Tag Archives: Pale Ale

Ozarks Famous BBQ

A new southern BBQ restaurant name Ozarks Famous BBQ recently opened in Langley. This is the first authentic BBQ restaurant in Langley, although Boonies BBQ & Soul Food sits right next door in the neighboring Cloverdale area. After waiting a few weeks for the restaurant to get past the typical problems that most restaurants experience in the first few weeks of operation, I decided to stop buy and give it a try.

I am a huge fan of real BBQ cooking and am happy to see that people are finally beginning to realize the difference between high heat grilling and low heat barbecuing. Ozarks is a true BBQ restaurant following the time honoured traditions of slowly smoking inexpensive, tough-yet-flavourful cuts of meat until they become delicious and tender. BBQ also happens to pair excellently with a number of beer styles from IPA to robust porter. This should come as no surprise seeing that many local brewpubs serve BBQ influenced dishes.

Ozarks is a locally owned family business with a number of years experience in BBQ. Prior to opening this restaurant, the owners mastered the art of southern BBQ by offering an award winning selection of BBQ meat and sauces at Ozarks Country Meats in White Rock. There years spent perfecting slow smoked BBQ cookery is very apparent. Every piece of meat I tasted, including pork riblets, BBQ chicken and beef brisket were all barbecued to perfection. Nothing was overly sauced nor was it too dry – it was moist and tender with a noticeable but not overpowering hardwood smoke flavour.

The BBQ was great- no complaints about the food, but the selection of beer was clearly not well thought out. Only one of the beers available even has a chance of standing up to the bold flavours of southern BBQ. The restaurant’s draught beer selection is exclusively Granville Island Brewing – including two light lagers, a mild pale ale and the newly release Brockton IPA. The IPA fared relatively well alongside BBQ pork riblets, but did nothing to complement the other dishes we ordered. The two light lagers and the one pale ale are far too mild to match the restaurants southern food. Porters, Southern Brown Ales, Smoked Ale and other full flavored beer would complement the food much more than light lager. Such a great opportunity to match great food with great beer and again the opportunity was missed – such a tragedy.

I would like to encourage all the craft breweries with BBQ appropriate beers to contact Ozarks Famous BBQ. Perhaps all the restaurant needs is a nudge in the right direction.

Overall, Ozarks’ food is good and it is without a doubt worth a visit. If more appropriate beer was made available I would certainly become a regular customer.

Cheers,

Erik

Pizza and Beer – The Saga Continues

I realized how over the top my yeast obsession is after I had a sobering conversation with a friend while heading home from work this Thursday.  The conversation went like this:

Erik: “So, I’m making pizza for dinner”

Friend: “Oh – I love pizza, did you make your own crust”

“Yeah, but I’m a little worried It won’t turn out”

Puzzled look implying the question – what kind of  idiot doesn’t know how to make pizza?

“I used an unknown yeast strain to make the dough – I am a little obsessed with yeast.  I have been harvesting my own yeast since December; I have four different strains on the go at the moment”

Concerned look “umm…”

Awkward Pause – following by a nervous laugh – “Did that come across as strange?”

“Yeah… a little”

I then went on to better explain what I meant by “harvesting my own yeast” and that yeast is in the air surround us all the time and that some of the best breads and ales are fermented with wild yeast.  The tension was removed and the conversation carried on as usual – apparently harvesting wild yeast is uncommon.

I am fascinated by yeast – it is such an underrated and misunderstood little organism. Nothing captures the magic of this sugar loving, social lubricating creature better than proper pizza and real beer.  I made pizza last night with brewers yeast – it turned out good, but not over the top fists pumping in the air great.  The particular yeast I used, Wyeast 1968 ESB, imparts strong fruity esters during the brewing process and I was hoping that by fermenting and proofing the pizza dough for a solid 24 hours that the pizza would soak up some of these interesting flavour notes – but it didn’t.  Nonetheless, the pizza tasted great alongside its long lost friend and former partner, IPA.

