A Beer Tasting With Guinness Pudding

Lots of good beer was consumed!

I started my morning with a bit of Guinness while making the Guinness pudding.  Link to the recipe is below the pictures.  Even though it did not thicken like it should it still tasted good.  So it turned out to be more of a Guinness shake or frozen treat than a pudding.  The first batch I made the week prior to test it out turned out great so I know the recipe works.  I did not do anything different from what I did previously other than double the recipe.  So I assume if you don’t do that it will turn out delicious!!!

The Main Ingredient!!

Mmmm Whipping Cream

Some of the Chocolate Used...

Stirring the Chocolate Into the Guinness and Cream

Adding the Sugar and Eggs and Whisking to the Finish Line!

The Finished Product!!!

The Guinness Pudding Recipe I used.

While eating dinner - it was pizza - I had a Royal Jamaican Alcoholic Ginger Beer from Big City Brewing before I headed out to the tasting.  Below is the list of beers we tasted:

Southern Tier Brewing Company – Mokah

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel – Derniere Volonte

Brasseries Dieu Du Ciel – Corne du Diable

Les Trois Mousquetaires – Maibock

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel – Charbonniere

Goose Island – Matilda

Broue Pub Brouhaha – Special B

The Bruery – Provisions Series: Tart of Darkness

Microbrasserie du Lievre – IPA Imperiale

Sierra Nevada – Celebration Ale (2011)

Surly Brewing Company – Wet

Boulevard Brewing Co – Imperial Stout

McAuslan Brewing – St-Amboirse Stout imperiale russe 2011

Goose Island – Bourbon County (2009)

Cigar City Brewing – Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout

Brasserie Cantillon – Lou Pepe Kriek (2008)

Flying Monkeys – Smashbomb Atomic IPA

A couple of homebrews were consumed as well and I could have missed others possibly.

Most of what was consumed that night....

The stand out among this list, for me at least, was the Bourbon County.  The Marshal Zhukov’s was also quite delicious but the amount of molasses you taste means it is a beer you can’t really drink more than a few ounces of.  The beer on the list that disappointed the most was Matilda.  I bet that if this beer were tasted on another night though my taste buds would have been happier with it.  Many of these beers I would highly recommend.  Really hoping I can get my hands onto another bottle of Mokah, Bourbon County, Lou Pepe Kriek, Marshal Zhukov, and IPA Imperiale in the future.

Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Delving into the winter beers already....

Beer : Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Brewery : Boston Beer Company

Brewed In : Massachusetts, United States

Style : Bock

ABV : 5.5%

Price : $2.40 or so… I can’t remember but around there!

Notes : A winter brew.

Story : I quite enjoyed last years batch so I have hopes this is just as tasty!  Grabbed a couple bottles believing it will be just as good.

Appearance : Pours, almost, a dark brown with a red hue when held up to the light.  The head dissipates quickly but lacing is pretty good.

Smell : Light spices with a slight grassy and floral aroma.

Taste : Spices - nutmeg most prominent but a hint of cinnamon too - like the aroma but with hops in the finish to give the beer a bit of bitterness.

Mouthfeel : Light bodied; I recall last years being a bit thicker. It is a smooth drinking beer though.

Drinkability : Even though I think I would prefer last years batch this is still a decent beer.  Not one I would highly recommend, like their Noble Pils, but if you like their Boston Lager then you may enjoy this quite a bit.

Sand Creek Brewing Oscar's Double Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

I assume the bear on the bottle is Oscar

Beer : Oscars Double Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Brewery : Sand Creek Brewing Company

Brewed In : Wisconsin, USA

Style : American Double/Imperial Stout

ABV : 4.5%

Price : unknown to us Canadians (see below why)

Notes : Beer Advocate tells me it was brewed once but I see it won an award in 2000 on Sand Creek’s website so I am thinking they might be incorrect.  So brewed often?

Story : This beer was a gift.  From Twitter.  Well. From these guys really .  The great guys at Luxalune picked up this beer after I “won” a contest over Twitter. As the contest was just reply to them what beer you wanted I didn’t expect anything.  But I got FREE beer.  Homer Simpson would be proud.  Thanks again Luxalune!  Can’t wait for your Farmery to open up!

Appearance : Pours pitch black/brown with a dark tan head that leaves a perfect ring of lacing on the glass.

Smell : A slight hint of cocoa and some burnt notes.

Taste : This beer tastes if sweet dark chocolate with a bit of smoke.  It is creamy and syrupy at the same time.  The alcohol is slightly noticeable.  It honestly has a slight taste of cola.  Yes Coke or Pepsi cola.

Mouthfeel : Body is medium and your mouth feels sticky and dry after a few sips.

Drinkability : I loved this beer.  Sadly I only have one bottle left.  It is nice and creamy and tasty and I could go on and on and on about how enjoyable this beer is.  The guys at Luxalune sure didn’t let me down when they said they were bringing me some beer back.

The Great Burger Hunt - Yellow Dog

I go here at least once a week, what does that say?

