Good Robot Brewing - A Piece of Ottawa On the East Coast

Nova Scotia is possibly my favourite place in Canada (granted, I haven't been to the West coast in about 14 years). I spent a weekend in Halifax recently, and stumbled upon some of the newer breweries in the city. There is a lot of great new stuff coming out of Halifax on the Craft Beer front, but the brewery that stood out the most was definitely Good Robot Brewing Co (GRBC). The beer is amazing, the guys running the show are cool - and obviously huge geeks (which is great) - and the atmosphere is second to none. Allow me to paint a picture:

You walk past what used to be an old garage recessed back off of Robie Street, and you notice that it is most definitely no longer a garage. First of all, there is an astroturf lawn out front with a couch and bean bag throwing game set out so that as a prospective customer you don't feel rushed by walking into a store front that may be overcrowded, getting served, and then feeling awkward like you need to leave. You can just chill outside so that others can get in for a taste. When you roll up to the entrance there is a giant (30bbl) bright tank sporting the Good Robot logo. Conversation starter? Probably. The brewery is also pretty open concept, so you can rubberneck and check out the fermenters, brew kettle, malt mill, and mash tun. If you show interest, one of the guys will likely bring you back to the brewery and regale you with their origin story and tell you about the brewing process.

Kira, focused, pouring some samples

That brings me to the guys in charge. These guys met at Dalhousie University while getting degrees in Engineering. They parted ways after school to become, well, engineers. From what I heard from Josh and read on the Web site, engineering got dull, and the guys all reunited to start Good Robot. A pretty awe inspiring tale, if I've ever heard one! Josh was our host for most of Friday night, and he is from Ottawa. That's pretty neat. Josh is the director of marketing for Good Robot, and he does most of the social media stuff, from what I'm told. Doug is the head brewer, and Angus is the company's president. You can get the full bio for each of the founders on the Good Robot Web site. From what I saw, everybody brews, which is not only cool, but practical. Even Kira, who was working the counter the second time I came in, will be learning to brew. Seems like a pretty sweet gig to me.

The Brewery.

Last, but definitely not least, is the beer. When I went to the brewery the first time, they had a trio on tap: A steam beer dubbed Crown on the Ground, a Gose, aptly named Goseface Killah, and an American Pale Ale known as the Burban Legend. Luckily, on the second trip there was also a stout. And oh, what a stout it was. Tom Waits for No One is the name, and it's delicious. Great chocolate and coffee flavours, but with the added smoothness that I think was added by a little bit of nitro, although the mouthfeel could come from the 7.9% ABV! Come to think of it, each of these brews was pretty amazing. The Burban Legend is hopped with my favourite - Falconer's Flight, and is a vey well balanced APA. You don't see many people brewing a Gose these days, but GRB nailed it. It's refreshing, but still pleasantly salty. The steam beer was interesting, not just because it wasn't called "California Common", but because of the subtle spice of rye malt that is used in the recipe. Four great beers, five measly bucks, not a bad deal at all!

The next step for GRBC is to open their own tap house. They are currently renovating a piece of their building which was not part of the brewery in order to get their very own licensed tap house in which to serve their beers. It seems like there are some exciting times ahead for Good Robot Brewing Co., and for the Halifax craft beer scene as a whole. I'm excited about the prospect of coming back out to Canada's east coast and finding the GRBC tap room in full swing. There are great people running this brewery, and I definitely recommend stopping by if you're ever in Halifax!

Until next time.

Beerology: A Book Review

Enjoying a good beer and a good book while my baby hop plant looks on.

Mirella Amato is one of the foremost beer experts in Canada, if not THE foremost expert. I had the pleasure of meeting her at La Mondiale De La Biere in Montreal, Quebec in 2014, where she was selling - and signing - her book: Beerology. I picked up a copy, got it signed, and got to reading. I re-read it a few days ago, and decided to spread the word. What better way than by giving it a proper review?

Beerology is written with a certain passion that is tangible throughout the entire book. From the very first page, Ms. Amato makes her intentions known: "This is my crusade: I want to live in a world where everyone has the same basic understanding and appreciation for beer as they do for wine." That line by itself got me pretty stoked to read the rest of the book. The introduction provides an overview of Ms. Amato and her achievements, which can also be found at her Web site, www.beerology.ca. You can also find various beer tasting tools at the site, as well as in the Glossary and Tasting Tools section at the end of the book (spoiler alert!)

Once you get to know more about our author, she takes you directly into the brewing process. It's quite obvious that she has a solid grasp on the brewing process, and explains - in a briefly detailed manner - how barley, hops, water and yeast (and sometimes other stuff) become tasty treats enjoyed the world over. One of my favourite parts about this book is that Ms. Amato explains how to best store beer. I learned a lot of lessons in storage the hard way, so seeing a section just on storage and cellaring was fantastic. After brief lessons on brewing and storing beer, we move into serving and tasting beer. In the section "Perfect Presentation", we look at types of glassware for serving beer. If you have read my blog in the past, you will know that glassware is very important to me! One aspect of serving and tasting beer that is near and dear to me is temperature. Ms. Amato mentions that stemmed glasses are useful for beers that are served too cold, as you can comfortably fit them in your hands to warm the beer and release aroma and flavour that gets hidden by the chill. All of the aspects of tasting - appearance, aroma, flavour, mouthfeel, and finish - are covered as well.

