Sheltered Girl Meets World

Attended: Festibière d'Hiver (Gatineau, Quebec)

 

Serving hot 2009 BDT Messe de Minuit at the ice bar. Reminded me of hot apple cider.

 

As much of a beer lover that I am I have not tried many of the craft beers available in Quebec.  Which is why I jumped at the opportunity to attend Festibière d'Hiver, Winter Beerfest, hosted at the Château Cartier in Gatineau, Quebec.

Admission was free but beer samples and food required tickets which could be bought for 50 cents / ticket.  For the average 5% ABV (alcohol by volume) beer 4 tickets were required for a 120ml sample but if you wanted to be adventurous and try some of the higher ABV beers you could expect to shell out 6-10 tickets.  The food available seemed perfect for a beerfest - bison pogo, foie gras poutine, beer risotto to name a few and were sold in small portions for anywhere from 6-10 tickets.

 

Sipping on my Milk Stout by the bon fire.

I tried a wide variety of beers from a wheaty Blanche de Chambly from Unibroue to a creamy Vache Folle Milk Stout from Charlevoix to the oh so delicious aged Messe de Minuit from BDT served hot at the ice bar.  The latter being my favorite beer of the evening because enjoying it warm, huddled around the blazing bon fire felt perfect.

 

I want to learn more about Quebec breweries and their beer and will have to do my homework before the summer edition of the Gatineau Beerfest.  I just hope the summer event can top an ice bar and dog sled rides..

 

Lining up to get the beer that will save us from the cold.

 

 

Sipping high ABV beer by the bonfire makes a person feel very warm.

 

Attended: Women's Weekend at Camp Ouareaou (Saint-Donat, Quebec)

(A breath taking view of Saint-Donat, Quebec)

I'm not a camper but for a weekend I pretended to be one.  At Camp Ouareau in picturesque Saint-Donat, Quebec I participated in a 'Women's Weekend' with 30 others.  I ate a lot of fantastic food and challenged myself to do more than just watch the clouds reflection on the water.  I came home from the weekend with a new found appreciation for the outdoors and bags full of goodies bought at the local bakery and sasuage shop in Saint-Donat.

(Our cabin, nicknamed 'The Cove')

(One of my challenges - the rock wall.  I did make it to the top after a bit of a struggle)

(Another challenge - hiking to one of the viewing points of Mount Ouareau.  What a climb!)

Eaten: Huevos Rancheros @ Edgar

(Huevos Rancheros @ Chez Edgar)

I don't have the best camera - I may be one of the few food bloggers out there who don't have a gigantic SLR with a blinding, seizure causing flash.  I have a dinky Canon Powershot point and click that doesn't even have a view finder.  Sometimes the photos turn out gorgeous and sometimes the photos turn out to be a blurry mess.  Unfortunately on my first visit to Chez Edgar the photos were lack luster, not a true depiction of the food we were served.  Luckily it wasn't hard to convince the boyfriend that we needed to return a week later and do it all over again.

Eaten: Pigs Head @ Au Pied de Cochon

(Duck Carpaccio @ Au Pied de Cochon)

Au Pied de Cochon is a Montreal restaurant that specializes in pork, foie gras, duck and Quebecois items.  The food is known for being heavy, hearty and outrageous - food that you can't have everyday, at least not without a heart bypass every now and then.  Preparing for the meal the boyfriend and I ate like rabbits and had gym workouts that could rival that of any UFC champions.  We arrived at the restaurant starving and full of adventure.  With the menu featuring several tempting items and our waitress listing off what seemed to be 10 minutes worth of daily specials, it took us a while to create a strategy for our meal.  Over beer and sparkling water we carefully planned our attack.