Join me for this fun tasting that explores the relationship of women with beer throughout history:

For more information, you can call: 506-457-9082  ext. 1

The beginning of the article is quite interesting, listing some of the other shapes of glasses that were used in the UK before the nonic pint came along. Then, McFarland goes on a bit of a rant about the nonic pint, calling it a “weapon of mass consumption that shows little love for the liquid inside” and saying it “demoralises the drinking experience.”

I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown up with them, but I don’t find nonic pints particularly ugly. Just because it was designed with the publican in mind, doesn’t make it a bad glass. McFarland explains: “the (no nick) glass didn’t chip like its predecessors, was cheap, sturdy, stacked well and was easy to clean” Let’s review that list:

•    ”didn’t chip” – don’t see the problem there. I’m not into ingesting glass shards
•    ”cheap” – again, no problem. It’s likely that more expensive glassware = more expensive pints
•    ”easy to clean” – I don’t think I need to add anything here

Pubs get busy and I’m happy to use a glass that’s more practical for the wait-staff. Especially since the nonic highlights beer flavours and aromas just as well (if not better) than any other pint-size glass. So now we get the the part of the article that prompted me to write this entry:

McFarland’s second strike against the nonic pint is its size. He writes: “The pint is too much. Lovingly crafted beer should not be classified as a commodity…it’s a quality artisan product deserving of reverence equal to wine and spirits.” He later adds: “Whisky and wine drinkers never say “it’s nice but I couldn’t drink a pint of it,” and nor should beer drinkers.” and this raised alarm bells for me.

I agree these beers will benefit from the use of proper glassware and did write an article on beer glassware theory outlining why. But I don’t feel that 20oz is too much beer. It’s true that, as McFarland points out, beer on the whole is stronger in alcohol than it used to be. There are many delicious 7-9%abv beers out there and they should absolutely be consumed in smaller glasses. Having said this, the fact that beer is proportionally lower in alcohol and can be consumed in larger quantities is one of its charms. Let’s not lose sight of that.

I, for one, do not want to see beer “revered” as McFarland writes, or “raised to the status of wine” as brewer Sam Calagione is fond of saying. I want to see it enjoyed, I want to see its flavours appreciated, but I also want to see it celebrated for its specific attributes, I want to see it bought in rounds and sessioned. I very much enjoy wine and spirits but when I’m on a patio on a hot day or catching up with old friends at the pub, I want a full pint or two of 4.5-6% abv beer. The way that flavours in a beer will evolve as you make your way through a pint (especially with cask-conditioned ale) is one of my favourite things.

Of course, I am grateful to have the option of drinking a half-pint on occasion and I prefer to drink higher alcohol beers in smaller glasses. But while these bold higher-alcohol beers are delicious they are not the future of beer, they are simply one of the many facets of beer.  In all of this excitement with hops and barrel-aging and imperializing beer, let’s not lose sight of beer as a social beverage. Beer is not wine or spirits. Yes, beer should be appreciated. Yes we should be more adventurous with it. Yes, we should bring it to the table and pair it with food. But please, let’s not lift it up, and out of the simple, every-day places where it is so very much enjoyed: the patio, the pub, the sports bar and the outdoors.

Let’s embrace the pint as proper glassware for certain styles, moods, times and places. Let’s appreciate the flavours, qualities, craftsmanship and character in a pint of 3%abv cask-conditioned bitter or 4.5%abv pilsner in the same way that we appreciate these traits in a snifter of Barleywine.

Do you need an excuse to get off the couch and out to the pub this evening?

Well, guess what? It’s St. Brigid of Kildare’s Day!…

Let’s all head out to the pub and CELEBRATE!

Right now, some of you might be wondering who St. Brigid of Kildare was. Well, like St. Patrick (who we celebrate at the pub every year) she is one of the patron saints of Ireland. Here’s the difference, though. Although we know nothing of St. Paddy’s drinking habits or whether he enjoyed beer at all, St. Brigid was all about the beer! Here is the beginning of a prayers which is attributed to her. I propose it as a toast for this evening:

“I should like a great lake of ale, for the King of the Kings. I should like the family of Heaven to be drinking it through time eternal.”

