The truths that tourists never believe.

[sms001]

GOt that room redded up yet?

And when you're done in there, outten the light.

[edible_hat]

I have never met a Canadian who says "aboot."

I have! He was a professor of early childhood education.

[TOLady]

I would love to hear what you think are Canada's finest brews. The best I've had out of your lovely country is La Fin du Monde, truly a beautiful beer.

We do indeed have some very fine beers. In Toronto alone, we have Mill Street Brews - a great micro-brewery. They've got a some great Belgian style ales that've won numerous awards including a gold medal for their Belgian Tripel and Begian Wit, as well as brewing a great bock. We also have Steam Whistle Brewing, which exports to some of the States, as well as Europe. They operate out of an old railway turnaround. Interesting building and great beers!

Actually - a lot of the downtown restaurants in Toronto do their own brewing in-house or have local micro-brews do it for them. I had one absolutely fantastic raspberry wheat beer a while ago (it's a really nice ale with a smooth finish).

If you're ever up our way, I'll definitely take you around. You'd have to go to Beer Bistro in the heart of downtown. They've got a Blanche de Chambly (from Quebec) you'd love! Very clean, light, citrusy with a touch of a coriander taste Only it's 5% - can ya handle it?

As for other truths.

• I can't stress enough that we do have summer and it's freakin' hot. Seriously, it's hot, but we do have AC.
• We don't all speak french, and those that do, do not speak France french. They are not the same. At. All.
• You cannot drive to Montreal from Toronto in less than 3 hours. Try 6 - if the 401 isn't under construction or blocked by a roll-over - again!
• If it's a full moon back home, it's a full moon here !
• Our government is just as stupid as any government is. If not more so...
• We are polite, but don't piss us off. We bite when provoked.
• Our service industry pays just as lousy as every other country. Please be generous when tipping.

Visit soon! I'll be your tour guide!

[Nyoibo]

Our beer is better than yours.

Oi!

Hope you don't say that to Irish or German tourists.....

Or Australians.

[infinitemonkies]

Nyoibo, the Aussies are among the finest drinkers in the world. Apologies for not mentioning it earlier.
A former roommate of mine picked up the awesome bar display on a trip down under. It's sorta like one of those drinking-bird-novelty things (think Homer Simpson keyboarding) except it was a horse that drank from a bucket labeled Foster's and pissed into a bucket labeled Coors.

Jester, sorry, I can't remember the swiss brew names, but I couldn't pronounce them right anyway. I used to work at a place that was bought out by a large Swiss company. Some senior management came to visit, and brought us all goodies of the luxuries Switzerland has to offer. Great chocolates, a really amazing dark, earthy beer, a $10,000 watch (but only for the boss.)

As for my favorite Canuck beers, let me say first that I'll put Labatt's Blue over Coors and Kokanee over Bud any day of the week. Let me also add that's not saying much
My favorite these days is a company that just started up 2 or 3 years ago called Dead Frog brewing. There's also a great beer brewed in Kelowna, B.C. called Black Bear ale. Sleemans, Shaftesbury, Tree and Granville Island all make some really excellent beers. In particular, the Shaftesbury honey lager and Granville Islands Winter Ale are fantasic.

[TOLady]

One other truth.

Canadians are darn proud of our beers and rightly so!

[Jester]

Only it's 5% - can ya handle it?

To quote Evel Knievel....do you know who the hell I am?

Our service industry pays just as lousy as every other country. Please be generous when tipping.

Please point that out to your Canadian brethren that vacation in the States. The running joke in the service industry here is, "What's the difference between Canadians and canoes? Canoes tip."

Or Australians.

I was talking about the great beers that the Irish and Germans make, not their ability to drink.

I have often said that I can drink with anyone...the Irish, the Germans, the Canadians.....but I cannot possibly keep up with the Australians, because those folks are just off the hook! Seriously.

