Taste Camp Quebec: How I Survived A Beer Tasting

The Fifth Annual TasteCamp is now over, a three day visit to Quebec, tasting wines, ciders, beers and local foods. Approximately twenty five of us, bloggers and their significant others, journeyed to Montreal, our base for the trip. During the next couple weeks, I will be providing my thoughts about what I tasted in Quebec, both as part of TasteCamp and also what I did on my own. I have been to Montreal before, and think it is a great destination for those who love good food and drink, but I haven't previously explored much of the rest of Quebec.

For the first time, TasteCamp conducted a beer tasting, a walk around event where eight Quebec microbreweries presented a selection of their beers. For two hours, we got to sample what were probably at least 40 beers, and then there was an eight course meal afterward, each course paired with a different beer. Not my usual idea of fun as I have disliked about 99% of the beers I have previously tasted. I dislike the bitterness I find in beer, which seems due to the use of hops.

However, I bravely took my empty glass and went to the various tables, seeking a beer that I might like. Surprisingly, the results were much better than my usual average. I found two beers which were ok, which I might drink a glass or so under the right circumstances, such as with the proper meal. Then, I found two beers which I would drink on their own, including one which might be my most favorite beer ever. What a monumental discovery!

My discovery is illustrative of a greater principle, one which I have advocated for before, that you should continually taste wines, beers and spirits, even in categories which you might think you dislike. You should not write off an entire category, such as Chardonnay or Tequila, because you have disliked most of the items you have tasted. There is so much diversity in the alcohol world, that even if you dislike many items in a category, that doesn't mean you will dislike all of them. I have disliked a huge number of beers that I have previously tasted, but I keep trying them, and have found a few that I like. TasteCamp's beer tasting led me to find a couple more beers I liked. One should never give up on an alcohol category.

Le Castor is a microbrewery that produces organic beers. Their Grande Reserve Wee Heavy Bourbon is a Scottish ale, with an 11% ABV, that was aged in bourbon barrels. It had a prominent bourbon flavor as well as elements of malt, caramel and spice. On the finish, there was a touch of the beer bitterness I generally dislike, but it was mild enough that I could enjoy a glass with dinner. I know numerous other attendees who really enjoyed this brew.

The Brasseur de Montreal is a brewery and restaurant that produces about seven beers plus several seasonal ones. Their Chi is an unfiltered pale beer, with a 4.5% ABV, that is made from barley, wheat and rice malt and is also flavored with ginger, citronella and citrus. There was plenty of ginger flavor up front and then more citrus notes on the finish. It was light and crisp, though you better enjoy the taste of ginger. I would probably enjoy a glass of this with Asian food, maybe some spicy Thai.

One of the most popular tables at the tasting, as well as the one with the most beers, belonged to Trou du Diable, roughly translated as "The Devil's Hole." I loved the look of their labels, which showed very cool artwork. They also seem to have a diverse portfolio, with beers that will appeal to almost any palate. The Dulcis Succubus is a Saison, with a 7% ABV, that was aged for six months in botrytis dessert wine oak barrels. It is an intriguing and complex beer with floral, citrus, vanilla and spice notes. Like the legendary succubus, it is an alluring brew, one sure to captivate you with its sensual pleasures. This is a beer I could drink on a nice, summer day..

The overall best beer of my night was their La Grivoise de Noel, which roughly translates as "Ribald Christmas." This is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, with a 7.5% ABV, and it is a seasonal beer, made for the Christmas season. However, it may actually taste better with some aging. This beer is a melange of alluring spices, from cinnamon to cardamom, with notes of caramel, dried fruit and nuts. There is a slight sweetness to this silky smooth brew, and none of the bitterness I dislike. In some ways, it reminded me of an aged Sherry. I drank a few glasses of this beer, and enjoyed each and every sip. This jumps to the top of my favorite beer list, which is rather small. For beer lovers, I think you would greatly enjoy the products of Trou du Diable. Their beers received many raves from the other attendees as well.

If you are not a big fan of beer, what beers have you enjoyed?

