beernesday

" Prohibition makes you want to cry into your beer and denies you the beer to cry into. " -Don Marquis

pivo public house is not located in the fancy part of town.  in fact its pretty close to the middle of the least desirable part of town.  and good on them for bringing good beer to the people! pivo is located at 526 abbott street in vancouver.  but don't let the address scare you off - this place is definitely worth a visit.  featuring a beer list that takes up one whole side of the bar menu, and $3.50 draught, this is some kind of beer heaven! currently the beer on tap is bowen island (two styles) and the seasonal bottled feature is black tusk ale. on the bottled beer list are:  black cat lager, alpine honey lager, molson canadian, coors light, heineken, corona, pilsner urquell, harp, red stripe, kronenbourg, czech mate, asahi, black tusk ale, killer bee dark honey, anarchist amber ale, naramata nut brown ale, blue buck ale, dos equis XX amber, morimoto soba, innis & gunn, cutthroat pale ale, newcastle brown ale, traditional ACME pale ale, hop head I...

" We old folks have to find our cushions and pillows in our tankards. Strong beer is the milk of the old. " -Martin Luther

Driftwood Brewery 's Naughty Hildegard is an extra special bitter.  as such it has a more than healthy dose of hops and therefore fits very nicely into my hops obsession. immense head on the pour, with a lovely hoppy aroma, nicely balanced with the malt.  fabulously naughty label featuring a radiant nun in fishnets and red heels!  but wait, who is this naughty hildegard?  why does she deserve such a fabulously hoppy beer named after her? the bottle says:  "Brewed to honour Hildegard Von Bingen, a 12th century Benedictine nun who allegedly was the first to record the use of hops as an ingredient in beer.  While this is open to debate, we like Hildegard's style and we can't imagine beer without hops.  This Extra Special Bitter has lots of hops - Hildegard would be proud.  We are!  Cheers Hildy! weighing in at 650 ml of 6.5%, this lives up to both its naughty moniker, and the "strong beer" claim on the label.  craft brewed in lovel...

" I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer. " -Abraham Lincoln

" Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut. " -Ernest Hemmingway " An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools. " - For Whom the Bell Tolls , Ernest Hemmingway

today is earth day yesterday was administrative professionals day two damned fine reasons to celebrate with a beer or six! conserve water - drink beer! while that sentiment might not actually be environmentally sound, you can be green about your beer (in ways other than literally drinking green beer on st. paddy's day).  the easiest way?  drink locally - walk or bike to your neighbourhood pub and drink the craft-brewed draught that only had to travel across town to get to your glass.  and have a couple while you're there supporting your local community, to reward yourself for such p.c. behaviour!

" The easiest way to spot a wanker in a pub is to look around and find who's drinking a Corona with a slice of lemon in the neck. " -Warwick Franks

nooooooooo! say it isn't so! don't tell me that canadians are turning away from beer! the terrible news i for one am going to do my part to keep beer at #1 - how about you?

" A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her. " -W.C. Fields " Everybody has to believe in something.....I believe I'll have another drink. " -W.C. Fields

for my drinking pleasure this evening i'm going with an imperial pale ale rather than an ipa.  no good reason why, just happened to love Southern Tier's unearthly ipa and thought i'd give their Hoppe a try. Southern Tier reports:  "2XIPA in the Bottle - April 15, 2010 is the first day for bottling our newest beer, 2XIPA. Phin DeMink has declared it the best beer we've ever brewed! 2XIPA also has the distinction of being the first beer to be distributed in our newly designed packaging. Cheers!" if only my local purveyor of beer had had some in stock, that's what i would have chosen to imbibe this evening.  but no use crying over unavailable beer - let me turn my attention to the clear, honey coloured beauty in front of me! speaking of beauty, let me extol the virtues of the cascading beer bubbles at the pour!  what a head!  i wanna pour some more just to see the wonder of it again.  and i did!  and it was a thing of beauty and a joy to behold....

great article from treehugger about wasting beer... the tragedy... and handy tips on how to be green about beer. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/save-the-beers-missouri-landfill.php "We're talking about beer here, people! If you saw a couple pallets-worth of beer just sitting there waiting to be destroyed, wouldn't you rescue a few bottles?"  you betcha i would!

