November 25, 2010 1

Pretty Things “KK” – Conversation With Dann Paquette

By Adam in Know Your Brewer, The Goods, Uncategorized

Adam Henderson interviews Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project Brewer Dann Paquette on the November 15th, 1901 “KK” beer from their “Once Upon a Time Series”. Just in case you don’t know, this is an accurate historical recreation of a beer actually brewed in London, England on the aforementioned date. Dann doesn’t interpret or modify the recipe, he just brews it the way it was done; kind of like a band playing a cover song, except it’s a song you’ve never heard before.

AH: You clearly put a lot of thought in what you’re going to brew, but where did this “Once Upon a Time” idea come from?

DP: “Once Upon a Time” came from the desire to work with Ron Pattinson for one.  We had a few great conversations with him whilst visiting Belgium and Amsterdam back when we were living not too far away in the UK.  The stuff we brew with Pretty Things is basically our takes on things we’ve been inspired by.  So this gives us an opportunity to step back and with zero creativity recreate beers from the past.

AH: How does the process of selecting a recipe work, and could you give us an example of the criteria you use to determine which ones you’ll actually attempt?

DP: I don’t understand the use of “attempt”?  We actually do follow through and brew it.  Anyway, we’re looking for something that not only doesn’t exist anymore but also plays with our very modern notion of “style”.  Whether you go around the internet, or take the BJCP exam, or read brewing literature these days you get the notion that these set of styles we know today were invented and carved in stone a long, long time ago.  If you read what Ron’s digging up it quickly becomes obvious that style is more like a moving target that changes with the taste, technology, economy and laws of the given moment.  I’m reading his almost 700 page book “Porter!” right now and it is amazing how unstable any definition is.  I think it’s sad that we’re stuck forever with a 1970′s revisionist version of what beers are supposed to be – even the notion of beer styles themselves.

So we’re looking for confirmation that the beer world was just as interesting and inventive back then as it is today.

AH: How many recipes like the “KK” and “Mild” does a guy like Ron Pattinson have access too, and from what time periods?

I don’t think there are many guys like Ron.  But he has access to hundreds or thousands of brewsheets.  How many more would be interesting to brew?  Probably many hundreds.  I think he roughly starts in the late 18th century and goes to the 1950s.  All in England of course, or mostly.

AH: I didn’t mean it that way, but I would agree, not many guys like Ron!

AH: How else is Ron involved, does he consult on methods and techniques that may have been employed?

Ron is very involved actually.  These brewsheets are really meant to be relevant to the brewers and their bosses.  The volumes are in quarters and others that I am not familiar enough with to figure out.  The handwriting and abbreviations are also hard to read.  Most are parti-gyles which confuses quite a bit.  Even the raw materials can be tough to figure.  I mean, what are Gaza hops like?  Ron is the guy who makes the recipe relevant to us.

AH: What’s the most challenging part of brewing these?

DP: For us the most challenging is the amount of hops used back then.  The KK was a 45 barrel batch of beer with over $5500 worth of hops in it.  I think it had an 88 pound bittering charge.  The Mild was similar.  We actually used all whole leaf for that one and really did a number on the brewhouse.  I think it took three days to clean it all up, never mind the pumps and valves we clogged.

The other challenging part is knowing that palates have changed so much since then that unless the drinker is educated the entire beer go down unappreciated.

AH: What if someone tries to do this with one of your beers 150 years from now? Is your record keeping as good as your brewing ancestors?!

DP: That’s an original question!  I wonder if I’m doing anything worthy of being recreated in 2160?  Let’s let that question float around in the ether and maybe someone in a space suit or a cloned version of Sam Calagione will find one of my recipes and brew it in the future.

AH: Hahaha, I bet Future-Sam would totally do that.

AH: What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned by going through this process?

DP: The most interesting thing is a surprise.  We taste the KK and think of it as a specialty sipper, but the Edwardians in London drank it everyday it the pub – KK was a normal style back then.  Who were these people who drank beers like that every day?  Just amazing to think about it.

AH: Are there any interesting beers you’ve uncovered during this process  that you can tell us about, without ruining future surprises, of course!?

DP: Well, we flew Ron over from Amsterdam for the launch of the KK in Boston and let me tell you… we spent the first night drinking, the second day on a 10 hour pub crawl, the third day in a 9 hour launch event, then went out to dinner afterward.  The entire time he was talking about possible beers to brew. There are a lot of ideas.  I suggest going to his website, buy his books and brew some yourselves.  Most of it is right there.

