Apricots and Berries

Last night I went over to a friends house for a BBQ. It's Labour Day long weekend and it's been raining in Vancouver for the last couple of days. We had an excellent summer and it's sad to say that yesterday night may have been the last BBQ of the summer.

Rachael and I picked up 2 different B.C. summertime drinking beer. Cannery Brewing Apricot Wheat Ale and Swans Buckerfields Brewery Berry Ale.

The Cannery Brewing Apricot Wheat Ale (5% ABV) from Penticton, B.C. is a crisp, refreshing wheat ale with an apricot taste. They brewed their first batch of beer in the Old Aylmer Fruit and Vegetable Cannery in Penticton on April Fool’s Day 2001. Seriously...no joke. It's very similar to the St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale. I like the St. Ambroise one better, as it seems to be more smooth tasting.

The Swans Buckerfields Brewery Berry Ale (7% ABV) is a light red coloured ale from Victoria B.C. that is brewed on site at the Swans Buckerfields Brewery. It's a very smooth ale, with an excellent complementary taste of raspberry. It had a light scent of vanilla. I recommend it if you like a fruity beer.

Here is some information that I gathered from their website - No syrups, sugars or "adjunct" are used in their 100% grain mashes, only barley and malts. This ale is naturally carbonated and left to settle or "fine" at cold temperatures rather than being filtered - filtration can remove much of the goodness from beer along with the haze. They also avoid pasteurization, which can mute flavour as well.

It looks like it may be my last BBQ of the summer which means it's probably my last taste of these types of fruity beer, since I usually pair the two together. Though they are calling for sunny skies this Friday...anyone up for a BBQ?

Happy Canada Day

When it comes down to a Canada Day get together with good friends, there is usually a BBQ and a few beers involved.  Rachael and I went over to Praj/Eva's place today to celebrate Canada Day.  I bought over one of my favorite summer time beers - St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale (5%alc./vol).  This apricot wheat ale from McAuslan Brewery in Montreal has a light clean taste with an apricot aftertaste that is just so smooth.

If you ever decide to bring this over to a get together, be sure to bring a few cases.  Your beer will be gone fast.  Just ask Eva.

Lime is no lemon

Last night Rachael and I wanted Japanese food and we felt like trying something new. We went to Lime Japanese Cuisine on Commercial Drive. Besides the regular menu, they had a $25.00 three course set menu special to celebrate the cherry blossom season, called the Sakura Set, which we ordered.

They had 3 beers on tap (Lime House Lager, Lime House Ale and R&B Red Devil Pale Ale). We ordered 2 pints of the Lime House Ale at $6.50 each. It came in a dimpled glass pint. I haven't drank from one of these in a long time. It reminded me of my dad's restaurant in the 80's. The Lime House Ale had a caramel/amber colour with a smooth nutty taste. I really enjoyed it - for a dark beer it wasn't too heavy. Now, if it was served in a frosted pint...that would've been off the hook. I think that it would've been novel if they used the restaurant's name to create a signature "Lime Wheat Ale."

Our whole evening was enjoyable - the dinner, live music and drinks. There is nothing sour about Lime.

Super Bowl Sunday

Today is Super Bowl 43. This is the day when people rush to a bar, sit shoulder to shoulder with some stranger and glue their eyes to the TV screen. I would always be cautious of what team to cheer for in a bar. Either you meet a new drunk friend or you get beat up. I knew that neither would be the case today as I went to Mill Marine Bistro not for Super Bowl, but for Dine Out Vancouver.

With my dinner, I ordered the seasonal Granville Island Lions Winter Ale. (Alcohol By Volume:5.5%) This amber color beer had the body and richness of a robust ale, with a sweet caramel / vanilla flavor. I had this beer before and I quite enjoyed the taste. If you don't mind the sweet flavors, it's an excellent sipping beer for the winter. One glass of this beer is pretty much all I can have in one sitting, as it is quite heavy for me. It would definitely not be a beer of my choice if I was going to order a pitcher. Although, I would consider ordering a pitcher if I met a new drunk friend at the bar that was going to buy me a round.