Category Archives: pub

Mar 19 2013
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Beer, pub, Restaurant, vancouver

Odin Brewing Longtable dinner at The Pumphouse Pub

It’s been a while since I attended a be dinner so when Micah Noble from Kooner Hospitality Group invited me to blog about their upcoming Odin Brewing dinner at The Pumphouse in Richmond I couldn’t resist. Odin was launching their newest beer, Sigrun IPA, at this particular dinner. I vaguely remember a conversation with the owners of Odin about how they weren’t going to do an IPA, I told them that was crazy talk. I’m sure my semi drunken rebuttal had little impact on their decision to jump into the ultra competitive IPA market but I’m glad they did. More about the IPA later, let’s get to the dinner shall we?

 

Asian chopped salad paired with Odin's Freya's Gold Kolsch style ale

Asian chopped salad paired with Odin’s Freya’s Gold Kolsch style ale

Course 1 was a nice Asian inspired chopped salad with crispy won tons and a ginger sesame dressing. It was paired with Odin’s Freya’s Gold Kolsch style ale. Odin’s claim to fame is their focus on brewing beers that pair well with food and this Kolsch is a great example of that. It’s light, mild and really pairs well with just about everything.

Buttermilk fried chicken with garlic mash paired with Odin Viking Gold Extra Pale Ale

Buttermilk fried chicken with garlic mash paired with Odin Viking Gold Extra Pale Ale

Next up was a tasty buttermilk fried chicken leg on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, comfort food 101. How can you go wrong with fried chicken and garlic mash? The breading was well seasoned, the potatoes were lump free. A very well put together southern classic. This dish was paired with Odin’s Viking Gold Extra Pale Ale, another light, clean and very versatile beer great for pairing with multiple dishes. As expected, this pairing worked quite well.

Beef and blue cheese house made pizza paired with Odin's Gift Nordic Amber Ale

Beef and blue cheese house made pizza paired with Odin’s Gift Nordic Amber Ale

Couse 3 was a rich and tasty beef and blue cheese pizza with a house made crust. Salty, tangy, meaty, awesome. This dish wasn’t a hit with everyone but I liked it a lot. It was paired with Odin’s Nordic Pale Ale (Odin’s Gift) and it was by far the best pairing of the night. Odin’s gift has a great juniper nose but is way more mellow than expected. Still, the pairing was perfect.

Coconut curry seafood baked rice paired with Odin's Sigrun IPA

Coconut curry seafood baked rice paired with Odin’s Sigrun IPA

The 4th course featured a baked coconut curry seafood rice and the afore mentioned Sigrun IPA. The rice dish was good but needed a little more seasoning (salt) and a little less time waiting to be served. The dinner had over 60 participants so it’s not surprising that  a dish or 2 might sit for a little too long. Now, the Sigrun IPA. In keeping with Odin’s other offerings this IPA isn’t the hop bomb that most IPA lovers were hoping for. it is a nice sessionable beer with a pleasant hop profile, maybe a good choice for a hot summer afternoon on a patio? The pairing could’ve used more heat (spice) in the curry.

Salted caramel banana custard tart pair with Odin's Thor's Equinox Strong Ale

Salted caramel banana custard tart pair with Odin’s Thor’s Equinox Strong Ale

The 5th and final course was a salted caramel banana custard tart. The picture isn’t a true representation of how it looked, I tried to remove the tart tin before taking the picture and sort of wrecked it…oops. Man handled looks aside this was a tasty tart, the custard was thick and creamy with nice banana chunks throughout. There was a thin layer of salted caramel at the bottom and a little whipped cream up top. It was pair with Odin’s Thor’s Equinox Strong Ale. Thor’s Equinor is an ass kicker at 9% abv but it is a nice balanced beer that pairs well with sweet food. Odin describes this beer as a “Belgian” style strong ale but there isn’t a whole lot of Belgian-y things going on in this beer, it’s more of an American strong or a thin porter.

Another solid beer dinner under my slowly tightening belt! Thanks to The Kooner Group for the invite, always a great time! Also it was nice to see the Beerthirst crew again, it’s been awhile.

Scott.

