St. Bernardus Abt 12

St. Bernardus Abt 12 - 10.00 % alc./vol. 4 x 330ml $23.99(CAD)

"St. Bernardus Abt 12 - Abbey Ale brewed in the classic "Dubbel" style of Belgium's best Abbey Ales. Store and serve this noble, wonderfully balanced and delicious ale at 52-56 degrees F in a goblet glass to best enjoy its delicate bouquet"

***

Honestly, CJ didn't know it was $23.99(CAD) until he checked his receipt when he was preparing to blog. Wow, that's a little on the pricey side for some beer. And judging from the packaging, it was clearly marketed to the American palate...but really, I doubt they would know what to do with a STRONG BEER (emphasis on the packaging, not CJ).

Well, today was the first snowfall of the fall, and all my Canadian sous-chefs know what that means...and for my international sous-chefs, here is a hint...

CJ would define this beer as a dark, strongly flavoured, ale. A lot of sediment and with 10.00% alcohol, it's a "sleepy time" beer - basically enough to help any insomniac. Not so much recommended for dinner time as a "help wind your evening down while you let your brother empty the dishwasher" kind of beer...yeah, it's pretty good.

The photographic evidence:

Look at how happy that monk is on the bottle! Why is he smiling? It's just because CJ gave his beer a solid 8.1 out of 10.0!

Ginger² - High Level Diner

Ginger² - Your favourite Crabbies Original alcoholic Ginger Beer with a 1 oz. shot of Skyy's Ginger Vodka, served in a 20 oz. glass over ice - $20 (CAD)

***

Hmm... I think CJ may have accidentally deleted a post on the spicy octopus salad...

So, my sous chefs of note may recall that CJ had done a review of Crabbies a little while ago, and when he had breakfast a few months ago with his ex-coworker at High Level Diner, the Ginger² was discovered.

CJ knows how Christopher Columbus must have felt when he discovered the Americas... "Damn! I need a good drink!!"

The presentation of the drink is fine: a shooter glass of vodka, the green-bottled Crabbies and a class filled with ice and a slice of lime and a slice of lemon. All very nice, yes?

The taste? Well, pretty ginger-y, if that's a word. I suppose the first half glass you could sense the vodka, but after it's been watered down a bit and you pour the rest of the beer in, it's basically just Crabbies.

The cost? A little on the high side. Mind you, Crabbies is expensive all by itself anyways, and adding the shooter was only an additional $2.50 (CAD) anyway, so you aren't going to have to sell your first-born just to get the vodka added.

The proof:

The grade: just because Ginger Spice was CJ's favourite Spice Girl doesn't mean he would give her (or this drink) a perfect score: a 7.9 out of 10.0.

Big Rock Rye & Ginger

Big Rock Rye and Ginger 6-pack $12.99 (CAD) plus $0.60 deposit

***

Greetings, humanoids.

It was back in CJ's 4th year of university, when he first heard about Big Rock Brewery. It turns out the introductory financial accounting professor was a fan of beer, and had used the (was it 1997?) annual report to help teach, well, financial accounting. The financial statements were pretty simple and basic back in the day, but the prof really like using it, as he had an acronym to help us learn about the structure of a company's balance sheet: Assets = Liabilities + Equity, or ALE for short... Pretty clever, wasn't he?

Ever since that day, CJ has either loved or hated Big Rock's beers. Grasshöpper Wheat Ale was a big favourite. Traditional, not so much, and DON'T get CJ started about their Rock Creek Cider - it's simply not fit for a Crown Float, perhaps the greatest libation of all time...

So while driving home one day from my day job, there was an add from Jason Gregor who mentioned the Big Rock Rye and Ginger Ale. As you all know, CJ likes all things "ginger" so a purchase was in order.

Very refreshing beer! Not too sweet like a ginger ale, but more of a beer with a bit of the sharpness of ginger combined with a bit o' sweetness. No question, I would buy this beer again and again.

The photograph:

The grade: 8.3 out of 10.0. A very solid score for a Canadian beer...

