The Walnut Fix

After enjoying a bottle of Maudite (http://www.unibroue.com/english.cfm), I took a sip of Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale (http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/5_breweries/samsmith_nut_brown_ale.html). But something strange happened - the Nut Brown Ale tasted sour. I had another sip and again I got a very distinct sourness. I've had the Nut Brown Ale a few times before I had no memory of it tasting like this at all.

To try to 'correct' Beer Guide suggested eating walnuts. It worked perfectly. I think what happened was the bitter skin of the walnuts re-set my palate. The Nut Brown Ale had only tasted sour because my tongue had had something much sweeter in comparision just before. By eating something bitter, my tonge had a new frame of reference and the Nut Brown now tasted sweeter in comparision.

Does anyone else have any similar experiences when mixing beers in a session?

Beer Suitcase

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. This is exactly how the Beer Suitcase came into being. Now some will argue that the need for beer is not a real necessity, and that the Beer Suitcase in not really an invention, but I will show that this is a perfect example of how ingenuity was inspired by my life's specific requirements.

Some people need a car. For the most part, I have learned to make do with public transit after someone rear ended me and totalled my car. Some people have a need to make a lot of money. I have never been inspired by money, rather, I have learned how to make my modest earnings work for me. I do however get great enjoyment from good food and good drink with friends. My appreciation for well made, thoughtful, handcrafted things gives me pleasure. Time spent working earns me the few nice things that I choose to spend my paycheque on. I do not buy souvenirs or trinkets when I travel. I do not spend a lot of time in malls & boutiques buying piles of clothes. The thing I buy when I travel is usually new & interesting beer (the variety of which I cannot get in Toronto) and very little else.

In the last few years, I've travelled as often as time and money allowed. This is why the Beer Suitcase became a kind of necessity for me. Since security and air travel regulations have become increasingly strict, we are, among many other things, not allowed to bring more than 100 ml. of liquid in our carry-on luggage. Now having to check all my precious beer requires special packing. (It was so much easier when I could take a box with me on the plane as my carry-on luggage.) With Beer Guide taking the lead, the Beer Suitcase was devised.

The task was figuring out how to pack a number of glass bottles in a regular suitcase in a way that would protect them from tough handling with light-weight, sturdy packing materials. Keeping in mind that most airlines allow 50 lbs. per piece of checked luggage, an oversized suitcase would just be too heavy when it was fully packed with bottles, so a small case with a pull out handle with wheels was choosen. Beer Guide got a typical 650 ml. and 331 ml. bottle to accurately estimate the total weight once the case was packed.

After some debate, this is what resulted:

Cardboard tubing 0.4 cm thick was cut into lengths of just longer than a 650ml bottle. Ten tubes were cut and could be placed width wise in the suitcase in 2 layers. Also included were packing foam & bubble wrap to make the interior as tightly packed as possible. Eliminating rattle inside a suitcase will almost ensure no breakage. A roll of packing tape and a pair of small sissors were also brought on the trip, just in case.

This worked perfectly when tested on it's maiden voyage. Not only was packing the beer easy & quick, all 17 bottles made it home without a single loss. Success was sweet...may Beer Suitcase have many, many more voyages to come. Amen.

Rocky Mountain Adventure

(This is the view from Lineham Ridge)

For 17 glorious days last summer Bier Goddess also was Mountain Goddess. Her time was spread out to cover Calgary, Banff National Park, Canmore, Waterton Lakes Provincial Park and just over the US border in Glacier National Park (also called the International Peace Park) in Montana.


Now don't you think that just because she was out in all of nature's glory that there was a lack quality beer. No, just the opposite in fact. In Calgary I can recommend the following liquor stores with great beer selections: Willow Park (south end of Calgary at 10801 Bonaventure Drive S.E.), Liquor Depot (north end of Calgary at 831 Edmonton Trail North, unit 117) and Kensington Wine Market(mid-town at 1257 Kensington Road N.W.).

In Banff, there is a suprisingly descent stock of beer at the tiny liquor store on behind the main street on the north side called Liquor World at the back of Cascade Mall (202 Wolf Street). The Irish pub almost directly opposite that liquor store has excellent draught offering (and the best fish & chips I've ever had).


(A view from Canmore looking up at Three Sisters)

In the town of Canmore there is probably the best liquor store outside of Calgary. It's called Alberta Spirits (1120 Railway Avenue, located at the edge of town just off the Trans Canada Highway). The staff there have excellent product knowledge and sometimes will let you try stuff out before purchasing. Also worth a visit while in Canmore is the Grizzly Paw Pub Brewing Company (622 Main Street also called 8th Street). In the pub you can try their line of beer on tap. They can all be tasted as 2oz tasters that come on a tray so you can pick your favorite. Most of their beers are bottled so you take some to go. (website: http://www.thegrizzlypaw.com/)


When Bier Goddess was in the tiny town of Babb, Montana just outside Glacier National Park where there is steakhouse called The Cattle Baron Supper Club. It's hard to miss since it is the biggest building in town with hardly any buildings. Entering the restaurant is like stepping into a place that time forgot. The first thing you see is the big,wooden wrap-around bar where one can spy the very decent selection of bottled beers in the glass fridge (American micro o-plenty) and the variety of excellent draft they have tapped.


