Looking for Colour at the Chester Hill St. Lookout

Today Teena and I headed over to the Chester Hill Lookout which is in the Danforth/Broadview area and overlooks the Don Valley. As it is fall and Thanksgiving weekend, we were hoping to take some nice shots of the fall colours. Above is a view looking across the valley towards Bloor and Yonge.

It has been three years since we were last there. Chester Hill Street is quite quaint.

 

A view of Evergreen Brick Works.

Teena and I.

 

 

Some colour in Don Valley. We had hoped there would be more fall colours.

 

 

 

Looking towards downtown Toronto.

 

 

Finally some colour of a vine that was attempted to crawl through the railing. Chester Hill Lookout provides one of my favorite views of Toronto. We plan to head back in the winter.

Play - The Book of Mormon

Tonight Teena and I went to see The Book of Mormon at the Princess of Wales Theater.

The Book of Mormon is a religious satire musical with book, lyrics, and music by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. The Book of Mormon tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naïve and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share the Book of Mormon, one of their scriptures - which only one of them has read - but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are more worried about war, famine, poverty, and AIDS than about religion. .

I knew very little about the play going in, except that it was written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone creators and writers of South Park. At one time I was a fan of the show and watched it every week, and know these guys are not afraid to address and make fun of absolutely everything, no matter how big a taboo it is.

The play follows two Mormon who have just graduated from Mormon school and are set to Uganda to bring the Mormon religion to the people there, a town that is run by a war lord. Gavin Creel was excellent as Elder Price, the somewhat arrogant can-do Mormon, as was Christopher John O'Neill, the Elder with an active imagination who just wants a friend.  No, I'm not going to spoil anything else here.

This is a very high energy play. It's fast, hilarious and there are no borders to the comedy. The choreography was excellent and imaginative. The songs were good but we were in the balcony and when the actors sang to the audience in the orchestra seating, we had a hard time hearing the lyrics. I thought it was me but Teena had the same issue as did the people sitting beside her. Still it was a lot of fun to see.

The Book of Mormon was in Toronto back in the spring of 2013 and although I heard great things about it, we never went. I'm very glad we made it to the show this time. Yes, it does have very explicit language in it and could offend but I loved it and would highly recommend the Book of Mormon.

Beer of the Week - 1812 Independence Pale Ale, Strathroy Brewing

In this month's Beer of the Month package, I received beers from a new Ontario brewery, Strathroy Brewing. There were four bottles of their inaugural brew, 1812 Independence Pale Ale.

The company had been in the planning stages since May 2012 and just opened this past August in an historic flour mill in Strathroy Ontario. Their website is very War of 1812-oriented. When you first enter the website (they demand your email address to enter the site, which is something I don't like), the first thing that comes up is a short government of Canada video on the War of 1812. I thought that was cool and you do have the option to pass on it.

Our inaugural brew, 1812 INDEPENDENCE PALE ALE, is dedicated to the strong Canadian spirit embodied by the peacemakers who protected our lands from invasion during the War of 1812 and preserved our independence from our American neighbours.

I'm sure there will be more War of 1812 themed beers to follow.

And how is the War of 1812 Independence Ale?

The beer is bottle conditioned, a little yeast added before bottling so the brew goes through a secondary fermentation, and pours a cloudy darker amber colour with a little bit of sediment left in the bottom of the bottle. No harm if it is poured into your glass.

It likely will be a malt forward ale as I can sense malt and not hops in the aroma with a slight bit of caramel to the nose. The beer has a huge head and is constantly working in the glass so the head has a very hard time dissipating. Nothing wrong with that except after five minutes I became impatient timing it and went in for a sip.

Not surprisingly with a pro-Canadian stand in the War of 1812 theme, this is a British style pale ale. Usually I love British style bitters but this could not be called that as it is very malt forward, with that bit of caramel coming nicely through on my tongue. There is just a hint of bitterness in the finish.

I am admittedly a hop head but quite enjoyed this beer. What makes me really happy as that this month I received four of each style beer instead of three so I still have three more to enjoy this weekend.

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 253 
Breweries 226 
Countries 46

Beer Class - Hops' Rubbin & Lovin: IPAs & Pale Ales

Tonight I was at Tequila Bookworm attending a beer class called Hops' Rubbin and Lovin: IPAs & Pale Ales put on by Toronto-based beer writer, editor, Certified Cicerone and a Prud'homme Beer Sommelier, Crystal Luxmore.

