Beer of the Week- Adnams Broadside

Price: $3.10/500 mL bottle

6.3% Alcohol/Vol.
Made in: England, United Kingdom

By: Adnams Plc

This week I read an article in the Toronto Star about an English beer called Adnams Broadside. Yes the name Adnams is spelled correctly!

The brewery was founded in 1872 in Southwold, England. Off their coast in 1672, a naval battle that took place where the English and French joined forces to fight the Dutch in what is called the Battle of Sole Bay.

75 Dutch ships attempted to surprise and defeat the combined the 95 ships of the British and French forces in Southwold Harbour.

The ships in harbour managed to escape entrapment and meet the enemy. The battle was hard fought to a draw with heavy losses on both sides

What does this have to do with beer? According to there website this beer was brewed to celebrate that famous battle. The label has a picture of the type of vessel used in this battle, with Southwold 1672 underneath. Broadside is a naval term used of the time when a fighting ship would bring all it's guns on one side of the ship, to fire at once at the enemy for a crippling blow.

No crippling blow to this beer. At 6.3% alcohol, I expected a dark, thick tasting, very bitter beer, but was quite pleasantly surprised. This is a strong flavorful beer which has a pleasant slight bitterness to it. Some beers have flavor that disappears but this one stays with you in a delightful way.

If ever I am in England again, I hope to visit this brewery and try a pint of their Bitter and Blonde at a neighborhood pub in Southwold. This is very much a beer to my liking.

The Growler

This week Teena and I made a visit to the Granite Brewery , a brewpub on Mount Pleasant at Eglinton.

I had a chance to sample a few of their fine brews on tap. Along with their brewed on site draught were two cask ales. The prices are good, the staff is friendly and their beer is excellent.

There will be a return visit.

I had a chuckle over a picture on the bar of a few of our troops in Afghanistan standing in front of a mean looking piece of artillery and holding up a huge sign which read "WE MISS PECULIAR". They are referring to Peculiar ale which is brewed by Granite, which also was my favorite of the day.

I wanted to bring home some Peculiar and found that not only could I buy a six pack at the store but also a "Growler". A Growler is a 1.9 litre bottle which holds about 5 and a half bottles of beer.

It is not designed for long term storage and my bottle was good only until October 3rd. Also the beer should be consumed within 12 hours of opening.

So I brought home a Growler of Peculiar. I found the beer as fresh and tasty as it was at the pub and had no trouble in ensuring that it was consumed within 12 hours of opening.

After all, I didn't want to break any rules!

On the trail of some tasteful treats

Day-trippers can sample the best of Ontario's scenery, history and culture – with a beer chaser

Neustadt, Ont. – The warm weather is fading and frost is starting to lick at windows, flower tops and anywhere it can slip its hoary tongue. But that isn't such a bad thing.

Not when you consider the myriad day-trips available all through Ontario in the fall.

And especially not when you consider that many of these jaunts can include tours – and sampling – of the many area micro-breweries.

The Ontario Craft Brewers has put together information on a number of scenic routes in Toronto and around the province, organized to include local scenery, historic architecture, cultural activities such as studio tours, fall fairs and festivals, farmers' markets and pick-your-own produce farms.

At the actual breweries, visitors get to sample beers not available anywhere else and to speak with brewmasters who have dedicated their lives to the craft.

Read the rest of the Toronto Star article here.

The Mojito

When Teena and I went to Cuba a few years ago, I fell in love with one of Hemingway's favorite cocktails, the Mojito. Our resort made great Mojitos. During a day trip to Havana, we made at stop at the famous La Bodeguita del Medio where Ernest Hemingway was a regular customer and is said to have enjoyed more than a few of this refreshing beverage.

I have been searching Toronto for the best Mojito and so far surprisingly Milestones on John Street has had the best in the city. Always consistently good. I was especially impressed when I ordered one one day and the bartender refused to make it as he didn't have the right rum. Any other place would have substituted but not here.

At home I have experimented with creating my own Mojito recipe and think at last I have it. In it you can use sugar or sugar syrup. You can easily make a sugar syrup buy putting sugar and water into a pot and gently heating until the sugar is dissolved. The syrup will keep very well in a fridge. Some people use 2 parts sugar to one part water. I tried 4 parts sugar to 3 parts water which is supposed to have 1 teaspoon of the syrup equal 1 teaspoon of sugar when called for in a recipe. I use Presidents Choice Organics Sugar (from crystallized organic cane syrup)

First you need fresh mint. Teena and I grew our own this year. Also needed are:

1 1/4 oz white Rum
4 oz Club Soda
2 Tsp lime juice (I use ReaLime Juice not juice from a real lime)
2 tsp of sugar syrup or 1 tsp of sugar
Ice

Put 4 mint leaves in the bottom of a glass and add the sugar syrup and the lime juice. Find something to gently crush the mint without breaking it up (called muddling). I use the base of a wooden spoon. Then add the ice, followed by the rum and then the Club soda. Stir and serve.

Making the second Mojito is tricky. What I do is grab a second glass, do my muddling and then pour in the ice and mint leaves from my first drink, add some more fresh ice and the rest of the ingredients. It helps to have a dishwasher.

Refreshing and enjoyable on a hot afternoon. Almost goes down too well.

Granite Brewery

Gord loves beer.

After seeing Tropic Thunder, we went to Granite Brewery (Eglinton/Mount Pleasant).

We tried a few of the drafts on tap. I liked the Ringwood Ale the best and Gord like the Peculiar.


In fact, he liked the Peculiar so much that he bought a growler of it.