#yvrbeertweetup

instead of going home after my cbc gig last night
like i should have done and been a responsible human
i went to smiley’s pub and had me some wonderful cask ale
like an interesting and beer-engaged human

#yvrbeertweetup was having a hopscotch festival precursor
there were five casks on offer, all with whisk(e)y in them
that is a recipe for an intoxicating evening!

two casks were pumpkin ales, two were stouts
the fifth was an ipa
i know we’re all very shocked here, but i went with the ipa!
lighthouse provided a marmalade imperial whiskey ipa
using quince and citrus and i can’t remember what all else fruits
and a whole 26er of whiskey,
that 9% fruity ipa went down far too easily
delicious!
i coulda drunk that all night
but fortunately for my head this morning, it ran out pretty quickly!

they’re doing the whole thing over again tonight
with different casks
at the bimini in kits
i have my regular beernesday group tonight so i won’t be making it out
but it is definitely worth considering if you’re not joining me at st. augustine’s!

i even won a prize!
which if you know me in person is probably shocking the hell out of you right now
yup, me the luddite and worst tweeter on earth actually managed to tweet the answer to a question first and win two tickets to a hopscotch event
pigs did not fly, but i definitely looked around to make sure they weren’t!

kits cask carouse

the camra vancouver kits cask carouse on sunday was chock-ful of good beer and good times!
and it only mostly kicked my ass!

the carouse was divided up into two groups, hitting pubs in a scissoring order
i was one of the fearless leaders of group b
b for beer
b for best

stop one:  darby’s pub
yay for bright and cheerful and wifi!  wonderfully attentive service
(and the new summer food menu looks ah-mazing!)
talk:  paddy treavor of camra vancouver talked about… camra
verdict:  interesting and informative and got us several new members!

cask:  lighthouse switchback ipa
verdict:  as tasty as outta the keg or bottle – pretty carbonated for a cask though!

carnivore food:  wimpy burger with roasted garlic polenta fries

veggie food:  vegetarian wimpy burger with roasted garlic polenta fries
verdict:  delicious and perfectly sized!

stop two:  displace hashery
lousy cell reception and no wifi, but pleasant surroundings and attentive service

talk:  brent of r&b brewing spoke about cask ale
verdict:  trivia with prizes!  who doesn’t love prizes, especially when they’re pints of beer!

cask:  r&b strawberry ipa
verdict:  not much strawberry apparent, didn’t seem to be anyone’s favourite, but when offered seconds, we all partook!

carnivore food:  meat and mushroom pizza
veggie food:  eggplant and fig pizza
verdict:  the other group got antipasto, we got pizza, i’m down with pizza!  especially when there were seconds!

brief translink interlude between stops
we coulda walked, but why waste time between beers walking when your drunk ass can ride?

stop three:  sunset grill
nicely reno’d and welcoming atmosphere, we had a nice sunny section to sit in
and yay – they have wifi!
talk:  rachaal steele on prohibition and that darned temperance movement that’s to blame for it – fun, interesting and intemperant!

cask:  red truck french oaked strong ale
verdict:  total crowd pleaser, on the sweet side making it a dangerous little number!

carnivore food:  lion’s head meatballs served over a bed of baby bok choy
veggie food:  arancino crispy risotto wrapped around bocconcini, served on bed of lightly seasoned marinara
verdict:  this was the best pairing of the day for me, and another example of the amazing food that craft beer destinations have on offer – muah!

stop four:  bimini’s
we had the whole top level to ourselves!  there was a service shift change during our sojourn that wasn’t seemless, but otherwise service was attentive, and there’s wifi!
talk:  there wasn’t one…

cask:  parallel 49 imperial wit
verdict:  not at all my preferred style, but i stuck with it most of the way through and it paired nicely with my tacos

carnivore food:  slow roasted pork tacos with smoked pepper hot sauce, pickled vegetables & avocado mash served with a side of roasted corn & potato salad
veggie food:  squash and asparagus tacos with smoked pepper hot sauce, pickled vegetables & avocado mash. Served with a side of roasted corn & potato salad
verdict:  i’ve never had a crispy vegetable taco before, but i would do it again. unfortunately the corn tortillas were dried out.

there was a second cask available for purchase at bimini
also from parallel 49, it was their “lord of the hops” ipa
and damn, was it ever a tasty beast!

the carouse was a fabulous way to spend a sunny vancouver spring afternoon
kudos to amanda of camra for putting it together,
thanks to the four breweries for providing the casks,
and the four venues for extending us such fabulous welcomes and food,
thanks to everyone who came out and paid their money and tooks their chances!

kits cask carouse

i’m leading a group for the camra kits cask carouse – join me wontcha?!?
four stops
four casks
food, food, food!

Displace Hashery
Beer – R&B Raspberry IPA
Food Pairing – TBA
Guest Speaker – Duncan Stewart on ‘Cask beer 101′

Darby’s Pub
Beer – Lighthouse Switchback IPA
Food Pairing – Wimpy Burger (Fraser Valley beef patty, with lettuce, tomato, crispy onions, mustard & mayo on a brioche bun) with roasted garlic polenta fries, or Vegetarian Wimpy Burger with roasted garlic polenta fries.
Guest Speaker – Paddy Treavor, CAMRA Vancouver President

The Bimini
Beer – Parallel 49 Imperial Wit
Food Pairing – Slow-roasted pork tacos with smoked pepper hot sauce, pickled vegetables & avocado mash. Served with a side of roasted corn & potato salad. The vegetarian option will replace pork for squash and asparagus.
Guest Speaker – Mike Tod of Parallel 49 on ‘Laws surrounding opening a brewery and the challenges’

Sunset Grill Tap House & Whiskey Bar
Beer – Red Truck French Oaked Strong Ale
Food Pairing– Lion’s Head Meatballs (braised pork meatballs served over a bed of baby bok choy), or Crispy Risotto-wrapped Bocconcini, served on bed of lightly seasoned marinara.
Guest Speaker – Rachaal Steele on ‘A brief history of Canadian breweries post prohibition’

Tickets for CAMRA Vancouver’s Kitsilano Cask Carouse April 21 are $45 for members and $50 for non members. Participants will be split up into 4 groups, so if you would like to be in a group with your friends, email events@camravancouver.ca.