Archive for June, 2009
Beer Off Flavours
Monday, June 29th, 2009 | Beer | 1 Comment
As Chris posted earlier today, we visited Whistler over the weekend and held our very own beer festival in lieu of the canceled Whistler Beer Festival. Most of the beers we consumed over the weekend were delicious; however, we did come across a few mediocre beers and even one that was terrible.
On our way home we made a stop at Howe Sound Brewing where we ordered the sampler, after one of the three samplers we ordered arrived at our table we quickly changed our order to only one sampler - we decided sharing would be a good idea. We found some of Howe Sound’s offering to be stellar, Father Johns Winter Ale and the Blond Ale were my two personal favorites, but the large majority was average at best. One beer stood out as particularly bad – the Pilsner had an unpleasant pungent aroma reminiscent of Sulfur. It turns out sulfur is a common off-flavour in lager and is often the sign of stressed yeast or green (young) beer.
When visiting small breweries and brewpubs it can be expected that a few beers along the way will have an unpleasant off-flavour or aroma. Craft brewers do a great job and create fantastic beer, but because most brewers do not pasteurize their beer and are forced to operate on a tight budget, some of their product is not always on point. I thought it would be worthwhile pointing out some common off flavours found it beer.
Cabbage/Cooked Vegetables – DMS: This flavour is generally unwanted and is often a sign of a brewer/brewery error. If wort is not chilled quickly after the boil or a lid is placed over the brew kettle during the boil, DMS off-flavours can develop.
Wet Cardboard – Oxidation: Oxidized beer is unpleasant and tastes like wet cardboard – this is not a good flavour. Excessive exposure to oxygen during the brewing process can cause oxidation and will only get worse with age.
Buttery – Diacetyl: A strong butter or butterscotch flavour is acceptable in small quantities in some English ales, but too much Diacetyl is overpowering. Diacetyl is also found in some oaked Chardonnay commonly called “butter bomb” for their intense buttery flavour.
Apple – Acetaldehyde: A green apple flavour can be found in some lagers, a traditional Budweiser will have a green apple note. In large quantities Acetaldehyde becomes unpleasant and is a good indicator of green beer. Good beer cannot be rushed.
Skunky – Light Struck: Beer and light do not mix. When beer is exposed to certain light sources, the sun for example, a powerful skunky aroma will develop and can quickly ruin a beer. Skunky beer usually means one of two things, poor product packaging (clear or green bottles are just not good) or it is a hot summer day and relaxing with a beer on a patio is the only way to cool off.
Sulfur – Sulfur is not a good aroma or taste and can make for an unpleasant beer drinking experience. Sulfur off-flavours are present in young lagers.
These are just a few of the common off-flavours found in beer. Finding these off-flavours does not necessarily mean you are drinking bad beer – it means you are drinking a healthy quantity of beer.
Cheers,
Erik
Our own Whistler Beer Festival
Monday, June 29th, 2009 | Beer, Pubs | 1 Comment
We heard about the Whistler Beer Festival about a month ago and decided to go, only to find out it would be canceled, but not before we’d booked ourselves in Whistler for the weekend. Long story short, we went to Whistler last weekend to not go to the Whistler Beer Festival. There are definitely worse things in life to contend with than a weekend in Whistler, so we made the best of it and had our own beer festival.
We ended up staying at an awesome complex called Glacier’s Reach, which we booked through the rental-by-owner site alluraDirect.com for a very affordable price. We had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a hot tub on our deck(!), and we were right across from the village. I’d definitely stay there again. Erik and I brought up a bunch of good beer, mostly purchased from Brewery Creek, the best of which (besides Erik’s homebrew) being Coney Island Lager and Coney Island Human Blockhead, two very flavorful lagers. We stayed in the first night to make our own pizza and enjoy our tasty beers. The next day, our attempt at being active consisted of a walk through the village and around lost lake. Then the rains came, signaling it was time to head to the Brewhouse.
The Whistler Brewhouse was very apologetic and immediately refunded our beer festival tickets, a wise move by them because we swiftly gave our money right back. While the wives went shopping (blah), Erik and I sat at the bar, where we were treated to a few complimentary pints and a locals discount on the rest of our bill. The Brewhouse had two seasonal’s, a smoked porter and a Belgian wit. I found the wit a bit dull and the smoked porter a bit too smokey, but their Wolf Creek Bitter and Grizlly Brown Ale were as delicious as ever. The wives later joined us for dinner after, thankfully not having bought too much stuff. In the end, I think I was there for almost five hours. I had a great time because the bar their is as close to heaven on earth as it gets for me. Beer, chicken wings, sports on HDTV…done.
