer". And frankly, the home beer has a tinge of mange about it.	House tap does not live upto expectations. The bar is scummy and the beer is worse. Mossman applied pressure to claim Labatt 50 the beer of the moment. I can't complain - I would not order another house tap. Long live 50!	Labatt 50
Cloak and Dagger	Stratford Pilsener	Reminds me of Steam Whistle. Good flavour. Might pull out a win considering the accidental pour of two Arkells. I will drink Stratford again...and why wouldn't I?	Arkell	I thought the fresh hops of Arkell would be the easy winner. But the Arkell is a mite yeasty today; coupled with the over eager pour, this could be trouble. The beer isn't the only thing bitter right now.	The taller scientist thought that with the hammer of pick, and the knowledge of the pick, he'd pick up an easy win. 'Twas not to be. The Stratford is a strong beer, and the yeasty oldness of the Arkell is disappointing. A shock win for Matsoo, and a loss for the neighbourhood. I like the music and the decor but why the Ireland flag and the Ranger scarf? Methinks that they know not what they support.	Stratford Pilsener
Leão D'ouro	Super Bock	Beer well-known to visitors of Portugal. More bite, more flavour. Sagres is light and simple. If you want more flavour and sophistication, go with Super Bock. Leão D'ouro is a nicer, more sophisticated place.	Sagres	Märt's call here, and he had the first choice. So I took the Sagres, a light, patio beer. It's no longer light, or patio time, but the list of Portuguese achievements in the world is light, so maybe this is the right choice...awfully light, though.	Time of day plays a huge factor in the choice of winner here; the light is fading, and Märt's choice of the darker Super Bock wears well against the dark wood, while my pale Sagres misses the sun and heat tremendously.	Super Bock
Thymeless	Red Stripe	In all my beer drinking days, never have I withstood blind attacks. We are in a Caribbean themed bar and I ordered Red Stripe. Sensible. It is refreshing and the bottle stubbie speaks for itself. Viva Red Stripe. Win or lose - it's a winner.	Cool	Red Stripe?? The boy lost his marbles. I'd never vote for that swill. A default win all the way. "Sensible"? "Caribbean themed"? Matsoo lost all rational, dispassionate thought. We've gone from objective to subjective and the shy hop ending of Red Stripe falls short in this dingy, tax-dodge. A dull, smooth draught beer is called for and its name is Cool.	Another shitty bar, more shitty beers. Science is hard work, damnit. This Rat Pack themed restaurant really sucks shit.	Cool (under protest)
Rancho Relaxo	Wellington Pale Ale	Rare to find but a joy to drink while others order skunky Steam Whistle.	Steam Whistle	Steam Whistle old sucks shit.	Science is fading. Wrong winner named. Should be Wellington Pale Ale. (NB - Taster 1 originally thought the Wellington was Upper Canada Pale Ale) Wow. Waitress is, however, the prettiest seen in years. Did I mention the pretty waitress?	Wellington Pale Ale

Bar Science I - College Street between Bathurst and Spadina

28-Aug-2005