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November 12, 2010 2

Russian Imperial Stout Brew-Day

By Adam in Uncategorized

On Friday, Nov 12th, I brewed a batch of my Russian Imperial Stout (8%) at R&B Brewing in Vancouver. It will be served on cask at The Whip sometime, likely before Christmas.

This was my prize for winning a gold medal in the Stout category at the Van Brewer Awards in May. I want to say a big thanks to Rick, Barry, and their brewer Andrew for setting me up to do this! It was a lot of fun.

This was first time I’ve brewed on anything other than my own homebrew system. But R&B has a Tippy Brew Sculpture from More Beer. It’s a 20 gallon set up that makes brewing a damn breeze! The pump was broken this day which was unfortunate, but at the same time, I think that would only be a minor improvement.

The biggest benefit of this system was having everything right in front of me: 3 pots with valves and false bottoms, temp & sight gauges, and individual burners. Having a production brewery behind me didn’t hurt either (sanitizer, hoses, hydrometers, lots of sinks, etc…)

Hopefully I get to brew at R&B again soon! I’ll update with details when I know the date the beer will be served at The Whip.

Cheers,

Adam

October 21, 2010 0

San Fran and Napa Trip

By Adam in Know Your Brewer, Misc. Beer Fun, The Goods

I just got back from a trip to Northern California. I toured San Francisco and the Napa Valley mostly, and visited with suppliers and some other great places, too. Here’s a quick overview.

Chris Brockway makes his Broc Cellars wine in Berkeley CA, in a building best described as an old warehouse, just off the I-80, in a light industrial area. Brockway sources his grapes from a variety of places in California, including Luna Matta Vineyard, James Berry Vineyards, Ellen Ridge, and Arrowhead Mountain Vineyard. Most of these vineyards produced organically grown grapes, which Chris uses when possible. Broc Cellars it self is not a certified organic facility, but it’s worth noting that Chris employs the practice of selecting natural grapes where possible because it speaks to his belief that terroir-driven, natural wines are the best. As you might note from the pictures, this isn’t an estate winery! I’m particularly fond of seeing grapes fermenting right in front of a barbwire fence, it’s quite the juxtaposition.
Chris punching the grapes

Chris Brockway punching the Carignan at Broc Cellars

Of course, being a beer focused company I made sure to get over to the Toronado on 547 Haight St. The draft list here is one of the most prized in North America, and it gets beer from many great breweries here in NorCal that we can’t get back home. One of those is the Saison from Odonata Brewing, and it was really fantastic. I’ve been waiting a while to get into this beer, so it was the first that I ordered. It marries great depth of flavour with an amazingly soft texture. A simple beer that is clearly very well made. I wonder if some people will eventually tire of Saison (as it is becoming quite popular), but it’s a very challenging beer to make well and when you get a good one you know why so many brewers try to make it! Personally I’ll take a saison like Odonata’s over anything else.

Adam looking into one of the oak 'foudres' at Broc Cellars. "Oh Yes I Did!"

For last leg of the trip, we made the journey to Brown Estate, in the Napa Valley. I call it a ‘journey’ because after 20 minutes of driving and not seeing a single vine I thought we were lost, and surely not in wine country anymore. The winery is located in the Chiles Valley, which is a sub-appellation of the Napa Valley. Drive east for about 10 miles on Sage Canyon Rd from the Silverado Trail and you’ll eventually finding this winery, well tucked-away, in the hillsides east of Lake Hennessey. Here they’re making some of the best Zinfandel in the Valley.

Wine and cheese, from table level

Wine and cheese in tasting room at Brown. Chive studded cheddar...mmmmm.

The growing conditions in Chiles Valley seem quite varied. For example, the Brown’s vineyards contain several different combinations of soil, elevation, and sun exposure. Somehow, their lands seem to be perfect for Zinfandel – a grape whose often overripe and jammy wines are not as prized as they once were. But Brown’s Zins are elegant and restrained in that sense, and I hope its fair of me to surmise that winemaker David Brown works in accordance with what he’s given, and with the purpose of expressing his family’s storied land via the wine.

Their Napa Valley Zinfandel is a careful blend of fruit from four vineyards. They also offer 2 single vineyard expressions which show more seasonal variation, and distinct characteristics from the various growing conditions of each. They have 4 vineyards of Zinfandel on the property, but currently bottle only 2 of them, labelled ‘Westside’, and ‘Chiles Valley’, as single vineyard releases (yes, they plan to release the other 2).

