Monthly Archives: February 2009

Eastern Explorations Continued: Dieu Du Ciel

One of my coworkers moved back to Quebec this past summer, but still works with us remotely. Our interactions are now mostly limited to instant messenger conversations, but lately we’ve been able to bond over our mutual interest in beer. Jerome is lucky to live near Montreal, the Canadian hotbed of interesting craft beer. One of the breweries we both enjoy is Dieu Du Ciel, who brew very interesting beers.

Jerome tempting me with imagery

One of the guys at Brewery Creek recommended them to me, so I bought one of each of the six brews available. Dieu Du Ciel (God of the sky) also gives their beers sweet names, not that this has anything to do with the beer itself, but it’s a nice touch. The six I tried are:

Corne du diable (Horn of the devil): 6.5% American IPA that I enjoyed very much, pleasantly hoppy for an East coast beer.
Dernière Volonté (Last will): 6.5% Belgian abbey style blonde, which I also enjoyed.
Fumisterie (Smoke screen): 5.5% hemp ale, enjoyable, but smoked flavors aren’t my bag.
Péché Mortel (Mortal Sin): 9.5% Imperial coffee stout, intense roasted coffee flavors, very interesting, but a bit too heavy for my liking.
Rosée d’hibiscus (Pinkish Hibiscus): 5% hibiscus flower wit, quite possibly the girliest beer I’ve ever come across (besides Bud Light), but I really enjoyed this wit and look forward to sipping a few more this summer.
Route des épices (Spice route): 5% peppercorn rye beer, tasted like a (good) pale ale with added pepper, too much pepper in my opinion.

You’ll notice that Dieu Du Ciel doesn’t brew your average beers. Even though I found them hit or miss, I love what Dieu Du Ciel is doing with their beer. They are going all out, you love it or you hate it, but the ones you love are masterpieces. The beer menu at the brewpub can only be considered epic, check it out. I’m hoping to make a trip out to Montreal in the not too distant future. Care to join me for a beer Jerome?

Cheers,

Chris

Northwest Beer Events

The good people at Northwest Brewing News kindly send out a regular e-newsletter, titled Hop Tips, informing beer lovers about what is going on in the world of Northwest brewing. Northwest Brewing News is one of my favorite sources for local beer information. Yes, I consider Washington, Oregon, Northern California and even Alaska to be local.

There are a couple of great sounding events going on in Bellingham WA, just south of the Metro Vancouver, taking place in the next few weeks. I just want to point a couple of them out:

Tuesday February 17th – Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen in Bellingham will be hosting a Kolsch night. Kolsch is a relatively hard to find German ale, and with pints coming in a $1.50 it is hard to pass up this opportunity. From my understanding this event will be occurring every Tuesday until otherwise posted.
February 23rd 6:00PM – Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen is putting on a winter beer dinner. Tickets will need to be purchased in advance online.
February 24th – Boundary Bay Brewing Company is presenting a Fat Tuesday extravaganza. Dixieland Jazz and a special menu should make for a great evening. I believe Dix Brewing in Vancouver is also hosting a Mardi Gras party on February 19th. Why not enjoy both.

These are just a few of the great beer events taking place in the Pacific Northwest. Although Vancouver is nowhere near Washington as far as craft brewing goes, Vancouverites are still quite fortunate to live in such a great beer region, so please take advantage of what is right in our own backyard.

Erik

A good bit of spam from PubQuest

I get SPAM emails and cold calls at work all the time and I really hate it. No, I don’t want toner or for you to be our company accountant; thank you for interrupting my day unnecessarily. As such, I was annoyed when the first piece of spam targeted at this blog made it through my filter. I wasn’t annoyed for long though, turns out I was actually interested in the unsolicited email I received. In response to Erik’s trip to Seattle, Julie Wartell let us know about PubQuest.com, a map based mashup of brewpubs and craft brewers in North America.

PubQuest’s locater is pretty cool. You zero in on an area of interest and are then shown where tasty beer can be found within the bounds of the map. I tested it out for Vancouver, Victoria, the Fraser Valley, and the Okanagan. I found the listings to be very complete, which earned them my trust. I’ve made my own Google Beer Maps in the past, so I would for sure use PubQuest as a starting point for any future beer based road trips. If you are looking for a brewpub or craft brewer in your neighbourhood or near a travel destination, check out PubQuest.com.

