FEBRUARY 2003

The Bar Scene Take #5 – Limericks

Sometimes in life we all get lucky breaks or become fortunate enough to get on in good opportunities. These things can be life changing or in my case with Limericks just plain fun. I was one of the few lucky people who attended Limericks special invitation grand opening about four years ago. Limericks sent invitations to neighbourhood businesses in order to promote the new Irish pub in the area. My friend who worked across the street happened to score one of these invitations and even though I wasn’t the beer geek I am now, she still knew I enjoyed a good pint or two. Needless to say with the prospect of an open bar and free food I was there in a flash. As I went in I was really impressed by the beautiful wooden interior and the private curtained booths on the second floor. Anyways, I remember sitting down in the booth and being impressed by the huge draft selection, 48 taps!!! (The second thing that blew me away were the prices, but luckily they haven’t really changed much and now are on par with most parts of the city). I soon convinced my friends to start at the top of the beer list and work our way down. At that time I naively believed that there were no good local brews so we stuck to U.K. beers, with names like Boddingtons, Kilkenny, Tartan, etc. It was a great time and needless to say persuaded me to make many return visits.

After a two and a half year hiatus I stopped by Limericks earlier this fall with some friends on a Thursday night to see how much my favourite Irish pub in Calgary had changed. The cozy warm atmosphere is still there and so are the 48 taps, though they never seem to be all available at one time. Thursday nights happen to be Peel and Eat shrimp where shrimps run only 7 cents each, undoubtedly a great deal and went well with my pint of Aprikaat from Alley Kat. The food at Limericks is great. Traditional U.K. fare for all under $10 and everything I have eaten there has been done very well. They even have Haggis for the more adventurous group. Unlike many Irish pubs around Calgary, I go to Limericks just as much for the food and atmosphere as the drink and it was nice to see they have kept up their high standards of great pub grub.

As for the beers, well I was less impressed than before, most likely due to the fact I am a more discerning beer drinker. Basically they pretty much had what I expected, but I was hoping for some surprises that would confirm this is one of the best beer haunts in Calgary. Sadly that did not come to be. Don’t get me wrong the selection is great, they have the full range of Wildrose beers, plus a variety of imports and the usual yellow fizz, but I felt that someone had put a great deal of time and effort organizing a great beer menu and then became complacent and just decided they didn’t really need to change much. Sure there are a few things on the menu that weren’t there on my first visit; Hoegaarden (from Hoegaarden, Germany???), Fort Garry Pale Ale, etc. But nothing that blew me away and they had no Brew Brothers products on tap. I have been there three times in the past couple of months and each time I ask if there are any beers available that are not on the menu, but nothing. No seasonal beers, nothing. Which makes me feel like this is a great place to impress a friend from out of town with a good local and import beer selection or if you are just starting to explore the world of beer but the beer menu alone wouldn’t keep me coming back. But like I mentioned earlier I go there just as much for the atmosphere and food as the drink, so I see countless revisits in my future. The other opportunity here is to see how well British style drink and food match each other. Both can be full-bodied, hearty and a perfect match in my opinion.

Overall the Limericks is a great pub and is my favourite Irish pub in Calgary, for three simple reasons; great food, excellent atmosphere and a large draft selection that goes well with the food. They also have an excellent patio in the summer, though the views are less than spectacular.

Limericks is located at 7304 Macleod Tr. South

The fireplace at Limericks; an essential object of a great pub IMO, sadly lost to central heating.

BEER BOTTLES - Eau Claire Wine Market

The Eau Claire wine market is located, appropriately enough, in Eau Claire Market downtown. It has a prime location on the first floor and has lots of walk by traffic that pass through this small, cramped liquor store. Not an inch is wasted and despite the size, the beer selection is abundant. Over 80 beers, beautifully displayed on the shelves (see above right). Many beers that come in four or six packs are available individually from the beer fridge and therefore provide great sampling opportunities. Eau Claire Wine Market carries lots of Canadian micros plus a fair share of imports, about a 40/60 ratio. They have most specialty beers available in Calgary and are a great place to search out hard-to-find Canadian micros. Eau Claire Wine Market is a definite must-visit next time you are strolling around Eau Claire Market or Princes Island park.

BUBBLY REVIEW – CANADIAN MICROS TAKE #2

After reviewing Canadian micros in the first issue of the monthly brew I thought I would come back and celebrate some more beers stretching across Canada. In Canada the big brewing provinces are B.C., Ontario and Quebec. B.C. has the largest number of breweries per capita in Canada and around 25% of all of Canadian breweries. Not surprisingly BC also has Canada’s premier beer festival which is the Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria. Quebec arguably has breweries that make the most interesting beers in Canada and is home to two of Canada’s most respected breweries, MacAuslan’s from Montreal and Unibroue from Chambly. The former concentrates on English style beers, while the latter specializes in Belgian style ales. Both have been around for awhile and both export to other countries. Ontario has a variety of interesting breweries, though only Creemore Springs probably sticks out and the highly touted Dennison’s and its wiezen. Sadly Dennison’s `are now just part of Canadian brewing history as of January 17, 2003, though it wasn’t due to lack of clientele or bad beers, just a bad landlord. B.C. is home to some of the best brewpubs in Canada, like Spinnakers and the Canoe Club in Victoria or Storm, Sailor Hager and Yaletown in Vancouver, but no microbrewery has taken off in any big way (cause once they do, someone usually buys them out).

