deschutes
Coming Soon: Rickard’s Dark
Saturday, November 14th, 2009 | Beer | 6 Comments
Erik and I received an email from a PR firm who wanted our address so they could send us a sample of a soon to be launched beer. I was a bit worried it was someone I’d offended coming to punch me in the face, so I gave them my work address. Lucky for me, a package arrived on Friday instead of a fist. I opened the package to find an elaborate wood box labeled Rickard‘s Dark. The box contained two bottles of Rickard’s Dark, two beer glasses, two coasters, and a blindfold. I found the inclusion of a blindfold a bit odd, but I suppose it is for doing a blind tasting? Or maybe for post tasting kinky fun times? Either or, I doubt I’ll be using it.
Opening the package to find the Rickard's Dark box
Contents of the Rickard's Dark Box
I haven’t tasted the beer yet. Erik is coming over on Monday and I figured I’d wait for him. Rickard’s Dark is supposedly a 4.8% ABV English style porter with added Quebec maple syrup. I do love me some porter, but I’m not so sure I’ll like Rickard’s Dark. I used to drink Rickard’s beer in my younger days because I found it to be a breath of fresh air when compared to Molson Canadian. I’ve since expanded my beer horizons well beyond Molson’s own Rickard’s brand and no longer care for their Red and Honey Brown like I once did. That being said, I hope that Rickard’s Dark is wonderful and that it might get some non craft beer drinkers into porter and onto other wonderful porters like Black Butte from Deschutes. Expect to see Rickard’s Dark on the shelves in Rickard’s Taster packs within a few weeks.
Cheers,
Chris
BC lacks Porter
Monday, August 24th, 2009 | Beer, Favorites | 2 Comments
I love porter; it is one of my favorite beer styles. I find porter to be quite easy and enjoyable to drink, which might be due to the moderate alcohol levels and pleasant roasty and chocolate flavors one finds in porter. What I don’t like about porter is its relative scarcity in these parts. I can’t think of one BC brewer that regularly sells six packs of porter. You’ll sometimes find 650ml bottles of porter from BC craft brewers available in BC Liquor Stores, but these examples are often brewed with an additional element such as chocolate, coffee, coconut, or other fruit. While I definitely like these beers, what I’d really like to see is a widely available six pack of quality porter from one of BC’s many fine brewers. In the mean time, Deschutes has recently made its way into BC. Thank heaven for their Black Butte Porter, which is definitely one of my favorite beers! I picked some up from Brewery Creek last week and, with a few friends, made quick work of them. With craft brewing gaining ground in BC, I can only hope that a widely available porter is on the horizon. I’d suck one, or six.
Cheers,
Chris
Great beer at the corner store?
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments
I spent this past BC Day long weekend at a cabin near the foot of Mount Baker, a short jaunt across the border from where I live. Just before the cabin on the road to Mount Baker, there is a small grocery store called Nooksack Market. I’d visited this market two years ago on a previous visit to the same cabin. When my wife told me we were heading to here uncle’s place, all I could think about was getting back to this market. Why? Because they have a fantastic craft beer selection stocked with delicious Washington and Oregon beers that you can’t get at any of BC’s best beer stores! It was really overwhelming shopping at that tiny market because I wanted to buy everything. I ended up buying a lot of the Stone, Lagunitas, and Deschutes beers that you can’t get here. It was a good weekend, but I drank too much.
A sample of what's waiting for us right across the border
On the way back to Canada we stopped at the Sumas Liquor store to stock up. This liquor store is two blocks from the border, within clear sight of the crossing. They too had a fantastic selection and I picked more of the same great beers, plus a few Laughing Buddha bottles. An American reading this blog might think I am crazy, stupid, or both, but the beer selection right across the border is enough to get this Canadian beer enthusiast exited. Curse our stupid liquor laws! If trucks carrying this delicious beer can get to the border, surely they can get across too, right? We’ll even pay double, which is pretty much what we pay anyway. At least we get Health Care…
The Booze Bear at Sumas Liquor Store, ha
Also, I had a Bud Light Lime this weekend and I thoroughly did not enjoy it. It tasted nothing like beer, but like malty sprite. I still think Bud Light Lime is horrible and implore you fans of this perverse liquid to seek out and explore other light beers and alcoholic beverages.
Cheers,
Chris