Brew-Curious

After sitting around my apartment for a couple months straight {thanks to a broken ankle}, I'm anxious to get out and enjoy Edmonton. At exactly the right time, Jason Foster posted about the 'Brew-Curious' tour, put on by the Edmonton City as Museum Project. My boss and I picked up a couple tickets and boarded an ETS bus last Saturday for a tour of Edmonton's beer history.

It was great to see tour tickets sold out for two full buses, and the group of people on the tour {or in our earlier group, at least} seemed to be interestingly split between those who may be involved in the Edmonton Heritage Council or City history, and those, like us, who arrived via Edmonton's present beer culture. The group boarded the bus at Brewsters, or to be more exact, at the #1988 bus stop. After introductions from Meredith {our chaperone, if you will} and Terry {our historian and tour guide} we set off towards our first stop at Yellowhead Brewing.

I think it's pretty easy to find Yellowhead around town, but it was interesting to find out exactly how their lager {now the only one in Edmonton} is made. A combination of malt from Alberta, Germany and the Czech Republic go into their beer, along with hops, water and yeast. From start to finish, a batch of their lager takes eight weeks to produce. Also notable, is that 'Yellowhead' has been the name of at least one other brewery, and several beers, in Edmonton's past.

From there we circled back to the 'Molson' site... After the tour, I hesitate to call it that. The German-style castle was designed by Bernard Barthel at the direction of Edmonton Brewing & Malting Co. owner, William Henry Sheppard {also the mayor of Strathcona at the time}. From 1913-1927, he produced, amongst other brews, Yellowhead Beer, before selling the company and building to Sick's Brewing from Lethbridge. In 1958 Molson took over the site, eventually closing down their operation in 2007. And well, we know the rest.

Next up, Alley Kat. I love visiting the brewery, and this time was no different; They are always generous and eager to share their brews and love of beer {as a side note, this year's summer beer, the Lemon Hefeweizen, is delicious}. One of the highlights of the tour promised to be a sample of a beer made just for us, a stout after a British recipe from the 1800s that they aptly named 'Girder Bender'.

The beer was brewed by Neil Herbst {Alley Kat co-owner}, Jason Foster {OnBeer.org} and Shane Groendahl {EBGA}, so needless to say it was delicious. I believe they said they made the malt themselves at home, which means, much to our dismay, it's too labour intensive to produce again.

Our next stop was the City Archives! It's not open to the public, so this was a pretty incredible chance to view some Edmonton specific artifacts up close. Beer related items from Edmonton were pulled to share, then we were taken on a short tour of the upstairs portion of the archives, where this sign was pulled out:

The second last stop before heading back to Brewster's was the original location of the Edmonton Brewing & Malting Co. The building was in use until Sheppard decided to build the castle in Oliver. After all, it was expensive to hall beer up the steep river valley bank on a FUNICULAR.

Once we arrived at Brewster's, the assistant brewer led us on a tour of their space where they brew the raspberry and blueberry ales, and the rotational tap {currently a Hefeweizen for the summer}, then we sat down for a pint and chat with our fellow tour goers before heading out.

A pretty amazing day of discovery. It's not surprising that we have a rich brewing history in Edmonton just below the surface. While they might do this one again, our tour guide was pretty clear that they can't really get into beer tours alone. So if anyone picks up something similar, please let me know!

Cask Day

It's sort of amazing that at our very first Edmonton Beer Geeks Anonymous meeting in April, they announced that along with Wunderbar Hofbrauhaus, they would be hosting a Cask Day on the afternoon of June 23rd. Thankfully we purchased our admission tickets for $15 a piece right on the spot - the event sold out in under 24 hours.

Last Saturday afternoon felt much like today - hot and sunny - and beer fans packed the patio at Wunderbar whilst enjoying casked conditioned ales from Phillips, Yukon, Alley Kat, Amber's and Jasper Brewing Co.

We enjoyed all the beer on offer and savoured the luxury of having so many great local-ish microbrews to choose from. I loved Ambers' Ginger Lemongrass beer - it was perfect in the heat and had some great flavours going on that didn't overpower the base beer too much. Charles went the opposite way and chose Yukon's Mr. Monk's Stout as the winner for the day.

The favourites.

We also won this lovely door prize signed by everyone who contributed casks that day:

This was a fantastic event and we're glad to have made it out. Thanks and congratulations to everyone involved in the planning and to all the volunteers. Can't wait for next year!

And they open - Three Boars Eatery

Saturday was a long day that followed a very long month, and so after closing the shop door one last time, I could think of no better way to wind down than indulging in a brand new spot - Three Boars Eatery (109 Street and 84 Ave).