" If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose. " -Deep Thought, Jack Handy " Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed - Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, 'It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.' " -Deep Thought, Jack Handy

and tonight its North Coast Brewing Co's ACME IPA on the menu. acme pours a lovely pale golden colour with a robust head that lasts for a good amount of time before it dissipates into a nice lace on the glass.  hoppy and a little fruity, it doesn't disappoint in the hops department.  and since i'm such a label whore, i gotta say that i love the label!!  i admit to ordering it just because it was the only ipa on the menu i hadn't yet tried, but boy was i happy when it arrived and i saw the label! its vera ellen fresh from white christmas hanging from a thread with beer in hand... 6.5% allowed me to have three before i cut myself off to make it home in one piece, but i would have gladly had at least another if i'd been at home. the website says:  "Acme IPA is profoundly hoppy, finished with over a pound of fresh whole hops per barrel. The result of this generous hopping is a beer that is delic...

Breaking IPA news!! Hardcore IPA claimed a Gold Medal in the Imperial India Pale Ale category at the 2010 World Beer Cup in Chicago on Saturday.  Woohoo!

" Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me. " -Winston Churchill " Make sure that the beer - four pints a week - goes to the troops under fire before any of the parties in the rear get a drop. " -Winston Churchill to his Secretary of War, 1944 " Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink. " -Lady Astor to Winston Churchill " Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it. " -His reply

" The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind. " -Humphrey Bogart

"signature ipa.  loaded with hops."  its Tree Brewing Company's Hop Head IPA! hoppy aroma, clear caramel colour, good head on the pour that disappears within moments and a lovely crisp hoppy taste.  definitely on the bitter side.  delicious.  5.6% the bottle says:  "tree brewing company takes craft brewing seriously.  we brew in small batches using only water, malt, hops and yeast to produce the highest quality, award winning beer.  try our selection of all natural unpasteurized beers, sure to satisfy some of the most discriminating craft beer drinkers & judges.  drop by the brewery located in beautiful kelowna, british columbia, and we'll show you firsthand how we make great beer.  until then... cheers!" would i have more than one?  sure, and i often do. is it in my top 10 ipas?  nope, doesn't crack the top ten.  it is quite enjoyable though. i like the new branding of tree - the stylized mighty pine is oh so...

for this lovely sunday, two dave barry quotes: " Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza. "   " Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer. "  

i love the wax over the cap on Half Pints Brewing Company's humulus ludicrous.  it makes me feel like i just got transported back to medieval times and someone's going to challenge me to a duel at any moment... and i keep hoping a buxom bar wench will sidle up to me...   currently i'm pairing it with nachos.  and the historical anachronism to medieval times "please sir, can i have some more" comes to mind.  just go with it, i am. its got quite the head on it, and a fabulous hoppy aroma.  oh yeah, and it tastes fabulously hoppy too.  Lots of lace left on the glass as i drain it, but the initial haze is not wearing off.  lovely dark golden colour.   the bottle says:  our most ridiculously hoppy beer. i would like more on their label.  more about the brewery, more about the beer, just more personality.  but all i get is "craft brewed in winnipeg mb canada" and that its 8% apv and 100 IBUs.  delightful.  i'm a fan....

some potentially dynamic food pairings for your ipa: thai chicken kebabs with baby greens rich, creamy blue or gorgonzola cheese sashimi, shrimp, crab and other light fish roasted pork or suckling pig beef dishes buffalo wings or blackened chicken tip:  hops contrast nicely with rich dishes, with strong spicy food and with bold, sweet desserts tip:  if you're cooking with beer, any beer, don't reduce it first as the bitterness may become too much for the dish.  ipas are generally too bitter for cooking with, but if you want to experiment you could try to balance the bitterness with a touch of sweetness, salt or acidity.

