Archive for April, 2009
A new beer cellar
Thursday, April 30th, 2009 | Beer, The Cellar | 5 Comments
I recently noticed that it was getting rather warm in my garage, which concerned me because my beer cellar is also in my garage. While most beer is best served fresh, stronger beers (think 8% ABV and higher) can get better with age. Both Erik and I have a few beers ageing, which you can read about on The Cellar page. Erik also wrote a great post on how and why you should cellar certain beers. Back to the problem at hand, beer ages best between seven and ten degrees (Canadian degrees, the ones that make sense). Thanks to the arrival of Spring, my South facing garage has been heating up to as high as twenty, not good for my beer.
My new beer fridge/cellar. Not all those empties are mine. I'm not an alcoholic, I swear.
Luckily for me, I’ve recently come into some hockey pool winnings. With said winnings, I decided to purchase a beer fridge to use as my new beer cellar. I was a bit worried that my beer fridge would be too warm, but the warmest setting has given me a nice eight degrees. I purchased most of my cellar beers last winter, so it’ll be at least another half year before I crack any of them. I’ll definitely post about the differences I notice in the aged version versus their younger counterparts. If any of the beers end up spoiled because of my previously poor temperature control, I will be pissed. Mustering the patience to store beer was hard enough in the first place!
Still only eight beers in the cellar, should probably go shopping...
Cheers,
Chris
Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 | Beer, Breweries, Homebrew | 2 Comments
Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies located in Vancouver’s threatened Heatley Block is the soul of Vancouver’s growing craft beer movement. Yes that is correct, the very soul of craft beer in Vancouver is a homebrew shop. If craft beer was a body, the many fine brewers in BC would be the heart, retail shops, restaurants and pubs such as Brewery Creek, the Alibi Room and The Whip would act as the arms and legs, and the dedicated consumers represented by groups such as CAMRA Vancouver would be the mind. All parts play an integral role in a successful beer revival, and although all parts are equally important, Dan’s will always hold a special place in my heart.
My love for beer came from an interest in homebrewing – without Dan’s I may never have been exposed to the diverse selection of beer that the world has to offer. The entire Vancouver area is littered with many small u-brew and u-vint businesses that carry a limited selection of homebrew ingredients and supplies, but none of these compare to Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies. Dan’s is the only retail store in the entire Vancouver area where whole-leaf hops, hop pellets, a full selection of barley, wheat and rye malts, brewing supplies and brewers yeast can be found. This list does not include the friendly advice and recipes that Dan and his staff are more than happy to provide to their customers. Here is a video put together about Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies.
The most creative and experimental beer will always be homebrew. I have to admit that some of the cask beers that brewmasters graciously provide are delicious and very creative, but craft brewing is still a business and the beer they produce must be commercial enough to sell. Whereas homebrewers do not sell their beer and only have to please themselves and their usually appreciative friends – the only limitation homebrewers face is their own imagination. For a mere sixty dollars on supplies and twenty to thirty dollars for ingredients, and add in a small amount of patience and there it is, an incredibly unique and flavorful beer.
The North American craft beer renaissance that was started in Northern California over thirty years ago was largely influenced by hombrewers. Homebrew shops have always and will continue to play a vital role in the growth of craft beer. For anyone interested in homebrewing, I highly encourage a visit to Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies – I am sure Dan and his staff would be more than happy to help.
Cheers,
Erik
More Brockton IPA Launch Pictures
Monday, April 27th, 2009 | Beer | No Comments
Further to my last post, the honourable Rick Green sent me a few more pictures he took at the Granville Island Brockton IPA launch party. He has a real camera and his pictures are way better than mine, so I figured I’d post them. Plus, who doesn’t want to get a look at the sweet, sweet Brockton IPA keychain that doubles as a bottle opener.
