MARCH 2003

The Bar Scene Take #6 – Grizzly Paw

Having grown up in Calgary, I have taken many trips to the Rocky Mountains, but like most people from Calgary, I skip Canmore and head to my favourite ski hill or Banff. However, Canmore has grown up and now has its own brewpub/microbrewery, the Grizzly Paw. Canmore also supported not too long ago (‘til 2000), another microbrewery, Peak, but financial difficulties forced them to close doors. In the meantime, Grizzly Paw is the mainstay for fresh beer in Canmore and, as you might have first heard here in December’s edition of The Monthly Brew, the Grizzly Paw recently changed its brewing license from a Brewpub to a Microbrewery meaning they can sell their beer all over Alberta. So far their beer is only available outside of the brewery at Hop ‘ N Brew and Malcolm’s, both in Calgary. However, I can only imagine that they have big expansion plans given the change in the brewing licensing and with the purchase of new brewing equipment. In the meantime the best place to try Grizzly Paw beers are at the brewpub in Canmore. They offer six regular, plus two seasonal beers, though the seasonals, if popular, may stick around for a few seasons, like their current IPA. This was my first visit to the Grizzly Paw pub, so I had really no idea of what to expect, but was not surprised with the woodsy/ outdoors atmosphere. The brewpub could have been any modern family restaurant in the Rockies but the first thing I noticed was how busy it was. We were there on the Monday of the Family Day long weekend around 4 pm assuming it wouldn’t be that busy, however we were so wrong, the place was more than packed and we ended up getting seated off in a corner on the second floor. The menu consists of standard pub/family restaurant fare with burgers, salads, etc. at reasonable prices. The service was quite good and our waitress was attentive and, despite it being busy, our food was delivered in a timely manner.

As for the beers, they offer six regular plus two seasonals, which happened to be an IPA and a Creame Ale right now. The beers are generally solid, but like many brewpubs, none of the beers are a wild sort that might offend people. Perhaps the oddest thing I found in my visit there was that their Red Ale which I had drunk a week earlier at Hop N’ Brew was more rounded and delicious than at the brewpub. In any case, my three companions and I all agreed the winners of the day were their two seasonals, which is often the case for many breweries as they tend to be the most daring brews. At any rate here is how I reviewed their 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

Drooling Moose Lager – Like many brewpub lagers I have tasted before in Alberta, a nice floral nose, but a dry grainy finish ruins anything spectacular about the beer. 2½/5

Beavertail Raspberry – Mild hints of Raspberry in the nose, cloudy yellow color and a taste of mildly sweet malt and hints of raspberry with a dry grainy finish. 2/5

Grumpy Bear Honey Wheat – Nice floral honey nose, golden color, sweet honey taste with hints of wheat and a dry finish 3/5

Creame Ale – Deep golden color, creamy head and floral nose. Buttery initial taste with hints of fruit and a mildly sour malty finish. 3½/5

I.P.A. – Amber color, orange and spice in the nose. A nice sweet malt backbone provides the spicy orange mouth into a mildly bitter finish. The finish was a little disappointing as I was hoping for more of a kick after a complex beginning, but still a great beer. 3½/5

Moose Knuckle Oatmeal Stout – Huge coffee nose with hints of dark chocolate. However, the taste is overwhelmingly malt and overwhelmingly strong coffee. The coffee taste simply is waaaaaaaaayyyy too much and the beer comes off tasting like cold carbonated Turkish coffee. I can’t imagine many people finishing a pint of this stuff. 1/5

Big Head Nut Brown – Dark brown, buttery caramel nose. This is followed up by caramel and molasses in the mouth and a nice dry finish. 2½/5

Rutting Elk Red – Dark reddish color, hints of raspberry in the nose. The mouth was astringent with hints of caramel, but overall I felt the beer really lacked any complexity and came off somewhat bland. 3/5

