Tag: bartender banter

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Bartender Banter: “Hop” into spring with beer

Pit Caribou’s beer sample platter. Photo by Daniel Slapcoff

Ale versus lager, and some Montreal hot spots and picks for beer

Craft beer is trendier than ever. If you’re a lover of beer and all its types, flavours and colours, you are definitely in the right province. There are over 100 different microbreweries in Quebec, producing thousands of varieties of beer. In Montreal alone, dozens of locations offer a taste of these great brews.

Before I recommend different beers, breweries and pubs, I feel it’s important to make one basic yet vital distinction between two beer types.

Ale vs. lager

The difference between an ale and a lager comes down to the brewing process and the way the yeast ferments. Ales include pale ales, India pale ales (IPA), stouts, porters and wheat ales. Ale-brewing is typically done in warmer temperatures, which make the yeast ferment faster, and ultimately makes for a richer, more flavourful and complex beer.

Lagers usually have fresher, crisper flavours. While ales are top-fermenting, meaning the yeast brews at the top of the barrel or cask, the yeast in lagers brews at the bottom of the barrel. Lagers brew in colder temperatures, which explains their simpler and lighter flavour. Lager styles include pilsners and amber beers.

Now that that’s all settled, let’s get to the goods.

A taste of great Quebec microbreweries in Montreal

Brasserie Dunham

Dunham’s Saison du Pinnacle (left), Helm’s Bernard Pale Ale (centre) and Pit Caribou’s La Bonne Aventure (right).
Photo by Danielle Gasher

Located in the small town of Dunham, Que., this brewery is award-winning. While a bit more on the expensive side, Dunham beer is the perfect purchase for any cinq à sept or celebration because the ingredients are often more refined. What’s great with beer is that, even if you’re getting the fanciest brew, you never come close to spending as much as you would for the fanciest bottle of wine. Many of their 750 ml bottles sell between $13 and $30.

From this microbrewery, I highly recommend their award-winning Saison du Pinnacle. The beer is light and summery, while keeping a strong bitterness. It has undertones of peach and lemon.

Other great beers from the brewery include the Saison Framboise, their Black Imperial IPA and my personal favourite, their Leo’s Early Breakfast IPA. The latter has a subtle Earl Grey tea taste—a flavour that complements many alcohols.

  • You can buy Dunham beers at a variety of specialty stores and bars, including Marché Station 54, Au Coin Duluth, and the bar Vices et Versa.

Dieu du Ciel

If you’re adventurous, this is your brewery. From a beer brewed with cocoa and vanilla bean, to a delicious espresso stout, to an intense, dark, smoky amber beer, this place does it all. But don’t worry, they’re not all play. They have well-crafted basics, from a blonde to a white beer, and a classic, crisp pale ale.

  • The microbrewery is located in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood, at 29 Laurier Ave. East.

Pit Caribou

This Gaspésie-based microbrewery opened their Montreal location last summer. This brewery’s beer is simple yet full of flavour. The beer that peaked my interest at this spot is their red beer, La Bonne Aventure. The beer is light but has the caramel and nutty undertones I absolutely love in any darker beer.

Their Montreal location serves a sample beer platter, perfect for first timers who want to taste a bit of everything.

  • Pit Caribou’s Montreal location is at 951 Rachel St. East in the Plateau.

Happy beer belly!

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Student Life

Bartender Banter: The scoop on gin

The classic negroni (pictured) is made with equal parts red vermouth, campari, and gin, with orange zest, served over ice. Photo by Danielle Gasher

The director of Montreal’s only gin pub gives the rundown on what’s good

This week, we are talking gin. I could talk about my love of gin for hours. Its bitterness, its versatility, its oomph. As a bartender, I have a lot of fun creating and mixing with gin. Anything that vodka can do, gin can do better, in my opinion.

When I found out a gin bar existed in Montreal a few years ago, I quickly became a frequent visitor.

Inside of Le Pourvoyeur. Photo by Danielle Gasher

Le Pourvoyeur, located at 184 Jean Talon St. East, in the Jean Talon market, offers over 125 different kinds of gin to drink on the rocks or in your favourite cocktail.

