Beer

Craft beer vacation day

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The first half of my September vacation day in Vancouver was spent on Grouse Mountain taking in spectacular views on a simply perfect fall day. Being 4,000 feet above the city breathing in fresh mountain air allowed me to work up quite the thirst for my afternoon pursuit – a craft beer crawl through East Vancouver. First stop was Parallel 49 Brewing, oddly, a brewery whose beers I hadn’t tried before even though a number of their offerings are available in Saskatoon.

I was really happy with my selection of this as the first stop (as my palette was at its freshest) and of the samples I selected for my tasting here. These beers were all outstanding. From left to right: Holy Smokes (a smoked lager), Schadenfreude (probably the best pumpkin beer I’ve ever had with a full pumpkin and spice flavour), Summer Smash (an ISA that if it were available in bottles would be my watching a baseball game game beer) and their Filthy Dirty IPA. What a great start to a craft beer crawl!

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Five days of Minnesota beers

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My solo trips in recent years have had a focus on baseball and craft beer. Minneapolis this year was no different and provided a great setting for both. Five days and nights spent in beautiful Target Field watching baseball bookended part of each day, and some exploration of Minnesota state craft beers took up a part of the remainder of those days. In the city, there was no shortage of beer options, even for someone who stuck to breweries and bars near the downtown or on one of the light rail lines. There were even a couple of great taprooms conveniently located next door to the ballpark I was heading to every day.

Modist Brewing’s taproom had a very stripped down, almost Scandinavian, feel. On a humid afternoon of city exploring, I pulled up a chair and tried four of their creations. My favourite (the picture on the left below) was their “First Call”. A light lager infused with espresso, this was deliciously weird and wonderful. If ever there was a morning beer, this was it.

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Alberta beer sampling

/ Greg / 1 Comment

With the move from Halifax to Saskatoon and all that entailed, this has been a year of shorter trips and vacations. One of those was a July road trip to Edmonton to see the Tragically Hip play on their last tour. Like all my trips this year, and owing to Saskatchewan’s limited selection of craft beer, I managed to find a way to sneak in some sampling and tastings over a couple of days in Edmonton.

On the afternoon before the Hip show, I noticed an interesting beer and wine store in the downtown and grabbed these two to put on ice back at the hotel. The Blindman Session ale was very tasty post-concert. I should have been smarter and grabbed more to bring back home.

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Beer tastings in Regina

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A quick two day trip to Regina to take in my first ever Roughriders game allowed just enough time to squeeze in a few craft beer tastings as I continue to explore Saskatchewan and western Canadian beers that I hadn’t been able to sample while living in Halifax. Beer Brothers, a beer-focused bar in downtown Regina, was the stop following an after work drive into the city from Saskatoon on a Friday afternoon. While my wife ordered from a reasonable selection of gluten-free options on their menu, I went to work trying a couple of beers. On the left, I started with three small samples and was especially impressed with the Rebellion margarita gose (lime, slightly salty and sour, a wonderful summer beer) and their double black IPA.  I’ve become quite the Rebellion fan since moving out here, and selected a pint of their regular IPA, now one of my go-to beers, for my meal.

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Summer beers in Quebec City

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My recent trip to Quebec City didn’t have a lot of time for sightseeing and exploring, but I did manage to squeeze in some craft beer samplings around the work and networking that goes hand in hand with a conference trip. Shortly after arriving in one of the most beautiful cities in Canada, I was in need of a quick lunch, and the craft beer bar Le Projet was a short walk from my hotel. The delicious Horreum Beta, a session saison from Microbrasserie Pit Caribou, was a wonderful match for a truly outstanding poutine. Solid start to the trip.

Le Projet: Horreum Beta by Pit Caribou

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Craft beer sampling in Montreal

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Since I moved to Saskatchewan, I have realized that I have moved to a place that is a little behind other parts of Canada in the craft beer revolution. In a couple of months in my new province, I have sampled most of the craft beers available. So, on my recent trips, I’m making sure to get my craft beer experimentation in before stepping on the plane to come back home. In Montreal for a few days back in April, I managed to find a few new favourites.