Rant: How Do You Melt Cheese In A Fridge?

It sounds like an impossibility, or maybe an enigmatic Zen koan. However, I learned this weekend that you can melt cheese in a fridge. And that knowledge didn't make me happy.

Over the weekend, I stayed at a hotel in Montreal while attending TasteCamp, a wine bloggers' conference. Montreal is a great city for food lovers and I spent some time wandering through the stalls of the Jean-Talon Market, a large and compelling food market. While I was there, I purchased a number of different local cheeses from Quebec, including a superb blue cheese. As many people know, good cheese isn't cheap.

When I returned to my hotel room, I placed the cheeses into the cool fridge in the room. Which any normal hotel guest might do. Inside that fridge, I also placed some water as well as a bottle of wine. Everything seemed normal until the next afternoon when I opened the fridge to find that it was actually hot inside of it! Hot? Why the hell was it hot inside a fridge?

Several of the cheeses had started to melt due to the heat. I immediately contacted the front desk but they were less than helpful. I was told that sometimes when the outer door is closed, the fridge overheats. Though no one ever warned me of that contingency, and there was no warning posted on the fridge. I was also told that the fridges were not meant to keep anything cold. Instead, they were allegedly intended to keep things "fresh." This made no sense to me.

The manager was not on duty so I was not able to raise this issue with her. I will have to email her about this issue. Later that evening, the hotel placed a small box of chocolates in my room, as a little way to make me happier over this issue. That was not successful.

This episode helps to point out an important issue that arises every summer. Summer is a major time for traveling and food & wine lovers often explore markets, shops, wineries, farms and more. They are likely to purchase various foods and drinks but they still need to transport their purchases home. If such items are just placed in your car, the summer heat could damage or destroy them, and your money will have been wasted. Those valuable items need protection.

It is essential to have a cooler and/or insulated bag in your car at all times when you travel. You never know when you might need it. They will keep your food and drink cool and safe during the hot weather. I always travel with both a cooler and insulated bag, and often find use for them in my travels. I would hate to lose a fine bottle of wine or two to the heat while driving home with it from a wine region. I hated to lose some of my Quebec cheese to the heat of the hotel fridge.

This summer, don't lose your valuable food and drink. Make sure to keep it properly insulated while traveling. And be wary of hotel fridges. They might not actually keep your items cool like they should. Instead, they might turn into an oven, like the inside of your car on a hot summer day.

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently.
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1) Frank McClelland is the Chef & Proprietor of L'Espalier and he is one of few Chefs in the country to reside on his own farm, Apple Street Farm. In one of the country’s most ambitious sustainable agriculture initiatives for the restaurant industry, Apple Street Farm is the primary source of organic harvests for L’Espalier and is a source for various other restaurants throughout the city of Boston. Apple Street Farm is located just north of Boston in Essex, MA and is Chef McClelland’s revitalization of a two-century pastoral 14-acre equestrian farm.

Every Summer, Chef McClelland and his talented team hosts the Apple Street Farm Summer Dinner Series. Each month from June until October, Apple Street Farm will celebrate the freshest ingredients of the season with a special dinner showcasing the organic produce, poultry and eggs fresh from Chef McClelland’s own backyard. Guests are invited to arrive at the farm and explore the beautiful grounds while enjoying a seasonal cocktail and hors d’oeuvres prepared by the chefs of L’Espalier.

They will then be seated outside (or under a tent in the case of inclement weather) to enjoy a five-course themed meal with wine pairings.
June 21, 22 – Summer Solstice (Reservations open beginning May 15)
July 19, 20 – Firefly Festival 
August 23, 24 – Brandywine Bash 
September 20, 21 – Fire Pit Fiesta 
October 18, 19 – Essex Harvest Feast

Guests are asked to arrive at the farm at 5:30 p.m., with dinner served at 6:30 p.m., rain or shine. The Summer Dinner Series cost $180 per person, inclusive of tax and gratuity. Please call L’Espalier at 617-262-3023 to make a reservation.

2) Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar announces the return of Small Plates, Big Pours, for wine and food lovers looking for a light meal and elegant pairing options. For a limited time, guests can match any of their seven Small Plates with an oversized wine pour for $24.95. Guests can select any of the seven Small Plates including: New Zealand Petite Lamb Chops (pistachio-mint pesto, "F17" sauce, polenta fries); Fleming’s Lobster Tempura (soy-ginger dipping sauce, arugula, jicama salad); Colossal Shrimp Skewers (chimichurri dipping sauce, fennel citrus salad); New Bedford Scallops (Meyer lemon-honey glaze, carrots, green beans, asparagus); Sliced Filet Mignon (shiitake risotto, chili oil, porcini butter drizzle); Braised Short Ribs (boneless, savory arugula and spinach, natural au jus); or, Ahi Tuna (fresh vegetable salad, spicy mustard sauce). Each Small Plate is matched with one of their seven premium Big Pours, each carefully selected by Fleming’s Director of Wine, Maeve Pesquera.

Available May 15 – June 30
Promotion is only available in the bar area.

3) From May 13 to June 9, Legal Sea Foods is celebrating Wines of Chile, a country that is home to several distinct terroirs that provide ideal growing conditions for a wide range of grape varieties and wine styles, by offering a feature menu of eleven Chilean wines and exclusive wine dinners.

On June 5, at 6:30pm, Legal Sea Foods in Framingham will host the Chilean Emiliana Wine Dinner with Emiliana Organic Vineyard’s Export Director, Fernando Pavon. Chile is a country with spectacular natural advantages for wine production including brilliant sunshine, moderate heat, and little or no rain during the growing season but plentiful mountain water from the Andes for irrigation which all add up to abundant quantities of ripe, structured grapes that are harvested in healthy conditions.

The four-plus-course pairing menu will be presented as follows:
HORS D’OEUVRES
Littleneck Clam* Ceviche, Crispy Shallots
Lobster Tomalley Toasts
Jonah Crab, Cucumber, Yuzu Salt
Caponata, Ricotta Bruschetta
Emiliana "Novas" Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca, 2011
FIRST COURSE
Shrimp Empanada (hearts of palm, tomato, creamed corn, herb salad)
Emiliana "Natura" Chardonnay, Casablanca, 2012
SECOND COURSE
Pancetta-Wrapped Block of Tuna* (scallion mashed potatoes, maitake mushrooms)
Emiliana "Novas" Gran Reserva Pinot Noir, Casablanca, 2010
Emiliana "Natura" Carmenère, Colchagua, 2011
MAIN COURSE
Roasted Lamb Shoulder (olive relish, flageolet beans, roasted kale)
Emiliana "Natura" Malbec, Rapel, 2011
Emiliana "Novas" Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo, 2009
CHEESE COURSE
A Variety of Cheeses (cashew and honey, crusty bread)
Emiliana "Coyam," Colchagua, 2009

COST: $65 per person (excludes tax & gratuity)
Reservation required by calling 508-766-0600

4) As the Chinese proverb says “deep doubts, deep wisdom…” well, it’s time to doubt the stereotypical beer and sake pairings that generally accompany the intrinsic flavors of Asian cuisine and grab a glass of wine. On Saturday, June 1, from 1pm-5pm join the Wine ConneXtion and China Blossom, both located in North Andover for “Wok n’ Wine,” as they debunk the mysteries of pairing Asian cuisine and wine with a complimentary in-store tasting. Guests will sample authentic sweet, spicy and savory dishes as they discover the art of pairing these two unlikely flavors. The Wine ConneXtion will educate guests on fantastic duo while they learn about the art of pairing Asian cuisine for an upcoming restaurant visit, or become inspired to plan a delicious dinner that is sure to impress guests.

Walk-ins welcome all day!
Cost: Tasting is complimentary; Must be 21+.

