Spinnakers in Victoria, Canada’s oldest brewpub (now over 25 years old), is one of the original trailblazers responsible for the timely revival of North America’s craft beer movement. One of their latest efforts is an homage to a classic strong Belgian blonde ale called Fog Fighter.
Is a steak just steak, a wine just wine, or a coffee just coffee? Clearly, no. There are intrinsic differences in quality and the way each are prepared. An understanding of the whole process to get those items to our table also gives us a better appreciation of them. Finally, there is our social connection to the producers and servers of food and drink that elevate them beyond the utilitarian.
Normally, the hops used in brewing are either in pellet form or whole dried flowers. A recent trend in the Pacific Northwest, however, is starting to quickly spread throughout the North American craft brewing community. That is, using whole, freshly harvested hops directly from the field. Such is the growing popularity of these beers that Yakima even has a Fresh Hop Ale Festival to celebrate the joys of lupulin.
Due to the hop crisis of 2007, there have been a number of local forays into hop growing in a grassroots attempt to develop a more secure supply for small brewers. This year saw the release of two commercial BC fresh hop ales for the first time. Driftwood Brewery’s Sartori Harvest IPA is one of them.
On November 3, Granville Island Brewing and the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts held their first annual “Winter Ales and Fare” cooking competition on Granville Island. Four teams, consisting of one culinary and one pastry student, worked together to each create an entrée and a dessert using GIB’s Lions Winter Ale.
A Märzen is a lager traditionally brewed in March (März) that was stored in cellars or cool caves during the summer, then served during autumn festivals, such as Oktoberfest. It is an amber-red adaptation of a Vienna-style lager credited to Josef Sedlmayr in 1871. As a beer brewed for special occasions, Märzen is typically higher in alcohol than everyday lager.
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