Breweries/Distilleries

by

First Impressions of Victoria

Victoria has thus far presented herself as the graceful fair lady I expected her to be.

Of all the major Canadian cities, only Victoria ever stood out as a possible forever home city for me, if only for its climate. I have wanted to walk her streets for a long, long time. I have now visited the capital city of all the provinces and territories I have visited and only have Yellowknife, St. John’s, and Iqaluit left.

Mrs. H and I pulled into town mid-afternoon and she directed me to her favourite hotel, a Traveler’s Inn located in a convenient location. I quickly left her to take a nap while I set off on foot to scope out downtown, about fifteen minutes away.

I was surprised by how many people were out and about and I found the crushing crowds a bit shocking. I haven’t been surrounded by so many people since the last time I was in downtown Vancouver, almost a year ago! It was exhilarating, with all these different types of people from all social classes hurrying about and the most amazing smells spilling out of the restaurants. I was a tad overwhelmed, but it was pleasant because Victoria isn’t that big. I wouldn’t have done so well in a truly populous metropolis!

I bought an ice cream cone and enjoyed it as I scoped out the major landmarks I hope to visit in the next few days. I will be doing a lot of exploring on my own, but Mrs. H will also be showing me ‘her’ Victoria.

Some parts of downtown felt very old, like what I imagine streets in the 17th and 18th century might have been like. Other parts felt very modern. The city has a nice skyline where the diverse architectural styles complement each other. I look forward to exploring!

a palm tree outside our hotel :)

a palm tree outside our hotel 🙂

This brewery has tours; so this picture is a note to myself to try to book one. :)

This brewery has tours; so this picture is a note to myself to try to book one. 🙂

entrance to Chinatown

entrance to Chinatown

I love the expression on this lion's face

I love the expression on this lion’s face

a street in Chinatown

a street in Chinatown

dragon statue in Chinatown

dragon statue in Chinatown

a street near downtown Victoria

a street near downtown Victoria

a street near downtown Victoria

a street near downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

Empress Hotel

Empress Hotel

Empress Hotel

Empress Hotel

downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

visitors' centre

visitors’ centre

downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

downtown Victoria

Empress Hotel

Empress Hotel

plaque about the James Cook statue

plaque about the James Cook statue

statue of James Cook

statue of James Cook

Netherlands carillon

Netherlands carillon

Netherlands carillon

Netherlands carillon

the carillon ringer has to climb this staircase and then climb a ladder to ring the bells

the carillon ringer has to climb this staircase and then climb a ladder to ring the bells

Royal BC Museum

Royal BC Museum

dinosaur footprints (moved from the Peace River Valley)

dinosaur footprints (moved from the Peace River Valley)

CIMG0072

Thunderbird Park

Thunderbird Park

all the electrical boxes in town are covered in pictures to prevent grafitti

all the electrical boxes in town are covered in pictures to prevent grafitti

Thunderbird Park

Thunderbird Park

behind the Empress Hotel

behind the Empress Hotel

cool bike rack

cool bike rack

this condo complex is called The Waterfall

this condo complex is called The Waterfall

another electrical box

another electrical box

cherry tree

cherry tree

by

Discovery Fireweed Honey Ale

Back in early September, I posted a review of the mostly fabulous beers of the Yukon Brewing Company and when I left Yukon later that month, I made sure to stock up on their offerings, bringing south with me one six-pack each of Yukon Gold Pale Ale, Espresso Stout, and Discovery Fireweed Honey Ale, the latter of which I had not sampled yet.

Over the past two months, I’ve finished the pale ale and made a serious inroad into the stout and fireweed ale. The latter has turned out to be yet another incredible offering by the Yukon Brewing Company. It is strong and flavourful, with a hint of sweetness and a hoppy finish. I haven’t had a bad pairing yet with this beer, whether I’ve had it on its own, with a slice of pizza, in beer bread, or with popcorn (a risky pairing that paid off). The website claims that this beer tastes different from other honey ales and I have to agree. I’m pretty sure that I couldn’t tell in a blind taste test whether I was drinking a Belle Gueule, Rickard’s, or Sleeman, but I’d be able to recognize the YBC’s honey ale.

