Beer Review: Central City Brewing "Red Racer IPA"

It's been awhile since there has been a post on the Blog, so figure the best way to come back would be to drink a beer and write a review about it... So it's time yet again for the Team Van Go Beer Review!!!! 

Like on every beer review, I’ll give my forewarning that I am bias, and please go out and try this and many other beers as they all are good in their own special way… (I'm just copy / pasting this to add more words into the Blog, make it look a little more official)

This review will be of Central City Brewing Companies "Red Racer IPA".  Like the name states it is an IPA, so expect some hopiness.  This beer is brewed out of British Columbia.

First impressions, is the appearance of the can.  The beer can is green, has a woman riding a bike on it.  Need i say more... I drank the beer straight out of the can, so I'm going to assume that the beer has a beer colour to it.... 

The initial taste gives you a very very hoppy hit of flavour... The beer has a bunch of other flavours involved but for me the hops really took front and centre stage. The beer is 6.5% so a stronger beer for sure. 

Smelling the beer came off with an almost citrius flavor somewhat... Why I smelt the beer I dont know, just thought I should.  

This beer I would consider to be a great beer while watching supercross or some extreme sport like that.  You wouldn't be able to drink a lot of these with the alcohol percentage then drive, but if you are at home relaxing, grab a case and have at it.

Below are the ratings that I would give this beer.

Would I buy a case of this beer: I would buy these 6 at a time.  A 24 would probably take a while to drink I think.   

Did it taste good: Yes

What was your initial thought when you drank the beer: The beer tastes good, and I can look at a bike between sips. 

Was the beer Hoppy: Very much so. Not the hoppiest beer in the word, but not the weakest either. 

Score: 3.65 out of 5

Gear Review: 45NRTH WÖLVHAMMER Boot

This is the First Gear Review for the blog, so figured it would be good to review one of the newer items I've picked up for the winter riding season.  It really wouldn't make sense to review a summer item such as a speedo or riding shorts... 

I'll try and give the best information as possible so that if you do decide to pick up a pair of these boots that you would or wouldn't be disappointed.

These boots are specific to winter riding, with their design, fuzzy insides and wind resistant toe etc.  If you did decide to use these for summer riding your foot would be swimming in sweat that is for sure.

The boot has a high top, for those instances where you decide to do an impact angel and need to stand back up in the deep snow.  There is a nice ankle strap to tighten up and prevent any snow from going down inside your boot which is a really nice feature.  If you do ride with Gaiters, on the toe of the boot there is a Gaiter hook for those knee deep snow banks etc.

The boot is also SPD compatible which is a great feature.  I'm running these boots with Crank Brothers pedals, just to allow the snow to fall through the pedal a lot easier than a Shimano or Time pedal.  It is very nice to still be able to clip in on winter rides.


The inside of the boot is just as nice as the exterior of the boot.  Inside the boot is almost a second riding shoe.  The shoe is nicely lined with a soft fur lining which is very comfortable... To tighten the shoe is a cinch lace, so pretty much pull the laces and slide the cinch-lock down and bobs your uncle. Under the shoe is a thick insole to prevent any cold from coming up through the cleats.  On our last ride when the temperatures were -18C ish, my feet were fine, almost sweating, and just wearing smart wool socks.

At the end of the day, the boots are costly, MSRP 325$, but if you plan on doing some winter riding these are more than perfect. If you can find something cheaper than that and in your size pick them up for sure.  My Shimano shoe size (45) matched exactly the same as the boot, and I have a little room to spare if I did want to put a larger sock on.

Ratings:

Would you buy this Product again: Yes, hopefully I wont have to though, cause they are pricey.
Positives: Warm, comfy, SPD compatible, pretty much everything.
Negatives: Price.

Score: 4.95 out of 5

Fat Tire Trail Report

Wednesday Night Ride
Mono Cliffs Park
January 23rd, 2013

The dream is still alive and kicking for another week...Johnny, Tyler, Mike, William and Max went out for the brisk ride, and brisk is an understatement.... it was stinking cold!

The beginning of the ride was cold, any exposed skin was not feeling happy, but after the opening meadow and the first section of single track you did start to warm up.. It wasn't temperatures like say Cuba, but was still fun... not as much fun as enjoying a week down in Cuba on a beach or anything like that though...

 The single track was tough for all... Mono had a bit more snow than expected so it pretty much felt like you were riding on a beach... Just imagine riding on a beach in Cuba in the nice warm sunny weather overlooking the ocean...

