We began our tour with Kristen Jordan, who started Sea Cider with her husband Bruce in 2004. Kristen grew up with a family orchard, and Bruce with a passion for cider making. Together they decided to start their own orchard and ciderhouse, dedicated to preserving the heritage of many varieties of apples as well as taking this ‘humble’ beverage to new heights. We toured the cider making facilities, even watching them prepare some apples for the press.

Cider is simply a fermented drink made from apples, not from grapes, but the varieties you can make seem endless. I had no idea! It’s not just about the apples you use (and the endless combinations therein), but also the yeasts you use (or don’t use) and how the cider is then aged. Sea Cider believes in organic farming, and in embracing the local farming community. Their Kings & Spies cider, for example, makes use of apples gathered from local heritage trees in the area.

The tasting menu included 9 ciders, ranging from dry to sweet:

• Flagship – German-style, ultra-dry, fermented with champagne yeast. Ianiv’s review: This one and the Wild English drier are very similar to a dry white wine. I’m not a big fan of white wine so they were not my favorites.
• Wild English - using English bittersweet cider apples.
  
• Kings & Spies - made with a blend of local heritage apples. Ianiv’s review: A bit sweeter than the first two, with floral and pear notes.
• Perry – made with Perry Pears from North Saanich.
• Pippins - made with the Newton Pippin apple blended with Island-grown apples. Ianiv’s review: I think this is a lot closer to what most people are used to when talking about cider. It has a higher alcohol content but not enough to distract you from the sweeter fruit flavors. We bought 2 bottles of this cider for our upcoming baby shower!
• Rumrunner - This was a favorite of many in the review. It’s made from heritage apples, slowly fermented, and aged in rum barrels. Interestingly, the barrels are used for various other alcohols before they are used for rum, so they come well-seasoned! Ianiv’s review: Wow, this was different! The barrels give this cider very nice rum and brown sugar notes. This one will warm your throat on the way down.
• Cyser – This cider is blended with organic honey, making it more of an apertif-cider. Ianiv’s review: I expected this to be sweeter and to have a bit more honey notes. Not my favorite.
• Pommeau – This cider has the highest alcohol level (18%) and uses Snow apples, which date back to the 1600s. Ianiv’s review: Very similar to a brandy or sherry. We bought a bottle.
• Pomona - This cider is made by freezing, then slowly fermenting, crabapple juice. Definitely a dessert cider. Ianiv’s review: Very sweet, like an ice wine.

Though I was unable to taste the ciders myself, our tasting included a lovely meal of local cheeses, homemade chutneys, buffalo sausage, and even some sponge toffee. I also had a chance to try some homemade sparkling lavender water as well as a flavored green tea.

If you’re over on the Island, I definitely recommend going for a Cider tour. It’s a lot more casual than a Wine tour, and a lot more interesting (I think). If you want to buy any of the ciders, you can check here for a list of stores and restaurants that carry Sea Cider.

Last night we attended Molson’s second Brew 2.0 event, the first of which was held earlier this summer in Toronto.

Molson put together an event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Vancouver’s Burrard Street Brewery. The night consisted of a meet & greet party, a beer & food tasting, a tour of the Molson brewery and a special one-night-only beer crafted especially for us. We had a chance to meet brewmasters Kerry Scarsbrook and Gord Rickards (creator of Rickard’s Red), as well as 7th generation Molson family brewer Geoff Molson.

The Brew 2.0 menu prepared by by Blair Rasmussen, Executive Chef at the Pan Pacific, featuring ceviche and bruschetta and bison sandwiches, was paired up with different beer choices for each course. Rickard’s White for the ceviche, Coor’s Light with the bruschetta, etc. The special 50th anniversary brew was, to me, kind of like a Hefeweizen meets a Brown – it had a taste like celery. Quite nice.

Click here for the full Flickr set

We learned a lot about beer, including the difference between the beer that goes into the keg vs what is bottled / canned. That difference being pasteurization. We tasted some canned Rickard’s Red right off the line that hadn’t been pasteurized yet, and the difference was significant. Also, the Molson Canadian on tap there, fresh from the brewery, is good. I was astonished by that – it had so much more body and flavor. We also learned not to place beer bottles on their side for more than a few days – so much for our beer drawer!

The invite for the Brew 2.0 event went out to Vancouver’s social media community – to people like Duane, Rebecca & John, Raul, Colleen, Tanya, Monica, John and many many others. We were not asked to write about the event, but writing is what we do. So, you give us a great experience and we’ll very happily write about it. I was impressed with the evening and with how well Molson reached out to the community – great work!

Drunk teenagers driving up Mount Maxwell on Salt Spring Island. They ‘announced’ their arrival by driving into/onto a boulder at the edge of the parking lot. Lovely, no?

Random fact: did you know that Cumberland, BC is the "Luckiest Town in Canada"? In 2002, Labatt gave this honor to Cumberland based on the incredible rate of consumption of this beer – it took up a whole wall of the local liquor store. [wiki] I lived in Royston at the time, right next to Cumberland. I have never consumed Lucky Beer.

We are definitely lovers of tequila in this house. We have a couple of good quality ones, though none as good as the one we sampled there. For a fraction of the cost of a bar, we tried the Dos Lunas tequila, which is a 100% blue agave tequila. Unbelievably good.

Tags: tequila, vancouver, eat vancouver, eat vancouver 2008, vancouver events, food, food festival

The ad features a domino sequence in a small town in Argentina. The sequence takes advantage of a myriad of props and took a week to shoot. From cars to hay to furniture. In the end, it’s a pint of Guinness as the showcase. Very beautifully made.

Tags: guinness, tipping point, beer, guinness ad, guinness advertisement, pint

What a contradiction of terms – alcohol that is good for you. This Green Tea vodka took 5 years to create just the right flavor – and contains the benefits of green tea, whether regulating body temperature or, perhaps, preventing certain ailments. Most of the "benefits" of green tea are unproven, but it’s nice to have an excuse ;)

Via uncrate ; Tags: green tea, green tea vodka, vodka

Tags: glenfiddich, whisky, single malt, 15 years

Pizza vino:

Two new wines from California, are blended specifically to accompany pizza. Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties were chosen since they are widely considered the greatest wines to pair with food. Pizza Vino wines were blended to be fruit forward and not masked by a strong oak presence, making them a perfect complement to the tomato-based sauces, cheeses and meats found in pizza. In addition, the launch of Pizza Vino with Pinot Noir as its lead varietal is very timely because the California Pinot Noir category is hotter than a pizza right out of the oven.

Via strange new products ; Tags: pizza, wine, pizza vino, weird, crazy

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Iron Wine – the first, perhaps, wine in an aluminum can. Classy.

Iron Wine is available in both Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon blend and Chenin Blanc varieties. It has a recommended retail price of 5.85 ARP, or $1.95 USD, and can be purchased from its website.

Via Junk Food Blog