Driftwood Meats the Chopping Block
In more food-related news, Salt Tasting Room is featuring Moccia and Driftwood Brewery in their cellar on November 16. With a single long wooden table running the length of the room, this is a great venue to sit down with others who share the love of good food and drink, meet new people, and learn something new.
Readers of this blog will no doubt be familiar with Victoria’s Driftwood Brewery. Moccia is an East Vancouver Italian meat market that offers the finest fresh and dry-cured meats. Their quality is a result of the following philosophy:
Eating meat is a privilege, not a right. We believe animals should be treated with dignity and respect, not only for their sake, but for ours. A healthy animal means healthy food.
Our meats come from local, pasture raised, humanely treated animals.
No antibiotics or growth hormones are added.
The lads from Moccia will be on hand to explain the art of charcuterie, guiding participants through six delectable pairings. Come experience some local excellence:
The Salt Cellar Series: Moccia’s Italian Meat Market & Driftwood Brewing
Monday, November 16, 7:00pm
45 Blood Alley, Gastown, Vancouver
Cost: $40 plus tax and gratuity
Tickets: call (604) 633-1912 or buy online
Ocean Wise Seafood Chowder Chowdown
Having been very impressed with the Granville Island Brewing / Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts “Winter Ales and Fare” cooking competition, I’m pleased to announce another food and beer contest comes right on its heels.
On Wednesday, November 25, the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program is hosting their 2nd annual Seafood Chowder Chowdown in conjunction with the Craft Brewers Association. The following ten Ocean Wise chef finalists will battle it out to be the BC Ocean Wise Seafood Chowder Champion 2009: Chef Wesley Young (C Restaurant), Chef Josh Wolfe (COAST Restaurant), Chef Matt and Andrew Christie (Go Fish), Chef Chris Whittaker (O’Doul’s Restaurant), Chef Sarai De Zela Pardo (Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts), Chef Jasen Gauthier (Provence Marinaside), Chef Michael Carter (The Refinery), Chef Randy Jones (Whistler Blackcomb), Chef Myke Shaw (Vancouver Aquarium Catering & Events), Chef Nobu Ochi (Zen Japanese Restaurant).
Granville Island Brewing, Phillips Brewing, R&B Brewing, Tree Brewing, and Whistler Brewing will each be partnered with two of the chefs to come up with beer pairings for their chowder. These, along with the ten chowders and other beers from the breweries’ portfolios, will be available for guests to sample in the extraordinary setting of the Aquarium at night. At $35 per ticket, this is a phenomenal value.
You get to choose the People’s Choice Award, while five esteemed judges—Chef David Hawksworth, Jamie Maw, Chester Carey, Guy Dean, Kim Stockburn—will determine this year’s champion. Chef Quang Dang of C Restaurant was last year’s 2008 Sustainable Seafood Chowder Champion.
As wine is often an ingredient in chowder, I’m looking forward to seeing what the chefs will come up with in respect to beer. The Smoked Salmon Chowder pictured here is made by Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro in Bellingham. It paired wonderfully with 
their Chinook IPA, an annual special release beer that’s sold to raise funds for the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association.
The Seafood Chowder Chowdown serves as a good model for other cooking competitions that also lend themselves very well to pairing with beer. Two that I can think of right off the top of my head are the Canadian Festival Of Barbecue And Chili at Eat! Vancouver and the Gastown Blues & Chili Fest. An IPA and curry cookoff would also be brilliant.
2nd Annual BC Ocean Wise Seafood Chowder ChowDown
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 @ 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Vancouver Aquarium, Stanley Park
Tickets: $35 / person
Granville Island Gourmands
In BC, we’re slowly seeing a growing understanding of the role beer can play beyond the swill of choice for frat parties and sports bars. No longer are brewmasters dinners confined to just brewpubs and beer geeks. There are an increasing number of restaurants teaming up with their local brewery to offer something that Belgians have known for a long time.
Given the great success vintners have had at marketing and educating the public about wine and food pairing, it may take some time for the brewers to catch up. But if the wine-obsessed Italians can come around to the idea of pairing food with beer, we eventually will too.
