Marzen, Russel Brewing, BC

The City & the City, China Mieville

The Dragons of Babel, Michael Swanwick

Interesting Times, Terry Pratchett

PranQster, North Coast Brewing, CA

http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/beer-Pranqster.htm

Tasty! Chris brought me on of these, and it was good!

Winter Ale, Lighthouse Brewing, BC

Decent, simple ale, with faint hints of spices, nutmeg according to Emma.

Advertised as "strong", but I don't think I'd call 6.5% strong, unless you are particularly weak-kneed.

Don't think I'll buy it again. They avoided making anything horrid in their winter ale, but didn't create anything distinctive, either.

Raison d'Etre, Dogfish Head, DE

A reasonable beer, from an unreasonable brewery.

First time I had it we bought a flat of 24. For some reason the liquor stores in that part of Ohio only sell in bulk... god knows why, but I suspect they don't want people who can't afford large amounts of beer drinking.

Anyhow, we needed beer before driving into West Virginia, the further you drive south, the better the chance you'll be in a dry county, or just one where Michelob is considered a preimium ale.

Acme IPA, North Coast Brewing, CA

Another fine beer from North Coast. It's an IPA, but it also has some of the sweet smoky taste I like in their other beers. I'm not sure exactly what they are doing here, but in my opinion, there is a shared flavour across the 4 of their beers that I taste. Luckily, I quite like that flavour!

http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/beer-AcmeIPA.htm

Old No. 38 Stout, North Coast Brewing, CA

A great stout, thoroughly delicious, and the third really great beer I've had from this brewery

Is bacon _always_ a good thing?

A deep philosophical question... to be contemplated over breakfast.

I have to say, I think there are some foods that are not so good to eat. Even with bacon on top.

Restaurants I keep meaning to check out...

Chambar do nice muscles and a large selection of beer. They also do other food but I haven't tasted it.

Medina, which is right next door and owned by the same people do a FANTASTIC breakfast. They are famous for their waffles which come with things like pistachio white chocolate sauce. You have to be there when they open though to avoid the lineup. They do very strong coffee too.

Both places have a great atmosphere, both are expensive and popular.

I've also heard good things about Bonita down in gastown. I think it is along the lines of the Raincity Grill, in that they favour local organic food.

- I really like the Indian place on Davie - India Bistro. It's cheap and really good.
- Sandbar at Granville island for seafood

There's that place on Main, right before the viaduct, on the east side..


http://www.vanmag.com/restaurant/The_Flying_Tiger
http://www.theflyingtiger.ca/information.html



Across town in the Shangri-La hotel, Vongerichten’s Market has quickly established itself as the place to see and be seen, thanks primarily to its downtown location and slick, intimate bar. A supergroup of Vancouver hospitality was gathered from well-known restaurants around the city, bringing a built-in clientele. Vongerichten’s menu is basically a compendium of his most famous dishes: rice-cracker-crusted tuna, warm asparagus salad with truffle vinaigrette and Hollandaise, grilled rack of lamb with smoked chili glaze and oyster mushrooms. The best dishes—an ethereal sea urchin and yuzu toast with jalapeno, the richest butternut squash soup imaginable, rich and sticky soy-glazed short ribs with apple-jalapeno purée and rosemary crumbs—are thrilling. Such triumphs make the duds—an amateurish red snapper with black beans, avocado, sake and ginger, a flabby foie gras brûlée—seem even more disappointing. Still, with nearly all of the entrees coming in under $30, the restaurant is priced comparably with the rash of “upscale casual” restaurants that have broken out all over B.C. Market outshines the best of them.

Advice on belaying, Lynn Hill

From Gripped, volume nine, issue five, good advice from Lynn Hill:

Taking the time to learn technique to keep you and your partner safe is a responsibility that every climber needs to address. Pay attention while belaying, and pay out just enough slack so that your partner isn't fighting against you to get the slack they need. When a fall happens, you're going to pull in as much slack as you can and jump as the rope catches your partner. Unless you weigh less than your partner, jumping will soften the fall on their end by providing a dynamic belay. Keep yourself safe while belaying. Watch your stance, and where you're going to get pulled to when when a fall happens. Belaying is a serious responsibility, and if done incorrectly, someone could get hurt, and it is often the belayer.

Blanc, Kronenbourg, FR

A surprise, an incredibly lemony (from the yeast) and delicious wheat ale from Kronenbourg. I really like this!

Blanche de Chambly, Unibroue, QC

Been really liking the wheat ales this summer, this is a good one from Unibroue, fairly frothy, but not very lemony.

Green Lakes Organic Ale, Deschutes Brewery, OR

La Fin du Monde, Unibroue, QC

9%ABV

Race Rocks Amber, Lighthouse Brewing, BC

Westmalle Dubbel Trappist Ale

7%ABV

Westmalle Tripel Trappist Ale

9.5% ABV

Trappistes Rochefort 6, BE

7.5% ABV