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