BEER BOTTLES – Alberta Spirits

I had heard quite often about the liquor store in Canmore as being one of Alberta’s most impressive and visions of grandeur danced in my head. I imagined a huge liquor store with everything available from A-Z. However, what I found was not that, but a small-medium size store that far from disappointed me. Though I found out after I got back to Calgary they had moved locations and downsized. The beer selection was refined; yes they did carry mainstream lagers, but they had some excellent beers that I had never seen in Calgary in six packs, such as the Polar and Brown Bear from Bear Brewing (owned by Big Rock). I guess the most impressive thing I found was the use of space in the store, very compact and nothing is left to waste; including the beer cooler which had multi-tiered shelves stacked four deep. Prices, were not the cheapest I have seen, but certainly no more expensive than many places around Calgary and probably par for Canmore. I also checked out the discount table and managed to pick up a bottle of a specially ordered micro sake, for a local Canmore Japanese restaurant, from Japan for about 60% off. The staff was friendly and helpful and I will definitely stop over here on my next trip out to the mountains and I recommend readers to also do so as you just might find a little pleasant something you weren’t expecting, beer or otherwise, that just might make your day.

Alberta Spirits is located at 1120 Railway Ave, (403) 678-2451

Bubbly Review – Pan European Beers

I am covering European areas outside of previous covered areas, such as; Germany, Belgium and U.K.

The Czech Republic has one of the richest beer cultures in all of Europe, not to mention the heaviest drinkers in the world and some of the cheapest, tastiest beers. In fact the Czech Republic is home to two world famous breweries, Pilsner Urquell, the original pilsner, from the town of Pilsen and Budvar (Checkvar) the original Budweiser. Pilsner Urquell is now owned by S.A.B. (South African Breweries) one of the largest beer companies in the world, while on the opposite end Budvar has remained fiercely independent despite an unnamed American macro who has tried almost everything under the sun to buy the company and continually sues them in foreign soil for copyright infringement (hence the name Checkvar in Canada). Pilsner Urquell is famous for being, according to Michael Jackson, the number one Pilsner in the world. However, like most pilsners it doesn’t travel that well and on these shores and not to slight P.U. but it is unarguably not the best pilsner you’ll ever taste. The rest of Europe is a mish mash of different beer cultures, though we don’t seem to get anything other than yellow fizz from these countries, which is a shame as I have had some great Italian bock beers. Southern Europe is better known for its wine and spirits rather than beer. Greece has few micros, but I visited an excellent beer bar on the island of Rhodes a couple of years ago that had, or they seemed to be, micros from all across Greece and I was fortunate (unfortunate??) enough to have Mythos on draft in MacDonalds in Greece. Turkish beer is unavailable in Canada and is generally not too exciting anyways. Their best beer IMO is Troy, which is hard enough to find in Turkey, though well worth searching out if you are there.

Some Eastern European nation are also known for excellent beers in some parts such as Poland but in general we will never see those beers on these shores due to lack of willing agents and the difficulty of doing international trade with poorer Soviet block nations. However, it can be said that in general, any European nation will have at least a few interesting brews to try, if not just for the different malt and hops character they offer.

Alama Reserva 1925 (Lager) 6.4% Spain

Deep golden color, the caramel presence in the malt become more apparent as the beer warms up. A nose more reminiscent of a Bohemian style Pilsner than anything we have in N. America; grassy with hints of pine. The mouth was complex with hints of pine nuts, grass and hints of salt along with a rich mildly syrupy malty character. The finish is clean, crisp and mildly bitter. Considering the age of the beer (arrived in Calgary in Oct.) the beer has held up quite well, a definite must to try in Spain on tap. 3½/5

Topvar (Bohemian Pilsner) 5% Slovakia

Comes in a can. I taste metal, then I taste beer that I want to soon forgot or not have to finish. Mainstream lager all the way and you have to pay more for it. Why bother 1/5

Czechvar (Budvar) (Bohemian Pilsner) 5% Czech Republic

In my opinion this the best widely available example of a Bohemian Pilsner and why it may seem similar to Molson or Labbats based on looks, this is just so much better. I became quite addicted to this stuff in Japan (where yes it is still called Budvar, thank god!!) and think the Saaz hops were a little more present there than they are here, but never the less; this golden gift from the heavens reaches out to you as soon as you open the bottle and smell the Czech Rep. bottled up. The nose is very floral, while the body has a wonderful malty sweetness followed by a nice clean finish and a mildly dry bitter aftertaste. Instead of reaching for your average piss pounder, reach for this beer in the summer it will be oh so much more satisfying!!! 4/5

Slavutych Pivo Premium (American Lager) 5% Ukraine

A true masterpiece, this not so much a beer as it is a work of art that the whole world will truly admire. Done with such craftsmanship it is a wonder that all beers in the world, or for that matter all wines, spirits and coffee have not try to imitate this sensual brew. Forget all the nonsense about complex trappist beers or up and coming micros. This is where it is at Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine; the beer Mecca of the world!! Enlightenment in a bottle; now please see rating.