As for my favorite Canuck beers, let me say first that I'll put Labatt's Blue over Coors and Kokanee over Bud any day of the week. Let me also add that's not saying much

Right. That's not saying much. Saying you're better than Coors or Bud is like saying you are the tallest midget. And it definitely does not in any way prove that Canadian beers are the best in the world, just because they are superior to clearly inferior beers.

By the way, there ARE excellent American beers. I've had many. Not all American beers are the BudMillerCoors watered down crappy swill, folks.

[TOLady]

To quote Evel Knievel....do you know who the hell I am?

I'm kinda curious. Are American beers stuck at a low alcohol percentage, or are there higher ones out there?

Always seemed a bit silly to me when the alcohol content of vodkas, rum, etc. are the same as they are everywhere else.

[Nyoibo]

I was talking about the great beers that the Irish and Germans make, not their ability to drink.

We make some pretty good beers here too you know.

I have often said that I can drink with anyone...the Irish, the Germans, the Canadians.....but I cannot possibly keep up with the Australians, because those folks are just off the hook! Seriously.

We do our best when overseas.

By the way, there ARE excellent American beers. I've had many. Not all American beers are the BudMillerCoors watered down crappy swill, folks.

Oh yes, there are a fair few good American beers, I whiled away many an hour in Oberlin during happy hour sampling a bunch.

[AdminAssistant]

I'm kinda curious. Are American beers stuck at a low alcohol percentage, or are there higher ones out there?

Depends on the state. Oklahoma has lower, Texas has higher, for example.

I think all of it tastes icky, so I don't know the details. And yes, I've tried all kinds of beers from cheap American ones to really nice Belgian ones. Bleh. I'll just have a Jack and Coke, please, single, tall, with lime.

[Docmayhem]

I'm kinda curious. Are American beers stuck at a low alcohol percentage, or are there higher ones out there?

Always seemed a bit silly to me when the alcohol content of vodkas, rum, etc. are the same as they are everywhere else.

Weyerbacher (in Pennsylvania) makes an 11.1% beer called "Blithering Idiot" and an 11.8% beer called "Blasphemy."

Personally, I just skip straight to whiskey.

[KaeZoo]

Western Michigan:

In the winter, it's often warmer here than in parts of Illinois or Indiana. This is because of the "lake effect"--cold air moving over Lake Michigan gets warmer. The air temperature here very rarely falls below 0 degrees F. We pay for it with lots more snow.

If you go to Lake Michigan beaches, you'll see surfers.

Grand Rapids was the first city in America to add fluoride to the drinking water. They recently commissioned a 33-foot sculpture to commemorate that event.

[sms001]

I'm kinda curious. Are American beers stuck at a low alcohol percentage, or are there higher ones out there?

The mass produced items are in that range to achieve a wider saleability. Many microbrews hit six. Most recently in Jester's old stomping ground I had a couple of excellent IPA's that were 6.7 or 6.9. Tasty.

[Jester]

I'm kinda curious. Are American beers stuck at a low alcohol percentage, or are there higher ones out there?

Stuck? No. I have had American beers of all kinds of alcohol content. Yes, the BudMillerCoors beers tend to be 3.8-5.0%, but those are designed for the masses. I have had 9.0% and up beers, made right here in the good ole U.S. of A., thank you very much.

We make some pretty good beers here too you know.

That I don't doubt, and I was not putting down Australian beers. I have had excellent beers from many, many countries. I was just saying that the Irish and the Germans are to beer what Italians are to fast sports cars, French are to red wine, and Americans are to corrupt politicians.

Most recently in Jester's old stomping ground...

I am going to assume that by "Jester's old stomping ground" you mean Phoenix?

[Argabarga]

They haven't won a pennant since 1979, and their last division title was back in 1992

I made the mistake of choosing the Philly-or-Pittsburgh allegence as a Jr. High School student, it seemed like an obvious choice, the Pirates were pennant champs, the Phils weren't.....

That was 16 painful losing seasons ago...

I won't turn fairweather, but I won't lie and say it's been great, cuz it hasn't