After the basics of beer are covered, there is a very comprehensive list of beer styles to peruse. This section of the book is humbling to me; it is written in a manner that is truly non-presumptuous, inclusive, and judgment free - even when it comes to industrial lagers that some would shun. I guess it's not surprising, as those characteristics are true to Ms. Amato's character, from what I gathered in the half-hour in which I got to speak with her. The Beerology Quadrant is introduced in this section, and it's very helpful for determining what kind of beer you might like based on style (Ale or Lager), alcohol level, colour, and distinct taste (bitter, sour, sweet - at varying levels). Not only does this section contain a style overview, food pairing suggestions and examples of the style, it also has a "fun for" section that explains when you might want to enjoy a specific beer style. This is the largest section of Beerology, and is insanely helpful for those who are just starting their adventures with craft beer.

The last section of Beerology, "Diving In", is my favourite. In this section, Ms. Amato walks us through setting up and performing a beer tasting. This section provides advice on how to set up an environment for tasting, as well as multiple games that make beer tasting fun. One of the standout points in this book is that you should not treat beer tasting as a stuffy, job-like experience, and that you should embrace the fun that is beer tasting and pairing. There are also many beer and food pairing guidelines in this section. Pairing beer and food is one of my favourite things in the world, and there are plenty of helpful hints and best practices for getting the most out of your beer-food experience. To finish off this section, there are various recipes for beer cocktails. My favourite recipe is the Fancy Goat. Delicious.

Beerology provides an epic amount of information condensed into 164 pages presented it in a non-stuffy, yet practical manner. I really enjoyed the book, and I definitely plan to use it as a reference manual to having as much fun with beer as possible! After reading this book, even the most novice beer enthusiast will have the tools and know-how to cellar beer, pick the proper glassware for their beer, taste beer, pair beer with food, and create pretty tasty beer cocktails. Let's not forget the beer trivia located in the sidebars! There are myriad fun facts in Beerology that will provide you with much knowledge and background on where beer came from, which ingredients may be used to add a special flavour, and how certain off-the-wall beer styles came into existence. This knowledge can be used to educate and impress a group of friends (or potential friends) at your local watering hole! Just try not to get carried away!

2014: My Year in Brewing

My first brew in a 5gal turkey fryer

I was introduced to homebrewing in April of 2013 by a buddy of mine. Initially we had a pretty small setup: mash tun (Gatorade cooler), brew kettle (turkey fryer), fermenter (pail/carboy). We had a separate pot for a hot liquor tank, or maybe it was just a pail? The memory is foggy. Could be that it was so long ago, could be that we were partaking in the goodness that is beer whilst brewing. Either way, the result of our first seven hour session brewing together (my first session, not his) was a potentially delicious Imperial Dunkelweizen. We named it "The Imperious Dunkel Weizenheimer". I say potentially delicious because as the beer was being transferred from primary to secondary fermentation, there was a carboy slip and the brew was lost. We did end up re-brewing a few weeks later, and when all was said and done we had a pretty glorious beer. It was roughly 11% ABV and I remember drinking my last one in May, 2014. It definitely stood up to the test of time.

Apartment Brewing

Apartment Brewing Setup

Fast forward to December, 2013. I was living in a one-bedroom apartment, wondering how I could brew inside without killing myself with CO poisoning. I went out to Canadian Tire one day and picked up an induction cooktop (http://goo.gl/WGH6DV) to do my bidding. I had borrowed the brewing equipment that I had used for my first couple of batches, and wondered why it wouldn't work. I decided to google "Induction Cooking" and found out that you need cookware designed for (or compatible with) induction cooking. Wups. I was pretty bummed out, but on Christmas day I opened up an induction-ready brew kettle! Score. Without further ado, I started re-planning my first solo project: a caramel hefeweizen, the name of which I have forgotten. It was New Year's day, and my brewing setup was quite interesting. My transfer setup was the Gatorade cooler mash tun on a kitchen chair, with the brew kettle sitting atop the induction cooktop on the floor. My hot liquor tank was a series of smaller pots to provide the appropriate amount of water for sparging, all heating up on my stove top. It was definitely an adventure, and the beer turned out to be pretty tasty!

Garage Brewing

Initial Garage Setup

After brewing a few batches in early 2014, I took possession of my freshly built house, purchased way back in 2012. What's the first thing I did? Got my brewing setup back in action, that's what. Having bought a new table and chair set, I put my old chair to good use. I bought a Bayou classic banjo burner, and left my old turkey fryer at my sister's house, so I can brew with my brother in-law without carting all of my gear around. I purchased the borrowed equipment I had been using - at a steal, I might add - as the two co-owners of the equipment now work at Beyond the Pale and Kichesippi breweries here in Ottawa, and now get to play with much bigger kit (the fact that I benefit from their new careers makes me a little less jealous). At this point I had  a pretty small setup in the garage, and I used it to brew eight batches before summer broke through. On the first weekend of summer (the Solstice), and the week after, I managed to get six batches brewed whilst merging my kit and another buddy's kit. This provided us with a whole new level of capability! (Picture of latest brew kit not included, as it is located elsewhere, presently)

Moving Forward

Brewing has become my Zen, and I fully intend to pursue it as a hobby, potentially as a business. Now that I have a decent brewing setup, I am continuously learning more about the brewing process, as well as working on developing a new setup and including as much techno-geekery as I possibly can. I brewed 26 batches in 2014 (my goal was 24), and I'm hoping to increase that exponentially in 2015. I've got a small team of taste testers who give me constant feedback - good or bad, objective and subjective - who I try to keep laden with new beers. I'm always on the lookout for more tasters. I have thought about an Ottawa-based brewery startup, but I am also considering Bancroft, my home town, where I could partner up with my brother in-law, a chef-owner of a local establishment there. For now, I'm just playing with ideas, but the main point is that I love brewing, and plan on continuing to do so for the foreseeable future - hopefully bringing as many of my friends along for the ride as possible.