If you’re ever in Whitehorse, be sure to check out their free brewery tour. I haven’t done this yet but I look forward to doing so in the spring!

by

Yukon Beers

I’ve had the pleasure of sampling many local brews in my year-long cross-country journey, but it’s the beers of the cleverly named (note the sarcasm) Yukon Brewing Company that have succeeded in ‘wowing’ me the most by surpassing the excellent offerings from Quebec’s Unibroue (located in the town where I grew up!).

The Yukon Brewing Company has seven beers, of which I’ve tried four (so far!). They are:

  • Chilkoot: this is a lager, quite acidic with a spicy finish. I don’t care much for it for sipping on its own, but it’s fantastic when paired with food, from simple burgers or pizza to salmon and rice. Appropriately enough, it is the beer I’ll always associate with my Klondike summer. Ordering it with dinner has become such a habit that I ordered it without thinking the night we came off the Chilkoot trail!
  • Espresso Stout: this is a dark ale and my best beer discovery ever! It matches two of my favourite things; a dark ale and coffee! It has replaced Guiness as my beer of choice for pairing with fish ‘n chips or just for sipping on a lazy Sunday afternoon while curled up with a good book. It is incredibly smooth and creamy.
  • Yukon Gold: this is a pale ale that is perfect for sipping on a patio. It pairs itself well with Yukon Jack whisky, another find this summer. This smooth ale is slightly spicy, but does not have the palate cleansing acidity of the Chilkoot. The finish is rather ‘hoppy’, which in my beer world is a good thing!
  • Yukon Red: this is an amber ale and my least favourite of the four as I find the finish too bitter. Ambers are usually my go-to beer when I’m not feeling too adventurous, but my two consumptions of this one have left me disappointed.

Still left to try are:

  • Cranberry Wheat Ale: someone would have to buy me this beer for me to try it as I have yet to find a wheat beer I like. The cranberries in this one do make me optimistic about it…
  • Discovery Ale: this honey-brown ale is made with honey from Yukon’s territorial flower, the fireweed. I’m looking forward to trying this one seeing as I recently discovered just how much I enjoy honey-brown ales… especially in beer bread!
  • Lead Dog Ale: this is another stout, which I’m sure I would enjoy. I’ve just been lured away from plain old stout since discovering stout with coffee!The inside of the bottles isn’t the only great thing about Yukon beers. Some of the labels are also works of art! Check them out, as well as the story behind each beer, on the Yukon Brewing Company’s website.(no, this post was not a paid advertisement for the YBC :D)
by

Sign Post Forest and Wye Lake

I drove into Watson Lake this afternoon to take a gander at the town, especially the famed Sign Post Forest:

A tiny sample of the more than 65,000 signs in Sign Post Forest

A tiny sample of the more than 65,000 signs in Sign Post Forest

The Sign Post Forest was started by a homesick GI building the Alaska highway in ’42:

The original sign post (reconstructed)

The original sign post

What struck me as I walked through the forest was from how far some of these signs had been hauled, including all over Europe and the Americas:

cimg00191

In case that's not clear, these folks drove from Guatemala (C.A.=Central America) to Alaska. WOW!

In case that’s not clear, these folks drove from Guatemala (C.A.=Central America) to Alaska. WOW!

Or not hauled, but the people still came from across the sea (and were quite creative):

A Sterilite container lid marked up by a family from Holland

A Sterilite container lid marked up by a family from Holland

I was also surprised to discover that I couldn’t stare at one section without seeing a sign that reminded me of a place I’ve lived or visited:

Mt. Baldy is the ski hill near Oliver and the first time I set foot in Virginia was to visit Arlington.

Mt. Baldy is the ski hill near Oliver and the first time I set foot in Virginia was to visit Arlington.

Fond memories of camping at Lake George (upstate New York) with my family

Fond memories of camping at Lake George (upstate New York) with my family

I lived near Bobcaygeon for nine months and enjoyed showing my dad the sights in this quaint village.

I lived near Bobcaygeon for nine months and enjoyed showing my dad the sights in this quaint village.

