Beers and Booze

Chris is beer blogging, too, with a goal of dominating the BC beer blogging market! I'll try to think up enough to say about a beer to write some reviews for it.

Palo Santo Marron, Dogfish Head, DE

The New Yorker had an article that it introduced by discussing Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron.

It was thick and sweet. Its called a "malt beverage", so I suspect it isn't brewed with hops, and it definitely tastes malty.

We split a 12 fl.oz. (about 350 ml by modern measures) bottle among three. I don't think I could drink a pint, and I don't think I'll buy it again, either, though it was fun to try. The New Yorker article is better than the beer!

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, North Coast Brewing, CA

I really, really, like this, despite not usually liking high alcohol beer. I agree with this review:

"These folk don't fool around with their beers. Very big, very complex, and downright kick-ass."
-The BrewGuide

I want to try the special aged Rasputin, but I can't! Life is hard. :-)

On Wednesday, November 26, North Coast will bottle the long-awaited Old Rasputin XI to celebrate the eleventh anniversary of the first bottling of Old Rasputin. This special batch of Old Rasputin has been aging for a year in oak bourbon barrels, and it is truly amazing—even more depth and complexity than we had hoped for. Old Rasputin XI will be available only at the Brewery retail store in Fort Bragg beginning on Friday, November 28—the day after Thanksgiving. (How about that for perfect holiday timing!) It will be packaged in a 500 ml. bottle with commemorative labels and a cork and cage finish at $12.95 per bottle. Limit is one case per customer. Some for now, some for cellaring. Sorry, we are unable to ship beer to consumers. Don’t be left out of this milestone event. When this batch is gone, it’s gone.

Roman says the Russian on the label says "A good friend is not born".

Vive le vent / Jingle bells

J'ai fini mon premier livre de leçon d'accordéon. Ça finit avec Vive le vent! Alors voici les résultats!

Puppet theatre in progress

Now we will paint and add the decorations! Hans is doing a fabulous job!

Chocolate Porter, Phillips Brewing, BC

I like Phillips. Reasonable beers, well-made.

And one weird one, the chocolate porter! Julie and I walked over to the Locus for a pint tonight (Julie's idea to cool down after some vigorous yogging). The chocolate was on tap, and it was pretty tasty! Definitely tasted of chocolate, but not too strong or weird. Very enjoyable!

Porter, Okanagan Spring, BC

OK Spring was the first craft beer I remember in BC that was sold by the bottle. It was also the beer of choice for many treeplanters in the late 80s, early 90s. So much so that I once walked into a BCLD store in Vernon, and the woman behind the counter said "sorry, we're out of okanagan springs. where are you planting?".

Anyhow, at that time craft breweries were called microbreweries, because they were, and they all had enough pride to make a range of beers that actually TASTED different (no honey brown, brown lager, pale ale, crystal ale, gold lager, etc.). Granville Island Hotel, I'm talking to you!

So, OK's was the first porter I drank. I found it a bit thick and soupy at the time and preferred their stout, but when chilled to mountain stream temperature out back of the tent, it was perfect. Not refrigerator cold, not room temperature either. Good at the end of a hot dirty day.

Anyhow, they have a porter again. Its pretty tasty, but 8.5%ABV, and you can feel that!

Bete Noir, Paddock Wood Brewing, SK

Yeah, from Saskatoon!

Mike really liked this. I though it was good, not great. It had a bit too much of that "burnt" flavour stouts can get.

Eight-Ball Stout, Lost Coast Brewery, CA

I really liked this stout! Its about $14/6 at Brewery Creek, which is OK, and as tasty as the St. Ambroise.

Raspberry Porter, Tree Brewing Co, BC

Nice! A bit of rasberry taste, and a nice porter. Will drink it again.

Julie is making a puppet theatre!

She was working on the cardboard mockup with Hans today. Intended to be ready for Christmas!

Julie's Birthday in Bangkok, Thailand

That's it my birthday is over. I had my piece of cake, a Queen's cake, sort of "gateau a etages" with cashew nuts. Not bad! Sam had a lemon cake. It was a cake shop by the river Chao Praya. Sam noticed my startegy... I always say my birthday is not over until I have cake... To tell the truth, we were always too full to have desert so that's why my birthday was extended for 3 days this year.

We arrived in Bangkok on the 16th, left beautiful Tonsai at 9 or 9:30, my friend Kokai gave me a nice shirt. She gives great massages at the coffee shop at the Sea of Love in Tonsai. She also works at the coffee shop and her husband, Ozzy, does Batik in a little annex to the coffee shop/bar. That's where we ate every day, food was very good and everybody was friendly so we kept going! Anyways, we left Tonsai after a last breakfast and it was an easy trip to Bangkok. Because it is low season, we did not have to buy our plane ticket in advance or book a hotel, etc. We just showed up and we did not have to wait, it was super smooth. We used the express bus from the airport, and it dropped us in crazy, busy and noisy Kao San Road. We tried to walk away a bit to find a quieter road for a quieter hotel but it happens that at night, our road becomes quite noisy as well with loud music and tourists partying. We had our earplugs and managed to sleep! Before going to sleep, we walk around, ate some food on the streets and discovered a "roti" restaurant offering a kind of food that we did not have yet in Thailand. Sort of little pancakes with great curries.

