More than just wine

November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 / Greg / 1 Comment

When I hear “Okanagan”, the first thing that comes to mind is wine. On my trip there in August, I visited a lot of wineries and sampled liberally. But I also found ample time to pop into some craft breweries and bars in and around Kelowna for a taste of the Okanagan’s rapidly growing beer culture.

While making Kelowna my base for this trip, it allowed me to visit a number of breweries all within the city limits. Tree Brewing, right in downtown, is the largest craft brewer in the city with a wide distribution network. I was even able to get some of their beers when I lived in Nova Scotia. Their brewery’s taproom is a great space with multiple levels, different seating arrangements and a stack of board games. My wife and I pulled Yahtzee off of a shelf and she proceeded to take the title of Kelowna champion while I sampled a few delicious brews.

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How far away is Kamloops?

November 5, 2017 / Greg / 1 Comment

We woke up in Kelowna on an August Sunday morning without a firm idea of what we were going to do that day. Over a coffee at the hotel, the plan started to form around the idea of having brunch in Kamloops. My wife had found a really interesting place with a number of delicious sounding gluten-free menu items, and since I drag her to enough sandwich and beer places on our travels, I was 100% in on this one.

We built a loose idea of an itinerary before hitting the road. There was no debate on stop one – the Kangaroo Creek Farm was less than twenty minutes up the highway and was a bargain at $5 to roam around and play with animals. I mean, how could anyone not want to cuddle baby ‘roos?

I got to hold a baby wallaroo named Huggy Bear who was less than four months old. So cute, I almost wanted to carry him back to the car and drive off with a new member of our family.

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The beer from back east

September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 / Greg / Leave a comment

I’ve written here a few times how much I miss the craft beer scene back in Nova Scotia. I don’t drink a huge quantity of beer, but when I do have a pint or two, I like to try “new to me” beers and while I was living in Nova Scotia I never ran out of something new to sample. Fast forward about a year and a half, and when I got back to Halifax, I had a lot of catching up to do.

Not only was I excited in trying some new beers, but I was also thrilled to get a beautiful spring day to visit a place that had materialized since my move. The Stillwell Beergarden on Spring Garden Road is something that I wish someone here in Saskatoon would replicate just off Broadway. A very simple menu of grilled food, ten taps of Atlantic Canadian beer, and what I can imagine would be a lovely evening spot with the overhead patio lanterns – this is my kind of place. I sampled two beers on my lunchtime visit – the “Malternate Reality” from North Brewing (probably my favourite Halifax brewery) and “Dunder” an Australian pale ale from Trailway Brewing in Fredericton.

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Favourites and firsts

September 18, 2017September 16, 2017 / Greg / Leave a comment

A lot can change in fifteen months. And a lot can stay the same.

Back in Halifax for a couple of days after my sister’s wedding in the Annapolis Valley this past summer, my wife and I hit a few favourite haunts in our former neighbourhood. We also took some time to experience a few new things in a city that means a lot to both of us. Not surprisingly, one of the first places we revisited was the central library downtown. We had lived two blocks from here and we both used it as a second living room. The view of the city and the harbour from the library is something we both miss.

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Southern food and beer

September 1, 2017August 31, 2017 / Greg / 1 Comment

Southern hospitality is a real thing. When I was in Atlanta, you could feel it in a few distinct ways. First, I was consistently referred to as “hon” or “love” in a way that reminded me of Atlantic Canadian grandmothers. Secondly, everyone I talked to was genuinely interested in having a conversation, and when they learned I was visiting, they were generous with tips on how to best enjoy Atlanta. And lastly, and luckily for someone who is a food and beer lover, the hospitality came shining through every time I sat down for a meal or for a beverage.

My introduction to southern hospitality and food started shortly after arriving in Atlanta from Saskatoon. I was starving, and through a bit of good fortune, I found Max Lager’s, a great gastropub, around the corner from my hotel. My server’s recommendation of the fried chicken was a winner – set on top of mashed potatoes, drizzled with honey and served with some tangy greens, it was a great first taste of Atlanta and was enough food for two. Or one hungry travel-weary Canadian.

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Beer in the ‘Peg

July 23, 2017July 23, 2017 / Greg / Leave a comment

After a little over a year living on the prairies, I’ve learned that some of western Canada is playing catch up to the rest of the country in the growth of craft beer. Certainly that’s true in Saskatchewan, and I came to learn it’s also true in Manitoba on my recent visit to its capital city of Winnipeg. Playing catch up doesn’t mean you can’t find a great craft beer, it just means you’ll sample you’re way through the available choices much quicker.

