You know what?  Nobody in Australia drinks Fosters, or at least I never once saw any. Australians do drink a lot of beer though, and I was mostly impressed with the selection.  The area between Cairns and North Brisbane is not densely populated.  We stayed in a few small towns along the way down and most decent bars and restaurants had a quaffable beer selection.  There were many macro lagers available, but also tasty pale ales from Coopers, James Squire, and Fat Yak.  We did encounter the odd craft beer as well, particularly at higher-end restaurants.  The most common craft brand we came across was Pretty Things, from Fremantle, Western Australia.  You can buy their beer at the better Vancouver beer stores.  One other note about beer in Australia, it’s very expensive, like $5 for a ~300ml ‘schooneer’ or $10 a pint, yikes.

Archive Beer Boutique bar in Brisbane

It wasn’t until Brisbane that we found a truly fantastic beer bar.  The Archive Beer Boutique menu lists hundreds of Australian beers of all different styles.  I noticed that most of the breweries were located in the southern portion of the country, where the climate is more suited to brewing and drinking interesting beer.  I was disappointed that our beer was served in chilled glasses, no need for those if you want to actually taste beery goodness.  We had a Bridge Road IPA and a Holgate Chocolate Temptress.  Both were good, though not as impeccable as what can be found here on the west coast of North America.

Beers at Archive Beer Boutique in Brisbane

In Sydney we visited the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, which was established in 1841 making it the oldest active brewpub in Australia.  It’s highly recommended to stay there, though we didn’t.  The location is fantastic and the establishment is very atmospheric, like a classy English pub.  We tried each of their beers, preferring the Nelson’s Blood Porter and the Old Admiral Strong Ale.  The beers here were brewed in the English style and, while good, did not especially stand out.  I still recommend a visit here.

Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel in Sydney

Rachel enjoying a schooner at Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel in Sydney

Australia is too hot for me, can you tell?

We also visited the Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe in Sydney, an upscale brewpub.  I found the atmosphere to be very strange.  The downtown Central Business District location might have something to do with the overall stuffiness of the joint.  Not to worry, it’s all about the beer and they had a good many styles available.  We tried the Kolsch, Honey Ale, IPA, and Framboise Foment.  All were good, none were outstanding.  I can’t say I loved hanging out at this place; it lacked the cosiness I expect of a brewpub.  If you’re into beer, it’s still worth checking out if in Sydney, but don’t plan a day around it.

The bar at Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe in Sydney

Beers with Rachel at Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe in Sydney

Framboise Foment and Kolsch at Redoak

Australia was great, but it’s good to be back in BC.

Cheers,

Chris

There were many times when I felt like I absolutely needed a beer because I was so freaking hot.  In Canada, we beer nerds often lament marketing that promotes subzero beer temperatures, and for good reason.  In Southeast Asia, such advertisements are most appealing.  Many establishments often serve beer with ice in it, which might seem sacrilegious to us westerners, but is almost necessary in the tropics.  One downside is the health risk ice made with sketchy tap water poses.  I chanced my wellbeing on many occasions, if only to feel a few degrees cooler for a few moments.  I didn’t die once.

Drinking Chang on Khao San Road, so hot in Bangkok

We mostly came across lager beer, as befitting the climate, but did see the occasional import ale from prominent beer drinking countries.  I never ordered one, considering that beer quickly warms up to above room temperature within minutes, practically spewing condensation all over the place.

Most of us are quite familiar with the few Thai beer brands because we frequently come across them in western Thai restaurants.  Change, Singha, and Leo rule the roost, mostly because the only competition comes from locally brewed Heineken, Tiger for India, or Beer Lao from Laos.  We started off ordering regular Chang because it was the cheapest and it was cold and it didn’t really matter what it tasted like.  We paid about $1 for a 330ml bottle and $2 for a 650ml bottle.  We quickly tired of regular Chang (terrible tasting adjunct lager) and switched to Singha and Chang Export, which are made with actual malt and taste much better!  We weren’t really saving much money drinking the cheaper Chang.  Chang and Chang Export are brewed by Thai Beverage Plc and Singha and Leo are brewed by Boon Rawd Brewery, both in Bangkok.  Nothing to write home about beer wise, though I’m doing it anyway.