I got out of bed this morning feeling unsatisfied and restless, which is a strange feeling to have on a long weekend Friday.   It only took me a minute of soul searching to find the source of this dissatisfaction – I was hungry and craving more pizza.  Upon this realization, I quickly shot out of bed and Googled “best pizza in Vancouver”.  I ended up heading to Marcello’s Pizzeria on Commercial drive- I was sold after reading about their wood fired oven.

Marcello’s is a great place for proper pizza – The authenticity that a wood fired oven creates cannot be matched.  I am now convinced more than ever that the only way to achieve perfection as a pizza master is with a hot wood fired oven.  A standard household electric oven is just not capable of pumping out enough heat to quickly cook a pizza leaving a crispy crust with an almost-but-not-quite burnt edge.

Marcello’s Pizzeria clearly knows how to make great pizza, but they have their own shortcomings and seem all too unaware about the magic that happens when a great pizza meets a great beer.  I was hopping to find a well hopped pale ale on the menu, but had to settle for Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale.  The beer was stale and almost offensive tasting and did nothing to complement the pizza.  What could have been the highlight of my week was turned into just a good lunch.  It saddens me to see a restaurant with such great potential fall short on such an important matter such as beer.

My search for the perfect pizza and beer combination carries on.  I think building a brick wood fired oven in my backyard may the next logical step.

Home made Pizza

IPA - Homebrew

Marcello's wood fired oven

Marcello's pizza

Marcello's pizza

Cheers,

Erik

Update: Bowen Island Brewing, KB Brewing and Whistler Brewing

I received a response from the NorthAm Group just a few hours ago with a great explanation of their three brands. It is true that all three brands (Bowen Island, KB, and Whistler) are brewed in Kamloops; however, they are in the process of moving Whistler Brewing to Whistler. As Chris pointed out in a previous comment, 40,000 liters of Whistler water is trucked into Kamloops every week, which must be expensive, not to mention harmful to the environment. This move makes a great deal of sense and brings more honesty to the Whistler Brewing brand.

KB Pale Ale is no longer in production – Bowen Island Extra Pale Ale is a slightly reworked version of the original KB Pale Ale. If you were a fan of KB Pale Ale I’m sure you will like Bowen Island Pale Ale. The Bowen Island brand was revived a few years ago to fill the demand for value priced BC craft beer, a niche that was missing in BC until recently.

Bowen Island Brewing goes to prove that price and quality do not go hand in hand. It may not be the most creative beer ever made, do not expect a Belgian Saison anytime soon, but a quality session beer will always be appreciated. Instead of serving generic macro lager at this year’s Super Bowl party, why not try Bowen Island Brewing – it is cheaper and far tastier.

Erik 

Review: Bowen Island Brewing

I am on round number two in my search for BC’s best value priced beer. I picked up a six pack of Bowen Island Brewing Extra Pale Ale at the liquor store for $8.45 earlier this week. With help from Chris and my lovely wife I am now down to the last can, which I am nearly finished with at this very moment.

I bought this beer assuming it was brewed on Bowen Island, which I think is a fair assumption, but it is not. Bowen Island Brewing started out as a small cottage brewery off the coast of Vancouver on Bowen Island. The brewery changed hands multiple times in the late nineties eventually to become a brand owned by the NorthAm Group. The NorthAm Group is one of BC’s fastest growing brewing companies owning three popular BC beer brands; Bowen Island Brewing, KB, and Whistler Brewing all brewed in Kamloops at the KB Brewery.

The good people at the NorthAm Group are playing a sneaky game by selling beer, all of which is brewed in the same facility, under three separate brands with different pricing. I am intrigued by the similar reviews that KB, Bowen and Whistler Pale Ales share on Beer Advocate and Ratebeer.com. If all three brands are brewed at the same facility and under the supervision of the same brewmaster how can they be dramatically different from one another? Bowen Island, KB and Whistler all offer a Pale Ale – but are they different?  Does Whistler beer use more expensive higher quality ingredients? Beer drinkers have a right to know this pertinent information.