Isn’t that sweet of her? St Brigid of Kildare‘s life is not very well documented but her love of beer was. How’s this for a miracle: “when she sent a barrel of beer to one Christian community, it proved to satisfy 17 more”… She multiplied a barrel of beer to make sure there was enough to go around, and this is at a time when malt was scarce! There is also a story of her turning her bathwater into beer. Alternate versions have her doing so for a thirsty clergyman or a leper colony. It is a good deed, either way.

If St. Brigid were around today, I’m sure she’d want us to mark her day with beer. Since the Irish have opted for St. Paddy’s day to celebrate their culture and heritage, I propose that we use St. Brigid’s day to celebrate women in beer:

Let’s get all of our favourite women out to the pub and buy them a pint!

Let’s seek out beers that were designed and brewed by women!

Let’s give a big hug to all of the brewsters we know!

Happy St. Brigid’s Day!!!

The article is saying that: “Ultimately, you should be able to send back any beer that you are unsatisfied with…but consumers seem to have hang-ups about doing this.”

I would certainly include myself in that category. It’s always difficult to send a beer back. I was surprised by the following statement in the article: “The likely outcome of asking for a different beer would be a server who is perfectly happy to bring you a beer that you’ll appreciate and enjoy.” Ha! I would say that this is far from being my experience in Toronto. Most commonly, the response from the server will be “people have been drinking it all evening and no one has complained” at which point, I usually have to either convince the server to taste the beer, or get the bar manager involved in order to get a different beer. Even worse, I have on occasion been on the receiving end of a patronizing lecture from the server about how this is the way that beer should taste and it’s likely just too challenging a flavour for me. Not fun.

The more I learn about beer, the more confident I am in sending beer back. There are now instances when I do not hesitate to return a beer – and that is when:

• I know for sure that the beer in question is tasting very differently from what it is supposed to taste like
• I know that the problem likely occurred due to mistreatment at the pub
• I am able to provide feedback to the server.

Otherwise, if it’s just bubbles on the glass or mild oxidation, I am very hesitant to send it back for the following reasons:

• In the case of bubbles on the glass, if one glass isn’t beer clean, it’s likely that most of the glasses in the establishment aren’t because, in most cases, it’s the dishwasher that’s the issue.
• In the case of mild oxidation, it might be that this beer is moving more slowly than the other beers that are on tap, because it is unusual / a less popular beer. In this case, I would rather encourage the pub to keep this beer on draught by drinking it, than send the beer back in favour of a brand that moves more quickly.

While I do agree that “the consumer is just as responsible for blowing the whistle on bad beer …It will help ensure that the experience future craft beer enthusiasts have are never negative”, I feel that it is important to be mindful. While beer appreciation is certainly on the rise in Ontario, we still have a long way to go and raising a stink about small things like glasses not being beer clean or making a fuss over a small issue is not constructive. It’s just going to support the notion that beer appreciation is snooty and discourage others from exploring beer. When it is a minor issue, I would argue that it might be more constructive to simply point the issue out to the server and keep the pint.

Whether to send a beer back or not is often a tough call to make. In the end, I think the article sums it best  ”Strive to be a steward of beer; not a beer snob.” I wholeheartedly agree. This is one of the reasons that I set up the Off-Flavours workshops that I ran in the fall. It is helpful (and fun!) for people who love beer to learn to identify problematic beer and be able to confidently provide constructive feedback when a beer is off. The more we all learn about beer, the more we can share.

A fun treat to share over the Holiday Season…

I was researching a holiday beer ideas CBC radio segment last year and came across this delicious recipe for Royal Posset. Posset is a warm drink and it is thought to have been the pre-decessor to Egg Nog. It can be made with either beer or wine but because the recipe originated in Britain, many people theorize that Posset would originally have been made with beer…
As part of my research for the segment, I decided to try the recipe. I followed it exactly, using  Fuller’s Vintage Ale and it was very tasty! It is not as sweet as traditional egg nog but every bit as rich and warming. With the holiday fast approaching, I thought I’d take a moment to share this recipe as a fun treat for holiday entertaining:

ROYAL POSSET

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 pint cream
• 2tbsp sugar
• 1/4 nutmeg berry (grated)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 pint ale

In a large bowl, whip the egg yolks with the cream, sugar, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites. Add the ale and whipped egg whites to the yolk mixture, stirring well to blend. Place over a low fire and stir until thick, but do not boil. Remove from the fire and serve piping hot.