On the 17th, we woke up early to visit temples and Grand Palace. We had a veritable latte, at Ricky's coffee shop, it was as good as the ones we get at Re-Entry on Main street. Read the Bangkok Post, and actually enjoyed it very much. We first visited a wat near the Grand Palace, the one with the emerald buddha. From the Grand Palace, I loved the mural depicting the Ramakien story. I also liked the precious objects exhibition, betel nut sets for the king and queen, all decorated very finely, strange rings with nine different stones, crowns, etc. We then walked to the reclining Buddha. Gigantic statue, I liked the sounds of coins falling in a series of metal bowls, a sort of offering one can make by putting one coin per bowl. Then we met Tamsin on the way to Wat Arun. Actually it was not the first climber we had met on our way, we saw a few familiar faces we had met in Tonsai. Tourists all have the same gidebooks so we end up at the same places... It was great to meet Tamsin, we decided to continue our visit in Bankok together. Wat Arun was great, you can climb up and see far away. We finished our walk by visiting a small market and got some mangostines, my favorite fruit. We had dinner at a stall. Then back to our hotel briefly and up to Muy Tai! I was not sure to like it but I did! The fighters were fabulous athletes, it was not aggressive, the competitors where respectful towards each others and concentrated. They even perform a small dance before the fight. We saw about 4 fights. The stadium was not full but enough to have lots of ambiance. We were lucky enough to meet a Thai guy who told us the rules of the games and explained the hand gestures the crowd was making, a betting sign language! We took a tuk-tuk on the way there and back, we should have taken a meter taxi, it would have been cheaper. You have to negotiate a fixed price with the tuk-tuk drivers and we were not so good at it. Oh well, it ended-up being less than 3.50 $ there and back... We are cheap!

Today, we met with Tamsin at a coffee shop near her place, then changed a few american dollars into bahts and off to Ricky's coffee house again. I had a great papaya lassi... hummmmm. We walked to the pier and took a boat on the Chap Phraya in the direction of China Town. We then walked about in it, checking out all kind of cheap merchandise, stuff that for the most part you don't want but end up keeping around anyway... And sorry, we don't even have pictures because that's where the batteries died... We were good, we did not buy stuff. We had lunch in a great dim sum place. We then took a taxi to Jim Thompson's house where we spent the afternoon. We had a great guide. At the end of the official tour, she answered our many questions about the paintings and the story of buddha. Jim Thompson was an architect, and after being in the army stationed in Thailand he revived weaving and silk printing in Thailand. His house is a mix of traditional and non-traditional architecture, with lots of beautiful pieces of collection, like a walking buddha, amazing tables and scuptures, etc... We then watched a movie about silk weaving. Then, we took another boat, in a smaller canal, more polluted. We walked in small streets to the area where we live in, ate at the roti shop again, watched a group of people doing some aerobic boot camp in a tiny park by the river and figured that the watching might have helped to create a bit of an appetite for a cake...

We leave tomorrow at 8:10 in the morning, that means we have to wake up at 4:15. I should really get up now and start packing.

Routes to do, Thailand

The guide books are pretty weak on recommendations for routes, here are the routes you should do, IMHO, when you go.

3-star routes are ones I'd make sure I do again if I had the chance, 2-star are ones I'm really happy I did, 1-star and 0-star aren't in this list.

For the record, I like long continuous routes with interesting features and fun moves, but some routes make the list because of positioning (right off the beach, for example). 

• Banana Hammock, 6a+, The Nest **
• Dozer Days, 6c, The Nest ***: good roof, hard face moves, cool stemming to stalactites
• Groove Tuby, 6a, Fire Wall **: easy climb up a chimney, but great positioning
• Missing Snow, 6b+, Tyrolean **: neat melting wax rock
• Smoking Room, 6c, Melting Wall ***: roof, stalactites, stemming, powerful at times, overhanging, its got it all
• Cross-Eyed, 7b, Melting Wall ***: crazy huecos, big dynos, powerful slightly overhanging face, and fine positioning
• I no speak England, 6b+, Tonsai **
• Land of smiles, 7a/7b, Happy Island ***: crazy complex crux over this weird blob on an otherwise blank wall, and continuous hard and delicate climbing above
• Don't worry, be happy, 6a+, Happy Island ***: Julie really liked this, I didn't do it. Get a boost to the first bolt!
• King Cat, 6c, Cat Wall ***: so overhanging, its hard to believe its climbable, but it is!
• the 6a's on Cobra Wall **
• Circus Oz, 6a*, Thaiwand ***: long and fun
• The King and I, 7a, Thaiwand: long, fun, intimidating, lots of endurance and then powerful
• Fit to be Thaid, 6a+, Thaiwand ***
• Beauty and the Beast, 6a+, Tonsai **: deep breath, and let yourself fall out to the stalactite, fun!
• Heart of Darkness, 6c+/7a, Cat Wall ***: 5 pitches of fun climbing, continuous at the grade, and a beautiful mid-height belay ledge to look out over the bay from, and goes right to the top of the wall (unlike most multipitch down there)
• Humanlity, 6b+, Tonsai **: overrated, its got a nasty start, some boring pitches, and a stellar move at midheight, despite this its right over the beach so wins based on positioning
• Love for Travelling, 7a+/6c, Tonsai ***: funky moves, deep pockets, stemming, chimneying, roofs and cracks, great!
• Monkey Love, 6b, Thaiwand **
• Mala Mujer, 6b, Thaiwand ***: long and fun
• Fire Starter, 6c+, Fire Wall **
• Burnt Offerings, 7a+, Fire Wall ***: great photos, good moves over an improbable cave mouth
• Beauty and the Beast, 6b, Monkey World ***: first pitches are ok, but the last is a full 30 metres of continuously fun and interesting stemming, chimneying, face, tufas, etc., great Thai limestone!
• Lion King, 6c+, Dum's Kitchen ***: f'ing hard for the grade, but fun, and gets an extra star for coming straight off the beach
• Caroline's Last Day, 6a, The Nest **: fun chimney, and Wee's guidebook is wrong, it's been rebolted with titanium glue-ins
• Big Wave, 6b, Monkey Wall ***: first pitch is ok, but next 3 pitches are uniformly fabulous, differ from each in character, and it goes to just 10 feet short of the top! Great route, great view.