Erik and I conversing
Me and my sweet Brockton IPA bottle opener/keychain
Cheers,
Chris
Ozarks Famous BBQ
Sunday, April 26th, 2009 | Beer | 6 Comments
A new southern BBQ restaurant name Ozarks Famous BBQ recently opened in Langley. This is the first authentic BBQ restaurant in Langley, although Boonies BBQ & Soul Food sits right next door in the neighboring Cloverdale area. After waiting a few weeks for the restaurant to get past the typical problems that most restaurants experience in the first few weeks of operation, I decided to stop buy and give it a try.
I am a huge fan of real BBQ cooking and am happy to see that people are finally beginning to realize the difference between high heat grilling and low heat barbecuing. Ozarks is a true BBQ restaurant following the time honoured traditions of slowly smoking inexpensive, tough-yet-flavourful cuts of meat until they become delicious and tender. BBQ also happens to pair excellently with a number of beer styles from IPA to robust porter. This should come as no surprise seeing that many local brewpubs serve BBQ influenced dishes.
Ozarks is a locally owned family business with a number of years experience in BBQ. Prior to opening this restaurant, the owners mastered the art of southern BBQ by offering an award winning selection of BBQ meat and sauces at Ozarks Country Meats in White Rock. There years spent perfecting slow smoked BBQ cookery is very apparent. Every piece of meat I tasted, including pork riblets, BBQ chicken and beef brisket were all barbecued to perfection. Nothing was overly sauced nor was it too dry – it was moist and tender with a noticeable but not overpowering hardwood smoke flavour.
The BBQ was great- no complaints about the food, but the selection of beer was clearly not well thought out. Only one of the beers available even has a chance of standing up to the bold flavours of southern BBQ. The restaurant’s draught beer selection is exclusively Granville Island Brewing – including two light lagers, a mild pale ale and the newly release Brockton IPA. The IPA fared relatively well alongside BBQ pork riblets, but did nothing to complement the other dishes we ordered. The two light lagers and the one pale ale are far too mild to match the restaurants southern food. Porters, Southern Brown Ales, Smoked Ale and other full flavored beer would complement the food much more than light lager. Such a great opportunity to match great food with great beer and again the opportunity was missed – such a tragedy.
I would like to encourage all the craft breweries with BBQ appropriate beers to contact Ozarks Famous BBQ. Perhaps all the restaurant needs is a nudge in the right direction.
Overall, Ozarks’ food is good and it is without a doubt worth a visit. If more appropriate beer was made available I would certainly become a regular customer.
Cheers,
Erik
The Brockton IPA Launch
Saturday, April 25th, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments
Erik and I attended the launch of Granville Island’s Brockton IPA at the GI Taproom last night. For us, because we’ve both written about Brockton IPA before (Erik did a group taste test and I posted some general impressions last week), the night was less about the beer itself and more about having a good time. But if you did want to know, we find Brockton IPA to be a decent beer, although somewhat lacking in balance and merely resembling a hoppy version of their pale ale. It isn’t killer IPA, but it will definitely draw more Vancouverites to craft beer, and for that we are thankful.
When we arrived at the busy Taproom, we were asked whether we were with the press or from the liquor board. We were press! I suppose I should be less excited about that, but I had never been referred to as press before. If press are commonly treated as well as we were last night, I wouldn’t mind being with the press more often. We were given three pints of IPA, an excellent spread of food provided by a nearby culinary school, and a complimentary cab ride home. Also, Almira of Jive Communications, who invited us, recognized Erik right away (not hard, he is a behemoth of a man and extremely good looking) and gave us a thorough welcome.
We were also lucky to meet Vern Lambourne, the brewer at Granville Island. Vern perfects Granville Island’s recipes before sending them up North to Kelowna for production. More importantly, Vern brews all of Granville Island’s seasonal beers on Granville Island. I especially enjoyed his Porter and eagerly await next week’s release of GI Bitter. Last month’s Ginger beer, although not to my tastes, was very popular and sold out fast. Vern let us into the brewery for a quick peek and a picture, and also invited us back for a tour another day. It is always awesome to meet brewers, not only because they make the delicious beverage we enjoy, but because they are always such nice, humble guys. Cheers Vern, thanks for showing us around.