NOTE: Although I used the Fuller’s, I’m sure that this posset could be made using any rich, malty, higher alcohol beer…

Enjoy!

This recipe was published by Dale DeGroff in a book called The Essential Cocktail: The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks. It is adapted from an old recipe in Practical Housewife, which was published in 1860 and which I have located online here (the recipe is on p.221)

Happy Holidays!

Mirella

Beet Salad with the Red Leaf Lager

Squash and Mushroom Salad with the Winter Ale

Chocolate Cake with Winter Ale Caramel

As I mentioned in a previous post, this whole season of Ontario Brewer is about pairing beer with food. This month, the feature was on Great Lakes brewery and Matt came in to talk about his experience cooking with beer and pairing it with food.  (I’ve included the podcast below)

Matt prepared the three dishes above to go with the Great Lakes Red Leaf as well as their Winter Ale. All three are delicious, but the one that really got me excited was the Squash & Mushroom Salad. Not only because it was tasty but because I would have never thought to pair a salad with a bold winter ale.

One of my favourite things about the work that I do is that there are so many opportunities for collaboration and sharing and it is fantastic to hear someone else’s perspective on a beer and what could be done with it. As a Cicerone, I specialize in styles, service and food pairing but I prefer to leave cooking with beer to the chefs. Although I’ve known Matt for just about two years now, this is only the second opportunity we’ve had to collaborate. I love what he does with beer and look forward to tasting what recipes he comes up with for next year’s podcasts…

Ontario Craft Brewer Podcast

We need a national craft brewer’s association in Canada. It’s time. Craft breweries in various provinces are gaining momentum and growing fast. What isn’t growing and changing along with the craft breweries is our distribution legislation. Legislation like the one that is preventing Beau’s from implementing the BYBO program, legislation that limits inter-provincial distribution, legislation that prevents beer from being shipped in the mail. We need an association which, like the American BA, lobbies for changes in legislature that take into account the fact that our brewing scene and the players within it are vastly different than they were when these legislations were first put in place.

Beau’s was shut down because what they were trying to do was not legal. I’m guessing that the fine folk at Beau’s must have had an inkling that this might happen. I’m not saying that what they were trying to do should be legal necessarily, because I’m not exactly sure why the regulation in question was put in place. I am, however, saying that our distribution laws should be re-examined to make sure that they allow for a fair playing field. There are a number of distribution laws (and I’m sure there are all kinds of other regulations) that are putting small brewers at a disadvantage and, in the absence of a lobbying group, breweries are constrained to take initiatives like these and hope that no one will notice / care.

Just like the first wave of movers & shakers took charge in the 1980s and pushed for changes in legislation that would allow small breweries to exist, we now need movers and shakers to push for changes that will allow these small breweries to continue to grow.

I wish I could propose a quick and easy way to make this happen, but instead all I can do right now is raise the issue. Maybe this kind of thing is already in the works (I hope so.) One thing I do know: when the industry decides to mobilize, our friends at the American BA will be a great resource. I just saw Pete Johnson speak at a conference in Québec and he was full of helpful advice and information. Maybe it’s time we started a dialogue…

These troubleshooting classes that I’m organizing are different. They are about exploring what can go wrong with beer because it is a complex and delicate beverage. Although brewing beer is easy in theory, brewing it properly and consistently requires a lot of care and attention. Something as innocuous as a speck of dust can completely wreck a brew.

Sure, it’s a bit weird to spend a few hours tasting beers that have gone bad or have been mistreated along the way but it’s also kind of fun! It’s like solving a puzzle… learning to zero in on different off-flavours and understanding what went wrong instead of simply declaring a beer “skunky” and undrinkable.

