What would you do with a brewery in Bavaria? I suspect if you asked a thousand people this question, 999 of them would answer in the same way: “I’d brew beer!”. Dieter Liepold, though, is not one to run with the crowd, and his answer was a bit different: “I’ll brew organic fermented non-alcoholic beverages!’

Of course, Liepold wasn’t about to let a few pesky facts get in the way: first, fermentation typically produces alcohol. Second, no one had ever tried to brew non-alcoholic malt drinks using brewing principles, and following the same purity laws used to brew beer. Ignoring these minor details, he experimented in a makeshift lab in the brewery’s bathroom, spent $3M dollars of the brewery’s money, and came up with Bionade, a unique organic beverage that sold seventy-three million bottles in 2006.

While beer is brewed with yeast, which converts sugar into alcohol, Bionade is brewed with a strain of bacteria which converts sugars into gluconic acid. The gluconic acid acts as a natural sweetness-enhancer, meaning that less sugar is needed to make the drink taste sweet. It is an interesting alternative in the European markets to high-sugar soft drinks – and certainly seems to have been accepted by the public audience. Bionade is made in elderberry, litchi, orange-ginger and herb flavours.

Most importantly, it’s tasty. I had a bottle of the herb flavour in a small organic café in Munich last week and was very much impressed. I haven’t seen Bionade in Canada yet, but it has received FDA approval and is already available in the United States. I suspect that we will be seeing it soon.

I had been saving this bottle of Warre’s Otima 20-year-old port for a special occasion, and what could be more special than two feet of snow in Vancouver and a serious urge to hibernate? It’s rich and perfectly – but not cloyingly – sweet, with a walnut aftertaste. And I’m not just being a pretentious snob when I say that, because it really does taste like walnuts.

It’s perfect with blue cheese or chocolate, but probably not both at the same time. You can get the 10-year-old vintage at BC Liquor Stores, but the 20-year-old vintage is harder to find. Some higher-end restaurants have it on their dessert wine list. Both ports are multiple award winners, so it’s definitely worth the effort to track one down.

Back in my ad agency days I had the chance to work on both Labatt and Molson brands. Back then I wasn’t much of a mainstream beer guy, preferring instead many of the microbrews and specialty beers we have available to us. Plus, I wasn’t drinking the kind of volumes that would necessitate re-thinking paying a slight premium for the stuff.

That said, inevitably once the free beer started flowing one would often hear, “Hey, this isn’t bad!” just after the sound of can tops popping. I believe it was both a biased opinion and that many had never bothered to really drink these beers before. Or just that free beer equals good drinkable beer.

Hence, when we received the invitation to join a handful of other food bloggers Tuesday night at the Molson Vancouver brewery for Brew 2.0, I was interested. First, because I’ve driven by that brewery for years and never been inside, even when I worked for them, and secondly, because they were offering up food pairings with Molson products by Blair Rasmussen, Executive Chef at the Pan Pacific. Intriguing.

Here’s a look at the menu and pairings:

Scallop and Papaya Ceviche Crostini paired with Rickard’s White; Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese Bruschetta paired with Coor’s Light; Smoked Wild Salmon on Wild Rice and Beer Blini, Fennel Salad paired with Molson Canadian; Prawn Quesadillas, Fresh Guacamole, Salsa Fresca paired with Corona; Chorizo Empanadas paired with Old Style Pilsner; Rickard’s Honey Brown Ale- Braised Bison Mini Sandwiches paired with Rickard’s Red; Cheeseboard with Aged Cheddars, Brie and Gorgonzola Walnut Baguette, Flat Bread and Crackers Blair’s Addictive Beer Nuts paired with Heineken.

On the one hand, you have to admire Molson for trying to take their beers to the next level, or at least presenting them that way, but pairing Coors Light with anything other than a bag of Doritos (ignore the obvious disconnect in drinking light beer with potato chips) is a bit of a stretch. Corona and quesadillas worked a hell of a lot better.