Adventures in Homebrewing

Good evening,

I'm about 8 hours away from a flight to Minnesota, and I'm finding myself unable to sleep. It could be the excitement of the flight, but it could also be the nagging thought that I haven't blogged in almost a year! This is unacceptable, and about to be changed.

Our Backyard Brew Setup

Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, and so I found it cause to celebrate. I didn't celebrate with a huge bonfire, but with a very small fire, lit under my brew kettle. I did a Summer Solstice Homebrew Marathon! I have been homebrewing steadily now for about eight months, and had a few trial batches (some great, some interesting, and one catastrophic) in the year and a half preceding my purchase of some decent gear. I have several friends who would like to get into homebrewing, one of whom has just purchased some gear himself, and so we consolidated our kits and spent a day out in the sun brewing three (hopefully fantastic) beers! It was a memorable day, indeed. I'm thinking of making a tradition out of it.

We started out by brewing a Hefeweizen. Personally, I have an affliction with brewing only dark beers. I'm not sure why, but if I have chocolate or roast malt, I generally incorporate it into my recipe. I made this recipe to prove that I have the willpower to leave the dark malts out of a beer, and I am glad to say that I stayed true the course. My hef recipe is fairly simple, I just use wheat malt and pilsener malt in a 60:40 ratio, roughly (7 lbs and 5 lbs, respectively), throw in some Hallertauer hops at boil for bittering, and pitch some Weihenstephan yeast when all is said and done. Since I was working with someone who was brewing for their first time, I kept it simple. I have read that decoction mashing is the way to go with a Hefeweizen in order to get more clove aroma and flavour out of the yeast, but I have never attempted it before. Showing uncharacteristic prudence, I thought that it would be folly to bring it into play at the time, so we simply used an infusion mash. And so, roughly 5 hours after arriving at Pat's house, we had a beer in a fermenter, waiting for the yeast to do its work!

IPA Mash!

Our next brew was an IPA, which we mashed in around 1:45pm, the perfect time to have some grilled meat/veg skewers and a growler of Beyond the Pale's Hashtag Trending White Session IPA. Delicious... Ahem. This recipe contains 2-Row Pale, Victory, and Carared malts; Galena, Amarillo and Xythos hops, and some Wyeast American Ale yeast. This was the most complex beer we brewed, as we had to add hops for bittering, flavour, and a few rounds of finishing. The hardest part about brewing multiple beers in one day for us was staying on top of cleaning the equipment for the next batch, and timing the mash to ensure that we wouldn't be needing the brew kettle before we had fully chilled and transferred the wort. We did end up steeping the IPA grains for a little longer than we had anticipated, but this was an experiment, and as far as homebrewing goes, a small mistake can change the beer from its creator's original intent, but it shouldn't ruin the beer (knock on wood). We learned from this mistake, however, and our transition from second to third beer went much more smoothly.

Wort from our Stout

Our third and final brew (we're looking at a 7:30 start time, roughly) was a Stout. I have brewed this bad boy once before, and it turned out very, very well. Rich and chocolaty, with a few coffee undertones (Chocolate malt is the star here), this beer was a winter favourite for myself and those who tend to get samples of my work. The only feedback I received was that it was a bit thin, so I took steps to improve upon the existing recipe. This brew consists of 2-row pale, roast and chocolate malts; Golding hops at the boil, and WYeast Irish Ale yeast. This brew went off without a hitch, as we had gotten the hang of the new brew setup, had worked out a system for transitioning from the chillage (I know, it's not a word) of boiled wort to lautering the newly mashed wort into the brew kettle, which meant no long-run mash time. Now that the three brews are fermenting happily, I'm starting to count the days until they are bottled and ready to drink! Twenty-seven remaining...

Our brewing marathon ended around 11:30pm, at which point we hit up The Wood on Wellington for some delicious, deep fried food to fill the huge void left in our stomachs. The food and beer were delicious, but sitting and relaxing at that point of the night triggered some serious exhaustion. A marathon brew is hard work! At the end of the day, we were happy, slightly inebriated, exhausted, and excited for next weekend when we brew two more batches! Expect a more well-documented post about next week's brews. Until then, I should probably go to bed, as I must be at the airport in 5 hours.

Until next time...
S.B.

Beautiful Burlington VT

The end of August held two big milestones for me: my thirtieth birthday and my first trip to the U.S. of A for a craft beer run.

It was decided that we should take a road trip for some great craft beer in celebration of my latest milestone. Initially we decided that Dogfish Head would be the place to go, but we didn't realize that brewery tours fill up a couple of months in advance. So, with Dogfish Head out (for now), we decided that the next best spot would be Burlington, Vermont. Vermont is a nice, short drive, and after checking out the Vermont Brewers' Association, I saw that there were four breweries in the area. So, we packed up the car and headed south (and east)!

First of all, the drive is beautiful. We drove through Quebec near Montreal, and there was a pretty short lineup to get over the border. From there, we had only an hour and a half to drive until we hit the beautiful town of Burlington. Right on the shore of Lake Champlain, Burlington is a small town rich in military history and craft breweries.