Alberta has seen a couple of breweries disappear over the past couple of years, including Banff Brewing of Calgary and Peak from Canmore, disappointing, but both breweries struggled to define themselves and therefore failed to find a target market and went broke. Big Rock continues to expand and help redefine the Canadian micro experience and like Sleeman’s has big plans to be everywhere beer drinkers are. Now on to the beers.

My rating system focuses on how enjoyable the beer is to beer drinkers. The system will read as follows: 5 – Undoubtedly a favourite of many people; 4 – Outstanding, most people will like this beer; 3 – Some people will like this beer some won’t; 2 – I didn’t like this beer, but maybe you will; 1 – I don’t know how anyone could like this beer, but perhaps there is one person. Horsepiss – self-explanatory

Yukon Brewing Company – Arctic Red (Amber) 5%

Dark amber-reddish color, a well hopped floral nose with hints of candy apple and a touch of spice. A very nice juicy, citrusy, sweet malt start with a clean, crisp moderately hopped finish. Hard to believe this beer was made north of B.C. the style suggests the Pacific Northwest. This is a great beer for people who like a well hopped beer and is beautifully balanced. I really recommend everyone try this beer. From what I’ve heard Yukon Brewing is struggling to define themselves in Alberta, but don’t have much of a home market (population wise) to sell to so they need customers down here. 4/5

Mt. Begbie – Creame Ale (Creame Ale) 4.7%

An interesting brewery out of Revelstoke, making a flagship Kolsch beer that has a great local following and probably their best beer, unfortunately only their Tall Timber Brown Ale and Creame Ale are available in Alberta. They have also come out with a smoked porter that is heavily smoked and is a unique style. It has a nice floral nose, with hints of honey in the mouth, but a mediocre grainy dry finish takes away from the start. 3/5

Big Rock – Honey Brown (American Dark, though some would argue it is a style unto its own) 5%

In an obvious step to go in direct competition with Sleeman’s, Big Rock has jumped on the Honey Brown bandwagon (count Rickards, Wellington County, etc. on the same bandwagon). I am definitely not a big fan of this style, perhaps because I am not a big fan of Sleemans, however I must say of ALL the Honey Browns I have tried I like this one the best. Perhaps it is because they use Alberta Clover Honey?? (like I would know the difference anyways!!!) over Ontario produced honey. The end result is a much more assertive and aggressive beer and therefore has much more character compared to Sleemans, however too much medicinal honey flavours to make this anything great. IMO it is a cross between bland brown ale and a spoonful of honey cough syrup. However, if you like Sleeman’s honey brown I am sure you will like this even better. 3½/5

Big Rock – MacNally’s Reserve (Dry Stout) 5%

Big Rock’s next attempt at riding a popular wave, this time making a beer that is a pretty similar to Guinness. Guinness has had great commercial success across the world, but I haven’t tasted many microbrewery products that have closely resembled Guinness. This is good and bad. I prefer to see more individual beers from microbreweries, but hey why pay a buck or two more when essentially you can get the same beer with a tad more hops and a heck of a lot fresher. 4/5

Brew Brothers – Prairie Berry (Fruit Beer) 5%

Not being a fruity guy, I don’t care much for fruity beers, though that logic seems flawed at best. However what is not full of flaws is Brew Brother’s winter seasonal beer Prairie Berry which is made from Saskatoon berries and Blackcurrants and is not a bad beer. Slightly sour taste with hints of Saskatoon berries and Blackcurrants, it is well balanced and not overly sweet like some fruit beers. 3/5

Unibroue – Quelque Chose (Gluekriek) 8%

Unibroue’s attempt at Gleukriek beer comes off as a smashing success. It is supposed to be drunk hot or cold. Micheal Jackson says he likes to drink it with ice cubes. Undoubtedly the most versatile beer in the world. This beer is popular amongst winter sports enthusiasts according to Unibroue’s website. It had a nice red clear color, nose of cinnamon and red wine. Cherries, cherries and more cherries with spices in the mouth and a mildly sour finish, INCREDIBLE. Light bodied, well balanced, the cherries don’t overwhelm, but having a nice lasting finish that has you wanting to come back for more. 5/5

Fort Garry – Pale Ale (Pale Ale) 5%

One of Manitoba’s few microbreweries. They have a dark ale and a pale ale in Alberta.

