How many breweries can I visit in a day?

Up at 6:30 am this morning, it was nice to see the colour of the sky for the first time in days.  I’m quite fine with the rain after living in Vancouver for the last few years, having some seasons where we forget the sun actually does exist.

First stop, Deacon’s Corner.  I love this greasy spoon diner on the corner of Main and Alexander down in Gastown.  It portrays the exact image anyone with a decent breakfast in mind.  Good portions, good food, and they have some good local brew on tap!  I mowed down a bacon and egger with hashbrowns and was pleased to head out for such an adventurous day no longer hungry.  I swear I could make these things at home, and they just never taste the same.  Maybe something to do with the idea that someone else’s cooking just always tastes that much better.

Second stop, Central City Brewing.  It’s still bright and early, so there isn’t a soul in the pub.  Actually I was lucky that someone was just showing up early for work so I could get in!  I wandered through to the back and found Gary Lohin in his full brewers gear, big gum boots, gloves, and the usuals.  He was running around busy in the middle of a brew, and it was great to watch.  This is the first time I have seen Gary’s brewery in motion and it was a sight indeed!  The first thing that caught my attention was a pipe coming down from the ceiling spilling piles of foamy yeast into a drain… but only one burp at a time… I followed the pipe up to the ceiling of the brewery, and along to another set of fermenting tanks, and sure enough, a pale ale in full fermentation.  It was kind of cool to watch!  Next I followed Gary into the canning room to watch the IPA in production.  It felt like the coolest factory you could ever be in – in one room!  Gary was so kind to give a full descriptive tour of every step in the process to putting his great beer into a vessel that gives great shelf life.  After the full tour, we grabbed the cask, and hoisted it into my truck.  One down…

Third stop, Taylor’s Crossing Brewpub.  Hey Varga!  It seems like I see Dave so often lately that we’re almost dating.  Maybe Dave will be reading this and I can make my move.  A quick chat, some high fives, watched Varga fill a cask of his IPA, and then we loaded Woodwards IPA into my truck.  Two down…

So on the way to Taylor’s, I get a random phone call – it’s Vern from Granville Island Brewing.  Turns out Vern needs us to pick up his cask too.

Fourth stop, Dix Brewpub.  It’s still early enough that the lunch rush hasn’t quite started yet.  I can feel the anticipation in the room as it screams for the business district to leave their tedious jobs, and secretly enjoy a nice refreshing beer.  Oh, can’t forget the food too!  Derrick was in full production as well in his big coat.  We quickly grabbed the cask of Imperial Stout he has prepared, and loaded it out into the truck.  Three down…

Fifth stop, Granville Island Brewery.  At this point in the day, having visited so many breweries, I’m really starting to realize how unique each brewery is.  Small differences, big differences, it’s really all over the place.  The idea that there can be such a variation in such a controlled process is really interesting.  Different styles of mash tuns, kettles, fermenters… and then there is Vern’s mustache.  I’ve never seen a mustache fit a brewer so well, and I didn’t even get a good photo of it.  Next time Vern… next time!  We got to chat for a couple of minutes, but like every other brewery today, it’s very rushed as there is lots to do and not much time to do it!  We loaded Vern’s Jolly Abbot into the truck, and off I was.  Four down…

Sixth stop, R&B Brewing.  The second the door opened I was greeted with a happy face.  Who else other than Rick Dellow?  The R in R&B.  Right down to business, we marched into the old cooler, to see a plethora of casks aging in the cool environment.  It felt like some sort of sci-fi movie.  There were all sorts of casks with all sorts of labels.  I stepped around a few, checked a few… and there it was.  The bourbon oak-meal stout.  We loaded it up into the truck.  Five down…

Seventh stop, R&B Brewing.  A few blocks down the road I realized I had forgotten the taps.  This time heading back I got Barry on the other side of the door!  The B in R&B.  What are the odds catching one after the other, while the other is out?  A handshake, a high five, and I was on my way… one more stop.

Eighth stop, Storm Brewing.  Initially I was just coming by to chat with James and do my best to con a taster of his Echinacea Stout.  It worked, and amidst the conversation he decided if I have a truck full of casks, why not one more?  James got his thinking cap on, and pulled a small corked jar out of the fridge.  Upon closer inspection I realized it was fresh pepper?  Yup, soaked in alcohol.  James strained it into a secondary jar, and in went the lemon.  Used our noses to make sure it was just right… even sampled a little in the IPA.  Tastes great!  So into the cask, we filled it up, and sealed.  Rolled the cask around… and it’s ready to go!  Out the door, and into the truck.  Six down…

My truck at this point, as you can imagine, looks the best it ever has!  6 casks in the back, a bag full of taps, and a couple of souvenirs to take back to the island.  Shhh.  It’s been a good day, and yet it’s only 330.  I need a bite to eat.  I stopped by the Whip for a delicious tomato penne, and it was gone within a matter of minutes.  I guess I was hungrier than I thought.  While driving back to the ferry, I was still able to mow down 3 granola bars and a half dozen fruit leathers.  I’m not sure how long they were in the glove box but they definitely served their emergency purpose!  With a day full of driving there hasn’t been as much beer in my belly as I’m used to, and I had to use more food than usual to fill it.  After a quick half hour nap while in line – I am on the ferry now writing about my day, and what a good day it was.  Hectic, yes.  But it’s good to get out of the regular daily routines and still be able to keep the brain busy and productive.