We started out at a small spot called The Scuffers for breakfast. It was not quite 11:00am, so I wasn’t sure if they would be serving beer yet. I asked our server (named Steven, very helpful dude) when they start serving and was pleasantly shocked to learn that they serve beer from 6:00am until 2:00am! What a great concept! I started out with a Switchback Ale, by Switchback Brewing Co., while my travel partner had a Mountain Ale by The Shed Brewery. Breakfast was OK, but not great. The beer, however, was. Switchback Ale was a decent brew, a pretty straight-forward malty beer. It was a good breakfast beer, for sure. I love - and may be in love with – The Shed’s Mountain Ale, though. It is a beautiful dark ale, with great malt and dried stone fruit flavours. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see the brewery, but there is always next time!

After breakfast, we just bummed around the town for a bit while waiting for check-in time at our hotel. There are a lot of cool little shops and kiosks in the Church Street Marketplace; a small area of the town reminiscent of Sparks Street in Ottawa.

At lunch time we hit up the Farmhouse Tap & Grill for some beer and cheese. I would be overjoyed if I could tell you that I was able to get a taste of of The Alchemist's Heady Topper, but it's not going to happen. That brew is released on Thursdays, and is generally gone before Saturday is over. Unfortunately, we got to Burlington August 25, which is a Sunday. I ended up having a Hill Farmstead Edward Pale Ale. It was amazing. Super floral on the nose with pine and citrus flavour. We also tried some delicious Vermont cow and goat cheese. The Farmhouse Taproom wasn't open, so I didn't get into much beer tasting.

Hi-Hat Clutch: Great Bottle
Opener in a Fix!

After check-in, we took a bit of rest and decided to head out and find a Co-Op that our friend Steven had told us about at breakfast. Apparently there is a great beer selection at said Co-Op. Located at the intersection of Bank and South Winooski, this Co-Op had a pretty cool natural food selection, and buried deep in the centre, there was a glorious beer and wine section. The wine section was actually significantly bigger than the beer section, but that's okay. I picked up a few good brews. Sierra Nevada's Tumbler Autumn Ale, Dogfish Head Brewing Midas Touch, The Shed Mountain Ale, Stone Brewing Ruination, and a Northshire Brewery Chocolate Stout were what I brought home. I haven't tried them all yet, but I know that the first three listed are delicious. I sampled the Dogfish, Sierra Nevada and Shed beers whilst watching Bad Ink, and had a nap. Driving is a tiresome job. As a sidenote, I left my keys in the car, with my bottle opener. Being lazy, I searched through my bag for a potential opener. It turns out that the clutch from a hi-hat, if adjusted properly, is a great bottle opener. You're welcome.

We got up and at 'em around 6:30, just in time for dinner. We went to the Vermont Pub & Brewery for dinner, where we had an assortment of spud skins and calamari to start, and I had a delicious pulled pork pie as a main. We grabbed a flight of beers to sample, and the Burly Irish Ale was my favourite, and Beetlejuice was a delicious wheat ale. From there I had a pint of cask Burly ale, and then a Dogbite bitter, their ESB. We spent most of the night drinking at the Vermont Pub & Brewery, were lucky enough to witness a young-love domestic dispute, and then went back to our room to continue the Bad Ink marathon.

I woke up the next morning as a fresh young 30 year-old, and we had breakfast at an amazing little spot called The Skinny Pancake. I had a Noah's Ark special, which consists of two eggs, two slices of bacon, and two crepes (get it? Two of everything, like Noah's Ark!). I also added two sausage into the mix. It was a very tasty breakfast.

After getting fueled up, we decided to check out a few more of the shops at the Church Street Market. We walked around for a half-hour or so, and decided we were thirsty again. This time, we headed to Zero Gravity Brewing, where we sat at the bar and sampled some of their wares. They brew a delicious black IPA, and a stout (which I had on tap and cask), among plenty of other beers. I took a picture of their tap list, but that was the only picture that didn't turn out. Fail. When they get their new site up, or I get back to sample more of their beer, I will ensure that I record the tap names!

Another stop we made was to Guild Fine Meats on St. Paul Street. We picked up a couple of local ciders, and a Sour Stout by The Bruery named Tart of Darkness. I haven't tried it yet, but I am very excited for it!
Well, it was almost time to go home, and we had one last stop to make: Magic Hat Brewery. I have to say, the experience wasn't fantastic. I'm not sure if it was just a Monday and people were feeling grumpy, or if they just didn't want to talk about their beers. The samples were poured without a word, nobody asked if we liked the beer or not, and the bartenders seemed impatient if we took a moment to decide what we wanted to drink. The beer itself is good, and I picked up a couple of bottles and a fridge magnet for good measure. I just wish that the people had lived up to the atmosphere. Inside the main entrance, I was reminded of Zaphod Beeblebrox in the Byward Market (Ottawa), but without the super energetic vibe.

We did a walkthrough on our own, as there were no brewery tours for a couple of hours. The brewery is pretty cool, from the rusty old lookout tower at the front to the displays throughout the walkthrough. Would I go back again? Yes. I think that now that I know the brewery tour hours, I would go when there is a scheduled tour and see if the people are different. Everybody gets one.

Overall, I think that Burlington is a beautiful place. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a beautiful getaway spot that is super close to home. I look forward to returning for a longer stay, so that I might be able to spend more time in the pubs and tap houses in the area. I would also be pretty stoked to go out on the lake for a quick cruise to see if I could see Champ!

Until next time...

Beer Glassware Part 2: Serving Up Big Beer

Good evening,

It’s snowing, damp, and kind of cold outside. In other words, it’s a beautiful night for a big beer!