Man Heaven - the bar at Whistler Brewhouse
Holly and her sampler
We may have continued drinking beer that night. We may have drank too much. We may have wandered the village and purchased hotdogs unnecesarily, who can tell these things? Whatever we got up to, it was all in the past by the next morning because we had more work to do. We drove down to Squamish and to the Howe Sound Brewing Company for lunch. Erik and I both ordered the sampler there, but decided not to double down when we saw the size of the first one. Ten generous samples! A bit much considering I still had to navigate the remainder of the Sea to Die Highway. Sadly, we found the beer a bit underwhelming. My personal favorite was the Father Johns winter ale, which reminded me of gingerbread. We also enjoyed the Blonde Ale, the Mettleman Copper Ale, and the Diamond Head Oatmeal Stout. Also, I had the half roast chicken for lunch and it was delicious.
Erik and the epic Howe Sound Sampler
This was indeed a very good weekend. It would have been better if we’d had some more activities to do, but the rain held us at bay. Next Winter, head to the Whistler Brewpub for a warming apres ski pint. On the way home, skip the Tim Horton’s when you get hungry and head to the pub at Howe Sound for a tasty lunch. You won’t regret either decision.
Cheers,
Chris
Lunch at the updated Yaletown Brewing
Friday, June 26th, 2009 | Beer | No Comments
Yaletown Brewing recently did some renovations. I do believe they were closed for a while even, but I don’t really know when or for how long. What I do know is that I went for lunch there this week and they had a new menu. I’ve only been there once before, so I’m not sure how different the new menu is, but I was sure that I wanted to try all of their beers, new or not, which is why I ordered the beer sampler. Boy was I surprised when it came out! My sampler of seven beers consisted of seven six ounce samples, a bit much for a weekday. Obviously I couldn’t waste beer, meaning I drank it all, and had a pretty wonderful afternoon. For lunch, I ordered their Valencia bowl, which reminded me of a paella/jambalaya combination. It was both tasty and delicious.
The sampler at Yaletown Brewing
You might be wondering what my point is? Go check out the refreshed Yaletown Brewing and order the sampler.
Cheers,
Chris
Vij’s Restaurant and Vij’s Rangoli
Monday, June 22nd, 2009 | Beer | No Comments
As a present for her birthday, I bought my wife tickets to see Les Miserables, on Father’s Day, oops. We managed to see our Father’s on different days and still take in Jean Valjean in all his glory. We wanted to go out for a bite to eat after the show, and when looking for places nearby the Stanley Theatre, famed Vij’s seemed the logical choice. Our plans hit a snag when we found out that Vij’s doesn’t open until 5:30. Our show was a matinee and ended at 4:45, so instead of waiting out front, we popped into the more casual Vij’s Rangoli next door. Now I’d heard that people line up to get into Vij’s, but I had no idea how popular this place really seems to be. Do people line up? Do they ever! By 5PM they were nearly fifty people lined up down the street, and not all of them made it in. Some stayed to wait another hour or two for the first service to end, others joined us in Vij’s Rangoli. I was impressed by the fanfare, but also feeling foolish at not seizing my chance to get in. The food must be freaking good!
People Waiting in line at Vij's
I wasn’t feeling too badly though, because Vij’s Rangoli was also quite good. It is more of a deli style place, complete with market, than a restaurant. The food was delicious, I had a lamb curry dish and Rachel had shredded pork, but I was particularly impressed with the beer menu. Instead of the usual lineup of Canadian and American macro lagers, Vij’s Rangoli had Propeller ESB, Anchor Porter, Pilsner Urquell, and Rickards White. These four beers are not similar and offer a variety of tastes, better suited to pairing with different dishes. In this town, where beer is often overlooked, I was pleased to see they put some thought into the menu! Checking online, I also note that Vij’s main restaurant has Storm Pilsner, IPA, and Scotch Ale on the menu, pretty solid. What could be better than a well prepared curry dish paired with a well prepared IPA? Not much, which is why I’ll be waiting in line next time.
Cheers,
Chris
Nice little weekend
Sunday, June 21st, 2009 | Beer, Breweries, Events | 2 Comments
Dave, Tristen, and I enjoying too many free cocktails at The Vancouver Club
This past weekend was a good one for my friends. On Friday, my friend Dave had a party to celebrate earning his Masters degree. Master Simington lives in Chilliwack near Old Yale Brewing and treated his guests to a 19L keg of Old Yale Pale Ale. Old Yale is not a very well known brewery in these parts, but is definitely one of my favorites. It was cool to catch up with old friends and celebrate with a keg of tasty, affordable, local craft beer.