Orange Eggnog Smoothie

1.5 cups Commercial light eggnog ("Commercial"? really?)
Half Banana
2 tbsp. Orange juice concentrate
Pinch each nutmeg and cinnamon

***

Well, it is back to my favourite time of year. Well, that's only because eggnog comes back out to the supermarkets. I've written before for my affinity of eggnog products here. By gosh, I think I've even written about a smoothie as well...

Regardless, the latest smoothie/eggnog incarnation is pretty tasty. I've managed to have about 4 last week when I came home for lunch. It only takes about 2 minutes to make.

Taste-wise it's a thicker, more frothy version of eggnog. The banana thickens it up and the orange juice concentrate adds a little citrus flavouring to the drink.

A-ha! Refreshing!

The photo:

The grade: 7.3 out of 10.0.

Mead

1 Bottle of Mead - Suggested serving is cold, over ice.

***

Well, we can thank Sherbrooke Liquor for allowing me the opportunity to pretend I was a (drunken) knight at the Round Table. I think they have the widest beer selection in Western Canada. They even sponsored an oak-aged beer tasting event that a friend and I attended back in March. Great place with a great selection of beer.

Mead you ask? Aye, m'lord.

Made from honey. Alcoholic beverage. Sweeter than peaches in June. Honestly though, if I had to describe it, I would say that it tastes like cheap ice wine. not bad, but nothing fancy. It smells like the Yorkton, Saskatchewan man's favourite after-shave.

Here's the photo. Sorry, I think I misplaced my receipt (with price details to add up top) while I was harassing the serving wench (just like in Savage Sword of Conan). Crom's Gut! It's hard to get good service here!!

The grade: a 6.2out of 10.0.

Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer

1 500ml bottle of Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer - $4.49 (CAD)

***

I think what really captured my interest in ginger beer was a conversation I had earlier this year with my mother after I had read an article in what I think was the Edmonton Journal. It was basically a "how-to" instructional guide on how to make your own ginger beer (I think I have misplaced the article, unfortunately). After I commented on the article to my mother, she noted that either her dad or her paternal grandfather used to make their own ginger beer, and that sometimes you would hear a big "pop" under the stairs, as the bottles would lose their corks during the aging process. I somehow doubt that Ukrainians were big on ginger beer, but that matters not, it is clear that my love of ginger beer came from my forefathers.

The net result is that sometime later I had a conversation about ginger beer with my friend Allison, and she recommended that I go to one of the Liquor Depot stores in Edmonton and try a bottle of Crabbie's ginger beer. So that's exactly what I did this past weekend.

The bottle is cool - there are even pictures of elephants on it. So that must mean that Thais approve.

Supposedly it's best served chilled over ice with a slice of lemon or lime. In my case I used a wedge of lime.

It was fresh, sharp and fantastic! Basically a fancy Canada Dry ginger ale - but infused with the sweet taste of booze! It's pretty sweet, too. I don't think you could make a night of pounding these back - I think this is much more of a "dessert" beer that you enjoy while your minions clean the dishes...

The photographic evidence:

The grade: a solid if unspectacular 7.6 out of 10.0.

And what could be better than a bottle of Crabbie's ginger beer? A FREE second bottle of ginger beer. Many thanks to the sous chef Sean for leaving his beer Chef Jeremiah's car ;)

Michelada

1 Sol Beer
Juice from 1/4 lime
Sea Salt
Ice
Cold, frosty mug (purchased at Canadian tire for about $4.99, as both WalMart and Safeway had none)

***

I saw an episode of "Mexican Made Easy" on the Food Network a few months ago, and the hostess (Marcela Vallodolid - she looks like a younger, latina version of Mariah Carey) was preparing all these treats to watch the big game. I'm not sure if the big game was "soccer" or "football", but she prepared some tasty treats, including some Micheladas.

I don't know if I was supposed to use sea salt, but I thought it would be cool. So some lime juice on the rim, some sea salt, ice in the mug, some lime juice in the mug then follow it up with some beer! Wow. And before you can say "Bob's your uncle" you have yourself a Michelada!