Side note… odinbrewing.wordpress.com??? Come on guys, spend the $13 and register a domain name.

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Jan 13 2013
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Beer, food, pub, Restaurant, Surrey, vancouver

Central City Brew Pub

Central City Brewing Co. is living proof that Surrey is indeed the bomb. Located in (wait for it) the Central City complex that houses a shopping mall, an SFU campus and one of the best looking buildings in Greater Vancouver, they make world class craft beer that has won numerous awards over the past few years. Did I mention the building they’re located in? I seriously love the Central City Tower, it’s a true architectural gem that is very under appreciated by most of the GVRD. I stopped in for a few beers, dinner and some NFL playoff football watching recently with my cousin Kurt (@truKrenruT).

Central City Tower

Central City Tower

Central City has tons of free parking and is right next to the Surrey Central Skytrain Station, I highly recommend my readers from north of the Fraser hop on the train and give Central City a try. I would list all of the beer/brewing/brewpub awards they’ve racked up since 2008 but it’s easier to just give you guys the link. I started out with their amazingly good Imperial IPA which has won some sort of beer award every year since 2008 and it’s quite deserving of the praise it gets. I followed that up with their Winter Ale, a seasonal beer that is unlike other overly sweet winter ales. This beer has a nice malty body with a subtle hop finish and a very mild sweetness. It’s quite nice.  I had an ESB as well before returning to the fantastic imperial IPA. I’ve never met a Red Racer beer I didn’t like (aside from a lemongrass infused pin cask of their pale ale…). 2013 will be the year that BC breweries start to overtake their Pacific Northwest and Californian competition, you heard it here first. Canadian craft beer has never been better and it gets better with every new brewery that opens up!

Red Racer Imperial IPA

Red Racer Imperial IPA

The food at Central City is also outstanding and has really moved upmarket since the hiring of Executive Chef Carl Sawatsky a few years ago. Having spent time as the Executive Chef at Bacchus Bistro at Domaine De Chamberton Winery Chef Sawatsky has changed a very pedestrian pub menu into something that encompasses locally sourced, high quality ingredients and non traditional dishes along side modern twists on traditional pub grub. After publishing this post I’ve learned that Chef Sawatsky may not be with Central City any more (he’s still listed as Executive Chef on their Facebook page) but his menu remains and is still executed quite well.

Shortrib Beef Dip

Shortrib Beef Dip

Kurt and I both ordered the same thing, the Braised Shortrib Beef Dip and I’m happy to say this is one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in recent memory. Red Racer beer braised short rib, pickled grilled zucchini,  stout cheddar from Farmhouse Cheeses in Agassiz, crispy onions, horseradish Dijon mayo, served on a house made ciabatta bun with Au Jus for dipping. I think I got a little lucky because my short rib was roughly an inch think, Kurt’s was less thick but it was still enough. The pickled zucchini is awesome, the stout cheddar is rich and delicious and the bun is fresh and tasty. The fries are good, nothing mind blowing but good non the less.

Great Beer, great food, great building, great pub. Go check it out if you’ve never been and if you haven’t been in awhile it’s worth a revisit.

Scott.

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Oct 02 2012
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Booze Reviews, pub, Restaurant, Uncategorized

Pumphouse Pub Longtable dinner – Guest post by Lynn McIlwee

Summer has now passed, which not only means that the great autumn beers
are back, but the Pumphouse Pub
resumes their Beer Tasting Series! I’m always curious to see what Chef Daniela
Iaci will create with her food magic and per usual, she didn’t disappoint. These
dinners just keep getting better and better so if you haven’t checked one out
yet, get on it! Daniela does an amazing job of nailing the pairings and
prepares such succulent and flavourful dishes. I bow to you, Daniela.
The menu:
 