We also ran into the honorable Rick Green, who is always a pleasure to chat with. Rick is the king of BC beer and always has the inside scoop. He introduced us to Crystal Henrickson of Yelp, who is their sole Vancouver employee. She is trying to build a Yelp Community in Vancouver and I hope she succeeds. Yelp is a great site when it is well populated with reviews. I’ve found it really helpful when visiting US cities, but Vancouver is still catching up on volume. Crystal convinced me to go beyond consuming other people’s reviews and make some of my own. I’ve now signed up and rated a few of my favorite places.
The launch of Brockton IPA was surely an experience, one which I enjoyed. If any other breweries, or even restaurants, would like to wine and dine us press at future launch parties, we’d be more than happy to oblige.
The crowded Taproom
Erik with a Brockton IPA
Me with a Brockton IPA
Vern in his brewery with his latest creation
Cheers,
Chris
After 25 years it is finally here: Brockton IPA
Friday, April 24th, 2009 | Beer, Breweries | 5 Comments
The Granville Island Brewing Company turned 25 this year, and to celebrate they released a new beer titled Brockton IPA. Granville Island Brewing is one of British Columbia’s first craft brewers – all BC beer fans, even those whose tastes are not always satisfied with Granville Island’s regular offering, owe a big thank you to this brewing pioneer.
Granville Island’s non-seasonal six-pack beer is generally speaking, not brewed to please the discerning pallet of a passionate beer drinker, but that is good. Not all craft beer needs to be challenging and thought provoking. Granville Island’s beer serves as a great entry point into the world of craft beer. This brewery has done a great deal of work in developing a market for craft beer in Vancouver. Although I am no longer a diehard fan of Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale, I still have a great deal of respect for this ale. Had this mild pale ale never existed I may not have been exposed to BC’s burgeoning craft beer scene – English Bay Pale Ale was one of the first craft beers that I tasted, enjoyed and began to purchase regularly.
To please fussier beer drinkers, such as myself, Granville Island Brewing offers a good selection of creative and flavourful seasonal beers. Unlike their regular offering, which is now brewed in Kelowna, their season beer is still brewed on Granville Island. To me, the true definition of a craft brewer is not how many liters a brewery produces annually, but whether or not a selection of seasonal beer is offered. Seasonal releases are a great way for brewers to challenge their customers’ taste buds and push the boundaries a bit. Having achieved success with a previous IPA seasonal release, Granville Island Brewing decided that now was the perfect time to release a milder version of their seasonal IPA.
Because I fall into the “fussy” beer drinking category, I assumed that Brockton IPA would not be for me. My assumptions were correct – there is nothing wrong with this beer and I believe it is a great IPA for those who have never experienced the full on flavour assault of an IPA, I just prefer a bigger, bolder IPA. Knowing that Brockton IPA was not for me, I decided to invite a few friends over, all who like beer to varying degrees, to sample the beer and offer their unbiased opinions.
Here is what they thought:
Brad Wiens:
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It is a good beer, but somewhat weak. Similar to other Granville Island Beer.
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Cheryl Wiens:
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It tastes like a pill that I tried to swallow and then coughed up
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Holly Wolfe:
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It is okay, but a bit too bitter. I prefer their Winter Ale.
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Rachel Richardson:
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Piney tasting – Where is the citrus flavour?
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Chris Richardson:
Chris has already posted his comments, but to reiterate:
i
It tastes like a hoppier version of English Bay Pale Ale
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No one seemed to fall in the love with Brockton IPA, but aside from Cheryl, everyone did finish their beer. Subjective opinions aside, Brockton IPA is a great introduction to hoppier, flavourful beers and I am always excited to see a brewer release a new beer. I look forward to seeing what Granville Island brews next.
Cheers,
Erik
Homebrewing for the first time
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 | Beer | 4 Comments
This past Saturday, Erik invited me over to brew a batch of porter with his good friend Brad. I had never homebrewed before, so this was completely new to me. I arrived at Erik’s house a while before Erik, who was running late, returned from Dan’s Homebrewing Supplies with the malt and hop ingredients. Luckily, I was really on time because Holly had just finished making lunch. I was already liking brewing by this point.