The Ethical Butcher: How To Eat Responsibly

"We each make a choice every day about the world we want to live in. It follows then that we want to look at the ways we eat with scrutiny, because what, why, and how we eat is shaping the planet and our future." (p.xxiii)

Berlin Reed stopped eating meat when he was 12 years old. By the time he was 21, he was a vegan and even got a tattoo of the word "vegan" on his neck. Several years later, he ended up working as a butcher. A vegan butcher? Yes, that is how he started but soon enough, he heard the siren call of meat, and was vegan no more.

You can read about Reed's journey in his new book, The Ethical Butcher: How Thoughtful Eating Can Change Your World (Soft Skull Press, April 2013, $26). This is a hardcover book of 290 pages, divided into two main parts and with 12 pages of photos dividing the two parts. The first part is more biographical, describing Berlin's journey into becoming a butcher and meat eater. The second part provides information for consumers to take control of their own food decisions. Berlin describes himself as a former militant vegan punk, and there is a bit of edge to his words, though he offers a balanced approach in most respects.

"I have zero interest in telling people what and how to eat. I have astronomical interest in showing people where their food comes from, explaining government and corporate manipulation of information, and in making the 'sustainability' conversation more accessible and relevant to people of all backgrounds." (p.xxi)

Berlin's vegetarianism was of more political origin, as in 1994 in Seattle, "..everyone who was counterculture was vegetarian." He never felt that meat consumption was wrong for everyone. In 2006, he moved to New York City and got a job working in a wine store. That led to the revelation that he wanted to work in the food industry, though not in the wine industry. He eventually got a job at The Green Grape Provisions, ending up at the butcher and fish counter rather than as a cheesemonger as he had desired. His mentor in butchery, Bryan Mayer, became very important in his life.

"Meat is not meant to be eaten several times a day, every day. It is meant to be a hard-won prize." (p.52)

Though he learned much about butchering meat, the techniques and anatomy, he still knew little about how the meat actually tasted, making it more difficult to give recommendations to customers. He became contemplative, reconsidering his reasons for veganism, why he had opposed meat. The more he learned where his food came, he started to realize that his opposition was more with the corporate meat industry, and not meat itself. He started eating meat again and also saw a need to share his revelations with others, thus starting the The Ethical Butcher blog.

"I started the blog with the goal of helping people understand their choices when it comes to buying and eating meat." (p.40)

Along with the blog, Berlin created three different projects, to help educate and feed people. These projects, essentially a community chef model, included Heritage Breed Supper Club, the Bacon Gospel, and the Farm & Table Project. Berlin describes these projects as well as providing the five main tenets under which he operates, from seeking out the most responsibly produced sources available to supporting fair labor and environmental practices.

"Love of food must be at the root of food justice and food politics. To change the food world, one must be of the food world." (p.90)

During the course of these project passages, there are some detailed descriptions of butchery which could bother the squeamish, though those are probably the people who would most benefit from these sections. One of the things Berlin complains about is the disconnect of many people to the source of their food. Not enough people visit farms and sees animals being raised. The closer you get to the source of your food, the better you will appreciate it.

"The following chapters ask you to delve deep into your own experiences and define yourself in this discussion. They will help you understand your food choices, the impact they make, and how to create  a shopping list you can feel good about--and help you learn to argue down any food fascist who tries to make you feel bad about it." (p.164)

The second part of this book is more philosophical as well as practical. Berlin is against absolutism, especially vegans who wish to dictate how everyone should eat. He provides a number of arguments against these types of vegans, pointing out that meat is not necessarily the enemy of the food system. It is a far more complicated issue, and the corporate industry is the greatest villain in this matter. Berlin provides a balanced and reasonable explanation of these issues, and his arguments are persuasive.

"Let's face it, people go for fake meat and meatless versions of traditional meat dishes because meat is GOOD. It just is." (p.176)

Besides meat, Berlin also spends some time discussing seafood sustainability, noting its complexity as well as the severity of the dangers many species face. His warnings are strongest against the consumption of shrimp and salmon. "We MUST stop eating shrimp and salmon." (p.193). I disagree with his choice of these two species, as I feel there are other species that need far more protection, such as bluefin tuna. There is sustainable shrimp and salmon, and consumers should select those choices, rather than avoid all such shrimp and salmon. It would be good for consumers to also eat different species, those not as popular, but I would much rather they avoid bluefin than salmon.