Another trip over the water…

It’s only been a few months since I have made the move over to Victoria, and I will still jump at any chance to get over the Strait of Georgia to visit friends and get my fill of the city. I’m not going to lie, I miss it. Victoria ,undeniably, has a place for me right now that I just can’t turn my back on.

This trip was a quick one, but definitely full with errands and visiting friends. Jumping off an early afternoon ferry, it was straight to Big Ridge Brewpub in Surrey, somewhere I hadn’t been before! Sadly, Tariq (Big Ridge’s head brewer) isn’t around Big Ridge these days with their renovations underway. I was lucky enough to be able to get a pint of his Porter that was one of the last 2 beers on tap. With construction taking a while they have chosen not to sacrifice any quality interruptions in their beers not a bad idea That just lets us know that we’re getting closer to the new Big Ridge opening up some time in the very early new year!

So I grabbed a seat at the bar beside the one and only Timmy Brown. A personality larger than life, Timmy is a great brewer and makes fantastic beer. We had a good chat over a light lunch and got down to business. Timmy is making a cask for Spinnakers Cask Festival, and with the shortage of casks all over BC right now, we were able to dig one up to lend, part of the reason for this trip. I’m still unsure of what he is making for the cask festival, but every beer Timmy has ever produced for any of my planned events has been nothing less than superb.

Next it was time to head up to Taylor’s Crossing to visit Dave Varga, yet another one of Vancouver’s very talented. What a chance it was that I haven’t kept up on any new brewing news in the last week or two, and walked into Varga getting prepped up for Taylor’s 5th anniversary! Dave Woodward, Tariq, his signifigant other Trudy, as well as a few of the CAMRA crew were also there! Varga was so kinda to let me try some samples of upcoming ales that are absolutely delicious! His Mad Cow Stout, a brown porter, as well as a new IPA on the go, it was a full palette of great flavours. A quick walk around Varga’s brewery ensued, and what a nice brewery it is! I have to admit, I am a bit jealous, as I would love to have something of that sort to learn with. Shiny fermenting tanks, a massive conditioning room with 23 tanks all in neat rows. I felt like a kid in a candy store. Thanks for the pints Varga!

As much fun as it was hanging out with this crew, they had to get on with hosting a party, and I had to get on with attending Monica’s birthday. ISfree a few hickups, I caught up with the gang at a new local beer spot to give it a run. St.Augustines hasn’t been around very long, opening after I left to Victoria. I was very curious to give their food a try, and check out their beer menu. I had a craving for Central City ESB, and that was very satisfied with a nice chilled pint followed by a greasy burger topped with bacon, cheese, and a Guinness BBQ sauce. No complaints here! Except that maybe the burger was too delicious, and greasy, and fell apart in my hands. Insert drooling here. A greasy burger is no easy task! Sauce was everywhere, and I felt like I was 5 years old again. It’s been a few since I have had one of those. A few good chats over some more pints, and then it was an early night. Up since 7am takes it’s toll on you, especially after a ferry.

Day 2 involved less work, but a good load of fun as well. I picked up a corny of James’ Lambic for the boys at Solomon’s as well as an empty cask for Harley up at Longwood Brewpub. I made the mistake of not checking to see if there was any beer left in the cask. My truck smells strongly enough to make your eyes water. Oops. My ride home later that night involved my windows rolled all the way down and my airways sore with a vinegar burn. I figured if I was picking up some of James’ beer I should stop by for a visit, and caught him in the middle of brewing his delicious IPA. Somehow I got conned (or did I really want to?) into throwing the IPA hops into kettle. Hands are still inctact, I did good! Being mid day I had some time to relax a little before heading back to the ferry, and time to avoid getting back in my truck and dealing with that smell. I got to see an apple cider press that James rigged together that is nothing short of amazing. I don’t know where he comes up with these ideas… maybe I shouldn’t ask. None the less, it was a pretty cool setup! He fed me a pint of his echinacea stout, insisting if I drink it I won’t catch the swine flu. He said the same thing while offering to spray grain alchol in my mouth. Haha, James is the best.