That's it. And thanks to Colin for suggesting King Cat and Heart of Darkness!

Monkey Slackline, Tonsai, Thailand

Ramblings about climbing, Thailand

OK, longer post about the climbing here. We have some pictures, but its really hard to give any indication of how phenomenally overhanging some of the routes are. They are climbable by dint of having (usually) very positive, sharp holds, lot of heel hooks, knee bars, etc. Still, powerful, and hard for me to onsight. I keep doing hard clips with my hands below the bolts, when I'd be better off climbing a few more moves until the next good holds, then being too tired to continue.

I don't think so clearly, though, when my feet are scrabbling down at my last clip, and my arms are pumping out and the skin is peeling off my hands. Oh, and they aren't always bolts, the walls are so featured, a lot of climbs are completely protected by loops of climbing rope tied through holes in the rock. Actually, not so bad, at least you can see what you got, as opposed to wondering what vintage of bolt you're clipping in to... I clipped a glue in a hardware galvanized eyebolt today, that was only half into the wall, and that had the eye tied to another rusty bolt 5 inches higher up the wall. Two times shit pro = ....? (don't fall)

The other thing that makes such overhanging routes climbable is stalactites... A route might overhang as much as it goes up, but you start chimneying your (bare, t-shirts get soaked with sweat so fast only they Thais wear them) back up a scratchy stalactite, eventually swinging both legs around it, squeezing it like a coconut tree, and resting. Sometimes you don't even notice, you're so focussed on the wall, and they you look desperately around, and see a shadow behind you, and realize you can just plant a foot behind you and you're resting! Crazy fun. Oh, and they break off sometimes. And they vibrate when you use them, and sometimes they are only 8 inches thick and 6 feet long... but still, its like being tossed a lifesaver, who are you to question?

Lots of multi-pitch, too. Julie and Ryan went up the classic Humanality today. Its 6 pitches directly up from the Freedom Bar (if you count the first pitch, an unprotected solo of an overhanging mangrove tree, really). Over 120 metres down in two long double rope rappels, landing right beside the bar. Literally, you can call an order to the barman even before you hit pavement.

Ryan and I swung leads up Heart of Darkness, a huge route overhanging Tonsai Bay. It rained for the last half, but we never noticed, its too overhanging. Mostly 6c, but starting and ending with harder pitches (Ryan led those, lucky for me, the last one in particular was 35 metres of sharp and balancing climbing, ending at the jungle. But I got to lead the coolest pitch! Starting from this beautiful and cosy egg-shaped belay shelf (we hung out there a bit, watched the rain, and took pictures), I climbed straight up and through a cave in an overhanging stalictite system, ending up on a little platform high in the stalctites! That pitch is called "threading the needle".

Anyhow, enough about the climbing. Its OK. :-)

Sea of Love Real Coffee, Tonsai, Thailand

Most mornings and evenings we eat at the Sea of Love Real Coffee house. Its only a few dozen metres down the dirt road from where our cabana is, so its pretty convenient. They serve the same food as every other restaurant around here, and you only stand a 50/50 chance of getting what you order, but at least they laugh about it with you, and actually tried in the first place.

Ozzie and his wife KoKai take care of the place, as well as Ozzie's Batik school next door. And Faa is the cheerful girl, maybe just a teen-ager, who comes over from the restaurant to take over food orders. They are trying to teach us a bit of Thai, mostly words for fruit.

Speaking of fruit, we got some that looked like LongGan at the Krabi market, but they have multiple lobes and seeds inside, and are a bit more sour than LongGan. Apparently they are called LongKong.

Anyhow, I think Ramadan just started, we were sitting around reading, and drinking Mango Lassi when Ozzie and KoKai asked us over to eat dinner with them. Its their main meal because they fast from sun up to sun down. It was great, some fish curries (a bit spicy for Julie), and a kind of rice that was tossed with fried coconut and spices and maybe some kind of fish flavour? Hard to tell.

I'm at the bar right now, drinking a Chiang (Elephant) beer, and listening to our music, they let Julie put her iShuffle into the sound system, and Julie is being given a tour of Ozzie's batik making now, I think. Anyhow, they are laughing about something.

There aren't any schools over hear, so the kids apparently have to go over to the nearest town (a 15 minute boat ride away) to stay with relatives when they are older. It's hard, nobody speaks more than really rudimentary English, so communication is mostly smiles, and spare words, and numbers. When I asked Ozzie, he told me about the schools, but a few days ago his brother showed up with all his nephews, and sister and law, and then left with his four month old baby to take him to his mother. Maybe its too hard to keep their baby here, and still work? Its a resort for us, but its not clear what its like for the people who work here.

I feel like I live in a glass bubble here, I've never been anywhere that so few people spoke English, even Japan and rural Mexico have a few people around who may not be fluent but who you can ask questions of.

Looking across the bay from Tonsai/s Cat wall

Tonsai is the beach on the bottom left, the green bump is what you have to traverse across in the dark with headlamps. Its a climber's trail. I.e., 4th class scrambling to get onto it. The beach in the distance is Railay West, and the big thumb sticking up is Thaiwand wall. Good single pitch and hard, hard multi-pitch. The white wall on the lower left is the one that towers over Tonsai bar, and has Humanality (6b, 4/5 pitches) which we haven't done yet, but will before we go.

Julie heading up some overhanging arrete

at thaiwand wall (6a+)

Various things found in trees..

Bird or paradise flower growing in the ditch beside the dirt road up through Tonsai.

Papaya (too green, its not the season) growing in the tree outside our apartment.

And monkeys in the trees over Ya Ya's restaurant... everybody was cowering to the side while they ripped the trees apart!

