Beer
Raiding the Beer Cellar
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 | Beer, The Cellar | No Comments
I’ve been raiding my beer cellar recently because I’m moving in the not too distant future. Why move perfectly good beers when I could drink them, right? I’ve had mixed results with the beer in my cellar, which may be a byproduct of poor cellaring on my part. My beer cellar was originally just a dark, cool corner of my garage, but as the weather got warmer I had to invest in a beer fridge. I kept the fridge as warm as I could (ideal cellar temperature is about 8 degrees Celsius), but it sill might have been too cold in there. The temperature fluctuations from warm to cool might have produced the off flavors in my aged beers, but then who knows? That being said, it wasn’t all bad; I got some pretty good results too.
The bad:
I had one of those ceramic bottles of Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine from Christmas 2008. It was atrociously bad. It tasted extremely bitter and almost metallic. It was a high alcohol beer, so my only guess as to what happened is that the beer may have interacted poorly with the bottle? Anyway, this was a big waste of a beer; I wish I’d consumed this one fresh.
Another beer that didn’t age well was a Phillips The Hammer Imperial Stout from January 2009. It had the tangy, almost sour flavor of a beer containing a bacterial infection. I consumed both the 2009 and 2010 versions of this beer fresh and bother were tasty, so it’s a shame this one didn’t age well.
Fuller's Vintage Ale 2008 and 2009, delicious
The good:
I saved a 2008 Fuller’s Vintage Ale and drank it along side the 2009 version. Fuller’s uses a new recipe every year, so the two aren’t really comparable, but it was fun to do anyway. I found the aged 2008 bottle to be far superior to the 2009 bottle, where both were good. Drinking the aged 2008 version was like taking a trip to flavortown. It had great apply, fruity, caramel flavors and I wish I had ten more of them, half to drink and half to cuddle.
I had another Phillips brew aging away in my garage, this one a Burley Barleywine from Christmas 2008. Unlike the imperial stout, this one aged wonderfully. There was none of the harshness of a young barleywine present, no detectable alcohol or hops whatsoever. What remained was a wonderful medley of caramel and molasses type flavors, with maybe a bit of fruit in there too. I’m glad I saved this one.
Erik and I took a trip to Portland this past weekend and, now that we’ve overcome our Olympic hangovers, we’ll have a lot to write about in the coming weeks.
Cheers,
Chris
One more weekend of Vancouver 2010, check out Gastown House
Friday, February 26th, 2010 | Beer | No Comments
I finally got into German Fan Fest earlier this week. It was a rainy Tuesday night, the hockey game had just ended, and there was no line at all. I still had to pay the $10 cover charge, but I made it in! It was satisfying to accomplish a goal, but the German Fan Fest did not live up to expectations. I’m glad I didn’t wait in line for the 2-4 hours quoted to me the past two weekends. The Köstritzer Schwarzbier was tasty, but not worth the $9 I paid for a plastic cup full. The band was loud and the atmosphere was as good as you could expect for a tent covering plastic tables and chairs in a parking lot. If I’d had a few (too many) and the party was in full swing, I could see myself having a lot of fun there. I could also see myself having a lot of fun dancing with a street light. Anyway, I won’t be trying to get in again this weekend.
This weekend I’m going to check out Gastown House, again. Turns out I’ve been there a few times already and didn’t know it. Gastown hasn’t seen the crowds or lines that have plagued the rest of the downtown core. It’s true, I haven’t had much trouble getting into Cobre, Alibi Room, Irish Heather, or anywhere else in Gastown. To get some attention on the quality food and drink available at reasonable prices, Gastown House was started. It’s a clever ploy to get you into Gastown, but what do you have to lose by not waiting in huge lines?
An aside, I watched the Canada vs Russia game at Schanks Sports Grill in New Westminster. It was packed out and the atmosphere was amazing, but guess where you sit when you don’t show up soon enough?
In a mini golf hole, that's where.
And here’s a few pictures of the inside of German Fan Fest:
Inside of German Fan Fest
More Inside German Fan Fest
Rachel still had fun
Cheers,
Chris
BC Beer on the Today Show
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 | Beer | 3 Comments
This is pretty cool, some love for BC beer on NBC’s Today Show:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Cheers,
Chris
Where to drink beer in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics?