I was pretty anxious for this place to open. Mostly because we've walked by hundreds of times, wondering what the former pizza spot would turn into. But then there was lots of buzz on Twitter and Facebook too in recent weeks. Although Saturday was just their second day of operation, they were ready. The staff knew what they were doing (we recognized many of them from Sugarbowl), both out front and in the kitchen. And by the end of the evening we agreed our expectations had been far surpassed.

I chose a Negroni from the tidy cocktail list that also included a Sazerac, Old Fashioned and beer cocktails amongst other items, while Charles chose a pint of Alley Kat's Black Dragon IIPA from their all local draught list (edit: Just wanted to clarify that their draught list rotates often and includes local and imported craft beer). We happily enjoyed our drinks at the bar, confirming with the bar tender that we did in fact all recognize each other from Sugarbowl, while waiting for a table in the upstairs dining room.

Food wise, we resisted all four items from the "Bar Snacks" section, opting for a few things from the "Sharesies" area - Buckwheat honey glazed Brussel sprouts, Wild boar terrine with beer mustard and pickled cippolini onions, Oxtail poutine and Marsala lamb neck with potatoes, kale and olives. Plates came out one by one in no particular order and were placed in the middle of the table to share. Charles' favourite dish was the poutine - super soft oxtail, rich gravy and squeaky cheese curds topped crisp, roasted fingerling potatoes. I found myself leaning towards the lamb dish, loving the balance of flavours and textures.

We finished things off with a warm, slightly sweet pear upside down cake topped with a bit of whipped cream.

We thought they did a great job maximizing seating in the tiny space, and we enjoyed the simply decorated space of wood, white walls, industrial lights and mirrors. The downstairs kitchen/bar service and upstairs bathroom/dining area split seemed to work well too. To top things off there's a bike rack sitting out front, and we're sure there will be drinks on the patio as soon as the weather warms a bit more.

The single page menu changes often so that local ingredients can be used as much as possible. And dessert changes nearly every day. One of our favourite things though, is the price point. Nothing (on this particular menu at least) costs more than $16, and we found one smaller item - like the Brussel sprouts ($5) - along with 2-3 larger dishes - the poutine ($8) and lamb (~$11.5) for instance - were filling enough along with a couple beer... and dessert of course.

I met up with Brenna and Catherine this evening, and we decided to head over for drinks and snacks. We munched on more Brussel sprouts and this time duck rillette, and chatted to the couple sitting at the upstairs communal table with us. Warm apple tarts were gobbled up easily.

It looks like they'll be changing up the menu tomorrow, and we're certainly hoping to swing by for a drink and more eats later in the week. I promise I'll bring along the camera next time! But for now, I leave you with this one terrible Instagram photo of the lights above their upstairs communal table, that I took because I was attempting to explain Instagram. And the link to their website where you can find many more photos.

Three Boars Eatery
8424 109 Street
780.757.2600
Open everyday, 4pm until late.
Reservations for 6 or more.


*Update May 21 - Finally went back with the camera. You can find some photos here.

Symphony Under the Sky and Ochsner's Porter

*This post got stuck in my drafts back in early September, so please read it with cool-ish evenings and ever so slightly changing leaves in mind.*

Like most September long weekends during the past few years, Charles and I found ourselves at Symphony Under the Sky. This year a weekend pass picked up at the 104th Street 'Al Fresco' block party meant we attended five concerts throughout the four day event.

Charles suggested his favourite concert over the weekend was Sunday afternoon's Rhapsody in Blue, which featured George Gershwin's American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue, and of course Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture complete with live canon shots. I preferred the Saturday evening concert led by Ian Tyson, which could have definitely has something to do with a Folk Fest related love of Four Strong Winds...

Beyond the music there was the usual food to be enjoyed, namely Fat Franks covered in mustard, pickles and sauerkraut, and warm, cinnamon-y mini donuts. Always the last indulgence of either for the year, I particularly enjoy these treats at Symphony Under the Sky - they signal the end of the best of the summer.

To balance out the Fat Franks...

A much welcome addition to this year's ESO concession was Ochsner's 1905 Alberta Porter, another brew by the Alley Kat/Sherbrooke team. Here's a little bit on the brew from the program:

Ochsner's 1905 Alberta Porter is named after Robert Ochsner, one of the earliest known brewers in Alberta. It was first brewed in 2010 to mark the 105th anniversary of Alberta becoming a Province. It is also the third in a series of beers sponsored by Sherbrooke Liquor Store and Alley Kat Brewing Company to recognize the winning Homebrewer of the Year at the Edmonton Home Brewing Guilds' Aurora Brewing Challenge. In 2010, the winning team of Patrick Doyle and Ray Duperron won gold... in competitions across Canada.