Spinnakers Cask Festival 2
Spinnakers is hosting its second cask festival on November 21, building on the success of its inaugural event on March 14 and the growing profile Real Ale is getting in Victoria. This is also a great opportunity to meet brewers from both the Island and the Lower Mainland, many of whom previously brewed at Spinnakers.
What’s the big deal about meeting a brewer? It’s like knowing a farmer, butcher, baker, or cheesemaker — you have a direct relationship with where your food and drink comes from that helps you to know what you are consuming. You also have a better opportunity to understand the process from source to table and even, perhaps, influence what the producer makes.
Here is the lineup:
- Central City ESB
- Dead Frog Oaked Winter Warmer
- Deschutes Jubelale
- Dix Barley Wine
- Driftwood Porter
- Driftwood #2 TBA
- Granville Island TBA
- Lighthouse Winter Ale
- Longwood Brewpub Imperial Stout
- Mission Springs Winter Pumpkin Ale
- R&B Bourbon Oak-meal Stout
- Spinnakers Gingerbread Ale
- Spinnakers Mt. Tolmie Dark Ale with Highland Park 18
- Storm TBA
- Swans TBA
- Vancouver Island “Caskannator”
- Whistler Brewhouse Woodwards IPA
Spinnakers is dedicated to sourcing local ingredients, therefore, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Slow Food and Real Ale than spending an afternoon at the gastropub on Lime Bay.
Time: Saturday, November 21 @ noon – 5:00pm
Place: Spinnakers, 308 Catherine Street, Victoria
Cost: $40 (includes 3 samples, souvenir glass, appetizers)
Tickets: at Spinnakers, both Spirit Merchants locations in Victoria, and CAMRA Vancouver’s Web site
Granville Island Winter Ale Cooking Competition
Granville Island Brewing and Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts are holding their 1st annual “Winter Ales and Fare – Granville Island Brewing and Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts Winter Ale Cooking Competition” on Tuesday, November 3, at Granville Island.
Teams consisting of one culinary and one baking & pastry advanced student, will work together to create one entrée and one dessert item using Granville Island Brewing’s Lions Winter Ale. Competitors will have 45 minutes to race around the Granville Island Public Market to gather core ingredients for their dishes. One more hour will be allowed for cooking, prep, and mise en place, another 15 minutes to bring all the necessary elements to the GIB Tap Room for final plating before the judges.
Students’ final creations will be judged on a points system incorporating criteria such as creativity of menu and use of the beer, best representation of beer flavor, and aesthetic presentation of plating.
WHAT: Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts students go head to head, crafting mouthwatering meal and pastry creations using GIB’s Lions Winter Ale.
DATE: Tuesday November 3, 2009
TIME:
2:00pm – cooking @ PICA, Granville Island
1505 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver BC
4:00pm – tasting and judging @ GIB Tap Room, Granville Island
1441 Cartwright Street, Vancouver BC
About Granville Island Brewing (GIB)
Established is 1984, Granville Island Brewing (GIB) is Canada’s first microbrewery offering a variety of award-winning beers which are brewed and sold here in BC . GIB is dedicated to handcrafting only the finest premium beers that are 100 per cent all-natural and brewed in small batches to provide consumers with the ultimate tasting experience. In celebration of their West Coast heritage GIB names each beer after iconic Vancouver locations that embody the local lifestyle. From the original Island Lager and English Bay Pale Ale, to Cypress Honey Lager, and now their latest innovation; Brockton IPA, GIB continues to produce a diverse portfolio of beers inspired by life on the West Coast.
About Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA)
Located at the entrance to Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia, Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts offers two diploma-granting professional programs in the Culinary Arts and the Baking & Pastry Arts. Additionally, this culinary centre offers programs for the casual home-chef and industry professionals including intensive wine studies, restaurant operations management and hospitality entrepreneurship. The onsite restaurant, Bistro-101, and bakeshop at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts were founded to create a ‘real-world’ training experience for the school’s professional Culinary and Baking & Pastry Arts students. Open to the public five days a week for a la carte dining and available for private events, weddings and catering functions, Bistro-101 at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts gives guests both a fine-dining experience and a glimpse at the world’s future great Chef’s in training.