And while I remain a non-Molson customer, the Rickards products do seem to have greater appeal for me. In the absence of other micro-brewed products, they’ll do in a pinch. The Rickard’s White was good in my opinion, and the orange garnish on the rim was an interesting touch (never thought to present it that way even if some of the white beers definitely have essences of orange and floral notes that would go quite well with it. I would have preferred a light curry pairing, but maybe that would have been too obvious. Not sure what it is about braised meat, bison in this case, that causes a stampede, but people were digging it. It was also the most successful pairing of the night, going down nicely with the Rickard’s Red.

Ultimately, we were there to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Vancouver brewery along with brewmasters Kerry Scarsbrook & Gord Rickards, creator of Rickard’s Red and Molson Brewery founder John Molson’s great-great-great-great-grandson, Geoff Molson (who was working the taps for most of the night). Gord lead our tour of the place.

Two words: stainless steel. What impressed besides the sheer volume of beer that can be created was the mass of intertwining stainless conduits running throughout the complex. That and the automation. It was after hours for the brewery so perhaps they were running a lighter shift, but it seems like they don’t really need that many people to make beer these days. Computers and automation are just the thing when you are a major brand and consistency in taste and quality is key. As impressive as the volume of beer they can crank out is, Gord pointed out that this is a small brewery by any standard. I’ve been to Carlsberg in Denmark, Heineken in Amsterdaam and Guiness in Dublin so I can attest, but it still seems big when generally we relate to beer one six pack at a time.

When we returned to the tiny bar atop the brewery (amazing view by the way) we were treated to Rickard’s Gold, a beer brewed just for us for this one night supposedly. Geoff Molson handed it to me. I sipped. First reaction was that it tasted like a Rickard’s product. It was also fresh and clean with the tiniest bit of bitter, and a pleasant, almost neutral aftertaste. Is this good? I dunno. Sure, it was good. Not sure I’d buy it, but I’d drink it.

I forgot to say it to them that night, so I will here, Happy Anniversary Molson.

UPDATE: A couple days after the event, two cases of a selection of Rickard’s beers arrived at our stuio with a thank you note for come. Very classy move Molson—thanks!

On Tuesday the Ontario Brewing Award Winners were announced in Toronto. 57 brands of Ontario brews were submitted for judging across 15 different categories. The big winners were Mill Street Brewery walking away with 3 Golds, 3 Silvers and 1 People’s Choice. Close behind were Brick and Great Lakes Breweries with 2 Golds, 2 Silvers and 2 People’s Choice each. The People’s Choice favourite was Nickel Brook with 3 People’s Choice and 2 Silver Medals.

Last year’s awards caused some controversy around the judging, so this year they brought in a combination of experts and regular joes to do the judging. The expert’s votes combined to the Gold & Silver Medal winners, and the cumulative results were used for the People’s Choice.

Keep reading for the full list of Gold, Silver and People’s Choice Winners.

NORTH AMERICAN LIGHT LAGER

GOLD – Robert Simpson Brewing Company for Antigravity Light
SILVER – Brick Brewing Company Limited for Formosa Springs Light
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Nickel Brook for Nickel Brook Pilsner

PILSNER

GOLD – Brick Brewing Company Limited for J.R. Brickman Pilsner
SILVER – Old Credit Brewing for Pale Pilsner
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Mill Street Brewery for Pilsner

DARK LAGER

GOLD – Steelback Brewery for Steelback Tiverton Dark Lager
SILVER – Brick Brewing Company Limited for Waterloo Dark
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Great Lakes Brewery for Black Jack

AMBER ALE

GOLD – Cameron’s Brewing Company for Cameron’s Auburn Ale
SILVER – Old Credit Brewing for Amber Ale
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Nickel Brook for Nickel Brook Ale