Sweaty Singha in Koh Samui

In Cambodia, we mostly drank Angkor Lager, which is similar to Chang and would also cost about a $1 or less.  I was pleased to find that Angkor brews a very tasty Export Stout, which is a very high alcohol stout.  Many former British colonies brewed high alcohol stout (to prevent spoilage in the tropics, alcohol kills bacteria), but Cambodia was a French colony. I haven’t been able to figure out why Export Stout exists in Cambodia, does anyone know?  The other beer available in Cambodia is Kingdom Pilsner, which was also fairly generic.  Both Angkor and Kingdom breweries are located in Cambodia.

Angkor Lager in Phnom Penh

If you know nothing of Cambodia, educate yourself.  The Khmer Rouge regime killed more than 25% of the population and almost all modern Cambodians are missing family members.  Cambodia was a decent place before 1976 and is now one of the most corrupt and poor countries in the world.  Worse, the US aided the Khmer Rouge before they took power and recognized them as Cambodia’s official government well into the 90s. Most Cambodians have lived and still live a life of poverty and terror, with no help from the west.  As such, tourism is one of the biggest industries in Cambodia and Cambodians make most of the clothes you are wearing.  Despite all this, Cambodians are friendly happy people.  As a westerner, think about Cambodia the next time you hate your life because you’re stuck in traffic or because of something else trivial.  Above all, go visit Cambodia and do some good with your extra money.

Angkor Export Stout? Hooray!

Cheers,

Chris

Cheers,

Chris

True bistecca should be at least 5cm thick, and that is why Italy is rad

Meat Sandwiches from Nerbone in Mercato Centrale, Florence

More food from Mercato Central in Florence

More wares in Mercato Centrale, Chianti Classico and fresh olive oil

Of course, while in Italy we had to sample the beer.  We found that generally, every restaurant would offer Peroni or Birra Moretti for about 4 euros, which is a ripoff compared to the price of fantastic wine, especially with Florence so close to the Chianti region.  We most definitely drank our fair share of Chianti, but we also wanted to check out the burgeoning Italian craft beer scene that we’d heard about, which we found no trace of until we got to Rome.

We first encountered Italian craft beer, which comes mostly from the North of Italy, in a deli near our hotel.  They carried the entire range of the Birrificio del Ducato, a craft brewery near Parma.  Erik bough them all and we drank them all.  I personally enjoyed the very malty Chimera Dark Ale and the peppery Verdi Imperial Stout, but all of their beers were good if not great, not bad for wine country.

Craft beer encounter number two happened a bit by chance.  When in Rome, scour the city for the best pizza the Romans already know about, which is exactly what we did (“do as the Romans do” is played out).  At out of the way Pizzarium, arguably Rome’s best pizza by the slice (it was definitely delightful), we found a stellar craft beer selection that included international and italian craft beers.  I can’t remember what we had (all Italian things start to sound the same to me after a few beers), but you must visit this place if you are a disciple of the heavenly pizza and beer combination.

Pizzarium in Rome, go there

The Pizza at Pizzarium, half way through rapid consumption

Italian Craft Beer from Pizzarium

Later on we hiked a long way from our hotel to the trendy Trastavere neighborhood, which was, from the looks of it, foodie heaven in Rome.  There were so many amazing looking restaurants (trattoria, osteria, ristorante) and wine bars (enoteca) on the way that we almost didn’t make it to our destination.  Bir and Fud and Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa are two hole in the wall beer bars conveniently located across the street from each other.  I found them recommended on BeerAdvocate.com and they did not disappoint.  Bir and Fud serves only Italian beer and there is only an Italian menu.  We relied on the waiter, who initially told us to wait because he was busy eating, to help us out.  We first had an American Pale Ale because that is what he brought us without necessarily confirming that is what we wanted.  It was a great rendition of a hoppy west coast pale ale.  In the next round, we got to choose our beers.  I had a delicious imperial stout and Erik had a malty real ale, both were wonderful.  When you can get it, Italian craft beer is quite delicious.  At Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa, we were presented with many intriguing international choices.  Erik had a Cantillon Lambic and I had a Danish IPA, which were, again, both quite tasty.