View from tasting room into the caves at Brown Estate

The three Brown “children” – now fully grown of course – run the winery operations, their parents live in the house on the estate they purchased 30 years ago. Today, David is the winemaker and Coral is the Brand Manager. Deneen, the President, wasn’t in the tasting room that day. Coral, immediately welcoming, was effusive and passionate from the get-go. She speaks about the wines like a proud mother, and explains them via comparison to intangible but relate-able topics like relationships and poetry. When David found out I was from Ontario he told me about his time at College in Michigan, joking about how he used to drink Labatt Ice back in the day. We all make mistakes! What definitely struck me about Coral and David was the level of thought that they both put into their winemaking approach. They don’t over think it, they don’t over do it, they let the land, the vines, and the wine be what it is. It sounds easy, but it isn’t. Because of this they produce wine with a sense of people, and place. And it is nothing short of fabulous.

I consider myself very lucky that I get have experiences like this at places like Broc Cellars, The Toronado, and Brown Estates. I’m lucky to be in such a fun industry. Meeting people with a simple, genuine passion for what they do is rare, but I see it all the time and I’m blessed for that. I get to eat and drink pretty well, too.

Cheers,

Adam

September 15, 2010 2

Great Canadian Beer Festival, 2010

By Adam in Uncategorized

The 2010 Great Canadian Beer Festival is behind us, and we’re back to work now. This was a really great weekend to hang out with friends and meet new people, and more importantly it was a shining testament to the shift in beer culture here in BC. It was so great to see that many excited people talking, drinking, thinking and living beer for the better part of 3 days.

There were 55 breweries in attendance this year, and the line up of beers was spectacular. We were proud to have Upright Brewing there with us. We poured the Four, Five and Six from their regular lineup. My personal favourite of all the beers I tried was from the Czech Mate Pilsner from Saskatchewan Brewery Paddock Wood. It was a very traditional Czech Pilsner, bursting with hoppy snap and freshness. It seemed as though a lot of work went into perfecting this beer.

Other notables seemed to be the Red Racer Imperial IPA, which was served on cask, and the Pumpkin Ale from Steamwork’s, the latter of which had the biggest lineup I waited in. Also, BC’s two newest brewing operations were exhibiting: Plan B Brewing from Smithers, and Moon Under the Water (a new brewpub) from Victoria.

I want to say a HUGE thank you to Alex and Raquel from Upright Brewing for coming all the way up from Portland and helping, as well as to Ryan O’Connor and Jen Schwetje for helping us behind the taps! Can’t wait for next year!!!

Cheers,
Adam

July 29, 2010 0

RainCity Wine!

By Adam in Uncategorized

Surprise, surprise. We have just added the first non-breweries to our portfolio! The new additions are Broc Cellars, and Broadside Wines. The former is the winery of Chris Brockway, a California based Rhone-specialist, while the latter is a collaborative effort between Chris and husband-and-wife duo Brian and Stephanie Terrizzi, of Giornata Wines.
I’m very happy announce that my longtime friend and local Sommelier Jake Skakun is going to being joining us to help out with our debut in the wine business. Jake is one-half of the duo responsible for wine blog “Cherries and Clay” and he’s formerly the Assistant Manager of Salt Tasting Room. In addition to helping us out Jake just started as the Sommelier at the much anticipated L’Abbatoir in Gastown. Jake’s extensive wine knowledge is a huge asset for us, to say the least.

In case you were wondering why we’ve added wine to our mostly beer portfolio, it’s pretty simple – we don’t see the world in a ‘wine vs beer’ sort of way, we just like good (fermented) beverages. For that matter, wine and beer share a lot in common, and it if you love one you can’t help but be intrigued by the other. My first love is beer, but I have a secretive affair with Scotch too and hopefully, you will see that in the portfolio one day. Next up, I might be introducing coolers or pre-packaged shooters made under license from candy bar manufacturers. Just kidding.

The wine should be on shelves and wine lists in September. More info will follow in the newsletters and on the site
Happy drinking,

-Adam

July 9, 2010 0

Lambic Summit

By Adam in Uncategorized

If you are interested in Lambic beer you should watch all 8 parts of this series. It’s a really good video from the Lambic Summit at Philly Beer Week, featuring Jean Van Roy from Cantillon, Frank Boon from Brouwerij Boon and Armand Debelder from Drie Fonteinen.

