h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A-anway, Alley Kat's seasonal Ein Prosit Oktoberfest lager, 341ml bottle 6%abv

Pour

Slightly reddish amber with a swirl of initial carbonation. Two finger rapidly fading head...bit of lacing...not much.

Aroma

Lager-ish, faint malt & graininess.

Taste

Neutral yeasty malt, not all that bad...or is that the 6%abv kickin' in?...clean dry finish. Reasonably good with Hardbite Smokin' BBQ http://www.homegrownfoods.com but rather underwhelming with Brie du Matin cheese on a stoneground cracker.

Tin Whistle Brewery Black Widow Mild(ly hopped)Ale, 650ml bottle 5%abv
~ingredients water, malt, yeast & hops~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Rj-GEfZmM

Pour

Nice dark cola brown - reddish when held to the light. Gradually diminiishing two finger tight pale tan head...moderate carbonation. Bit of dense lacing.

Aroma

Mild & roasty...bit grainy.

Taste

Almost a malty cola flavour, some toffee sweetness and a bit of chocolate. Hops are quite restrained but some few do seep in. Smooth relatively neutral finish - medium bodied, slightly creamy mouthfeel.. Fine Mild in my limited experience of the style!

Just had a bottle of the Red Dragon with a fairly decent 'beer nut' pairing(don't know why I hadn't thought of it before). The nuts-not advertised as 'beer nuts' per se, Haldiram's Tasty Nuts - spiced coated fried peanuts. http://www.haldirams.com (hmm possibly a new product? I don't see them on the site.) Somewhat of a variety of flavour reactions. A handful of the peanuts-when washed over by the Double IPA, brought forth a peppery ginger sort of taste(distinctly more chili now'n'then), the citric acid-also listed in the ingredients-played more of a role in a few mouthfuls....& then there was that cinnamon-like twinge-faint but recognizable), a bit of cinnamon sweetness on a sort of ginger/citrus base. Wonderful match!

ingredients in the nuts;(68%)Peanut,(13%)Bengal Gram Flour, Refined Peanut Oil, Salt, Chili, Turmeric, Citric Acid, Black Pepper, Dry Ginger Powder & Cinnamon.

feeling a little bummed out today, so . . .




beer time!



finally getting around to the last bottle of

Stanley Park Brewery 1897 Amber
330 ml 5.1%



The Pour:

Very nice copper colour with a short lived off white head.


The Nose:


Beery. Some woodsiness/hoppiness.


The Mouth:

A little thin in the body, but a very nice flavour. Quite malty. Very approachable. The only criticism I might have is that it is perhaps a little routine.

Experienced some beer-related 'nibble-inntuition' when I was in the Italian Centre Saturday. Unfortunately it was So busy I had to essentially grab the pre-packaged goods ! could. I would've beeen taking a number & waiting roughly fourty five minutes for it to come up. Fortunately all seems to have worked out quite well. Said nibble intuition relates to my last can of Big Rock Warthog, & a suspicion of a meat/cheese pairing. And the suspicion was indeed correct!

Oka semi-soft surface-ripened cheese was only enhanced marginally(in terms of creaminess) by a mouthful of the Warthog. However it took on a pleasantly full nutty characcter when I wrapped the cheese in a thin slice of Spanish-style Chorizo sausage. The spicing of the sausage reallly enhanced the flavour.

I'll often go in, get my number first, then go around doing whatever other shopping/browsing I need to do and get back to the deli counter with a much reduced wait time.

I think if I had done that I might've even been at the cash register already, and as a result, not even heard my number called. I theorized that as we know many people go to the farmers' mkt. Sat. & obviously almost as many go to the Italian Centre. But*raises finger*consider the number of farmers' markets in the Edmonton area, as opposed to just the two Italian Centre locations. I've rarely seen it quite so busy, except during the run-up to Christmas & Easter.

To be honest, I don't usually go to the Italian Centre except on weekday mornings.


The busiest time I've noticed is Sunday afternoons.

Seriously, I think I encountered more instances of particular aisles being clogged(stock-boys loading shelves & two or three customers surveying their options)than I can recall...certainly in recent memory.

Are we talking about Northside or Southside?

I still prefer the Northside for atmosphere.

W-e-ll, I was only in the northside location once. years ago to buy my Bialetti(moka pot). *gasp*Shocking admission for a pretty much lifelong Edmonton resident. And even more shocking from one who attended St. Joe's , with it's reasonably predominant Italian community. Although I admit that the downtown area & store Do have atmosphere. Over the past year or so I've grown rather fond of that Southside location though...even meeting previous aquaintances there a few times(including a longtime Fringe volunteer-I believe of Austrian...European in any case, descent).