Cheers,

Chris

Joe to the rescue

A third guest post to LoveGoodBeer.com! This time we welcome David Reith to the fold. He is a good friend, a good writer, and an accomplished beer drinker. I hope you enjoy his post about a favorite local pub of ours. ~ Chris

As I read Erik’s post about local pubs, I couldn’t help but twinge when he insinuated that the beer and food at your local pub don’t matter as long as you’re amongst friends. It’s not that I don’t like a good time out with my buddies because I do. However, I think that a good time out with friends is often ruined by the experience of the venue. This includes most prominently the food and beverage, but also extends to the house staff and general atmosphere of the joint. Too often we suffer through poor food, boring beers, inept staff and other nuisances that can ruin a night before we even realize it.

The average local pub in the Fraser Valley usually falls woefully short when it comes to a selection of truly great beers. Even without getting into the selective world of cask ales and seasonal releases, there are more than enough craft and micro-breweries for pubs to choose from. Unfortunately, too many cater to the tasteless beer drinker or are forced to carry generic beer brands because of their chosen distributors. Erik is right in wanting more adventurous choices, and he is not alone.

To add to the shortcomings in brew selection, most local taverns forget that beer often leads to food and some thought should be given to the latter. As tasty as hot wings and nachos are (and believe me, I do love me some hot wings), they shouldn’t be the be all and end all of the pub menu. Along with thinking outside the box with their beer, pubs need to get adventurous with their menus.

With all this in mind, I want to commend a local watering hole on its achievements. Original Joe’s Restaurant and Bar is a Western Canadian chain of pubs from Saskatchewan to BC. Much like Tom Cruise in Cocktail, they sought to franchise the look and feel of the friendly neighbourhood tavern and I think they have succeeded. Admittedly, I have only visited one of their two BC locations (Coquitlam), but I have been a few times now and always enjoyed myself. When it comes to beer, I have not seen a better selection of craft brews outside of operating brew pubs. Their tap selection includes:

Original Joe’s Red Ale, Honey Brown Ale, and Blonde Lager
Okanagan Springs Brewing 1516 Bavarian Lager, Black Lager, and Pale Ale
Russell Cream Ale
Dead Frog Nut Brown Ale and Pale Ale
Big Rock Traditional Ale, and Grasshopper Ale
Whistler Black Tusk Ale, Import Lager, and Weissbeer

Their house brand, Original Joe’s, is brewed by Big Rock Brewing Co. in Alberta, but they venture outside of its boundaries to include some other interesting offerings, including local contributions from Dead Frog Brewing and Russell Brewing. To add to my enjoyment, they offer a different selection from the taps each day for just $4.75 for a big boy pint.

In addition to a great selection of beers, they also offer a diverse and exciting menu that truly entices. Pulled pork sandwiches, European sausages and handmade hamburgers all make appearances, as do some creative sides such as honey slaw, fries and homemade gravy, and mango pasta salad. And yes, for the stubborn or the un-brave they do have excellent wings and nachos, but my guess is that they kick the pants off the local frozen-to-fried fare served up at most local pubs. Plus, they have lunch and dinner specials that are actually that: special dishes at special prices (Note to restaurants: picking an item off your menu and printing it on a new page at the same price is NOT a special).

But the best part about Original Joe’s may not be the beers and it may not be the food. It’s got that X-factor. With portraits of local landmarks strewn about its red-brick walls and easily seen, but not overbearing TVs, O.J.’s provides just the right atmosphere for a good time with friends. The staff is friendly and recognizes you on repeat visits. So keep the faith beer-lovers! Great pubs are out there and they are waiting for you to find them. So grab some friends and venture out there. Cheers.

Dave Reith

Russellfest

Thanks in large part to Russell Brewing, I had some friends over for Russellfest this past weekend. We sampled Russell’s Cream, Pale, and Honey Blonde Ales, as well as their Extra Special Lager. My friends, many of whom were affected by the original incident, got to taste what Russell’s beer should taste like. We were also treated to several of my wife’s homemade pizza’s, which were delicious and very quickly devoured. It was a great party and everyone had a great time, as far as I know at least.

Considering that Russell’s beer was the focal point, we did discuss it in depth. One piece of feedback we have for Russell is that we wish they were more adventurous with their beer. When tasting, we noticed that not much sets each beer part from the other. I do enjoy their beer, the Cream Ale the most, but I would not call it spectacular or even great. It seems to me that they are targeting the average beer drinker who prefers less flavorful, simpler beer. As a craft brewery, I would expect some greater differentiation throughout the lineup and a few interesting seasonal releases. On our tour, we noticed that they only used two kinds of hops (I forget which two, but Erik will know). We thought, why not be bolder? Keep the Cream and Honey the same, but why not make the Pale Ale something to remember? This is just our opinion.

Thanks again to Russell for making amends and taking us on a tour. We really thought they were very nice, very passionate people who care a lot about their beer. I hope they continue to thrive and I hope they release the odd something special every now and then.

Some pictures from the party: