Monthly Archives: November 2009

Washington Winter Beer Festival 2009

The Washington Beer Commission is holding the 2009 edition of their Winter Beer festival this December 4th and 5th.  I recently received an email containing the beer lineup and it looks to be a good one.  I attended the Washington Cask Beer Festival last Spring and really enjoyed it, so I imagine the winter edition is similarly epic.  Serious BC beer fans should consider heading down the I5 to take part in what promises to be a good festival.  I really considered buying tickets, but am planning on attending the Dix Winter Caskival on December 5th instead.  Both events will be good, but Dix is just so much closer to home!

Washington Winter Beer Festival 2009

 

Cheers,

Chris

Turning Point Brewery – the inside scoop

After posting about Turning Point Brewery’s Stanley Park  1897 Amber Ale last week, I received an interesting email about Turning Point and their future plans.  I thought the email was worth sharing.    Cheers  – Erik

I was reading through some of your blog entries recently, and happened to see that you were looking for more information on Turning Point Brewery.  I can gladly give you some information, as well a bit of their history of how they became a brewery.  I will be honest though, of all the local breweries I have dealt with in the past, this is one brewery I choose not to build a strong relationship with.  I will get to that point in a minute, and I must say, it is a completely biassed opinion.

Turning Point Brewery first started brewing very recently.  Their first beer on the market, you can find in many stores, and will never find in a restaurant.  The beer is masked as another brewery – Hell’s Gate Brewing.  This was how they kept their “imported brewers” busy while they planned their marketing for the “Stanley Park 1897 Belgian Amber Ale”.  The brewery itself, was planned to use the wind turbine, however it does not produce enough power… so it is powered from another source to run purely for “show”.  I have been told that they are looking into other forms of renewable energy to try and eventually become sustainable.  Their brewers (I might not remember 100%) have been brought over from Scotland, England, Belgium, and Germany.  That’s right.  4 brewers!  Their brewery is STATE OF THE ART.  These guys have everything… and I would say one of the best setups in North America – or at least in the top 5.

Here is where the problem comes in.  The original idea behind Turning Point Brewery, was to make local beers that would be different.  Something I would think best to compete with the imported brands that are becoming ever so pricey.  However, they have decided to take a different approach.  Their marketing campaign is to do whatever it takes to remove local breweries from any establishment they approach.  Essentially they’re stepping on every toe in town.

The brewery is owned by a larger distribution company, and they act like it.  The Mark Anthony Group is at the helm, and they are looking to take a very large stake in the Vancouver market, attempting to push the little guys out.  If you have not heard of the Mark Anthony Group before, it is pretty easily summed up.  They carry a very large wine portfolio that offers cheap prices rather than quality. They also represented Corona for many years, until recently, hence wanting to open their own brewery.  The brewery was even built in a very commercial area… Annacis Island – if you’re curious to see it for yourself, it’s not far from the sewage plant (hence why they don’t tell you where the brewery is!)

I’m not always this bitter about beer, so don’t take me the wrong way.  I’m just very disappointed to see such a nice brewery end up in the hands of a corporation, rather than someone who truly loves to make beer.

Hopscotch Festival 2009

Hopscotch Festival 2009The annual Vancouver Hopscotch Festival is an event that showcases scotch, whiskey and beer.  The 2009 edition starts this weekend, with the Grand Tasting Hall events taking place next Thursday and Friday, the 19th and 20th of November.  Erik and I went to the Grand Tasting Hall last year and weren’t particularly impressed from a beer perspective.  We don’t drink whiskey or scotch regularly enough to judge the quality of that aspect of the event, but the beers on hand were highly uninteresting.  There were a few winter ales available that were good to try, but still nothing unavailable in stores.  That being said, we are likely more knowledgeable about beer than the average person and someone who isn’t much into beer would likely enjoy trying the different styles on hand.  For me, why would I pay for a ticket and wait in lines for tiny cups of beers I’ve already tried and can easily just buy off the shelf? The answer this year, I wouldn’t, so I’m not going.  Hopscotch also provides attendees with the chance to get publicly drunk amongst a large crowd of people, which can be enticing (including to me, but not this time round).

An upcoming beer festival that I am excited about is the Dix Winter Caskival, which will feature upwards of twenty cask condition winter concoctions crafted by some of BC’s more adventurous (and talented) craft brewers.  The summer Caskival was a blast, so I’m looking forward to December 5th.  To get in, just line up outside of Dix at noon, no purchase of tickets beforehand required.

Cheers,

Chris

Lonely Planet Vancouver features Alibi Room

Alibi Room owner Nigel Springthorpe

Alibi Room owner Nigel Springthorpe

I enjoy traveling and am obsessed with the Lonely Planet series of guide books.  If you’ve never traveled with one or you have used lesser guide books, then you likely missed out on a few hidden gems.  I am particularly fond of the Lonely Planet Encounter series, which each profile a city sectioned into neighborhoods for easy reading.  I was at Chapters today and noticed that Lonely Planet very recently published a Vancouver Encounter, likely to cater to Olympic Visitors.  I was, of course, curious and flipped through it to see what travel experts recommend to see, eat, and do in Vancouver.  I wasn’t surprised at all to find the Alibi Room recommended, but I was surprised to see how much attention they paid to it.  Usually restaurants and bars get a two sentence blurb, but the Alibi Room garnered two pictures and an interview with owner Nigel Springthorpe!  This attention is warranted in my mind and is a testament to the hard work Nigel has done in building Vancouver’s best beer bar.  It pleases me that visitors to Vancouver, if they take the Lonely Planet’s excellent advice, will get to enjoy an establishment of such fine quality, likely giving them a positive impression of our fine city.  Although there is one negative, I imagine a seat at the Alibi Room will be an impossible commodity to come by during the Olympics.

