Sheltered Girl Meets World

WEEKNIGHT DRINKING: Make'r Easy by Beyond the Pale Brewing Co.

After Beyond the Pale Brewing Co. launched in December it quickly went from being Ottawa's newest brewery to being Ottawa's most sought after brewery.  Perhaps it was the beer they were producing or maybe it was their location, but the demand has been so high that their retail hours were scaled back and an expansion was ordered just four months later.

In addition to their regular line up, Beyond the Pale produces a few one offs that keep the beer fans in a frenzy and causes a line up outside the Hintonburg Brewery.  Thanks to weekend overtime shifts I've never been able to join any of the line ups or presales, but I had a rare Saturday off and the weather was beautiful so I joined the line for my two bottle allotment of Make'r Easy.

Make'r Easy is the bourbon barrel aged version of their low ABV English Mild, Easy Pleasey.  I haven't tried the original, but I think the barrel added some wonderful notes of vanilla and dark caramel to an already nutty/grainy beer.  I don't usually comment on texture, but this had a wonderful smoothness, almost creaminess that made me sip it slowly, savouring the flavours.

I kind of regret not making the time to stand in line for the other bourbon barrel releases.

BON APPETIT: The Flour Shoppe

Bon Appetit Ottawa, one of my favourite food events in Ottawa and a fundraiser for 25 local charities is just around the corner on Tuesday, May 7.  In addition to having over 48 different restaurants, bakeries and catering companies providing yummy nibbles there will be 25 beverage partners and 10 of those are breweries.  Tickets are $85.00 (including a $50.00 tax receipt) and give you free reign to sample food from the area's top chefs and indulge in some great local beer and wine.

The last few blog posts have been dedicated to beer and some of the great offerings available at Bon Appetit this year.  For my last post urging you to attend this great event, I'm focusing on one of the many bakeries that will be on site, urging you to try their treats.

This will be my fourth year attending Bon Appetit and every year I always look forward to The Flour Shoppe's booth.  Why?  Well, imagine a mountain of never ending cupcakes and no one turning you away for seconds (or fourths).  If you've never had their cupcakes before, imagine a light cake texture with smooth frosting (a little lighter than straight butter cream) piped high.  The best (tastiest) part is the variety of creative flavours they come in - my current favourites are chocolate chip pancake and birthday crumb brownie.

Baker/owner Melissa Somers has been a real supporter of events like Bon Appetit that give back to local charities.  At the grand opening of their Glebe location in June of 2010 a portion of the day's sales were donated to United Way and they are always at community events serving up something sweet to raise money.

At this year's biggest cocktail party, The Flour Shoppe will be showcasing their creative cupcakes flavours and will also feature some of their other sweet treats.

Oh, and for those of you who enjoy the not-so-classic beer and cupcake pairing make sure to pay attention to their daily offerings.  Every now and then The Flour Shoppe teams up with Broadhead to make a Dark Horse Stout cupcake!

BON APPETIT: Best of the Local Brews

Bon Appetit Ottawa, one of my favourite food events in Ottawa and a fundraiser for 25 local charities is just around the corner on Tuesday, May 7.  In addition to having over 48 different restaurants, bakeries and catering companies providing yummy nibbles there will be 25 beverage partners and 10 of those are breweries.  Tickets are $85.00 (including a $50.00 tax receipt) and give you free reign to sample food from the area's top chefs and indulge in some great local beer and wine.

Here are some of the local breweries that will be in attendance serving up their signature product and some of their delicious seasonals:

Cassel Brewery - Golden Rails Honey Brown Ale

Located near the train tracks in Casselman, Ontario, Cassel Brewery is pumping out small batch beer to locals and select pubs.  Their signature beer is Golden Rails Honey Brown Ale, an easy to drink balanced brew with subtle notes of honey thanks to the use of honey malts.  Cassel Brewery also produces seasonals like the smooth Lil' Red Steamer and the citrus-y Hopper Car IPA.

Beau's All Natural Brewing Company - Lug•Tread Lagered Ale

While Beau's has become known for their fun seasonals (and their Oktoberfest celebration) their take on Kölsch, the classic beer of Cologne, Germany, is an easy drinking favourite.  Their many seasonals include Beaver•River I.P.Eh., a combination of British and American IPA interpretations, and the entirely too drinkable summer Festivale Altbier.

Kichesippi Beer Company - 1855

Tipping their hat to the year that Ottawa got its name, 1855 is a brown ale with a balance of malt and caramel notes with a nice bitterness at the end.  Also on tap is the first of Kichesippi's one-off Wuchack IPA series, Wuchak Polaris which only uses Polaris hops and the very summer-y Bavarian Lager, Heller High Water.

HogsBack Brewing Company - Vintage Lager

Without a brewery at the moment, HogsBack has been contracting their brewing out to several craft breweries including Ashton Brewing Company and Broadhead Brewing Company.  Their Vintage Lager is European-inspired with some caramel malt sweetness and slight, lingering hop bitterness at the end.  Their current seasonal is Kilty Bastard, a dangerously drinkable Scottish Ale.

Hurray for Barley's Angels Ottawa!

One of my biggest worries about the boyfriend leaving for New York City was being alone.  When you're with someone for a long time, you become dependent on their company - the thought of not goading him on at the gym or making him grilled chicken (as much as I hate it) was depressing.  In the week that he's been gone I haven't become the social recluse I thought; in fact thanks to Barley's Angels it's been the opposite.

It was the end of February and I had arranged a pub meeting with a few girl friends to hammer out details for an upcoming group trip to the American Craft Beer Festival in Boston.  Several pitchers and not a lot of planning later we were having a lot of fun and the idea of forming a group was tossed out.  We discussed the pros and cons of started our own independent group, but ultimately went with the idea of forming a chapter of the international group Barley's Angels.  We liked being part of a larger oganization that promotes beer to women, plus it's a pretty sweet name.  The next day we had a website, Facebook group and mailing list - I guess this drink talk was becoming reality.

In the days that followed we set up our first event, board games 'n beer, hosted at Kichesippi Beer Co.'s brewery and had an interview on CTV News!  Our numbers were getting big; now the Facebook page wasn't just friends who joined to be polite, but women who were really interested in learning more about beer.

April 2nd finally  rolled around (what a build up!) and we had over 150 members on both Facebook page and the mailing list.  We weren't sure how many to expect for the event, but figured we'd at least have each other, beer and Jenga so it'd be a good night however way it went.  When the meeting time rolled around our numbers swelled, we were more than just the initial four - we were over forty!  Amazing!

Now I'm busier than busy planning the next exciting event with the original group, trying to recruit new Angels and keeping up with local beer releases.  

So much for pining over grilled chicken..  kidding!  I am looking forward to visiting the boyfriend in mid-April; I might have to beef up my gym routine to give him an extra challenge at the gym though.