"From the most formal judging to the simple joy of a fresh, delicious brew in a sun-dappled beer garden, the range of tasting experiences varies almost as much as beer itself.  Once the beer is in the glass, it's up to you to decide what your relationship to it will be:  advocate or critic, stranger or best buddy.  Like any worthy pursuit, the beer-tasting experience is only as good as you make it.  Summon all your senses and experience and dive into it wholeheartedly.  You'll find the experience that unfolds between you and your beer to be truly enlightening." Randy Mosher

an ipa is shown off to its best advantage in either of these types of glassware: stemmed tulip - the inward taper holds aroma, the outward flare supports the head and fits the lips, the stem keeps the beer from warming up too quickly dimpled pint - comfortable, the lens design makes for great light play on the contents, and they're sturdy enough for repeated cheersing pint glass - easy to drink out of, the bump makes it easier to hold snifter glass - deep incurved rim and small stature make it perfect for serving strong ales (like imperial or double ipas) and capturing aromas wine glass - yes you read that correctly, a large wine glass's size allows for headspace, while the open bowl creates an amazing nose (and you might just have a great conversation starter with a wine drinker) to find glassware, visit amazon for more on glassware, visit beeradvocate  

"Beer is a great mirror of history.  It always amazes me how much of a story every beer has to tell.  When I hold up the glass and think about it, every aspect of this malty, hoppy, foamy brew is a consequence of a remarkable chain of events that began some 10,000 years ago.  That's a deep drink." Randy Mosher

i'm currently swilling BrewDog's Hardcore IPA. at 9% i think i might have a lot of fun at the grocery store in half an hour. better write a list...  oops too late, better to have written that list earlier. label didn't grab me quite as much as the punk ipa, not enough contrast is hard for these old eyes to read - love the general brewdog label theme though, and not ashamed to admit label grab is a large part of my beer purchasing checklist called an explicit imperial ale, i'd argue its an imperious ale. definite toffee notes after the first sip, lovely aroma, still hazy after half an hour (again, what do you expect from a beer with no preservatives and no additives - a little haze ain't such a bad thing!), has me licking my chops and slavering for more. what the label says: "This imperial Indian Pale Ale Rocks... Hardcore! But don’t feel obliged to take our word for it, this little bottle has a grandiloquent story to tell. 2,204 malted Maris Otter g...

Tasting Beer - an insider's guide to the world's greatest drink.  by Randy Mosher the how-to guide for properly tasting and intelligently talking about beer.  a must read if you love beer but don't know where to start finding the language to adequately express your love of beer to others.  with chapters devoted to the history of beer, the vocabulary of beer flavour, presenting beer and each of the beer styles, this text book will have you confidently throwing around terms like IBUs, attenuation and mouthfeel in no time.  and trying beer varieties you may not have heard of in mainstream advertising. "Beer really is the world's best beverage.  It may be quenching or nourishing, cooling or warming, simple or worthy of deep meditation.  It is a drink of a thousand aromas, a rainbow of color, and a range of character as diverse ad the people who brew and enjoy it.  It has ten thousand years of history, with gods, goddesses, heroes, and songs to celebra...

i am currently sipping and enjoying BrewDog's Punk IPA, a post modern classic pale ale.  purchased from my local specialty liquor store, i picked up this tasty little number because i liked the label.  i am not ashamed that aesthetics and a cool name can sway my purchasing decision. the punk pours with a lovely head that all but disappears rather quickly, it cascaded very prettily after the pour, but it remains hazy after half an hour (not so surprising in a beer with no additives or preservatives).  at 6% you could drink several of them and still string a sentence together, and you will want to have several.  that hoppy crispness just begs for another. what the label says:  "this is not a lowest common denominator beer.  this is an aggressive beer.  we don't care if you don't like it.  we do not merely aspire to the proclaimed heady heights of conformity through neutrality and blandness.  it is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sop...

it may be easter, but the hops i'm most interested in are not those being performed by bunnies. i am currently obsessed by the myriad of hops options in beer. beer, nectar of the gods. proof that god loves us. improver of all social situations. now, don't get me wrong, i love beer, pretty much all beers. but currently i have an overwhelming desire to consume hops by the kettle-full. i just can't get enough of the bitter little buggers. more detail to follow, but my current favourite examples of hoppy goodness are the following: Phillips Brewing Company's Amnesiac Double IPA Southern Tier Brewing Company's Unearthly Imperial IPA Granville Island Brewery's Brockton Oval IPA Howe Sound Brewery's Bailout Bitter