When Erik got home with the goods, the first thing we had to do was heat up some water for the first phase, mashing. Mashing involves mixing the malted barley (the recipe of which Erik can fill you in on) into hot water. Our malt mixture contained very little roasted chocolate malt (you could see the odd black fleck), which you might be surprised to find out is all that’s needed to give a beer that dark porter colour. The water had to be heated up to approximately 170F on the stove to get a temperature of 152F in the mashing vessel. How Erik knows this, I cannot tell. We used Erik’s fancy beer making software to figure out the ideal temperature of 152F. Apparently, anything three degrees above would lead to too many unfermentable sugers in the mash (leftover sugar means sweeter beer) and anything three degrees less would lead to too many fermentable sugars (not much leftover sugar means dry beer). After Erik had mashed in his barley malt and was ready to let it sit in the lautering process, we were dead on at 152F. Erik’s giant beer cosy system only loses 1F per hour, which I was pretty impressed with. Lautering is the process of letting the mash steep, to extract the fermentable sugars that yeast turns into alcholol.
Erik Mashing in the barley malt
Action Shot of Mashing in the Barley Malt
Lautering in the giant Beer Cosy
Now Erik would tell you that home brewing is easy, and it is fairly straight forward, but it is really only easy when you are me. It is true that while homebrewing, you do a lot of work in bursts and then wait around for an hour or so. Homebrewing is also fairly precise and requires a fair amount of careful sanitization, as well as a good chunk of knowledge (that Erik has and I don’t). For me, brewing consisted of playing a lot of frisbee with Luca, Erik’s dog, and drinking a lot of beer. Whereas Erik spent a lot of time tearing around, cleaning stuff, carefully measuring/mixing, and took part in a good deal of attentiveness. I had a great time though, because frisbee and beer drinking are pretty fun. We drank a lot of fantastic beers, including Mission Springs Fat Guy Oatmeal Stout, Swans Coconut Porter, Swans Berry Ale, and Anderson Valley Tripel. We also had Paddock Wood IPA, which I thought was more of a decent pale ale than a respectable IPA, and Granville Island Brockton IPA, finally a westcoast IPA.
Luca, good frisbee player
After an hour of waiting (drinking beer and playing frisbee), it was time to sparge. After draining the wort (unfermented beer) from the mashtun (Erik’s has a filter in the bottom), we poured hot water (hotter than the first go because we need no more extraction) through the mash to get more of the sugar out. We did this three times, stirring each time before draining more wort.
Erik draining the wort into the kettle
Wort going from the mashtun to the brew kettle
Chris stirring during sparging (one of my few tasks)
Bad, a good man
After we’d recovered the wort, it was time to fire up the brew kettle. Erik’s kettle is a turkey fryer that he heats with a potent propane burner. Bringing the wort to a boil was fairly challenging (mostly for Erik) because the wort wants to quickly extricate itself from the kettle. After achieving a boil, Erik immediately added the bittering hops for the hour long boil. After fifty minutes, the aroma hops were added. I do not recall the types of hops we use, but I seem to recall willamette being used for aroma. I’ll be honest, by the time the aroma hops were added I was out of beer making mode and into beer drinking mode. After the hour long boil, Erik cooled the wort using cold water running through a coper hose. Once cool, the wort was put into a carboy, to which yeast was added, and left to ferment for a week or so. After further ageing in the bottle for a few more weeks, we’ll have a tasty porter. Although, I fear my involvement may have somehow ruined this beer, but we’ll see. Erik, thanks for letting me make beer with you and I apologize if I somehow ruined it.
The Brew Kettle
Erik preventing extrication
We had a good time
Stirring in the bittering hops
Cooling down after the boil (cold water runs through)
Cheers,
Chris
Mission Springs Brewing Company
Saturday, April 18th, 2009 | Beer, Breweries, Pubs | No Comments
My search for the perfect pizza and beer combination continued yesterday evening at the Mission Springs Brewing Company in Mission. Mission Springs is home to a large restaurant and pub complete with an outdoor beach volleyball court, but the purpose of this visit was not to play volleyball, it was to see what they can do with their in-house wood fired pizza oven. Yes, you read correct, Mission Springs brewing company serves fresh local craft beer alongside what could potentially be the perfect pizza. Hallelujah!