If you are ever in Rome, you do not want to miss these two beer bars or Pizzarium.  You will be happy, and fat.  In other news, I speak Italian now.  Grazi mille!

Cheers,

Chris

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

• We received free beer a few times
• We attended a lot of cool events (one with a press pass)
• We had a few restaurants ask us for help with their beer menus

While that stuff was awesome, it’s time for us to step our games up.  To make sure we reach higher this year, I’ve decided to set some lofty goals via New Year’s resolutions.  I haven’t talked to Erik about these, but he’ll just have to deal with it.

Westvleteren, we'll be there

New Year’s Resolutions:

• Get Erik intertube access – Erik bought a new house in late November and has been busy renovating and moving in, but still doesn’t have the internet.  This explains why he hasn’t posted in well over a month, even though he has rad things to write about.
• Drink more awesome beer and less crappy beer – There is a lot of good beer out there, so why bother drinking crappy beer?  Also, we need to try every good beer ever made and, therefore, have no time to waste on crappy beer.
• Exercise more -  If we are going to drink more beer, we’ll have to exercise to stay really, really, really ridiculously good looking, probably at least three times a week.
• Go on at least three beer pilgrimages – We haven’t even been to Portland yet, so we’ll need to do that.  Oktoberfest in Munich and Trappist Monasteries in Belgium come to mind.  Westvleteren here we come.
• Post thrice per week – Collectively, we should be able to post three times a week every week.

I was also going to add “take over the world”, but felt it didn’t apply because we have pretty much already done this.  Happy New Year!

Cheers,

Chris

This past Thanksgiving was the first in many years where I didn’t cook a large holiday meal for family and friends; we left that to other people. Instead of giving thanks with friends and family, my wife and I decided to relax, stay in, and enjoy a Canadian Thanksgiving meal ourselves.

I have already established that Canadian Thanksgiving is significantly different from neighboring America’s Thanksgiving right down to the very first event. Knowing this, I thought a traditional roast turkey seemed inappropriate. Instead I opted to celebrate with a rustic French inspired dish – cassoulet with venison, duck and turkey confit. Although Martin Frobisher was English, many of the earliest Canadian Thanksgiving celebrations would have been held by French Canadians. A hearty French feast seemed the only real option we had.

There are a number of great cassoulet recipes; my favourite comes from Jennifer McLagan’s most recent publication titled “fat”. To me, the subtle use of cloves is essential in a good cassoulet, especially when paired with a traditional Farmhouse biere.

While in Quebec this summer, I picked up a number of French beers that are sitting in my cellar, including a bottle of Biere Nouvelle from Brasserie De Saint-Sylvestre. This particular beer paired perfectly with my thanksgiving cassoulet. The subtle flavour of cloves infused in the cassoulet helped to draw out the pleasant spiciness in the beer. The straightforward malt flavour worked great with gamier meats and the heavy carbonation helped to cut through the richness (aka. fattiness) that all cassoulets must have. Farmhouse French beer and cassoulet – give it a try.

Cheers,

Erik

We left Montreal yesterday after visiting a number of great restaurants and brewpubs.  I will fill you all in when I get back, but so far the best beer experience was at Dieu du Ciel, the worst was at Brutopia, don’t go there, terrible beer!  This province in general, is a solid beer destination.

Sadly I could not get a table at Au Pied De Cochon, but I have eaten fois gras, Martin Picard’s favorite ingredient.

We are now in Quebec City and have plans to eat as much raw milk cheese as possible.

Cheers,

Erik

On the opposite spectrum of the country bar is the urban trendy casual dining restaurant. Establishments such as Earls, Moxies, Cactus Club, Joey’s, recently Mr. Mikes Steakhouse, and many many more, fall into this fast growing category.

