that oatmeal stout is very fine indeed. in fact all the st ambroise stuff is good. i like their pale ale as well.
i'm also really digging Hockley Dark Ale, from Hockely valley brewing. really dark colour, traditional ale taste with a chocolate aftertaste. and if i want to drink on the cheap, the least expensive can of palatable beer the lcbo has at the moment is Warsteiner, a german lager (white can, grey writing, look for it). at a $1.90/500ml can you can't go wrong. better than stella, IMHO.

that's what I usually use at home as well.. tasty!

hmmm... I'll have to be on the look out for Warsteiner.

with all this coffee talk going on, i thought this might be of interest to some...call them or check out their website for more information. it is on FEBRUARY 15.

>Subject: Fwd: Is your coffee fresh? How about green? - Last week to
register
>
>
>
>In exactly one week, a group of coffee connoisseurs will gather at the
>aromatic
>home of the Merchants of Green Coffee. Not only do founders Brad and
>Derek Zavislake demonstrate passion and conviction for their premium
coffee
>experience, they have arrived at this level through the rigorous and
>ground-breaking
>Sustainable Coffee Program. As the first organization in North America
to
>carry
>certified Fair Trade coffee, the Merchants are sustainability
pioneers.
>
>Please join stakeholders of the Sustainable Business Resource Centre
to learn
>more about how staying the course of integrity and sustainability is
directly
>linked to delivering a premium product.
>
>Surrounded by unroasted beans from around the globe, attendees will be
treated
>to an informative presentation on the taste benefits of home roasting,
the
>business
>benefits of running a sustainable enterprise and the personal benefits
of
>doing
>what you love and loving what you do.
>
>With a mantra of Fresh Coffee, Fair Trade, Green Business, the
Merchants of
>Green
>Coffee is an example of a sustainable company - a business that
creates
>financial
>and social wealth without degrading the productive and aesthetic
capacity of
>the environment for both present and future generations.
>
>Join us on February 15 to learn more about this innovative success
story
>in the
>company of like-minded social innovators. Hors d'oeuvres will be
provided by
>the social enterprise caterer, Raging Spoon.
>
>See attached registration form for more details and pricing info.
Please
>forward
>this information to interested parties.
>
>Merchants of Green Coffee
>Wednesday, February 15
>6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
>Registration fee: $21.40 (including GST)
>2 Matilda Street (Queen East and the DVP)
>www.merchantsofgreencoffee.com
>
>Brought to you by:
>
>Sustainable Business Resource Centre
>Tel: 416.364.0050
>www.sustainabilityincubator.com

yes.. my cambio has a pearly white with a purple.. hmm i'll post a pic of it (hav eto take the shot first) next time... it's a nice frame, as well as any i have. the guy i bought it from said it was made in italy, and he insisted; makes sense, considering cambio components were made in italy too.

sd

all agreed; the mcauslan st. ambroise oatmeal stout is simply the best beer i've ever had.

also like fuller's london porter. very similar to the oatmeal.

sd

Just for the record....Byers-Bush...the powdercoaters I use most often, will do a one colour coat, INCLUDING a complete dip and sandblast, for $75. I have had over 30 frames done there and they do good work. Unless you LIKE stripping frames by hand with chem stripper.....I know I don't.

With all this talk about coffee and beer I am surprised no-one has mentioned Mill Street Coffee Porter. They brew it with Balzacs espressso beans and actually has a caffeine kick. Not that I have gotten jittery from drinking 10 before or anything.

...or the c'est what? (on front street) coffee porter. my bad.

Yeah, the alcohol and coffee even themselves out I think.

I know this has been mentioned a million times, but we really need to get a group together to go out to Forest City Velodrome. I ran into Franek (sp) again this morning on my ride in to work, and he asked if I had made it out yet, and damnit, I haven't! Is there a time period that's good or bad for people? Maybe we could plan for a weekend in March..? There's a Track 1 session every Saturday afternoon from 2:00 - 4:30. We could hit that and then pool back to the city for some beers somewhere. I have a car and would be more than happy to transport 3 of you yahoo's out to London for a share of gas money. I don't have a rack though, so we'll be forced to do the rental thing (which is fine by me anyway).

Maybe I should start another thread.

Hey Jeremy, how much coffee do you put in your press? Do you just have the smaller single-cup Bodum? It says to put one scoop in, but I generally find that kind of weak. I fill the water up to the bottom of the metal band holding on the handle.

fixedude, that ebisu is some goood sheeeit. i should've brought back a couple of cans.. i should've brought back a LOT of stuff but we won't go there. i did nick a couple of ebisu glasses from an izakaya though! heheh... suntory malts is good too in a similiar vein. how's the winter brew this year? it's too bad japanese beer totally flies under the radar in north america.
about coffee: i dig lavazza, but nothing beats freshly roasted and ground coffee. i've got a bodum and a moka and a buddy of mine in japan who does alot of home roasting suggests tasty results can be yielded from a hot-air popcorn machine. it's a pain in the ass to roast over an element.

I've heard the popcorn popper method works well also.. and can't you just do it in your oven?

I think I'll invest in a quality grinder before I invest in a fancy coffee/espresso maker. According to coffeegeek.com, the grinder is basically as important as the espresso maker (for espresso especially).

If we get organized...cough,cough, I have room for 5 guys and bikes in my van. I always take at least 2 guys from my team...so that leaves 2 spots. My buddy Doug goes down with us as well and has room for 3 plus bikes. Maybe we can really get our ship together and get a whole bunch o guys down on the same week-end. That would be fantabulistic! If we don't have a ton o guys the need to rent will be avoided. The rentals aren't total crap but I for one far prefer to ride my own bike. If you are a total noob to velodromes the rental option might be better so the unforseen crash doesn't mess up yer own ride.

Well yeah, just keep us noobs posted. I'd love to get out there, but I don't want to drive out and ride by myself. If I'm going to embarass myself, I'd rather be able to laugh about it later with the witnesses.

i like that coffee porter too. i was mad when they stopped selling it in stubbies. i like their stock ale better though. tastes kind of like ex would if it was good...

the bodum i have came with a scoop to measure with; it looks roughly tablespoon-sized (from a measuring spoon set) . i usually do two heaping spoonfulls of those and then grind the beans coarse from there, then fill to the top of the metal band. coffee geek says to try stirring it with a chopstick before you press it down; that seems to bring all the nice oils to the surface. i think i have a "6 cup" french press which actually ends up filling 1.5 of the giant sized mugs that i stole from the cafe when i used to work at indigo.

Damn, I'm at work and totally want a nice coffee. There isn't one to be found here though, no sir.

I use a one cup bodum at work. I'll have to actually measure it. I just got so I eyeball the level in the grinder. Before I ride my fixed gear.

not even a star****s near by?

at work, we've got those little packs of ground coffee. one flavour is called "coffee shop" if you can believe that.

I'm at 1 Yonge, and I never leave the building for the most part. It's all crap around here and waaaaaay too $$$$$. The cafeteria is owned by JJ Mugs...... *blech*

we've go the industrial sized coffee machine thing going on. although we're at yonge/bloor so decent enough shops (chains anyway) in the vicinity. still like making my own though...

this coffee talk reminds me that i went to get some beans at alternative grounds and they were all out! on the way i said hi to two messengers on fixies, one was a norco conversion w/ untaped black bullhorns, the guy had dreads. if that's anyone here, you have a nice ride!

Where do you get yebisu?