Stéphane Bernard is the associate director of the gin pub, which opened six years ago. Bernard and I talked cocktails and favourite gins. But before I give you all the scoop, let’s go through some basics.

What is gin?

Gin is a spirit derived primarily from juniper berries. Gins usually include other botanicals, such as coriander, lemon peel, orange peel, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. The difference in flavour from one kind of gin to another largely depends on the balance between botanicals.

How is it made?

Gin, funnily enough, is technically flavoured vodka. Gin is made from the distillation of a neutral grain alcohol, the botanicals mentioned added after. Vodka is just made from distilled grain like wheat, rye or potatoes. In other words, gin is way more awesome. Technically speaking, gin has a more complex flavour.

Some recommendations

As with any drink, people have their favourites. For gin lovers who prefer coarser, more bitter gins, Bernard recommends the Filliers Dry Gin 28, a Belgian gin barrel-aged in a bourbon barrel for added depth and intensity. The gin takes its name from the 28 botanicals used to distill the alcohol, including Belgian hops, angelica root, allspice and fresh oranges. Le Pourvoyeur uses this gin to make one of Bernard’s favourite cocktails: the gin old-fashioned. The drink is made the same way as the classic old-fashioned, but with gin instead of bourbon.

Alternatively, Bernard recommends Juniper Green gin. This London gin is organic, and has a dominating pine flavour.

The pub has more than 100 options of gin to choose from. Photo by Danielle Gasher

For the lover of softer, more subtle-tasting gins, Bernard recommends Brockmans gin. It is subtly bitter with light floral notes. Bernard says it’s the perfect gin to drink on its own, over ice.

Bernard also says to take advantage of all the awesome Quebec gins available at the SAQ, and at his pub, of course. These include Ungava, Saint-Laurent, Piger Henricus, Romeo’s gin and Neige.

Mixing it up

The pub’s cocktail menu includes all the classics, from a Negroni to a Pimm’s Cup. But it also has some funkier, delicious options to try, such as the Earl Grey G&T or the cocktail of the month, the Gold n’ Ginger. This special drink is a mix of Botanivore gin, cognac, ginger syrup, thyme, an egg white and fresh lemon. One of Bernard’s favourites is the Piger Bloody Caesar. The classic bloody is made with a Quebec gin, the Piger Henricus, instead of plain ol’ vodka. The gin flavour really elevates the clamato flavour and the spiciness of the drink.

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Student Life

Bartender Banter: Getting to know the glamorous grape

Photo by Danielle Gasher

A sommelier shares some tips on getting into wine tasting and pairing

There’s something about wine that feels elitist. Intimidating even. People have been making the drink for over 4,000 years. Families have fallen out over its production. The wine industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. In the United States alone, the wine industry contributes over $160 billion to the American economy, according to the research firm MKF Research.

Some are willing to wait 20 years to open a bottle to taste it at its full potential. For a newbie, wine can feel like abstract art—unattainable and overpriced.

Photo by Danielle Gasher

But Le Majestique’s sommelier, Benoit Saint-Hilaire, says while there is an element of prestige to wine, no one should be intimidated by it. After all, “people have been drinking it for over 4,000 years to party and have fun,” he says.

I sat down with Saint-Hilaire to discuss the basics of tasting, pairing, and to get the scoop on some budget-friendly wines students should get their hands on.

Saint-Hilaire became interested in wine thanks to his family. His parents would host dinners, and that’s when he started developing his taste. Saint-Hilaire stresses that the wine tasting experience is extremely subjective. He believes it is important to remain humble when discovering different wines, and to respect different tastes. “Remember, the wine isn’t bad, it’s just not your taste,” he says with a laugh.

Getting into it

Saint-Hilaire says the best way to get into wine, and to develop your taste, is to… well… taste! So if the expert says it, drink away, fellow Concordians! By tasting a lot, he explains, you learn to pick up different subtleties, odours, flavours and notes. He recommends taking it by region, focusing on one at a time. By tasting different wines from a specific region, he explains, it enables you to make connections between the subtleties of different grapes and different estates. He also recommends reading up on the producer. “When I buy a wine, I always go on the estate’s website—I see how they work,” Saint-Hilaire says.