Cooking class, with Ryan and Aum

At the end Julie asked about the fruit carving they do here. One of the restaurants always has a giant watermelon with a kindof lace filligree carved into it. Aum said she could only do carrots... so she showed Julie how. Not a regularly scheduled part of the class, but she was really nice, and I think we were doing the cooking (and eating) ahead of schedule.

When it gets dark, it gets dark fast

Like the lights have been turned out. Except for the pretty lights. This is walking home from Happy Island, off Phra-Nang beach.The colours don't come through well, it was much more orange. Come see.

Another 6b over the bar...

I'm just pushing all these pictures up on the free wireless I just found... who knows when my good luck will end?

Julie at the Tonsai bar, watching me climb

And hanging out with Tamsin, waiting there turn. That's Thaiwand wall in the background.

Another overhanging jug haul...

Who can keep track of them all? This one is above the Tonsai bar.

Ryan showing us cheer-leading tricks, Phra-Nang beach

Shrine to the Princess, Phra-Nang Beach

Julie on the Groove Tube, cave crawl start, Melting Wall, Tonsai

Julie at the Railay Beach Club, first morning

King Cat, Cat Wall, Tonsai

No hands rest onKing Cat.



Starting up the harder part.

thailand, tuesday

Well, today was a climbing day, so nothing much to report. Sam faced the lion king, and was beaten. over and over. but it was fun for the spectators to watch me whipping from the anchors, so some were happy.

Then did King Cat. Also not my proudest moment, I need to fully absorb the ways of Thai limestone: when the clipping is bad, keep climbing to the jug. Anyhow,it had two no hands rest and overhangs about 20 feet, about 80 feet in the air... "good exposure"

Julie led a few 6as today at cobra wall. No cobra, but I was scared anyway when I couldn't see the hidden rope she'd clipped...

Some good pictures, but no way to post, so off for more thai food.

Oh, and we finally got some rain again. Its thunder and lightening right now! (ignore m y spelling, puhlease).

Et une message for la francophonie:

Bonjour les amis! On a fait des bonnes grimpes aujour'hui. Sam a eu moins de succes sur ses voies difficiles. Moi j'ai grimpe des choses plus faciles mais tres belles.

thailand, monday, 2nd rest day

doing 2 days on, 1 day off, today is second rest day

last rest we went to phra-nang beach, i tried some slacklining. i suck. also did some acrobatics with Ryan, who does gymnastics and tumbling. was fun. lots of giant penis sculptures in princess cave. she likes to take a new man every year, so they hope she'll be placated with the toys... either that, or its thai soft-core.

water is a little cooler than the air. but not much.

climbing is fabulous. severely overhanging, acrobatic moves around giant overhanging stalactites. they shake when you stand on them :-( lots of head jams possible for full body rests. good times. lets not talk about the gear.

6c seems to be about my onsight limit (50/50). I don't know if the translations to the YDS are bad, or the nature of climbing here is hard to onsight. anyhow, have redpointed a 7a on TR, and hauled my ass up a 7b+... rock is sharp. our pictures all suck.

people are really nice. today we started with a cooking class from a really great teacher, Aum. We did pad thai, curry, tom yam soup, chicken satay, and banana in coconut milk. We also learned that this is mangosteen season! We need to get to the market in krabi town! maybe next rest day. also got shown a bunch of fruit trees and vegie plants. cool. Oh, and it wasn't on the schedule, but Aum showed julie how to carve a carrot into a flower! its a bit of a tradition, the finer resorts have these beautiful carved watemelons at the gate. it looks a bit like lace. Aum can only do flower carrots, though, and now so can Julie. Get her to show you when she gets back.

i can't keep a shirt clean, its sweaty within seconds of putting it on, so I don't bother. also, julie has threatened to throw my clothes away before we come back.

stay strong, be brave, wait for the signs.

thailand, friday

ok, the jetlag is horrendous, we're sleeping well over 10 hours a night, and still exhausted. Hopefully I'm adjusting, but a 14 hour lag is hard.

the climbing is fabulous, overhanging fairy worlds of stalactites and tufas, belaying from the beach. it rains sometimes, even a thunderstorm one night, but the rock is so overhanging it just cools the air down

in the pm its so humid that I drip sweat just from walking.

got a sunburn :-(. no sunscreen because we were in the shade, but it was cloudy and I didn't notice when the sun moved out... yes, you can get sunburn through cloud cover I know believe

food is great, lots of fish, coconut curry

internet way expensive, its pretty rustic. many places closed, this is construction season, getting prepared for high season! No wireless, electricity from 6pm to 6am.
No way to upload photos, yet. Maybe later.

Seen one 3 foot green snake, and one giant spider that looks like a beautiful golden beetle, with 4 inch crab like legs.

elbow still sore, but appears to be strong.

With Thomas and Julie at Rogue's Gallery

Went up there with Julie and Thomas a few weeks ago, and had fun. We did this pretty technical overhanging corner. The crux is not so hard after figuring it out, but is a not very obvious heel hook.

Julie led, onsight, the hardest climb she's ever tried to lead outdoors, and made it almost to the anchors, with a bit of encouragement. Nicely done!

This is partly a test to see if we can post pictures here when in Thailand...

And I guess I can... but the placement is mysterious!

Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale, Rogue, OR

Glenn bought this one.


Its got roasted Soba in it. Basically, it tastes like a good stout. It'd be interesting to have on tap.

An Obi is a belt, btw, in japanese, specifically the wide kind worn around a kimono, or its narrower variant used in martial arts.

www.morimoto.com
rogue.com

Sasquatch Stout, Old Yale Brewing, BC

A nice stout, comes in a 650ml botle, 5.25%ABV.

Public Service Announcement, BC

This was posted on all the lamp posts up Main St., but I'm concerned the author isn't getting the kind of coverage deserved for an issue like this, so I'm reposting it here...

