When it opened in the mid 1980s, Alberta’s Big Rock Brewery was an upstart little brewery daring to do things differently in an industry dominated by the likes of Molson and Labatt’s. Since then, it’s grown a whole lot, evolving […]
Liquids
Review: French Onion Soup from M&M
While NEAROF! often leans towards the sweet side of things, we’re not averse to an occasional detour into savoury country. And French onion soup? Well, that’s nice and savoury, if by savoury you mean full of salty goodness. This boxed […]
Review: Second Cup Chocolate Mint Hot Chocolate
A nice, hot cup of mint hot chocolate really hits the spot around this time of year. I’ve talked about the Candy Cane Hot Chocolate at Tim Hortons before, but I find it way too sweet for regular consumption. This […]
Arbitrary: Newcastle Brown Ale – cans vs. bottles
Newcastle Brown Ale is one of my favourite beers. I love its amazing caramel notes, the crisp carbonation, the mineral profile, the balanced hops, the roasted malt, the light sweetness. On the rare occasions I watch soccer games on TV […]
Review: Dry Soda Lavender and Lemongrass flavours
If you think Lime Crush is a strange soft-drink flavour, you clearly haven’t met the product line from Dry Soda. They have all sorts of curious flavours, some of which are riffs on a familiar pop flavour (blood orange, say), […]
Review: Nestle Carnation hot chocolate mix
Well, it’s Halloween. In the off chance you’re not completely put off by everything chocolate by the end of the night, why not warm up with a mug of hot cocoa to mark the end of another ghoulish evening full […]
Review: Ikea Dryck Nypon rosehip drink
I have happy childhood memories of picking rosehips, the shrivelled little berries that grow on rose bushes in the fall, after the flowers have wilted and died. They can be used to make jellies, syrup and, apparently, a drink that […]
Review: Wild Rose Brewery Velvet Fog
Cloudy beer scares most North Americans. Why? Who knows. Maybe folks here are so used to micro-filtered megabrews that they can’t fathom beers you can’t see through. Even wheat beers, a category where all sorts of amazing beers are murky […]