This porter was a treat to sip throughout the weekend. A serious departure from the usual big name lagers and IPAs, it was smooth and rich with a nice bite and a beautiful coffee aroma. With all those rich flavours it was lovely on both the cool, rainy Friday evening and the warm, bright Sunday afternoon.

Can't wait for next year's line up.

Ein Prosit! Oktoberfest at Next Act

On Tuesday I met up with some friends at Next Act for their September edition of Cask Night. This month the cask held Alley Kat's Ein Prosit! Oktoberfest - a fruity, malty beer that's perfect for fall. It was so lovely we even went over to Alley Kat this evening for the official launch of the brew and picked up a six pack. (The Red Dragon Double IPA was also released today. Unlike the above brew, this IPA is incredibly hoppy.)

Besides the beer, Next Act was featuring a slightly strange burger that I couldn't resist - a peanut butter and bacon jam burger. Not surprisingly, the combo was incredibly rich, though it was tasty. Smooth peanut butter covered the bottom half of the bun, while jam and lots of garlic covered the top half. I was a fan at first bite, and I think Brenna was too.

All in all, another excellent cask night in Edmonton.

Cask Night at Next Act

The Next Act has been doing Cask Nights with Alley Kat, similar to Sugarbowl's, for several months now. Finally a first Tuesday of the month aligned with my schedule and Brenna and I met after work for a cask aged brew.

I've been shut out of several of Sugarbowl's Cask Nights - stuck at the door without a pint - so was happy to find Next Act fairly full with a couple tables to spare about 30 minutes before the cask would be tapped, with a small lineup forming once 6pm arrived.

After enjoying a pint of Brewberry Blueberry Wheat Ale along with a fish sandwich for me ($14) and a veggie burger (aka. The Drama Queen; $13) for Brenna, the cask was announced. We were looking forward to a pint of the Neopolean Neapolitan Stout but unfortunately found that the cask would be sans the strawberry and vanilla.

In the end the chocolate stout was a little too hoppy for our liking and wasn't as enjoyable as the creamy, slightly sweet Neapolitan Stout released last summer (it has also been re-released this summer and is available at Sherbrooke).

 

This cask certainly wasn't our favourite, but as we left we realized what we love about cask nights or new bottles of beer is that you never know quite what you're in for. Sometimes it's amazing, and once in awhile not so much. So I'm still hoping many more of my first Tuesdays of the month will include a trip to The Next Act for more cask sampling.

P.S. A couple (semi-sunny) weeks ago we finally got around to opening a lone bottle of the now retired Single Star - Alley Kat's Three Bears Oatmeal Stout aged in a Jack Daniel's barrel - that had been in the fridge since April. I really loved this one - rich with all the caramels from the whisky, and very enjoyable with Sunterra's bison, salsa and cheddar burgers.

Alley Kat Loaded Goat Maibock Launch + U of A Design Grad Show

Just a quick note that Alley Kat is launching the second beer in its Big Bottle Series tomorrow evening (April 28th from 5-8pm at the brewery): the Loaded Goat Maibock.

A couple friends and I managed to grab a table at Sugarbowl's cask night last Thursday and each got a pint of the cask aged version of this beer. It was incredible and none of us could quite place a finger on the flavours, but it was beautifully smooth and perfect for spring patio enjoyment.

And if you're looking for something to check out afterward, the U of A Bachelor of Design grad show opens tomorrow evening at 7pm at the FAB gallery on campus. Entrance is free but the purchase of a program is appreciated. And Da Capo will be catering...

Alley Kat Brewery
9929 60 Avenue
780.436.8922

FAB Gallery
1-1 Fine Arts Building
780.492.2081

Meal Planning Saga: Week Eight

Last week was certainly highlighted by adventures around town more than our 'home cooking', though the butter chicken was pretty incredible...

Sunday - Once again, a roast chicken. There's just something about it that works well on a Sunday evening.

Monday - Braised beef with mashed potatoes. Inspired by our visit to Somerville Wine and Cheese we placed this roast in the slow cooker for about four hours with red wine and tomatoes. Next time a fattier cut of beef is certainly in order, but the flavours here were great all the same.

Tuesday - Chicken and vegetable soup.

Wednesday - Italian sausages with salad and roasted veggies. Digging through (I mean... 'organizing') our freezer a couple weekends ago, we found a neglected package of sausages that we were excited to barbecue. No go - the door to our balcony was frozen solid, and this time no hair dryer could fix it. So we simply poached and pan cooked them instead.

Thursday - Alley Kat was certainly the highlight of the evening here, and afterward a stop at Langano Skies finished things off nicely.