Having a beer with my niece

Kickin' back of an evening, having a beer with my niece. Good times!

Bad Girl Chocolate Truffles, BC

Julie got me a selection of dark chocolate truffles from Bad Girl Chocolates for my *day.

http://www.badgirlchocolates.com/truffles.html

Some were a bit strange - the olive oil left me with a taste of, surprise, olive oil in my mouth. Not so going-good with the chocolate.

The balsamic vinegar didn't work, either.

The others were all great, but the stout one wasn't included. Oh, well.

Augustijn, Van Steenberge, BE

www

This was a light weight, only 8% ABV. Lighter, not as sweet (but still pretty sweet!). It was OK. Lots of flavor.

Golden Draak, Van Steenberge, BE

www

Viv got me a six pack of belgian beer, each different by this brewery.

First try was the Golden Draak. It was sickly sweet. And a small bottle. At the end, I felt kindof tipsy. Huh? Ok, so I looked more closely... 10%ABV. Ah.

Origin Pomegranate Ale, Hebrew, NY

What can I say, I'm a victim of marketing: "Hebrew, the chosen beer".

Anyhow, turns out pomegranate has a number of mentions in the Book, and these guys thought they'd add the juice to beer.

Well, it's OK. Its an imperial amber ale, so 8%
ABV.

Oatmeal Stout, Swans, BC

It was ok. 5.4% ABV. 650ml bottle.

Sierra Nevada Stout, CA

A california craft brewery, and a nice stout. A little expensive to buy up here.

Stout Imperial, La Barberie, QC

Julie brought this back for me from Montreal last week. Its very tasty. Its from a cooperatively owned microbrasserie La Barberie.

"Strong beer on lees", 500ml, 7.5% alc./vol.

Scotch Tasting

Notes from a scotch tasting. I divide scotch into the smoky/peaty (3-star) , the tasteless (1-star) , and the in-between (2-star).

3-star:

Ardberg
McLelland Islay & Speyside (my fave)
The Speyside is actually cheap as scotch goes, and a favorite of most.
Bowmore Islay

2-star:

Auchentoshan
Julie's favorite.
Dalwhinnie
Craggammore

1-star:

McCallan
Glenlivet
Famous Grouse
Glenfiddich


How to drink scotch:

In small glasses, without water, or ice, at room temperature.

Water makes it taste insipid.

Crannog Ale Dinner, Figmint Restaurant, BC

This was lots of fun, and began with a free beer tasting next door at Firefly featuring all you could drink of Crannog ale for any passers by. Quite a deal!

I like their beer a bunch, the Red Branch would be my favorite, I think.

The food was excellent, service nice. The manager of the Figmint is pretty obviously trying hard to organize interesting little events. I'm on the mailling list now, there will be more like this.

crannog beer and figmint food

The Great Eastern, Radio Show, NF

The Great Eastern is no longer carried on the CBC, but its still one of the best shows ever heard. Its very fast, and very subtle, and viciously satirical.

If you've never listened, perhaps start at Season 3, episodes 1 and 11, they're pretty good.

My favorite episodes are Season 4, ep 13 and 14 (and a few of the shows just before that forshadow the events). Its a 2 hour riff on Heart of Darkness, but occurring in Newfoundland's African colony, where a rogue radio broadcaster has dissappeared upriver, and his broadcast must be terminated. You have to listen to understand, and even then...

This American Life

One of my favorite radio shows, and its available as a podcast from thisamericanlife.org.

If you've never listened, you could start with their favorite shows, see their archives, or mine:

• Fiasco - OMFG, tears stream from my eyes as I listen to this story over and over.


• How to Take Money From Strangers


• Roadtrip!


• Running With Antelope


• First Day - it's the second story, where the cop tries to capture the squirrel and it all goes wrong...

briefencounters

http://www.tomorrowcollective.com/brief-encounters

Hm. Short pieces.

I'll go Tuesday night.

I've seen one of these before. Some of the pieces should be good, and the others should be short. Also, the ANZA club has beer. Good beer.

============

Ok. Saw the show. Well, they had lousy beer. Don't drink the beer.

But the show was great!

Incredibly eclectic. Almost no dance. Some video, a chef, a great piece that attempts to rehabilitate Michael Jackson, crazy costumes, and the three girls who presented did a rotating presentation of clothes from local designers. Short skirts are back in, which is never bad. And did I mention the chef? I've never seen culinary art performed like that.

It is showing April 23rd and 24th, too.

Killarney Stout, Granville Island Brewing, BC

A limited release from GI. Too bad, its good!

Apparently its the "Official beer of CelticFest Vancouver".

650ml and 5% ABV


http://www.gib.ca/seasonals.php

Lucy's here

So, my niece was finally pulled from her mother (who is recovering nicely and enjoying Lucy immensely) weekend before last. My theory for her tardiness is that she didn't know how much fun we are going to have. Anyhow, she sleeps a lot, but likes to play when she's awake. Training has started - she can already do a military press against my little fingers, so she's well on the way to becoming monstrously strong.

Honda Fit, 2008

And now we have a vehicle that Julie can drive, and that I can trust to go "there and back again". With cool folding seats. Cute girls not part of base model, you have to know their parents.

The getting of this car was an amazing multi-day ordeal that I hope not repeat for a long, long time.

But hey, summer is coming, the cherry trees are blooming, and we're ready to go camping!

Chevy S-10, 1994

Well, the Chevy S-10 1994 is gone. No more BBQs out of the truck bed in the parking lot of the climber's campground under the Chief. No more tears as I try and cajole Julie into learning to drive standard, either. I guess I won't miss it.