BITTER

GOLD – Wellington Brewery for Wellington Arkell Best Bitter
SILVER – Granite Brewery for Best Bitter Special
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Granite Brewery for Best Bitter

SPECIALTY

GOLD – Great Lakes Brewery for Winter Ale
SILVER – Wellington Brewery for Wellington Iron Duke Strong Ale
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Nickel Brook for Nickel Brook Cuvee

FRUIT BEER

GOLD – Mill Street Brewery for Frambozen
SILVER – Nickel Brook for Nickel Brook Green Apple
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Great Lakes Brewery for Orange Peel Ale

WHEAT BEER

GOLD – Mill Street Brewery for Belgian Wit

NORTH AMERICAN LAGER

GOLD – Great Lakes Brewery for Golden Horseshoe
SILVER – Niagara’s Best Beer for Niagara’s Best Lager
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Brick Brewing Company Limited for Laker Lager

CREAM ALE

GOLD – Cameron’s Brewing Company for Cameron’s Cream Ale
SILVER – Robert Simpson Brewing Company for Robert Simpson Confederation Ale
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Nickel Brook for Nickel Brook Draught

AMBER LAGER

GOLD – Cool Beer Brewing Company for Millenium Buzz
SILVER – Great Lakes Brewery for Red Leaf
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Brick Brewing Company Limited for J.R. Brickman Amber

PALE ALE

GOLD – Mill Street Brewery for Tankhouse Ale
SILVER – Mill Street Brewery for IPA
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Wellington Brewery for Wellington Special Pale Ale

HONEY BEER

GOLD – Brick Brewing Company Limited for J.R. Brickman Honey Red(unfortunately, no photo)
SILVER – Old Credit Brewing Company for Holiday Honey

DARK ALE

GOLD – Hockley Valley Brewing Company for Dark Traditional English Ale
SILVER – Mill Street Brewery for Scotch Ale
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Great Lakes Brewery for Devil’s Pale Ale

PORTER/STOUT

GOLD – Hockley Valley Brewing Company for Traditional Irish Stout
SILVER – Mill Street Brewery for Coffee Porter
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – Granite Brewery for Keefe’s Irish Stout

The awards and consumer tasting was held at the Esplanade Bier Markt, sponsored by LibationNation.ca, Ontario Brewers, Toronto’s Festival of Beer, and Esplanade Bier Markt, and hosted by Roger Mittag, the “Professor of Beer”.

Over the last few months, Nigel Springthorpe has been quietly turning the Alibi Room into Vancouver’s best spot for microbrew & craft beers. The on-tap selection is excellent, with a collection of brews from British Columbia Breweries. You’ll find some of the local standards here (R & B, Russell, Crannog) mixed with a handful of taps that you will not find anywhere else in town – notably Vancouver Island stand-outs Spinnakers & Swans.

I dropped by last night for dinner and a few pints, and tried something new – a porter from the Duncan, BC based Craig St. Breweries. It was dark, nutty, with a grainy head, the way a porter should be. Perhaps a little bit less body than I would like in a porter, but I would definitely try it again. I also had a pint of one of my all-time local favourites, Spinnakers’ Nut Brown Ale. As far as I know, the Alibi is the first pub on the mainland to carry Spinnakers in tap – think of the savings in ferry fares alone!

Once you’ve toured through the tap list, you may want to look at the selection of beers in bottles. The list is long, and varied, with some excellent European brews mixed with standouts from the USA. I couldn’t resist a bottle of Rogue Dead Guy Ale to fuel my walk home – perfect!

Nigel told me that he’ll soon be bringing in a handpump to serve cask-conditioned beer. Hopefully this means that we’ll be seeing some unique brews on tap at the Alibi starting soon.

The Alibi Room is located at 157 Alexander St., at Main St.