Sometimes your usual haunts have great food. One of mine, Yellow Dog , is no exception. This is one of the places I come and study between classes - for multiple reasons: the atmosphere is better than whiny 18/19 year old university students (not that all are bad, just most), the wireless is better than U of W, and I can drink a tasty beer.

Honestly my productivity in a pub like Yellow Dog (or Lo Pub my other studying hole) spikes considerably. Must be the beer.  Seriously.

Anyway. I've eaten most of the food here. Love the nachos.  They are probably the best bang for your buck considering you can order a half order and it feeds two people comfortably. The grilled cheese is also sublime.

Surprisingly I have never eaten one of the burgers from here. Well that changed.

Yellow Dog has a few selections of burgers to choose from. The one that caught my eye was the Bison Burger. So I ordered one of those with a side of chips. No not fries. Chips.

Instead of the deep fried artery clogging fries that most places use Yellow Dog avoids. Working in the kitchen must be great if they have no deep fryer. I hated cleaning those things when I was a cook in a pub. The ruffled potato chips they use are sprinkled with peppercorn and a bit of seasoning before being tossed in the oven to give them a nice crispness. Even though they are not actual fries they are really good to munch on and complement the burger well.

The Bison burger came on a Kaiser whole-wheat bun with, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and mustard.  This burger looked spectacular.  The taste was equal to the look.

Some of the onions were not fully caramelized so it contrasted slightly different flavours each bite but the lettuce and tomatoes were extremely fresh. Not sure if I've ever seen greener lettuce in my life. The burger itself was juicy and tasted quite well. The bun was a bit large for the size of the burger but nothing that bad.

The price, food selection, atmosphere, and beer selection make Yellow Dog a must visit.

What it got : Bison burger and chips - $10.25 plus tax.

Burger Taste : 4/5

Fries Taste : 4/5 (chips)

Price Value : 4/5

Menu Selection : 4/5

Overall : 4/5

Yellow Dog

386 Donald Street

Winnipeg, MB

(204) 775-6676

Taking a Risk

Is sometimes a good thing

So today I had to do a presentation for my Voice & Diction class. It was a simple assignment. We had to tell a story about us.  Our options were to choose to tell a story about someone we had admired in our youth, a special place to us, or something else that I can’t remember… The class was encouraged to take a risk with telling the story.

The presentation was only a few minutes long.  So it seemed simple. I picked something I enjoyed as a child. The story of a me and the local hockey rink sounded right. I worked on it for 3 hours the night before. Memorizing it.  Preparing.  Editing.  Presenting to myself.

Then halfway through people's presentations I began to think I should change my idea.  Should I?  Shouldn't I?  A few people were taking risks.  And my story sure as hell wasn’t.

It said take risks on the assignment sheet.  So I guess that answered my question.  Fuck it. I took the risk.

I told my story. A depressing one for me, about my past and what happened in my last days living out in Edmonton. I choked out some of the details, I forgot to tell some because I was trying to avoid breaking down, but I got it out.

The presentation went well I think.  Even though I am not sure if I spoke loud enough. I had to make sure to remember to breath at a few points.

Was it a good decision to change it?  Time will tell. I don't regret it. Unless I get an F. But still. I won't actually regret it.

I took the risk. Sometimes you have to say fuck it.  That is what I did.

Munich Eisbock Stir Fry

A sweet beer making a sweet stir fry!

Well I love to cook with beer.  You should probably know that by now.  Beer is meant to be cooked with.  I’ve probably said that before.  Well I cooked with it again.  And here is the damn recipe!

This recipe took all of 45 minutes to make.

I took the salmon fillets out of the freezer, purchased from Costco and placed in lukewarm water to thaw them quickly.  While they were thawing I cracked open a bottle of Fort Garry’s Munich Eisbock and poured myself a glass.

PHOTO FROM OH BEAUTIFUL BEER

15 minutes later I took the salmon, which were thawed, out of the packages and placed them in a pan that I sprayed lightly with pam.  I buttered the top of the fillets and sprinkled a bit of salmon seasoning on top before I placed in the oven.

While the salmon began to cook I tossed the basmati rice into the rice cooker.

After those two items were going I began to chop up the veggies and toss them into a pan to cook them.  As the veggies were cooking I made the stir fry sauce.

I used a bit of the beer I was drinking, soy sauce, fresh garlic, honey, chili sauce, and a bit of oregano, which I also sprinkled onto the veggies, as they were finishing.  Viola!

(SORRY FOR NOT HAVING PICTURES OF THE DISH BUT I LOST THE PHOTOS DUE TO SOME UNFORTUNATE ISSUE WITH MY PHONE)

Ingredients :

Salmon

Mushrooms

Peppers of all colours

Carrots

Rice

Sauce :

Munich Eisbock

Soy sauce

Oregano

Honey

Flour (to thicken the sauce)

Chili sauce

Garlic

The sauce was surprisingly good.  Honestly I wasn’t sure what to expect with the sweet beer and the honey being put with the garlic and chili sauce but it was really good.  The sauce really made this meal quite good.

PS – don’t forget if you make the sauce with beer to NOT put it in a shaker like I did.  BEER IS CARBONATED.  It exploded everywhere!