The fat bikes did have an advantage for sure wednesday night floating on the snow a little bit more than William on the skinny tire bike.  

We took a little different route avoiding "Puke Hill".  We rode up to McCarson lake, than finished with the Meadow, switchback, bridges past the pond, singletrack and out.... If you ride Mono you probably would understand that....

One thing we were looking at is McCarson lake almost looks like you can ride on it... not sure the ice thickness, but could be interesting....

Comment of the ride: "How's the ride going William"......."Ah Shitté (French Accent)"

Fat Tire Rating: 3.5 out of 5 

Skinny Tire Rating: 1.5 out of 5 

Beer Review: Mad & Noisy "Hops & Bolts"

Beer review by Bernie the Beer Baron !




Best of both worlds.
A little bitter like an ale
Smooooth like a lager!
A caramel cloudy colour.

The beer made Karen prettier & made Johnny funnier, or visa versa. ( I'd recommend buying a pitcher )

This is a beer worthy of "Big Mark's " approval .

I give it a 4 out of 5

Wednesday Night Ride

Hi All,

There will be a Wednesday Night Ride (January 23rd)... yes yes, I know it seems like summer out there and we should be sitting on a patio enjoying the warm weather, but instead we will be riding our bikes yet again to continue the tradition of the Wednesday Night Ride.

Parking off of the 3rd line by the barn..

Typical, but not sure the trail condition, play it by year when we get there...

Dress WARM!!!! Weather looks like -20C with chance of Flurries....

See everyone there.

Fat Tire Trail Report

Sunday Ride
Dufferin Forest
January 20th, 2013

We had an awesome ride and turnout again.  Tyler, Johnny, Jeff, Mike, Chris, Ed, Heather and Max rode, Karen, Jenny and Sadie ran, but we didn't see much of the runners, way to fast for us.

Weather wasn't too bad, windy and a bit chilly, but all in all was definitely tolerable. The temperature did drop off near the end of the ride, but sun stayed out with the odd snow flake here and there to make the ride very picturesque....

Trail conditions could not be better, the thaw freeze that we have been lucky enough to endure through was just what the trails needed. This gave the single track just enough traction for both fat and skinny tires and allowed us to do the whole manculada (less the trail to nowhere), so really an abbreviated version of the manchulada.

The ride started out heading to the North of 20 trail, back onto Johnny's trail, then down Ken's, Steve's trail... At this point everyone was feeling pretty good, a little tired but excited to head to Simcoe.  One thing that everyone neglects to remember is how hilly Simcoe and the Ridge trail are.... Even in the summer this trail takes a lot out of your legs on a good day, so why we thought it would be a great idea in the winter I don't know.... but hey we did it and survived, for the most part.

We did have some injuries on the ride...
Chris stepped on a stick which did the old rake trick and cut his lip, so he was bloddied up a bie....

And poor Max bit his tongue near the beginning of the ride and was bleeding for the most part rest of the ride... which did end up everywhere from boots to tires...

At the end of the day we do not think that we will get another ride as good as it was on Sunday! And if we do, we will have to remember to bring either a lunch or more water....

Comment of the ride: "Lets ride Simcoe!!!"..... 2hrs later....... "I'm Tired"

Fat Tire Rating: 5.0 out of 5 

Skinny Tire Rating: 5.0 out of 5 

Weekend Ride

Sunday January 20th, 2013
Location: Mansfield
Time: 11am ride start

Updated:
Ride will be at Mansfield, 11am ride time. 
Breakfast at the Country Cabin, 9:30am. (Let Johnny know if you are going to breakfast)

Johnny checked out the trails and should be good to go for both fat and skinny tires alike.  The freeze, thaw freeze may have worked in our favour!


Hi All,

Discussions after Wednesday's Mono ride, we have determined that Sunday will work for the majority this weekend.

Johnny is going to check out Mansfield today (Friday) and see whether the singletrack there is rideable.  After the thaw we had, Mono was in great shape, and we figure anything that wasn't packed down by snowshoers would be in great shape.. but i guess we will see today.

An update on the ride location will be given either tonight or tomorrow.


If you want to ride, check the blog Saturday for any updates. 

Also, prior to the ride, there might be a family breakfast, this will be confirmed as well tonight or tomorrow.
If you wish to go to breakfast, please let Johnny know before Saturday as he needs to give them number to reserve tables etc.

