Category: snake bite

folk fest

i managed to spend a little time on my vancouver folk fest weekend in the beer garden
serving up only big rock products, its not my favourite beer garden
but if that’s what’s on offer
and i get a mighty thirst
i’m gonna find a way to make it work!

for me, the way to make it work again this year was to go the route of the snake-bite
even though snake bites were actually on the menu this year
i still had to throw a spanner into the works and get my snake-bites with the traditional ale instead of the grasshopper wheat

judging by the fact that they ran out of cider by 4:00 on sunday afternoon, i’d have to say the cider and snake-bite options were popular!



mimi enjoys the balmy weather on sunday with a big rock grasshopper
chip off the old block double-fists it with traditional ale

snake bite

my friends are big fans of the cariboo
i’m just not
so the other night when cariboo was all that was on offer
and there happened to be a strongbow in the fridge…
i made a snake bite!

definitely the way for me to drink beer i’m just not wild about
so refreshing!

still like the ipa/strongbow mix the best
but so far, haven’t gone wrong with anything i’ve made into a snake bite
this is the most fun and successful challenge i think i’ve ever laid for myself!
yay!

snake bite

the only beer on offer the other night was corona
now, on a hot sunny day i don’t mind the light mexican beers
but since the evil empire took over corona, i’ve been avoiding it (and the modelo and the bud and the other poor unfortunate beers, victoria being the true tragedy to me, but that’s a whole other rant!)

short story turning awfully long, there was also strongbow in the room
so i did what anyone else in my shoes would have done and combined the two for yet another taste on my way to finding the ultimate snake bite!

nothing wrong with the corona/strongbow combination
nothing noteworthy either
definitely enjoyed it more than i would have either beverage on its own
and the second one went down even faster than the first!

stella’s snake bite

went to stella’s on cambie street the other night
and because i’m not the biggest fan of the belgian beers, i had another snakebite concoction

i teamed the phillips ipa with strongbow
i was a little worried that the hops and cider would fight each other rather than compliment each other, but i needn’t have worried – it was delicious!
the hops and the citrus were made for each other
it was refreshing and bracing and i wish i’d thought of it years ago!

so far, this is the leader in my ultimate snake bite search

folk festival

i love the vancouver folk music festival!
it is consistently the most amazingly well run event i have had the pleasure of attending.
major kudos to all involved!

last year they introduced a beer garden to the festival.
on principle i did not venture in to said beer garden last year.  i still don’t think that a beer garden has a place at a beautiful family event like folkfest, but since having it there did not in any way take away from the festival being my happy place, i thought i’d get off my high horse and give it a try this year.

sponsored by big rock brewery, the offerings were cider, traditional ale, grasshopper wheat and lime.
not being the biggest fan of the big rock product, and it being a fabulously hot sunny afternoon, i decided to explore another snake bite mix.
i paired the traditional ale with the cider.
and it was delicious!
perfect for a hot summer’s day.  refreshing, sparkling, not too sweet… it hit the spot!
i extolled its virtues so highly, most of my friends ended up ordering it as well, and liking it.
its a snake bite revolution!

would i have that mix again?
probably not if there were other products on offer
but definitely will have it again next year at the folk festival

red truck blueberry

the drinking forces came together at st. augustine’s last evening with a primary and a secondary goal, both of which were achieved.

first on the agenda was to sample red truck’s limited purple haze blueberry blonde ale.  this was extremely easy to accomplish, but we managed to do it with great aplomb, style and delight.

st. augustine’s describes it as:  “6.0%  Deep purple in colour with a pinkish head, light blueberry aroma and tartness plus a dry finish.”

they didn’t lie.  it was all that, and all four of us enjoyed it.  at least initially.  bridget only got half way down her sampler glass before she tapped out.  alison and i got all the way through our samples but felt that perhaps that was quite enough blueberry goodness for us.  not truly surprising as not a one of us actually likes wheat beers/blondes.  amanda, wonderful counterpoint to our wheat hating ways, loved it of course.  it was right up her alley.  but she too declined to have a whole pint of it.

second on the agenda was to share and catch up and enjoy the conviviality of good friends having a few drinks.  also achieved with great ease, aplomb and delight.  damn, we’re good!

amanda rounded out her sampler with the lost coast tangerine wheat ale, pyramid audacious apricot (of course) and central city’s raspberry wheat ale.  she may have found a new favourite to challenge her usual audacious apricot love – the tangerine.  she says:  “a delish’ taste, the aroma of the tangerine – prior to a sip – sucks you in.  brings to memory a cold one, back in south africa and grabbing a fresh tangerine off the tree – a delightful surprise, a competitor to audacious apricot.”

amanda also tried the merridale estate cidery house cider.  st. augustine’s says “6.9%  Light, dry and effervescent and made with locally grown apples.”  amanda says:  “a real organic taste – home grown!  the essence of crab apples and cinammon touch the nose… aftertaste is very natural apple taste… the fresh off the tree, crunch taste.  a tad bit sweet, not as dry as they profess it to be, but delightful.  only a 1 pint for this fruit cake.”

i sipped amanda’s cider, and quite enjoyed it, but did not venture to try it in a snake bite.  i am falling down in my challenge to myself to find the ultimate snake bite.  fortunately i plan to live for at least another 50 years, so i have plenty of time to meet the challenge.

more on everyone else’s samplers and pint choices later!

beer advocate and the snakebite

yay!  beeradvocate issue #41 arrived in my mailbox the other day!
i love mail.
i love beer.
mail about beer is really a fabulous thing!
and there’s an article by BrewDog about their philosophy.  i love BrewDog!
check it out my friends, check it out!

And from the beer advocate website, this age-old question rears its enquiring head:

“A proper snakebite?

A friend of mine turned me onto snakebites a few months ago, and I’ve been looking for a good combination of beer and cider to mix together. Last weekend I gave Narragansett and Strongbow a try, which was pretty tasty, but I think I can do better.

The liquor store I work at only has Woodchuck, Strongbow and Magners, but we’ve quite a good selection of imported and domestic beers, so I figured I’d ask BA what a good combo would be.”

wow, i never thought of experimenting with the snakebite.  i just happily lap up whatever the pub gives me.  no more!  i shall experiment everywhere strongbow is sold (because as far as i’m concerned, that’s the best cider vancouver has to offer… unless anyone cares to turn me on to something better) and come up with my definitive snakebite!
i love a challenge!
and happily, just in time for summer, when cider drinking is at its peak in my life!
hot damn, beer is a good thing!

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