Friday, February 19th, 2010 | Beer | 4 Comments
Question: Where are the best places to drink beer in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics?
Answer: The same places as always! Dix, Steamworks, Yaletown Brewing, and the Alibi Room.
Since the Olympics started last weekend I’ve been downtown quite a bit and I’ve had a lot of fun waiting in lines and not getting into stuff. I never thought Vancouver could get this crazy and I didn’t think the Olympics would be this exciting. I also never thought I’d feel as proud to be Canadian as I do right now; turns out we throw a good party. I’m going to have a huge Olympic hangover come March for more reasons than one.
German Fan Fest
I’ve tried to get into both the Irish House and the German Fan Fest, two of the most popular temporary pavilions setup for the Olympics. I opted not to wait in line for hours and hours for $10 beer night and I don’t regret my decision. The atmosphere downtown is crazy enough (just walk Granville or Robson streets) and there are plenty of other reasonably priced places to visit. While I may try German Fan Fest one more time for their Köstritzer Schwarzbier, I’ve had much better luck at my usual haunts. Both Dix and Steamworks have provided me with the Olympic atmosphere, TV’s to watch the events, tasty beer at reasonable prices, and, most importantly, a seat. I’ve also heard that the Alibi Room has abandoned their no TV policy, bringing in some tubes to watch the events on downstairs. I walked by Yaletown Brewing and it was packed out with a line forming outside. If you are looking for a beer downtown in the next week or so, try the regular places for quality beer.
Good times at Quebec House
Other Olympic venues I’ve visited include LiveCity Yaletown and Downtown, neither of which serve beer, not even $10 cans of Canadian! I found them a bit boring and, unless you are really into the musical performance going on, not really worth waiting in line for. Quebec House was pretty cool. I was excited to hear they had Quebec microbrews, but then disappointed to find it was Archibald Microbrasserie. I hadn’t actually heard of them (neither had my French Canadian coworker), it was that the beer didn’t taste very good, especially not for $10. What made Quebec House worth visiting was the 7 Fingers, who were like a little Cirque du Soleil. I also got a kick out of Saskatchewan Pavillion, which appeared to me to be a big tent full of bored/drunk looking people dressed in Rider green. The $8 Pilsner didn’t float my boat either. Once place I’d really like to check out is Atlantic Canada House, who I hear have brought in top notch maritime brews by Propeller and Garrison. I hear it’s a good time there too.
Skunky Pilsner and Rider Pride at Saskatchewan Pavillion
I hope to be able to provide further insight after another weekend of engaging in Olympicosity. Go Canada go!
Cheers,
Chris
Bad BC Beer News
Sunday, February 14th, 2010 | Beer | 2 Comments
A couple of my favorite BC breweries are going through some turmoil. Old Yale Brewing from Chilliwack is a very small brewery that brews really good beer. Their beer is available direct from the brewery, in some BC Liquor stores, and in the better beer stores. Canadian Beer News is reporting that the brewery is up for sale. I’m hoping that whoever buys Old Yale preserves their recipes and quality standards. I imagine that anyone purchasing the brand would move the brewery from their tiny strip mall location and I can only hope that such changes wouldn’t tarnish the beer. I can imagine why the two man team at Old Yale would want to sell; they are likely over worked and underpaid. I really hope Old Yale stays alive.
Central City Brewing, my favorite local brewery from Surrey BC, is being sued by California’s Bear Republic Brewing for trademark infringement. Bear Republic brews beers with the names Racer 5 and Red Rocket, which they claim are being confused with Central City’s Red Racer brand. The dispute arose when Central City began distributing its highly acclaimed beer (for good reason, it is wonderful) in the USA. Bear Republic likely views Central City as a threat now that they’ve moved into some of their markets, but Bear Republic can be purchased here and you don’t see Central City complaining (FYI Bear Republic, I won’t be buying your beer anymore). Both breweries brew wonderful beers and it is a shame to see small time craft brewers like these fighting each other. I hope the dispute is quickly and cheaply resolved, but I have a feeling that Central City will either have to re-brand or pull out of US markets. To support Central City, start buying their delicious beer from BC Liquor Stores. Not only are the Red Racer beers delicious, but they are one of BC’s cheapest beer options. Both Canadian Beer News and BeerNews.org have more coverage of the lawsuit.