Cendre de Lune, Fromage Cote, BC

Picked this up at l'Amis du Fromage on the 1/2 price shelf. It expired on March 29, I love expired cheese. The tasting guide on the side of it describes its state as "fait a coeur", done to the heart. It has ripened almost to the point of runny, it melts across the knife and the tongue, and the rind has some sharpness to contrast with the richness of the cheese. It looks strange from the outside, particularly because ashes were use to cure it, I guess.

Full name is Cendre de Lune du Village de Warwick. Bit of a mouthful.

Harrisburg, Josh Ritter

I don't know where this guy is from, but I first heard Harrisburg as a sound track for a crazy-assed ski movie at some kind of outdoor film fest in Toronto. I like a few other of his songs, but this one I love.


It's a long way to heaven, it's closer to Harrisburg


Listen from joshritter.com.

We drove through Harrisburg on our way from Tennessee to West Virginia. The south is strange and wonderful.

Highland Scottish Ale, Storm, BC

Can't recall why we got a pitcher of this at the Whip one day, but it ousted the Plague as my favorite Storm beer.

Why describe it when you can go drink it yourself? Yum.

Black Plague Stout, Storm, BC

I used to drink this regularly when I was at the whip. Its a good stout, but there's a flavour stouts have that sometimes gets a bit over-emphasized and gets slightly odd. Not sure what it is. Should do a field trip with Mike to find out. Maybe sunday, in conjunction with:

> The Whip Real Ale Sundays
> March 30 @ 4:00pm
> This week is actually going to be a Real Mead Sunday.
> Crannóg's Clontarf Mead is a traditional, year-old
> organic mead made from honey produced on their farm.
> It is fermented cool and cask-conditioned with
> champagne yeast. At approximately 12% ABV, I am told
> this is lightly carbonated and somewhat sweet. This is
> a rare, small-batch offering that is the last of
> Crannóg's mead supply for this year. The Whip will be
> offering it in 8 oz. servings for $4.25.

Anyhow, enjoyable. But then I found the Scottish Ale...

stormbrewing.org

Chambly Noire, Unibroue, QC

I've had this before, and like it a bunch. Its frothy, like all the Unibroues, from the bottle fermentation on its lees, but tasty.

6.2% ABV, maybe a good thing after a long week.

some kind of pine beer, Dix, BC

Reminder to self - pine is not an appropriate flavour for beer.

Mind you, I got a tiny 50ml bottle of grappa once flavoured with a pine cone. It was yummy!

Junmai Nama Genshu, artisansake, BC

I think they grind the grain and steam it in Japan, but otherwise its made here. And grain prep is pretty specialized, its not that different from roasting grain for beer... too much work.

Anyhow, I bought two bottles from here, and we opened this one (the Genshu) last Sunday, and I finished it the next night. A bit high at 18%ABV, but I toughed it out... apparently it'll go bad if you don't drink it.

I really liked it. I think it was a bit over $24 a bottle, which is a bit more expensive than wine, but if you decide to calculate by alcohol volume it might be a deal. Anyhow, soft, sweet, a bit vanilla-y, and overall very, very yummy.

I can't wait to open the next one, but will so I don';t get in trouble. Its an unfiltered sake, all milky in color. I tasted it down at the Granville Island location, and its very good, I liked it better than the Genshu at the time - maybe I should buy another Genshu so I can drink two bottles at once to better compare? Yes, good idea.

It wasn't quite as good as the Japanese sake we opened at the same time, but that's a bottle my Sensei brought me from Japan as a gift, and I can't even tell you the name because the only non-japanese on the entire bottle is numbers... (it's 50% something, and I'm sure thats not alcohol, I'll have to ask Yuko to translate for me).


artisansakemaker.com

Spoken word/Body, Martin Belanger, Round House, Vancouver

We saw Martin Belanger at the Vancouver International Dance Festival Friday night. Apparently Julie knows him from Montreal, went to school with him, or something.

It was a really strong performance. He presented a series of thoughts on the development of movement in technological times (maybe the only place where our physical movement is still important is "sex, dance, and sports"), and his accompanying movement sometimes illustrated, sometimes not, his words. Very informal, and very thought-provoking.

He's an amazing dancer, and the music (partially mixed live on stage with him by his accompanying technician, who he interacted with during the presentation) was pretty varied and interesting.

Of course, if you haven't seen it already, you've missed it!

Quebec-Montreal, QC

A number of people on their way to Montreal from Quebec along highway 20. Their relationships are not going so well, and turn out to be intertwined...

Great fun, a little bit of schadenfreude.

A rating theory

So, I'd like to have ratings for beer, so I can know at a glance how much I liked something. It can get out of hand quickly, though, so I'm going to try for 3-scale rating system:

1. Would try to avoid drinking again
2. Would be happy to drink it again
3. Finding it on tap would make it be a very good day

I'll see if its useful.

beer and climbing go together like...

Good news and good timing, so now I need transportation and a belayer...

Villa Teresa, Prosecco Veneto, IT

Neumann brought this in to work, and I quite liked it. Its an organic slightly sparking white wine. It seemed high in alcohol content, even though it claims its only 11%ABV, and I only had a tiny glass... maybe because I was hungry?

Or maybe not, BCLDB claims its 13%. Maybe Italians measure differently?

Anchor Porter, Anchor Brewing Co., CA

Yum! An excellent beer! Too bad about the price... $16.65.

5.6%ABV

anchorbrewing.com

Mike and I made a new beer a few weeks ago

This would be the 4th I've helped him make. Getting close to numbers so high I won't be able to keep track!

Anyhow, apparently its pretty light, he isn't sounding really enthusiastic. Mutterings about the quality of the malt have been overheard during the mashing...

I haven't seen it yet, will have to get it in bottles soon.