Brewing Up a Biz: Peg Leg’s
No, this isn’t spam. It’s actually the prodigal-blogger signing on from way up north. I haven’t headed into the hills on a vision quest and grown a bushy beard.
As you may recall, my entrepreneurial vision was that of commercial brewery start-up (or perhaps, “up-start”) and it still is. Boy, I have so much to say and so little space (and time) in which to say it. I feel like I’m living Plato’s allegory of the Cave or Logan’s Run (I’ve been outside and it’s real!). Business started as Peg Leg’s restaurant here in Prince Rupert on July 1 to much fanfare. Our friends and future friends from town packed the place. Then we tore it all up. See, it had been a restaurant before us (we kept the name Peg Leg’s), but it needed a severe face lift. We did in three days what Restaurant Makeover does in seven. Got the place right down to the original old plank flooring (which was a gem of a discovery!), spread some paint, guzzled a few beers, and ignored all urge to sleep.
Our first day with the new menu, new staff, and new look was July 5th. On that day, with patrons packed to the rafters, one of our line cooks went to the bathroom and didn’t return. Seriously. He walked out the back door. That’s when I learned the pressure-cooker method of making dough and cutting fish; and a bit about HR. I thought I had made a huge mistake. My life, at that moment, was ruined.
It has gotten much better, however. And through our love/hate relationship with the start-up, I know it is good. While sitting there last night, in fact, nursing a craft ale and listening to a talented artist do his rendition of “Hurt” on our mini stage, I looked around, noticed patrons truly enjoying our creation. I smiled. The summer has seen both Irena (my very patient better half) and I working to discover the “fine balance” between restaurant life, “other job” life, and real life. It’s not been perfect, nor easy, but luckily, we set out expecting that; and that’s the glue. If there’s one tidbit of experience I can share with someone travelling down this crazy road, it’s this: set your expectations to INCLUDE imperfection and hiccups — it’s the necessary buffer in the avoidance of failure.
On my down time, I have been busy pumping sparge to mash tun to kettle on my little Sabco pilot brewery, getting the feel for it. Soon, from barley, there will be goodness. Unfortunately, another thing I have learned is that restaurants are expensive. As I continue to whittle down my start-up expenses, I’m squirrelling away funds for the brewing side of things. Brewing has always been my “stage B” plan all along. And like you, I’m chomping at the bit. Shockingly, however, I feel I’m relatively on track (for a two-beer roll-out in 2010).
Incidentally, congratulations to the boys “down the road” at Plan B Brewing in Smithers. They recently had their grand opening. A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to have shared a couple of pot stoppers of their brown. Nicely done fellas. Expect a visit soon.
Cheers from the north,
~ Rod Daigle, Triple Island Brewing Company
Creemore Springs Buying Granville Island
It was announced yesterday that Creemore Springs Brewery (a Molson Coors Canada subsidiary) intends to acquire Granville Island Brewing from Andrew Peller Limited. No changes in Granville Island’s operations are currently anticipated. According to the press release, Creemore’s primary reason for buying Granville Island is to offer a broader portfolio across more markets in Canada. This offers the potential for both to become national brands.
Craft beer aficionados are concerned about what role Molson Coors may play in this. However, according to Ontario beer writer, Greg Clow, “Molson has taken a very hands-off approach to Creemore, similar to the way that Sleeman basically left Unibroue alone. The beer is still brewed in the same place on the same equipment by the same people.”
There is some irony in this deal. The raison d’être of craft brewing in British Columbia—begun by the likes of Horseshoe Bay Brewing, Spinnakers, Granville Island, and Vancouver Island Brewery—was to offer more choice to British Columbians than the Big Three, whose mass-produced lager dominated the market to such an extent that it was synonymous with “beer.”
What role did Molson, one of the aformentioned triumvirate, play in this? How hands-off will they remain? Won’t it be better for Granville Island to be owned by brewers, rather than winemakers?
The best-case scenario is that Molson Coors will remain behind the scenes and merely provide Creemore Springs/Granville Island with the financial means to expand craft beer consumption across Canada. This allows them to profit from beer’s fastest growing market segment without generating nearly as much controversy and suspicion from beer aficionados that creating faux craft beer brands and fictitious breweries has done.