Cheers,
Chris
Molson Canadian Hockey House Media Preview
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 | Beer | 2 Comments
Inside the Molson Canadian Hockey House
If you are from Vancouver and you haven’t heard of the Molson Canadian Hockey House, then you’ve been living under a rock. It’s a big tent between Science World, I mean Telus Sphere, and GM Place, I mean Canada Hockey Place, for people to party at during the Olympics. Before I tell this tale, I should let you know what my stance on the Olympics is. If I was given $7billion dollars, I wouldn’t spend it on the Olympics. That being said, the Olympics are here and they aren’t coming back, so I’m going to try to enjoy them as much as I can. I’m going to soak up as much of the good the Olympics has to offer and I might as well; we’ll be paying this party off for a while.
Anyway, the organizers behind the MCHH emailed me a couple weeks ago to let me know that “due to overwhelming demand for media access” I should apply for my media accreditation asap. The funny thing was, I never asked. I did apply for media accreditation, which for me would really just be free tickets, but I haven’t heard back yet. I suppose somebody actually important, or maybe actually part of the media, was accredited instead. I did, however, get an invite to the media preview that took place yesterday.
IIHF room at Molson Canadian Hockey House
Since the preview was around lunch time and close enough to my office, I walked. It was tough to navigate through all the fencing and clueless security staff (nobody seemed to know where it was) to actually find MCHH, but I made it and nobody ever once asked me where I was going. I had no badge and could have blow up everything had I been a terrorist. I thought that was funny. Nobody even asked me who I was as I entered MCHH. I thought that was funny too, anyone could have walked in. Inside, I didn’t expect to find much of anything impressive. I expected a giant beer garden with picnic tables and plastic chairs, but what I found was a setup to rival some nicer nightclubs. This tent, which is apparently the largest ever built in North America at 65000 sqft, was decked out. I wandered around the throngs of actual media (they even had big fancy cameras, don’t they know the iPhone has a camera?) and into all of the rooms. Yes, there are rooms. There was the chump area for common folk, VIP rooms, an IIHF lounge, an NHLPA lounge, and a Team Canada lounge where the players and their hangers out will actually be hanging out.
Tyler Stewart on stage at MCHH
The proceedings started shortly after my wanderings and featured talks by the organizers, a speak by Hockey Canada President Bob Nicholson, and entertainment by Tyler Stewart of the Barenaked Ladies. Stan Smyl was there and so were many scantily clad Molson girls serving beer, zoinks! There were HD TVs and giant projection screens everywhere, a giant stage where the bands will play, and there will be famous people milling around throughout the two weeks. They have quite the set of entertainment lined up.
The whole place was quite impressive, much more impressive that my crappy pictures can show, and the preview actually made me want to go hang out there. Sadly, the common folk tickets are sold out, but maybe I’ll get accredited as media? One can dream. Seriously though, it’s going to be an epic party in there, especially when Canada is playing. The only downside to the MCHH? The beer. All Molson all the time. Still, go Canada go!
Cheers,
Chris
Molson Girls at MCHH
Team Canada Lounge at MCHH
Iceholes, Beer Wars, Stone, Oh My
Saturday, February 6th, 2010 | Beer | No Comments
Some beer notes from this week, each not enough for a post, but worth posting about:
- Beer Wars On Demand – I missed the Vancouver screening of Beer Wars last weekend, which I’d heard was a really good time (could have been the ten or so kinds of beer available). At the screening, it was announced that Beer Wars would be available on demand from your cable provider. I watched it last night at my convenience and it only cost me $5.99 from Shaw. I really enjoyed the explanations of the three tier distribution system, the beer lobbyists in Washington DC, and the plight of craft brewers like Dogfish Head’s Sam Caglione, which made the movie worth watching. I also found the documentarian Anat Baron insufferable. She eventually gets into the movie after enlightening us as to how great she is for ten minutes or so. She also describes her experience in the beer industry with Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Wait, what?
- Stone! – At the same Beer Wars Screening, Stone Brewing’s Greg Koch did announce that Stone would be making a one time shipment to BC. I was mostly right in my prediction, but I’m pretty choked at the one time part. Brewery Creek got their shipment in on Thursday, what followed was my single most expensive beer purchase of all time. I got one of everything, those being their Imperial Stout, Old Guardian Barley Wine, Smoked Porter, Vertical Epic Ale, Ruination IPA (six pack), Pale Ale (six pack), Levitation Ale (six pack), and Oaked Arrogant Bastard. If you want to buy any of these, it would be best to get to your local independent purveyor of fine beer as soon as possible.
