Tickets, Cheese Seminar, Beer Friends

September 2007

On the last Sunday of September there was a special day at Volo. The first thing happening was the Cask Days one day ticket sale. To celebrate the day there was a limited quantity of Fuller's ESB on cask for the early birds. Not only was there a big line up for the ticket sale, they sold out within the first couple of hours! This was the third year of Cask Days & it had gained a certain prestige in the beer community in Toronto as The Festival to attend if you like cask conditioned beer.

I wanted to attend the Saturday night session but by the time I got to the front of the line, I could only get tickets for Sunday afternoon. I called everyone I was getting tickets for and thankfully everyone would be able to attend on Sunday instead. This ment I would be volunteering to serve both Saturday afternoon & evening sessions...I knew then that I would have to be prepared for a long day on my feet. Then I thought, "What if it rains??!" Having promised Ralph, the owner, I'd help out ment no backing out now. Not that I would. This was my favorite Toronto beer event and I enjoy supporting those events I believe in.


Dan & Doug are regulars at Volo. There not only very nice guys but they are also fellow beer enthusiasts. Cheers boys! Don't drink all the Fuller's - save me some!


Biergotter Gang: Eric Ecclestone, Jennifer Root, Russ Burdick & Jan Biega enjoying a pint of ESB and playing some eucher. I'll take some of that action.

Part 2 of the same day: Later, I attended the first of three monthly cheese seminars at Volo taught by Julia Rogers. There were 3 sessions scheduled for the last Sunday of September, October & November. Each session would have a different focus, introducing different cheeses and their different wine & beer pairings. This series breaked for the holidays but new sessions were added for spring of 2008. If you're interested go to the Volo website listed as a link on the blog's right hand side.

(More details on this September cheese session will be posted later.)


Julia Rogers of Cheese Culture (cheese educator & enthusiast)


Tasting Plate: September '07 Cheese Seminar

Grilling with Beer Event

Lucy Saunders, author of "Grilling With Beer", Stephen Beaumont, beer writer and co-owner of Beer Bistro and Brian Morin, Beer Bistro Executive Chef, collaborated to host this event on July 10, 2007.




Sometimes timing is everything. The stars must have all been alined to conspire a truely memorable event. This special 5 course meal was offered only for one day which just happened to be my birthday. What could be nicer than being spoiled to a decandent, carefulled planned meal paired with American craft beers savored with friends?

We started with the welcome beer, Lost Abbey's Avent Garde Ale (San Marcos, CA, 7%alc.) An amber biere de garde with a bready body highlighted by spicy coriander and orange notes. I found that it was saison-like, somewhat Duvel-ish, sweet up front but it had a dry finish. It would have been better if it had been served a bit colder.


First Course: Trio of beer bacon-wrapped shrimp with smoked jalapeno pale ale bbq sauce, grilled gravlax, cucumber stout pancake, white beer vinaigrette and grilled cherry beer-cured duck with chipotle peach sauce. This first course was paired with Brooklyn Local 1: The new Belgian-inspired blonde from Brooklyn Brewery. (Brooklyn, NY, 9% alc.) A delicious start. Every bit satisfying and covering a wide spectrum of flavours. My favorite was the shrimp.


Second Course: Grilled porter ginger scallops bitter greens, mango, pink grapefruit lambic vinaigrette. It was paired with Anchor Summer Beer: A slightly sweet wheat beer with hints of honey & citrus. (San Francisco, CA, 4.2% alc.) The only thing wrong with dish was there wasn't enough. The greens were not sharp tasting because the tart dressing and sweet scallops balanced this dish.


Third Course: Smoked chicken & chanterelles grilled beer onions, pear tomatoes, thyme & goat cheese on herbed walnut flatbread. It was paired with Sierra Nevada Porter: medium bodied with notes of coffee and chocolate. (Chico, CA, 5.6% alc.) This course in really contrasted from the previous two with it's earthy flavours and heavier body. The porter accentuated the walnut flatbread and smokiness of the chicken.


Fourth Course: Slow-smoked pork back ribs Waupoos cider marinated, jalapeno cheddar biscuits, smashed potatoes & rauchbier bbq beans. It was paired with Lost Abbey Red Barn: spiced with ginger, orange, pepper & grains of paradise. (San Marcos, CA, 6.7% alc.) The ribs were so tender I hardly had to chew; the texture of the smashed potatoes really enhanced their flavour; the beans were smokey, saucey and made excellent use of the rauchbier they were cooked in.


Fifth Course: Strawberry raspberry shortcake, berry beer sorbet, icecream. Dessert was paired with Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout: bittersweet and soothing. (Brooklyn, NY, 10.1% alc.) Fresh, lightness in the mouth yet extreemly deep in flavours. The palate was saturated with berries and velvetly smoothness of the stout.

No more...not even a tiny waiffer.

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?