Here’s the thing about off-flavours in beer: we don’t come across them every day (thankfully!) The best way to get to know these flavours and learn to identify them it though dedicated tutored beer tasting sessions, like the ones that I’m running this fall. In my training as a BJCPJudge & Cicerone, I sought out these classes over the years and have found them to be super-useful. With the beer industry in full bloom here in Ontario, I thought it would be helpful to offer troubleshooting classes for those who haven’t yet had the opportunity to acquaint themselves with common off-flavours.

So, how does it work? Simple! I take beers, I either spike them with off-flavours or mistreat them and then serve them. As a group, we discuss the flavour of the beer and how it compares to a “clean” sample. We then talk about what this off-flavour is called, how it was produced and how to correct or avoid it moving forward. I know, geeky stuff!

Are you intrigued? Join us! Find out about upcoming off-flavour tastings by signing up for the Beerology newsletter and checking the “industry” option, or check the upcoming events page.

For people who work in pubs or who work closely with beer, it is so great to be able to identify and address an off-flavour when it comes along and, as a consumer it’s super-cool to be able to send along constructive feedback when served a pint that doesn’t taste right… Whether you work in beer or simply enjoy it (or both!) attending these sessions will definitely open your eyes to a whole new dimension of flavour…

Over at Cask! we’ve collaborated with the Volo team to organize three seminars on cask-conditioned ale on October 29th, followed by a Cask! Social. Each seminar is accompanied by a one-off beer that was brewed especially for the occasion!

Admission costs are $10 per session, or $25 for all. 
This includes one glass of cask-ale per session plus seminar discussion.

 BUY TICKETS HERE

Here is more info on the three sessions:

SESSION #1 – HOW TO MAKE CASK-ALE

Hosted by Charles Maclean (Owner/Brewer of Maclean’s Brewing)



Cask: Maclean’s IPA (Charles Maclean)

10:30AM – 11:30AM       Time Duration: 1 Hour       Cost: $10.00

An in-depth discussion of how to properly make and rack cask-conditioned ale. The seminar will educate brewers and beer enthusiasts the essential steps involved when brewing cask-ale. Charles Maclean has been a fore-frontier of cask-ale in Ontario since the beginning and will elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of brewing cask-ale at a brewery level.

SESSION #2 – CELLARING & SERVING CASK CONDITIONED ALES

Hosted by Ralph Morana (barVolo) & George Milbrandt (C’est What)

Cask: Mildly Bitter (House Ales X barVolo X C’est What Collaboration)

12:00PM – 1:00PM        Time Duration: 1 Hour       Cost: $10.00

Cellarmanship in the broadest sense covers the gamut of drinks sold by retail outlets and requires a detailed technical manual. The purpose of seminar is to set out the general principles for the successful management of cask-conditioned ales at the restaurant/bar level. Ralph Morana and George Milbrandt have established themselves within the beer community as bar owners that advocate cask-condition ales on a daily basis.

SESSION #3 – THE HISTORY OF CASK-ALE IN ONTARIO


Hosted by Nick Pashley & Robert Hughey

Cask: “There’s Gold In That There Cask” (House Ales X Nick Pashley Collaboration)

1:30 PM – 2:30PM     Time Duration:  1 Hour       Cost: $10.00

Learn about the history of Cask-Ale in Ontario and find out how it has matured to where it is today. Nick Pashley and Robert Hughey are both highly dedicated to the raising awareness of local cask-ale and offer a wide range of brewing knowledge and experience from which to draw. Nick Pashley is the author of “Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why It’s Necessary” and “Cheers: An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada”; and Robert Hughey regularly contributes to “The New Brewer” and “Great Lakes Brewing News” beer publications.

CASK! SOCIAL – A CASK ALE SOCIAL GATHERING

Hosted by CASK! Toronto, barVolo & House Ales



3:00PM – 7:00PM

Cost: Free Admission

bar

Volo will host CASK! Toronto’s monthly cask social – the event is open to the public with no admission fee. This will be an exclusive House Ales feature of Traditional English Styles– all beers are subject to availability.

·      Fuller’s Left Over

·      House Ales X Harry & Paul OFA

·      House Ales Run ESB

·      House Ales Matt’s Marathon Mild 2011 – Batch 1

·      House Ales X C’est What? Mildly Bitter

·      House Ales X Notes On A Beermat There’s Gold In That There Cask

For more information please contact: julian@barvolo.com