I'll keep the readership informed of developments... that would be all two of you! :-)

Russel Cream Ale, Russel Brewing Company, BC

This is pretty good on draft (at least, it can be, I had a great pint at the new Barney's on Broadway and Main a week ago, and a lousy one a few days ago, whats with that? They've been open 3 weeks, and already the beer is off? Hm.).

Anyhow, its cheap in a can (about 10$, if I recall correctly), so I'm trying it that way. It's OK.

5%ABV

russellbeer.com

Tetley's English Ale, England

Tastes like a bitter. I like it, creamy, a bit bitter, a bit sweet, low alcohol. Is this what some call a "session beer"? At 3.6%ABV, I'd call it a breakfast beer.

Guinness, Ireland

It comes in a can. You've all drunk one. So have I, and now its immortalized on my blog :-).

Its good, and its always fun to take the can apart to figure out how the nitrogen thingy works.

4.2%ABV

Gulden Draak, Belgian

A little sweet, 10.5% ABV, don't know much else about it... came with Mike Fellows, and we done drunk it ensemble.

vansteenberge.com

Fun stuff... do a driftwalk!

Have fun with Julie, and check out the video of a new piece she and Laura are working on.

driftwalk.org

Auld Nick Winter Ale, R&B Brewing Co, BC

Recommended at brewery creek beer store when I was looking around for another bottle of Father John's.

Not so great. Its 6.5% ABV which is too high to drink much of, taste was OK, but a little sweet (common to high-alcohol beer, as far as I can tell).

I'd give it a 1 on a scale of 1-3.

Re-entry Espresso, BC

My new favorite espresso stop. Can't believe it took so long to find. Looks kind of pretentious from the outside (sorry, calling it like I saw it).

Visited recently because Julie was having a coffee there, waiting for a haircut appointment (that story isn't safe for the eternal net, but involved a public groping of a woman who I thought was Julie - not a proud moment).

Anyhow, not only is there espresso great, they also have excellent croissant, for a reasonable price. Very nice after yoga... for the complete Vancouver life-style :-(

http://www.re-entry.ca/

Mission Springs Oatmeal Stout, Mission Springs, BC

Hm. It had a nice flavour, but was kind-of flat. No head at all. Quality problem, or the way they like it?

ABV 6.5%

I might buy it again to see if it was just this one that was flat, but there are better beers around.

Canada 's Top Ten Shorts 2007, Pacific Cinematheque

Julie took me to see this! It was great. I like short art.

If its long and good, its good.
If its short and good, its still good.
If its short and bad, its at least short.
If its long and bad, its torture, and you get discouraged from going to see shows.
So, best to see collections of short work.

Some of the pieces were incredibly harsh, a few were funny, and only a few were boring. I'd recommend it... but I think it was only playing one night. Tant pis.

http://www.cinematheque.bc.ca/jan_feb_08/top_ten_01.htm#shorts

Father John's Winter Ale, Howe Sound Brewing, BC

I'm not a huge fan of the Howe Sound Brewery. Its good beer, but I've never had anything that really stuck in my mind as great.

Until now. We all really liked this, even Marie (who's not much of a beer drinker, usually). It was a brown, slightly sweet ale, and lightly spiced. Hard to tell what spices (maybe a bit of cardamon?), but very tasty. It's 1 litre bottle disappeared almost instantly...


$7.88/L, 8%ABV (if you believe the website), 7 %ABV (if you believe the label), but who's counting?

http://www.howesound.com/brewery.php

Shakespeare Stout, Rogue Ales, OR

Good oatmeal stout. Nothing exciting, nothing strange, no further comment other than I could drink a fair bit, but its not so cheap.

About $9/L and 6%ABV.

www.rogue.com/brews.html#shakespeare

Irish Cream Ale, Bowen Island Brewery, BC

So, this one comes in a can. Looking around for something I hadn't tried, so we got this.

I liked it, as much as the Lighthouse Keepers Stout, and its a buck cheaper! Will drink it again.


5 $/L, 5% ABV

bowenislandbeer.com

Black Chocolate Stout, Brooklyn Brewery,

I liked this one. Its an imperial stout, strong taste, lots of alcohol. Also, its a "chocolate" stout made of chocolate malts, not actually chocolate. That's good. Bit expensive, as I recall, don't think I'll drink it regularly, but if I find the occaison, who knows?

Also, next time I'm in Brooklyn, I'll try and visit.

10.6% ABV

brooklynbrewery.com

Raven Cream Ale, R and B, BC

6.04 $/L, 4.8% ABV

Well, I'm not about to start a second career as a beer writer, but I'll say I liked this. 2/3 stars! :-)

Also, I think it was more than $4 at the Brewery Creek beer store, but thats what the BC ldb says.

Spy Porter, Tree Brewing, BC

Not very hoppy, bit of a head (not as much as Mike's beer, but who's comparing?), smooth, and tasty. I liked it, Julie did, too.

I'm trying to taste all the dark beer made in BC, for fun. Also, to see if I can tell the difference between them, what are the best beers, particularly what are the best for the price. Maybe I should try and find when each beer was started to be produced, as well, as I've a theory that BC breweries are starting to produce more interesting beers after a bit of a blah period.

The problem with prices is that I've no memory for numbers... so, I'm just going to look up prices on www.bcliquorstores.com, and use that as a price. Probably beer and wine stores are more expensive.

So, to start: 650mL, 5% ABV, $4.91, $7.55/L

Zipang Sushi, Main & 21st, BC

Julie and I just had dinner there. $34 for a nice meal with nothing to drink (they aren't licensed, but used to be? Not sure what the story is).

I liked it. The price is mid-range but the quality is high, and it looks nice and cosy (so much so that I thought it would be much more expensive than it was). The sushi was great, we had a saba-bien roll (saba(mackeral) and tobiko(flying fish roe) and green onion) that was beautiful and delicious, a small modan-yaki that was great (of course, the only thing I miss more than the public baths in Japan is the okonomiyaki houses... and the temple gardens, and the ... ok, lots of things, but the okonomiyaki is high on the list).

