……Brewerese!!! It was a lovely day yesterday and since enough members of the family were going down to support the “Pride” parade, my husband and I decided to go to Harbourfront to see if the tall ships were still there. Alas, they weren’t, however, there was a lot happening and we opted to stay for lunch at a newly renovated brew pub – Amsterdam Brewery.
We were seated at a table outside, by the water, in the sun, with an umbrella for a little cool shade and proceeded to read the menu. This was not the food menu, which would come later, this was just the “beer” menu. I rarely drink beer, but I always have beer in a brew pub and in Britain.
Now to decide????? I could choose from over a dozen different types of beer all brewed by Amsterdam and many brewed on the premises (they have other locations). I liked the description of the one called “Fracture” – An Imperial IPA brewed with Columbus Centennial, Simcoe & Citra hops & dry hopped twice for aroma. Our most hop froward beer, with layers of hop flavour & a long finish – Obviously a “hopping” good beer – maybe too good, hence the name!!! We chose “416” (our area code). It was described as – Unfiltered local lager brewed with toasted wheat & 2-row malts with Cascade & Sorachi hops. Citrus Aromas with a light body & full finish.
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| Lunch with two blondes (ales that is) |
Truly another language that I am not adverse to learning!!! Brewing beer has obviously risen to the designer level with branded ingredients, special aging processes and designer yeasts. Here is another – Sour Cherry Imperial Stout aged on sour cherries in a Flat Rock pinot noir barrel for nine months with Brettanomyces & Lactobacillus. – try to get your tongue around that!!
Oh yes, we did have something solid for lunch. I had fish & chips – very predictable and my husband had mussels. Both were delicious. We also noticed that there were several dishes that had a “wort reduction” component 🙂 Given that I didn’t see “Toad in the Hole” on the menu, I was curious. I looked it up. “Wort” happens in the brewing of beer and the kitchen obviously uses it as a demi-glaze.
It was an outing that was about a 20-minute drive away, but I could have been in another country or another world. Maybe, I’m still on vacation!!
Have a great day!!