After a morning flight to Winnipeg a late lunch beckoned, and given the choice by my dining companion, I selected Peg Beer Co. so I could get a tasting flight to accompany my meal. The craft brewery in the Exchange District is my kind of place – industrial feel, a good selection of their beers on tap, and a fairly solid kitchen. On a hot afternoon, I stuck to fairly light beers in my tasting flight. From left to right: a wheat (that I got through most of before snapping this picture), a really solid ISA, a sour beer (my favourite from this visit) and a slightly spicy rye ale. All delicious and the good first impression would bring me back later in the trip for another meal.

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Guys weekend in Montreal

July 17, 2017July 15, 2017 / Greg / Leave a comment

The idea for a guys weekend in Montreal with my dad started with a desire to relive some old times in the city. Aside from family road trips to visit my mom and dad’s relatives in New Brunswick, my first real travel experiences were with dad visiting Montreal to take in Expos games in the early 1980s. Those trips were fun times and the memories of them still float around in my mind from time to time. The excited feelings I had when I first arrived in Montreal as a child on the train on those trips are pretty much the same feelings I have today when I visit a place for the first time.

So with nostalgia sparking the idea, and a couple of Blue Jays preseason games in Montreal this past March forming the cornerstone of a trip, I invited my dad on a guys weekend in a city we both love. I flew in from Saskatoon, him from Halifax, and we met in the Montreal airport ready to relive some good old times and to see what kind of trouble we could get into. Trouble is all relative of course, and 40-somthing me and 70-something dad were both up for some unhealthy but delicious eating. First order of business was a smoked meat sandwich at Schwartz’s.

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There’s more than wine

May 24, 2017May 22, 2017 / Greg / Leave a comment

In the days leading up to leaving for France, the most common question asked of me was some variation on “How many wines are you going to try over two weeks?” No one asked me if I was excited to sample some French craft beers. While I have almost built entire trips around craft beer tastings, you just don’t do that in France. You could. Not that there isn’t an ample and growing beer community, but there’s really so much else that’s worthy of attention. So on this trip, while leaving most of my time to wine (I’ll be writing much more on that soon) I fit some beer in along the margins.

On a late morning (if there’s something I love about Europe, it’s the laissez-faire mentality to a moderate amount of morning drinking) where my wife was getting a few extra Zzzzzs, I popped into Académie de la Bière just down the road in Montparnasse from our hotel and enjoyed a just before noon amber ale from La Parisienne. Nicely balanced, my first craft beer in Paris gave me hope I’d find a few hidden treasures over the two weeks.

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A great beer destination

April 18, 2017April 16, 2017 / Greg / Leave a comment

One of the main reasons for choosing Portland for my winter escape this year was its abundance of craft beer. Many say Portland has the highest per capita concentration of craft breweries and beer bars in the USA – that was good enough for me to book my flights! Once I arrived in the city, I knew I would be dedicating at least a couple of afternoons to some beer tastings.

My first afternoon “crawl” started at Rogue. When you arrive here, they pour you a sample to welcome you. For me, it was their Chocolate Stout, which ended up being my favourite of the visit.

They have so many beers on tap it was difficult to make a selection of only four. I knew I’d be hitting two more breweries, so was trying to pace myself. My favourite of these was the 4 Hop IPA on the far left which was very full flavoured for a lower alcohol beer. By far one of the most intersting samples of my trip was their Beard Beer (second from the right) using wild yeast from the brewmaster’s beard. It was a touch sour with a hint of hipster.

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Six days of Seattle sampling

February 2, 2017February 2, 2017 / Greg / Leave a comment

Anytime I got out of Saskatoon in 2016, mission one was partaking in some craft beer sampling. My desire to try a new beer every time I crack one open had run into a small (but thankfully growing and delicious) craft beer scene in Saskatchewan. In Seattle I had the opposite problem – so many beers, and so little time – so I got started right away on my first afternoon. With a reservation just around the corner at a great Mexican restaurant, I stopped in at Optimism Brewing for a quick four sample tasting. Most memorable was the Afraid of the Dark lager, but the prize for best named went to “Don’t Boo, Vote” – particularly sad as I was sipping it just two days after the election.