On an afternoon with a couple of free hours, I made a stop at Dieu du Ciel and fell in love with their bar. It would be a routine hangout location for me if I lived in Montreal. Of my time in the city, two of the best beers I tried were from this sampling selection: the Aphrodisiaque/Aphrodite stout (second from the left) and the Rigor Mortis Blonde (on the far right). Also not too shabby was the Blanche Van de Plateau (second from the right).  All in all, a great tasting experience.

Flight at Dieu du Ciel!

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Montreal food favourites

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I’ve spent enough time in Montreal to have a few go to food places.  A trip to the city isn’t complete without a couple of staples.  These are mostly things you already know about Montreal, and I’m not ashamed that my list isn’t one of under the radar places.  All of these are wonderful and deserved of the attention they receive (well, maybe all except the last on my list).

First off, every trip to Montreal needs a stop for a Schwartz’s smoked meat sandwich, a dill pickle and a black cherry Cott cola.  I’ve sampled some of the world’s great sandwiches and this is one of my all time favourites.

Schwartz's smoked meat sandwich

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First days in the new hometown

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I stepped off the plane in Saskatoon a little over a week ago, dragged two full suitcases to a taxi, and about fifteen minutes later (the proximity of the airport to downtown is a major plus compared to Halifax!) I was in my temporary apartment and unpacking.  My first days included the mundane details of setting up a life in a new city, but I also set aside a fair chunk of time for some exploring before I started my new job.

First things first – Saskatoon is a very picturesque city.  Those trails along the river will be seeing a lot of me:

Saskatoon skyline

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Searching out craft beer in Spain

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Spain and craft beer.  Not two concepts that you’d immediately place together.  In tapas bars in Madrid and Seville, there would always be one tap, and ordering a beer meant having whatever brand was flowing.  Not that this was a bad thing.  The beer was always ice cold, and while eating salty olives, perfectly sliced ham, or any of the other culinary staples in Spain, it made for a great pairing.   Thirsting for something a little different, over two weeks in Spain, I had a few opportunities to dig a little deeper for a beer culture that is emerging, if still at the fringes.

Thanks to an article by the wonderful travel blog, Bite-Sized Travel (written by a fellow Haligonian!) I was inspired to chart a course of a few craft beer locations and beers in Madrid, Seville and Cordoba.   My first stop was Fábrica Maravillas, less than a 5 minute walk north from the Gran Via metro.  It’s a brewery in the back, small pub in the front kind of place.  I tried two of their beers – the Malasaña (left; named after the neighbourhood in which the brewery is located; a well-balanced American-style piney IPA) and a bitter (right; light and easy drinking).  This was also the start of my love affair with the plump, salty olives of Spain.   The only thing missing from this visit was the pub’s resident pug, who, if he was around, may have enticed me to stay for a third or fourth beer.

Afternoon drinks at Fabrica Maravillas

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Texas craft beers and bars

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One week in Texas, split between Houston and Austin, gave me plenty of opportunities to sample a number of craft beers from the state.  The refreshment of the beverages (and the air conditioning in the bars) was much needed as the temperatures were pushing into the 30s the entire trip.  Here are a few of the beers I got to try and a couple of the craft beer bars I visited in Houston and Austin:

Mongoose Versus Cobra – Houston

On the way back from a Sunday afternoon Houston Texans game, I got off the train a couple of stops early so I could pop into Mongoose Versus Cobra.    This was my kind of bar – very laid back and mellow.  Here I tried two Texas beers – on the left, an Uncle Billy’s Lazy Day Lager, and on the right, a Buffalo Bayou 1836.  I liked the 1836 the best with its malty taste and dry finish.  It was unique and reminded me of a cross between a British bitters ale and an American pale ale.  I couldn’t resist perhaps the perfect beer snack of chicharrón with chile sauce, salt and lime.

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