Has medium brown color, nice creamy head. Initial taste was very buttery followed through by a malty sour taste and then a dry nutty finish. It starts off complex, but falls flat. Worth a try and available on tap at Limricks. 3/5

Tim’s Take

This month ‘The Price of Beer’

Recently it has occurred to me that prices for beer in liquor stores are quite interesting. First and foremost I just realized that the popular mainstream lagers such as Molson Canadian, is the same price or slightly more expensive than local microbrews, such as Big Rock. Yes, this might have been obvious to some readers, but I don’t exactly rush to the 12 pack cold beer section of the store when I am out buying beer. In fact I usually try and stay away from there as much as possible. The store that I was in recently, sold Traditional for $9.50, while Molson Canadian was selling for $10. I understand that about a year or two ago the Klein government gave tax breaks to Alberta microbreweries. This was an excellent idea, but I would have liked to have seen a tax increase for the macros at the same time. This would have created an interesting situation as the price sensitive lager drinker would have likely switched to a microbrewery. However, as it stands, the price differential isn’t significant enough at this point in time to sway those consumers.

However, beer prices in Alberta are amongst the lowest in Canada and it is rumored that in Montreal is about the most expensive. I have a cousin who pays $15 a six pack for some beers in Montreal. It is cheaper to buy the B.C. beers here than in B.C. The main reason for this, I figure, is that they have to offset the $16/hour cashiers in B.C. However, being a firm believer in the free market, I think beer prices here are too low for Canadian beers. TOO LOW??? I can hear some people blurt out. Yes, too low. Don’t get me wrong I love low prices and I don’t think imported beers, especially from the U.K. are too low (I will get into that later). But ,basically, low prices have two main negative aspects. First and foremost low prices mean low profit margins for retailers therefore making beer a lower priority product. Many retailers work with a 20-25% markup on specialty beers and as low as 5% on ‘recession fighting’ beers. This is compared to wine which can command a 15% markup for E&J Zinfandel and up to 30-40% on high end wines. Therefore, and rightfully so, many retailer put more time and effort into selling wines and obtaining exclusives wines, than beer based on profit margins. The second negative effect is the perception in the consumer’s mind that beer can never be as sophisticated as wine because it is a cheaper product. The aforementioned E&J retails around the city for between $8-9 for a 750ml bottle. Likewise a 750 ml bottle of Unibroue fetches between $5.50-9. However, the complexity of the Unibroue products far outstrip E&J Zinfandel or, for that matter, most Zinfandels available. In fact based strictly on complexity, if Unibroue was a wine it could probably fetch twice the price if not higher. Yet, because of engrained perceptions, beer retailers cannot sell Unibroue for such a high price. Will this view of beer as a “poor cousin” ever change? I say that higher prices are one important factor necessary to encourage more good beers to be sold and enjoyed.

Some import beers can be a tad pricey in our town, but after all is said and done, our weak dollar, combined with archaic regulations about the supply chain and labeling laws have led to these higher prices (Write to your Alberta MLA advocating updating these regulations). Agents who bring in these beers are not making a ‘ton-o-cash’. In fact, quite the opposite. Luckily, most of the relatively high priced imported beers are of high quality. Needless to say, I would like to see more balance between domestics and imported beers, but until regulation change, this is not likely to happen. So, until regulations do change, you can realize the only one getting rich off the $6 Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is the Alberta government, because the retailer and the agents aren’t making great profits.

The last point on the Price of Beer is a global perspective of beer prices that I have experienced. Starting in mainland Europe, prices in liquor stores and bottle shops are quite cheap compared to Canada. For example Chimay Blue and Aventinus both retail for around one euro each in Belgium and Germany respectively, which is approximately $1.60 CND or around equivalent price of a single bottle of Traditional or Molson Canadian. Beer halls in Germany/Austria sell one-liter of beer for between 4.50 and 6 Euro, still relatively inexpensive. I have heard that pints in the Czech Republic sell for around $0.50 CND, which would probably be the best deal in the world for quality and price. Based strictly on price, Vietnam probably offers the best value with one-liter jugs of beer (well piss poor beer) sell for around $0.25 CND. While another Asian nation, Japan, has likely the highest priced beer in the world (for micros). In Japan a bottle of microbrew can rarely be seen in a liquor store for under $6 CND, though it can be reasonably priced on draught, especially when some microbreweries sell pitchers of beer. Other than the completely RIDICULOUS priced ($200 US) of Samuel Adams millennium ale (available in the US) and other beers that are expensive just because they are rare, the most expensive beer in a regular line up that I know about is the Japanese micro Hakusekikan whose oddly named Super Vintage ale (Barley Wine, 14.3%, 330 ml) sells for 1800 yen. (http://www.hakusekikan.co.jp/beer/beer1.html ) or approximately $24 CND for a bottle. The most I have ever paid for a beer is about $10.50 CND for a bottle of Samual Adams Tripplebock (definitely was not worth it!) and the most expensive beer I have ever seen is a 1924 bottle of English Ale for approximately $8000 CND (Still for sale in Japan if anyone is interested, hehehe!!) To conclude, on the price of beer around the world; in general, and this makes perfect sense, the more readily accessible hops and barley there are, the cheaper the price relative to the per captia income. Good luck beer hunters.