Category: strongbow

beer snobbery

i am turning into quite the beer snob!
drinking craft beer has made me not want to drink anything but the best
which is making it hard to visit many of my old haunts
and me less likely to be enthusiastic about trying some new places
their beer lists just aren’t inspiring

so, my snobbery aside, how hard is it to bring in one or two local craft brews?
it shouldn’t be that hard…
and it would please me to no end!

i’m tired of granville island and okanagan springs being my only two “local” choices
and corona and stella being the “imports”

sadly, this critique extends to several pubs who pride themselves on having several taps as well
but how inspiring is a choice of local taps that only include granville island, big rock, sleeman, okanagan springs and keith’s? 
i.e. the charlatan:  “Located in the heart of Vancouver’s Commercial Drive, The Charlatan, is the areas best Gastro-Pub. Offering 15 fresh tap beers with 12 imported brews, its the best place to enjoy the perfect pint.”
i beg to differ!
okay, okay, they also carry whistler, but only the weissbier, and i don’t love that… cuz i’m a picky-pants as well as a snob!
and for imports they have the lovely, but entirely uninspiring guinness, kilkenny, stella and strongbow
a bit more fun are their belgians (fruili and delerium tremens) but again, my picky-pants don’t love the belgians…
okay, okay and i guess i should try the austrian stiegl before i knock it…

but dammit!  i love the food there
and at brown’s
and several other places
but i want more of a beer menu!
i want to be inspired every time i enter a pub

so yes, i am a beer snob
and i’m okay with that

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

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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Browns Social House

i had cause to be out and about near 10th and alma, and in need of sustenance, so i stopped in at Browns Social House.  i’d never heard of this chain before, and can’t imagine why not.  i guess i just don’t get out as much as i’d like to pretend i do.

their beer selection leaves an awful lot to be desired, but the atmosphere and the food were pretty fabulous.  and the bathroom was pretty darned wonderful, and you know how i like a good bathroom in my drinking establishment.

featuring only granville island, okanagan spring 1516, guinness, sleeman’s honey brown and grolsch on tap, they also carry the following bottles:  coors light, kokanee, sol, sapporo, guinness and strongbow.  like i said, not much of a selection.  they do offer sleeves of the taps for $3.95 or pitchers for $14 on sundays and mondays.  the “social lager” specially brewed for them by granville island brewery tasted pretty much the same to me as regular gi lager, but at only $4.95 i felt it was most palatable option.

the food though, the food was fabulous.  i had the cowgirl salad and dynamite roll combo – fabulously delicious, i’d totally go there again just for that meal.  although it might take me a while to do so – kits is not my usual stomping ground.

and i liked the decor, particularly the industrial look ceiling, all the light fixtures and the embroidered leather bar stools.  nice place to watch the game and people.

verdict:  thumbs way down on the beer selection, thumbs way up on the atmosphere and food.  i’d definitely go again, just not with a beer loving friend!