Before I get started, I’d like to point out that a big beer is another term for a strong beer. I don’t mean a “big name” beer from one of the big industrial breweries. Now that that's covered...

My treat for the night is a Nostradamus Belgian Extra-Strong Brown Ale by Brasserie Caracole in Belgium. The vessel from which I will be enjoying this beer is a stemmed tulip glass. When drinking a big Belgian beer, a stemmed tulip is most appropriate for several reasons:

Nostradamus Belgian Strong Brown Ale,
Pictured here served in a stemmed tulip glass.

1. Having a stem on your glass not only helps you keep a better grip on the glass, it prevents heat transfer from your hand to your beer. In the case of strong beers, you generally drink them a bit warmer (10-13°C). If you have a semi-warm beer and add some good old-fashioned hand heat, you end up with overly warm beer, which is no treat.

2. Having a glass that tapers in on the way up helps keep the aroma concentrated, so I get all of the biscuity, spicy, chocolatey, boozy, beautiful aromas right smack dab in the nose. Were I to stick my nose in a chilled shaker pint glass, I would maybe get the most predominant aromas in a toned-down form, but for the most part they would dissipate and mix in with all of the other aromas in the room.

3. The outward lip at the very top of the glass helps with foam retention, while the inward taper helps concentrate the foam.

So you see, by using this glass with a Belgian strong ale - which contains a lot of aroma, flavour and head - I get the maximum sensory output from my 330mL bottle. Fantastic!

There are several other strong beers that have recommended glassware. Imperial Stout is well represented in a snifter glass, as it does not present a lot of foam, so no lip is required to hold it in. The slight inward taper (as mentioned above) helps to concentrate aromas such as dark chocolate, tobacco and molasses. Trappist Ales (not all Trappist Ales are Belgian, so I do not group them in with Belgian strong ales) have their chalice, which generally has a longer stem and shallower bowl than a snifter, but still provides access to the alluring spices that exist on the nose. For beer that is generally served colder (in Canada, anyway), such as a double IPA or a Bock, I like the biconical pint glass, as my generally warm hands help enhance the flavour and aroma. If I am lucky enough to get my hands on a Weizenbock, I stick to the Weissbierglas I mentioned in my first post on beer glassware.

Muskoka Winter Beard Double Chocolate
Cranberry Stout served in a snifter. Delicious.
(Enjoyed at Sir John A. in Ottawa)

Now that you have an idea of what type of glassware to use for your big beers, we should cover another aspect of serving beer: how to pour a beer into your fancy new glassware.

Have you ever finished drinking a freshly poured beer, only to start feeling a bit bloated and gassy? Did you assume that this was just part of drinking a carbonated beverage? That’s what I used to think, until I read Randy Mosher’s book “Tasting Beer”. This handy little tome has taught me quite a bit about the proper enjoyment of beer, as well as how to properly serve the nectar of the gods.

Pouring a beer down the side of a tilted glass helps keep the foam down on a beer, this is true. But what else does it do? It helps keep the beer super carbonated, which is not such a good thing. Mr. Mosher tells us that we should keep our beer glass upright, and just pour the beer right down the middle. The supposed drawback of this method is that it takes longer to pour the beer. Once you have poured a few beers using this technique and reaped the benefits (the ability to drink multiple beers without feeling ultra-full and gross, maintaining the head and with it the aroma of the beer), you will learn to be patient with your beer and wait a couple minutes if need be.

Biconical Pint Glass

I hope that the second installment of my beer glassware education series was helpful, and I’m hoping you tune in next time for brewery specific glassware, where I’ll be covering the Samuel Adams custom Boston Lager glass, and the Dogfish Head/Sierra Nevada/Spiegelau collaborative creation made to enhance the flavour and aroma of IPAs. I’ll also go over a weird Belgian glassware custom, among other topics.


Cheers!

S.B.

What's In A Glass? How Glassware Can Affect Your Beer Experience

Good Evening,

Weizenbierglas:
A grand Idea!

I’ve been out to a few pubs lately, and I’ve noticed that sometimes a fantastic brew is served in a less-than-perfect glass. Some people may think I’m crazy if my beer tastes better or worse based on the vessel in which it is served. Others will think I’m a beer-snob, and yet more will not care. Hopefully some will agree that glassware affects beer experience. I’m going to dedicate my next three posts to glassware, so let me state my case, and decide for yourself whether or not the glass makes the beer!

Case 1: Weizenbierglas (Wheat Beer Glass)

Have you ever been to a pub that serves Erdinger Weissbrau? If not, you should give it a try. It’s delicious, and it is a prime example of mission-critical glassware. Generally Erdinger is served in a tall, slender glass with a bulbous head. This is called a “Weizenbierglas” or, when translated from German to English, a wheat beer glass. It’s made for wheat beers. Obviously, you can pour any kind of beer you’d like into this glass, but for best results, use a wheat beer. Weissbier (which means white beer, the Bavarian term for wheat beers, or Weizenbier outside of Bavaria) is very foamy, due to Weissbier yeast strains and proteins from the wheat itself. When you pour a Weissbier properly, you will get a fairly high collar of foam. The Weizenbierglas’s narrow waist helps concentrate the foam, and the large flare at the top cradles the foam, permitting a substantial “peak” of foam to rest above the rim of the glass. Doesn't that sound great?