Current Weather Forecast for Saturday: -5C and flurries


If you don't respond you are considered not going. 

Fat Tire Trail Report

Wednesday Night Ride

Mono Cliffs

January 16th, 2013

We were able to get out yet again to Mono cliffs for another edition of the Wednesday night rides… Smaller group, but still a group, Tyler, Johnny, Mike, William and Max…

Weather was cool, and some flurries but the weather really didn’t play a factor in the ride at all.

The stair’s climb out of the parking lot was a sign of what was to come in the ride.  The warm weather melted a lot of the snow, but seemed to pool and freeze in different locations. 

The ice sections were few and far between, but when you found one you knew you either needed to bail into the forest, ride it out, or do an impact angel on the ice… 

The night was perfect for skinny tired bikes, and fat tire bikes alike with some sections of snow, which was crusted up to the bikes floated over with ease. 

We managed to ride the majority of the fridge trail, until the section where the logging has started.  The trail was in great shape, lots of traction, no ice and lots of fun.  At that point it was best to turn around and do the nice fast double track downhill section before the upper parking lot.  The only problem with the nice single track before the downhill was that you kinda forgot about the ice.  Near the bottom of the downhill Johnny did a bit of a speed wobble, and Tyler did an impact angel and slid for a bit.

It feels worse than it looks, and this morning it didn't look good at all..... 

Every other aspect of the ride was good, took it a little easy in sections but other sections you could let the bike go with no problems.

Comment of the ride: "That’s going to hurt tomorrow"

Fat Tire Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (2.5 When you were laying on your side on the ice)

Skinny Tire Rating: 4.0 out of 5 

Wednesday Ride

Hi All,

We are still riding Mono Cliffs Provincial Park Tomorrow (Wednesday January 16th), 6pm ride start.

Parking off of the 3rd line by the barn..

Not sure what the trails will be like.  They could be good, they could be bad, only one way to find out.... Fingers crossed they are okay!

Weather looks like -5C with chance of Flurries....

See everyone there.

Beer Review: Amsterdam Big Wheel Amber Ale

Back for another edition of the infamous Beer Review.

Like on every beer review, I’ll give my forewarning that I am bias, and please go out and try this and many other beers as they all are good in their own special way…

This review will be of Amsterdam Breweries Big Wheel Amber Ale.  As in the name of the beer it is an amber ale, so if you go to the beer store to buy a porter and pick a pack of this beer up you’ll be sadly disappointed…… 

First impressions, the beer has a picture of a bike on it!!! How can it go wrong!  If you pour the beer into a glass it has a nice brown/amber appearance, hence the name…. 

The first sip, which usually is more of a large swig, gives the drinker a nice malt taste.  There is a hint of hops not strong by any means, but a nice blend of the two.  There isn’t a strong carbonation so it leaves the beer very smooth.   

The smell, well it smells like beer… people say they can smell a hint of caramelized malts, but I must have a cold or something because I didn’t get that….

I would consider this to be a great post ride beer, for fall and spring rides.  A great beer to toast after a fun ride in the forest.

Below are the ratings that I would give this beer.

Would I buy a case of this beer: For sure, and I have bought many cases of this beer.  

Did it taste good: Yes

What was your initial thought when you drank the beer: The bike on the bottle increases the initial thoughts.  The beer was smooth, not an outstanding beer, but definitely above average.

Was the beer Hoppy: A slight hint of hop, but no overpowering at all.

Score: 3.95 out of 5

Fat Tire Trail Report

Saturday Weekend Ride
Mansfield / Dufferin Forest
January 12th, 2013

We had a great turnout for the ride!!! Johnny, Tyler, Mike, Don, Joe, Bernie, Anthony, Jeff and Max joined us for the snowmobile trail ride.  The weather played a key factor in the ride, ride selection and the wet feet.

Weather was fantastic, warm partially sunny, just an all around great day to be out on the trail.  You can tell by the pictures the snowmobile trail looks to be almost back down to dirt was very deceiving!
Every once and a while the bike would decide it didn't like riding ontop of the snow and the front wheel would sink up to the axle and throw the rider off of the bike.

Most of the front flips were done with ease and grace.

We stuck to the snowmobile trails which were a tough chug for fat and skinny tires alike. 

Can't complain, as it is Mid January and we are still riding, and riding strong....

At the Dufferin/Simcoe forest border, we were able to jump onto some single track that wasn't hiked or snowshoed, which was very ridable...