"...keep in mind that it is up to you to decide what eating responsibly means." (p.202)

Though he doesn't really want to tell people how to eat, he provides a series of five suggestions, an almost "How To Eat Meat" guide. These suggestions are well worth considering in your own life, with the caveat that it is ultimately up to you what you do.  
1. Eat a plant-based diet with minimal to no animal products. Learn best how much meat your body will tolerate, for your health.
2. Seek the smallest impact on the environment and push for positive changes in the industry.
3. Be interested in staying connected to sources of both animal and plant based foods.
4. Respects all life and is not arbitrary or wasteful in consumption of animal products. That includes eating offal and the meat of different animals.
5. Stay educated and be more concerned with verifiable standards than labels.

"Making the best food choices you can is all it takes to be a responsible eater. No one diet or eating style fits everyone in all situations in all regions." (p.210)

After those personal suggestions, Berlin describes the larger problems of the corporate food industry, from GMO food to USDA labeling. It is important to understand these matters, as they are areas which truly need change. This is an informative section, explaining food labels and praising heritage breeds.

"It is not about agreeing on a method of action. It is about being engaged with the search for solutions. There are so many little steps that will help you escape the current. It doesn't matter which ones you take. It only matters that you keep moving." (p.278)

The Ethical Butcher is a fascinating book that well handles complex issues and avoids being preachy or dogmatic. It is also an easy read, that will not overwhelm the reader with overly technical details yet it still finds a way to reference the important aspects of these debates. If you are concerned about the food you eat, then I strongly recommend this book. If you are not concerned, read this book anyways and you might become concerned.

*I received a review copy of this book.

Rant: If You Truly Loved Your Mom, Would You Buy Her White Zin?

Yesterday was Mother's Day, a time to honor our mothers, to show the love we possess for them. I love my mother, and she is worthy of much honor for her love, devotion, and sacrifice in raising me. However, she will say that she doesn't need any specific day to be honored, that she feels my love every day. Many mothers probably feel that very same way about their children, yet we children still enjoy celebrating this holiday.

I actually worked at the Beacon Hill Wine & Gourmet store on Mother's Day and it was fairly busy with people buying wine for their mothers. I sold more White Zinfandel today than any other day I can ever recall. One of the customers seemed almost guilty buying it, telling me that it was for his mother. That made me ponder the matter, raising a question in my mind.

If you truly love your mother, would you really buy her an inexpensive wine like a White Zinfandel?  

Some might think the answer is easy, that their mother deserves much better than White Zinfandel. Some might think she deserves a high-end Cabernet Sauvignon, a fine Bordeaux or a vintage Port. In some respects, they are correct. Your mom is certainly worthy of a pricey, high end wine. My own mom is certainly worthy of any wine I know. However, that doesn't mean you should buy your mother such a wine.

In fact, sometimes a White Zinfandel is the best wine you can buy for your mom.

For Mother's Day, I believe that you should give your mother the things she loves. No matter what they might be. I don't believe it is the day to test your mom, to give her mother something she might or might not enjoy. You want the day to be as perfect as possible for your mother, so you should cater to her desires. If she loves White Zinfandel, then the best wine you can give her for Mother's Day is White Zinfandel. You shouldn't feel guilty or cheap. You shouldn't feel like a bad child.

Even if you are a wine lover, conversant with wines from all over the world, having tasted wines made from hundreds of different grapes, don't shy away from buying White Zinfandel if that is what your mother loves. Maybe your mom has never had a Provence Rose or a Gruner Veltliner, and might enjoy them if she did. Then again, maybe she won't. Don't try to change your mother's palate on Mother's Day. Give her what you know she already loves, even if it is White Zinfandel.

Yes, Love for your mother can be expressed through White Zinfandel.