But...pleasant surprise in lagerland!

Bowen Island Brewing Co. Lager, 355ml can 5%abv

Pour

Relaxed pour yields a slightly cloudy golden brew with moderate carbonation. Half a finger of rapidly diminishing primarily tight white head. Bit of all-too-temporary lacing.

Aroma

Predominantly clean/neutral malt, grainy notes in the background.

Taste

Nice mingling of malt & hops upfront, a very slight bit of breadiness. Rather rich buttery toffee flavour surfaces about mid-palate(very little sweetness, though there is some). Clean drying finish.... lighter medium body & reasonably refreshing mouthfeel.

Quite nice with Sweet & Spicy Mixed Nuts from Wild Earth Foods(produced by a local company, I might add). Listed ingredients include; peanuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, sugar, butter, salt, egg whites, paprika, worchestershire sauce & cayenne pepper. A mingling of nuts and lager results...in an initally mild buttery taste...then the paprika comes through, with just a shadow of the worchestershire at the end. Too little cayenne there for me to detect any. A pleasnt mix though...company is http://www.cooks-corner.ca but last I checked, the website was being worked on.

A week or so ago I was over at Amber's for a moment and the Brewmaster came tuning in saying 'anybody want 20 litres of beer?'

Of course I ran home for a dozen half litre bottles and spent a silly ten minutes filling then wit a funnel from the wee bit of a batch that wouldn't fit in the conditioning tank (I must remember to wash my jeans).

So, this beer is the Sap vampire lager after the filter but before the maple syrup, so, Zombie Apocalypse filtered but with almost no bubbles (funnel, you see), if you follow me...

So a brief tasting note:

A very, very dark lager

And

Coffee! Huge coffee! More coffee than any other flavour.

Why they don't bottle this as a straight lager I don't understand: it's the best thing I've tasted out of there.

Not that it was 'cooking with ', but the Tree Brewing Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale wa great complement to a chicken mole I rather hurriedly threw together yesterday. I used a La Costena Mole paste from Tienda Latina, but rather than just adding chicken broth I added ckicken stock & a couple good splashes of the Malta Polar malt beverage. Side note, I was noticing in the fine print(on the label)that it's brewed & bottled in Fla., ingredients being water, malted barley, sugar, hops & carbon dioxide. Just saying, for informative purposes..But back to the mole.. In addition to adding the malt bev. to the sauce, I had also simmered my chicken in a splash of it. And I enhanced the quotient of the sauce with a generous sprinkling of Schokinag 79% Extreme Dark drinking choc. granules http://worldwidechocolate.com/shop_schokinag.html that were part of a gift- 'primarily beans from West Africa. *sigh*In any casewhat a meal! The Thirsty Beaver & the malt enhancement of the sauce were a 'hand-in-glove' pairing.

And I had thought it would be overkill(so to speak), so I didn't include a recent purchase With the meal. However I couldn't resist trying the item, so, a bit of palate cleansing...and, chocolate tortilla chips...seriously! I stumbled on them at Planet Organic http://www.foodshouldtastegood.com/index.html#/home/ - Very robust chocolate flavour! Made with semisweet chocolate & Dutch cocoa powder in addition to vanilla nicely blended with sea salt. I found the chips somewhat unique & pleasant enough. But the really brought out the savoury corn/sea salt flavour...it kind of overshadowed the ...which isn't Really a bad thing.

Roughing it in Banff just now.

I've been catching up on 2666. Did you ever finish it?

Well. for the most part. In other words, to be honest no. The due date-library -was fast approaching, I felt he was rambling &*sigh* I threw in the with as I recall, not quite a hundred pages to go(or roughly that).


But I just noticed on http://www.canadianbeernews.com that the Dieu du Ciel brewpub was robbed at gunpoint early Monday morning, essentially at or just after closing time Sunday.

And on the homefront, Alley Kat has a new Big Bottle out. A version of their Pale Ale with additional hops. Or at least fresh whole hops, as opposed to the pellets.

But-pardon the pun-hoppin' right along...

Big Rock Brewing Grasshopper Wheat Ale, 341ml 5%abv

Pour

Clear amber/gold. Initially good carbonation, but it fades much like the pillowy tight white two finger head. Bit of dense lacing.

Aroma

Wheaty & a fair hint of yeast...bit of malt.

Taste

Mingling of bready/bisquity malt & a touch of yeast. Some underlying hops to be detected...yeasty aftertaste otherwise a clean neutral finish imho. Lighter body, fairly light refreshing mouthfeel. Brings out an almost sweet taste in Oka cheese on a stoneground cracker...& a slightly buttery aftertaste

----

Not 'cooking with ', but eating with ...or I suppose, a meal to be eaten alongside ale.