If the weather drops like the weatherman says it is going to, we should be good to ride, and studded tires may be a better choice if the conditions ice up....

All in all, covered about 15km in 2.5hrs of riding time, so not the fastest of rides, but we would not be able to ride any faster in the conditions that is for sure!

Comment of the ride: "You need to keep the bike on plain!!!!"

Fat Tire Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Skinny Tire Rating: 2.0 out of 5 


It's not the size of the tire, it's the Girth!

Weekend Ride Update

Update....

Ride Location: Mansfield
Time: 11am
Snowmobile trail

Weekend Ride

Saturday January 12th, 2013
Location: TBD (Read Below)
Time: 11am ride start

Hi All,
after last night's mono ride discussion was for a ride on Saturday this weekend.  With the weather going to be approx 10C, I don't see a snowshoe happening, but maybe a hike if people want to do that.

On Friday, Tyler is going to check out Palgrave, Johnny is going to check out Mono.  Whichever looks better to ride will be the ride location.

If you want to ride, please let either Tyler or Johnny know as it will be a Friday decision and I'm not going to promise that it will be published on the Blog.

Also, prior to the ride, there is going to breakfast at the Country Cabin in Primrose, 9:30am.
If you wish to go to breakfast, please let Johnny know before Friday as he needs to give them numbers.

Current Weather Forecast for Saturday: Sunny, Partially Cloudy, 10C!!!!!


If you don't respond you are considered not going. 

Fat Tire Trail Report

Wednesday Night Ride
Mono Cliffs Park
January 9th, 2013

We are still able to ride the full loop at Mono! Tyler, Johnny, William, Mike and Max did the trek out to keep the dream alive....

With the warmer temperatures the snow was a little softer than it has been, which made it a lot harder to peddle the bikes through but we managed...

Similar to the previous weeks you definitely needed to stay on the snowshoe / hiking path to ensure you stayed on your bike.  This was the case for fat and skinny tires alike....

Everything was pretty much rideable on the fat bikes for sure, poor William had a bit tougher of a time, with the bike sinking in the snow...

The wind was quite strong last night so the stops at the lookout and at the end of puke hill were short lived.

We attempted the upper loop again.. The strong winds created several drifts, but as long as you stayed up on plane you were able to plow through the majority of them.  After the drift and when the front tire dipped off the trail you either stopped dead or the bike decided it wanted to go a different direction than you wanted to go.
After the climb on the upper loop the trail became a lot nicer and the end of that loop was great.

With the warmer temperatures, we were able to enjoy a nice sociable after the ride...

Comment of the ride: "It's like gay pride with all the different colours of bikes"

Fat Tire Rating: 3.8 out of 5

Skinny Tire Rating: 2.2 out of 5 


It's not the size of the tire, it's the Girth!

FrostBike

Hi All,

Something to look into for the Family Day weekend.

The Frostbike Race

This race is down in Port Colburne.
10km loop, you can do 1 or 2 laps, and the fastest time between the 2 is your time.

Starts at a Tavern so it is a very laid back race.

Mini Time Trial start, 6 riders at a time.

Wednesday Ride

Hi All,

We are still riding Mono Cliffs Provincial Park Tomorrow (Wednesday January 9th), 6pm ride start.

See what we can do there, hopefully the snowshoer's and hikers packed the trails down enough to ride...

Hopefully with the weather lately the trail should be packed down really nicely.

See everyone there.

Fat Tire Trail Report

Sunday Afternoon Ride
Mono Cliffs Park
January 6th, 2013

Able to get a back to back ride in at Mono, Tyler, Jeff and Chris were able to do the Mono Cliffs loop.

Compared to the trail the day before it was night and day difference.  The little bit of hiker, skiier and snowshoe traffic packed down the sections were there were snow drifts to make the overall loop completely ridable on either skinny or fat tires.

Tyler was 2 feet away from making the rocky climb to the lookout, stupid root!!!
Chris cleared the bridge with no effort.  Some of the downhill were a little bit tougher if you got off line with the skinny tires which in turn created oversteer and then a body mark on the ground.  As Jeff called them 'Impact Angels'.

Felt good enough to go up and try the upper loop.  not as much traffic on that loop so the climb up took a lot more energy and there were a few snow drifts to contend with, but like the rest of the ride was doable.

After the climb came the flowy sections where everybody was having issues staying on the trail and on their bikes.  Impact angels appeared in a lot more places then what was necessary  but still made it and had a lot of fun riding it.