On Saturday, I attended Adam and Lesley’s wedding at the Vancouver Club. I’d previously posted about the Vancouver Club, wondering what their beer selection might be like. I guess Adam and Lesley read the post because they both asked me if I approved of the beer. I didn’t really, but the wedding was awesome! The venue, the food, and the company were all wonderful. The Vancouver Club is a great place for a wedding, shoddy beer menu aside. All the best to Adam and Lesley, thank you for inviting us to enjoy your special day! We had planned to stop off at The Railway Club before the reception, but didn’t quite make it. There was a cocktail hour before the reception featuring drinks and tasty food, and who am I to pass up graciously provided sustenance? And if you were wondering, the beers available were Molson Canadian, Stella Artois, Heineken, and Becks, four generic lagers.
Also at the wedding on Saturday, I received the most surprising text message of my life to date. As we were sitting down for dinner, Peter, of guest post fame, announced the birth of his first child, wooooo! Baby Aaliyah Chandler arrived 18 days early, but healthy and with minimal fuss. We visited the newly formed Chandler family this morning and can attest to the cuteness of said family, thanks in large part to the most recent addition. To tie this event into beer, I’ve heard that stout is supposed to help in breast milk production. This may or may not be true, but I’ve also heard that drinking stout is good times, so who really cares? The Chandlers can expect some stout from me in the near future.
Congrats to my friends on their major life achievements! If you are up for further celebration, I’m up for a few beers.
Cheers,
Chris
My first visit to Stella’s Tap and Tapas Bar
Saturday, June 20th, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments
People always tell me to go to Stella’s Tap and Tapas Bar on Commercial Drive in Vancouver (there is a new one on Cambie too). They rave about the awesome beer selection, but I’d never considered Stella’s a destination worth seeking out. I’d go to their website to check out their beer menu and not be particularly impressed. What they have on tap is pretty solid, but not enticing enough to warrant a special trip. Turns out there is a whole other beer menu on the website under the Fresh Sheet tab that I’d been completely missing.
I finally made my first visit to Stella’s after work on Friday with some coworkers. The Fresh Sheet beer menu at Stella’s is even more impressive than the one on their website. I was delighted to find a six page menu listing many fine Belgian style beers. There were so many that I had a hard time deciding what to have. I ended up choosing Troublette, a witbeir from Brasserie Caracole, which was lovely.
I’d tried many of the sixty odd beers on Stella’s menu, but there were a few rare gems that I’ve never even seen available before. I’ll definitely be making the pilgrimage to Stella’s a few more times now. The appetizers we shared were delightful and where we sat on the patio offered entertaining views of Commercial Drive‘s funky residents. I know most Vancouver beer enthusiasts already know and love Stella’s, but I highly recommend making the trip if you haven’t yet.
Cheers,
Chris
Beer and Waffles
Friday, June 19th, 2009 | Beer, Food and Recipes | 3 Comments
Does beer pair with strawberries and waffles – well, not really. With the short seasonal availability of fresh local strawberries, I have been trying to find ways of incorporating them into every meal, snack or a bored moment in my life. Eating out of boredom is healthy, isn’t it?
As I posted previously, yesterday was strawberry, waffle and beer day. Growing up, waffles were never a breakfast food, I was raised thinking that waffles for dinner was perfectly reasonable. Some people seem to find breakfast for dinner a bit odd, those people are truly missing out. Although eating waffles for dinner was a normal childhood occurrence, beer was never included.
We tried a myriad of different fruit beers with the waffles only to find that beer and waffles just do not work all that well together. We worked our way through Swans Berry Ale, Wittekerke Rose – “the fruity pink beer”, Lindemans Framboise, Morte de Subite Kriek, Lindemans Peche(Peach) and Morte de Subite Geuze. Unfortunately I was unable to find strawberry ale. Not one of the beers truly complemented the meal – the beer was either too grainy or too cloying. The Framboise was over the top sweet and overpowered the strawberries, in contrast Swans Berry Ale tasted too much like beer. The berry ale also had a distinct cheese flavour and reminded me of eating raspberry jam with processed Kraft singles on top of my grandma’s homemade bread – good memory, bad flavour. The top beer of the evening was Wittekerke Rose, described as “the fruity pink beer… with a sensual body” I kid you not; it really says that on the label. The beer flavour was subdued as was the fruit flavour – perhaps this is why it didn’t taste terrible with waffles and strawberries.
In hindsight, my approach for selecting the beer was critically flawed. When eating a sweet meal, fruit punch is probably one of the last drinks to reach for. Instead, a drink that helps to balance the sweetness, my choice has always been milk, is a more appropriate choice. Drinking a fruit beer with waffles is no different than drinking fruit punch with waffles.