Getting strait to the point, the pizza was well below average and quite disappointing. The crust was completely dry and tough – offering none of the tender, crispy and chewy quality’s that a good pizza crust should have. Over topping, a common mistake made by many pizza chefs, made for a soggy, greasy pizza experience. However, not all was bad, as shown below the pizza arrived at our table in an oblong shape – this is a good thing. There is no reason for pizza to be perfectly round – a slightly misshapen pizza pie is a clear sign that caring human hands were involved in the pizza making process. An off-round pizza has far more charm and character than a perfectly round, and lifeless, pizza.
The perfect imperfect pizza shape
Aside from the pizza disappointment, my wife and I had a great evening and were able to enjoy some great local beer. Mission Springs’ current seasonal is a Red Ginger Ale (the ginger is actually very mild in this particular beer). The beer was served far too cold and was at first dominated by a spicy earthiness, after reaching a more appropriate ale temperature, a pleasing fruitiness became noticeable making for an enjoyable experience. My wife ordered not one, but two pints of the Bombshell Blonde Ale over the course of the evening, which she kindly allowed me to steal a taste of. Mission Springs’ Blonde Ale is one of my current favourite light craft beers, and is a great introductory beer to those not yet exposed to the craft beer world.
The real highlight of the evening was the gravity defying Black and Tan. Breaking the laws of physics and all things science this exclusive pub-only beer consisted of a rich Oatmeal Stout floating inexplicably atop a bed of well balanced India Pale Ale. The Black and Tan was equally impressive to the eyes as it was to the taste buds and stomach. A proper black and tan is a beer experience worth celebrating.
Black and Tan
This was not my first visit to the Mission Springs Brewing Company,and nor will it be my last. They may not know how to make the perfect pizza, but the unique country-bar atmosphere and simple yet delicious beer offerings help to make up for their erroneous pizza pie.
Erik
Where’s the Greek Beer?
Saturday, April 18th, 2009 | Beer, Breweries | 5 Comments
The wife and I are heading to Greece in May and I am pretty excited about it. We plan to start in Athens and then head to a few of the islands. Naturally, I’ve been searching the intertubes for Greece’s best beer. It turns out beer doesn’t have much of a presence in Greece, beyond the lagers of major international brands like Heineken and Amstel. Greece is more of a wine country (I’ll manage), but they do have a few breweries on the side. Mythos is one such brewery, although they do not fair to well on BeerAdvocate. Searching for craft and microbrews I found only one establishment in the entire country, the aptly named Craft Microbrewery. At least I won’t have to make any choices, right? Actually, all the reviews I’ve read for Craft have been glowing, so we’ll definitely be stopping by when in Athens for our one beer related excursion.
Cheers,
Chris
Beer Wars: The Movie
Friday, April 17th, 2009 | Beer | 6 Comments
I came across Beer Wars on the intertubes a while back, but immediately forgot about it because I just assumed I would be reminded when it came out in theaters. Turns out I was foolishly mistaken, Beer Wars was shown across the USA for one day only, which happened to be last Thursday. How then, do I watch this movie in Canada? I wouldn’t dare download it illegally (yes, I would), so I’ll have to wait until it is available on some form of recordable media.
Anyway, from what I gather, Beer Wars is about the craft brewing industry’s uphill battle against the international beer conglomerates that rule the North American beerscape (new word I just made up, no big deal). I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t learn much from this movie, having already given my support to the little guys and their delicious beer, but I still want to watch this movie anyway. I think this movie would be good for the macro swilling uninitiated, who could learn a thing or two about the brewing industry. One key point I hope comes through is that there are many tastier beers out there than the standard lager offerings from brands like Budweiser, Miller, Coors, and Molson.
Check out the trailer:
Cheers,
Chris