The servers at these restaurants tend to look like this:

The food tends to look like this:

The clientele tend to look like this:

And the beer is almost always a house brand psuedo-craft-brewed lager and pale ale combination.  This is a problem.

These restaurants are targeted towards dinners who are somewhat image conscious, but also want good food.  When a plate at one of these restaurants is prepared by a caring line cook, the meal is often quite good, but when an upset college student is in the kitchen, the results can be less than acceptable.

Serving house brand beer is simply unacceptable when no other craft beer is offered.  For starters, house brand beer tends to be almost identical if not identical to the contract brewers standard offering.  For example, Mr. Mikes Steakhouse and Bar offers a house brand beer brewed by Okanagan Springs Brewing that taste the same as Okanagan Springs Pale Ale.  By creating a house brand beer, the real brewer receives no credit – the contract might be financially rewarding to the brewer, but the brewer is losing out on a big opportunity to build brand awareness and create new customers.  Everyday, thousands of customers fill these restaurants, many of them ordering a pint of house brand beer, and most of these people will have absolutely no idea who brewed the beer they enjoyed with their meal.  What a missed opportunity to promote quality craft beer.

The second problem is, once again, the lack of selection.  Most of these trendy casual dining restaurants offer bottled lager and house brand pale ale and lager.   How creative!  Instead of only serving house brand craft beer, why not offer a larger selection of branded craft beer.  Serving only house wine would be unacceptable in most establishments, serving only house beer should be equally unacceptable.

I live in the suburbs, and will continue to visit local pubs for cheap wings on Wednesday night, and will eat at trendy casual dinning restaurants on occasion.  But I will never truly be satisfied until I see a proper beer selection that includes a mix of both micro and macro brewed beer at all suburban establishments.

Cheers,

Erik

Sadly, with the sheer amount of information available to anyone with a computer and an internet connection, the general public can easily be misled by marketers trying to sell a product.  In a world ripe with information, the truth can be hard to find.

As our chosen domain name may suggest, we love good beer.  Both Chris and I welcome press releases from breweries both large and small, but to receive our support I suggest reviewing the following guidelines.

• Good products sell themselves.  The best marketing strategy is to offer a good product.  Do not in any way allow a marketing strategy to compromise the quality of the product.  If beer is the product, do not use green bottles or clear bottles – the beer will soon taste like a skunk.  I cannot imagine any accomplished brewmasters choosing clear bottles over brown bottles; they know full well that their beer will taste like a skunk after being exposed to light – who drinks beer in the dark?  But I can see a marketer deciding to differentiate their beer from the others by packing their own brand of beer in a clear bottle or a bottle tinted to match a corporate brand.  To those in the beer marketing world – you know who you are, please refrain.  To consumers, do not put up with this shoddy packaging.  Contact the offending breweries and let them know you will not put up with this any longer.

• Size does not matter.  Many craft breweries will lead consumers to believe that their beer is superior to macro brewed beer simply because their beer is brewed in small quantities.  This is just not true.  Many small breweries produce terrible beer and some large breweries produce fantastic beer.  Craft beer does not mean quality, craft beer means small quantity.  Do not reach for a six pack simply because it is labeled “craft beer” reach for a six pack because it tastes good.

• Be passionate.  In order to create good beer and successfully promote good beer the entire staff at a brewery must be passionate about beer.  Beer drinkers are some of the most passionate and dedicated people I have met.  Beer drinkers even go so far as to form clubs with the primary goal of promoting good beer to the world.  If a passionate beer drinker discovers a tasty new beer, it can be guaranteed they will tell all of their friends.  Beer marketers: if a press release is sent out to a wide array of beer writers, and they send a question in response to the press release, please respond to the email.  If no email is sent back in response to a question, all I can assume is that the original sender could care less about their product – they just want to achieve sales targets.

Sybil from Steam Whistle, please do not take this as an attack on your beer or your marketing approach – I happen to enjoy Steam Whistle Pilsner, but I would appreciate a brown bottle version.  The only real rule to live by is to drink good beer.  Not beer that marketers tell you is good, but beer that your taste buds tell you is good.

Cheers,

Erik