Dan Shelton, the moderator on the video, is an importer in the USA and his Massachusetts based company ‘The Shelton Brothers’ represent several of the same brands as RainCity, including De Ranke, Cantillon, and Brasserie De La Senne. You may have noticed that we have not previously disclosed that we are going to work with De La Senne – if so, thanks for paying attention ;) We can’t wait to get them here. But I digress…

The first part of the series is below:

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July 6, 2010 1

Versatility

By Adam in Uncategorized


Why Every Restaurant Needs a Saison on Their Menu

Saison is perhaps my favourite style of beer, which is precisely why there are several beers (entire breweries even) in our portfolio that pay homage to the style. I love these beers for their affinity with food: A good Saison can awaken the flavours of very simple meals such as roast chicken or pork. They are great in the hot summer, with salads and fish, and they are often complex enough to stand up to hearty winter meals also.

Originally a lower-alcohol beer, Saison is simply a name that was applied to categorize seasonal farmhouse beers of a similar style, as were traditionally brewed in the winter and drank in the summer in Wallonia, Belgium. Refreshing and wholesome, they often contained many local and individual interpretations – incorporating different yeast as well as the occasional use of spices, herbs, and flowers (practices which actually pre-date the use of hops). For the most part, Saison is still all of those great things, however it is now available year ‘round in most countries.

Saisons are simply terrific with food. In fact, pretty much any simply prepared dish can shine beside Saison. As a Certified Cicerone and founder of Serious Beer School, Chester Carey says “Saison is the perfect beer for any menu. It is effervescent and light with a peppery, herbal depth and complexity. It’s carbonation allows it to cut through oily, fatty or spicy dishes like ancho-glazed salmon or a plate of charcuterie and cheese. But, it also has a lightness that allows it to shine with delicate foods… it is fantastic with spot prawns grilled with olive oil and lemon.” Few beverages display such versatility, as Carey says “the pairings are endless.”

Today, Saison can be a broadly interpreted style. As such, some beers that say “Saison” on the label may incorporate aspects that would have been uncommon in the old country, such as heavy spicing, the use of non-traditional ingredients (American-style Hops, for example) or high alcohol levels. While these are often still terrific, and may work splendidly on your menu, the following guidelines are likely to help you in selecting one of the more versatile examples:

Balance - A Saison is nothing if not dry. The balance should always be towards the brighter, snappy side. It truly should be palette-cleansing and refreshing, never sweet or cloying, and with vivacious carbontation (La Brasserie de Blaugies “Saison D’Epeature” is always a terrific, yet explosive, bottle of beer!).

Freshness -  While many Saisons are hearty beers that can often withstand cellaring of a year or more, they can occasionally fall victim to oxidation, autolysis and skunking. Store them in a fridge, out of the sunlight for best results. And if they might be older don’t buy them without tasting first.

Intrigue - Yeast, spices and ‘other’ ingredients can make or break a Saison. It’s the nuances of an individual beer that make for the most outstanding pairings. Upright “Seven” undergoes an open fermentation which provides a tart finish that rounds out the malty-sweetness that exists mid-pallete. This makes for a killer pairing with any pork dishes. Look for delicate peppery and floral notes that invite and awaken – they shouldn’t be overpowering. Often the latter character comes from the yeast and hops alone, not floral or spice additions.

Examples: Some examples that have more traditional flavour profiles are Saison Dupont “Vieille Provision” (6.5% ABV), which we do not import, and Upright Brewing’s “Four” (4.5% ABV) and “Seven” (8.5% ABV), and De Ranke’s 2010 Seasonal (5.5% ABV), all of which we do import.

For the record, Chester also recommends that you pair a Saison with “olive oil and black pepper-rubbed rib eye and micro greens”. I concur.

June 8, 2010 0

RainCity Beer Dinner at Pearl Restaurant

By Adam in Uncategorized

Further to our agenda of aggressively pushing beer on every diner that we can we’ve collaborated with Pearl Restaurant in White Rock to serve up a little taste of late spring by the beach.

We’ll be featuring a few of our beers; Pretty Things Fluffy White Rabbits, Cantillon Kriek, Upright Seven, and Upright Gose paired with a 4 different dishes.

The Menu!

For the unfamiliar this should be a great intro to the diversity beer can bring to a menu, and for the more acquainted it will just be plain ol’ fashioned fun. The menu is $65 per person, and reservations can be made by calling Pearl Restaurant at 604.542.1064

Hopefully we see you there!

June 4, 2010 0

De Ranke!

By Adam in Know Your Brewer, The Goods

We’re extremely proud to say that Brouwerij De Ranke (‘Duh Rawnk-uh’) is our newest supplier at RainCity Brands. This 15 year old Belgian brewery has a made a big splash in the USA over the past few years, and what they are doing fits right into our portfolio – that is, they brew incredible atisinal beer while eschewing pretention and often, convention.