Course One
Café latte beef carpaccio espresso
crusted beef, crème fraiche & arugula salad
Paired with: Elysian Split Shot Espresso
Milk Stout
The carpaccio was paper thin and paired gorgeously with the crème fraiche
and arugula. Balsamic vinegar was drizzled on the arugula and it exuded a
pleasant parmesan aroma.
Stout paired with the first course, you say? Bold, for sure, but it
worked. And the Elysian is such a
fantastic beer. It’s truly one of my favourite stouts – the coffee and
chocolate notes are well balanced and it is a smoooooth beer to drink. Ahhhh. I
love you, Spilt Spot.
Course Two
Spicy coconut sweet & sour prawn soup
Paired with: The Commons Urban Farmhouse
Ale
The chilies that were used in the broth would pack a big, punch you in
the face and take no prisoners bite, should you eat them. And we were warned so
as not to have a surprise should we eat one. But wow, did they ever enhance the
flavour of the soup. It had a great kick to it and kept the sweet and sour from
having their own battle. I loved this soup.
The Commons’ beers are new
to BC and thanks to Beerthirst, they’re
now being imported! We had the Urban Farmhouse Ale with this course. I’m a big
fan of farmhouse ales and this is a great example of one. Floral notes, some
bitterness and a clean finish. This beer is the 2012 World Beer Cup Bronze
Medal winner. Applause, applause. We’ll be stopping in at The Commons’ tasting
room on our next Portland trip (coming up next week!) and will indulge in some
of their other goodies like the Flemish Kiss…
Course Three
Crispy pork belly crostini with goat
cheese
Paired with: North Coast Le Merle
Farmhouse Ale
I made some pretty detailed notes on this one, such as SO DAMN GOOD! I’m
no food blogger, but I know what I like in food and beer. And this pork belly
was ah-maze-ing! So flavourful and tender in its porky goodness. I think we all
wanted seconds, and thirds, and and and… Did you catch that I loved this?
Ok, I’ll stop my pork-love-in and get on to the Le Merle. North Coast hits a lot of home
runs, in my opinion (Old Rasputin, Old No. 38 Stout, PranQster and others) and
this Farmhouse Ale is beautiful. Its inspiration comes from the Flanders region
with Belgian yeast, plenty of hops and fruity undertones.
Course Four
Citrus BBQ chicken tostada
Paired with: Half Pinks Little Scrapper
IPA
The citrus flavours on the chicken tostada danced around like a happy
little mariachi band. How Daniela managed to make this pairing a show stopper,
I’ll never know, but she did it. This dish was so flavourful and tasty! Slow
clap time… clap-clap-clap
Half Pints Brewing are
another new addition to BC, again courtesy of Beerthirst, and Little Scrapper
is a great IPA. They sell t-shirts that say “Together we can stop the evil
spread of lite beer”. Yep, we will get along just fine. A hop forward IPA with
gorgeous citrus/grapefruit notes all the while, staying balanced.
 
Course Five
Fig & blue cheese crème brulee with
candied walnuts
Paired with: Tenaya Creek Double Tandem Double
IPA
Did someone say crème brulee? I love crème brulee. I’m not a dessert
person by nature but good luck on me passing this up. Fig and blue cheese might
not be what you’d expect in this dessert but it rocked my world. Daniela, my
hands are getting sore from all the clapping… but well deserved. She outdid
herself with this gem. A few candied gooseberries also came along for the ride
and the brulee was sweet and salty. I saw a tweet from Daniela earlier that morning
saying she didn’t have a proper recipe for this dessert – the way she wanted it,
she obviously put her creative genius and culinary skills to work. Bam! She nailed
it.
The Tandem DIPA from Tenaya Creek
Brewery was a new beer for me and is a limited special release. Grab a
bottle before they’re all gone, beer geeks, as it’s worth a try. It has the
typical characteristics of an IPA with a bit of earthiness. Mild bitterness and
extra hoppy goodness.
These amazing dinners with generous pourings are $40 (not including tip
– please tip their great servers!). Talk about value!
During and after dinner, we were treated to the musical stylings of Dino DiNicolo. What a talented man! I
just checked his tour schedule and it’s amazing he has time to play at the
Pumphouse – check him out!
The next beer dinner will be during BC Craft Beer Month on October 19th.
There will be a six-course brewmaster’s dinner with six BC brewmasters on hand
to pour their own beers and mingle with the crowd. Tickets are $50 and more
information can be found on The Pumphouse’s Facebook page or their website.  I’d suggest you get your tickets soon as this
will undoubtedly be a sellout!
Thanks again to The Pumphouse staff, chef Daniela and Beerthirst for
another excellent event. We continue to look forward to the next creative menu!
Follow Lynn on Twitter @BGCanary
Sorry about the formatting, Google’s Blogger platform doesn’t like WordPress… :-) – Scott
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Jun 14 2012
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pub, Restaurant, vancouver

Craft beer and chicken wings? Sharkey’s in Ladner has them!