All in all, it was a pretty good, yet busy 2 days. I didn’t get to stop for very long at any point during the short trip. That’s always a good sign. Now I’m relaxing on a ferry riding home. It’s cold… it’s raining… I can’t wait to get home to enjoy a nice pint of Mitchell’s ESB and a dram of Benriach 12 year old Tawny Port Cask. Maybe I can keep my brain awake long enough to finish some more paperwork after having a nice 2 days off. A cask festival is on the horizon and it’s finally time to start putting all of the little ends together to get everything lined up.

Beer Cocktails?

So far not bad.  Today we hosted a brunch sponsored by Hendricks Gin, and it was a success!  Chef Ali Ryan put together an amazing brunch buffet for everyone that blew us all away.

-Free range egg frittata prepared as both vegetarian and real people options…
-Vegetarian – dragon fly farms spinach, BC tomatoes, and Okanagan goat cheese
-Real People – Hertel ham, blossom’s blue cheese, saanich organics flat leaf parsley
-house smoked beef brisket hashbrowns
-roasted garlic and fresh rosemary hashbrowns
-cowichan valley chanterelle mushroom fritters
-hertel bacon
-spinnakers biscotti, croissants, multigrain and sourdough toast, lavender shortbread, bakery fresh muffins, green onion cheddar scones, as well as local preserves.

Ali doesn’t take any event lightly.  She’s pretty thorough!

As for drink I was able to whip something up that I can honestly say I was a bit nervous about it.  I’m not much of a cocktailer, so this involved quite a bit of guess work and experimentation.  In the end I broke it down to create the “Spinn Fizz”.  It was a crowd pleaser, which is impressive for 10 in the AM!  A basic cocktail, it consists of 2oz Hendricks Gin, squeeze of lemon, squeeze of lime, dash of orange bitters, and topped off with our Kolsch.  Feel free to comment after you try it!  It will be on the new cocktail menu next week.

Done and done, I’m happy its out of the way and life is moving on.  Now tonight I’m off to a Don Julio dinner!  Should be a blast, and interesting to be able to check out the room at Vista 18.  I love having a reason to wear a tie.

Moving forward

This coming week is a good week with the idea that I am finally putting my new whisky list to play with Spinnakers.  As well, I have been playing with the idea of “beer cocktails” and have churned up a few basic, yet interesting expressions.

As for the beer cocktails… I’m happy with what we are starting with, and as well, where it can go from here.  Obviously it’s a learning curve, and you have to start somewhere… so here goes.  This is what I have to start with.

The “Spinn Fizz”

A play on the Gin Fizz, this is a nice refreshing cocktail, named for obvious reasons.  It’s simple, and you can’t replicate it, because we are the only people who carry our beer!

1.5oz of Hendricks gin, a dash of orange bitters, a squeeze of lemon and a squeeze of lime, and top it off with our delicious Kolsch.

“Hell Gate”

Based on a Manhattan, and named after one of the earliest breweries in Manhattan, this tastes just like the real thing.

1.5oz of Makers Mark, .5 oz of Red Vermouth, a dash of whisky barrel bitters, a whisky infused cherry, and topped off with our Abbot Bitter.

“Seer Sucker”

Essentially a Mint Julep.  Refreshing as hell.

1.5oz of Bulleit bourbon, muddled mint, mint bitters, a squeeze of lime, and finished with our Spinnakers Ale.

“Lime Bay Libre”

This one speaks for itself.

Spinnakers Nut Brown and Gosling Dark Rum.  Want some lime?  Go nuts.

“Beer Float”

Is a rotating dessert drink.  We make our own ice cream in house.  Any time we have something new, we’ll pair it to one of our beers.  I’m sure anyone will like it!

Opinions?  Let me know.

Spinnakers!

So it’s been a couple of months since I started with Spinnakers, although it’s already starting to feel like it’s been much longer.  I wouldn’t say it’s a negative feeling at all, I guess I was lucky enough to really hit the ground running and have to figure it out as fast as possible.  Our beer is amazing, the food is 99% local (no local jalapenos just yet), and the building is as cozy as it gets.  3 guesthouses come out to 10 rooms, 2 stores, a tasting room, a restaurant, a pub, and a brewery.  Not bad!!

So far I’m starting to look into planning lots of wicked awesome events.  We have a couple of whisky dinners in the works, as well as a cask festival coming up in a couple of weeks.  18 casks, most of the brewers, and 100 guests.  It’s going to be a great party.  We even have a cask coming up from Bend, Oregon.

Also, I’m redoing our whisky list, introducing new craft bottled beers that you shouldn’t be able to get anywhere else in town.  I’m also looking to get more involved with our stores to diversify our already great beer selections, as well as to dig into their whisky selection too.  I can never get enough!

It looks like I have quite a bit cut out for me!  I’m pretty happy in my new home… Spinnakers is the perfect fit.