Nino Bacelle and Guido Devos are the partners that run this brewery. They started it with the notion that the best breweries in Belgium use traditional methods and the freshest ingredients. They also believe that the hop is the single most important ingredient in beer. That is not to say that all of their beers are very hoppy, in fact that simply isn’t the case. More so, I’ve found in drinking them that they showcase the various attributes of the hop with immense range; at times highlighting the mouthfeel, the aroma, the extreme bitterness, the soft fruitiness and the herbaceous qualities that hops can bring to a beer. Each of their beers is a terrific work of art, clearly brewed with nothing but absolute focus, and talent, so naturally these elements are always presented in balance with the yeast and malt.

We’ll mention more about De Ranke as the beers start to arrive. But for now, here’s a brief overview of the De Ranke beer that will be making it’s way into British Columbia:

XX Bitter – The self proclaimed “Hoppiest beer in Belgium”. True or not? Who cares. It’s delicious; a monument to the hop.
Cuvee De Ranke – A blended sour beer, made with about 1/3 Girardin Lambic
Kriek De Ranke – Similar to the above but with cherries, of course
Saison De Dottignies – A seasonal, on the lighter side of the saison spectrum, but well hopped. The only beer from De Ranke we’ve not tried.
Noir De Dottignies – Nutty, malty, fruity and spicy. A darkly complex ale.
Guldenberg – A tripel in style, but perhaps more hop balanced. Dare we say, one of the most ‘sessionable’ 9% beers we’ve tried!

Adam is travelling to Belgium in August to visit De Ranke and Cantillon. We also have a few other suppliers in the works from this great beer nation, and we will update you shortly.

De Ranke beers should be available in stores by August, perhaps sooner.

Cheers!

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May 21, 2010 0

See ya Later, Chicken Wings…

By Adam in Beer + Food = :)', The Goods

I’ve wanted to start documenting some of the food pairings with our beers, and to share a few that I recently fell in love with. By the way, when I talk about “food” I mean cuisine, not something that comes in a cardboard box via a delivery guy, and certainly nothing that you can purchase at a Hooter’s (those still exist right?).  Generally I like to keep pretension to a minimum, if not entirely absent, but it’s about damn time people started pairing actual food with great beer. Chicken wings, are a snack.

“Seven” from Upright is a gorgeous ‘strong saison’, at 8.5% ABV. It’s big, bold, and juicy with a lot of complexity and a refreshingly tart finish. This makes for a terrific pairing for stronger dishes that have some richness to them. At the “Upright Crawl” Dinner Series during VCBW we paired it up with the Irish Heather Chef Lee Humphries’ slow braised Pork Belly. It was a killer combination, the beer matching the complexity and depth of the dish (onion puree, herbs, crispy potatoes and gremolata) but cleanly rinsing the fatty richness of your palate for the next bite.

Photo courtesy of Rick Green

Last week I made a sort of porchetta, butterflying a pork shoulder (technically Frank from Jackson’s Meat and Deli butterflied it), and stuffing it generously with mushrooms, minced pork, herbs and such before tying it up and slow cooking it on the BBQ. This went really, really well with Seven.  I also tried it with Cantillon Guezue, and Jack D’Or but Seven was the clear winner for this dish. The others were actually a bit over-powering, despite being ‘lighter’ in alcohol.

The “Four”, also from Upright was paired as the first course of our crawl (though I’m listing it second because the pork has been on my mind since I ate it) alongside a Pea and Prawn Salad. The subtle tartness of this beer leaves a very appetizing and refreshing impression, perfect for a starter salad or seafood appy.

“Four” is also perfect with virtually any cheese, though some stronger blue-veined cheeses might overpower it. That said, it’s carbonation, tactful hopping and vibrant acidity cut through fat and funk quite pleasingly, so there’s little need to over-think this one.

Photo Courtesy of Rick Green

There is a beer out there for every food. EVERY food. If you really start experimenting you will be amazed at the infinite number of possible combinations and how vastly different beers can work with the same dishes in exciting, enticing and sometimes scary delicious ways. For example, try a tart raspberry lambic – what a coincidence, we carry Rose De Gambrinus – or a Russian Imperial Stout like North Coast’s Old Rasputin (not ours) with chocolate desserts.

Our beer is always food friendly, but so are most. So whether it’s a beer from RainCity Brands or not, chances are it’s got a soul mate in solid-food form. Just remember that eating and drinking is supposed to be fun, and that you should learn from your less successful attempts. Secondly, feel free to gloat when you nail a good one – I’d love to hear what your favourite pairings are!!

-Adam

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