Should Molson Coors decide to become more involved in the day-to-day brewing with Creemore Springs/Granville Island beers suffering as a result, they will just be further examples of craft beer compromised by the corporate mentality. The customer base will shift with the more quality conscious moving to, perhaps Phillips or Tree; they will be replaced by industrial lager drinkers who have discovered their taste buds and want to move towards something more interesting.
However, one thing is certain. Regardless of what happens, craft beer in B.C. is here to stay. With three new microbreweries starting up in the last year, there is no shortage of those wanting to offer us a better brew. Seeing what is happening in the U.S., there is ample room for growth in Canada.
For the original Creemore Springs/Granville Island press release, see Canadian Beer News. You can also join the discussion on this deal at The Vancouver Sun, The Globe and Mail, and the CBC.
Brews Cruising in BC
I used to work in the cruise industry in Vancouver, but I’ve never been on a cruise. The reason? I’m not a fan of floating feedlot dining and I don’t like to travelling with a large group of people, especially when you get hundreds disgorging from multiple cruise ships in port at the same time, overwhelming small towns with more tourists than residents, many of whom are seasonal workers from somewhere else.
Maple Leaf Adventures‘ Tall Sails and Ales craft beer and culinary tour through the Gulf Islands via 92-foot tall ship, however, is something completely different. Led by Victoria-based brewing historian, Greg Evans, this low footprint cruise highlights 50 B.C. craft beers through brewery tours, tastings, and pairing with meals prepared from local ingredients (e.g. cheddar and ale soup, cream ale apple fritters, Salt Spring Island lamb, stout brownies). In addition to beer education and brewing history, guests will learn the “unbuttoned” social history of drinking on Vancouver Island and local Prohibition lore.
Of course, you cannot ignore the natural beauty of the area the itinerary covers. Maple Leaf Adventures also offers natural history tours, so you will also get the benefit of this expertise in experiencing the flora and fauna, such as porpoises, sea lions, seabirds, beaches, and rainforests. What a great way to enjoy beautiful British Columbia!
Tall Sails and Ales Cruise
October 22-27, 2009
5 nights, 6 days
Departs from: Port of Sidney Marina
Cost: CAD$2215, includes all accommodations, meals, tastings, materials, and use of gear on board, including kayaks
To book this trip, contact Maple Leaf Adventures at 1-888-599-5323 or via their Web site.
About Greg Evans
Historian, museum director, beer consultant, and raconteur, Greg Evans is known in many circles as a man who knows a lot and makes learning fun.
He is an active member of the Victoria chapter of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the executive director of the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. He has previously been director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum and the B.C. Museums Association, president of the Heritage Council for B.C., and a member of many boards and cultural organizations.
His masters thesis is on the Vancouver Island brewing industry from 1858-1917. His extensive knowledge is enhanced by a quick wit, as evidenced in the names of some of his lectures, including “Hic Hic Hooray: How Canadians Kept Americans Wet During Prohibition.”
You can find some articles by Greg Evans on Maple Leaf Adventures’ Web site.
Brooklyn Brewmaster’s Dinner
Garrett Oliver with the Granville Room's chef, Kye Agrios, holding a Mint White Chocolate Iced Parfait with Parisian fizzy fruit and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout.
We’re fortunate to be able to get beer from Brooklyn Brewery here because it’s not widely available south of us in Washington (although what they do have more than makes up for it). It also means that Garrett Oliver has an excuse to visit Vancouver and be able to expense the trip by hosting a brewmaster’s dinner and tastings.
It’s important that Oliver does come to evangelize craft beer and food pairing because B.C. is only starting to get an appreciation for both; the more people (high profile or otherwise), the better. Some in Vancouver are starting to listen, but for a so-called cosmopolitan city, I find it rather disappointing how slow the pace is. At the very least, every brewpub should be featuring a paired beer with each of their food items. Using their own beer in their food should be a standard procedure, wherever it makes sense. Beer with dessert? If the appropriate styles are brewed, absolutely! If not, I would have bottles available to offer it.