Chicken wings are amazing, craft beer is amazing and putting the two together makes me want to weep tears of joy. The people of Ladner probably don’t realize how lucky they are to live near Sharkey’s Seafood Bar and Grille. Where else can you get terrific craft beer, fresh oysters and a great riverside patio experience in the lower mainland? Now that they put chicken wings back on the menu it’s almost a perfect storm.

Their new wing line up consists of 6 wing flavours, each with it’s own recommended craft beer pairing. I have some friends that live in Ladner that will be pretty happy to hear Sharkey’s has wings again. I’ll be going to check them out for myself very soon, expect a FULL breakdown (and stomach) from yours truly. Go to Sharkeys.ca for the full wing menu!

Scott.

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Mar 22 2012
2 Comments
food, pub, Restaurant

Burrard Public House in Port Moody

Have you ever been to Port Moody? It’s at the end of the Barnet Highway and is directly across the water from Deep Cove. It’s a great place to live and play.

A few days ago I went to the Burrard Public House on St. John’s Street in Port Moody which opened at the tail end of November 2011. Formerly a hotel, the new owners have done a complete renovation to the interior, and I have to say it’s pretty nice. It’s a big place with large booths and lots of seating. I went on a Tuesday, but I’ve been following their Facebook page for a few months and driven past on weekends and it looks like they can put on a good party.

Cucumber Collins

I started off with a Cucumber Collins (Rochele is a cocktail girl, Scott is a beer man) and it was refreshing, but just a little too sweet. I tried my friend’s Mango Mojito, too, and I liked that a lot more. The mango was subtle, but it is there.

Fresh Flash Fried Potato Chips

I could not resist their Fresh Flash Fried Potato Chips. They were fun and tasty with cajun seasoning and an aoili sauce on the side. I resisted asking for ketchup, but it was very much a hybrid of potato chips and French fries. I am grateful that I had someone to share them with, because there is a lot in one order of these. For a main plate I ordered the Perogies, served with bacon, onions, and sour cream. It was good pub food, exactly what I was expecting.

Perogies with Bacon, Onions, and Sour Cream

I wish that it wasn’t a Tuesday, that I didn’t have to work the next day, and that I didn’t have to drive. They have a lot of drink specials throughout the week. They also have a patio, so I might be a regular there this summer. Let me know what you think! – Rochele

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Mar 14 2012
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Beer, pub, Restaurant, vancouver

St. Patrick’s Day tips from WFLBC

I drink a lot of beer, this should be a secret to no one. Over the years I have learned many things about drinking beer and I would like to share my 2 most useful tips with you leading up to the drunkest day of the year.

Tip number one, bring a pen. St. Patrick’s day is a great day to flirt while you’re uninhibited and surrounded by people in a similar state so get some digits! You can also use your pen to give yourself a St. Patty’s tattoo. Make a mark on your arm for every drink you have. If you try really hard you arm will look like the prison cell wall of someone doing a dime for stealing cars.

Tip number two, forget the green food colouring, bring blue. Remember kindergarten? Blue and yellow make green! You use less because you’re making a colour instead of overpowering a colour. Most beer is yellow…ok? You may also notice that some a-hole businesses raise the price of green food colouring leading up to this glorious day. Buy blue and tell them to get stuffed.

You should really be drinking a stout though but I’ll let it slide, just this once.

Scott.

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Feb 26 2012
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Beer, Booze Reviews, pub, vancouver

Pumphouse Pub Longtable dinner with Anderson Valley Brewing Co.

Longtable dinners have to be my favorite thing about my partnership with Beerthirst. Multiple courses of food paired with craft beer from one of our great partners, this time it was Anderson Valley Brewing Co. from Boonville, California. This dinner was at The Pumphouse Pub in Richmond and was a 5 course affair with Anderson Valley’s owner/president Trey White in attendance all the way from Boonville.