Photo by Danielle Gasher

Pairing

Saint-Hilaire says he is no purist, and believes people should just pair to their taste. That being said, he likes to implement a balance between the flavours of the meal and his wine. For example, for a richer, greasier meal, he would recommend a lighter, fresher wine with some acidity to balance the flavours.

Some recommendations

When asked to recommend a few wines and regions for students to try, Saint-Hilaire’s eyes shoot open. “There are too many!” he exclaims. But for students and beginners, the sommelier says you can’t go wrong with adventuring into the Côtes du Rhône wines. He says you can get good ones starting at $25.

Still in France, he also recommends wines from the Alsace region because they’re accessible, balanced and “easy to drink,” as Saint-Hilaire puts it. He also recommends drinking wines from Spain and Portugal because they are cheap and flavourful. “Drink Spanish wine my friends!” Saint-Hilaire exclaims. He assures a good bottle can easily cost under $20.Surprisingly, Saint-Hilaire also recommends checking out Greek wines. While he admits you have to seek out the good ones, he says you can find good value for your money. Saint-Hilaire recommends trying Greek wines from the Tetramythos estate. Their red wine is the Kalavryta, which he says is comparable to a Pinot Noir.  For white wine lovers, he recommends the Roditis, which he describes as crisp and fresh. Both the red and white are currently available at the SAQ, as well as on Le Majestique’s wine list.

So if you value your wino education, it’s time to start tasting everything, pairing as you wish, and checking out those wines from Spain and Portugal! Cheers, folks!

Categories
Student Life

Bartender Banter: A guide to enjoying whisky

Graphic by Florence Yee

What it is, how to drink it, how to mix it, how to like it

The first time I tried to like whisky, I was 13. I had just finished watching the Godfather. I wanted more than anything to be as badass as those mobsters, a cigar in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other. Needless to say, it didn’t work out as well as I thought it would. I took a swig of Canadian Club, and thought I had burned my tongue and throat to the point of never tasting again.

I gave up on the dream, but tried again when I was 16, this time with some bourbon over a single ice cube.  Since then, it’s been nothin’ but love for whisky.

Here is my guide to enjoying whisky.

So what is whisky?

Whisky is a distilled alcohol made from fermented grain mash. Sounds tasty right? Different varieties of whisky depend on the grain used and whether or not the grain is malted.

What are the different kinds of whisky?

There are many kinds of whisky, and different variations within each kind. You can get malt whisky, grain whisky, blended whisky, single pot still whisky, bourbon whisky, rye whisky and corn whisky.

Tell me about scotch

Scottish whiskies, also known as scotch, are made from grain or malt. If you want to explore scotch but are just starting out, I recommend trying a good glass of Macallan Amber or Gold. The Gold is a little lighter and fruitier than the Amber, but both are good and good-quality options for starting out. That being said, I prefer smokier, heavier options like a Lagavulin 16 Years or a Laphroaig.

Experts believe in drinking scotch ‘neat’, which means sipping it straight, without ice or water.  Some use a few drops of water to “open up the flavour.” Personally, I drink my scotch with whisky stones—stone cubes that keep the drink cold without diluting it.

Tell me about bourbon

Bourbon is an American whisky. While scotch is made mostly from malted barley, bourbon is made from corn. In my opinion, bourbon is a good starting point for whisky beginners. Steer clear of Knob Creek in the beginning, it’s intense. I recommend going straight for a bottle or glass of Woodford Reserve. It’s smooth but still has that woody taste I love. Bulleit Bourbon is versatile, and has a bit of a spicier taste. Bourbon is lovely straight or over ice.

What cocktails can I make with whisky?

If you’re less into the sweet stuff, a classic whisky cocktail is an Old Fashioned.

  •         1 ½ ounces of your favourite whisky
  •         One sugar cube
  •         A few dashes of Angostura bitters
  •         A few drops of water

Shake the mix dry and pour it over ice, an orange slice and a maraschino cherry in a rock glass.

If that sounds a little too rough for your taste buds, a whisky sour is another great option.

  •         1 ½ ounces of your favourite whisky
  •         ½ lemon, squeezed
  •         Sugar or simple syrup to taste
  •         One egg white

Shake the ingredients vigorously in a shaker with ice. Rim a rock glass. Pour over ice and a slice of lemon.

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