The weather was perfect, 2 layers seemed to be the best, with +1C temperatures and a some nice flurries falling on us.

With the wet brakes, hikers could definitely hear us coming down the hills with squealing breaks....

sorry no pictures on this ride so please use your imagination.

Comment of the ride: "I made the corners you didn't by not following your tracks"

Fat Tire Rating: 4.1 out of 5

Skinny Tire Rating: 3.8 out of 5 (If you weren't wearing glasses 2.8 out of 5 on the downhills)


It's not the size of the tire, it's the Girth!

Beer Review: Lake of Bays Mocha Porter

The second edition of the beer review is another Lake of Bays beer.  I have been given some and also bought some over the holidays.

I’ll give my forewarned warring that I am bias, and please go out and try this and many other beers as they all are good in their own special way… except for coors light, that really is just water in a brown bottle….

Another one of Lake of Bays seasonal brews, The Mocha Porter (which you can also find as Old North) is a dark coffee roasted beer.  When poured into a glass it comes out very dark, with a nice white head.

First impressions, after the beer was poured, the beer looked very nice and was calling out, drink me….  The smell test came back with a coffee/chocolate aroma, which is nice for a winter beer….

Taking the first swig of the beer proved that the coffee smell translated into the tast as well.  Also a hint of hops as well… overall impression on the taste of the beer was a very nice heavy beer.

I would consider this to be a great beer for drinking while having dinner or relaxing.. This is more of a sipping beer than a beer for after a ride.

Below is the ratings that I would give this beer.

Would I buy a case of this beer: No, I'd buy this beer one bottle at a time. 

Did it taste good: Yes

What was your initial thought when you drank the beer: It was a very smooth beer, and the bottle was too small.

Was the beer Hoppy: A hint of Hops, but not overpowering at all.

Score: 3.45 out of 5

Fat Tire Trail Report

Wednesday Night Ride
Mono Cliffs Park
January 5th, 2013

Another great ride on Saturday, Tyler, Johnny, Jeff and Max made the trek out into Mono Cliffs park.  Mark Train cross country skied, Chris, Illona, Emily, Tracy and the boys, and Karen hiked/snowshoe.

The weather as probably everyone is aware of was perfect, 0C, partially cloudy and not a stitch of wind.... 

The normal Mono loop was surprisingly in great shape, there were a few spots where the snow drifts did dump a lot of snow on the trail, but overall trail was still in great shape. Over the last week the amount of snow shoe, hikers, skiiers etc has packed the trail down to the point where everything on the loop is ride able.

The rocky climb to the lookout is almost smooth now...

The bridge rideable for both skinny and fat tires alike!! The bridge does not judge on the size of the riders tires.

As for the switchback... probably the best part of Jeffs ride, and not the best part of Tylers..... below is the step by step on how not to recover a snowy corner on a fat bike.... I'd say the snow was soft, the rock/root that was under the snow on the other hand seemed to be a tad harder...

Who put the snow on the outside of the corner.....

The upper loop seems to be ride able, which will be tried on Wednesday's ride.... Unfortunetly Tyler's leg was a little too out of sorts to add the extra section in....

Overall impressions, skinny tire bikes can ride the loop, as long as the temperatures and the hikers keep doing what they are doing... Same as last Wednesday, if you veer off of the packed trail your front tire is either going to stop or make a funky turn whether you want it to or not.....

Comment of the ride: " You just need to commit to the corners"


Fat Tire Rating: 3.9 out of 5

Skinny Tire Rating: 3.4 out of 5 (5 out of 5 when Tyler fell on the corner and Jeff made it)

It's not the size of the tire, it's the Girth!

Fat Tire Trail Report

Wednesday Night Ride
Mono Cliffs Park
January 2nd, 2013

Overall the ride was amazing on the fat bikes.  Johnny, Tyler, Mike, and Max made it out to keep the Wednesday rides going. 

The snowshoe/hike traffic from the previous few days packed the trails down enough to give more than enough traction as long as you stayed within the edges of the packed trail.  The trail was packed enough that skinny tired bikes would have no problem on the trails.

Once you did move off of the packed trail it did get a little bit sketchy, but if you didn’t over steer / over correct you were somewhat okay.

The snow was nicely falling on us, and felt like we were in our own little snow globe….

All in all it was a fantastic night of biking! 

Fat Tire Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Skinny Tire Rating: 3.5 out of 5