Case 2: Shaker Tumbler Glasses

On the other end of the spectrum, you have the “shaker” pint glass. It is best used for serving Cesars. Pouring a beer into a shaker is a near-crime. If you have ever had a very aromatic beer (let’s say a Belgian Dubbel) served to you in a shaker, you probably think that the glass is not hindering the beer’s aromas. Well, there is no tapering, so the aroma doesn’t really stick with the beer as much. This is just a wide open glass that is great for cocktails, but lends nothing to a beer drinking experience. If you were to pour the same beer into a stemmed tulip glass, you would notice a huge difference. There is an inward taper to hold in the aroma, and the flare at the top helps the glass fit the mouth well and also supports the beer’s head. A great example of great glassware would be Ottawa’s own Big Rig, and their Old Man Winter seasonal brew. This ale was a Belgian-style Strong Ale (sometimes known as a Quadruppel), and it was served in a stemmed tulip glass. The aromas presented by this glass were fantastic. The trick was to warm the glass in your hand before drinking it, which brings me to my next point.

The Shaker:
Great for Cocktails...

Case 3: Temperature

Drinking a commercial lager out of a frosted beer glass may be all well and good, but when you are drinking a craft brew, it mutes the aroma and flavor of the beer. For example, I went to a pub in Niagara Falls that had some pretty nice craft brew, and it was served in appropriate glassware. The problem was that the glass was so cold that the beer actually slushed up. I had a porter and a wheat beer that night, and the aromas were nearly nil on both pints until I was half-finished. The pint I had at Big Rig wasn’t so extremely cold. I could just hold the glass in my hand for a minute or so and the aromas were unleashed. And man, that beer was good.

Aroma comes from all of the good stuff in the beer, so it stands to reason that if the beer is too cold, none of it can evaporate and create wonderful aromas for beer enthusiasts to enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, if the beer is too warm… well, we all know how warm beer tastes. Serving temperature for beer should be roughly 3º to 13º Celsius (38º to 55º Farenheit). Darker beer or stronger beer should be served warmer, while lighter and weaker (let’s say “less strong”) beer should be served at colder temperatures. Rules to live by.

I hope that my first entry about beer glassware was educational and entertaining. Stay tuned for my next two posts about glassware, where I will go over some glasses best fitted to strong beer, and we'll also take a look at the Samuel Adams Boston Lager glass. That’s right, Boston Brewery’s Jim Koch has actually created a glass for his flagship lager. Not that it's new or anything, but it is pretty awesome!

Until next time…

S.B.

Niagara Falls and The Art of Cheese Making

Well, this is my first post of 2013, and here's the kicker: It's not really about beer!

If there's one thing I love to eat while imbibing the nectar of the gods, it's cheese. There are so many different cheeses out there that pairing cheese with beer is rarely boring (and sometimes catastrophic!)  I have spent countless hours pairing different cheeses with beer or wine at home, so I thought I would take my interest one step further and learn how to make some of my own cheese to pair with my favourite brews.

Doreen and Peter Sullivan: Owners of Making Cheese At Home,
Artisan Cheese Makers Extraordinaire

On June 2, 2012, I visited the Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Picton, Ontario and met up with a couple who has taken their love for artisan cheese making to another level. Introducing Peter and Doreen Sullivan.

Peter and Doreen run artisan cheese making workshops through their company: Making Cheese At Home. For just over 12 years Peter and Doreen have been making cheese in their kitchen, and doing a mighty fine job of it! Their knowledge of and love for cheese making is second to none. It was this dynamic duo that lured us six hours away from home to Niagara Falls to learn to make Camembert- and Roquefort-style cheese on the fifth of January, 2013.

Upon arriving I was invited to sit while everybody showed up. Coffee, tea, water, and juice were provided to all guests, and there was a significant library of cheese-related books for our browsing pleasure.
This workshop was very informal, taking place around Doreen and Peter's kitchen table. It seemed more like a gathering of friends than an instructional session, which was great. I really enjoyed the camaraderie that was brought forth by the setup. The Sullivans both have teaching backgrounds, so their presentation and teaching skills are very well honed, which just makes them that much more effective at their craft.

Doreen and Peter taught cheese making from A-to-Z: everything from sanitation (very important! Much like brewing beer - think of cheese bacteria cultures as brewer's yeast: You definitely do not want any sort of contamination!) to how to correctly package our finished product. We went through an inventory of tools that are required to make cheese at home, and Peter, the resourceful fellow that he is, showcased a few of the tools that he made or modified on his own. We learned that rennet is light-sensitive, so it is generally sold in a brown bottle (sound familiar?) We learned about different molds (and moulds) and their uses. We also learned some of the history of the cheese that we made, and we were provided with precise instructions on how to care for our cheese once we get it home.

Many workshops explain the "how" in each of the tasks that you perform, but very few provide a "why" behind your actions. This workshop did not fall into that list. We learned how to perform each of the steps through practical use, but we were also given the reasoning for each step. When I make our next batch of Roquefort, I will know exactly why I'm stirring our curd for 15 minutes, instead of just arbitrarily sloshing the ingredients around, grumbling all the while.

As an added bonus, an information package was provided to each participant of the workshop. The package is comprised of the Workshop Agenda, the lunch menu (more on that later!), recipes for several different types of cheese, sanitation instructions, a list of suppliers, a cheese diversity information sheet, several cheese making journals, information pamphlets, and a custom-made cheese poking needle for making blue cheeses. It was really quite impressive.

Lunch at the workshop: Be jealous.