Course 1 was deep fried oysters in a remoulade paired with Anderson Valley Boont ESB (Extra Special Bitter). The oysters were quite large and cooked very nicely, not greasy or rubbery and the remoulade was well seasoned, The ESB was a nice pairing with it’s bitterness offsetting the salt and breading of the oysters. Chef Daniela Iaci did a great job on the food and the pairings, as she always does.

Course 2 was an iceberg wedge salad with crumbled blue cheese, bacon and toasted hazelnuts. The iceberg wedge might have been a little too big given the amount of other things on the plate being a little less than needed but if you took a little of everything in a single bite it was awesome. The salad was paired with Anderson Valley Horse Tongue Wheat which was a great pairing with the blue cheese of the salad given the beers strong Brett character.

Course 3 was honey and IPA marinated salmon with spiced vegetable cous cous paired with Anderson Valley Hop Ottin’ IPA. The salmon was cooked perfectly as was the cous cous and the flavors of this dish were well balanced. The Hop Ottin’ IPA probably wouldn’t have been my first choice to pair with this dish but what do I know, it worked! The Hop Ottin’ IPA is a very well done west coast style IPA with great balance, I’m going to pick up a few of these for the beer fridge very soon.

Course 4 was spicy tangerine beef and fried rice paird with Anderson Valley Imperial IPA. Spice + IPA = happy Scott. There are 2 beer pairings that can’t miss, spicy food with IPA and sweet desserts with stout. The beef had a nice citrus kick from the tangerine and a slight heat. The Imperial IPA is also a west coast style IPA but this one is a hop monster. So good.

The fifth and final course was beignets with espresso pudding and stout syrup paired with Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout. The beignets, which are deep fried dough sprinkled with confectioners sugar typical of New Orleans. were warm on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. The pudding and stout syrup were very sweet on their own but dipping the beignets into them was great. The Oatmeal Stout was rich, chocolaty and dark, just the way I like my stouts. Unlike a lot of really great stouts this one checks in at a somewhat low 5.7abv which is good news for those who want to have more than one and carry on a normal conversation.

Check out Beerthirst.com to get in on the next longtable dinner, it’s a great time!

Scott.

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Feb 02 2012
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Beer, pub, Restaurant, Surrey, vancouver

WFLBC approved Superbowl events!

The Superbowl is just around the corner and there are some great event’s happening all over Greater Vancouver where you can catch the game. I’m going to give you my top picks, hopefully you can make it out to one of them!

In Vancouver you can watch the game on 14 screens at Chef Dale Mackay’s beercentric restaurant, Ensemble Tap. They’re running 2 food + beer specials and one beer special for the game!

Also in Vancouver, O Lounge, the swanky bar attached to the Glowbal Collection’s Coast, is holding it’s 3rd annual O-Bowl. Enjoy the game on 2 big screen TV’s and a large projector in a more relaxed environment with drink specials and a special Superbowl themed menu. Society, another Glowbal Collection hot spot, is also having a Superbowl event. Check out all the details of the Superbowl Tailgate Party HERE!!

In beautiful South Surrey, Tap Restaurant which was recently featured on this blog, is having a pig roast!! There will be spit roast pigs, gourmet sliders and delicious snacks served all day long for $25! It’s first come first serve and it gets underway at 1:30! There will also be prizes, pass and kick competition at halftime and lots of drink specials and the game will be on a huge projection screen!

Fogg n’ Suds in Richmond sent me this little press release about their event “Fogg n’ Suds would like to invite all Vancouverites to our Fogg n’ Suds Ferkin Super Bowl Party. Our featured Ferkin is a dry hop pale ale from Russell’s. We will also be featuring West Coast IPA . Live tweets, 50/ 50 draws and trivia questions. Half price appys, Chilli Con Carne and our 10″ gourmet pizza. Don’t forget that CAMRA members get 15% off food and we also have a free shuttle service running to the Sky Train.” All that and a free trip to the Skytrain? Nice!

Also in Richmond at the Pumphouse Pub, Beerthirst is launching Two Beers Brewing in the Canadian market. Catch the game on multiple screens and enjoy some great craft beer from the newest brewery in Beerthirst’s portfolio!!