Chicken/orzo/cauliflower Vindaloo, chicken marinated three or four hours in Malta Polar with cumin & coriander.

Cannery IPA a fine pairing with milder Vindaloo, highlighting the coriander a bit like the Big Rock IPA in August. This is much softer though(different variety/quantity of hops? more malt? possibly although malt absorbed by chicken would be negligible...). Additional pickled chili peppers on the side pretty much overpower the IPA.

But, leftover Vindaloo respiced with a clove of crushed garlic & a generous sprinkling of dried chili flakes(then gently steamed in a couple splashes of Brewsters Curly Horse).. No highlighting of coriander here, it's all about malt and a pervasive savoury, vaguely hoppish note. Probably due in large part to the additional spicing. Fine meal with the Curly Horse, the type/quality of dish I'd expect at an uncommonly good Indian restaurant.

Splendid rather minimalist Oriental meal yesterday(Fri.) - scallop & noodle stir-fry with water chestnuts, brocoli florets & bell pepper.(steamed in Cannery Anarchist Amber Ale). Tastey rather syrupy sweetness, likely due at least partially to the cane sugar(listed as one of the prime ingredients) and to my exclusion of garlic or the use of additional soy sauce. Yes I used a pre-seasoned noodle & sauce mix...Simply Asia soy/ginger mix from Thai Kitchen. The ale was actually quite nice with the subtle nuttiness of the water chestnuts & the vegetal notes of the brocoli. And it proved a fine match with the gently spiced scallops.

And yes, another meal transformation...with an Ontario beer this time, a seasonal ale. The stir-fry transformed Sat. by the addition of a clove of garlic, a generous sprinkling of Jamie Oliver's Szechuan seasoning mix, a few good splashes of Kikkoman soy sauce & just a few drops of chicken stock. About fifteen minutes gentle steaming & fresh ground pepper prior to serving & it paired nicely with...

Muskoka Brewery Muskoka Harvest Ale, 750ml bottle 6.4%abv

Pour

Pours a slightly cloudy orangey amber with a two & a half finger soap sudsy pale tan head that gradually fades. Moderate initial carbonation seems to fade as well. Bit of dense lacing.

Aroma

Malty & bready...bit grassy.

Taste

Quite richly malty & toffee-ish initially, then ample hops surge forward....fading to a grassy slightly bready character. That ends in a mildly bitter dry finish. Medium bodied, clean slightly syrupy mouthfeel.

Fine highlighting of the Szechuan pepper & ginger in the stir-fry. Quite nice with scallops. Occasional potent accenting of the soy & chili flavours.

I'm still in Banff drinkin' ~Pil.

Just watching the twitter chatter about the ~PC leadership, hoping for a mildly pleasant upset.

Oh the Muskoka Harvest is in a swingtop/recappable bottle btw. I picked it up at the Liquor Depot(?...liquor store in any case)at Bonnie Doon Mall. Actually, it's on the east side of the mall but I don't think there's an entrance from the mall(just parking lot access). I recall seeing it in a few other places though. Very nice black label with a bright orange lithograph(?)of an old horse-drawn threshing machine. I think that's what it is...I'm a city-kid, what do I know .

That is a liquor depot so it may be in all of them.

Almost forgot this ratheer eagerly anticipated Keg'n'Cork purchase. In truth, it being an American beer I wasn't sure just when or where I'd eventually purchase it. Then awhile back I noticed on Chris's Beer Blog that K'n'C had gotten it in!

Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat ...yes somewhat of a Duvel 'offshoot') Three Philosophers, 750ml bottle 9.8%abv ...brewery located in Cooperstown New York - http://www.ommegang.com/index.php?mcat=0

from the label - "Created by blending a rich malty, Belgian-style ale with authentic Kriek, a classic cherry ale from Belgium, our Quadruple is cultured yet wild, curious yet wise." (98% ale & 2% kriek)


Pour

Slightly more vigorous-than-intended pour yields a slightly cloudy ruby reddish ale, some carbonation evident. Fairly quickly fading three finger pillowy slightly pinkish head. Bit of lacing.

Aroma

Subtle cherry and caramely malt...a hint of bready yeast...like a banana/cranberry loaf dough.

Taste

Quite malty initially, followed by soft muted cherry(bit like cherry cordial). Brown sugary caramel notes and a hint of allspice/nutmeg as well as a dark fruit note - kind of raisin/plum/prune. Alcohol isn't too evident except for a bit of warming in a slightly bitter drying finish. Rather a medium body(lighter than some Quads), fairly full creamy mouthfeel. Fine Belgian-style sipping ale!