R&B Iceholes Celebration Lager is now available! Colbert can suck one.
- Syrup Sucking Iceholes – I was the first person on the entire internets to write about R&B’s Iceholes Celebration lager, but now the bigger sites have gone and stolen my SEO. Oh well, who wants to be the first search result on Google anyway? R&B launched the beer last night at Capones in Vancouver and the Pumphouse Pub in Richmond. I managed to get a bottle last week. I haven’t had it yet, but I’ve heard it’s a good pilsner. Apparently Iceholes will be available at Capones and independent beer stores this February only. And it has reportedly been arranged for Colbert to suck as many Iceholes as he pleases.
- Olympic Beer Selection Fail - Since Molson is the official sponsor of the Olympics, the only beers available at anywhere affiliated with the Olympics will be Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Molson Ex, and maybe Rickards (sometimes, if you’re lucky). And get this, venues that used to server other, better beers can no longer do so. Lame.
Cheers,
Chris
Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller 2008 vs 2009
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 | Beer | 2 Comments
Driftwood’s Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine is one of my favorite seasonal release BC beers and definitely my favorite barley wine. It’s an American style barley wine that uses three times the grain and five times the hops than you’d use to make a normal beer. If you aren’t a hophead you needn’t worry; the higher levels of malt, and the resulting higher alcohol content (12% ABV), balance out the hops nicely.
Last year was the first year Driftwood made their barley wine, coincidentally it was also the first year they existed. I bought two bottles, drank one, and put the other in the cellar. When the 2009 version came out this year I thought it would be cool to try the 2008 version aged a year in the cellar and compare it with the fresh 2009 version. As far as I know, the recipe didn’t change at all.
I recalled the 2008 version, consumed fresh last year, as having a wonderful hoppy aroma of citrus and floral notes. The same aroma was only faintly present in the aged version. We found the aged version to be much more subdued than we recalled. All of its younger and harsher characteristics had mellowed over time. The bite of the alcohol and the sweetness of the malt had blended into a deeper caramel and molasses like richness. We liked the aged beer, but we were reminded of why we loved this beer last year when we tried the fresh 2009 vintage. Powerful aromas, potent hops on the tonggue right after a sip, then a lingering and complex sweetness for the finish.
While our experiment was fun, we learned that Old Cellar Dweller, despite its name, doesn’t belong in the cellar. The hops in this barley wine make drinking it relatively young an experience you can’t pass up.
Cheers,
Chris
Cool Vancouver Beer Guide
Saturday, January 30th, 2010 | Beer | 2 Comments
I saw a really cool visual beer guide posted by the still honourable Rick Green on Twitter today. It is called Dave’s Vancouver Beer Guide 2010 and it is posted at a site called Foodists, which looks pretty cool itself. The guide is a giant image showing the Canadian beers available in BC. It also traces the chain of ownership of national brand beers. If you are new to the Vancouver beer scene and also a visual learner, then this guide will do wonders for you. Click on the image to see it full size.
Cheers,
Chris
Colbert can suck an R&B Icehole Lager
Friday, January 29th, 2010 | Beer | 4 Comments
Stephen Colbert hates Canada, sucks Icehole
You may recall the controversy created by Canada’s decision to restrict access to Olympic venues for foreign athletes. You may also recall Stephen Colbert’s reaction to the decision. If you don’t, read up on how he called us a bunch of “Canadian Iceholes” here. What does this have to do with anything? Well, I have it on good authority that Vancouver’s own R&B brewing, in direct response to Colbert’s comments, has brewed a new beer called Icehole Lager. I’ve also heard that R&B are sending Colbert a few cases and that he’s been invited to suck on an Icehole. I suspect that Colbert may even mention the beer on his show. In my opinion, this is brilliant non-Olympic Olympic marketing by R&B. Well played sirs.
I think we all know that Colbert was mostly kidding and I’m sure he’ll be able to appropriate the humor in and enjoy Icehole Lager. Colbert, best of luck to your speedskating team (he sponsors them). Just kidding, I hope they all lose to Canadians.
Cheers,
Chris