If you love great BBQ and epic craft beer then Hogshack Cookhouse in Steveston should be your Superbowl destination. Craft beer specials, 4 big screens, awesome food and great people! They’re also doing BBQ take-out platters for those of you who are watching the game at home. Supply is limited so if you want one, order it RIGHT NOW!!

TOUCHDOWN!!!

Scott.

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Jan 22 2012
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Beer, Booze Reviews, pub, Seattle, Surrey, vancouver

Winter Cask Festival at Central City Brewing Co

Photo credit - Central City Brewing Co

Surrey’s own Central City Brewing Co is holding a cask festival Saturday January 28th!! Confirmed breweries are listed below. Get your tickets and join me and the rest of the Beerthirst gang as we sample special offerings from some of the best craft beer breweries both locally and from south of the border!

Central City Brewing Company
Parallel 49 Brewing
R & B Brewing
Granville Island Brewing
Mission Springs Brewing
Howe Sound Brewing
Russell Brewing
Dead Frog Brewing
Big Ridge Brewpub
Whistler Brewhouse
Steamworks Brewpub
Storm Brewing
Longwood Brewpub
Vancouver Island Brewing
Canoe Brewpub
Driftwood Brewing
Lighthouse Brewing
Spinnakers Brewpub
Swans Brewpub
Salt Spring Island Brewing
Tofino Brewing
Cannery Brewing
Moon Under Water Brewpub

Port Townsend Brewing (US)
Boundary Bay Brewing (US)
North Coast Brewing (US)
2 Beers Brewing (US)
Elysian Brewing (US)
Big Al Brewing (US)

I’ll see you there!!

Scott.

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Jan 09 2012
5 Comments
pub, Restaurant, Surrey

The hottest wings in town…for real

A few weeks ago I decided kind of last minute that I wanted to catch the Canucks game at a pub. What pub you ask? Why Big Ridge Brewing Company of course! I’m a big fan of Big Ridge for a lot of reasons, good beer, good food and my latest discovery, the hottest wings I’ve had in a looooong time, maybe even the hottest wings I’ve ever had. The scary part is that they were “Level 4″ and I’m pretty sure there’s a “Level 5″…

Executive Chef Charlie Yang is a wizard of spice, I sampled his level 1 hot sauce with an order of butter chicken which was fantastic. It adds a nice mild heat that lingers in the mouth but adds flavor to an already very good Indian dish. Charlie was actually born in Calcutta and says this is where he spice pallet comes from. We asked if he had anything hotter and he brought us a small sample of his level 3 on a spoon. It had amazing flavor with a hint of star anise and the heat was intense but bearable.

Many drinks later and after being called a few names by the girls sitting beside us at the bar my cousin Kurt and I decided to take Charlie up on his offer of level 4 wings. The level 4 isn’t a sauce, it’s a dry rub which is 70% Ghost Chili, the hottest (well, second hottest, apparently) pepper in the world. To put it in perspective a Jalapeno pepper is somewhere between 3,500–8,000 Scoville units (the scale by which spicy peppers are graded) and the Ghost Chili, also know as the Bhut Jolokia chili pepper, is between 855,000 and 1.5 million Scoville units…so for those keeping score that’s at the very least 106 times hotter than a Jalapeno pepper.

Kurt and I both ate 2 wings very quickly and one of our “encouagers” stepped up to the plate and ate one as well. The heat is intense right off the bat and intensifies quickly. I would say that it took about 10-15 minutes for the heat to start to fade. The crazy thing is I actually considered having another one because they were really good! The
thing about stuff this hot is the weird things it does to your body, you almost feel high or like you’ve drank 100 Red Bulls because your endorphin levels go WAY up, and of course there’s the sweaty head thing…magnified by my Skinheadia (Folicular impairment).

Next time you go to Big Ridge make sure you sit at the bar, ask if Charlie is there and get some hot sauce on the side of whatever you’re eating, it’s all awesome. Just make sure you know what you’re doing when the shots come out and people start egging you on to try level 4, it hurts, but it hurts so good.

Scott.

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