A PINT OF YOUR BEST 'BUGBEAR' PLEASE

Or, Toorah For Those Tittilating Tag-Names!

Fascinated as I am with names, I happened upon an article in our thrice-weekly, local Victoria newspaper devoted to tempting the tastebuds of tipplers at the outdoor "Great Canadian Beer Festival".

It seems that our island castle (has more than a few educated swillers from nearby colleges and universities, not to mention a slew of seabees (from the naval base next door) who can't get enough of those special event suds.

In case you thought beer is just beer, think again. There’s the mass-produced malt variety (aka bottled grog) for those who need a bold “brand-name” beer to convince them they’re part of a happy herd of flatulating buffalo, frenzied sharks or frisky penguins. Then there’s the small-batch, cottage micro-brew for the young, discerning crop of brown-nosing, social-climbing iconoclasts who really don’t give a sweet tweet about the plebes. And last but not least, there are those who pride themselves in being able to show-off their penny-pinching, skinflint, tightwad habits courtesy of the local u-brew shops.

Not being a true-blue beer-belly, I must admit I haven’t the foggiest idea of what to look for in a beer other than the name. And being a rather elegant, eccentric and equable person of good breeding (and not surpisingly, easily amused), I find solace in all strong and single-minded spirits -- especially the tall, dark and handsome ones.

Anything boisterous and bubbly will attract my attention as will any marvelous moniker that’s a tad titillating, saucily spunky or possibly just a dandy draught.

So, I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite hop handles (on the off chance that you too might be as delighted as I was to see them). Besides "Moosehead" (for the merry munchkin in all of us) , there are oodles of other laugh-out-loud names to enjoy such as:

• Back Hand of God (Crannog Ales)
• Black Widow Dark Ale (Tin Whistle Brewing Co.)
• Bogtrotter Brown Ale (Crannog Ales)
• Bull Frog
• Bureaucracy Bitter (Gulf Islands Brewing Co.)
• Buzzard's Breath (Big Rock Beer)
• Cold Cock Winter Porter (Big Rock Beer)
• Fat Head I.P.A. (Fat Cat Brewery)
• Hophead India Pale Ale (Tree Brewing Co.)
• Jack Rabbit Low Carb Beer (Big Rock Beer)
• Killer Bee Dark Honey Ale (Tin Whistle Brewing Co.)
• Lemp
• Moose Drool (Montana Big Sky Brewing Co.)
• Mule
• Old Stumplifter (Tree Brewing Co.)
• Paddywhack IPA (Nelson Brewing Co.)
• Pig's Eye
• Posiedon's Imperial Stout (Fish Tale Ales)
• Pompous Pompadour Porter (Fat Cat Brewery)
• Rattlesanke ESB Ale (Tin Whistle Brewing Co.)
• Red Devil Ale (R&B Brewing Co.)
• Red Ass Ale
• Scrumpy Cider (Montana Big Sky Brewing Co.)
• Snuffy Smith
• Warthog Cream Ale (Big Rock Beer)
• Ya Man Jamaica Ale (Montana Big Sky Brewing Co.)
• Yellow Belly
  
  For those of you who like something a touch more radical or ribald, why not try these on for size (courtesy of the "Strange Brew Random Beer Name Generator"):
  
  · Flying Squirrel-Pinto Stout
  · Frisky Ardvaark Gueuze
  · Dirty Deer Doppleback
  · Grunting Jellyfish Pale Ale
  · Moose-Monk Extra Special Bitter
  · Sloshed Wombat Stout
  · Sub-Atomic Wit Brown Ale
  · Succulent Groundhog Day Golden Altbier
  
  And as every “victualer” knows, you will certainly need a nifty name for your tacky tavern besides, “Stickey Wicket Pub”, “Waddling Dog” or “Toad-in-the-Hole” (which are already taken). So if you’re leisure-challenged like I am, you might want to have a wee peek at the "Random Tavern Name Generator". You might not like the "Tippling Twitmeister Taproom" but perhaps one of the following gems might strike your fancy:
  
  · Berserk Knave Hall
  · Cheerful Hippogriff Pub
  · Fiery Grog Cellar
  · Giggling Gryphon Guesthouse
  · Toothless Taproom
  · Twin Heretic Tavern
  
  So, as they say in sci-fi movies, “May the Force Be With You”, as you drive home tonight with the help of a trusty taxi coupon or a designated driving dude/damsel.
  
  __________
  
  The sub-atomic pale-alers among us may want to visit the “Strange Brew” website for more than 27,703,620 possible new brew names to print on those ultra-cheap “u-brew self-adhesive labels”, http://www.strangebrew.ca/beername.php.
  
  And do drop by one of my favorite hop spots on the Net -- The Big Rock Beer folks in Calagary, Alberta at http://www.bigrockbeer.com
  
  For those of you who want to check out the 59,980 possible pub names – please consult the “Random Tavern Name Generator”, at : http://www.paper-dragon.com/fantasyland/tavernnamegen.html
  
  Should any of you wish to pay an impromptu visit to the fair city of Victoria, BC (Canada), why not book ahead and go to the "Great Canadian Beer Festival" held each year in early September http://www.gcbf.com