About half-way through our day we had lunch. Boy, did we have lunch. Chicken breast stuffed with roasted red peppers, cheese and pesto, marinated shrimp kabobs with mozzarella cheese and a grape tomato, two types of salmon, home made sauces galore (lemon and garlic mayonnaise, kalamata olive tapenade, wasabi guacamole, just to name a few), and a wonderful salad topped with dressing made by Peter himself. This was a serious feast. After lunch we had a dessert consisting of roughly 10 cheeses and some fresh grapes. Doreen's triple cream cheese is the best I have ever tasted. They had two variations on the original as well: one wheel was rolled in herbes de provence, and the other was rolled in a spice mixture containing ground green pepper corns and paprika. Doreen's triple cream cheese recipe was included in the information package, so I'm really looking forward to making some of that in the near future!

The price of this workshop is only $150, and to get a full starter kit to bring to life any of the cheese recipes in the information package is only $143 for the required equipment and ingredients.  Check out www.makingcheeseathome.ca for details. I picked up the full package, and I am really looking forward to putting it to good use! As for the drive... I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Overall, January 5, 2013 was an amazing day. I learned something new, I met 7 amazing people, we feasted on some seriously delicious food, and I have started a tasty new hobby that I can actually pull off in our apartment (the "tasty" part is pending for 5-8 weeks, when our first cheese is ready)! Many thanks go out to Peter and Doreen Sullivan at Making Cheese At Home for providing us with such a great experience. Hopefully I'll be seeing you in the summer, I'll bring the beer.

Until next time...

Broadhead's Seasonal Brew: Victory Brown Ale, For the Win.

Good Evening,

Image Courtesy of www.broadheadbeer.com

I am writing to you a happy man, for tonight I have in my possession a growler of Broadhead Brewery's Victory Brown Ale, their winter seasonal. I first tasted Broadhead Beer when I had my first dinner at The Cheshire Cat Pub, where I was intrigued by their Long Shot White beer. I had a chance to try them out again when I traveled to Toronto to visit a buddy for his birthday. I decided that I should bring along some craft brew from Ottawa as a gift, and Broadhead was still a relative unknown for me, so I decided to check them out. I grabbed growlers of the Dark Horse Stout and Grindstone Amber, and that was the best decision I've made in a while. Anyway...

I went back to the Broadhead brewery today and picked up a couple more growlers: Backbone Standard Ale and the holiday seasonal Victory Brown. And that brings us to this very moment.

This beer has a rich brown colour and a frothy, cream coloured head. Cold weather is prime time for dark beers, and this brew definitely qualifies. On the nose, this beer presents a very chocolaty front, with nutty undertones. There are also some elements of coffee and tobacco tucked away in there; characteristics of the roasted malts used in this beer. At 5.0% ABV, this beer is pretty status quo, which is actually a good thing for a holiday beer. Generally winter seasonals have higher alcohol content for the warming effect. I like the idea of a sessionable, lower alcohol winter ale because you can drink way more of it without forgetting about your holiday.

On the palate, this beer holds no surprises (not a bad thing). The rich, chocolaty taste is the first to show itself, and the finish is predominantly nutty with some malt bitterness. It's a great progression from start to finish. There isn't much of a hop presence in this beer, but that is to be expected, as it is a brown ale, which generally means malt-driven rather than hop domination. This medium to light bodied brew has a nice, creamy mouthfeel as well.

When it comes to food pairing, I had some delicious Kerrygold Dubliner cheese kicking around, so I ate some of that with a pint, and it was a pretty good pair. Definitely contrasting, but still tasty. It actually brought out the coffee/tobacco flavours in the beer, and the mild carbonation was great at scrubbing the cheese off the palate. I also had some christmas chocolates that my girlfriend brought home, which resulted in a very nutty pair. Excellent. I would say that some chocolate cheesecake would be a great pair as well. If you're going to have this beer with a meal, I would suggest a nicely grilled steak, or a roast of beef. Mashed potatoes and gravy on the side, of course! While you're at it, you may as well add some of the beer to the steak marinade and gravy. I doubt you would be disappointed.

Well, it's almost midnight, and I should probably hit the hay. Christmas shopping tomorrow!

Until next time...
S.B.

Weihenstephaner VITUS: The World's Oldest Brewery Does it Again.

Good Evening,

Weihenstephaner VITUS

Well, another day of work is done, so it is time to kick back with a tasty brew. Tonight I have decided to open my first Weihenstephaner VITUS. I have been waiting to try out this Weizenbock (pronounced "veye-tssen-bock" - according to the German Beer Institute's page on Weizenbock, you should not pronounce it "Wisenbock". Not my rules!) for some time now, so, needless to say, I am very excited. Weihenstephaner has been working its way up on my list of favourite beers over the past couple of years, and it definitely takes another step in the right direction with this brew.

Sometimes I find it funny that the majority of mainstream beers are quite bright, ie: completely translucent and very light in colour. This beer, on the other hand, is quite cloudy. It is not fully opaque, but definitely not bright by any means. This beer has a pale yellow colour, and as I mentioned previously, is very cloudy. As with other Weizen beers, the head was white and quite rocky. Foolishly, I did not take a picture of the beer immediately after pouring, so I cannot illustrate the beauty.

This is a seriously cloudy beer.

On the nose, this beer has the regular Hefe Weizen characteristics - notes of banana, bubble gum, yeast, and clove - as well as some sweet notes of toffee-esque burnt sugar. This is also a pretty boozy number, coming in at 7.7% ABV, and the alcohol is definitely noticeable on the nose, once the beer warms up. Those are some characteristics of a Bock.