Menomonee Falls was one of my many stops on the Great Road Trip of '05

Menomonee Falls was one of my many stops on the Great Road Trip of ’05

Nepean (green sign, bottom right above the yellow) is home of the Ottawa Municipal Campground, from whence I set off my RVing journey

Nepean (green sign, bottom right above the yellow) is home of the Ottawa Municipal Campground, from whence I set off my RVing journey

Trying to remember what brought me to Wiarton all those years ago

Trying to remember what brought me to Wiarton all those years ago

I stopped in Black Diamond when I was touring Kanaskis Country in September '08

I stopped in Black Diamond when I was touring Kanaskis Country in September ’08

There were several more that stuck out at me, and this was just from random browsing without doing any in depth scanning. Visiting Sign Post Forest was a real trip down memory lane!

The Watson Lake Visitor Info Centre is located in the heart of the Forest. Staff is very friendly and helpful. I was surprised that they were open so late on a Sunday! There is a small gallery there about the building of the Alaska highway as well as a movie. Unlike the similar exhibits in Dawson Creek, these were Canadian-centric. I was surprised to learn that the U.S. did not wait for Canadian approval to start work on the highway. So, the Americans really did literally invade Canada! Thankfully, we’re pretty laid back… or Prime Minster Mackenzie King knew we couldn’t afford to go to war against the U.S., again, for invading us, again (even though we kicked their butts last time, but that’s another story altogether–Google the War of 1812).

I took a picture of this sign because find the sentiment to be so true:

last paragraph

You don’t miss comforts if you’re long enough without them.

It was getting on dinner time by this point and I had a twenty minute drive back home, so I just stopped quickly to check out Wye Lake. It’s time to point out here that you don’t actually see Watson Lake from the town, only Wye Lake! As for Wye Lake it was named because it occurs in the centre of the ‘Y’ in the roads around it.

Wye Lake

Wye Lake

The other main tourist attraction in Watson Lake is a planetarium called the Northern Lights Centre, but it won’t be open until at least Tuesday, so I’m not sure I’ll get to see it this time around. The rest of what’s to be done in the area involves being out in nature: hiking, hunting, boating, fishing, that sort of thing. Watson Lake is a full service community with a few restaurants, a bank (CIBC, yay!), a grocery store, a few gas stations, ample choice in accomodation, a good hospital, an RCMP station, etc.

While at the Visitor’s Centre, I met some gals on a long weekend road trip. When I got home, I decided to have dinner at the lodge and as I was eating the gals traipsed in in search of good grub. They asked me to join them and we had a blast talking about my travels. That’s one nice thing about being a solo traveler; you get to meet so many wonderful people!

With dinner, I continued to discover the local brews, finding the most perfect beer ever: Midnight Sun Espresso Ale by the Yukon Brewing Company. Beer and coffee together in one beverage. Perfection. 😀

Thankfully, it’s getting warmer!

Alexander Keith Brewery and the Maritime Museum
by

Alexander Keith Brewery and the Maritime Museum

Nothing would be open in the morning, so we slept in laaaaaaate, then headed to downtown. There, we signed up for an Alexander Keith’s Brewery tour at 1PM. We killed the time before the tour by walking on the pier a bit.

The tour was probably my favourite part of this trip. It was so much fun and hosted by actors who really bought into their act. The tour included two samples of beer and I was feeling pretty good after a full pint of red and a quarter one of India Pale Ale. 🙂 Hey, at least I was reasonable and didn’t have a full second sample! dueSouth fans will be amused that we were lead into a rousing rendition of Barrette’s Privateers by none other than Ian MacDonald. *snickers* I really like Keith’s, and even more now that I know the history and brewing process!

The following picture is my favourite of the Keith Brewery. If you look closely at the right side of the stone arch, you can see a large nick in it. This nick was caused by hundreds of wagons turning sharply as they entered the courtyard and their axles rubbing against the arch.

This sign at the brewery amused me:


We then ambled down to the Martime Museum where the highlight for me was the Titanic exhibit, followed by the Halifax explosion section. The museum is nice; big enough to contain plenty of treasures and surprises, but small enough to be done in a manageable amount of time. I bought a mug in the giftshop, taking advantage of the fact that I’d finally found a mug in a style and size I’d been looking for for months, and for a price I was willing to pay!

It wasn’t even four when we came out, but it was time for linner since our late breakfast had meant no lunch. We went to Salty’s, which is apparently a must-eat-at Halifax dining establishment. I had an amazing seafood casserole–scallops, haddock, shrimp, and salmon in a basil cream sauce covered with crispy mashed-potato rosettes and a hit of cheese. I’ll work off the calories later this week. 🙂

Another early night.