Calgary’s worst beer

Rebel (Bohemian Pilsner) 5% Czech Republic

Golden color, with gooseberry in the nose. A strong malt backbone with hints of burnt malt (which is strange considering this is a pilsner), popcorn and pine. The finish is clean and dry. I guess it is the taste that got to me, I am not sure if the beer was off, it certainly didn’t seem that bad, but a subtle, but definitely present burnt something was in the mouth and this was not a pleasant thing. I will re-rate and post a new rating in the future, but for now the bottle I had gets a 2½/5

Tim’s Take

This month more of an informative month, rather than opinion as I will focus on beer books and magazines.

There are a million books on beer; everything from homebrewing to very highly technical aspects of tasting to just simple coffee table books, the choice is vast. However getting your hands on one of these books can prove to be a bit more challenging. Chapters and other large retailers do carry some, but certainly not much that is unusual. The only liquor store in town that seems to sell books on beer (as far as I know) is The Cellar; who last time I checked had an interesting book (I should know I bought it) on the history of Porters and Stouts, by Roger Protz a well-respected English beer writer/critic. However, going on line in places such as Ebay, etc. can prove to be very fruitful and could uncover some gems with a little persistence. However, if I could recommend books, not that I have read all of these, but most of them either come highly recommended or I have at least browsed through them.

The most appropriate place to start would be almost anything from Michael Jackson. Some people are a big fan of his The Great Beer Guide which list 500 classic beers, including our own McNally’s, this book has wonderful pictures and it is kind of neat to see how many classic beers have you tried, great coffee table book. However, being the avid traveler that I am I find his Pocket Beer Book has been indispensable as it can guide me to good beer on the four corners of the earth. But his original beer book from 1977, is the New World Guide to Beer, undoubtedly a classic.

Looking at things closer to home, Canada’s best-known beer writer Stephen Beaumont has written the excellent Canada Beer Guide, now in its second edition (2001). I received this book for Christmas and have read it off and on. Stephen covers most of the micros in Canada (though there definitely area a couple missing) and is quite insightful and informative. It is a great coffee table book or a beer travel guide for Canada.

If you have a particular interest in Belgium and Belgian beers, I would recommend Good Beer Guide Belgium and Holland by Tim Webb, the English writer who is an authority on Belgian beer culture. He is constantly updating his book, the last time in January 2003. He focuses mainly on beer cafes, but also goes as far as to suggest itineraries and festivals. Ordering information can be found here.

If you are heading to Germany, more specifically Munich anytime in the near future an absolute must is The Beer Drinker’s Guide to Munich. I bought it before my trip to that fair city last year and the price of the book was basically covered by the 2 for 1 coupons on, what else, beer. Not only that but the book was excellent to explain how to get to different brewpubs and what to see and do, etc. It is invaluable for anyone making a trip to Munich in the future. However, this book can only be bought on line here.

Probably my favourite Christmas present this year (outside of beer itself) was Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why it’s Necessary, by Nicholas Pashley. Mr. Pashley is a bookseller for the U of T and writes, quite well, if I may say, about drinking in general and drinking in Toronto. Some of his ideas, such as when he listens to blaring boy and girl pop bands in pubs “…..makes me (him) feel very pro-abortion, retroactively if necessary”, had me busting a gut. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, though I didn’t necessarily agree with what he was saying, he wrote so beautifully it keeps the reader interested.

Another Christmas present was the 430 page, Brewed in Canada, which I am struggling to get through. It has some interesting facts (make that LOTS of them), and I love reading about beer history, but 430 pages on Canadian beer history is a bit too much for me. Though I am proud of our beer history, well certain aspects of it anyways, other countries, namely European countries, have a much more interesting beer history. This book could have been compacted down into 200 pages and focused more on the essentials than every single little detail, though I am sure there are some that would find every detail interesting.