Sheltered Girl Meets World

WEEKNIGHT DRINKING: Montmorrency Cherry Ale by Turtle Island Brewing Co.

So I drank this last week, but it was so good I felt I had to share it with you.  This pint is from the first keg of Turtle Island Brewing Company who contract brews out of Broadhead Brewing Company.  The owner and brewer is JP Fournier who's also known for organizing National Capital Craft Beer Week, WinterBrewed and hosting the Ottawa Beer TAP Society dinners - clearly beer is a passion of his.

The brew that we were sampling was the first rendition of a Montmorrency Cherry Ale called Mon Cheri Ale or SMASHed Cherry or Mon Cheri SMASHed Cherry Ale (still working on the name) brewed on the larger system at Broadhead.  While I'm sure moving from a homebrew system to a larger commercial system has its challenges it certainly didn't affect the quality of the beer.

Pouring a red-brown colour the inaugural brew offers a misleading aroma of stickly sweet cherry and caramel, but on first sip you're treated to a well-balanced blend of caramel, subtle hop spice and a cherry tartness that leads into a dry finish.  As it warms up (if you can let it) the flavours deepen offering warmer spices and more of a cherry punch.

Turtle Island Brewing Co. will launch this cherry ale as well as a  honey brown ale in the next few weeks at select restaurants and bars.  I've sampled JPs homebrews before and I'm really excited to see what he has in store for us.

TAP TAKEOVER: Beyond the Pale/Gastropub - It's a Gong Show!

Having attended all of one previous tap takeover (Beau-coup de Tap also at The Wellington Gastropub) I now consider myself a tap takeover veteran.  As a veteran I arrive to these events early, I scout out comfortable corners and I know that it's not just the high quality beer that makes these events a success.  Sure, it's a good part of what makes these things awesome, but it's the conversations, the food and an intense game of Jenga that can make a fantastic glass of beer taste even better!

I'll admit, I had some worries that Beyond the Pale wasn't going to be able to supply enough beer for this takeover, but they surprised me!  On top of their regular fare they brought a few special draughts, lined the bar with casks and even brought some casks that weren't on the previously released menu.  My favourites were Belle Hop Porter (a collaboration between Gastropub and Beyond the Pale), a rich roasty brew with hints of coffee, caramel and hop bitterness and the smooth cask version of Pink Fuzz that had an amazing aroma of grapefruit thanks to the added dry grapefruit.

Alongside kegs and casks of beer, the Gastropub was serving up three dishes for attendees to nosh on - fries with a beer-y cheese sauce, crispy chicken taquitos and shrimp (with corn and potatoes).  They were the perfect size, perfect amount of cheese and deep fry for an afternoon of beer and conversation.  With Ontario Craft Beer Week 2013 around the corner I'm looking forward to more evenings spent in a pub and maybe some new Jenga challengers.

PLANTED: Grape Vines @ Three Dog Winery

It's Saturday morning, 6:30am and I've barreling down highway 401 in my 2005 Pontiac Sunifre, also known as Ghetto Hot Rod.  Enjoying the comfort of the not so luxurious front seat is Claire (wine blogger at foodiePrints); Jodi (blogger at SimplyFresh) is in the cramped back seat with Lemon (her dog).  We're headed to Prince Edward County to join the Three Dog Winery planting crew and ensure that this winery has grape vines to harvest in the future.

When we arrived I parked my car in a grassy field, slipped on my black rubber boots and got a short lesson on how to plant a vine from John Squair, the happy owner.  It was a good thing he recruited so many eager helpers because I really wasn’t much help – with dogs running around, Mike from Seed to Sausage at the BBQ and a cooler full of beer calling my name I was a little distracted.  I planted all of 5 vines and took my spot at the edge of the field sipping wine at 10:00am and making some new doggy best friends.

Combined we measured, dug holes and planted over 2,400 vines!  I'm not sure how much wine that's equal to, but it must be a lot, right?

Waiting for us when we returned from the fields was a warm fire, tables of beer, wine and cider and a hearty lunch featuring chicken dipped in a yummy mayonnaise-cider vinegar sauce, bread from Bread and Butter Bakery, salads and even dessert!

The Ottawa contingent left Three Dog Winery muddier than we arrived (Lemon most of all), but feeling part of something bigger.  It'll take years before the vines are ready to be harvested and turned into wine, but it's going to be amazing to see them grow.

Three Dog Winery has launched an indiegogo campaign to help them get the funds they need to get off the ground.  Invest in them - you're not only investing in a winery (woo!), but people who are passionate about community and how a winery can contribute to that.

EATEN: Montreal Bagel Wars

I grew up eating grocery store bagels.  Not the ones in the bins that the grocery stores claim to bake fresh, but the ones sold in the stay fresh 6-packs that seems to always be on sale.  I don't know if it's the packaging or the preservatives, but they never seem to go moldy.  I'd eat them weeks after stocking up on them (on sale!) and would only throw them out after realizing how old they were.

Hey - I never claimed to be fancy or gourmet, but I do like a good bargain.

My zombie bagel eating ways ended shortly after my first trip to Kettleman's in the Glebe.  The smell of the wood-fired oven, the warm bagels, the crispness..  I understood why people stood in line to order them fresh, nothing in a package could compare.

Fast forward a few years and I'm standing in line outside St-Viateur Bagel in Montreal waiting to grab a few bagels for breakfast.  I now know the difference between a Montreal-style bagel (wood-fired oven, crunchier, sweeter) versus a New York-style (standard oven, softer, puffier) and I'm ready to order a few of the city's finest with my favourite accoutrements.

Except Montreal doesn't do accoutrements.  Unlike New York City where every bagel shop is trying to up sell you with different cream cheeses, meats, smoked fish and vegetables, Montreal bagel shops just sell bagels.  Tubs of cream cheese are available for purchase in the cooler, but dressing up your bagel is your responsibility.

If you've just visited St-Viateur Bagel that usually means sitting on a street bench and struggling with a plastic knife as the locals try to ignore you.  For those who choose Fairmount Bagel (my favourite) you will suffer a similar fate which can be avoided if you visit nearby Caffe Grazie Mille.  There you can sit at a table with comfortable chairs, use a real knife and, as an added bonus, have a fantastic cappuccino.

As delicious as Montreal bagels are I think I prefer New York's, if only for the accoutrements.