Discover the terroir of hops by rubbing and sniffing different varieties along with hoppy ales and IPAs. Smell hops from wet-leafy English flavours, to zingy white wine-like hops from New Zealand, alongside a guided tasting of beers containing those varietals. Learn about the mighty hop and why it remains the favourite bittering ingredient in beer.

It's hard to know where to start. The hour and a half class went quickly and was fun and tasty. There were 19 in attendance. Nine were women.

For each tasting, the first item placed on the table was a glass of hops. First up was a Saaz hop which is used in Steam Whistle Pilsner. It is in the top picture and below. It is a mild hop, with a delicate aroma and flavour used in Pilsners so as not to overpower the beer with bitterness. It is one of the four noble hops which also include Tettnanger, Hallertauer and Mittelfrueh. They are low in bitterness and higher in aroma.

There are 200 to 300 variety of hops in the world and more are being developed on the vine.

Of course, the next thing that came out was the beer. We rubbed the hops, took a sniff and them compared ito the aroma and taste of the beer.  It was an excellent way to showcase the hops used in each beer.

Hops are flowers but look like cones. I was surprised to find that only female hops are used for brewing as they are the ones with the lupulin glands that contain the essential oils that contain the flavour and bitterness qualities that are released into a beer.

See, I was paying attention.

Most brewers use hops that have been dried and compressed into pellets. These have more concentrated aromas and flavours and when crushed, turn into more of a dust. Below is the Wakatu hop pellet, which is a new style of hop that has been developed in New Zealand. New Zealand has such a isolated culture in which to grow hops no spraying is needed, so they are considered organic hops. The are woody, earthy, spicy and citrusy. I really enjoyed them and the Wakatu NZ Pale Ale from Junction Brewery, who uses this hop exclusively in their ale.

 

We had a cheese pairing with the Rhyme & Reason Pale Ale, which is more of an American style pale ale using Centennial, Chinook, and one of my favorite hops, the Citra hop, which has all kinds of citrus notes running through it. Crystal said this ale is finished with Simcoe hops that gives this a piny aroma and flavour. The Avonlea Cheddar match well with this beer but the Roche-fort Blue Cheese overpowered it. We were supposed to save it for another ale but I ate all mine. Oops!

 

The blue cheese was supposed to be paired with a much stronger flavoured beer, St Ambroise IPA by Mcauslan Brewing in Quebec. We smelled Cascade and Centennial hops before having this. This IPA is coming to the LCBO in a couple of weeks and is an excellent example of a true English IPA. I really enjoyed it and will be getting some for my fridge.

Our last beer of the night was a half pint of Amsterdam Brewing Boneshaker IPA, a favorite of mine. With it came a bowl of Amarillo hops. They had a floral aroma which was slightly spicy, and citrusy. As this was a single hop beer, after smelling the hops, it was easy to pick up the notes in the aroma and flavour.

Surprisingly they were matched with a carrot cake muffing with a cream cheese icing. Apparently this is known as an excellent match and is one of Crystal's favorites. I was skeptical but she was right. They were homemade and very light in texture and yes, matched with the hop forward Boneshaker.

 

It was a great night. We crushed and smelled many different hops and tasted six great beers. This is the second time I have taken one of Crystal's beer courses and both have been great. I would not hesitate to do another again. She has three more coming up this fall. They are worth attending.

Back in 2010, Teena and I visited a hop farm in Stouffville. Here I am among the vines. I love hops!

Toronto 2014 Oktoberfest

This weekend saw the third annual Toronto Oktoberfest take place in a huge beer tent just outside of Ontario Place. Teena and I had never been before but after today I can't see us missing another.

Dig out your lederhosen and dirndls and join us for Toronto’s only authentic Oktoberfest party! Inspired by traditions started in Munich, Germany over 200 years ago, Toronto Oktoberfest brings a taste of Munich to the City as it captures the essence of authentic food, drink and merriment. 

For the third year in a row, guests will experience the best in Bavarian fare, German and European biers, entertainment, and an atmosphere so authentic, you’ll feel like you’re in Munich. Toronto Oktoberfest 2014 presented by Piller’s will take place over three sessions, October 3rd and 4th at 955 Lake Shore Blvd. W (Ontario Place Parking Lot), Toronto. New for this year, Toronto Oktoberfest will take place in a 30,000 sq ft Festhalle “Big Top” tent and include a massive outdoor Biergarten!