To taste, this is a great beer. It has a medium-full body, and is quite smooth and refreshing in the mouth. For a boozy beer, alcohol is not really a huge flavour component, although it tastes boozier than it smells. As far as flavour goes, there is pretty much a repeat of the nose. The Weizen characteristics are more predominant, leaving the Bock flavour elements as undertones. The finish on this beer is mainly boozy, and has tasty banana and bubble gum notes. This finish is also medium-short in length, as well. This is a mix between Bock (short finish) and Weizen (medium-long finish).

Well, the beer is finished, and it was quite tasty.
I think that this Weizenbock would go well with a pad thai dish, or even with some spicy barbecue, maybe some medium-spicy wings or ribs. I must say that I'm glad I waited to taste this beer, and I hope there are more in the local liquor stores! I would (and do) highly recommend this beer to anyone, not just beer connoisseurs. With that said, you should probably head out and try to find a bottle of this beer while I head off to bed.

Until next time!

S.B.

The Cheshire Cat: A Diamond in the Rough

Good Evening,

A while ago, in a course I took on beer appreciation, several students - and the teacher - mentioned a pub called The Cheshire Cat, located in an old school house in Carp, Ontario. A pub named after one of the most enigmatic character in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventure in Wonderland" was certainly intriguing. The recommendation from the beer prof and several of the students was enough to tempt us into driving 23km for dinner and drinks.

When we arrived, it was busy! A busy pub is generally busy for a reason, so this was definitely not disheartening, especially since there was room for two more. The clean, rustic interior is cozy, with its dim (but not too dim) lighting and classic wood furniture providing a welcoming atmosphere, and so do the serving staff. Everyone is very courteous and the service is top notch.

Spearhead Moroccan Brown Ale
at The Cheshire Cat

After our first dinner at "The Cat", we decided that it was definitely not our last. At our second dinner last week, I managed to take a few notes and some photos to provide some insight into the delicious food and drink served at The Cheshire Cat.

Let's start with the beer. On my first trip, I had a pint of "Long Shot White" ale, by Ottawa's own Broad Head Brewery to start, and a Guinness with my Hot Beef & Yorkie Platter (which was delicious!). While I don't have full tasting notes on the Long Shot White, it's officially on my list! The beer was tasty and refreshing, a great precursor to the hearty meal.
On my second date at The Cat, I had Spearhead Brewery's Moroccan Brown Ale. For this beer I did take some notes. On the nose, this brew definitely shows some booze (it weights in at 6.0% ABV), chocolate, molasses, dried stone fruit such as dried plum, fig, or apricot, and raw malts. The flavour mimics the nose, and the finish is pretty short and mainly boozy with some molasses. The beer is smooth and sweet on the palate, which worked well to balance out the salt in my main course: Cottage Pie.

Cottage Pie with seasonal veg. and a side of gravy. The
Splashes of brown are a tasty balsamic-style dressing for the veg.

Now for the food. I had the Cottage Pie, which consists of ground beef mixed with garlic, corn and onions, with a delicious layer of mashed potatoes smothered in cheese, with a side of gravy. The gravy is amazing at this place, let me tell you. This dish comes with seasonal vegetables, in this case carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and parsnip. Let me just say it hit the spot. My girlfriend had the Ploughman's Lunch, and it was pretty amazing. There was chutney, summer sausage, ham, fresh fruit, three different types of bread, several different cheeses, pickled beets and onions, and apple compote. It's listed under starters, but as you can see, it's a serious meal. The food is very well done; it is very well presented and it tastes amazing to boot. I really liked having a side of gravy, rather than having my meal smothered in it. It allowed me to taste everything and add as much, or as little, gravy as I saw fit.

The Ploughman's Lunch. A hearty meal disguised as a starter!

I have been to The Cat three times now, and it just seems to get better every time. The Cheshire Cat hosts "guest taps", which change frequently and feature some very tasty beer. The Spearhead Moroccan Brown, for example, was a guest. The latest guest taps are Great Lakes Brewery's Devil's Pale Ale, and Stiegl's Grapefruit Radler. I had a Devil's Pale Ale to start, while my wonderful girlfriend had a Radler. The Devil's Pale Ale looked much darker on tap than I remember it being in a can, although I haven't had it in a year or so, so it is possible that the recipe has changed. I had a Tetley's with my meal this time, which was the Elk, Ale and Mushroom pie with mashed potatoes. Tetley's cream ale is nothing to write home about, but the food sure is! The Cat uses Kichesippi's 1855 Dark Ale  in their Elk pie, which enhances the gravy's flavour.

Now I come to the "areas of improvement" segment of this post. Really there is only one: the lack of a stout other than Guinness. I do enjoy Guinness, but I think having an alternative would be beneficial, especially to a small place that touts some pretty interesting brews. Mill Street's Cobblestone Stout is very nice - a bit sweeter than Guinness - and tastes great with game meat such as Elk, and I think it would be an excellent pair with the Hot Beef and Yorkie Platter. Food for thought...

The Cheshire Cat is an amazing spot. The friendly atmosphere and great serving staff are outstanding. We were given samplers from the new guest taps when we came in, as we were having trouble deciding which beer to order, and when we inquired about the pumpkins sitting out back, the owner brought one out for us, free of charge. When you throw in some delicious food and beer at a great price, this is a place that's pretty tough to beat. I'll definitely be eating there again (and again...)

The Cheshire Cat is located at 2193 Richardson Side Road, in Carp Ontario. You can call for reservations (and I recommend you do) at (613) 831-2183.

Until next time...
S.B.