Every once in a while I head down to our local Belgium-influenced restaurant Stella’s on Commercial Drive. Usually it’s because I’m craving mussels and frites and a pint of Stella Artois. However, they have an amazing selection of imported beer you could go insane trying to choose from. Recently the server, sensing our indecision that day, suggested we try a Gulden Draak. Not on the menu she said, but possibly, “the best beer in the world”.

She actually had me at “not on the menu”. Indeed it is a darker amber colour and suitably robust, but not heavy. Very drinkable and a wonderfully balanced, slightly sweet yet a perfect companion for almost anything on the menu. They must have since tapped into a regular supply because it’s now on the menu:

Tasting Notes: The Golden Dragon is possibly the best beer in the world. This multi award winner is a strong dark ale with coffee and chocolate overtones. Aroma of sugary yeast, caramel malt, some fruit and alcohol. A special treat…order it and share with your friends while you can!

It’s now difficult for me to order anything else. On occasions when I’ve had more than one, oh and that’s rare, I’ve forced myself into trying something else and inevitably gravitate back to the Golden Dragon.

The brewer, VanSteenberge, says it “smells of triumph” in reference to the battle fought during the First Crusades over the statue of its namesake. Um, must be a translation thing because that doesn’t exactly inspire. Regardless, go. try one. You won’t likely regret it.

There are only three things you can do in Singapore; the first is to go shopping, the second is to wait for the rain to stop, and the third is to get hammered on girly drinks at the Raffles Hotel. Why the Raffles Hotel?

In the early 1800′s a Jamaican-born Brit, Stamford Raffles, sailed down to a then Malay peninsula (Lion City) and declared it Singapore, a trade-post for the East India Trading Company. After some years of pushing out locals, Raffles was pleased with the growth of his city and with the help of engineer Phillip Jackson, a re-planning occurred (The Jackson Plan). The two later settled down in a tavern in an area just west of Singapore River named Commercial Square (Which was later re-named Raffles Place, in Raffle’s honor), where they ordered Ngiam Tong Boon (a bartender) to mix something sweet, fruity, and pink (favorite drink characteristics of Brits at the time); the Singapore Sling was born.

Although I strayed a little from the truth, the moral of the story is, enjoy a famous local drink in a historic venue at the heart of the city. I give you courtesy of the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel, Singapore:

The Singapore Sling

30ml Gin
15ml Cherry Brandy
120ml Pineapple Juice
15ml Lime Juice
7.5ml Cointreau
7.5ml Dom Benedictine
10ml Grenadine
A dash of Angostura Bitters
Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry

It’s sweet, too sweet. I’ll never have one again, but I’ll cherish it because it cost $19.80 SGD (~ $13 USD).

Oh, and read the real history of Singapore and Stamford Raffles here.

I’ve been away from posting on wines for a while now. Sorry. It’s the rain – very depressing and blog entry-suppressing. But today, I am inspired! This morning was so beautiful, and as I was walking to an appointment with the temperature creeping in to the acceptable range – without a rain cloud in sight – I started thinking about value wines I’ve tried lately that I look forward to drinking as the temperature warms up and patios fill up. Here’s a couple from Portugal that demonstrate two different styles from the same region, Vinho Verde:

Sogrape “Gazela” , Vinho Verde, Portugal, non-vintage ($10.16): Bright and clear very pale lemon colour with green flashes and signs of pétillance. It has fresh, clean, youthful grapey aromas with grapefruit and a dash of green herbs on the nose. Body is light, with palate-stinging acidity and lots of spritzy little bubbles to refresh your body and spirit on a hot day. This wine represents very good value, and above average quality and complexity for mass produced Vinho Verde. Click here for availability in the lower mainland.