We'll be back, it does a thriving take-out business, too.

www.zipangsushi.com

Lighthouse Keepers Stout, Lighthouse Brewing, Victoria, BC

Its pretty light as a stout, mild flavored but tasty, with no hops that I notice.

5.1% ABV

Its a nice, reasonably cheap beer, and I like to keep some in the fridge. Comes in a can, and is only $11-12 for a six-pack.

www.lighthousebrewing.com

Espresso Stout, Streamworks, BC

The Whip opens a cask of beer every Sunday about 4:00. Todays was an Espresso Stout from Steamworks. I didn't expect to like it, but you go to a beer tasting to taste the beer, right?

It wasn't delicious, but wasn't undrinkable, either. It actually tasted quite strongly of coffee, not in a sweet coffee grounds way, but actually tasted like espresso. I guess thats an achievement, but nobody else at the table ordered one after tasting mine.

And the service was terrible, as usual. I don't want much, really, I just want to be asked what I want to eat or drink reasonably promptly after arriving, and later to be asked if I want anything else without having to search around for the server. But thats more than the Whip can manage to organize.

www.steamworks.com

Gonzo Imperial Porter, Flying Dog, Denver, CO

good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

The beer isn't to my liking, some would describe it as "malty", I'd describe it as "sickly sweet". Oh, well. Great label, though! The art was by Ralph Steadman, guy who did the illustrations for a bunch of Hunter Thompson's books, and is full of great quotes. Apparently the first label he did for them was emblazoned with the phrase "good beer, no shit", and it took four years in court to get the Colorado licensing authorities to allow them to ship the bottle...

Its a fun web site, and I'm going to look for some of their other beer.

flyingdogales.com

Cooking with beer, recipes at McAuslans

http://www.mcauslan.com/en/recipes/index.html

Dark Star Oatmeal Stout, R&B Brewing Co., BC

4.6%, low in alcohol, I like that, and it had a nice flavour, too.

Still, not much head, maybe effects the body? Need to drink a few more and see...

www.r-and-b.com

Peche Mortel, Brasserie Dieu du Ciel, QC

imperial stout au cafe

Julie's opinion: "dégeulasse"

I gotta say, I'm not a big fan of coffee in beer. When the beer has a coffee-like flavor because of how its made, fine, but coffee? Still, I tried again. It reminds me of a famous beer Chris Cummer bought down in West Virginia - it was so disgusting it was still sitting in his fridge months later as he tried to convince his friends to give it a try. What happened to that beer, Chris?

Anyway, not to be repeated, but I'm trying to finish the bottle...

On the plus side, it has 9.5% alcohol. Oh, wait, I don't like high-alcohol beers...

dieuduciel.com

Beer, recommended for nursing mothers and athletes!

Its not just good, its good for you:

During the end of the nineteenth century, stout porter beer gained the reputation of being a healthy strengthening drink, so that it was used by athletes and nursing mothers, while doctors often recommended it to help recovery. In fact, in Ireland, blood donors and post operative patients were once given Guinness due to its high iron content. - wiki:Stout

Route des Epices, Brasserie Dieu du Ciel, QC

Biere de seigle au poivre (beer with buckwheat and pepper)

5% abv

This is a strange one... it has a hot peppery finish. Julie won't drink it. I'm drinking it, but I don't think I'd drink another. It tastes like a good beer, that somebody added pepper to. Hm.

dieucuciel.com

Beer classification in French

I used to think it odd that beers are classified by colour in Quebec: noire (stouts and porters), blanc (wheat ales), blond (lagers and light ales), brun (scotch ales, nut browns, etc..).

Still, I've tasted a few "noire sur lie" (lees) recently, and while they are definitely black, they aren't exactly stouts. They are too carbonated and that frothiness makes them taste more like the belgian lambics.

Ramdham, Les Brasseurs du Hameau, Ham-Sud, QC

malt quebequois, orange biologique, biere noire sur lie

Claimed to have a "puissant gout d'ecorce d'orange" (strong taste of orange peel), but it didn't. It was a smooth tasty black beer, with a rich head, but no taste of orange that I could notice. Sometimes beer left on its lees gets a little to much CO2 as it sits in the bottle, and I think this is one of them. I don't like to burp up excess gas while I'm drinking my beer, it reminds me of soda pop and champagne (yuck).

Other than I couldn't taste the orange (and I was curious to know what it would taste like!) the carbonation is my only gripe. The flavour was good, and Julie drank it with pleasure.

Still, there's lots of good stouts, I'm not sure I'd buy this one again.

Interestingly, this Brasserie calls itself a nanobrasserie, I guess "micro"s have grown pretty big, and they claim to be the smallest in Canada!

lesbrasseursduhameauc.ca

Rosee d'Hibiscus, Brasserie Dieu du Ciel, Montreal, QC

Blanch qux fleurs d'hibiscus

5% alcohol.

Wasn't sure what to expect with this. I was worried that it would taste like perfume.

It tasted like a slightly fruity (but and undefined kind of fruit, maybe a berry) and sweet wheat ale, and its colour glowed rose. A little too sweet to drink many of, but I liked it, and would drink it again. Its a late afternoon in the sun kind of beer.

Clair de lune, Multi-Brasses, Tingwick, QC

Biere noire aux Pommes

So, this is a stout (with only 4.9% alcohol) made with apples. What does it taste like? Strange.

Toby liked it ok. He thought it tasted like a shandy, and that the apple flavour was fresh and fruity. Me, it felt more like an unhappy marriage of not-very-good apple juice, and a would-have-been-good stout.

Not a winner.

http://www.microbrasserie.ca/