I tried to get to the heart of the matter by sending an email to Bowen Island and KB Brewing – none have replied as of yet. Perhaps there is a perfectly good explanation and each brand is brewed with completely different recipes or my sources are incorrect and all three brands are completely unrelated, but without a response from the brewery I have no way of knowing. This unimpressive display of customer service is not making their beer taste any better. I have no desire to drink beer brewed by a company that is not honest with their customers. Over the next week I am hoping to solve this puzzle – I will post any new information as soon as possible. In the meantime, I have put together a breakdown of the three NorthAm brands:

Bowen Island Brewing – local value priced beer

KB Brewing – quality BC craft beer

Whistler Brewing – premium craft beer, leveraging Whistler’s international reputation

By now, the last glass of Pale Ale has vanished and I am feeling all the better for it – time to review. Bowen Island Brewing Extra Pale Ale is a surprisingly impressive beer for its price. It is a rich, copper coloured English Style Pale Ale with good head retention. Upon pouring, the beer releases a powerful aroma with sweet caramel leading the way followed by earthiness and a mild floral note. Similar to the aroma, caramel flavours are quite dominant but are somewhat balanced a medium hop finish. I would prefer this beer to be hoppier, but I tend to like hoppier beer. It was a bit thin, lacking any significant body. It is nice to find a pale ale from the Pacific Northwest that does not have a strong citrus flavour, not that I don’t like citrusy hops, it is just nice to change it up now and again.

This is a great session beer that is well suited for students, the unemployed (like me) or people who are just plain cheap. However, until I get to the bottom of NorthAm’s game of smoke and mirrors I do not feel comfortable recommending the beer to anyone.

Erik

Review: Hells Gate Pale Ale

I have fallen in love with Central City’s Red Racer Pale Ale. This modestly priced brew retails for $10.40 in BC liquor stores, although often times I find it on sale for $8.95 – a few dollars below most BC craft beer. As a result of finding this hidden gem tucked away beside a range of under appreciated beer, I have begun a quest in search of the best “value priced” beer in BC. Over the next few weeks I will purchase, drink, and review all “value priced” Pale Ale available in BC – any beer over $10.40 will be excluded. If you have any beer recommendations please let me know.

Pale Ale is one of my favourite styles of beer, but only when brewed to style. Pale ale should be pleasantly malty with a mild sweetness that is balanced by a noticeable hop flavour and aroma. Most serious brewers offer a version of pale ale, although this style typically varies a great deal – as long as the brew is pale and ale it may be correctly, or incorrectly labeled pale ale. Choosing pale ale also helps to eliminate the large contingent of over proof lagers brewed for the sole purpose of drunken tomfoolery. I want to review beer that is brewed to taste great – with plenty of room for tomfoolery on the side. Pale ale is the perfect style of beer for this challenge.

First up for review is Hells Gate Brewing Pale Ale, coming in at a whopping $8.95 for six cans. Hells Gate Brewing is owned by the Mark Anthony Group, the owners of Mission Hill Winery and a range of spirituous beverages. Hells Gate is a new brewer in the Vancouver region, and has launched this new brand with a small teaser campaign. This means their website contains only a small description of their two new brews and an online postcard from their Brewmaster. I hate teaser campaigns.

I bought this beer thinking it was pale ale; after all it is labeled pale ale, but their website claims otherwise describing it as Canadian Style Amber Ale. Adding to the confusion, the text on the can states, we cold age our beer to lock in the flavour. I’m not sure what this means. Cold aging sounds a lot like the lagering processes, but I have no idea what lagering has to do with locking in flavour and why the Brewmaster would lager ale? But this is about beer, not my distain for Hells Gate’s confusing communication strategy.

This beer pours a light copper, not quite amber, with a small white head that dissipates quickly. Don’t look at head retention too much here; my glass may have been improperly rinsed after washing with soap. The hop aroma is almost impossible to find, but I’m sure it is there somewhere. This pale ale has a somewhat sour aroma with a hint of toasted bread. The flavour is on the sweet side and is poorly balanced – again the hop flavour is hard to find. There is a subtle toasted bread almost dough like flavour – this was a pleasant surprise. This beer finished with a lingering sour note. Overall, this beer tasted more like a cross between cream ale and light amber ale, not pale ale.

I can’t say this beer is a winner, but it is better than most overpriced macrobrewed beer. In time, I’m sure Hells Gate will work out the kinks in their system and offer great beer – its just not there yet.

Erik