Continuing inside, there was lots of wood panelling on the walls, slate floors, a huge curved staircase upstairs to the dining area and mounted on high on the wall on the second floor is a replica model of ancient aborignal hunting area, Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump - very cool.


(This is the view from the path up to Lake Bourgeau early in the accent.)

It was nearing the end of the mountain adventure. Bier/Mountain Goddess had enjoyed numerous hikes, plenty of wildlife sightings (the highlight was the cougar), a day of spelunking, a dip in the hot springs, concerts, an art show, miles of heart breakingly beautiful countryside, scrumptious food and of course her fill of tasty beers (both regional micros and American & European imports). There was enough time for one last hiking challenge - Lake Bourgeau/Mt. Bourgeau.


It's funny how even the most modest of accomplishments can give one a sense of wellness and joy. This hike marked my personal best - I had grunted & struggled up my first vertical mile (1400m vertical gain from the starting altitude). The day was long and dusty. By the time I got near the top, I was exhausted and my legs were really spent but I was so happy. Yes, maybe not anything really special to anyone else but for me, it was a moment I won't soon forget. I felt like I was on top of the world.

It was bitter-sweet on the last night before heading home to Toronto. To toast another great trip, a Rattlesnake E.S.B Ale was chosen as the celebratory drink. Just a note, beer foams quite a bit when pouring into a stainless steel cup. If you rinse the cup with cold water, it helps a bit but it would still be wise to pour slowly.


Written on the BC Beer's website was:

"Rattlesnake E.S.B. Ale (Bitter, 5%) - While it doesn't fit the traditional E.S.B. profile in terms of colour (too light) or alcohol content (too low), it does have a good smack of hop bitterness to it. Can have a somewhat astringent graininess, but worth it for the hops."
For More information on British Columbia microbrews see this link: http://www.bcbeer.ca/default.aspx

San Francisco Adventure to the Rogue Pub

(Thanks to Bagelhot Photography for the photo edit of the photo immediately above.)

While in San Francisco last November, Bier Goddess had one afternoon to visit a beer establishment. She chose the Rogue Pub (673 Union Street at Columbus Avenue). This was such a monumentous beer adventure, it took some thoughtful writing to capture all the wonderful experiences in less than 1000 words.

The visit almost was denied before it got started. The pub was not open at 11am when Bier Goddess initially arrived hoping to grab some lovely beer & good pub grub for brunch. Utterly disappointed, she noticed a man walking up to the pub doors. He was the Rogue Regional Sales Manager. What a stoke of luck! He offered to call the General Manager, Conrad, to confirm that the pub would be open by 1pm if Bier Goddess could come back in a couple of hours. Of course she could return...nothing would keep her from it. And it was so worth the effort. The pub was empty except for four patrons and Conrad. This allowed a kind of 'private' visit - Bier Goddess could look around, take pictures, chat at length with Conrad who was a generous host. He let Bier Goddess behind the bar to look at the taps. He made a "Rogue Nation" membership card for her. He gave her goodies to take home. Then there was the business of tasting some delicious beer.

Included in the line up of 2oz. tasters were: Shakespear Stout, Imperial Stout, HazelNut Brown Nectar, Chocolate Stout, Mocha Porter, Best Bitter, Juniper Ale, Dead Guy Ale, Imperial IPA, Uberfest Pilsner and Half-E-Weizen...unfortunately Bier Goddess has lost an exact account of each beer due the lack of documentation (yes, she has to start writing stuff down). The excitement of the visit and mild inebreation also contributed to the loss of details. Oh the perils of beer drinking...


There were many bottled beers purchased to go home with Bier Goddess from the retail fridge (see left).
For details of one of the beers purchased, Santa's Private Reserve, see previous posting.



A few more beer offerings were also snatched up from Coit Liquour store a couple of doors down from the pub (585 Columbus Avenue).

Heart felt gratitude goes to Conrad for his exceptional hospitality. He certainly made Bier Goddess' first trip to San Fransisco one she'll never forget. Apologies for making Conrad open up the pub early (especially since he did the close the night before). Bier Goddess has been singing his praises since that visit in November. In fact she sent a Beer Friend there just the following week. Unfortunately, this Beer Friend could not meet Conrad since it was his day off but it was reported back that he was well looked after by the Rogue staff. Cheers & hope to be back again some day!