Garlic and Thyme Grilled Beef Tenderloin with duck fat confit potato, baby vegetables, and green peppercorn sauce paired with Brooklyn Local 2.
We have the potential for so much more. Just look at what food pairing has done for wine. If there’s a way to differentiate craft beer from industrial suds, it’s in that direction. It also appeals more to women who are not engaged by sexist macrobrew marketing. To ignore or alienate roughly half the population in your marketing is sheer stupidity. I assure you, women do like beer, even most of the ones that say they don’t. It’s just a matter of finding the ones they like. Who cares if it’s not a macho beer, it’s still beer!
The Brooklyn Brewmaster’s Dinner was hosted at The Granville Room. At first I was a little leery about this choice. It’s on the Granville entertainment strip which is geared to young partiers who are not known for their discriminating beer taste, if what’s typically on offer in these places is any indication. My suspicions were even further piqued when the bartender was serving the aperitif beer in the bottle! That’s fine when you are talking about a characterless lager purposely made to offend as few as possible. For a full-flavoured beer, however, that’s like eating a fine meal with your nose plugged. You lose a lot of the experience, don’t you? Smell plays a large role in taste, so it’s important to drink from a vessel with a wide enough opening to fully take in the aroma. Those who understood this asked for a glass. Those who didn’t, were conspicuous by the bottle they were drinking from. The point, though, is that this shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Time to go to Beer School.
Aside from a stumble using Sichuan peppercorns to encrust ahi tuna in the second pairing (they numb the palate), the dinner was a great success. Oliver was both informative and entertaining; the food was top quality; and we had the good fortune of sampling Brooklyn Local 2, which is not currently available in BC. Personally, I like it better than the Local 1.
As the diners vacated The Granville Room for after-dinner drinks at the Alibi Room, the twenty-somethings were already lining up outside. And while I doubt they would see any benefit from Garrett Oliver’s previous appearance, I’ve still reconsidered my previous hesitation about The Granville Room. In fact, this is exactly the sort of place that needs to have beer events like this. There’s no point in preaching to the choir. It is the “great unwashed” that need to be reached, employees especially. If even a small ray of light can be beamed into their minds, it sows the seed of curiosity that has the potential to germinate into something much greater. This is why there’s a need for a “constant gardener.”
School of Beer
When I was at The Granville Room for the Garrett Oliver Brooklyn Brewmaster’s Dinner, diners were given a pre-dinner drink of Brooklyn Lager. What I found a little disconcerting was that the bartender was just opening the bottle and giving it to people. Of course you could ask for a glass, but that’s not the issue.
What’s the problem, you wonder? It doesn’t matter so much when you’re drinking a near frozen, characterless lager because it’s supposed to have minimal taste that offends no one. With a flavourful beer, however, a large part of enjoying the full experience it has to offer is smelling the aroma. (Note: that’s what aroma hops are for.) It’s hard to smell much from the small opening of a bottle when your mouth is covering it up while drinking from it. That’s like trying to eat a nice meal with congested sinuses — not terribly exciting. With a glass, however, there is ample room for the aroma to reach your nose, even stick your schnoz inside. No more absent-minded drinking. You can’t help but notice the taste of the beer.
This is why establishments should not be serving (and you shouldn’t be drinking) craft beer from a bottle. You will be cheated out of its full potential enjoyment. So why don’t many bartenders and servers know this? Because their managers don’t know this either. They should; they are supposed to be professionals.
Fortunately, there is an opportunity for those in the hospitality industry to gain an understanding of beer — the history, ingredients, brewing methods, styles, handling, proper serving, and tasting. The Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts is offering an eight-week programme taught by Canada’s first Certified Cicerone, Chester Carey. Students will master a complete vocabulary of beer terms through weekly guided tastings. Successful completion of this program will prepare individuals for the Certified Cicerone Beer Server examination.
When: every Wednesday for eight weeks, starting September 9, 2009
Time: 6:30 – 9:30pm
Where: Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, 1505 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver
Cost: $475.00 plus GST, includes beer tastings, textbook, and certificate of completion
Registration: call (604) 734-4488 or download PICA’s Short Programs Registration Form and return by fax to (604) 734-4408
Spaces are filling fast. The last day for registration is September 4.
