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Biera – The Classy Gastropub

By Rebecca | May 2, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Biera is a local brew pub located inside Ritchie Market. ( 95 Street and 76 Avenue) Blind Enthusiasm is the brand name behind the brews. Biera is where you can go to enjoy the beer as well as locally sourced and crafted small plates.

Ritchie Market also houses Acme Meat Market and Transcend Coffee. These two wonderful local producers are used in the menu for Biera.

Not your normal “gastro pub”. This is a great date night because the menu is based around plates for sharing. They have won awards for “best new restaurant” on their first year and continue to win accolades. The team is passionate about their beer and their food, and it shows!

The ambience is a little higher class than a normal pub. I love the funky, minimalist, up-cycled “industrial” feel of the decor. It is a very community based atmosphere. It has a bit of a hipster vibe. Reservations are recommended; this place is popular.

Sample flights are available if you can’t decide what you want to try, or just want to try it all!

Chef Christine Sandford is the creative force behind the menu. Culina Mill Creek and De Superette in Belgium are a couple of the places where she used to create. You can see the European influence on the Biera menu.

Locally sourced ingredients on the menu include: Prairie Gardens, Vital Greens Organic Dairy, Acme Meat Market, Bonjour Bakery, Effing Seafoods, Meuwly’s, Galimax Trading, Mo-Na Foods, Grain Works, August Organics, Seasons Harvest, Blue Hour Tea, and Color de Vino.

Good food that is locally sourced is going to be a bit more expensive. Be prepared to shell out about $50 per person for a couple of drinks and food. That being said, it is worth every penny! The presentation is absolutely stunning and the food is amazing and delicious.

The menu choices are a very unique selection of textures and flavours. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable with the beer and the menu.

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They have the best tartare that I have had the pleasure of eating in this city. A blend of various cuts, including the heart to add texture, and flavour. It is made even more delicious by a ring of smoked, rendered fat around the mound of meat. If you are a fan, try it! I hope that you love it as much as I do.

We also tried the Boudin Noir with Pink Lady apple, rosehip and oxalis. This was also beautifully plated and delicious. It is a version of blood sausage. This paired very well with the “ZestyZee” with banana and spice notes.

Dessert was Goat Kefir Curd Tart; with Elderflower meringue & pink lady apple. It was again beautifully plated. This was a nice, light and not overpoweringly sweet dish. The elderflower meringue offered a nice texture change and the apples gave it a bit of tartness. It was a pretty plate to end a taste experience.

Upstairs is the “Barrel Room” dedicated to melding beer with the flavors of wine and spirit barrels next to The Community Table, a room reserved for special events, with charities being a particular focus.

Located just blocks away, “The Monolith”, a brewery and barrel house designed from the ground up to create barrel-aged sour beers via spontaneous fermentation.

If you are a beer person like myself, this is an awesome place to enjoy some very creative brews!

Website:
https://biera.ca/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BieraRestaurant/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Biera_YEG

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/biera_yeg/

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Average

The Beer Factory

By Rebecca | April 4, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Once upon a time there were a bunch of guys that wanted to start up the craft beer industry in Edmonton. They all got together and opened up a small brewery in St. Alberta and called it Hogshead. They made some wicked pumpkin spice beer.

Run badly was an understatement. The 2015 end of Hogshead was an embarrassing mess. The unfortunate end still continues to add backlash to the new establishment “The Beer Factory”.

Patrick Spilstead was a graduate from the NAIT culinary program that was hired in 2014 to head the kitchen of Hogshead. When the whole thing derailed, Patrick and his father Richard rescued the operation and turned it into what is now “The Beer Factory”.

They were first on my radar after an event where they were networking and my boss from the Edmonton Muse had a pamphlet on her table. I perused it and added it to my “hit list” of places to visit. They are most certainly a hidden gem.

Patrick is cooking today because of an unfortunate accident. He was raised in a family that had a strong culinary background but he went to pursue being a Mechanic. The accident would plague him with knee problems, so he found himself shifting focus – to culinary.

He was with Chop for several years and disliked the corporate environment of the kitchen. On to smaller and better things with The Beer Factory.

Everything on the menu is infused with beer or moonshine. You have some gastropub favourites, and then there are some awesome comfort food options as well, like spicy beef stroganoff. Note: the menu has changed from what is posted on the website. The daily specials are still the same.

My first visit was because I had to try the Friday Prime Rib Special for $9.99. That got me in a seat to see the menu and try one of their craft brews, the “Dark and Malty”. This has become one of my favourite local brews. Not available anywhere but in their taproom. It has the darkness of a stout, but the smoothness of a lighter ale.

They also make a Mosaic Pale Ale, a “hop oriented beer that is a bit tamed”. I’m not an IPA girl personally. I have not tried this one.

The ambience is casual. This is more of a pub feel. The staff are friendly and attentive. There is a patio area for summer time and an overhead door to let the fresh air in. You are in the middle of an industrial area in St. Albert, so there isn’t a pretty view.

The Prime Rib was delicious. They were also putting out information for a special Valentine’s dinner that was taking place in a couple of weeks. I read over the menu and completely swooned, and made reservations immediately. Patrick was let loose and given full creativity!

The Valentine’s Dinner was AMAZING!