The Alibi Room wasn’t the only beer destination recommended in the Vancouver Encounter.  Six Acres, The Irish Heather, Dix Brewery, Yaletown Brewing, and Steamworks were also listed.

Cheers,

Chris

Granville Island Lions Winter Ale Cooking Competition

This past week Granville Island Brewing in partnership with the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts held a cooking competition to celebrate the seasonal release of their much loved, but not so much by me, Lions Winter Ale.  The challenge of this event was to come up with the best dish that included Lions Winter Ale as an ingredient.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the event myself, but the good people at GIB were kind enough to send me a list of the winners, including the winning recipes.

The top entrée was won by Felix Maristany for his winter ale Gumbo, for your cooking pleasure, the recipe is below:

Granville Island Winter Ale Gumbo

Created by Felix Maristany, Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts

Crustacean stock

  • 2 – 3 lbs lobster heads and bodies and spot prawn heads or any prawn shells would suffice.
  • Mire poix of onion celery and carrot (rough chop)
  • 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
  • 1 stalk of lemon grass (cracked with the spine of a chef’s knife)
  • 2L fish stock
  • 1.5 bottle of GIB Lions Winter Ale
  • 50ml olive oil
  • 1/2 can of tomato paste

Method:

In a large sauce pan sweat the shells at medium-low temperature until they turn red.
Add mire poix and sweat until onions translucent and vegetables are slightly tender.
Add tomato paste and continue sweat 3-4 minutes.
Deglaze with beer and reduce slightly.
Simmer 45 minutes and strain pressing on the shells.

Gumbo:

  • 1 red onion (small dice)
  • 1 green bell pepper (medium dice)
  • 1 red bell pepper (medium dice)
  • 3 whole garlic cloves with peel (cracked using the back of a knife)
  • 1 stalk of lemon grass (Cracked with the spine of a chef’s knife)
  • 2- 3 tbsp filé powder
  • Cayenne pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Hot sauce to taste
  • 1 fennel bulb (cored and cut into wedges)
  • Andouille sausage (bias cut)
  • 6 slices thick cut pork belly
  • Spot prawns (With head on or off)
  • Dungeness crab meat
  • Mediterranean  mussels
  • 3 bottles GIB Lions Winter Ale
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Roux (40g Butter 40g Flour)
  • 60ml meyer lemon juice

Method:

In a large sauce pan warm vegetable oil over medium-low heat, sweat onions, peppers, fennel, andouille sausage, and lemon grass. Add paprika and cayenne and sweat 1-2 minutes.  De-glaze with 1 bottle of beer and reduce slightly. Add hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce.  For the roux, melt butter over medium heat in a small sauce pan, add flour and cook 4 minutes. Add a little stock to the roux gradually and mix with a whisk to prevent lumps. When all the stock is incorporated to the roux add mixture is to sauce pan containing vegetables, sausage etc. and continue to simmer.

In a separate medium saucepan add some finely chopped onions, garlic and 1/2 bottle of beer. Add cleaned mussels, prawns and crab meat. when mussels are open, add all the contents to the gumbo and simmer 10 minutes.

Serve over a bed of saffron scented rice and garnish with a meyer lemon wedge.

Winning Dessert went to Jazmin Villarreal who put together a Dessert Risotto Crumble:

Lions Winter Ale Beer & Dessert Risotto Crumble

Created by Jazmin Villarreal, Pacific Institute Of Culinary Arts

Rice Crumble

  • 120 g arborio rice
  • 20 g butter
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 100 ml milk
  • 200 ml Lions Winter Ale Beer
  • 50 g shredded almonds
  • 2 medium Granny Smith apples (diced 5mm x 5mm)
  • ½ vanilla bean
  • 60 g granulated sugar
  • Prepared muscavado crumble topping
  • Prepared Lions Winter Ale Crème Anglaise

Method:

In a medium sauce pan place evaporated milk, milk and 100 ml of beer, warm on burner set at med heat.  In a separate saucepan, melt butter and stirfry the rice for 1.25 minutes.  Deglaze with 50 ml of beer.  When the liquid evapourates start adding warm milk mixture.  Add little by little and stir constantly.  Cook until rice is ‘al dente’.

In an additional saucepan, place sugar with 20ml of water and ½ vanilla bean and cook until the sugar starts to caramelized (approximately 5 minutes).  Add apples and stir until they are golden brown (about 4 minutes).  Set aside.

To serve:  Warm crème anglaise and add the risotto, almonds, apple and stir until combined and soft.  Top with crumble and serve.

Muscavado Crumble Topping:

  • 80 g Muscavado Sugar (or very fine brown sugar)
  • 80 g Butter
  • 160 g All Purpose Flour

Method:

In a mixer, cream sugar with butter.  Add flour and mix until combined.  Crumble mixture into small pieces and cook for 2 hours at 180 degrees celcius.  Set aside until ready to serve dessert.

Winter Ale Crème Anglaise:

  • 300 ml Whipping Cream
  • 100 ml Milk
  • 100 ml Winter Ale
  • 6 Egg Yolks
  • 125 g Sugar
  • 1 Vanilla Bean

Method:

In a saucepan, combine cream, vanilla bean, milk and beer.  Bring to a boil.  Whisk yolks and sugar together.  Temper the milk mix with the egg mixtures and return to stove.  Reheat to 80 degree celcius and strain.  To reserve, hold in a water bath.

I haven’t had a chance to try either of the recipes, but I hope to give them try in the next few weeks.  Pictures should be posted of the event shortly.

Cheers,

Erik