In Which I Actually Make It To A Cask Event For Once

The previous two posts have been a bit Debbie Downer. So, let me surcease being a nittering nabob of negativism and wax ecstatic 'pon the great deal of fun I just had, thanks to the nice people of CAMRA Vancouver.

But first, a word about Dead Frog.

I got this at the 16th St liquor store, and while there's always something interesting there, take note that they don't have a lot of turn-over. In fact, you can git yo'self a bottle of Naughty Hildegaard, Spring Rite or even Cuvee D'Hiver, last I checked. So whither this comes in the Brewmaster's lineup, I know not.

But let me speak to the schizophrenic nature of this brewery. At best, its regular lineup is a local version of Sleeman's. At worst, its regular lineup is a local version of Sleeman's. If I wanted to drink Sleeman's, I would drink some damn Sleeman's.*

*Actually, if I felt like having a Sleeman's, I'd probably go for some retrograde phrenology and hit myself with a series of large mallets until I snapped out of it.


But as for the Brewmaster's Series, well, apart from the T-Pain label, they've all been quite good. Case in point: the Citra Hop Dead Frog. Scuttlebutt has it that there's a bit of a revolving door at Dead Frog, so the wide variety of styles in their Brewmaster's Series could possibly be due to there being a new Brewmaster every few months. However, I've done exactly zero research to ascertain whether this rumour has any truth behind it. I mention it here in the best traditions of TEH INTERNETS, where nobody is ever wrong about anything cough Wikipedia cough.

This hopped Pilsner is pretty good, and I even poured it into something other than my usual pint glass. 'Twas a hot day, and it went down like a torpedo'd Lusitania. Which is to say, quickly, and with a certain amount of North-Atlantic-like crisp refreshment.

But on to the cask event.

This was a last-minute attend for Mrs. Damnbeerblogger and self. Normally, we attempt some minor project on The House, and next thing you know we've spent all day installing skylights, flying buttresses and a moat. Happily though, a quick jaunt on the seabus had us in Gastown in a jiff.

Vancouver sure is beautiful from the water.

Any road, as it turns out, our memberships were lapsed, so we seized the opportunity to sign up, especially as I keep telling everyone I'm in CAMRA anyway. It's in my byline for the paper and everything.

Shout outs to @mikefarlane, @scorpiogirl and @vancitybeer, all of whom I now have put a face to the tweet-handle.

The beer.

Howe Sound Jack-Daniels Infused Imperial Pumpkin Ale:
-delicious!
-less brown-sugar flavour than last-year's (could be the Jack in the cask)

R&Bl Brewing Black Cherry Hefewiezen
-light and refreshing, the cherries are quite subtle
-second sip: man, R&B is underrated as a brewery

Red Racer Vodka-Soaked-Vanilla-Bean Infused Oatmeal Breakfast Stout
-That's a long name for a beer
-Oooh, but it's good
-The vanilla is pretty buried, it's almost a coffee stout
-Can't wait for cans of RR stout. Imperial?

Granville Island Brewing Bitter
-As usual, GIB's special fare is much better than the mainline beers (although I like those too)
-Nice and hoppy, and only 3.5%? Cool.

Driftwood 2010 Old Cellar Dweller:
-Okay Driftwood, THIS is why I was so hard on the Twenty Pounder. I struggle to think of anything even half as good as this stuff.

Also a cask of La Chouffe, but we gave that a miss, as we had to hurry back home. Altogether a great cask event, and we look forward to being able to attend more of these as The House becomes complete. Yeah, right.

Last, a quick word about Beer-Mixology, Mrs. Damnbeerblogger's speciality.

Here's something she whipped up at the event: a blend of the Howe Sound and the Red Racer.

This would then be a Jack-Daniels Infused Imperial Pumpkin Vodka-Soaked-Vanilla-Bean Infused Oatmeal Breakfast Stout. Or you could abbreviate and call it Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass tastes delicious.

Damnbeerblogger Doesn't Live Here Anymore

It is with mixed feelings that I sit down to write this post, very likely my last one from Victoria, and certainly the last one I'll write from this apartment. Over the past few months, certain things have come together that are resulting in a move back to the mainland, specifically, North Vancouver.

It's a move from mostly-sunny to mostly-rainy. From the home of the cricketers to the home of the Canucks. From a place where people drive like they've had a stroke to where they drive like they're having an aneurysm.