I think it would be a real struggle to find a beer that works with a sweet fruity meal. Finding a beer that cuts through the sweetness of waffles and strawberries while providing a complementary contrast would be a struggle for even the most knowledgeable beer aficionado. This may be the one meal where beer stays in the fridge.
Cheers,
Erik
A wedding at The Vancouver Club
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 | Beer, Events | 4 Comments
I am going to The Vancouver Club for a wedding this weekend. I’ve walked by the building before and it looks quite nice, a lovely place for a wedding reception. I’ve never been to The Vancouver Club and most of what I’ve heard of it comes from rich, old men I’ve met through work. From what I gather, it is an elitest place where business people go to talk about how great the are. Seriously, if the general clientele mirrors the few members I’ve met, then this place is snob central. The dress code posted on their website seems to validate my conclusion. Anyway, I’m wondering if this place is going to have any good beer? I’m sure they’ll have wine and spirits that cost a lot, but will they display good taste or will the ‘premium import beer’ on the menu be Stella Artois? I’ll find out and report back.
In any case, I have a backup plan to get myself some tasty craft beer on Saturday. Conveniently, The Railway Club is located equidistant from the ceremony and reception venues. I’m planning on popping in for a pint of their Railway Boxcar Bitter, brewed exclusively for The Railway Club by Phillips Brewing. They also have some other fine beers on the menu, Central City ESB being one. A few pints before the reception might improve the quality of the speeches later on, who can tell these things?
Cheers,
Chris
Whistler Beer Festival Canceled
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Beer | 1 Comment
Yep, the first annual Whistler Beer Festival will take place next year at the earliest. Apparently their brewmaster, who was organizing the whole thing, almost died in a mountain biking accident. Godspeed on your recovery sir. Get well soon. I found out today when I asked Gerry at Brewery Creek if he was going. He told me about the accident, but implored me to ask the honourable Rick Green for more info. Rick confirmed the bad news. I’m pretty choked because Rick had already posted the proposed beer lineup on the now removed Facebook event. It was stacked with mouthwatering beer offerings that I was excited to try.
What to do now? Well, we already booked ourselves in Whistler, so we are going anyway. A weekend in Whistler isn’t the worst thing in the world to suffer through, so don’t feel too sorry for us. I called the Whistler Brewhouse today and was please to find them very apologetic. We’ll be redeeming our tickets for fresh beer, which I hope they won’t be out of by the time we make it up there! Their Wolf Creek Bitter and Grizzly Brown Ale are killer, plus they usually have a solid seasonal or two. We might also amuse ourselves by checking out some of the trails, lakes, and nightlife. And a stop at Howe Sound Brewing on the way back down might provide a fitting end to our weekend. I guess we’ll be all right.
Cheers,
Chris
Seasonal Beer
Monday, June 15th, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments
Good news, delicious red-centered BC strawberries are now in season. Strawberry season in BC signifies the start of BC’s bountiful harvest. For those British Columbia who choose to eat large, watery California strawberries all year round, I beg you, please switch to local berries. Local BC strawberries are far juicier, sweeter and overall more flavourful than generic imported strawberries. They are only available for a few weeks, so get your fill while they are still here.
Fresh local strawberries mean one thing in my house, waffles with strawberries. Now here is the challenge, pairing beer with waffles & strawberries. Beer has such a diverse flavour profile from style to style, that I image there must be a beer that works with strawberries.
My first thought is to match this seasonal breakfast-for-dinner or “brinner“, with one of the many local fruit beers available. BC brewers offer a good selection of beer brewed with the inclusion of fruits such as Peach, Raspberry, Blackberry and Pumpkin . Unfortunately I have not been able to find a single brewer in BC offering a strawberry beer. A friend and former brewmaster told me that strawberries impart an unpleasant flavour post ferment, but this cannot be true. Abita Brewing in Louisiana brews what is rumored to be a good strawberry beer. Unfortunately I don’t think I will be able to find Abita’s Harvest Strawberry Lager in BC.
The other option I am considering is a Belgian fruit geuze, a wild fermented lambic beer brewed with fruit – the fruit helps add sweetness to the beer. An aardbei geuze, a strawberry geuze, seems an obvious choice. The only problem could be the geuze overpowering the fresh strawberry flavour. I want the beer to complement the fresh strawberries, no compete. A Belgian Fruli, a Belgian wit beer with strawberry juiced added is also a good option, but from what I have read, Fruli is closer to strawberry soda than strawberry beer.
Please feel free to make recommendations on beers that complement strawberries. I will be making a trip to Brewery Creek and possibly Firefly tomorrow to see what I can find. This Wednesday will be the big strawberry waffle day, I’ll keep you all posted.
Cheers,
Erik