Last night Raquel and I headed to The Carleton with Ross and Brittany for a double date Cider showdown between East Coast Cider Company and Maritime Express.

QUINOA

roasted pumpkin seeds, red peppers, lime vinaigrette

  • EAST COAST CIDER: Hopped Cider
  • MARITIME EXPRESS: Rhubarb
The hopped cider and Rhubarb cider
Ciders with the pumpkin spice quinoa dish

TUNA TARTARE

pickled beets, dulse, whipped mascarpone

  • EAST COAST CIDER: Low Tide
  • MARITIME EXPRESS: Blueberry Rosé
Low tide cider and Blueberry Rose
Ciders and the Tuna Tartare

MUSHROOM CROQUETTE

wild mushrooms, wine jus, chili oil

  • EAST COAST CIDER: Pear Cider
  • MARITIME EXPRESS: Dayliner
Pear cider and Dayliner cider
Ciders and the mushroom croquettes

BLACK RISOTTO

squid ink, noisette butter, spinach, crispy prosciutto, squid

  • EAST COAST CIDER: Ginger Cider
  • MARITIME EXPRESS: Cranberry
Ginger cider and Cranberry cider
Ciders and the squid ink black risotto

LIME TART

meringue, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, tonka beans

  • EAST COAST CIDER: Ambrose Raspberry Cider
  • MARITIME EXPRESS: Oaked Ruscat
Ambroise Raspberry cider and Baked Russet cider
Ciders and the lime tart
Given that Crypto.com is the first suggested Ad on the App Store search page either they aren’t hit by this recent down turn OR they are doubling down on acquiring new people to inject liquidity into the scam.

We launched a fun feature in partnership with @Fastmail today!

Also I will take any excuse to buy a new vanity domain 🤣

Fastmail Settings screen showing whowantstoknow.ca as my masked email domain
An example of generating a private whowantstoknow.ca email on a webpage

Nature is healing and the Craft Draught has resumed! Last night Raquel, Colin, and I went out to The Carleton for another craft beer showdown. Last night it was Good Robot vs Brightwood.

Ricotta

preserved lemon, edamame, pickled beets

Round 1 beers
Round 1 beers and ricotta

Spring Onion Pakoras

chimenea batter, tamarind glaze, spring onions

Round 2 beers
Round 2 beers and pakoras

Risotto Arrabiata

toasted carnarolli rice, spicy tomato, pecorino

Round 3 beers
Round 3 beers and Risotto

Pork and Apple

breaded pork cutlet, apple gastrique, grilled broccolini

Round 4 beers
Round 4 beers and breaded pork cutlets

Pear Gelato

red wine reduction, blue cheese, vanilla crumble

Round 5 beers
Round 5 beers and gelato

Result

The votes were close all through the night with Good Robot taking 3 rounds and Brightwood winning 2. The overall winner last night was Good Robot!

Last night @crobaricus, @ziggityzig and I went out to The Carleton for another of their Craft Draught Showdowns. This time featuring Gahan House and Church Brewing

Stage setup with Gahan and Church banners

The Menu

Menu for the 5 course meal including the beer pairings

Ceviche

Atlantic salmon, pickled daikon, coconut milk, lime juice, dehydrated kimchi

Round 1 Beers

Round 1

Roasted Carrots

Miso glaze, sesame seeds, fermented turnips, citrus gremolata, crème fraiche

Round 2 Beers

Round 2

Polenta

Creamy polenta, roasted wild mushroom, spinach, pine nuts

Round 3 Beers

Round 3

Pappardelle

Charcoal pasta, pork ragú, pecorino.

Round 4 Beers

Round 4

Peanut Butter Bombe

Peanut butter mousse, rum, strawberry fluid gel.

Round 5 Beers

Round 5

Last night @crobaricus and I went out to The Carleton for another of their Craft Draught Showdowns. This time featuring New Scotland Brewing and Spindrift Brewing Co.

The Menu

Menu for the 5 course meal including the beer pairings

Stracciatella

Kousa

Barley Risotto

Braised Chuck Roast

Dulce de Leche Tart

For the second time since March I went to a fancy dinner, and like the last time it was back to The Carleton for another of their Craft Draught Showdowns. This time featuring Big Spruce and Upstreet

The Menu

Menu for the 5 course meal including the beer pairings

Salmon Gravlax

Big Spruce: Inhaled Affirmative
Upstreet: Lime Light Lo-Cal Lager
Round 1 Beers
Round 1

Fennel Salad

Big Spruce: Tag! You’re It!
Upstreet: Go Devil – IPA
Round 2 Beers
Round 2

Green Risotto

Big Spruce: Tripel
Upstreet: De Novo V – Farmhouse Saison
Round 3 Beers
Round 3

Prochetta

Big Spruce: She’s Maibock
Upstreet: Do Gooder IPA
Round 4 Beers
Round 4

Apple Pie Cheesecake Moose

Big Spruce: Snowmageddon
Upstreet: ‘Million Acres’ Barrel Aged Cherry Saison
Round 5 Beers
Round 5

For the first time since the beginning of March I went out to dinner last night. One of my favourite restaurants in Halifax, The Carleton, started hosting Craft Draught Showdowns last year. They let their Chef go wild creating a five course meal and have two local breweries compete bringing five beers to pair with each course. It is a fun time with friends and really interesting to hear from the different brew masters about their process of brewing the beers and how they choose the pairings.
Unfortunately COVID wiped out a lot of these events over the last few months, but it was great to see how they put together the event as safely as possible. There were only 1/3 of the normal number of tables, all the staff wore masks at all times, and many patrons were also masked anytime they were up from their tables. The Chef talked about how they designed the menu to source as many of the ingredients from local farms and vendors as a way to help out the community.
In a lot of ways it was super strange being back out in public, but overall it was a lot of fun.
Menu for the 5 course meal including the beer pairings

Beet Carpaccio

Brightwood: Backyards
Propeller: ESB
Round 1 Beers
Round 1

Scallop Crudo

Brightwood: Mojito Crushable
Propeller: Lotus
Round 2 Beers
Round 2

Canestri au Chardonnay

Brightwood: Minutes
Propeller: Spooky
Round 3 Beers
Round 3

Chicken Piccata

Brightwood: BMAC
Propeller: DDH IPA
Round 4 Beers
Round 4

Lemon Posset

Brightwood: Made Me Blush
Propeller: Dark Berry
Round 5 Beers
Round 5

Took delivery of several litres of beer from a local brewer today. Looking forward to digging into my growler of “Tom Waits for No One” stout. 🍻

Time flies when you are having fun!
This quarantine period has really demonstrated this proverb in a strange way since it feels like it has been 9 years since the beginning of March.
On a more fun note, 9 actual years ago today my friends and I performed this sketch in Wolfville.