Hmmm. It was okay. It wasn't as refreshing as I was expecting it to be. She basically said you had to drink it fast before the ice melts. I don't know, I might as well just have had a Sol or Corona by themself(ves). It was interesting, and I'll probably give it a second chance.

The photographic evidence:

The grade: about a 6.4 out of 10.0.

Frozen Chocolate Monkey

"Just like the taste of chocolate banana. Vodka, banana liqueur and chocolate ice cream."

Chef's Note: 1% milk was added.

***

Does anyone remember "Maxwell Taylor's"? There was one location on Jasper Ave, and another right near 51st Ave. and Calgary Trail. They didn't last too long, but we did frequent it as much as we could going all the way back to 1994. I do believe that the Maxwell Taylor's brand re-opened maybe in 1999 or 2000, but it just wasn't the same.

The menu from the original restaurant (which I was able to obtain all those years ago) is a mouth-dropping 35 pages. No shit. And my favourite pages are 4 and 5. Those pages are these reason why we frequented the eatery so often. Ice Cream Drinks. Yes, a full-two pages of ice cream deliciousness.

As I've moved just a few months ago, and I unpacked a lot of stuff that had been in boxes and stored away, I happened upon the Maxwell Taylor's menu. It was essentially like finding a $20 dollar bill in your coat that you haven't worn since last winter...

The photograph:

As there were no exact measurements, I had to estimate all the inputs. My only thought would be that I put in just a little too much banana liqueur. Still tasty, though. The grade: 7.9 out of 10.

Strawberry Smoothie v 2.0

Vanilla Ice Cream
Strawberries
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

***

Well, I've kept this recipe for about 9 or 10 years now. I think I saw when I was living out in TO.

Chef Jeremiah has never made it, until last night. You see, CJ isn't a big fan of spiced rum at all, ever since that fateful day back when I was *18: we had been drinking at my friend's house, and I proceeded to take a shot of spiced rum. It didn't agree with me at all, and I then puked all inside my friend's Philadelphia Eagles cap. I felt pretty bad about that...

And I now know I've been so hesitant to make this frosty beverage. It's a little on the tart side, but what really sets me off is that spiced rum. We have NO chemistry together.

Here's the photo:

The grade: 5.6 out of 10. Although I figure if you have a love-on for the spiced rum, you'd probably like it. What IS the rum spiced with anyways? All my bottle said was a "blend of Caribbean and Canadian rum"...

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

250 mL milk
125 mL frozen strawberries
1/2 banana
50 mL plain yoghurt
15 mL liquid honey

***

This is a pretty easy, quick and refreshing drink. I don't know why I added "breakfast" to the labels, but I think it would make a suitable "drink-on-the-go" that you could take with you on your way (walking, driving, riding?) to work. Just slide that into your travel mug and away you go! Enjoy it's cool freshness. Your tongue will soon smack those lips of yours after that first quaff. Soon, you will be a greedy little piggy and slurp down the rest of your drink. Without ever thinking of sharing, of course.

If you like your beverages not too sweet, then this is for you. While it certainly has the look of a milkshake, the taste is much more tame.

The whole "blueberry versus strawberry debate" won't be discussed here, but Chef Jeremiah highly recommends you try this recipe substituting some blueberries in for your strawberries at least once. Then tell me which you prefer.

I might also suggest some low/zero lactose milk. I was told this was a milk option at Starbucks a few weeks ago, but I keep forgetting to look for it at Safeway.

Prognosis: delicious! A commendable 7.9 out of 10 for a 2-minute effort. Kudos!

Lumberjack Superior Lager - Hudson's

Lumberjack Superior Lager - 1 pint for $5.95 CAD

***

"It's our golden yellow, medium-bodied lager with a mild, sweet malty flavour and just a hint of hop."

I met up with an ex-coworker a couple of nights ago to pick up some Intermediate Financial Accounting texts (yawn!) I had lent to him a few months ago. Hopefully they'll help me out with all that CASB...

Anyway, the beer was pretty good. Not just because it was free, but it was flavourful. Cool, with just a little bit of sweetness. I'd recommend it to anyone....