I'm having mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand, missing the entirety of VCBW because work commitments meant the four+ hours of ferry travel back and forth were unworkable have sort of highlighted the drawbacks of Island Life. Certainly, it is with a great deal of anticipation that I look forward to being able to attend some of the fourteen trillion cask events CAMRA Vancouver seems to put on every month. Plus, we've bought a house with a basement, and that means homebrewing. I look forward to having you all over for blind taste tests, and by that, I meant taste-testing that may result in blindness. You can't spell "IPA" without "Antifreeze".

But Victoria's been very good to me. I've a great deal of fondness for both the brewing community here and the enthusiasts who spread the gospel. Probably nowhere else in Canada will you find such a huge amount of support for pub culture, and such camaraderie among the blogging community.

So, if you've been looking to me for information on local brews, then you'll need to start looking somewhere else. Actually, If you've been looking to me for information, then you clearly have a few other, more serious, problems. At best, I provide a blend of information and entertainment.

I call it, "entermation".

Even if you're not local, you should be reading these guys: Dan's Small Beer blog is what got me into this whole blogging thing: it's often got big-picture stuff you won't find elsewhere. Ian's left4beer brings a serious bent to things: if you're looking for a review that, y'know, actually describes what the beer tastes like, then it's the place to go. Dave is the guy to go to if you want poutine. Actually, he's probably the most active at keeping Beer On The Rock current and happening: it's a sort of beery Superfriends site that combines the efforts of all of them.

There's others too. Obviously you need to keep an eye on CAMRA Victoria as there's a sea-change coming there that's going to see an increased social media presence along with continued excellence in getting premium draft guest speakers in to spread the gospel. Brewery-wise, I expect to see great things from Vancouver Island Brewing and Lighthouse as well as continued excellence from Driftwood. I'll sure miss the growlers full of Phillips and the craic at Swan's and Spinnakers.

YADBB rolled over 10,000 page hits earlier today. As such, I've got something special I've been saving for just such an occasion: Brewdog's Tokio.

I'd like to use it to raise a toast to the Island, all who live on here, all who brew here and all who drink craft beer here.

Sláinte, my Island friends. You better believe I'll be visiting.

Super Bowl First Down: Dead Frog Citra IPA

I have to say, I like American football. It's brash and noisy and fast-paced and is probably what cavemen played before they discovered ice hockey. But I don't follow it regularly, so I have a hard time picking a team when it comes to Super Bowl time.

Picking a beer to quaff during the commercials, though, comes easier. Yes, it's another damn IPA (sorry Sports Andy).

I first had a glimpse of what Dead Frog brewing could put out after attending a CAMRA event at the now-defunct Dix's in Yaletown. There were something like six IPAs available that evening -the memory is hazy, and no wonder- but a standout for me was a heavily-hopped version of Dead Frog's Nut Brown Ale.

Since then, though, it's been pretty tame stuff: the most interesting thing about the Aldergrove-based Brewery was their silly name and the catchphrase, "Nothing goes down like a cold dead frog." That might be true if you're a Frenchman with a busted microwave, but for me, I'm picking a beer that's still capable of leaping off the lily-pad and onto my taste-buds.

However, here comes another big-beer series from a brewery not previously known for experimental stylings. It's Dead Frog's Citra IPA and it has a label that's about as subtle as T-Pain's dental work:
I mean, honestly. Liberace could wear that as a belt buckle.

But who cares? The last beer I drank with a silly label was Lighthouse's Deckhand, and it was agreed by all involved to be excellent, despite the cartoonish lady lumps. Speaking of lady lumps, that half-time show was the biggest outrage visited on music since Simon Cowell was spawned. I very nearly pulled a double Van Gogh with a butter-knife.

There are now more types of IPAs out there than there are versions of Wiz Khalif's "Black and Yellow"; so many that it's hard to remember what the original was like. This one is crammed with Citra hops: a hybrid variety consisting of 50% German Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, 25% U.S. Tettnanger and 25% East Kent Golding, German, Brewers Gold, and other unknown hops. If that sounds book-smart, I just copied-and-pasted it off of Left4Beer. Imitation, flattery, etc.

Anyways, this beer has a nose like Cyrano de Bergerac and an aftertaste as astringent as chewing partially cured leather (or as bitter as a Steelers fan, as it turns out). It's fantastic!

Dead Frog Citra IPA
Recommended if:
-you want a Dead Frog that still Hops
-you own a cubic zirconium tie pin
-you enjoy chewing black tea leaves

Not Recommended if:
-you like your beer to be like lager leftover from St. Patrick's day: flat, green and flavourless
-all your pimp chalices are in the dishwasher
-you're still a Black Eyed Peas Fan, because then you don't have any taste