What's Cody drinkin'?

I've had absolutely zero people ask me what I drink when I'm not reviewing beer... Well, here's my usuals. My usuals tend to change by the season and it depends on what the Manitoba Liquor Marts happens to carry - I'll fall in love with a specific beer but then they will price it so far out of my budget that I stop buying it.. Unfortunately it seems like I purchase enough of some beers that it keeps their purchasers ordering it in time after time. I'd be able to budget much better if I cut down on consumption, but the flip side is that then my favourite beers would be impossible to find to begin with.. a serious catch 22... If I don't buy it, they de-list it.. see: many IPAs over the years.

Lagunitas IPA - This California IPA first came to me in 2016 at King's Head Pub in Winnipeg. I love IPAs but I hated it at the time.. it was too heavy, too bitter, too over the top of an IPA so it made it hard to drink it before it got too warm. Fast forward to last year - now it's back in Manitoba and for some reason it's now being imported from Europe (NL and BE), which is funny because we're constantly seeing import brands becoming more and more made domestically so seeing an IPA from California brewed in Europe for sale in Canada is quite something. It's pretty much everything I want in an IPA: It's floral right up front with a moderate bitterness, a bit of grapefruit, lemon, a tad sweet. Sure, it's the kind of IPA that people who hate IPAs complain about most but for me this scratches an itch I didn't know I had for a couple years. 500mL and under $4.00 CAD per can for now? I'll take it.

Unibroue La Fin du Monde - Yeah, I'm still a Unibroue super-fan but I've seriously cut down on the beer in the past year when it moved from 750mL bottles to 473mL four packs in cans. Pouring the beer in a glass gives you an experience itself on why it's a gold standard - it's sweet, with notes of honey, pear and caramel, light to mild hop profile. Unfortunately the canned version is just WAY TOO DAMNED SWEET for me, it's mostly a bit too much caramel/honey.. but still chill the beer, pour it in an appropriate glass and let it settle. It saddens me but I'll still buy the beer. $17 per four-pack (473mL cans.. vs $6.99 per 750mL bottle a year ago.. this is one beer that will never ever be better out of a can)

Kilter Czech Vintage Pale Lager - At the the time I write this, I just reviewed this beer the other day but this beer has been a regular feature (when available) in my fridge since I first saw it back in May 2023. The review is fresh so just read it. $4.00 per 473mL can. When not available I've been rotating between Czechvar, Pilsner Urquel and Nonsuch's La Pils (which I'll always just call "La Molière)

Sookrams Star Beast Imperial Stout - I recently reviewed this beer as well. It's stout season on the prairies and this beer warms me up on the insanely cold prairie evenings. It has the right balance of booziness, sweetness, roastiness, chocolate, etc. I don't buy this often as the weather has been very all over the place this season (February 2023 right now as this was originally written) but when it's -20 out.. this is the first beer to pop out at me.

Snapple 'Spiked' Pink Lemonade - Once in a while I'll get a sugar craving and Snapple's 'Spiked' Pink Lemonade scratches that itch for me. Looking back, I haven't purchased a regular ol' Snapple since they were in glass bottles but their 'Spiked' boozy series of drinks seem to be more common than the NA classics now. The Pink Lemonade is sweet, lemonade-y, fruity and pretty much memories of childhood (but with booze). I sampled a Mike's Hard Lemonade not long after this and between the two, I much preferred this over Mike's, though Mike's was well enjoyed by yours truly in the early 2000s. This was/is supposed to be a limited release but I first tried this eight months ago and it's still pretty easy to find. 

Here's a test for you, if any of you actually read this: comment below (or email me with:) Burton Cummings' Moustache!

Yeah, nobody's reading.