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We had the Elk Carpaccio; thinly shaved Elk tenderloin seasoned with lime and cracked black pepper. This was absolutely delicious and delicate. What a great way to get the taste buds ready for the rest of the meal.

Ginger Peach scented pork with mango chutney; pork tenderloin rolled in ginger peach tea, served with house made mango moonshine chutney. This dish paired so well with the wild rose mead that was suggested.

Dessert was raspberry and white chocolate creme brulee, chocolate dipped strawberries and moonshine cherry tea cookies.

Patrick knocked it out of the park! The whole meal was culinary heaven. The price tag on this experience was $50 for two. Beverages were not included, but what a great deal! I can’t wait until they do the next special event.

I was able to have a chat with Richard. He is Patrick’s dad and co-owner of the brewery. Richard is also a Chef. They like to source the menu locally whenever possible. He was also telling me that they do BBQ in the summertime and they have a huge rig to be able to do mobile BBQ catering. That will be another article in the future for sure!

We have been back a few times to enjoy food and beer. The taps rotate with local craft favourites and the two brews that The Beer Factory produces on their own.

Fun fact; they are the smallest craft brewery in Western Canada!

Advice for your visit:

Ignore the ratings. There were a lot of angry customers with the whole Hogshead disaster.
Be patient! The kitchen is small and there are a lot of regular customers. Good food takes time. It will be worth the wait!
Try one of their brews! They may not be geared towards everyone’s palate, but they are definitely worth a taste.

Website:
https://www.beerfactory.rocks/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Beerfactoryinc/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/beerfactoryinc/

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Average

Social Modern Pub – Raspberry Sorbet

By Rebecca | August 14, 2012 | Comments 0 Comment

We found out a couple of weeks ago that our favourite pub – Social Modern, has a Kitchen Manager (Paul Hoshowski) that likes to use his regular customers as taste testers for when he is coming up with the new seasonal menus. Do we complain? Never!! Always willing to try a spoonful of this and a forkful of that…

Raspberries just happen to be my favourite fruit, seeds and all. There is not much that Paul adds to the recipes for his sorbet, I believe this was fresh raspberries with honey to sweeten it a bit and some corn syrup to thicken it up.

Social Modern Pub – An Undiscovered Gem

By Rebecca | August 6, 2012 | Comments 0 Comment

We have been searching the city for a gastro-pub that can handle a group of between 15 and 20 people every Tuesday. We had tried Brewsters, Rosario’s, O2’s and all three had failed to provide the service or the quality that we were looking for. You would think that a pub would welcome steady income on a weeknight – but alas, no go!

Our regular Tuesday Shenanigans attendee, Michael G. had posted on his Facebook about a lovely meal he had at a gastro-pub that I hadn’t heard of before. I did the Google search and found them. It looked like they might be a good fit for our group – even though they had some pretty bad reviews regarding Wednesday nights. They had just opened in December of 2011 and seemed to still be getting their bearings. Mike is a fellow foodie with a palate very close to my own, a fellow lover of bacon – his recommendation alone was good enough for me to at least give them a try.

I made my reservation and the Manager, Ian was nice enough to give me an email back to confirm. They are located downtown, just behind Grant McEwan campus. The building was “Campus Grill” in an alternate reality. There is free parking in the small lot behind the building or on the street after 6pm. They are open daily at 4pm and generally open until midnight on the weekdays. They have a daily special that is phenomenal – and I am sure I will be posting as many of them as I can get to!

When I walked in I immediately fell in love with the decor – very minimalist done in black leather and red paint. They are high-backed bar chairs done in red with some booth-type seats in black. The place is not huge, and not handicapped accessible. It is well laid out and comfortable. There are several large screen televisions that play sporting events and they have satellite music playing that has always been a bit too “poppy” for my tastes.

The wait staff was quick, friendly and efficient. She told us about the nightly special which was that you buy any alcoholic beverage and you get the “Socialite Burger” with fries at no charge.

Of course, you have the options for the extras – the burger pictured above has added bacon and an upgrade to yam fries. The patties are hand made and spiced to perfection. I couldn’t tell you what is in it besides garlic – but it is damn good!

The Kitchen Manager/Chef is one Paul Hoshowski. His menu is thoughtful and creative. If you have someone in your party that is a Celiac or Vegan – he has ingredients in the kitchen where he can whip you up something that will agree with your stomach! He is kind enough to come out a couple of times a night to make sure that the food is up to standards and to see if there is anything that could have been done better.

The “on tap” selection is small, but the bar selection is pretty decent. As you can see in the photo above, there is an “Aprikat” from our local “Alley Kat” brewery here in Edmonton. It pairs rather nicely with the “Socialite” burger.

Paul is wonderful at the desserts as well. The menu has a couple of choices for dessert but Paul always has some kind of special up his sleeve!

Creme Brulee – not on the menu – it just happened to be what Paul had for the dessert special of the evening. It was some of the creamiest custard that I have ever tasted!

Many thanks to Ian, Paul and the wait staff at Social Modern Pub – we <3 all of you and all of us with the Tuesday Night Shenanigans group really appreciate all that you do for us!

And if you are an Edmontonian – you really need to go and give these guys a try!

Tag: #gastropub