We had tickets for the afternoon session. It is a huge beer tent, as you can see. The tent holds 1,500 and 1,000 were there for the afternoon session. Friday night and Saturday night were sold out. I'm glad the parking lot was empty as nobody inside should have been driving afterwards.

Here we are.

Authentic German beers were on tap but I started with an Oktober Fest from an Ontario brewer King Brewery which was at the Weihenstephan booth. Later I had a Weihenstephan Wheat.

 

These guys were not exactly dressed in typical German style and I was surprised they could drink through their masks.

 

More traditional clothing.

 

 

Of course, I tried a variety of beers.

 

 

 

The George Kash Band was great. According to the website, George Kash played in the Edelweiss Beer Garden when Ontario Place first opened in 1971. Hate to date myself but I likely saw him there as it was a favorite spot of mine at the time. They played mostly German songs, plus put a German spin on some current tunes.

 

 

Teena had some bratwurst and said it wasn't very good. I enjoyed my schnitzel with sauerkraut. 

 

Miss Oktoberfest was there.

 

It seemed that everybody had a great time. We did and will be back next year.

Play - Life, Death and the Blues

Tonight Teena and I went to see Life, Death and the Blues at Theater Passe Muraille with our friends, Malcolm and Mary.

“Life, Death and The Blues argues for us to see The Blues as an international art form that belongs to all of us; an art form that we all need to keep alive,” says Artistic Director Andy McKim. “Raoul and Divine definitely keep the music alive by leading us deeper into the personal, passionate, social and sexual world of The Blues.”

This innovative concert/theatre hybrid, created by Gemini nominated actor and Maple Blues Award winner Raoul Bhaneja, is a performance that combines autobiography, interview, live music and multi-media to explore the power, passion and meaning of The Blues.

Under the direction of Eda Holmes, Bhaneja will be accompanied by the Juno award-winning Canadian R&B/Soul singer Divine Brown with music provided by band members - Jake Chisholm on guitar, Tom Bona on drums and Chris Banks on upright bass.

Each night will feature a different performance interview and jam session with a living Blues legend!

I found that the story in the first act was all over the place. Divine Brown has accused Bluesman Raoul Bhaneja that he may play the blues but the blues are not a part of him. The blues are not in his heart. He is not authentic. From there,the story just wanders. One part of the story that had me quite confused was how he went on and on about rapper Bad News Brown being shot and killed in Montreal. Obviously Bhaneja was a fan of his but what that had t do with the blues or the story was beyond me.

The music is fabulous. Bhaneja blows a great blues harp, I haven't heard one in years, and Divine Brown has just an amazing voice.

I enjoyed the second act which had more singing and playing and less talking. Divine Brown has two solos which blew me away.

Every night features a jam session at the end with a local blues artist. Tonight was Jay Douglas. He is Jamica born and has played Toronto since the sixties. To say he was great would be an understatement.

If you're going to see the play, expect excellent music and not much more.

Book Review - Worst. Person. Ever.

I've become a big Douglas Coupland fan and Worst. Person. Ever. is the third book of his that I have read, plus I have viewed one of his works of art.

Meet Raymond Gunt. A decent chap who tries to do the right thing. Or, to put it another way, the worst person ever: a foul-mouthed, misanthropic cameraman, trailing creditors, ex-wives and unhappy homeless people in his wake. 

Worst. Person. Ever. is a deeply unworthy book about a dreadful human being with absolutely no redeeming social value. Gunt, in the words of the author, "is a living, walking, talking, hot steaming pile of pure id." He's a B-unit cameraman who enters an amusing downward failure spiral that takes him from London to Los Angeles and then on to an obscure island in the Pacific where a major American TV network is shooting a Survivor-style reality show.

After the first chapter, I thought that Fiona, Gunt's ex-wife, was the worse person ever but it turns out she would only be in the race. Gunt is the pure winner. In fact, most of the people in this book are basically not nice individuals. There are a few good ones ... maybe two in the whole book but all are enjoyable to read about.

I thought this book was quite improbable and extremely hilarious. It's an example of an author letting his imagination run wild to the fullest.

Finally, on the back on the book is the following, This novel contains much talk of bodily functions, improbable sexual content, violent death, nuclear crisis and elaborately inventive profanity. Viewer Discretion is advised ... and it all works.

Worst. Person. Ever. is a fun read and I book I would highly recommend.