Quinta do Ameal “Loureiro” Vinho Verde, Portugal, 2005 ($21.90) Is there such a thing as serious Vinho Verde? Yes there is, my friends. Pedro Araujo’s family once owned the port house Ramos Pinto, but sold it in the late 1980’s and Pedro bought a 35ha single estate in the Lima Valley. Clearly there is experience behind this wine. It has quite intense, lovely aromas of orange blossom, ripe pear and minerals with some leesy undertones. The acidity is lively, but not harsh, and moderately intense flavours of pear, grass and minerals linger on the medium finish. This is good wine, and very good wine for Vinho Verde, with nice youthful fruit and real character. Normally you’d expect wines from the Alvarinho grape to offer the most complexity from this region, but this Loureiro is punching far above its weight. It reminds me of quality Muscadet with an extra aromatic twist, and it would be brilliant with some Kusshi or small Fanny Bay oysters on the half shell. Importer: The Seacove Group. The wine is a specialty listing, so it’s available at BCLDB Specialty Stores like 39th and Cambie, Thurlow and Alberni or Park Royal. Currently out of stock, but there’s more on the way from Portugal, so ask at the stores for availability!

Organic. Sustainable. All natural. Renewable. Green. Terms bandied about casually these days–especially in food circles–but what does an environmentally responsible approach to beer making mean? For Brooklyn Brewery it means sustainable energy. The company’s brewery and corporate headquarters in Brewer’s Row in Brooklyn, New York are 100% powered by wind-generated electricity provided by  Community Energy Inc. Not surprisingly, they also have a recycling program that pays farmers in New Jersey pick up and feed the spent grain and organic byproducts of the brewing process to their livestock, making good use of Brooklyn Brewery’s waste.

The first Canadian beer tap to carry this US made “green” elixir is at The Alibi Room in Vancouver where I sampled a couple pints recently. This is really good beer. And somehow tastes just a little better knowing that its origins weren’t the result of fossil fuels or had a negative environmental impact. Good one Brooklyn Brewery.

Rosé 2006: Lovely pink core to thin watery rim. The nose has moderately intense, youthful aromas of strawberry bubblegum and ripe red-skinned pear. It comes across as just off-dry, with some residual sugar that helps the wine roll across the palate. It has medium alcohol, acidity and intensity, with flavours that echo the nose on the palate. This is very well made, refreshing rosé, to be well chilled and guzzled any time with glee, though I’m having a particular vision of a niçoise salad bright sunny day patio brunch right now.

Riesling 2006: The colour is water-white from core to rim and the nose offers up lovely aromas of peaches and violets. It’s medium-dry with medium alcohol, medium plus acidity, and above-average intensity. There are expressive flavours of core and stone fruits through the medium to medium plus finish. This is good spätlese-style riesling, and Michael tells me it will only gain intensity and focus with some time in the bottle – I’ll be very interested to see how it develops. Drink now, or hold for up to three years.

Chardonnay Un-oaked 2006: The chardonnay’s colour is very pale lemon yellow with greenish tints, as you might expect when the wine has seen no oak. Its nose offers somewhat muted, youthful aromas of buttered corn, pear and banana at this point – I wonder if it will open up a bit and offer more intense aromatics once it’s been in the bottle a little longer. The palate is dry, with medium acidity, medium to medium plus alcohol, and medium intensity and length with flavours of pear and honey on the somewhat abbreviated finish. This is good, eminently pleasant un-oaked chardonnay with abundant fruit to be drunk in the near term, though I can’t help but think about how good an oaked version could be. What do you think, Michael? For food, I’m thinking pan-seared halibut with garlic sauteéed pea shoots and local morel mushrooms – they’ll be in the market soon.

A Noble Blend 2006: The colour is clear as rain water, and the nose is quite intense – a mixed bouquet of peach blossom, lily of the valley and musky spice. The attack is off-dry with medium to medium plus acidity, medium alcohol and medium plus intensity. Peach blossom, pear and spice flavours abound on the medium finish. The Noble Blend, along with the Rosé, is my favourite of the new releases. Though the finish could be a tad longer for my taste, this wine offers real aromatic complexity and character. Nicely done.

Union Pacific Coffee Co.
537 Herald Street
Victoria

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