Friday - Slow Cooker Butter Chicken from Meal Planning 101. This was the most viewed recipe on Kindra's site in 2010, and for good reason - it was simple to prepare and incredibly flavourful. There's no doubt we'll be doing this one again. We grabbed some naan from the E-Zee Market on 109th to round the meal out. (We've walked passed this place hundreds of times but only recently went in to find an incredible selection of spices, curries and other dishes made fresh daily.)

Saturday - A few things were on our minds Saturday, namely heading to Queen of Tarts to check things out, and later in the evening to Refinery at the AGA. First though, I was distracted by the excellent snowflakes falling on Saturday morning.

Leaving the snowflakes outside, we were stunned as we entered the Queen of Tarts' space. It's both beautiful and well stocked, with products from The Jam Lady, Mighty Trio and others available amongst their desserts, breads and lunch items. I urge you to check out Sharon's pictures and thoughts here. We actually ran into Sharon and Mack while there, along with Valerie, which was great. I also ran into Liz, an amazing lady who I took both baking and chocolate classes with at NAIT last year.

Before getting into the tarts themselves though, Brenna and Catherine came over for some pre-Refinery pizza. A veggie for Catherine consisted of roasted red peppers, feta, bocconcini and tomato sauce, while the rest of the discs were made into white pizzas with roasted butternut squash, sage, prosciutto, bocconcini and Gruyère (that last one was the perfect sweet salty combo and a reminder of warmer fall days). We also drank a couple beers that I intend to post on a little later.

And for dessert - the Queen of Tarts' tarts. As expected they were lovely. The lime was rich while tangy (Brenna and Catherine both swooned) and the chocolate hazelnut tart was dense and chocolate-y, with an amazing sandy, hazelnut crust. Post dessert we ventured back downtown for a couple drinks, some new exhibits and an attempt at dancing in public.

And hello week nine.

Alley Kat and the Three Bears Oatmeal Stout

Alley Kat posted an invite on Facebook Wednesday asking everyone to come check out their newest (and first for 2011) in the 'Big Bottle Series' - Three Bears Oatmeal Stout. A couple friends and I arrived around 7pm for the last hour of the launch party.

The tap

Brenna and I grabbed a couple glasses of the stout, while Catherine, not a stout fan, went for the classic Full Moon. The stout is rich and smooth with a pleasant level of bitterness throughout, and I think it will be perfect drinking for what is supposed to be a cool-ish spring. In other words, "It's just right." (Sorry about that... I couldn't resist). We also grabbed a few sips of the Apple Wit, which has quickly become a favourite of Brenna's, and the coffee porter which none of us had tried previously. The coffee aroma and flavour in the porter is intense (enjoyably so), and as someone next to us said, it's just like drinking a cold coffee - perfect for breakfast.

A couple mini chocolate cupcakes went with the stout nicely, as did bread from Tree Stone made with some of the malt mixture leftover from the brews. As we sipped our beer we went on a tour of the brewery, something I'd been meaning to do for some time. Informative and fun, this was a great way to spend a Thursday evening after a long week.

Whisky barrels, mostly for the Sherbrooke brews. One is full of Olde Deuteronomy but its release is being delayed by the AGLC. Unfortunately it seems they're not over that whole 11.9% thing... strange since they had reversed the three week law.

Recycled bottles on their way to be filled.

Alley Kat Brewery
9929 66th Ave
780.436.8922
Hours: M-W (10:30-4:30) Th-F (10:30-5:30) Sa-Su (Closed)
Alley Kat has great prices on all their brews in store and you can create your own six pack if you're so inclined.

Neapolean and 1488

On our last evening before heading down to site, we ended up sitting out on the balcony eating the remaining perishables from our fridge and enjoying a couple beer I had picked up at Sherbrooke Liquor earlier in the day.

For Charles, a huge I & G fan, I picked up a whisky beer from Tullibardine Distillery's 1488 line that I fell in love with last year. It's crisp and clean, with a warm, smooth whisky finish, and Charles really enjoyed it.

I decided to go with Neapolean Neapolitan Stout, one of the newer brews from the Sherbrooke and Alley Kat pairing. There was a little write up on it and the chocolate cherry stout in the most recent edition of the The Tomato, and although I was a little weary of ice cream flavoured beer, I couldn't resist picking up a six pack to test out.

Like the other Alley Kat/Sherbrooke editions, the label is a complete win - can you really resist an aging Napoleon with a cup of ice cream in his hand? Well, I couldn't. The little guy is just too appealing.

The flavours of chocolate and strawberry were certainly there both scent and taste wise, with the vanilla lingering in the background. As promised, it was truly neapolitan ice cream + beer, and I am happily enjoying the remainder of the six pack.